Biochemistry?

Yesterday, there was this photograph of Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw and Vasundhara Raje Scindia, the chief minister of Rajasthan in the Times of India (Page 5/6) and The Economic Times (front page). Both the papers had this photograph but neither of them had written anything about what the meeting was all about or for that matter there was nothing apart from a two liner more or less similar to the first 2 of this blog.

When I glanced at it, I was like.. "What the f***, our desi Britney and Madonna?"

The perspective of a pervert apart, what do you think could have actually happened here? I think it was just smart photography. If you were to take a photograph from an angle standing besides one of them, this is what it would result in.

Anyways..whatever it was, I was glad to discover that sending my cerebellum on a wild run was a great way to expedite the process of finishing off the otherwise eternal bowl of cornflakes.

It can't get stupider than this

When I read this article, I knew it was something I had to blog about.

It has been 10 minutes since I read the article and since I wrote the above line. Still can't think of anything to write about it. Just wondering, if this incident actually reflects his awareness about things, how could anyone even consider his candidature for employment?

Also: Linked at India Uncut.

One more to the never ending digital 'To Buy' list

The last weekend, my wife and I were looking out for a good photo frame. My wife has been complaining from the time we've got married that there is not a single photograph of ours at home which has been 'framed'.

I have always been giving her this excuse that when I get the right picture which I think is worth showcasing, I will get a good frame. The other concerns I have had are that once a picture gets into the frame, it inadvertently ends up staying there for good which could look quite jaded and get monotonous after some time and also most of the pictures we have taken of ourselves are soft versions which like any other digital pictures will always stay cosy in the hard disk and will probably never be exposed to ink and paper.

Today, during my regular visitation to the blogs I've subscribed to on Google Reader, I discovered the digital photo frames. Apparently, they have been around for quite some time now. Atleast, that is what I inferred looking at the number of results I got when I queried for it on Google. They look like any other regular photo frame, just that these have a LCD screen to display photos and can display multiple photos in a slide show format. It could connect to the internet to download new pictures. I am sure there would be an option to post any picture from the repository randomly which would address my problem of things looking bland over a period of time.

There are several companies which manufacure digital photo frames. Kodak, Polaroid, Ceiva and Philips are some which I could look at. The Ceiva's cost anywhere between 100 - 200$.

I never felt that the solution for the vanilla photo frame problem would come the flavourful digital way. Now, I have one more digital stuff that gets added to the never ending "To Buy" list.

'Doughless' Dinner

From the time I've had a credit card (which is about 6+ years now), I have always preferred using it for any major transaction, be it settling a restaurant bill, at the gas station, hotel booking, flight booking .. you name it. I never carry much cash on me, I draw about 500 - 1000 bucks (depending on which part of the month it is) from the ATM and wait till it gets exhausted before I reload my wallet.

It once happened that I opened my wallet in front of my team members at office and a girl who happened to get a glimpse of the 20 odd bucks in the wallet promptly commented "Hey, You just have about 20 bucks in the wallet, What if the cop catches you?" The very same day on my way back home from office, I jumped a signal and the cop caught me. What happened then, I will keep that for another day. The way tipping off cops when you are caught has become a de facto these days, so it has for me that credit cards would work almost everywhere.

About 2 weeks ago, my wife, my parents and I had been to Chandni Chowk – a pompous Dhaba in Koramangala. I have always liked the food there, and whenever I feel like having some good Punjabi food, this is the first place that comes to my mind. After the dinner, As usual, I pulled out my credit card to settle the bill which was about 1500 bucks. About 10 mins later the guy who took the card got back “Sir, It is not working”. Even then, It did not strike to me that it was time to come up with a Plan - B to pay the bill. I pulled out another card and gave it to him “Probably, there is something wrong with the first one, Try this..It should work”. This time, all the 4 pairs of eyeballs followed him to the credit card machine and we were waiting for the yellow slip to just slide out of the machine after he swiped the card.

(OK, this reminds me.. I will write sometime about the different incidents where I have badly stared at the credit card machine to pop out the yellow slip)

Come on… Come on.. Nope, it did not. “Sir, there is no problem with your card. The card machine is not working today”.

Ahh.. For all that Risk Management I had learnt and practiced in my projects, I had never ever thought of a mitigation plan for this event. We all reached to our wallets to see if we could manage to bring out 1500 bucks. No way.. we could not even get to the 50% mark.

