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Monday, December 03, 2007

Pacino's Insatiable Fire

The movie is Any Given Sunday (Oliver Stone). But the fire that burns in every word spoken comes from Mr. Pacino's own insatiable fury....similar to the last scene in Scent of a Woman........ my blood just started boiling....



and here is the speech

I don't know what to say really.Three minutesto the biggest battle of our professional livesall comes down to today.Eitherwe healas a teamor we are going to crumble.Inch by inchplay by playtill we're finished.We are in hell right now, gentlemenbelieve meandwe can stay hereand get the shit kicked out of usorwe can fight our wayback into the light.We can climb out of hell.One inch, at a time.Now I can't do it for you.I'm too old.I look around and I see these young facesand I thinkI meanI made every wrong choice a middle age man could make.I uh....I pissed away all my moneybelieve it or not.I chased offanyone who has ever loved me.And lately,I can't even stand the face I see in the mirror.You know when you get old in lifethings get taken from you.That's, that's part of life.But,you only learn that when you start losing stuff.You find out that life is just a game of inches.So is football.Because in either gamelife or footballthe margin for error is so small.I meanone half step too late or to earlyyou don't quite make it.One half second too slow or too fastand you don't quite catch it.The inches we need are everywhere around us.They are in ever break of the gameevery minute, every second.On this team, we fight for that inchOn this team, we tear ourselves, and everyone around usto pieces for that inch.We CLAW with our finger nails for that inch.Cause we knowwhen we add up all those inchesthat's going to make the fucking differencebetween WINNING and LOSINGbetween LIVING and DYING.I'll tell you thisin any fightit is the guy who is willing to diewho is going to win that inch.And I knowif I am going to have any life anymoreit is because, I am still willing to fight, and die for that inchbecause that is what LIVING is.The six inches in front of your face.Now I can't make you do it.You gotta look at the guy next to you.Look into his eyes.Now I think you are going to see a guy who will go that inch with you.You are going to see a guywho will sacrifice himself for this teambecause he knows when it comes down to it,you are gonna do the same thing for him.That's a team, gentlemenand either we heal now, as a team,or we will die as individuals.That's football guys.That's all it is.Now, whattaya gonna do?

Saturday, November 24, 2007

Team Hoyt - a story of Human Spirit

Just when I get terribly dismayed at the devilish architecture of the world and seem to succumb to the pessimisms of hell, humanity throws another story of great human spirit at me ... to inspire, to cherish! Who says Forrest Gumps are just feel-good story?

Wiki-copy follows -

Team Hoyt is a father (Dick Hoyt) and son (Rick Hoyt, b. 1962) in Massachusetts who compete together in marathons, triathlons, and other athletic endeavors. Rick was disabled at birth by a loss of oxygen to his brain because his umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck, and he also suffers from cerebral palsy. Dick carries him in a special seat up front as they bike, pulls him in a special boat as they swim, and pushes him in a special wheelchair as they run.

Thanks to his parents, who ignored the advice of doctors that he would live life in a persistent vegetative state, and Tufts University engineers, who recognized that his sense of humor indicated intelligence, at the age of 12, Rick was able to learn how to use a special computer to communicate, using movements from his head. The first words he typed were, "Go Bruins!", and the family learned he was a sports fan. They entered their first race in 1977, a 5 mile benefit run for an injured lacrosse player who was a schoolmate of Rick's.

Dick is a retired Lieutenant Colonel in the Air National Guard. Rick earned a college degree from Boston University in special education, and now works at Boston College. They continue to compete in races, and are also motivational speakers.

As of December 31, 2006, Team Hoyt had participated in a total of 942 events, including 216 Triathlons (6 of which were Ironman competitions), 20 Duathlons, and 65 Marathons, including 25 consecutive Boston Marathons. They also biked and ran across the USA in 1992 — a 3,735 mile journey that took them 45 days.

When asked what one thing Rick wished he could give his father, his reply was "The thing I'd most like is that my dad would sit in the chair and I would push him once."





Friday, November 23, 2007

Greatbong reviews Nandigram

As usual, a compelling piece by GreatBong.....but also a very grim statement of what our own state has become......how Nandigram represents a real statement of political opportunism and how the equally evil two parties are using the people of Bengal, yet again.......a must read for any Bangali...

http://greatbong.net/2007/11/21/the-killing-fields-of-bengal/

Saturday, September 22, 2007

A Must See - Children of Men

Children of Men - Great use of music, good story, pretty acceptable acting, nice cinematography, this movie is MUCH MUCH better than the average *shit* churned out by Hollywood. Highly recommended.

