Daemon-X

Train beat

2010-02-14T00:37:00.001+05:30

one of my originals...

Why do they hate us?

2009-06-01T22:06:00.001+05:30

Why does everyone living outside India, including Indians born abroad hate the Indians from India?

Is it because we litter on the roads there like we do here?

Is it because we belch and burp loudly there like we do here?

Is it because we drive irresponsibly there like we do here?

Is it because we stand on gangways/hallways in groups and block everyone else’s path there like we do here?

Is it because we jump queues out of turn over there like we do here?

Is it because we intrude into another persons space there like we do here?

Is it because we try to impose our culture on others when we go there?

Why do they hate us really?

And IS that why they do this?

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/World/Indians-Abroad/20-racial-attacks-on-Indians-in-Sydney-in-a-month/articleshow/4597081.cms

The 60 hour war.

2008-11-29T23:51:00.002+05:30

This was the war that started on November 26 2008 after 9pm, between the terrorists that laid siege to south Bombay holding the entire country to ransom and the security forces that freed us civilians from them. It ended today!

This is not a war between two nations but a war between two ideologies, one that believes in killing in the name of God or anyone that doesn't agree with them and another that believes in passing the buck when faced with responsibility.

This problem that we face is not rocket science. I mean how hard can it be to copy the solution to it? I say 'copy' because this is a problem that has been taken care of by many other countries before us. We import technologies, adopt lifestyles, cultures, views from other countries; so why can't we do the same when faced with the problem of terrorism? Why can't we copy the solutions those countries applied?

I, as a lay person, can say that if the N.S.G. commandos were stationed across all major cities of India, namely Bombay, we would have been able to send them in after the insurgents right at the start instead of sending ill trained and ill-equipped policemen whilst waiting for them to arrive. This would have prevented the terrorists from getting the time they had, to set up command posts and prolonging this 'war' to almost 3 days. A more mature and seasoned, experienced person would be able to provide a better solution. Am I smarter than those holding office?

This is not the first time we have had to face this problem. Why haven't the authorities learnt their lesson? Are they Stupid? Is there something preventing them from applying the same technologies, crisis management methodologies that have been used successfully in developed nations across the world? Perhaps they know something we don't. What could it be?

Iron Man

2008-05-04T03:38:00.001+05:30

They say fact follows fiction. I don't know who 'they' are, but, 'they' say! And if what they say is true then very soon we ought to have mechanical armoured suits that will be boost our strength to up to 10 times its original strength... and allow us to fly as well... Cool!

So, anyway, just back from the late night show of the movie 'Iron Man' and I must say, it was quite a good movie. Could have done with a little more action though. But overall a good film.

RIA v/s Ajax ....AOM?

2008-01-02T14:52:00.000+05:30

What will eventually make it?

I really wouldn't hazard a guess there!! All I know is that the future of the web is going to be much different from what we see now. Nobody is going to enter something to a web page and wait for it to post that data to some back-end server while they see a blank white page till the server finishes processing it and shows them something worthwhile. That's really boring, isn't it?

How about a web page (I have my grouse against the term 'web page' which I'll come to later) which does the processing in the background while it shows you something relevant or interesting or entertaining or all of those three while its doing that processing?
Cool, that's where RIA's and AJAX come in. Whats the difference between the two you ask? ...hmm, well they both hope to achieve the same objective, which is keeping the user busy with something relevant/interesting/entertaining while it does some processing on the server side. So what makes one a winner over the other? I still wont commit to putting down in writing which one is better.. not simply because I don't want to look like a fool who spoke too soon a few months down the line, but also because I feel that its not really a question of which one is better. Both can be used to achieve the same amount of richness to a web page. Its just a matter of preference, feasibility and skill availability.

Back in the days of yore when everything was a web page, the novelty and usability of these web pages was limited to just a read only display of information that could be available anywhere on a computer connected to the internet. Then people started to want more. They wanted the ability to add stuff to what they saw and so the web form was born. Users could now input data in a form which would carry that data to the server and then it would magically appear on that web page a few seconds later. That was the cool factor back then. Nobody cared about having to look at a blank screen while that happened. Well, now they do. Enter RIA...

