Riddle Of The Sand

Manchester accept 80mn bid for Ronaldo!

2009-06-11T14:59:00.002+03:00

I can understand why Manchester Untied have accpeted the bid. What I can not understand is how does Real Madrid think he is worth that much?!

Man U will use that money to buy two players to replace Ronaldo, and that too at half the price, and will still compete, if not win, the English Premier League.

In this time of economic downturn, Real has gone mad! Another bunch of galacticos - wanna be winners!

Your future depends on your dreams...

2009-06-11T11:43:00.002+03:00

...so go to sleep - said a wise man long long ago.

BBC has an article covering how some quite famous people made some quite famous discoveries in their sleep.

I did not know that Paul McCartney 'dreamt' the tune for his famous hit song "Yesterday"! Even the creator of Frankenstein had a dream about the green monster!

Much more interesting reading in the article.

Mind your head

2009-06-10T17:48:00.002+03:00

For some reason I just found this too funny.

James Bond in Kuwait

2009-06-10T09:24:00.003+03:00

The famous 007 agent is being chased by the bad guys on Fahaheel express. Bond weaves through the traffic in his Aston Martin DB9 driving at over 200 km/hr. After bobing in and out of the lanes he notices the empty left lane and quickly changes lane leaving the bad guys eating his dust. All of a sudden, out of nowhere, a kick ass SUV blasts flashes of xenon behind him - stunned, the secrent agent can not phathom from where this SUV sneaked behind him. Bond pushes the accelerator further, touching 220 km/hr. The SUV is relentless in its claim to the left lane and continues to flash him with the mighty xenon. He moves to the emergency lane, the SUV follows, he bobs back to the left lane, the SUV still behind him. The englishman is a bit peeved - he pulls a knob next to the gear shift - panels located on the side walls of the doors open and launch missiles towards the SUV. But the xenon lights of the SUV are so mighty that the missiles are vaporised.

Bond increases his speed more - 230 km/hr then to 240 km/hr - everytime he increases his speed, the SUV keeps getting bigger in his rearview mirror. The secrent agent just hates tailgaters, so, like the cultured englishman that he is, he swtiches on the right indicator, changes lanes, and gives way - the SUV bursts ahead breaking the sound barrier - Bond witnesses his first sonic boom on land.

After driving for a few minutes, Bond can see the SUV pulled up to the side by a cop - he smirks. Little does he know that he too is going to be pulled up for driving in the emergency lane. The SUV owner and Bond are questioned by the cop.

The following conversation pursues:

Cop to Bond

Cop: "Name?"

Bond: "Bond, James Bond."

Cop: "Occupation"

Bond: "I work for Her Majesty."

Cop to owner of kick ass SUV

Cop: "Hello !!!" (followed by two kisses to the cheek)

Owner of kick ass SUV: "Hi! I am Mr. ABC, and I know Mr. XYZ, who knows Mr. BCD, who knows Mr. RST....blah blah blah."

The cop lets the owner of the kick ass SUV go scot free. He writes a fine note, hands it over to 007, and tells him, "You can not travel without paying the fine."

Moral of the story: It does not matter if you work for Her Majesty or drive an Aston Martin DB9. If you do not have wasta in Kuwait, do not drive like James Bond.

Note: I was thinking of adding a round about situation in the whole story, but could not fit that in anywhere. It was on the lines of Bond waiting to enter the round about while everyone else flouts the "cars approaching from left have right of way" law.

Light showers

2009-06-09T16:12:00.003+03:00

Kuwait has just been blessed with light shower! Whopee! Amazzzzzin weather!

Update: It just got so damn dusty after the rain :S

Why can't people use their indicators while changing lanes?

2009-06-09T09:26:00.003+03:00

Are they afraid to pull a muscle or something?

Or they assume I am psychic?

Wonder how so many people can be so lazy!

Toying around

2009-06-08T10:37:00.004+03:00

i picked up this beauty of a car during my vacation last December. it is really small and really fast.

bored at home, i decided to photograph some trailing lights, and here are the results.

i am a bit disappointed that i did not pick up another one, it was dirt cheap, my bad :(

38 degrees

2009-05-19T15:55:00.001+03:00

its nearly 4 pm and the termostat display on top of awtad tower is telling me that it is 38 degrees outside.

summer is still a few weeks away and temperatures are already soaring.

its gonna be a really hot summer :0(

Traffic Tuesday

2009-05-19T09:43:00.003+03:00

i jinxed my luck after posting about traffic lite.

today it took me 1.5 hrs to get to work since there was a major accident on the road i take.

since the last three weeks, i have noticed that there is an accident every tuesday at the same spot - the exit for the 3rd ring road on route 50 (while coming towards city from the airport).

every tuesday - same spot - kind of wierd !

What a weekend !

2009-05-16T16:56:00.002+03:00

the dust storms tried their best to dampen the weekend. but watching manchester united win the premier league yet another time has really made my weekend. they have now equalled liverpool's tally of 18 league titles, and i hope next year manchester united make that 19 league titles.

next up barca in 10 days...come on you reds !!!

I hate you dusty

2009-05-14T15:57:00.001+03:00

It has just got too dusty outside.

Have a nice weekend !

Photo - Liberation Tower

2009-05-13T14:44:00.003+03:00

I remember 10 years ago the Kuwait Towers and the Liberation tower could be spotted from nearly every place in Kuwait City.

With the construction boom, these two icons have been dwarfed, and sadly, can be sighted from only a few spots in Kuwait City now.

This is a shot of the Liberation Towers on a clear night. The shot is taken from the Gulf Street.

Kuwait on traffic lite?

2009-05-13T14:37:00.001+03:00

Is it just me or is the traffic really thinning down?

The journey from my house to my office took me 1 hr 15 mins every morning. Now the same journey takes just 25 - 35 mins.

There just seem to be lesser cars on the road. It is not even summer yet ! Is it the recession ???

Strange photos

2009-05-12T16:48:00.001+03:00

That is the a semi circle ad board that was down for some maintenance work.

People were happily walking under it and having some fun : )

Cool photography - Long exposure and a cigarette

2009-05-12T09:11:00.003+03:00

This is one of the many photos we clicked while fooling around with the exposure times on my camera and a borrowed cigarette.

We even managed one where I drew horns behind my friend's head.

Tinker around with the simple setting of exposure, grab a cigarette and have fun !

Thank you for parking!

2009-05-05T14:03:00.004+03:00

the extent that people go to in order to walk two steps lesser!

Silhouette shots

2009-04-30T10:00:00.002+03:00

took these two shots a couple of months ago during a picnic. on the camera the photo looked fine, but when i see it on my computer it is looking dark and my friend's silhouette can not be seen clearly.

must be my computer's screen setting i guess since most of my photographs look dark when i check them on my computer.

Feeling crap

2009-04-28T12:07:00.004+03:00

just one of those when i am feeling so crappy for no reason.

for passing time and to amuse myself, i googled 'feeling crap' and to my surprise there is a website where people in general post why they are feeling crappy! now how is that supposed to make one feel better? duno.

Update on yesterday's fire

2009-04-27T10:29:00.003+03:00

Al Watan Daily has posted an article about yesterady's fire on their website.

a power transmission unit in Feiha caught fire.

the article states that the fire started at 1 pm, though the fire started around 12.30 pm. anyways, they have not mentioned weather there were any casualties or not, other than the firefighter who suffered from suffocation.

more info on the same on their website.

Big fire in Faiha

2009-04-26T12:59:00.007+03:00

i can see a big fire outside my window looking towards shuwaikh.

the grey clouds have spread above kuwait city.

hope there are no casualties.

update: the fire has been put off.

another update: is has started again. this time the flames are visible all the way from kuwait city. the fire is in faiha. some more info on 4htringroad blog.

IPL gets eyeballs online!

2009-04-26T11:58:00.002+03:00

though i am not a keen fan and follower of cricket, recent happenings have got me interested. it seems that an anonymous blogger by the name of "IPL Anonymous" is hitting more sixes online than any player in South Africa. the fakeiplplayer blog has attracted it fair share of attention with teams and boards coming out with strong statements against the blog. its popularity is such that the latest post on 24th April has received nearly 1,000 comments!!! rumours are floating around about the real identity of the blogger. what the site has done is made the IPL popular online as well.

the blog is giving insider scoops and news on happenings on the pitch and off it as well, with a big pinch of satire. opinions are still out on the real identity and motive of the real blogger - it could be fact, it could be fiction, it could be a publicity stunt, it could be career suicide!

all guesses apart, in my opinion this blog will redefine how the IPL interacts online. my guess is that next season onwards every team will have its own 'insider' that will be appointed officially to provide 'inside team news' to the online hungry public. each team would have its own 'blog' / website where the appointed insider would post all the latest news (albeit filtered news). remember, you read that first here :P

Contrasts

2009-04-24T23:30:00.003+03:00

yesterday night nat geo was running a show about the sunderbans while at the same time discovery was running a show about megacities.

it was quite a contrast. my mind though is more fascinated by the jungle than by the city, and i watched the show about the sunderbans. it really was interesting - there are mud crawlers in the sunderbans, a type of fish that can walk on the ground! another interesting thing is that the fishermen in the sunderbans have trained otters to help them catch fish too!

if only we could evolve and develop without destroying nature!