It ends aptly in John's words -

We don't care what flag you're waving
We don't even want to know your name
We don't care where you're from or where you're going
All we know is that you came
You're making all our decisions
We have just one request of you
That while you're thinking things over
Here's something you just better do

Free the people now
Do it, do it, do it, do it, do it now
Free the people now
Do it, do it, do it, do it, do it now

Well we were caught with our hands in the air
Don't despair paranoia is everywhere
We can shake it with love when we're scared
So let's shout it aloud like a prayer

Free the people now
Do it, do it, do it, do it, do it now
Free the people now
Do it, do it, do it, do it, do it now

We understand your paranoia
But we don't want to play your game
You think you're cool and know what you are doing
666 is your name
So while you're jerking off each other
You better bear this thought in mind
Your time is up you better know it
But maybe you don't read the signs

Free the people now
Do it, do it, do it, do it, do it now
Free the people now
Do it, do it, do it, do it, do it now

Well you were caught with your hands in the kill
And you still got to swallow your pill
As you slip and you slide down the hill
On the blood of the people you killed

Stop the killing (Free the people now)
Do it, do it, do it, do it, do it now
Stop the killing (Free the people now)
Do it, do it, do it, do it, do it now

Sunday, September 09, 2007

Truman - a terrific portrayal

Seymour Hoffman is a really talented actor and he makes it a point to demonstrate that with each and every movie. But Capote is really a class apart, with the celebrated, equally hated and loved author's portrayal touching heart of the viewers. Also, Clifton Collins Jr. is simply a delight to watch as Perry Smith (I would look forward for Daniel Craig's performance in the same role "Infamous"). Capote is to be remembered for a compelling storytelling style, terrific acting and the harsh realism harping the viewers. As an IMDB viewer puts it, its refreshingly different. Truman describes his attraction to Smith as a kinship wherein they seemed to have grown up in the same house and left simultaneously, one through the front door and one through the back. That summarizes the complexity of the relationship of the two main characters and describes how the film is way different than the bandwagon. Highly recommended!

Wednesday, August 15, 2007

Monday, August 06, 2007

Monday, July 30, 2007

Wednesday, July 25, 2007

You can't ruin my book now!!! :)

Just finished reading the Deathly Hallows!! A helluva joyride! Now, don't have to be afraid for the blasted spoilers!!!


Great work, JKR!!

Of course it is happening inside your head, but why on earth should that mean it is not real?

Wednesday, May 30, 2007

Tuesday, May 29, 2007

Toll free numbers in India

Came across this on the net. Can be quite useful, so sharing.


