How it went

Sometime back, I attended a seminar in Bangalore on using new tools for embedded development and testing. It all started nicely in a nice hotel and all. But, after sometime, my brian decided to go for a break (and never return till the end of the day). I was taking notes in the beginning and then the below happened... I am typing what I wrote for my own understaing in later years (the original is also loaded for your reference ;-) )


120 Engineers, project leaders and test heads; all trying to understand why in the world should one use JTAG to debug embedded systems and why no the history proven (and cheap) process of using printf and LED indicators. Mr. P. Seshan spoke for most of the 6 hours trying just that. I do not know how it was for others, but for me, it was the whole session just about grazed my hair while going over it.

The morning session started with topics on conventional methods of debugging like ICE, printf, etc. People at that time were pretty enthusiastic and started asking questions. Some who thought they had a good question and some who actually had a proper query both raised the stakes of the seminar. Suddently, there was an onrush of lame questions that a professor (who happened to attend the seminar) told Mr. Seshan how to put a stop to such questions by asking him to tell what the scope of the discussion was. It seemed to have silenced the people for some time.

This gave the speaker much needed time to actually go to the topics he had originally intended. Then started the concept of JTAG and what it is, how it works, etc, etc. That was when my brain started to go into suspend mode. Then all I heard was

... blah blah blah blah JTAG... blah blah blah blah memory blah blah blah blah blah processor blah blah blah blah blah JTAG... and (at this point everything else faded into oblivion)...

Src:

Philips DVP3388 - Delay between audio and video

After lots of online reviews, I ended up buying the Philips DVP3388. It sure did justice on its part of displaying damn good clarity when a DVD is played. I tried with the Transformers DVD. I ended up watching the movie twice, just for its clarity (as a digress, I already had watched it about 20 times before the HDMI enhancements). Divx playback was also pretty much clean and decent (I used a 16Gb Corsair pendrive). But, over time, I started noticing a change in the USB playback. The audio and video in the divx playback started to go haywaire. The video was the winner with the audio lagging noticeably. I was seriously confused, because the video playback on a PC was immaculate. I tried lots of things like reducing the total data content in the pendrive, tried playing smaller sized divx files, even tried playing older files which previously worked just fine. Suddenly one day, a flash occured, and I ended checking the fragmentation. The pen drive was fragmented (but not very badly though). So, just to try out, I defragged it. Voila, everything played perfectly on the player now. I dont know if this same issue occurs with other players (I remember no one mentioning about this issue anywhere), but this sure is an issue with DVP3388.

The Unofficial Indian (mostly) Traffic Laws

A fwd which I couldn't ignore.

1. The Other Side Law: If my side of the road has a traffic jam, then I can start driving on the wrong side of the road, and all incoming cars will be rerouted via Meerut.
2. The Queue Nahin Rule:If there is a queue of many people, no one will notice me sneaking into the front as long as I am looking the other way.
3. The Mind Over Matter Law:If a red light is not working, four cars from different directions can easily pass through one another.
4. The Auto Axiom:If I indicate which way I am going to turn my auto rickshaw, it is an information security leak.
5. The In Spit Of Thing:The more I lean out of my car or bus, and the harder I spit, the stronger the roads become.
6. The Cinema Hall Fact:If I get a call on my mobile phone, the film automatically goes into pause mode.
7. The Brotherhood Law:If I want to win an argument, I need only to repeatedly suggest that the other person has illicit relations with his sister or mother... .
8. The Baraat Right:When I'm on the road to marriage, all the roads in the city belong to me.
9. The Heart Of Things:If I open enough buttons on my shirt, the pretty girl at the bus stop can see through my hairy chest into the depths of my soul.
10. The Name Game:It is very important for the driver behind me to memorize the nicknames of my children.
11. Parking Up The Wrong Tree:When I double-park my car, the road automatically widens so that the traffic is not affected..
12. The Chill Bill Move:When I park and block someone else's car I am giving him a chance to pause, relax, chill and take a few moments off from his rushed day.
13. The Brrrrp Break:The louder I burp in a public place; the more it helps other people digest their food.
14. The Bus Karo Law:If I stop my bus at the correct place near the bus stop, the city will explode and blow into 6 million pieces.
15. The VIP Rule:There are only 7 important persons in this city-Me, I, Myself, Main, Naan, Aami and Moi !