A happy ending to a boring day

2009-04-23T16:13:00.008+03:00

getting to work on thursday is the most difficult thing to do, second only to

getting to work on sunday. anyways, this clip just made me laugh out loud.

for everyone that is into video games and wrestling, this is really funny.

the commentary and the execution is 'flawless' (hehahahaha).

Too many experiments

2009-04-20T14:27:00.003+03:00

i have been toying around a lot with my camera since i bought it a few months ago.

after some experimentation, i got a clean photo of the moon.

i still think it could be improved a little bit more since this one is not as bright as i would like it to be.

none the less, let the experiments continue !

Enjoying the recession?

2008-11-13T13:11:00.003+03:00

i think being in financial consulting the number of days you can relax and not be pushed / pressured with dead lines are far and few.

none the less, the current recession has given me a sigh of relief as work loads have lightened. all of a sudden everybody is putting their projects on 'hold'.

ah! what a beautiful day :P

Dreaming of excel?

2008-11-07T10:53:00.002+03:00

have you ever worked so much on spreadsheets that you see them in their entirety in your dreams while you sleep?
just two more weeks to go before i head off to a much awaited vacation!

Work, dust, heat and all that...

2008-07-15T11:41:00.002+03:00

all i see out of the window from office is dust. the building across the street is barely visible. despite the thick cloud, it is still 40 degrees outside.
apart from the weather, there is work that is keeping spirits down. i do not know how many times have i had to deal with clients that are either plain stupid, completely ignorant and arrogant.
it is surprising the kind of people you meet as a consultant. people have money, have it invested, and now want you to tell them it is a wise and feasible investment...otherwise you are not doing your job.
and with all these factors to raise your spirits, is the knowledge that you have to sit back each day in office till late trying to finish work. and by late it is around 9pm everyday.
it is taking its toll. just keeping paitence as i hope someday all this will be worth the wait.

Rising rents

2007-11-12T07:24:00.001+03:00

recently we were informed by the building haris that rents in our building will be increased by kd 35!

rents all across kuwait have gone up for residential apartments. but has this increase really been because of 'market forces' and 'demand'?

the way i look at it, the number of people in kuwait has increased...albeit a little bit. but i just get a feeling that these rent increases have been just because the land lord wanted more money.

it's not as if the buildings are maintained and kept in excellent condition, so it should not matter even if maintenance costs have gone up. nor does the land lord pay for electricity or water, so no bother for him there either.

the main reason why people are paying such high rent is mainly because they have to, and not because they want to (which would not be the case had this increase in rents been due to real market forces).

there are loads of buildings that are there lying empty, so there is no problem of supply. since the last six months there has been a building on mugheera street that is going for rent - kd 350 for a 2 bedroom apartment !

i am searching for some global data to conduct a comparison of rental rates - i have a hunch that one might be able to rent a similar apartment in some beautiful european country at the same rate.

The two sides...

2007-11-07T09:00:00.000+03:00

Sitting in my office, I have a view of the sea on my right, and Kuwait City and Kuwait on the left. Funnily, I noticed yet again that above the city skyline, there is a thick smoky blackish brownish cloud - everyday. It is not there over the sea.

I am sure it is a result of pollution.

SUVs anyone? We should focus more on using fuel efficient cars like the Echo or any other small insignificant sized car...so that I can buy me self a Hummer and drive around free of guilt...

Sirens

2007-11-05T10:12:00.000+03:00

They are playing the sirens now and we can barely hear them in our office with the windows closed.

Guess we will be the last ones to know of any imminent emergency...

Only in Kuwait...

2007-11-05T09:29:00.000+03:00

on my way to office this morning, i saw a lady driving her mercedez on the highway - smoking a cigarette with one hand, and talking over the phone with the other - look ma, no hands!

BIA

2007-10-16T14:36:00.000+03:00

Back In Action

I was taking time off from blogging since I was leaving my employer and all (I mean ALL) my online activities were being monitored.

After successfully changing jobs, I am going to back to blogging as and when time permits.

Growing addictions

2007-07-28T11:47:00.000+03:00

as of late i have found it impossible to go an hour without having atleast 2-3 glasses of water. it is as if i am addicted to it. trying to reduce my individual water consumption (tarsheed...), i started witnessing withdrawal symptoms. a glass of water would instantly satiate my pang for water.

another addiction that i have developed is that of working out. i used to loathe exercising. football was the only way to get me up and running. though i do loathe doing the treadmill...my mind wanders around on the treadmill and i begin to imagine myself walking around aimlessly. i just have to do some kind of exercise now. while watching television, i try to do arm stands on the sofa etc.

dunno. maybe it is because i am so bored. i have recently realised that my mind is craving for something creative. recently i have satiated that craving by reading harry potter - yes, 26 year old and reading a 'kids book'.

i am contemplating building a yagi antenna tonight so that i can watch the asian cup finals tomorrow. hmm.

'Alo

2007-07-02T09:19:00.000+03:00

Yesterday my dad received a call from the ministry. Seems like they were calling up people to inform them that there might be a power and water supply cut during the summer, so they were suggesting everyone to use less water and electricity.

That is really a very nice initiative by the ministry, and I applaud them for their efforts.

Anyways, just for the ministry, here are my 2 cents worth of advice:
1. Request all buildings, villas and hotels that have halogen lamps to illuminate the structure to switch them off - halogen lamps guzzle down electricity like a V12 engine guzzles gasoline
2. Turn off the lights of all road side advertisement hoardings after 10 pm - what are the odds that someone would give them a glance at that time of the night? Plus, driving at 120 km/hr., it is very difficult to capture the information the hoardings are trying to give within one second - I wonder why do we even have them hoardings near the highways ?!
3. Keep a tab on construction. The place where I live, the landlords are demolishing 3 floor buildings to construct 12 floor buildings, with twice the number of apartments on each floor. Furthermore, once they get the building certified by the ministry and get the electricity supply, they close the lobby and build apartments there as well and rent them out. Some also partition the apartments to increase the number of apartments they can rent out.

That is all that I can think of right now.

Anyways, I have seen commercial buildings cutting down their usage. The building in which my office is located has turned off the lights on the staircase, and no longer have the central airconditioning switched on continuously.

Lacking ideas

2007-06-30T10:07:00.000+03:00

I has been a long time, and my only reason for not posting is because I am not able to come up with any idea that would be worthy content.

For the time being, thinking cap is still on.

2007-05-12T13:06:00.000+03:00

blogging seems like too big a effort for sometime now. too many things that are just putting me down.
i know i am not giving more than 1% on the job front - it has been a long time since i was challenged, and when the challenge came along...the motivation was dead.
never really was motivated by materialism, but nowadays i seem even more detached from it.
its not change of scenery that i want. i just want a break.
i find simple pleasure in trying to fix up a television - pleasure that i do not find in warming my seat in front of a laptop and pretending to be a financial consultant.
maybe if i could drive a cab (only if i had a license!), or maybe if i cud fish, fix cars, fix televisions, fix computers...anything that can keep me interested.
slowly with everyday when i compare myslef how i am today with what i was three years ago and what i wanted to become - i see a vast gap.
lost in the middle of the desert, without any direction, i don't feel like seeking directions anymore.
maybe that is why there is no title to this post.

All of us for Kuwait...

2007-02-24T11:10:00.000+03:00

"Apartment available for rent in Salwa - only for foreigners and locals."

That's an ad in Waseet this week - there were a few more with the same tone. I called up to check on what 'foreigners' meant. As expected - it is "Americans and Europeans".

After Kuwait was liberated after the Iraq invasion, the national television used to run a song nearly all day long. It had the following couple of really interesting lines:

"Kulluna li al-Kuwait,
Al-Kuwait li kullina."

Translating it in English:

"All of us for Kuwait,
and Kuwait for all of us."

I think that now reads as - ....and Kuwait for all of US

Funny. Really funny.

Buyer beware

2007-02-18T20:54:00.000+03:00

I want to buy a new television, but surely am not going to buy a Wansa - my friends and their friends and friends of their friends have lavishly given me their feedback (invited and uninvited) informing me about the inability of Wansa to make a television that can stay on for more than a couple of hours.