Airways


Indian Airlines - 1600 180 1407

Jet Airways - 1600 22 5522

SpiceJet - 1600 180 3333

Automobiles

Mahindra Scorpio - 1600 22 6006

Maruti - 1600 111 515

Tata Motors - 1600 22 5552

Windshield Experts - 1600 11 3636

Banks

ABN AMRO - 1600 11 2224

Canara Bank - 1600 44 6000

Citibank - 1600 44 2265

Corporatin Bank - 1600 443 555

Development Credit Bank - 1600 22 5769

HDFC Bank - 1600 227 227

ICICI Bank - 1600 333 499

ICICI Bank NRI - 1600 22 4848

IDBI Bank - 1600 11 6999

Indian Bank - 1600 425 1400

ING Vysya - 1600 44 9900

Kotak Mahindra Bank - 1600 22 6022

Lord Krishna Bank - 1600 11 2300

Punjab National Bank - 1600 122 222

State Bank of India - 1600 44 1955

Syndicate Bank - 1600 44 6655

Cell Phones

BenQ - 1600 22 08 08

Bird CellPhones - 1600 11 7700

Motorola MotoAssist - 1600 11 1211

Nokia - 3030 3838

Sony Ericsson - 3901 1111

Computers/IT

Adrenalin - 1600 444 445

AMD - 1600 425 6664

Apple Computers - 1600 444 683

Canon - 1600 333 366

Cisco Systems - 1600 221 777

Compaq - HP - 1600 444 999

Data One Broadband - 1600 424 1600

Dell - 1600 444 026

Epson - 1600 44 0011

eSys - 3970 0011

Genesis Tally Academy - 1600 444 888

HCL - 1600 180 8080

IBM - 1600 443 333

Lexmark - 1600 22 4477

Marshal's Point - 1600 33 4488

Microsoft - 1600 111 100

Microsoft Virus Update - 1901 333 334

Seagate - 1600 180 1104

Symantec - 1600 44 5533

TVS Electronics - 1600 444 566

WeP Peripherals - 1600 44 6446

Wipro - 1600 333 312

xerox - 1600 180 1225

Zenith - 1600 222 004

Couriers/Packers & Movers

ABT Courier - 1600 44 8585

AFL Wizz - 1600 22 9696

Agarwal Packers & Movers - 1600 11 4321

Associated Packers P Ltd - 1600 21 4560

DHL - 1600 111 345

FedEx - 1600 22 6161

Goel Packers & Movers - 1600 11
3456

UPS - 1600 22 7171

Education

Edu Plus - 1600 444 000

Hindustan College - 1600 33 4438

NCERT - 1600 11 1265

Vellore Institute of Technology - 1600 441 555

Healthcare

Best on Health - 1600 11 8899

Dr Batras - 1600 11 6767

GlaxoSmithKline - 1600 22 8797

Johnson & Johnson - 1600 22 8111

Kaya Skin Clinic - 1600 22 5292

LifeCell - 1600 44 5323

Manmar Technologies - 1600 33 4420

Pfizer - 1600 442 442

Roche Accu-Chek - 1600 11 45 46

Rudraksha - 1600 21 4708

Varilux Lenses - 1600 44 8383

VLCC - 1600 33 1262

Home Appliances

Aiwa/Sony - 1600 11 1188

Anchor Switches - 1600 22 7979

Blue Star - 1600 22 2200

Bose Audio - 1600 11 2673

Bru Coffee Vending Machines - 1600 44 7171

Daikin Air Conditioners - 1600 444 222

DishTV - 1600 12 3474

Faber Chimneys - 1600 21 4595

Godrej - 1600 22 5511

Grundfos Pumps - 1600 33 4555

LG - 1901 180 9999

Philips - 1600 22 4422

Samsung - 1600 113 444

Sanyo - 1600 11 0101

Voltas - 1600 33 4546

WorldSpace Satellite Radio - 1600
44 5432

Hotel Reservations

GRT Grand - 1600 44 5500

InterContinental Hotels Group - 1600 111 000

Marriott - 1600 22 0044

Sarovar Park Plaza - 1600 111 222

Taj Holidays - 1600 111 825

Insurance

AMP Sanmar - 1600 44 2200

Aviva - 1600 33 2244

Bajaj Allianz - 1600 22 5858

Chola MS General Insurance - 1600
44 5544

HDFC Standard Life - 1600 227 227

LIC - 1600 33 4433

Max New York Life - 1600 33 5577

Royal Sundaram - 1600 33 8899

SBI Life Insurance - 1600 22 9090

Mattresses

Kurl-on - 1600 44 0404

Sleepwell - 1600 11 2266

Investments/ Finance

CAMS - 1600 44 2267

Chola Mutual Fund - 1600 22 2300

Easy IPO's - 3030 5757

Fidelity Investments - 1600 180 8000

Franklin Templeton Fund - 1600 425 4255

J M Morgan Stanley - 1600 22 0004

Kotak Mutual Fund - 1600 222 626

LIC Housing Finance - 1600 44 0005

SBI Mutual Fund - 1600 22 3040

Sharekhan - 1600 22 7500

Tata Mutual Fund - 1600 22 0101

Paints

Asian Paints Home Solutions - 1600 22 5678

Berger Paints Home Decor - 1600 33 8800

Teleshoppin

Asian Sky Shop - 1600 22 1600

Jaipan Teleshoppe - 1600 11 5225

Tele Brands - 1600 11 8000

VMI Teleshopping - 1600 447 777

WWS Teleshopping - 1600 220 777

Travel

Club Mahindra Holidays - 1600 33 4539

Cox & Kings - 1600 22 1235

God TV Tours - 1600 442 777

Kerala Tourism - 1600 444 747

Kumarakom Lake Resort - 1600 44 5030

Raj Travels & Tours - 1600 22 9900

Sita Tours - 1600 111 911

SOTC Tours - 1600 22 3344

UPS

APC - 1600 44 4272

Numeric - 1600 44 3266

Others

Consumer Helpline - 1600 11 4000

L'Oreal, GARNIeR - 1600 223 000

KONE Elevator - 1600 444 666

Indane - 1600 44 51 15

Aavin - 1600 44 3300

Pedigree - 1600 11 2121

Kodak India - 1600 22 8877

Domino's Pizza - 1600 111 123

World Vision India - 1600 444 550

Telecom Monitoring Cell - 1600 110 420

Friday, May 18, 2007

Father and Son

Today's 18th May.