Numb3rs - Larry's wedding speech

I suppose the TV seriese Numb3rs' life is over (its not official as of this post). What with the wedding of Charlie and Amita completed in a 2 episode sequence, all the while solving crimes. I however, liked the speech given by Larry before the exchange of the rings. Just for my memory (and to all those who love the tv series), here it is.

With the request of the bride and groom, i'll keep my remarks short and non-technical.

Whilst you all know that the 4 fundemental forces of physics are electromagnetism, strong nuclear interaction, weak nuclear interaction and gravity.

Colby: So I wonder what the technical version sounds like

I heard that.

we've been talking here about the forces that bind the universe. But, what binds humans?

Love.

Powerful in small spaces, yet with profound effect on distance. Love defies time, outliving both its source and its object. Love is faster than light; for light requires time in order to travel through space, but love reaches its object instantaneously. Love journeys forever; into infinity. And its here binding together two lives. (gets the ring) Symbolic of eternity and rendered in a beautiful element.

Amita Ramanujam, do you take Charles Edward Epps to be your husband.
Amita: Yes, I Do.

Charles Edward Epps, do you take Amita Ramanjuam to be your wife.
Charlie: I Do.

I pronounce you Husband and Wife.

Tamizh Padam, a Review

Airplane, Top Secret, Hot Shots, Scary Movie,... the list goes on for hollywood. Unfortunately, for tamil movie goers, the list was not even created. Enter C.S Amudhan and Dhyanithi Alagiri. And Tamizh Padam was made. It is the first of its kind movie, a solid hard core spoof movie for the tamil film world. And did they make it well or did they make it well? !!!

Shiva (Chennai 600028, Saroja) was probably the best choice for the role, and he executed perfectly to the T. The spoofs caught everyone and everything that was part of mainstream commercial cinema. Everything from the 80s to the yesterday movie is not spared. From the glamour song (item song) lyrics starting with "i am a homely girl"... to punch dialogues by a just born baby, You name it, its there. And every actor in the field from Rajni, Kamal to Vijay, Surya are poked fun at, or rather their dialogues and movies; in a non-hurting way. And the spoof has been carefully planned and executed to involve a storyline for the actual movie to plough through. But, you don't need a perfect storyline to laugh your heart out. And that, this movie has lots. There are lots of humourous moments, but there are few stomach wrenching laughter scenes. The movie itself is worth watching in a theatre. A highly recommended theatre-watcher.

Getting a replacement BSNL Postpaid SIM card

As it happens, my father in law lost his Nokia E61 mobile near Elnet. Even though it is supposedly a "decent people" zone, the phone was promptly switched OFF (the best part was the idiot picked up the phone call and then hung up) and it "vanished" into thin air. Since we hadnt noted down the IMEI number, we safely assumed that the phone has technically become the genie of another "self loathing" owner.

It was around 7PM when the mobile went jay walking. Since the SIM had ISD activated, we wanted to disable it as soon as possible, lest the new phone owner may intelligently find out its facility and decide to start his bidding live on the tri-series in Dhaka.

Now, it so happens that BSNL does have an easy and genuine way to disable a lost SIM card.

Call 94440 24365

Take a keen note of the 2nd half of the number. You may miss it (alrite, its obvious). It is supposed to mean "Available 24 hours 365 days". For us, the call connected immediately.

The person wanted the following details
1. Mobile number (obviously).
2. Mobile owner (under whose name it is registered)
3. Address to which it is linked (where the mobile bill goes)
4. The number to which the last outgoing call was made ( you better remember the numbers)
5. Either the second last outgoing call or any number in the last 5 outgoing calls.
6. Then, he asked us to hold on..