The above is just a teaser, I have nothing against Wansa, and I am not buying a new television. But, people wanting to buy something do go out and take opinions and feedbacks of other people before taking their decision. Be it a car, a radio, a laptop or an MP3 player - we all ask our friends first.

This sharing of information is good for us as a consumer.

Now to the point - if I work for a shitty company, is it okay to 'inform' potential targets about it? Think about it - if you are about to join 'The Firm', wouldn't you have liked Tom Cruise to have told you all about it?

But if I do do it, it might attract a legal suit et all - all in the name of defamation etc.

In my opinion, people should openly share their experiences, especially the bad ones, about their company not only with their colleagues, but also with potential colleagues. As a potential employee, even I am a potential consumer. I am buying into their concept of an ideal workplace, the concept of a workplace where I will be able to fulfill my ambitions and meet my personal objectives while helping them do well as well.

I have personally dissuaded a big number of my friends from applying for my company. But can I take the name and talk about it online?

How to pursue the concept of "Buyer Beware" in this particular case? Any ideas?

Lazy days !

2007-01-21T13:57:00.000+03:00

After three days of holidays, it is a lazy Sunday.

Sitting on work since morning, but not touched it yet.

Its just one of those lazy days (reminds me of Robbie Willams' song "Lazy days...")

50th post !!!

2007-01-19T10:24:00.000+03:00

To celebrate of my 50th post, I have changed the title header - not to the success I wanted though as you can see that the main heading is still there.

I am trying to go through the html code to get that out, but my lack of understanding about html means it will be some time before it vanishes!

What is it with Indian news channels?

2007-01-15T21:22:00.000+03:00

I reached home at 6 pm Kuwait time, switch on the TV.

All the way up to 9 pm they were showing one 'breaking news' - Ash and Abhishek are getting married.

Whopee. Happy happy joy joy.

What in the world? India is such a large country, and THIS is news?

I am sorry!

Let me put this straight -
1. I am not interested in people's personal lives
2. 'News' about people's personal lives = bitching / gossip
3. It's a news channel, not a tabloid

Can't help pointing this out, but the Aaj tak and Star News have only 30 minutes of business news for a day that keeps repeating for 24 hours. The rest of the time is occupied by two - three stories, that depending on the occassion will be based either on a movie celebrity, a sport sorry cricket celebrity or a political celebrity.

I switched off the TV at 9 pm since I had had enough. If someone tells me that Indian news media has jumped leaps and bounds - that is all fake. There is a long long way to go before they catch up with BBC; the direction they are going towards they would end up like CNN or Fox!

Case in point - two years ago there were bomb blasts in Bombay early morning. BBC has video coverage within 20 minutes, the first Indian news channel to get it was covering the news 2 hours later. In fact, it appeared on the tickers after BBC.

I rest my case.

Slight cosmetic touches to the blog

2007-01-12T21:44:00.000+03:00

As you will notice, I have added a rather sophisticated clock showing Kuwait time (I settled on the colour orange as it brings out some nice contrast to the page).

The second is a clock for India.

I want to add a weather forecast tab as well, but am looking out for something that looks neat and slick.

A few of the headings have also been renamed.

In the coming days if time permits, I will also get a new header.

Only if time permits that is...!!!

Office politics

2007-01-11T09:02:00.000+03:00

Sick and tired of it.

I am not the guy who likes to indulge or involve himself in office politics. I would rather spend my time doing my work in a diligent manner so that I can leave home on time.

Recently our assistant manager (ass man) has been complaining about me to the powers that are (he is on their good books), and me being a senior consultant (two levels below him) am always at fault. This has been consistently going on since quite some time now. At every chance, he would try to brown nose me. The only reason I have not yet been pulled up is because there are a couple of guys at his level and above that have good things to say. My worry is that they have no plans of sticking around for too long. And even if they did, I would want to leave on virtue of standing by my principles and integrity.

Anyways, people tell me that this happens and I have to learn to deal with it. But I honestly do not know for how long I would want myself to be attached to a company that encourages, appreciates and rewards ass licking.

If walking out on grounds of principle and integrity are wrong or cowardly, then fine - I am wrong and a coward!

My patience is being tested daily, and I am praying to God to bless me with some more everyday.

Lets see how long this continues...

What I want to do before I am 65...

2007-01-10T11:04:00.000+03:00

I want to:

go bungee jumping

do solo sky diving

climb the Mt. Everest and parachute my way down from there

ride a Ducati at top speed

fly an F-16

complete a slalom of Europe with Jeremy competing against James and Richard. Would prefer doing the slalom in either an Aston Martin Vantage, or in a Chevrolet Caprice Classic 1984

play football with cantona and schmeichel in old trafford

get my football coaching license

start my own football coaching academy for kids, and make it affordable for them as well

retire at the age of 40 and in new zealand, only after having worked in india, japan, germany, barbados and seychelles

coach india to the world cup finals

get fit, strong and get my weight to around 70 kg - 75 kg

learn how to bake chocolate muffins

learn to play the guitar

learn karate

learn to fix a car

build a car that i planned with my brother. It is based on a 4 stroke, 500 cc engine from a bike

give lectures to graduate students in college and to kids passing out of school

stitch my own suit

own a BMW 735i 1999 model and drive it on the nurburgring to make a lap record

jump higher than Michael Jordan

work as a very professional taxi driver, something on the lines of The Transporter...

drive a train

travel in space

cross the Taklamakan desert and the Thar Desert

visit the North and South pole

go scuba diving

drive a crane and a bulldozer doing some construction work

learn how to swim

perform Hajj

I guess that is all that I can think of right now. But I will keep updating this post until I list 100 things that I want to do before I am 65.

I hate my job !!!

2007-01-09T17:23:00.000+03:00

The only reason I am at it is so that I can earn enough money to pursue what I really want.

But it just gets to my head and I have to vent out my frustration, like I have today.

They are bringing it down !

2007-01-06T10:36:00.000+03:00

The first 8 years of my life were spent in that building. It just feels wierd. Standing there watching it all empty - ready to be brought down. Suddenly I realised that it might not be there from next week. All of a sudden memories I thought I had forgotten rush to my mind. I can remember every brick of the building.

Guess that is life. Everything old has to be replaced by something new.

A reason for me not being able to associate with Kuwait is this very fact. It takes away my willingess to have an association of belongingness with it. If I could, I would have never let 'my home' to be brought down. But alas ! It does not work that way here.

For 17 years, Kuwait has adopted me, and for 8 years I adopted Bombay.

But at either of these places I don't feel at home.

Just straying off a bit, I met someone who is from Lebanon. He took his mother to Canada, Switzerland, Malaysia, Singapore - all across the world so that she could adopt another country as home. He recited me an incident of when he was standing with his mother on the bank of lake Geneva and watching the sunset - he told his mom, "This is heaven! Look at that, it is so beautiful. Standing here you can see heaven." His mom hesitated a bit, and then after a short delay said, "When I stand in the balcony in our house in Beirut - I see heaven."

I do not have such a balcony in which I can stand and see heaven.

Its not that I am confused, torn apart or undecided - I just do feel a sense of belongingness. It is this very same reason that I used to enter chat rooms with the nick "Nomadic Yawn" (the yawn because of my God given gift of being able to sleep anywhere, anytime and in any position).

I am still searching for "home". For that balcony from where I will be able to see heaven.

Clutter

2007-01-03T09:35:00.000+03:00

There is a lot of clutter all around, mainly due to my negligence.

I need some time to clear my mind, clear the clutter, and set everything in order.

Pinciple of Authority

2006-08-22T08:47:00.000+03:00

This is intertwined and supported by responsibility and accountability.

First off, responsibility and authority. Persons given responsibility for a task have to be given the commensurate authority in order to execute the task. Imagine I am responsible for watering Eden Gardens, but am not given the authority to enter the ground...you get the point I hope.

Secondly, accountability and authority. Without proper accountability, we will see a politician made out of an employee.

Most of the times companies are not able to allot sufficient accountability to their employees, and many of these employees go scot free even after some blatant exploitation of company rules. As a rule of thumb, it has been seen that the higher the designation, the lesser the accountability and greater the exploitation.

In general, there should be no exception. That will be brought out in the next principle - Principle of Discipline.

Gyan Prapti - Session 4

2006-08-19T10:52:00.000+03:00

14 principles of Henri Fayol

Today I would like to take time to emphasise on 14 simple principles laid down by Henri Fayol. These he called the "14 essential principals of management".

I will try tackling one each day for the next couple of weeks.

Why am I doing this?

A few weeks ago the block I live in had a power cut in the middle of the night. Authorities informed us that it would not be back until late next day - so they had sent in temporary generators.

There were four guys who were responsible for hooking up the generator. I just looked at they way they were working and realised that had they known atleast a solitary principal of Henri Fayol - that of "Order", then they would have been far more efficient at their task.