Monday, May 14, 2007

Saturday, April 28, 2007

This is pretty old....10 years back.....but still is a remarkable piece of history in action....so cant resist putting it here :)




AOL Goes Desi

Another web giant goes the India way......now America Online is India online, too!!

http://www.aol.in/

Saturday, April 21, 2007

Send letter to India by just writing an email!

The once ancient public sector enterprises of India mc. have slowly started to renovate themselves and make smart use of technology, and here's a great example of the same. The Indian postal department has now started giving an option to send letters to India by just writing an email, and the source is made available at fairly low cost (if you are not in India). Here's the url - http://www.indiapost.gov.in/IndiaPost-E-Post.html

The Magic of Tablet PC!

This is really cool. I am bogging using my new tablet and it is being able to understand my really obscure handwriting. Technology rocks! Now, this much event didn't expect. I am using the tablet feature for the first time and I am getting 95% accuracy. Good bye, Keyboard!

Note. Only word the tablet missed was blogging….as it took it to be "bogging"….god knows what that is!

Friday, April 20, 2007

To a life lost without a cause

A very well written post about a life (rather, many lives) lost without a cause at One of the best Indian blogs

Yes, 'n' how many deaths will it take till he knows
That too many people have died?

Tuesday, April 17, 2007

A Study in Usability

I wanted to sample the usability of Web Applications to actual business users and how they perceive value. In order to do the same, I went ahead and created a survey at LinkedIn : http://www.linkedin.com/answers/technology/enterprise-software/TCH_ENT/36530-4256932

The advantage of a global community like LinkedIn is we always get high participation from people who really think and try to innovate. Without an exception, the answers show some real insights from real users of Applications. I think all of us developers might periodically learn something from the end-users and align our priorities. Hope everyone finds the survey as useful as I did.

Synopsis

This discussion has added so much value that I decided to share it over here...it has been truly global and I can't thank enough the few good men who participated in the discussion...so many horizons are opened when we get exposure to such a rich group of users...

My Question:
--------------------
When you use web-based business applications, what is the single factor you appreciate the most?

I would appreciate to-the-point answers, like "Speed" or "Less no. of postbacks" or "Lots of tooltips/help links" etc. However, your comments are definitely invaluable and could not understate their importance by any means. So feel free to give a one-word reply and then expand it.

Intention : Being a business application developer, my sole parameter for success is "Quality as perceived by the end-user". Want to increase that score.


Ed Lass, Albany says

OK, I'll bite:

Results for the user--the app gets the job done better than if it didn't exist.

Roshan Shah, Canada says

Minimal Clicks to get to what I want and fast loading of page and small forms to fill if any.

Devesh Dwivedi, Washington DC says

User friendliness: The application should be very user freindly and by that I mean easy to comprehend and apply/use as well. It should be a breeze and not a plop of technical junk. I love more advanced features and functionalities but if it comes at the cost of user friendliness, I won't buy that. - My two cents:)

Alok Jain, Washington DC says

If this is your sole prameter, I would suggest putting some time understand users and their needs.

The importance of any factor depends on users and context. For e.g. for a call center app used by young guys speed is important because their success parameter is dependent on number of calls they can handle. While in Internet banking feeling secure and having precise control/clarity is much more important than speed.

You could apply various techniques to find users' priorities, best would be to just go and observe them and talk to them.

My Take -

I totally agree with that "everyone can't like chocolate ice cream"! Different segments, age groups and job roles will definitely have different priorities and they cannot be judged by a one-size fits all approach. However, what i am trying to accomplish with this question is getting the opinion of different users in different professions and see if I can really find out any common subset - a pattern which would then give us a basic set - after which the specialization would come.

Shane O'Neil ,Canada says

Integration ... Software as a Service (SAS) companies that "get it" develop an API. Importing and exporting data is a necessity; however, an API allows the customer the ability to integrate the web based app with other applications for more flexible functionality, back end integrations and reporting.