Having worked for 3 companies so far, apart from the different visiting cards I have of my own in my wallet, I have also added in 3 debit / ATM cards, one from each company.

“So, which one of these ATMs is the closest? ICICI / Citibank / HSBC?”

“Sir, There is an ICICI and a Citibank ATM about 2 kms from here”

Thankfully, we have ATMs which are open 24*7. What if they were to close at 6 PM like the banks which my dad always keep forcing me to open an account with.

When I just try to associate this incident to those good old days when I had just started working (about 7 years ago), when dining out was much more than it is today, when there used to be lot of days left in the month after the salary used to get over, I fail to imagine what I would have done in such a situation.

BTW, It was then about 7 years ago when this name “Cashless Carnival” was formed and it has stuck on all this while ;)

Couldn't they have waited a minute more?

They waited all these years for the Champions Trophy. Could they not have waited a minute more to celebrate?

Pic Source: Indian Express

How well do you know your logo?

I've always loved this particular type of quiz where you are shown a logo and asked to recognize which company it belongs to. Earlier, I used to get spreadsheets which used to have logos on them, and when you print in the right answer you get a point for that,.. but this one goes a lil' further. You are given 6 variants of the same logo and are asked to identify the correct one.

I was quite disappointed to see that it took me 4 attempts to recognize Google's logo.

Via: Digital Inspiration

Hot Pants and Mini Skirts to be made legal...

.. No, Not in India. But, in South Korea.

Now I understand why the other TOI survey said that South Korean men have sex the most number of times per week (4.5). You see the connection ?

If listening to him was not enough..

.. Now you can sing, drink and wear Himesh Reshamiya. The nasally opulent singer has launched a school of music, clothing line, and a music cafe.

So, the next time you see a young man with a stubble wearing a long black jacket and a baseball cap singing aashiq banaaya aap ne with a cappucino (probably.. himecchino..or reshamocha) in his hand.. you know where he is coming from.

(B)ad Flavour

I totally agree with the Censor Board of India when they say that they want to ban the ads of the flavoured condoms (DKT's XXX) which are currently being aired on television channels. I would say "Why only during the day? Ban it completely"

It has happened atleast thrice so far that the ad has come up when I have been watching India play the Champions Trophy matches with my folks at home. To add to the already miserable feeling I am undergoing seeing India loose, this lewd ad does not even allow me to sit comforably in the living room. It feels so awkward sitting with elderly parents and staring at the TV when the lady asks "What is your flavour of the night?". Apparently, the product comes in 3 flavours.. Banana, Strawberry and Chocloate.

And why are the company officials saying "The flavoured condoms were not meant to promote oral sex, but to encourage couples who do not like the smell of latex". I thought flavour was more to do with taste and not smell.

Also: Linked at India Uncut

Girls pounce over boys here..

If the title of this article caught your eyes.. Yes, it's true..Welcome to Lebanon.

The NY Times reports (registration required) that with a female to male ratio of 5:1 in Lebanon, the girls are finding it very difficult to meet the perfect guy.

Samir Khalaf, a professor of sociology at the American University of Beirut, said the scene astonished his American colleagues. “They are just shocked,” he said. “ ‘This is Lebanon, the Middle East?’ they say. They can’t stop talking about all the belly buttons, about all these highly eroticized bodies. You see it everywhere here, this combination of consumerism and postmodernism and female competition.”

Since there are not many jobs in Lebanon for the youth, most of them head westwards and when they come back home with deep pockets and high spirits, the holiday welcome is gratifying.

“The demographic reality is truly alarming,” Professor Khalaf said. “There
are no jobs for university graduates, and with the boys leaving, the sex ratios are simply out of control. It is now almost five to one: five young girls for every young man. When men my sons’ age come back to Lebanon, they can’t keep the girls from leaping at them.”

Also: Linked at India Uncut

Look who's here

Just imagine.. You are in your office, it's a bright sunny morning.. and like any other mornings you are busy checking your emails and looking at your calendar and you cell rings..It's your wife calling.

"Hey.. you know what? I just gave birth to our baby.."

"WHAT ??? BABY eh..?? How come yaar...All of a sudden... Where was he all this while...Where did he come from?..You must be kidding me.."

CNN-IBN reports that a lady just gave birth to a healthy baby boy and she never realised during the last 9 months that she was pregnant.

I am still finding it hard to believe how this could go unnoticed.. I can understand her having normal periods, and no morning sickness etc.. but how could she or no one around notice that bulge which I am sure even kids today recognize.