RIAs like those based on Adobe's AIR, Microsoft's Silverlight and Java's JavaFX are basically frameworks that add on to the browser's capabilities, while Ajax does everything using what the browser ships with, which is javascript and XML. The idea is to have a web application and not a web page anymore. We want to see the rest of the page while that little corner on the top of the very same page gets the latest stock quotes. We are also getting used to the autosave feature while we type of our emails, courtesy GMail, for being the leader in that arena. How can all this be possible in a simple web page? Well, it can't! The browsers of today need to be a lot more capable than they were back in the old ages. Its simply not lightweight thin client anymore. It's doing a lot more that just displaying colorful pages and graphics. Its interacting with the user and providing immediate feedback. It needs to remember the user's preferences and what the user did last on repeated visits to the same site. Can all this be possible using the DOM available now? We might need to revamp the whole browser as being not just an document host but an application host. I coin the term AOM here which stands for Application Object Model. :)

My thoughts on AOM:
I feel we need to take a step forward from where the browsers stand today. We are talking about multi-user downloadable applications that dont need to download their runtime as well. This wont be a copy of the JAVA runtime or a .Net runtime where heavy applications download to the client and connect to various other servers directly from the client computer. A web site on a url will send an application to the client and not just a simple javascript heavy page.

The browsers of tomorrow wont be devices used to just browse web pages. They will be fully functional application hosts. They will be made specific to an OS much like browsers are today; but the applications they host will be written just once, much like a webpage is today. The visual rendering, statefulness, data persistence, security, etc. will be taken care of by the application host, what we call today a browser. That IMHO is true RIA :)

Your comments please...

RC Pilot

2007-12-16T16:17:00.000+05:30

hmmm... clocked 1 hour on a rc chopper so far... you think thats less?.. I think so too... just cant find the time or the place to do it. Why do these electric powered ones take so long to charge and then discharge so quickly. We can send a man to the moon, but cant make batteries that charge faster? By the time I've got all the adjustments done the batteries power out!! Well thats ok I guess, for a trainer. Yea thats right I use a trainer. Its cheap thats why. What goes up must come down so no putting big money in a chopper that will cost me as much a bike ...well not yet at least.

...another expensive hobby to add to the list. Wonder where I can find an indoor one thats no bigger than 6 inches and can last atleast 30 minutes on a full charge.

Hey this is cool. A battery operated remote controlled Dragon Fly.

InsecTechnology... What will they think of next ??

Teleportation anyone??

2007-11-08T10:26:00.000+05:30

Teleportation is the movement of objects or elementary particles from one place to another, more or less instantaneously, without traveling through space. Basically if you want to teleport an object from point A to point B, you record information at point A send that information to point B and recreate it there. If you dont want duplicates you destroy the original at point A.

Now, would you teleport yourself? knowing that you are being destroyed at point A. If you answered No, you will now have two of you. One at point A and the other at point B. From the time you are created at point B, you and your original at point A will continue to lead same lives with different memories. Well the lives will be the same until the indivisual memories go that far apart. How you gonna deal with that?

Ok, say you answered Yes, it means you are killing yourself at point A, because the 'you' recreated at point B is of entirely different material, although based on the same data. If you are the spiritual kind, what do you think happens to your soul?

Fingerstyle ******

2007-05-27T12:46:00.000+05:30

This is just something I play on the lines of the BBC theme song... kinda scratchy if you ask me.

Speechless...

2007-02-28T15:51:00.000+05:30

I recently came across a debate based on the movie Nishabd, which is the story of a 60 year old man falling in love with an 18 year young girl. The debate was on whether such relationships are justified and whether we should impose restrictions on such relationships.

I think the restriction is justified. I think love between a man and woman is when they both admire each others qualities and things/desires that they have in common or the ways they think and the experiences they have had or want to have that are of mutual interest.

So how can a 60 year old man love an 18 year young girl as a lover does? She is not yet a woman! Won't he look at her and think of someone like his daughter or grand daughter or niece or some one to protect and love as a father figure? How can he be with her and expect to follow and eventually justify his carnal instincts towards her.
An 18 year young girl doesnt have the benefit of wisdom or experience to know if a 60 year old man is manipulating her for his pleasure or not.