From a software provider perspective, APIs can form the basis of a partnership and create stickiness. There is an investment from the client perspective to code to the API. To change vendors means new development cycles and hence a new investment so you'll have to really suck at what you do to make the client go through that pain. Clients will be more forgiving.

An API will also allow the client to develop functionality against your app that may be important to them, but off-strategy or a lower priority to the you.

Two cents. Hope this helps.

Vinod Kumar, Greater Boston Area says

I would extend upon Roshan's answer and say - Usability.

Usability has 2 parts - Intended & Perceived. Intended usability is quantitaive, can be measured by some of the factors that Roshan mentioned - e.g. no. of clicks it takes to go from one place in the application, to another. Perceived usability is subjective - It is how the user views the software as being user friendly.

Paulo Arancibia, Argentina says

A minimum number of click and postbacks by each action and a good balance of color.

Thierry Thomas, France says
Portability: it should really run the same way on any browser.
And speed, of course!

Fred Held, Greater Los Angeles Area says (I love this discussion!)
Sorry for the wordiness, but I love talking to developers.
1) Gets the job done faster, easier, 24/7 availability, remote capability
2) Help really works and does not send you to FAQ. I have NEVER found an FAQ that met my needs. Why that is done is amazing to me.
3) Chat help is incredible. I don't care if it is outsourced to the Congo as long as the person helps me and it is available 24/7
4) Mobile capability, over 40 percent of IBM Global services employees work from their home office small office or mobile locations. This trend is accelerating globaly.
5) Reliability and work is not lost due to a system glitch. An example of "cave man" designs is the clarification tool on linkedin. It crashes and gives a 1970 type meaningless insulting error report and the work is lost. Remember the now famos windows error message. " a fatal error has occured" WTF does that mean.
6) Intuitive usability, I can not say too much about user testing for usability. When at IBM we spent a lot of time on the system we were developing for our client on this. We created a user group who we tested. One such group were truckers. That was fun going to truck stops.
7) Downward compatability. MS and IBM are known for not providing this and forcing the user to upgrade making all the work done in the past unusable. This is bad marketing since the investment in this work far exceeds the cost of the upgrade.
8) How do you measure "Quality as perceived by the end-user". here is an example of IBM's Intranet ran by Mike Wing. They measure the soft stuff very well. A key question answered by the user population is the following. "What percentage of the time do you used the Intranet in your work to find out information versus co-workers and your supervisor" In 1994 they started measuring this the exact same way every year. They gained a lot of information in the survey and used the process of continous improvemnt. They then set a paremeter of succes. The paremeter was when 50% of the time the employee used the Intranet ot get the necessary information or help, they have achieved success. In 2000 they crossed 50% and started accelerating towards much higher numbers.

Once again I apologize for such a long answer but I am passionate about helping developers with rigid requirements documents, small budgets and tight time frames create software that is loved not loathed.

My Take -

I agree with you - "Don't make the customer think" should be the mantra for every web developer....because if I do, someone else won't and the customer would go to him....and web 2.0 is really a revolution.....its not just a technical overhaul....but it signifies the control going back to the customer...the web merging with "customer is the king" philosophy...I would go as far as to term as "The biggest revolution so far in the largest democracy (the web)"

what we really lack is to know that "Am I making that guy happy to whom the tool is being rolled out by the management?" Because at the fag end of the day, that is success to me.....to enable the user smile a bit more...as the system makes his life easier...proactively shares some of his real life work load...I don't want to make him grim with a 200 page user manual :) ...and customer satisfaction is THE GOAL for me....not knowledge of all the technologies or mesmerizing funda over recursive algorithms (though I would be more than glad to have both :) )...... even Simon and Garfunkel sang "Keep the Customer Satisfied" [;)]

Only thing I don't agree with you is the FAQ think....I have often been greatly helped by them:)....

Sachin Palewar, India says
I appriciate simple interfaces much like google and straight-forward navigation so that its intuitive and visitor doesn't feel lost and confused.
In technical terms use of Web 2.0 technologies and Usability concepts play an important role.

Alexander Samarin , Switzerland says
I think, first, you have to define "Quality" in your sentence.
My favourite - flexibility of business applications.
My experience shows that the business people like when their separate requests for change are quickly implemented in existing systems/applications. These changes are typically small (from the point of view of the business) and unpredictable.