7. 5 minutes later,..... still holding on. During this time, an automated female voice angered us incessantly to buy 3G technology.
8. Then, he came back ON (thank all the comets), told us that outgoing is barred, but incoming will be active for another 24 hours after which that too will be barred.
9. And that was when we reached our destination to eat Bhai Kadai special - mutton briyani and bread halwa.

And so, the next day, I went to Perungudi exchange (the nearest to me) to apply for a replacement SIM. They said that all SIM replacement work is handled in Adyar customer care only. Also, the lady in CC told me that I need to have address proof (of where the mobile is linked with) and a Photo ID of me, along with a passport photo. The concept of multiple proofing is one of the biggest drab infecting our system. If only we had a single ID (like the american SSN) which can be used for anything and everything (I do hope our Nandan Nilakeni brings it out sooner).

Coming to the case in point, armed with all the required "proofs" that I am not linked with any red-flagged groups of the world, I approached the CC. After verifying all the documents, the CC officer signed the form (which I had filled there), then he stopped. He said "This SIM was no ordinary SIM. It had magical powers. This cannot be handled here. You need to have Aladdin's magic lamp....". Well, he actually said "This SIM has international roaming facilities enabled. So, this is handled only in R.K. Nagar exchange (mandaveli)". Fortunately, this time I did not have to carry any more documents. Only those that I was already carrying and the form which I had recently filled (and signed by the CC officer in Adyar).. So, off I went. At this point, I remembered a vivek comedy where he was going to an interview, he faced so many "take diversions" on the road that he ended up exactly on the opposite side of the city from where he wanted to go. I felt like an idiot.

Then again, I needed the SIM, and so I went to Mandaveli exchange. There, they checked the form, checked the xerox copies of proofs I gave, took the "special" SIM, and handed it over to me. Thats all. End of Journey. Done. I asked about the charges; for which the CC officer said it will come in the bill itself.

I came out of the CC office feeling a bit lost. After all this, it took about 1 minute to get the SIM back. But, the point is I GOT THE REPLACEMENT SIM.

And so folks, this is how you get your international roaming enabled, GPRS enabled, ISD activated postpaid BSNL SIM card. For other normal SIMs, Adyar exchange itself handles it. Or so, it seems. You won't know until you actually try out.

Puffing the life out of the lungs - stylishly

"Cigaratte smoking is injurious to health". First it was only words. Then, for the chosen ignorant, the images also came. Yet, the number of "fashion-chuggers" hasnt seem to come down.

For those who dont know me, I work in an IT-Park (Tidel Park to be precise) in Chennai. With around 12K employees working in about 50 companies, even a small percent will comprise a good enough number to create a smoke screen. I digress.

Coming to the case in point, Tidel Park used to have a "smoking zone" at the western side of their compound. After the State government's law that public places are a "no smoking zone", the banner was removed. Period. End of story. The local management had done it job. Yet the smoking part continued, without the poor banner.

Indians generally apply the following guideline to every law available. "If you are not fined, then you are fine". So, since no one cared to stress that smoking in public is a crime, people happily continue smoking right near the place where the previous "smoking zone" board was kept. (atleast, they are faithful to the location).

Every one of the chuggers know that smoking is slow death. So, basically these nut-cases are in reality attempting suicide, although on a long term basis (hey, I heard someone ask since its long term, does it have tax benefits.. you f*#$@) . Section 309 of the Indian Penal Code says that "attempting suicide is a crime with punishment upto 1 year in prison". So, it will be nice if the authorities actually apply this law to arrest these morons and put them in jail so that passive smoking atleast will reduce. In fact, another IPC section of comitting murder (with poisoning) can be applied to these nincompoops and shove the same cigarette butts in their b*@#.