They guys were working on it since 6 in the morning, and hooked up the generator only by 11.30 !!!

Anyways, today I will begin with "Specialisation of labour"

Specialisation of labour

According to Henri Fayol, labour should be differentiated on the basis of their various expertise. Furthermore, a group that is specialised in one task, should not be asked, required or expected to perform any other task.

Brilliant! But there is one catch. Imagine someone who is specialised in fixing screws on an assembley line - he has to do it day in and day out. Not really thrilling. Add on to that today's demand of multi-tasking where you HAVE to know how to jobs beyond your perview.

That does not mean that this principle is to be sent down the burner. One has to be specialised today to be different. Though I may know concepts of marketing and logistics, I differentiate myself by knowing my finance inside out (atleast that is how it looks on my resume).

There has to be something that you can do better than the others. Though being a jack of all trades is good, it is better to be king in one, and a novice in others.

Imagine if you are running a football team. Who would you prefer to have in your midfield - Phil Neville or David Beckham ?

The same example in context of cricket - Sachin Tendulkar or Sunil Joshi?

Agreed that all rounders do have a place, but the pack should be lead always by the specialists. The job of the all rounder is only that of a back up.

Taking care of 'their own'

2006-08-19T10:00:00.000+03:00

Our honorable ministers yet again show that they take good care of 'their own'.

This should certainly feature on "Shabaash India!"

Why the Arab nations prefer to remain quiet...

2006-08-13T10:08:00.000+03:00

The war has sent the prices of petrol northwards.

Pockets of some are heavier by KD 200.

Some have opened their countries for the Lebanese (mind you, nothing of this sort happened after the Gulf war)...look that that from the perspective of a capitalist.

These Lebanese are not going to compete with the locals. They will compete with the expats.
They are fluent in English and Arabic.

Atleast now a lesson can be taught to expats who have been demanding high salaries. With this increase in labour, the economics change.

With more people searching for houses, rents can also be increased due to the 'increased demand'.

Perhaps I am paranoid. But that is what I see when I look at the situation as a capitalist.

First flags of free India missing

2006-08-13T09:07:00.000+03:00

How can we be so daft ?

Updated

2006-07-27T10:32:00.000+03:00

The links to my previous post on fantasy football have been updated. Click on those links to proceed in case you are interested.

Anyone game for a match of fantasy football ???

2006-07-26T09:42:00.000+03:00

At long last I am going to give you something!

I am going to prove, once and for all, that I would make a total success of a career as a football club manager if I so wished, and you would make an absolute disaster of one.

Using new genetic cloning technology, Italy want to use my DNA to create the next Marcelo Lippi, whilst only Togo and Costa Rica want yours. And that I choose to show my innate superiority by inviting you to join me in xperteleven, where looking down on you from my lofty top table perch throughout the tournament, I will occasionally wave to you in a condescending and rather ugly manner. If you must accept my challenge, it's completely FREE.

Here is how to prove me wrong:

Simply click here to register your team with xperteleven.

Then click on the following link to apply for a team in my league:

http://www.xperteleven.com/xpertleague.aspx?Lid=71674

From there you will be able to register your team in my league.

You can apply for any of your favourite football team names.

Bombay

2006-07-26T09:15:00.000+03:00

After the blasts in Bombay a couple of weeks ago, many minister in India are sad that it has not adopted the same approach as Israel. First things first, what Israel is doing is deplorable. They are targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure. Perhaps some one has forgotten all about the holocaust. You do not hit two ambulances consecutively by mistake – they very well know what they are targeting at. I would depise my country if it did anything similar.

Moving over, there are three specific events whose occurrence I would like to point out.

Event 1: Saturday preceding the blasts – Curfew has been imposed in Bhiwandi where riots have been going on since three days. The police want to build a police station over a Muslim graveyard. The even is given a slight tone of communal bias.

Event 2: Sunday preceding the blasts – Bal Thackrey speaks out in public against Muslims and terrorists. He is well known for his role of inflammatory speeches that incited communal fires after the blasts in 1992.

Event 3: Monday preceding the blasts – Prime Minister Man Mohan Singh points out that he is disappointed about the fact that even today certain individuals and politicians want to divide the country on lines of religion.

The blasts were certainly very well planned. Let us assume that even if they took a week to plan, the occurrence of events 1 and 2 within such a short span of one another and the blasts is too much of a coincidence.

Pointing fingers and missiles towards Pakistan is not the solution.

Hey, I am back !

2006-07-24T10:02:00.000+03:00

Back after a long haitus. Work, work and more work had me occupied. Atleast in the time being, my passport was made (whopee), but I am yet to recieve my civil ID (the pace and efficiency with which my office admin works is really commendable. Formalities regarding my visa et all are yet to be completed - oh and by the way, I started working for them in December last year!).

And while I am at it, I also know that our company has started to monitor our emails etc. How do I know? Well, I just know.

My next post will be a bit political. So in case you get bored by politics, you can skip that post.

My apologies

2006-06-05T10:31:00.000+03:00

In a previous post I jumped the gun and pointed out the HSBC staff to be unprofessional. Infact, the reply was from a fraudster.

Here is the reply posted by a true representative of HSBC in Khaleej Times:

A COPY of the fraud e-mail was printed in yesterday’s issue under ‘Letters to the Editor’ as a reply to a letter from a reader without HSBC’s consent.

We would like to reiterate that this e-mail is a phishing attack targeting HSBC customers. It was sent by fraudsters claiming to be from HSBC requesting customers to click on an HSBC web site look-alike address where customers are requested to provide their private information.

A sample copy of the fraudulent e-mail is copied at the end of this message for reference.

With the assistance of Etisalat, HSBC IT Security globally succeeded in shutting down the bogus web site on 31 May 2006 which is the same day the e-mail was sent. We had issued Press releases advising the public about this fraud e-mail and reminding customers that HSBC would never request them for their confidential information in any unsecured channel of communication such as public domain e-mail. We also posted notices on our ATMs advising customers of the same.

We would like to clarify that Mr S. Wilson doesn’t work for HSBC and that the reply published is actually based on the fraud e-mail and that the details supplied are incorrect. Meanwhile, any customers who have any enquiries or doubts are requested to call our 24-hour Phone Banking Service on 800 404442.

For your information, the telephone numbers that are published in Mr John’s letter to the editor are not HSBC numbers and hence the reason why the customer did not receive a reply and not a lack of response from HSBC.

- Dina Kotby, Press and Communications Executive,
HSBC Bank Middle East Limited, Dubai.

I have gone ahead and changed the post heading as well.

My apologies.

Crime watch initiative

2006-06-04T16:15:00.000+03:00

I just though of starting off a crime watch blog where I would report the modus operandi of the recent crimes happening in Kuwait.

Hope it turns out useful to people and helps increase awareness.

The blog is here.

Phishing in ME

2006-06-04T08:04:00.000+03:00

The above picture shows the contents of an email that Mr. Biju received.

Mr. S. Wilson is not a representative of HSBC.

If you recieve any such mail in the future, take note and do not pass on any information.

Even I made the mistake of thinking that the above is a reply from an HSBC official. Infact, it is part of the letter sent in by Mr. Biju, and shows the contents of the email that he received.

Please help. Anyone got good wasta ???

2006-05-30T13:32:00.000+03:00

This wednesday, 24 May 2006, my wife and had I gone down for a walk. It was around 8.40 pm and we were just below our building when a couple of guys in a white Nissan Altima (looked like a 94 model) slowed near us and the guy in the passanger seat grabbed my wife's bag and they sped away.

The bag contained our passports, original visas and original marriage certificates.

We immediately went to the cops and filed a report and also gave them the number of the car that one of the guys standing nearby was able to see. I could not get the number since there was no number plate on the rear of the car.

Thankfully, some guy found my wife's passport on the road this Monday and he returned it to us. It had the medical paper attached to it since we had it done just last week. Through that he was able to identify the name of our company and he called up and returned the passport. My passport is still not found.

The company has been really lax and my wife complained to my boss about it. The HR and Admin got a real scolding for this and are now playing hard nose with us because their ass was kicked. In general we are still pissed with the HR since it has been seven months since we have been working, but it was only this month that they started the procedure for our visas.

Our mandoob says that it will take ten days to get a letter from the immigration office that will state that we have lost our visa. From what the cops and other sources told us, this should take not more than one day.

We need this paper from the immigration office since without it I will not be able to apply for a new passport. We are going to the immigration office tomorrow to get this letter.

That is not where it ends. The embassy will issue a passport only after doing verification. Since my passport was issued in Bombay, that might take atleast one and a half month. My visa is only till 13th June 2006.