My Take -

I couldn't agree more with ur answer...but one thing I want to point out is that you are talking more from the perspective of the management rather than that of the end-users. Extensibility would be a priority for the guy who sanctions the project budget...i.e. if I wanna add x functionality which was not there, I would like to shell out much less dollars than I did for the system implementation...it should be incremental and not break/recreate existing functionality....but that is something we devs nowadays usually keep in mind from the very design phase....however what we really lack is to know that "Am I making that guy happy to whom the tool is being rolled out by the management?" Because at the fag end of the day, that is success to me.....to enable the user smile a bit more...as the system makes his life easier....I don't want to make him grim with a 200 page user manual :)


All in all, a thrilling discussion, am overwhelmed :)

LinkedIn rocks!

Monday, April 09, 2007

Death, be not proud

DEATH be not proud, though some have called thee
Mighty and dreadfull, for, thou art not so,
For, those, whom thou think'st, thou dost overthrow,
Die not, poore death, nor yet canst thou kill me.
From rest and sleepe, which but thy pictures bee,
Much pleasure, then from thee, much more must flow,
And soonest our best men with thee doe goe,
Rest of their bones, and soules deliverie.
Thou art slave to Fate, Chance, kings, and desperate men,
And dost with poyson, warre, and sicknesse dwell,
And poppie, or charmes can make us sleepe as well,
And better then thy stroake; why swell'st thou then;
One short sleepe past, wee wake eternally,
And death shall be no more; death, thou shalt die.
John Donne

Friday, March 30, 2007

Hillarious!!!

That is HILLARIOUS!! While Google Maps is cool, this shows while we CANNOT rely on computers all the times in every sense....we gotta drive 'em!

Thanks to my namesake Sircar!

Google Suggests You Swim Across The Atlantic Ocean

India court suspends quota system along caste lines

Kudos to another judge!!!

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court of India on Thursday suspended a government program to reserve spots for lower-caste students at the top medical, engineering and professional schools in the country, a plan that has repeatedly prompted protests.

The quota system for prestigious public educational institutions was to come into effect with applications due to be reviewed in the next few months. But the Supreme Court temporarily halted the program Thursday, saying it could not be implemented until judges had ruled on its legality.

Thursday, March 29, 2007

The Judgement Day!

Justice has finally been served! A judge has unleashed a well-deserved death sentence to Manjunath's killer and appropriate punishment to others. Even in India, truth just gets heard sometimes. We wouldn't forget the wide protest that were sparked by the brutal killings of Manju as well as Dubey. May be the online petitions and blogosphere also played a part in this victory. Kudos to the judge.

Manjunath was a good man, an honest man. May India be fortunate enough to get more public sector executives like him.

LAKHIMPUR KHERI: Aghast over how an unarmed man was put to death without provocation, a district court on Monday sent to gallows a petrol pump owner for murdering Indian Oil executive Manjunath, who had exposed a thriving racket in sale of adulterated fuel.

While awarding death sentence to Pawan Kumar Mittal, the prime accused, 16 months after the murder of the 27-year-old IIM-Lucknow graduate, district judge S M A Abidi, sentenced seven other accused to life imprisonment.

Wednesday, March 28, 2007

Yehudi Menuhin Beethoven Romance

Thats what Class means (other than being the backbone of OOP off course!)

Tuesday, March 27, 2007

Steve Morse Classical Guitar Solos

This guys rocks(and plays classical music too)!!!

Genious!

Google Adwords advertises Microsoft Adcenter!!!


Thanks to my colleage Mr. Santosh Kumar Sahoo for this image!!

Friday, March 23, 2007

Wall Street Journal Most Reputed Companies of 2006

The ranks are out here .............

Look at the top name :)

Logo
Rocks!

Wednesday, March 21, 2007

N Murthy on Land Acquisitions

From http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Narayana_Murthy_opposes_SEZ_policy/RssArticleShow/articleshow/1788673.cms

BANGALORE: Software icon N R Narayana Murthy on Wednesday opposed the practice of acquiring farm lands for special economic zones (SEZs), saying that the earlier practice of companies building their own campuses was good enough.



"I agree that we cannot take land from farmers", the non-executive chairman and chief mentor of Infosys Technologies Limited told reporters, who sought his views on the raging debate over SEZs.



"The earlier policy, where individual companies were building their own campuses, was a good one," he said, adding that bringing real estate players in between was probably not the best thing to do.