In my home town, to stop the menace of wall "leakers", the corporation put on a notice on the writing "Here, donkeys urinate". From the next day, the leakage stopped. Maybe something that straightforward needs to be driven into their heads.
Some which I was able to think of
1. Suicide Zone
2. GOBI (Group of Ostrich Brains Idiots)

More welcome!

In the name of the father...

Its been too long since I have written a blog entry although I use the internet almost 10 hours a day daily (excluding weekends, where I have a high probability of getting killed by the wife if I even give an attempt). But, this time, I have a very valid reason (that is, until you talk to the wife) for not being able to blog.

August 31, 2008 was not such a wonderful day in the history of mankind. No earth shattering scientific discovery or a startling discovery was made that would upset the stomachs of The Vaticans or anything of that sort. It was just that it was our 5th wedding anniversary. On any other year, (meaning for last 4 years), we would have gone to a movie, had lunch and dinner at a hotel, upset our stomach, be satisfied we spent a few thousand bucks down the drain and watch TV. It was not to be this year. We were in a hospital. My entire family (my parents, my brothers, their family, my wife's entire family) was waiting in St. Isabel's hospital. And damn this canteen guys, of all the days in the year, they had to choose today for their annual maintenance work. X-( (damn damn damn) I was roaming everywhere like a puppy who just burnt the tip of his tail. My wife was the one admitted. And she was sitting in the labour room. The kiddo was itching to come out and seems to be readying itself to push its way out of his creation and storage haven for the last 9 months. The contractions were coming at a regular intervals, and everytime it comes, my wife will see hell. I was going crazy to see my wife suffer. I had heard of people suffer a lot of pain during labour time, but this was the first time I was actually looking at one and undergoing the "experience" of being near one. Waves of emotion was floating everywhere. I used to say to people NOT to take any decision when they are emotionally charged. But seeing my wife in that condition, I decided "No more kids". I simply couldn't stand and see her suffering like this for months together, and like a movie climax (or is it the other way round) it peaked at the labour ward.

She was taken into the delivery room at around 8:30 PM. After that, it became worse. I have seen my wife shout. But, it was always in anger and I know how the voice will be. But, now, she was giving out a sound I have not heard before. (Later she told me that she herself didn't realize she was capable of creating so much decibels). It was nearing 10:45, but respite was still far. I was starting to wonder whether the baby will be born on our wedding day itself or born right-just-a-few-seconds-past-midnight and slip into the next day. Then the main doctor came out and told that the baby will be arriving in a few minutes (what the ???). And true to her word, the baby BOY was born at exactly 2300 hours IST on the SAME DAY as our wedding day (5 years ago).

Wooohooooo..... HEEEEHAAAAAA. I am father. This fact , after 3 months hasn't fully sunk into me. I am a father. I am a father. I am a father. (nope, still hasn't). I am able to accept everyone else as a father, even my brother, but not me. I don't know why. I don't know if this is how all newly-formed fathers feel and react. But, I did and I still do.

The moment I heard the news that both the kid and the mom are fine, I couldn't control myself from crying. Well, that was the first time, I broke into fits of uncontrollable crying (maybe the second time. the first time being when I was vacating from my mom's internal parking space), partly to the fact that this ordeal (for me) was over and partly to the fact that my wife's suffering was now over. We stayed there for another 2 days before coming home on Vinayaka Chathurthi. (here, I should highlight that our marriage in 2003 fell on the same day as Vinayaka chathurthi that year).

This is our King. Anthony Bastian

and a newer one (taken on Xmas 2008) here...

Call Drivers in Chennai (for ur records) - taken from Ergo

Sri Murugan Travels
Ph: 98412 84518 / 94445 52257
Charges : Rs.150/- for 4 hours (min)

Top 4 Call Drivers
Ph: 2825 7777 / 2823 5275
Charges: Rs.200/- for 6 hours

Jayashree Travels
Ph: 6529 5959
Charges: Rs.150/- for 4 hours

Chennai Job Service
Ph: 6450 8454 / 6526 7886
Charges: Only monthly hire for Rs.6500/-

Joe

My 6 yr old niece's dance video

This is my niece anika dancing. we shot this without her knowing. she was dancing for about 1/2 hour for 3 songs. we later edited this to fit into just one song.