In cases of emergency, the embassy issues a temporary passport with a validity of one year within three working days. But for that, the case has to be forwarded by a senior ranking official of the Indian embassy. Now we do not know any one in the Indian embassy who would do that for us. The officials are very choosy about this and we want to present the case to an official who we are sure will approve for the temporary passport.

If anyone has any wasta with a high rankning official in the Indian embassy (even with the ambassador while I am at it), please let me know how to get in touch with you.

As a victim, I would like to caution all of you that whenever you are walking on the road, make sure your bag is not held on the outside towards the road, but on the shoulder that points towards the footpath. At all times, walk on the footpath if possible. If you see anybody stopping in a car, just move away quickly and get on the footpath. Do not stop to give instructions to cars. And lastly, if you think you are being followed or if you suspect anythinig fishy, get inside a shop or a crowded place and call up your relative and friend and ask them to come and pick you up.

Draw your own conclusions

2006-05-20T13:29:00.000+03:00

http://www.tradearabia.com/tanews/newsdetails_snDEF_article105301.html

Really scary. Now the US wants to start another arms race. And how he must have controlled his laughter while stating "Our job is not to rack up sales. Our job is to help people get the capabilities they need".

Conspiracy theory...

2006-05-20T08:59:00.000+03:00

This is Dan Brown week, and The Da Vinci Code is getting a lot of flack/publicity for being a scam!

I really got inspired, my brain juices started flowing, and I made my own theory about an issue that has taken India by storm. Yes, the quota raj.

This week has seen the OBC and SC/ST students also protest against the quotas. But are the politicians listening? I doubt. Now then, an issue that is splitting a nation apart, why are the politicians refusing to listen???

Here is my theory...

Education is an essential service. So, no matter what the cost, people will pay through their noses for it.

India is 'shining'...stock market is going ga-ga, real estate prices are hitting the roof, entrepreneurs are becoming successful.....and more importantly, the middle income people have never had it so good!

So, now these middle income guys are making money eh...so we can milk more money out of them, thought someone. Already due to the acute shortage of seats, students' parents are willing to cough up huge donation money to secure seats for their kin.

Demand and supply theory dictates that if you decrease the supply, the prices go up. And that is what will happen with the quotas. "Cause and effect", as Merilvinge said in "Matrix Reloaded".

What has all this got to do with the politicians turning deaf I hear you say? Ahem. Every politician worth his salt runs a college...

I think now you are smart enough to figure the point I want to make.

That, my dear friends, is how to define a conspiracy theory.

Thank you!

On similar lines, the rents in Kuwait also shot up immediately after the nurses had a pay rise. Some landlord must have thought, "Oh so now they can afford more rent. What demand and supply !!!"

As time goes by, slowly the concept of demand and supply are losing their relevance mainly due to the formation of cartels across. We had them in real estate in the Middle East, now we are having the same in education institutes in India.

Ah the world of capitalism! How I eagerly wait for it, but alas, it shall never come.

Arbitrage! Arbitrage!

2006-05-17T10:01:00.000+03:00

In b-school, we were taught that the chances of an arbitrage opportunity to present itself would be one in a million, and that it would last for a fraction of a second as the market would grab the opportunity, and the market forces would bring back a status quo.

What is an arbitrage? Say the price of apples in Kuwait is 10 dirhams per kg, and in UAE it is 20 dirhams per kg. Assuming there is no transportation cost, a smart guy would discover that he can buy apples cheap in Kuwait, only to sell them for a 100% profit in UAE.

Cool eh!

It is really foolish of all the ME countries to refuse revaluing their currency. It has presented an amazing arbitrage opportunity, where investors can buy dollars from Kuwait, and sell them across the ME.
(watch out Gulf News for the above statement in a couple of days hopefully)

The cost of such transactions is low for banks and exchanges operating globally online.

Reservations are not on

2006-05-17T09:45:00.000+03:00

It is just not fair. 50% of reservations! Do Kuwait or Saudi Arabia ask India if she is poor and then decide to sell her crude? No!

It is increasingly getting competitive, globally. Japan has shown the fruits of meritocracy, and yet in India some stupid politicians want reservations, and more of them. If the ones already were not enough!

I scored 156 in the CET, and had to settle for a college that did not figure in the top 20 management institutes in Bombay itself! And I check the mark list for OBC and SC/ST students. Guess what? Their topper scored 108 marks! Smart he must be. Because if I had only attempted the written part of the CET, where I scored a neat 132, and refused to attend the group discussion and interview round, I would have still topped!

Man, and he got into JBIMS! Ranked amongst the top ten management institutes in India!

Even after more than 50 years of hand holding and reservations, if they could not uplift themselves, then hard luck. What else can I say?

With a 156, I am ranked out of the top 200. With a 108, he tops. Is this fair?

The difference between the toppers of my college and the remaining students was huge. And these guys were not even from the reserved category. Imagine the intellectual gap between the students at JBIMS.

And what surprises me most is the fact that these from the ‘oppressed class’ are nowhere to be seen protesting against the anti reservation stand.

For a fact, the 20% of Indians belonging to the general category contribute 80% of the individual tax collections. Have they not done their bit? They paid for your bus ticket, now you want them to get up and offer you their seat as well? Shame on you.

Profit is not a dirty word...

2006-05-13T09:54:00.000+03:00

For schools in Kuwait, profit is not a dirty word after all... Number of students in each class	35
Number of divisions for each class	7
Total number of classes	14
Quarterly fees per student	75
Annual fees collected	1,029,000
Teachers in school	150
Average salary per teacher	250
Annual salaries paid	450,000
Electricity	500
Other miscellaneous expenses	500
Total expenses	451,000
Profit	578,000

And a few days ago there was a lady whining about why people whine about the increasing fees...the school is offering us a community servive.

Well, then why don't they open their books for public audits?

This is based on my observation. Obviously the school also has other means of making money...
1. Text Books (which are sold at atleast ten times their original price, and shipping would not raise their cost so much, I know that for a fact)
2. Note Books (again sold at prices higher than those available in stationeries, and not to forget, the better quality that you can otherwise get)
3. Kickbacks...from teachers and students. I'll keep it to that only.

I think running a school ain't that bad after all !!!

Half a million dinars in a year. Not bad eh !!!

Confessions of an expat mind

2006-05-10T12:30:00.000+03:00

I do not know why, but today all of a sudden I just realised something. Everytime, every where I go, all the expats are just whining and complaining about the complecent Kuwaiti locals.

All complain that they are overpreviliged, getting free lunch, wasting away their life. Then the conversation moves in the direction where everyone says, "...they should do this, do that, take away this previlige.....all for the future of the country."

For a fact, I can say that none of them, and confess not even I, am concerned genuinely about the future of Kuwait. There is no attachment. The only reason why we say all this "for the future of Kuwait" is simply because in some way or the other we all are jealous of the previliges enjoyed by them.

I mean, how many of us would want those previliges taken away from us, had we been given them? Nobody!

It might be a bad policy by the Government to protect its locals, but then which Government does not have a policy that does that? UK has got the work permit shmooze, US has the visa quota merry go ride...and on and on.

So why do we complain?

If we really are "concerned", then we should just shut up and instead push for political reforms where we expats not only have a say in Government policy, but also are given a reason to call Kuwait 'our motherland' - in a genuine sense.

Gyan Prapti - Session 3

2006-05-09T11:20:00.000+03:00

Gyan Prapti Session 3: The Markets...

Today I would like to talk about the stock market. I know it is not a really wonderful time - especially when the markets are crashing all across the ME. But then, hey, that's life.

I was really irked, intrigued and shocked to read a statement made in yesterday's Kuwait Times. The headline read that "There is no need to panic." Another read "Investors sell in illogical panic."

Ok, first things first. I am not on mission Kuwait Bashing.

The following is just my insight and my opinion. Having seen much of the development in the Bombay Stock Exchange as a spectator and a student, I just felt like it is my moral duty to point out the gaping differences.

For beginners, I am very uncomfortable with the P/E of the ME markets. The existing P/E for the BSE is around mid 20 ish.

A few months ago, the markets in the ME were trading at PEs around 30 – 40. Wow! Now, all I ask is one question – what have they got going in their economy that is bigger than what India has got?

I wait for the answers – some say investment in infrastructure some say development of the economy.

I say – “Bah!”

Investment in infrastructure – most of the economies of the ME are busy either – constructing more roads or constructing mega cities. Add with this some flavoring – there is now law in place for land property rights. The roads are leading to nowhere. The only industries benefiting from it are the automobile industry and the construction industry.

With no rights to own property, what is the point of buying property? Yes, it might be coming in Dubai. But, as of now, nothing is on paper.

Compare this with how India is doing – they are building roads that will form the backbone of inter – state logistics. And recently, foreign REMFs/REITs have been allowed to enter India. Wonderful!