Murthy, the face of India's booming IT industry, added: "and that's why all this furore has been created. I think the earlier policy of requesting companies to deal directly to get land and build their own campuses is a good one".



He said that the recent Nandigram incident in West Bengal, where 11 people were killed in police firing during a protest, is likely to have "some repercussions".



Can u hear it now, Mr Bhattacharya?

Friday, March 16, 2007

Blog in Hindi!

Blogger, now in Hindi

Our Bureau

Bangalore, March 15

Bloggers can now publish in Hindi. Google-owned Blogger on Thursday launched a Hindi transliteration service.

Transliteration implies conversion from English text to phonetically equivalent text in Indian languages. So a user could type ``mera Bharat'' and this feature will convert it into the corresponding Hindi script. So users can now publish content in Hindi while using English keyboards for entering text. Keeping in mind that many in the audience is bilingual, Google allows users to freely switch from English to Hindi and back. Google News is also available in Hindi now, the company announced. ``These launches will enable our Hindi- speaking users to express themselves better and access information in a language they are comfortable with,'' said Mr Prasad Ram, Centre Head, Google India R&D, in a release issued by the company.



NOW, What next? We want BANGLA also!!!

Wednesday, March 14, 2007

Gujrat and West Bengal - two faces of the same coin

While Trinamool congress displays prehisoric political immaturity at West Bengal, here is a bit of from where it all started, and what really lies beneath the "Enterprise and Common Man friendly" communist government of West Bengal.

Source - http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Scribe_confined_by_CPIM_cadres_at_Nandigram/articleshow/1763238.cms

NANDIGRAM: Journalists covering the Nandigram violence were not spared by ruling CPI(M) cadres who beat up the correspondent and prevented him from filing his report.


Gouranga Deb Hazra, the correspondent, could only communicate to the agency's Kolkata office over his mobile telephone that he was surrounded by CPI(M) activists near Bhangabera area. He was beaten up and threatened not to talk, he said.

The threats were even heard over the mobile phone. "Chup kore thakun... Eto katha balar darkar ki (Keep your mouth shut. Why you are talking so much?)," asked a woman's voice.

"Mere bhut baniye debo.... Mobileta bandha korun (We will beat you black and blue. Switch off your mobile)," shouted a male voice and the connection was snapped abruptly

Saturday, March 10, 2007

Canada's Ice Floes Turn Red With the Blood of Baby Seals


PETA Weekly E-News: Fighting Animal Abuse Around the World

March 9, 2007

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Dear Sayan,

It's that time of year again: The ice floes off the Canadian coast are about to turn red with the blood of the countless baby harp seals who are slaughtered for their fur.

Words cannot describe the cruelty of the annual seal "hunt," which is really more of a massacre and will begin in just a few days. To stop this yearly atrocity, we must generate an international outcry against the Canadian government. I hope that you will support PETA's public call for an end to this slaughter by immediately taking two important actions: Canada's annual seal hunt is the largest slaughter of marine animals on Earth. Last year, more than 330,000 baby harp seals were beaten to death so that they could be made into fur coats, collars, and cuffs. The Canadian government claims that hunters only kill adult seals, but 97 percent of the seals killed last year were less than 3 months of age.

Most of these seals are too young to realize that they should try to escape when their killers approach. They lie totally vulnerable on the ice as their heads are bashed in with clubs. Many are dragged across the ice—still conscious—with boat hooks. Often these sensitive animals are skinned alive for their fur. Their bodies are left to rot on the ice because there is no market for their meat.

The Canadian government has authorized hunters to kill more than 335,000 harp seals this year—one of the largest quotas in history. There is no place in the 21st century for this wanton and frivolous cruelty. Canada must end this abomination, but it will take a lot of pressure to compel the government to stop the hunt.

Please support PETA's global campaign to stop the baby seal hunt and raise awareness about the cruelty of fur. Your contribution will have an immediate impact on our ability to pressure the Canadian government.

Thank you for your determination to end this terrible injustice.

For all animals,
Ingrid Newkirk
Ingrid E. Newkirk
President

P.S. Governments respond to public pressure. Please help us meet our goal of 50,000 signatures and tell Prime Minister Harper that Canada will face international condemnation until it brings an end to its annual seal hunt. Then help PETA bring even greater pressure to bear on the Canadian government and the international fur trade by making a generous online donation.