If the couple have no such feelings for each other then its not the love/relationship we are talking about, which ends this argument
In a majority of the cases such relationships arise out of attraction, and thus such restrictive umbrella rules were formed. Each case needs to be judged individually. I'm willing to bet that 99% of the time its not love, but attraction; and for that I feel the restriction is justified. The remaning one percent have to suffer the fate of being in the minority until someone hears them out.

Priorities

2007-01-28T23:45:00.000+05:30

The Shilpa Shetty scandal v/s the HSMP clampdown affecting nearly 30,000 highly skilled migrant Indian workers in the UK. Which becomes a bigger issue?. The Shilpa Shetty episode ofcourse!
Where are the Indian Governments priorities?

Damn!!

Raju gaya onsite...

2006-12-25T13:50:00.000+05:30

I was in my cubicle the other day trying to make sense of some query one of our clients had sent, when suddenly a colleague suddenly comes over to my desk and says bye...
The first thought that came to my head and which I asked him was, what? is he leaving for 'better prospects'?
He said "no, I am goin onsite, to UK for a long term assignment". I wished him all the best and that was that. Back to work for me...

Later that evening on my way home in the bus I started thinking of my first assignment onsite in the UK. I, like other brave souls before me, had not opted to risk it out on my own. I was going through my company. It was to be my first visit to the land of the Queen's language. I had no clue on what to expect and only just a few tips from my manager. What follows are certain my experience after landing there in Heathrow terminal 3.

The Weather
The first thing that hit me once I left the airport was the biting cold. It was the second week of January at around 8pm. I was wearing two t-shirts, one sweater and a quardroy jacket. No way was that of any use in that cold of -1 deg Celsius. The thermals I had packed in my bag and I couldn't feel my fingers to open the lock. Luckily, I had a car waiting so didn't have to endure that for too long. Another thing about the weather is that its very unpredictable. Ive seen three seasons in one day within a span of 6 hours.
Advice: Never underestimate the cold weather in the UK. You can't imagine how cold it can get specially if you are coming from a city like Chennai or Mumbai. Always pack your thermals in your hand baggage or some where accessible so you can change into it at the airport rest room after landing; and beware of the wind chill factor! That always seems to reduce the temperature by a few more degrees. Also carry an umbrella.

Shopping
All shops close at 5pm in most conservative (and there are a lot of those) towns and as you will be working 9-5 weekdays, all your shopping has to be done on the weekends.
I was also really amazed at the purchasing power of the pound. You could do your entire weeks shopping for 15 pounds. Back here in Mumbai it would cost me 15 rupees to reach the market.
Advice: Make sure you have enough good friends who can get you the bare necessities to get you through another week. Don't carry large denominations, the largest being £50. You don't need that much money unless your planning to buy a washing machine or a microwave.

FUN
There are many things you can do for fun in the UK. Our most favorite was taking a road trip. Anyone with an Indian driver's license can drive in the UK for the first year there; after which one has to get a proper UK drivers licence. We really travelled and saw quite a few places over there. The most fun was at this place called Land's End @ Cornwall [New York City over the horizon.] Windspeed : 65 mph.
Temp: -1 deg.
Went to the edge on a dare. It goes down for about 100 meters at a 85deg angle then a 200+ meter drop into the icy cold waters below... not to mention all the jagged stones.

Ah well, I digress too much...
There are also plenty of pubs and clubs lined up for you if you are the type who likes to party. The party seems to start from Thursday itself. If not pubbing, we used to go out for dinners sometimes or to the movies. Movies are expensive in the evenings and cheap by half before noon. London was the most visited spot. Some of my friends are big football fans, so a trip to the Chelsea club was part of the itinerary. London also has its own China town

Food
Watch the sign that says veg or non-veg on the shelf or packaging. Don't eat anything at any Chinese/Thai restaurant unless you know for sure what you are eating. There are many Indian restaurants in the U.K. but none of them will give you chicken tikka like the kind you get at your local dhaba back home. If you are a non-veggie you will enjoy the variety. Vegetarians need not worry. If you are careful and look real hard you will find pure veggie food somewhere... just kidding; veg and non-veg foods are clearly marked out. Once you know where to look you are good to go.