Is It Microsoft Office XP or...

The other day, while re-formatting my office PC and installing the software (yes, i didn't go to my IT guy for support; i realized it a little later in a hard way). I was searching for CDs to install Microsoft Office 2002 (since that was the one previously installed). But I could not find the Office 2002 CD anywhere at all in the whole of the office. I ended having a CD which said "Microsoft Office XP". Now, I did not want to install anything different from what I wanted and so asked my IT manager. He said that both Office XP and Office 2002 are one and the SAME.

What the F*%# ??

It turned out "Office XP" is the marketing name, but the actual name (on display) will be "Office 2002". I was wondering how a discussion between two Microsoft guys would have gone before they came to a similar conclusion

M1: I think we are up with a new version of Office. We need to find a new way to make this more appealing to the Office "Enhancer" series.
M2: I think we can have "The all new Office XP Multi-domain" series.
M1: What is multi-domain?
M2: Just that if a user gets a single CD but with multiple licenses, it is called multi-domain
M1: But don't we already have a "multi-user license" for that
M2: This is different. This is coming with all new features and enhanced stability
M1: What exactly are the new features?
M2: Well, actually they just fixed 2 bugs which was causing Word to crash when HELP was called.
M1: ohhh... (muses to himself. then...) That is a good marketing term. We shall keep it that way.
M2: But, don't forget, we need to make sure that the "About" box gives a different name from what the CD / package mentions.
M1: Why is that?
M2: We can add that as an "added features set" to all the users and mention in the attached overleaf "For exclusive customers only"
M1: Perfect. Then, the About Box will show "The all new Office XP SP4" with Multi-domain in the second of line of display.
M2: Perfect. I will take forward this proposal to the "steering committee" and get their approval before sending out a leaflet to all those guys at CNN and BBC
M1: Yea. We need to create a hype for those guys to buy into this crap

Voila, the next generation of Microsoft Office is born...

@#&*#%@#$&!

What it is not

Sometimes, (well most of the times) when I see people being so ignorant and half the times just damn adamant in their behaviour and thoughts, it irks me to the core. Some of these below things cross my mind when seeing these king of people, but I just sulk away with an overgrown case of timidity and boneless-ness. I do hope I can come out of this...

* When you want to go down in a lift, you dont CALL IT UP, but you TELL it that you want to go down. My office is in the 5th floor. More often than not, when people want to go down and they see the lift in the ground floor, they immediately press the "UP" button and ASK the lift to come up. I used to get irritated before, but nowadays, I just cant suppress the smile on seeing a live telecast of ignorance. Though, this is not the worst part, their behaviour after "asking" the lift to come and pick them up, they keep fidgeting with their mobiles as if a chauffuer will carry them to their destination.

* In a traffic signal, if the "green" side is free, then we have the RIGHT to move and proceed towards our destination regardless of signal on our side. Our RTOs are among the worst of the lot while examining and giving driving licenses. The "best" thing about getting a license in India, or for that matter, anything in India, all you need is to know the process of using the money-under-the-table technique. Ive heard of this news in madras. A normal procedure while building a house is for the owners to get a "completion certificate" from the CMDA before you can apply for Electricity connection and water connection. But, if you have the skills of using money-under-the-table, all you need is 10K to get an electricity connection regardless of whether a house is there or not. Now, beat that.

* Any place, any side of the earth where a tyre can roll, we can drive. This logic is applicable to every two/three/four/six/eight (and what not) wheelers in india. An array of vehicles will be standing at a signal waiting for it to become green. But, those coming behind cannot wait. Its always "you are blocking my path" attitude. The immediate fix to this situation is to find the next or nearest possible "escapade" on the sidewalks, pavements or if the median is low enough, the median. It doesnt matter whether you need to take a right or not, I can stand on any side of the road, right, center or (the best location) the left to take a right turn when the signal turns green. Oh every time (EVERY SINGLE TIME), I really pray to God that he gives me the magical power to just burst those "shrewd" tadpoles on tyres right at that point. But, so far my wish hasnt been granted.