Some would say that crude prices are hitting a high – so naturally the ME economies will do well. Yes, they will, I agree. But, how many oil companies are listed on the stock market? How much weightage do they give to the index? Find that out yourself.

The fact that most of the ME economies import everything from condoms to diapers, means that higher crude will lead to higher transportation costs (read shipping), which will be transferred to the end consumer – read higher prices for our daily use commodities.

The depth of the BSE is huge. There is a large number of companies listed on it, and the number of investors is also very high. Unlike the ME, where around 3 – 5 investors would be responsible for around 80% of the market trade. The markets do not have sufficient companies listed on it either. This makes them very risky. Therefore, a slight fall in the developed equity markets like the BSE will see amplified falls in the ME markets, as money would flow from one market to the other. Ask any investment banker, and he will willingly place a bet on the BSE rather than on a ME market.

There are many reasons for that. Here are some that are more prominent:

1. An active market regulator, SEBI

2. DEMAT – fast, efficient, paperless transactions

3. No entry or exit barriers. Currently in Kuwait, there is a minimum investment cap of KD 3000 (USD 9000 approx.) that an investor has to bring in to enter the market. In India, I can invest in the lowest denomination of the currency and can enter the market by merely buying one share worth 10 paisa (the lowest denomination is 1 paisa). 100 paisa = Rs. 1 and Rs. 43 = USD 1 (approx).
Get my point?

The point I am trying to get to is that the ME markets have very less to offer. They are very speculative. Thus, high volatility should be accepted as a norm.

No matter what economy, it can never justify a P/E of 40!
Note: Somewhere around October 2005, the Dubai Stock Exchange was trading at a P/E near 40.

Which car?

2006-05-06T11:50:00.000+03:00

Soon it will be time for me to buy a car.

It being my first car, I am so confused.

Right now I am torn apart between deciding whether to buy a sports car or an executive saloon.

It will be atleast two months before I actually get my license, so there is plenty of time left. But since the last month I have been reading online reviews and checking out prices. I just realised that the prices quoted at Edmunds is atleast $500 - $1000 more than what I can get here.

My budget is capped at KD 1500 ($4500).

The three points that I will not sacrifice:
1. Excellent and reliable air conditioning. Kuwait gets really hot during summer.
2. Low road noise
3. Comfortable ride

I have shortlisted the following cars:

Executive saloon

BMW 735i, 1992 model
I was really impressed by it in The Transporter

Lexus LS 400, 1994 model
I have seen a lot of them on the road, and a lot of old guys at high posts riding them. This must be comfortable.

Sports car

Toyota MR2, 1991 - 95 model
Looks good. The price looks good too.

Mazda Miata, 1997 model
I am not too keen on a Mazda, and this car looks pretty small. Would prefer the MR2 over this anyday.

I do not want to race off in the sports car. I just want to cruise and enjoy the ride.

I know for sure it will be difficult finding the sports car that I have shortlisted. Simply because I have seen only two MR2 s till date on the roads of Kuwait. And I am yet to see a Mazda Miata. Optimistic though I am.

If none of these are available at good deals, I might opt for the Honda City (1999) or Mitsubishi Galant (1999), both available at KD 1250/=

If money were no objective, I would have choosen either the Honda NSX ('95) or the Corvette (2000). Alas! It is an objective. LOL

My choice for an exec saloon is because working as a consultant, I would be embarassed if my client saw me getting out of a Nissan Sunny :oP

It is mainly because of the additional two seats that I would be able to accomodate. In a sports car, it would be a two seater. So, I might not be able to accomodate more than one friend at a time. Not that I go out too much. For a fact, I know that Kuwait is the only place where one can afford to drive a sports car, since the petrol is real cheap. Since I am not planning to hang out here for more than a couple of years, I thought that I might as well drive a sports car while I am 'young' and can afford it.

Decisions! Decisions!

What car should I take?

Now this is really funny...

2006-05-03T09:27:00.000+03:00

Yesterday I was just going through some articles on the website of Arab Times, and I found something very interesting. There was a section that reported the various topics discussed and proposals made in the national assembley. Now look at this:

Also discussed earlier in the day were plans to hike the monthly Kuwait University student allowance from KD100 to KD 150, on account of fees, books and transportation costs. “We need an answer from the government regarding its views on the subject. If they seek to postpone, we agree, but need to know of their intentions,” MP Saleh Ashour said. MPs Dr Waleed Al-Tabtabaei and Jamal Al-Omar said transportation costs alone amounted to KD100. “Students require a minimum of KD30 monthly for petrol and another minimum amount of KD70 for car installments. Is it right for them to ask their parents to drop them to college?” Tabtabaei questioned.

“We ask the Finance Committee to treat this as a matter of urgency,” Al-Omar said.

From the Arab Times, dated 02/05/2006

Now then, would'nt that be so bad? Asking mommy to drop you to college.

Oh so bad. So we should give them money to buy a car. Oh, KD 70 in installments each month! Oh poor child! Awww. Why don't you drive a second hand Honda City or perhaps a Kia or a Toyota Echo for that matter? No, no, my child wants to drive Hummer 2 and Corvette. He wants to zoom past traffic and senseless speeds and do wheelies on his Ducati to impress girls.

I do not want to sound sarcastic, but back in India I used to travel by train. And I paid nearly 700 fils for a three month pass.

Kuwait has really changed a lot. I really feel worried about its future. The older generation had guys who were hard working and honest. And look at the MPs today, what are they trying to support? I do not even want to waste any of my energy thinking about tomorrow's MPs.

I don't have any attachment with the country (I know you will tell me so pack up and leave. Up yours, I say.) Though I was born and brought up here. I find it hard to call the country mine, especially when I am denied a lot of rights and opportunities. I am not cribbing about that. I know I am sitting here and earning my money. So I am exploiting the country as much as it has decided to exploit me. I will make my cool million and ride off into the sunset. But what will happen to this country in the future?

You can not keep feeding and pampering the child. You need to kick his butt and make him see and realise the real world.

Just for the record KD 150 is:
- the combined salary of two Bengalis who clean the road
- nearly the combined salary of two guys working in a fast food joint
- the quarterly fees of an Indian school
- the annual fees of an Arabic shool
- a 1988 chevrolet...

Oh no I can not watch the World Cup! :o(

2006-05-02T08:40:00.000+03:00

This post is for everyone that is chanting the same due to arm twisting tactics of Pehla.

Warning: This is a long post and contains some technical discussion.

Now, I am not, I repeat NOT going to rant about Pehla. Don't need to. But, what I am going to do is let you on to a little secret...

Here is how you can ensure you get your much needed dose of football during the world cup to stay alive - and that too WITHOUT having to subscribe to Pehla.

Here goes:
1. Invest in a good TV antenna. There are two - three types, take the one which has a net kind of a feature in the front, with twin claw shaped receivers instead of the usual cylindrical bars. Confused? Just ask the shop guy that you need an antenna with which you can get reception of Kuwait and Saudi sports channels.
These guys are showing the World Cup, and for free that too. The only cost attached is that of bearing their commentary (where they screw up big time - Theiry Henry is pronounced as "Theiry Horny", and no, they do not advertise parental guidance). Also you will have to bear with the half time analysis by a panel where everyone is a former foobtall player, plus is addressed to as 'captain'. But for free, this really does not matter.

2. This is a pay option. But a lot cheaper than what Pehla is charging. It is a bit complex, and you might have to do it yourself or get a really expert chap to do it. Subscribe to Dish TV in India. I know, their website says that the broadcast is for India, but then if you put up a 6 - 8 foot dish antenna, you will recieve their signals. But, here is the tricky part - you need their decoder and sim. The decoder you can find for anywhere, but the sim - you will get only in India. They have an offer where you pay Rs. 6000/= (around USD 135, AED 500) or so and you get the full stuff - receiver, sim and one year free subscription. Make sure to subscribe to Goal TV, Star Sports and ESPN Star Sports. This is a pricey thing, but then you get quite a lot of channels. Note that the overall cost can be lower - it all depends on the channels you subscribe to. Rs. 6000 is for all the channels. The basic package costs only Rs. 100.

The tough part is setting up the dish to catch the signals. You will have to set it up to catch signals from NSS-6 a satellite by NSAT. The satellite co-ordinates as well as the list of channels are available here. More info on the satellite is available here as well. The satellite's orbital position is at 95.0°E.
With the help of Google Earth, find out your latitude and longitude location (it takes time, but I found mine after two weeks of search. Just pray that Google Earth has a detailed map so that you can spot your building). Another way is identify some landmark near your house, say "Taj Mahal", go to google and enter this in search "Taj Mahal coordinates" without the quotes.