More to come...

Apna RTI.

2006-08-20T19:30:00.000+05:30

The RTI act is not going to be amended ...wooohooo!!!

In your faces you corrupt beaurocrats !!! :)

The American Dream?

2006-08-20T17:38:00.000+05:30

Most of us know about this dream; some of us cherish a small desire to have it. A few of us have even gone ahead with the long arduous struggle to get it.

Get a lowdown here on the whole consulting business. This site is wikified and provides you with a no holds barred first hand account of what to expect from desi consulting companies; the lure of the coveted H1b and more. The reviews on consulting companies provided herein can help you make an informed decision.

The primary drivers of this site blog here

A bunch of pointers here on an entirely non related site.

Pro-reservationists can go to hell

2006-06-06T10:00:00.000+05:30

ANYONE WHO SAYS RESERVATIONS SHOULD BE ON THE BASIS OF CASTE OR ECONOMIC STATUS IS A MORON WHO DOESNT KNOW WHAT IS GOOD FOR THE COUNTRY AND ITS ECONOMY.
THE RULES ARE SIMPLE; IF YOU DONT DESERVE IT, YOU SHOULD NOT HAVE IT!

I DONT CARE IF YOU ARE ECONOMICALLY BACKWARD OR SOCIALLY BACKWARDIF YOU CANT RECOGNIZE THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A STOMACH AND A HEART YOU SHOULD NOT BE TREATING SOMEONE WITH PROBLEMS IN EITHER.

IN SIMPLE LANGUAGE FOR THOSE MORONS WHO THINK THIS IS A WAR AGAINST THE LOWER CLASS. IF YOU GOT LESS THAN THE CUTTOFF PERCENTAGE FOR ADMISSION INTO A MEDICAL COLLEGE, YOU SHOULD NOT BE GIVEN A SEAT IN THERE.. WHY??? I DONT WANT SOMEONE WITH A 60% PASS RATE BEING ADDED TO THE MEDICAL COMMUNITY OF MY COUNTRY.. IT MEANS THOSE REMAINING 40% WILL DIE AND I COULD BE ONE OF THOSE... AND IF THOSE 40% DIE THEN THE ECONOMY CAN LOSE QUITE A LOT OF MONEY ..ATLEAST IN TERMS OF INCOME AND OTHER TAXES.. THINK ABOUT THAT.. NOW WHO WILL FUND YOUR ELECTIONS, GARIBI HATAO PROGRAMS, WHO WILL REHABILITATE ALL THOSE LAND GRABBERS WHO SQUAT ON PUBLIC PROPERTY MAINTAINED BY THE MIDDLE CLASS TAX PAYERS?? AND THEN LATER WHO WILL GIVE THEM FREE HOUSING.. THE GOVERNTMENT??? ..I DONT THINK SO... THE GOVERNMENT WONT HAVE MONEY BECAUSE THE MIDDLE CLASS TAX PAYERS ARE DEAD.. ATLEAST 40% OF THEM BECAUSE OF THE OBCS YOU PUT IN THOSE HOSPITALS TO TREAT THEM.
WHAT ABOUT THE OBCS WHO DIE YOU SAY?? .. DONT THEY COUNT??... WELL DO BLOOD SUCKING PARASITES COUNT? YEA THATS YOU , YOU PRO-REERVATIONIST!.. DO I CARE ABOUT NON PRODUCTIVE PEOPLE WHO LIVE OFF OTHERS BLOOD AND SWEAT?... HMMMM... LET ME THINK!!!

SO ALL YOU MORONS WHO THINK WE DONT WANT THE LOWER CLASS TO COME UP IN LIFE I'D SAY YES YOU ARE RIGHT .. IF YOU DONT DESERVE IT; YOU SHOULD NOT HAVE IT. NEXT YOU WILL BE SAYING GIVE THAT OBC A GOLD MEDAL IN A MARATHON RACE EVEN THOUGH HE CAME 62ND ..WHY ??? BECAUSE HE IS AN OBC!!.. THATS WHY!!