You can help
You Can Help

Sign the petition to Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper urging him to restore Canada's international reputation by bringing a permanent end to the annual slaughter of baby harp seals.

Make a donation to sustain PETA's global efforts to stop the cruel seal hunt and the fur trade.
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Friday, March 09, 2007

And the Loser Is...

Advertisement

Business Week Online




And the loser is......... sent you a Business Week link:



And the Loser Is...
The moviegoing audience, which is ignored by the Academy, and the telecast audience, which is subjected to an overlong, overwrought Oscars show


Monday, March 05, 2007

Sanskriti 2007 @ Jadavpur University

Competetive events Invitation Letter For Competetive Events

This year prelims for Eastern & Western Solo & Group Vocals will be held. No participant(s) will be allowed in the finals without participating in the Prelims

For events in our Technomanagement Fest Srijan 2007, do drop by at www.srijanju.org

Keep an eye on this space for updates..........

Event

Date

Time

Description

Photography (Start)

7-Mar-2007

12:00 PM

Off Stage

General Quiz

8-Mar-2007

11:30 AM

On Stage

Face Painting

8-Mar-2007

1:00 PM

Off Stage

Medley

8-Mar-2007

1:00 PM

On Stage

Antakshari

8-Mar-2007

2:30 PM

On Stage

Hair Styling

8-Mar-2007

3:30 PM

Off stage

Cartooning

8-Mar-2007

4:00 PM

Off stage

Sports Quiz

9-Mar-2007

11:30 AM

On stage

Debate

9-Mar-2007

12:30 PM

On stage

T-Shirt Painting

9-Mar-2007

12:30 PM

Off stage

Eastern Solo and Group Vocals

9-Mar-2007

1:30 PM

On Stage

Creative Writing (English and Bengali)

9-Mar-2007

1:30 PM

Off stage

Western Solo and Group Vocals

10-Mar-2007

11:30 AM

On Stage

Poster Painting

10-Mar-2007

12:30 PM

Off Stage

Rangoli

10-Mar-2007

2:30 PM

Off Stage

Eastern Solo Dance

11-Mar-2007

2:30 PM

On Stage

Western Solo Dance

11-Mar-2007

3:00 PM

On Stage

Eastern Group Dance

11-Mar-2007

4:00 PM

On Stage

Western Group Dance

11-Mar-2007

5:30 PM

On Stage







Exhibition events



A list of confirmed events and the schedule is summarized below. However the events are subject to changes depending on the availability of artists/performers.

Please watch this space for updates regarding the empty slots.

Event

Date

Time

Curtain Raiser - Fossils (Venue: Salt lake Campus)

4-Mar-2007

6:00:00 PM

James

6-Mar-2007

7:00 PM

Students` Performance (Venue: OAT)

7-Mar-2007

6:00 PM

Drama by Nandikar: Borda (Venue OAT)

8-Mar-2007

6:30 PM

Indian Ocean (Venue:OAT)

9-Mar-2007

7:00 PM

Neil Mukherjee, Betty Jardin, Siva Prakash, K Peters, others(Venue: OAT)

10-Mar-2007

7:00 PM

Aman Ali Bangas (Venue OAT)

11-Mar-2007

7:00 PM

Posted from Word 2007 running on Windows Vista

Thursday, February 22, 2007

Yet Another Blog

Yeah!! Shorter of breath and one year closer to death, I add a tech blog to my array of blogs! So now, the content organization would be like

{
http://blogs.msdn.com/sayanghosh
}

Happy Blogging to me!!


Posted using MS Word 2007 running Windows Vista

Thursday, January 25, 2007

Comeback of a Prince

"Written off, humiliated, accused of being a mercenary and an injury-faker and haunted by the demon of low scores and by his obvious technical shortcomings, who would have thought he would be back in full cry, playing some of the best cricket of his life in South Africa and now in India?"

Thanks to Great Bongs .....
read on @ http://greatbong.net/2007/01/23/the-eye-of-the-tiger/

Tuesday, January 16, 2007

Wednesday, January 03, 2007

Adios, Kolkata

Adios, beloved city of joy. Tomorrow I would be moving out of the city and heading towards Hyderabad for a long, long time! Wherever I might be, my heart will always be at the best city on earth, the city of joy, the city of life - Kolkata.

You can take a Kolkattan out of Kolkata, but you can never take Kolkata out of a Kolkattan!