Once you have your house's location, go to this website.

In satellite orbit, enter 95.0

Then in the next two, enter your latitude and longitude coordinates. Then press calculate. This will give you 'dish azimuth value'. You need the 'relative to magnetic north' value. Now, say for example it says 172 degrees East to relative magnetic north. Draw a line pointing towards the magnetic north. Place a compass on that line and go 172 degrees towards the east i.e. right hand side of the line. Now draw a second line pointing towards 172 degrees east (in case it is 190 degrees east, then draw a line at 180 degrees east, from that line draw a line 10 degrees east. 180 + 10 = 190).

You should point your dish towards the second line. Make sure its LNB is directing in the exact direction as the second line drawn (or third or fourth as the case may be).

Now there is the elevation tilt. This is just through trial and error. But you do have a fair idea. Suppose it gives a value above 90 degrees, you have to point your dish straight upwards. If it is lesser than 90 degrees, its slant will be lesser. Just tilt it up a little by little and check.

The technical way of doing it is again holding a compass and seeing the angle. Try to match the tilt of the dish with the angle. How? Say it gave elevation of 75 degrees. Draw a line on a paper, then draw a 75 degree angle on that line. Hold this paper and see if your dish is elevated at the same level or not.

I know the second method looks very daunting and difficult. But it is not. It is pretty simple. It is just that we do not do something like this every day. I have done it twice earlier, so I know how to do it. I am no expert technician or anything, plus I did this the first time I was 15. So there, it really must be very easy.

The only tough part would be getting the exact coordinates of your house. Unless you have GPS or something. As an alternate, as I said, you could use the coordinates of the nearest land mark (which you will get through Google).

After you do all this, call up Pehla and say "Hahahahahaha !!!! Bwahahahahahaha !!!"

Which mobile...hmm...

2006-04-26T13:22:00.000+03:00

It so is that my better half wants to gift me a mobile. Whopee !!!

Initially I had my eyes set on the Nokia N80, but I think it is way to expensive.

Looking for a mobile that is smart, equipped with a decent camera (atleast 1.5 mp).

Currently my shortlist is:
Nokia N70
Nokia 6280
Nokia 6270
Sony Ericsson 800i

It's a tough choice. But I am biased towards the 6280, N70 and 800i. God willing by tonight, I will be the proud owner of one of these mobiles. Would not mind opinions on them, though it is too short time.

Choices! Ah!

Gyan Prapti Session 2

2006-04-25T09:41:00.000+03:00

How coroporate farming will be bad for the economy

Disclaimer: I am not an economist. This is just my opinion

Bharti has just bought land off a group of farmers and started corporate farming there. They now pay monthly wages to the farmers. Funnily, that reminds me of the concept of 'bonded labour' and the introduction of the Land Ceiling Act.

Anyways, how it is hurting the economy. These farmers usually grow crops that are consumed locally, say for example onions and potatoes etc. When a coroporate takes over the farms, it is not necessary that they continue with the same crop. This is where a problem might arise.

If the corporate chooses to cultivate some exotic crop like say broccoli in a field that once used to cultivate onions. Here is what happens:
1. The supply of onions (a locally consumed crop) goes down
2. There is new supply of broccoli (which is not consumed locally)
3. As a result, the prices of onions might go up

Sounds pretty lame, but when we look at it from the perspective of the corporate, that would acquire a lot of land, it should ring alarm bells.

Plus, these corporates would be earning tax free money! Nahiiii! The rich get richer and the poor get poorer. Damn!

The Professor's Gyan: Introduction and Session 1

2006-04-25T09:15:00.000+03:00

I frequently use the nick "The Professor", so I am continuing with it here as well.

Gyan means knowledge in hindi.

We used to have lessons of 'Gyan Prapti' (knowledge endowment/acquiring) in the hostel when the senior guys would share their 'experience' with everyone else.

Anyways, now that that funda is clear, on with the real intention.

Gyan Prapti Session 1

The resurged demand for quotas in private institutions and colleges has created a huge furore all over India. Going through some opinions, news paper articles and blogs, the point that I have come across is that it is rational to expect these quotas, especially when only 30% of the population falls in the 'general' quota.

From the perspective of equality, I will agree to that stand point. But then since we are all gung-ho on equality, here is my own new idea for equality, that I think, should be pursued...

It is no secret where all the tax money comes from in India - it is the salaried class (who unfortunately also fall in the 'general' quota - well atleast most of the times).

Let us bring a new wave of equality and start taxing agricultural income.

"What?" I hear you say. "Are you mad?" come the responses.

"You want a poor farmer to pay TAX?"

Yes, indeed. I do want our 'poor farmers' to pay tax.

Especially when our Finance Minister has raised the taxable income to Rs. 1,50,000 /-

That is a huge amount. When the taxable income was Rs. 50,000 /- , I was also of the opinion of not taxing the 'poor farmer'. But look at it from this new point of view now - Rs. 1,50,000/- is not a small amount. And, if a farmer is able to pull of anything more than that, then he is no longer 'poor'.

I am not even taking into the fact that if he is living in the village, his cost of living would be significantly lower than those struggling to make ends meet in the city.

Besides, farmers who earn below the threshold need not worry at all. So what is the big fuss if income from agriculture does get taxed?

Companies like Bharti have also gotten into 'corporate farming', and they are sure to enjoy HUGE TAX FREE INCOME. I will be posting my opinion on how that hurts our economy in the next post.

I guess its time we all salaried/qualified/frustrated class pack our bags, buy a farm with our savings and go back to the village. What not for tax free income !

Sardar Vallabhai Patel Hostel

2006-04-24T08:58:00.000+03:00

Also known as SVP Boys Hostel.

It is located 10 minutes off the main road. During our days, the nearest landmark was one of the three dumpyards of Bombay (I can not get myself comfy to call it Mumbai).

The first time I went there with my grandfather, we instantly got hit by the enormous stench coming from the dumpyard.

But for Rs. 1200/- for a year, it was dirt dirt cheap in a place like Bombay. Add another Rs. 500/- for each month if you wanted breakfast and dinner.

The building was diapalated and in a horrible condition. In fact, the owners of the hostel had recieved a notice from the municipal authority to empty the building in eight months as it was hazardous for living and could collapse any time. And that was a notice that they had received one year before I came there.

We had water coming down from the ceilings when it rained. Rooms got clogged with water. If someone sneezed hard enough, the plaster would fall off the ceiling. If someone burped or farted loud enough, the ground would shake (just kidding).

But the building was in a bad condition.

But after staying there for nearly over a year, I still loved it. I never saw the condition of the building. I just saw it in a different way. They guys in the hostel were simply wonderfull. Even as I walked back to see my hostel now (five years after leaving it), I just saw the old wonderful memories.

My favourite place in the hostel was our terrace. I would just sit there and listen to the wind and bask in the sun - peace. The surroundings were very serene (if you could develop an ability to ignore the smell emanating from the dumpyard).

The hostel tought me many things - I learnt how to wash my clothes, also learnt that it is better to outsource the laundry work especially if you are fond of wearing jeans. Many more lessons learnt that I fail to recollect.

But it was just like a family.

Even today, when I look at it, my solid friends are first from school, then from my hostel, then from my graduation college. And none from my post grad college (that is saved for another long post).

Well, life goes on.

PS: If anyone wants to know the directions to the hostel or how to get there, then I am not going to provide you any directions. But I just like 'The Beach' a lot. Happy hunting.

Igniting the mind...

2006-04-24T08:49:00.000+03:00

In the last one year, I have shot my weight up from 75 kg to 90 kg.

:(

Every time I start off on a plan to lose it, it continues for a couple of weeks, and then I am no longer interested in it. The longest was a program that I was faithful for three months, and then I got injured playing football and had to discontinue it.

Now I know that I need to lose weight, but I am not having any willingness in it.

It's like - I have the will, but lack the willingness.

I have motivated (not manipulated) many others to achieve their goals/targets as friends/employees. But I never got about to motivating myself for achieving my goals and targets.

My mind seems to be lacking a spark or an ignition that will get it up and going.

Reiki

2006-04-23T10:14:00.000+03:00

Reiki is a form of spiritual healing.

It sounds wierd, I know. And no skeptic would believe in it. But I know it works.

I do not know what it is and how it works, except for a very vague idea. But it gives a sense of mental peace.

Given the chance, I want to learn more about it.

Eye openers

2006-04-23T09:44:00.000+03:00

This post was supposed to be about my hostel, I have infact a draft of it.

But this weekend I saw two movies and I thought I have to write about them.

The movies are:

Taxi No. 9211
Rang de Basanti

First off, this is not a movie review. It is more of the issues that they bring out.