YOU PRO RESERVATIONISTS ARE BLINDED BY THE PROPSECTS OF BEING SPOON FED INTO A SYSTEM WE OPEN CLASS HAVE TO BREAK OUR BACKS TO GET INTO.. I DONT BLAME YOU .. YOU HAVE BEEN HABITUATED INTO THIS SYSTEM BY OUR POLICTICIANS WHO ARE USING YOU AS A VOTE BANK!

YOU ARE LIVING AT OUR COST.. AND AT THE COST OF OUR COUNTRY'S FUTURE AND PROSPERITY.
SHAME ON YOU!

Aaj ka Goonda Raj

2006-06-01T23:13:00.000+05:30

There is so much of public time and energy wasted on this campaign against Aamir for his comment on rehabilitating the people affected by the dam. The politicians that we elected to take care of our country seem to think that punishing someone for his point of view in a democracy is top priority, over all the terrorist attacks and other socio-economic issues we are currently facing.

Aamir has said rehabilitate the farmers who will be displaced by the dam. Those geniuses understood his hidden code language which actually meant "Stop work on the dam and go home everybody". So now they have collectively? decieded to ban his latest movie and the products endorsed by him. Wow! Justice eh!

Well, do you think the film Fana should be banned? In my opinion, NO, the film should NOT be banned.

The public of Gujrat have no problem with what Aamir said; atleast the sensible ones who know the whole story. Its only the politicians who are barking away and instigating those mindless zombies who cant think for themselves and are incapable of understanding that Aamir only wanted the poor displaced people to be rehabilitated, who have the problem. How does a plea to rehabilite a helpless community in Gujrat become something bad and against the people of Gujrat? How does it affect the dam? Did he go there and personally stop work on the dam or did anything he said that day, have that effect? Only questions, but no answers here.

You cant take away or rob someone of their livelihood because they have an opinion and have voiced that opinion. Banning the film affects everyone associated with that film; from the spot boys to the producers. Who are these politicians trying to punish anyway? And wheres the Democracy in doing this?

This attitude clearly means, you harm our vested interests and we will initimidate you and your whole clan into submission; by force if need be.

It could also mean, some fools spoke too soon, without thinking and understanding what Aamir said, and now it has become something of an ego battle. Taking back this war against Aamir would mean them admitting to have put their foot in their mouth; and thats not too good for the image of the party now is it?

What do you think?

Ai dil hai mushkil...

2006-05-04T11:10:00.000+05:30

Ai dil hai mushkil Jeena yahan..
zara hatke... zara bachke, Yeh hai bambai meri jaan!!

Sourced from a mail I recieved...

Some trivia on the City of Mumbai (erstwhile Bombay)
Bombay has no bombs and is a harbour not a bay.
Churchgate has neither a church nor a gate. It is a railway station. [it was named that because in 187? the station terminated near an old church built by the British]
There is no darkness in Andheri.
Lalbaag is neither red nor a garden. [Maybe a lotta ppl ate paan and spat there]
No king ever stayed at Kings Circle.
Nor did Queen Victoria stay at Victoria Terminus. [nor did Shivaji stay there to name it CST]
Nor is there any princess at Princess street. [It probably belongs to her]
Lower Parel is at the same level as Parel [maybe the real estate prices are lower]
There are no marines or sailors at Marine Lines.
The Mahalaxmi temple is at Haji Ali not at Mahalaxmi. [same things happen with too many project leaders and too little programmers]
There are no pigs traded at Dukar bazaar.
Teen bati is a junction of 3 roads, not three lamps. [The person who thought of this name probably lost his batti]
Trams used to terminate at Kings circle not Dadar Tram Terminus. [An example of project ambitions and budget mismatch]
Breach Candy is not a sweetmeat market.
Safed Pool has the dirtiest and blackest water.
You cannot buy coal at Kolsa street.
There are no Iron smiths at Lohar chawl.
There are no pot makers at Kumbhar wada.
Lokhandwala complex is not an Iron and steel market.
Null bazaar does not sell taps .
You will not find ladyfingers at Bheendi Bazaar.
Kalachowki does not have a black Police station.
Hanging Gardens are not suspended. [That part of the project couldn't get off the ground.. pun intended ;)]
Mirchi Gully does not sell chillies.
Figs do not grow in Anjir Wadi, Sitafals do not grow in Sitafal Wadi, Jackfruits do not grow at Fanaswadi
But it is true that you may get fleeced at Chor (Chira) Bazaar!!!