More to follow (am feeling sleepy...)

How NOT to take a seminar

I recently attended a seminar/lecture by a colleague on a new concept, that too in the afternoon. I am not a very good day dreamer, but after just a few minutes into the seminar, I was flying into the realms of day dreaming. Half the others were sleeping and almost none were interested. My brain completed its fantasy journey and returned me to ground reality and made me to take some points, those which I SHOULD NOT do if and when I take a seminar.

Do NOT
* Read what is written in the slides.
I feel this is one of the worst way to take a seminar. This gives the feeling to the attendees that you are not fully prepared. Dr. Walter Lewin, an MIT professor, known for his different and histrionic ways of taking a class said about taking a class (and it applies to everything) "It's not what you cover, but what you uncover". He also said "Never show a student a slide or an equation on a slide or on transparencies. Everything they have to digest, YOU should be able to write on the blackboard, (with an exception for pictures)." I agree to this completely.

* Show an equation/diagram and not explain it on the board. Already, I know nothing of it. Showing a technical diagram and not explaining is like adding salt to the wound.

* Dive into the core of the seminar from the word Go. Those sitting there are NOT machines. They are people. They have been working their ass off (atleast half of them) at something different and are already pre-occupied. If the presenter jumps directly into technicalities, he/she does not give an opportunity for the listeners to gain access to the seminar's environment. Once they are blocked, they never enter the seminar (mentally) at all.

* Look at only one or two persons and talk. Either the others get bored or get bugged. Either way, this is not a right etiquette during a seminar.

* Use very irritable and poor hand gestures and postures. Being a technical seminar in itself is tiresome. Nobody wants to look at a person to get themselves irritated more. Any hand or eye gestures ought to be relevant to the topic and should be graceful; At least should go with the personality of the presenter taking the class.

* Use too many textual slides. More the slides, more impatient people become. My policy is have as little slides as possible and talk more. If possible, make it a two way conversation with the audience. It makes for a more "alert" audience.

* Talk to the screen. The audience are looking at you to listen. NEVER avoid them. It will show the presenter in a poor light.

* Use poor language. Phrases like "anyone can understand this", "anyone can read it" are top phrases to irritate the audience. The audience sitting are not idiots to hear these words. They know if its going to be easy or not. Its not for the presenter to decide on the intelligence of the audience.


NEVER
* Underestimate an audience's intelligence on the topic at hand. There are people who will know better than what you are trying to know. Respect that.
* Mismanage time. Any seminar/meeting getting extended is bound to go on the wrong side of people, be it technical stuff or personality development. There is only so much that a crowd can accept. Know the limit, and keep to it.
* Try to interpret a question before the audience completes it. Hear them out fully before answering. Its your seminar. Its your duty to hear their questions and explain to them. That is one of the intentions of having a seminar.


ALWAYS
* Prepare fully for a presentation. Doing a dry run before a presentation always helps. You will get to know where you get stuck and correct it, so your presentation goes smoothly. A well prepared presentation shows itself on the audience's faces and their observance.
* Be confident on what you spell out. If a statement's validity is not clear, do not spell it out. In all probabilities, there will be a person who will catch that exact statement to raise his/her query.



Some of my Short "Spirit" tips for making a seminar/presentation a success.

- Clarity of thought on the subject at hand.
- Demonstrate love for the field/subject. It will shows itself by your presentation flow and energy you exude.
- There are no stupid questions. Chances are that if the person who is asking does not know, then you may also not know.

CellOne International Roaming

If you have an international roaming enabled BSNL CellOne SIM, to activate the roaming when in a foreign country, the following procedure needs to be followed.

Select the "Cellone" menu in your mobile. Then, select the "Network" sub-menu. In that select "international" to activate your incoming and outgoing calls in international roaming mode.