Taxi No. 9211

We know who and how our 'true' friends are only when we need them most. It is like the Japanese concept of JIT. The reason they wanted to reduce the time and make it a zero inventory concept was so that they can see the faults (troughs as they call them) in the process. I am not saying that go ahead and question your friends. I don't know. I realised who my 'friends' were once when they told me "You need us more than we need you."

Rang de Basanti

It asked a very potent question that left me also stunned and searching for answers. Usually every Indian complains about India. The movies asks to all those complaining - so what are you doing to improve it?

I am still thinking about it. It has been three days now, and I am still thinking about it.

Mithibai !!! Wah !!!

2006-03-25T10:48:00.000+03:00

What I really miss about Mithibai are the Vada Paos.

Mmmm. Yummylicious.

Being a hostelite, we guys did eat out a lot and also had the opportunity to frequent many unknown and well known eateries across Bombay.

But the best of the junk food lot were Vada Paos. Cheap and filling.

The best one's were made near Mithibai. They used to have extra butter and chilli powder that tasted really delicious.

At second place would be the Vada Pao at Quality Stall near Andheri station (West).

Anyways, college was really chill. But the emphasis on studies and attendances was a lot more than what it was in the run of the mill B.Com course.

Despite that, I did manage to make most of my time either sleeping, listening to music, or just going back to the hostel.

The hostel was like a monastery for me. Instantly I would attain mental nirvana when there.

More on the hostel in the next post.

Working in the sand

2006-03-25T10:36:00.000+03:00

I was coming back from the airport the other day and on my way back I saw yet another Man in Orange cleaning the roads.

My taxi stopped at the signal, and he was busy cleaning all the dust coming on the streets. There was a car next to my taxi, with three Bengladeshis in it. One of them opened the window and called this chap. I thought that they were just trying to tease him or something, but to my surprise, they offered him some money.

I overheard them and they were telling him that he was working hard and they knew how it was. The chap just refused to take the money. He smiled, looked down, and continued to clean the road.

Most of Kuwait is dependent on so many Men in Orange. Very rarely do they get the respect that they deserve.

This post is dedicated to all the Men in Orange.

Ethics and integrity at work

2006-03-19T14:13:00.000+03:00

Working as a consultant is a bit frustrating, especially for guys like me - reason is cos I am ardently stand by my ethics and integrity.

Few of my collegues here go around just copy - pasting stuff off from other reports. I did not even do that during college so blatantly! And imagine this!

Working on an assignment right now, and my collegue wants me to put in graphs and diagrams to make it look 'sophisticated' and 'sexy'. His take is that our client does not care shit, and all this jazzy stuff will impress him. Even if we copy paste stuff he is not going around checking the integrity.

So does that justify us ripping off some one else's hard work ?

I do not agree.

Planning to talk to my boss about it, but at the back of my mind something tells me that my integrity will be seen more as an obstacle rather than a quality to be appreciated.

Lets see.

College hunting and more

2006-03-19T13:52:00.000+03:00

Coming back to blogging after a very long sabattical. Was thinking about the July 26th post, and I am too overwhelmed to write anything about it. Maybe sometime when I get my thoughts in place.

Yes so coming back...college search...

My cousin was studying in Rizvi College and had taken admission in B.Com there. At the same time, he had also enrolled for the BMS (Bachelors in Management Studies) entrance exam and had erolled me for the same as well.

Now for those of you who do not know, BMS was a new course, and we would have been the first batch if we secured admission in it. But to be on the safer side, we had to take admissions in B.Com, just in case if God forbid we did not get admission in BMS then?!

I had scored a distinction in my 12th exams, and went along with my cousin for admission in Rizvi. Due to me being from the CBSE board, I would get an added 5%, so that made me look like some genious :p

Anyways, to my surprise, the college asked for donation (I am like wtf ?!! I can get admission into better colleges by merit !!!) Walked out, and got admission in MMK (no donation paid).

But as fate had it, did decently well in the BMS entrance exams (that is cos very few people had actually appeared for the exam), and got admission into Mithibai College.

Wah !!!

More on Mithibai and life and the BMS struggle in later posts.

I want to keep this short and crisp.

Ciao.

The ego has landed

2005-10-19T18:00:00.000+03:00

From the window next to my seat I could see the order with which everything is constructed in Kuwait. The flight was not all that eventful, on our descent to Bombay, the chaos was evident. It is very easy to spot the railway tracks, as well as the huts right next to the runway, form the window. Sigh ! Mein kidhar aa gaya ? I said to myself.

As I stepped out of the plane, I immediately felt the humidity. I scurried throught the airport check and was greeted by my uncle and cousin at the entrance. An hour's drive to my grandfather's place, and I am already having my first bombay breakfast.

Next stop...college hunting.

Kuwait to Bombay

2005-09-22T08:44:00.000+03:00

After 15 years in Kuwait, I was a bit hesitant coming back to India. During the Gulf War, I had the opportunity to stay in Bombay for a couple of years, and the thought of coming back made me feel gloomy - no more football, no more shawarmas ! Damn !
In the coming few posts, I will be blogging about my experience of coming to Bombay. It has been six years here, and it still feels like yesterday. Despite a million and one things that I can rant about Bombay and its pale standing in comparison to Kuwait or Dubai, I still don't feel like I want to get out of here - not yet atleast.
Bombay is like a sweet drug that you want use though it abuses you in turn too.
Next post - The ego has landed...in Bombay.

Strange behaviour during travel

2005-09-18T10:35:00.000+03:00

just read an article on the website of 7days, about how arabs behave on flights. it made interesting reading, but i must confess, such behaviour is prevelant in india as well.
i remember once when i was flying to kuwait, i saw a lady who was sitting with both her feet on the seat! i agree that it was practical though, keeping in mind the minimal foot room, two and a half inches to be precise.
same thing happens in trains and buses here.
sigh!

I quit

2005-09-15T00:42:00.000+03:00

it seemed very odd during my last day in office. it felt as if i had joined there only yesterday - six months later, and i did not have much enthu on getting back home. just hanged around till 8pm, by then everyone had left except for a the 'regulars'.
do not know where i will end up. currently unemployed, job applications have been far from successful.
no worries about that though, have something really important lined up for today evening. if that goes well...i'm outta here in a couple of weeks

Mumbai rains...

2005-09-11T10:21:00.000+03:00

well, there have been these forwards going around comparing the aftermath of katrina in us with the rains in bombay on the 26th of july.
let me just tell one thing to every indian who "basks in pride" with such a comparison - just shut up and get your head checked.
it is a shame that we guys are feeling "proud" of such a comparison. it is pathetic.
first things first, new orleans was hit by a HURRICANE, while bombay just received rain. i can bet that if a hurricane were to hit bombay.....we would have seen only half of it now, do not forget bombay is built on reclaimed land...so that would mean it would be half of what it is today
secondly, the hurricane and rains kept lashing new orleans for days, in bombay they lasted for roughly 12 hours.
and lastly and most importantly, it is such a shame that people want to score browny points over some elses tragedy. if law and order was maintained in bombay, it was despite the authority, not due to it, and because of the generally helping nature of all mumbaikars.
let us stop this kind of crappy comparison and instead convey our empathy and prayers towards those suffering due to katrina.
God bless

Fatwa against Sania Mirza...

2005-09-11T10:13:00.000+03:00

some indian ulema has declared a fatwa against Sania Mirza for the way she dresses. allegedley, "it leaves nothing to imagination"! what a shame! and that comment coming from an ulema....hmm....it never triggered any of my imagination.
fine she dresses skimpy, but wht else do you expect someone to wear in the sweltering heat playing tennis?
what irks me further more is this selective targetting. my question is why target only her? i mean there are others as well......take for example Katrina Kaif in Boom...now THAT left nothing for imagination.
then there are guys as well...Salman Khan has roamed around in chaddis since times immemorial, last i heard, there is a dress code prescribed for men as well. should'nt the fatwa racket include all these people as well?
well anyways, that just shows where the indian ulemas are...
i just hope that they mature up and open up some more. instances like these go on to promote Islam as a strict and authoritarian religion...which in fact it is not. to top it off, Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) went on to emphasise that Islam is not to be forced on anyone.

In office, and bored !

2005-09-08T09:34:00.000+03:00

well, nothing much happening, just going through some random blogs about dubai and i came across some pretty good ones:

www.secretdubai.blogspot.com
http://pixel8.rediffblogs.com/
www.bsak.blogspot.com
http://menademocrats.blogspot.com/

Anyways, work is still on with regards to my installment on the experiences of 26th july 05, the day it rained in bombay...

might also blog something abt work, but i'll wait for that for the time being...

hmmm...

life just goes on

Yipee !!! Moi first post !

2005-08-30T21:32:00.000+03:00

Yes ! ITS ALIVE ! ITS ALIVE !