THINGS TO PROVE YOU'RE A BOMBAYITE.
1. You say "town " and expect everyone to know that this means south of Churchgate.
2. You speak in a dialect of Hindi called 'Bambaiya Hindi',which only Bombayites can understand.
3. Your door has more than three locks.
4. Rs 500 worth of groceries fit in one paper bag.
5. Train timings (9.27, 10.49 etc) are really important events of life.
6. You spend more time each month traveling than you spend at home.
7. You call an 8' x 10' clustered room a Hall.
8. You're paying Rs 10,000 for a 1 room flat, the size of walk-in closet and you think it's a "steal."
9. You have the following sets of friend: school friends, college friends, neighborhood friends, office friends and yes, train friends,a species unique only in Bombay.
10. Cabbies and bus conductors think you are from Mars if you call the roads by their Indian name, they are more familiar with Warden Road, Peddar Road, Altamount Road.
11. Stock market quotes are the only other thing besides cricket which you follow passionately.
12. The first thing that you read in the Times of India is the "Bombay Times" supplement.
13. You take fashion seriously. You're suspicious of strangers who are actually nice to you.
14. Hookers, beggars and the homeless are invisible.
15. You compare Bombay to New York's Manhattan instead of any other cities of India.
16. The most frequently used part of your car is the horn.
17. You insist on calling CST as VT, and Sahar and Santa Cruz airports instead of Chatrapati Shivaji International Airport.
18. You consider eye contact an act of overt aggression.
19. Your idea of personal space is no one actually standing on your toes.
20. Being truly alone makes you nervous.
21. You love wading through knee deep mucky water in the monsoons, and actually call it ''romantic'.
22. Only in Bombay, you would get Chinese Dosa and Jain Chicken.
23. You call traffic policemen as 'Pandus’ and expect out-of-towners to understand that.

Newton's Law of Hired Autorickshaws

2006-04-13T14:54:00.000+05:30

Whenever in hurry, or urgent need to get somewhere on time, you will get the slowest bloke driving your hired autorickshaw, who is of the opinion that gear 2 will be invented in the next century and will follow all the traffic rules and be gracious enough to let other vehicles, pedestrians, dogs, cats, etc. pass on ahead.

Broadband... is it Really?

2006-04-04T21:12:00.000+05:30

These internet service providers come to your door with a big smile and offer you broadband...hooray its finally here!!! ...aah think of all those songs/movies that I can stream online... mmmm.
Well, hang on and read the small print. Somewhere at the bottom there is this line, "80 paise per MB downloaded". What the .... {{{{whaam}}}} ... I just fell from my cloud there.

I dont get it. Why do they say broadband and assign download limits? Who wants to check emails at 512 kbps? I want broadband for downloading stuff. With the 1 GB limit so graciously given once I download Visual Studio 2005 and SQL Server I will need to go to my good old MTNL dialup for browsing. Then wait till next month for that new movie that I wanted to stream. The internet consumers here just put up with it all eh... aah well, just to be connected.

Im waiting for unlimited bandwidth @ 1mbps (VDSL/cable) whichever comes first, at a price that wont have me giving up a few meals a week.
Till then...

This is so true...

2006-03-30T12:20:00.000+05:30

Man can live about forty days without food, about three days without water, about eight minutes without air, but only for one second without hope

Where Education Technology is headed...

2006-03-30T11:51:00.000+05:30

Just read this article on how we will be getting our education in the future.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/quickies/1467037.cms

Its already been implemented in some places....

S.O.A.

2006-03-29T11:45:00.000+05:30

Over time, the level of abstraction at which functionality is specified, published and or consumed has gradually become higher and higher... We have progressed from modules, to objects, to components, and now to services.

Are we are headed the SOA way?

More later...

Wot?

2006-03-27T12:27:00.001+05:30

I am a private person(atleast I'd like to think so)... What that means is that you are not going to hear anything worth gossiping about over here... most probably just some random thoughts... no begining ...no end!