Main link

An effective saloon

Last week, I went with my uncle to Baroda to meet some people relating to my uncle's work. While loitering around the office (in the Gujarat Industrial Area), I came across this sight of a saloon. With the cost of living growing faster than AIDS, I cudn't say much but to admire and appreciate the simplicity of the situation. I later found many more such shops scattered throughout the industrial area.

Kuruvi - A first feel of the music

Happy New Year : Sunidhi Chauhan,Yogi B, Dr Burn

What starts out as an ECR Resort Pub Song, quickly takes a U turn to Triplicane and stays there for most of the time. The "pick up" in the middle of the song might suit the flow of the movie, but does not seem to fit in the flow of the song. Sunidhi Chauhan has given a powerful performance to boost the song in its "urban-koothu" culture.

Dandaana Dama : Sangeeth Althpur

Obviously the introduction song for the hero, with a very good "build-up" piece. Sangeeth's voice fits perfectly with Vijay's personality. The lyrics does not seem to give anything new, or atleast does not give the feel of a newly written "build-up" song. Cudnt expect anything other than expecting Vijay to do some (obviously good) dancing and lots of "hero-image-stints" like the resting stork pose or something similar.

Thaen Thaen: Sung by Udit and Shreya Goshal

A typical Vidyasagar peppy melody. A nice arabic styled beat to go with the flowing voices of Udit and Shreya. Udit's awful pronunciation of the language does not deter the song from its melody and style.

Palaandhu Palaanadhu : Vidhyasagar, S Rajalakshmi

Lots of punjabi thump, with a touch of arabic pop finishes here and a bit too much of voice-slazing (which goes to the point of irritation). This song was pretty irritating the first time, but the pain subsided from the next time.

Theme Music : Praveen Mani,Dr Burn,Renina,Suvi

Part 2 of Ghilli's "Kabbadi" Theme Music. The first half of the song is more of a rock song while the second half quite majestically transforms to madras' local rhythm style

Mozha Mozhannu : KK , Anuradha Sriram

From rumours, I heard that this will be an item song with Malavika.  In that case, the starting lyrics fits the bill perfectly. Although the song's theme words gives an "uneasy" feel, the other lyrics does not make you squirm. A gana song, vidyasagar style.

Thaen thaen is for car stereos, Mozha mozhannu is for midnight masalas, and the rest for all FM channels and music channels.

Article on Banyan (or is it?)

(with no hatred to the author or the paper...)

Writing an article for a newspaper needs real good skills, as it needs to reach to a varied audience. Something should have happened to the author or the folks at Indian Express while approving this article, a "cover story" article with the title "Six months in the shade". It seemed to tell about the author's life/learning when she was at Banyan.

Link to the article

The passage talked about the author buying dresses, taking autos and lots of stuff which were related to the title like Uninterrupted power supply and the Electricity board of India, before actually entering to the subject at hand. At the end of the passage, I was wondering if I was confused or frustrated or drained down of energy. To top it all, the whole gist of positive words about banyan were highlighted in a boxed area and that is about all you can muster about Banyan from that passage. The flow of the paragraphs were getting stuck like peak hour Bangalore traffic. The passage, overall, tasted like drinking a special portion of hot lime milk.

BSNL Broadband modem drivers

The good part of BSNL Broadband modems is that they work well. The bad part is that the modem drivers are NOT available HUAWEI's website nor anywhere else, except of course with the CD-pack that comes with the modem. If you are one of those who tend to misplace your CDs more often than your keys, then this link is for you

Dataone modem drivers - Calcutta Telephones

They have all the drivers for all the types of modems BSNL has ever released for Broadband modems.

Email blog

Now that i did a direct mobile blog, am tempted to do an email blog.
And this is that. Sending it now, ...

Blog on the go

Too bored waiting for my people to complete shopping, just trying to kick off mobile clogging er ... Blogging. (damn this t9, doesnt have the word blog.)