Random Thoughts

Our Plane ride

2009-08-08T10:16:00.000-05:00

We went on a vacation recently to Boston,CT,NY. Our biggest fear was the plane ride with a toddler. Our little one doesn't like to stay put in one place . So we were a little worried on how we were going to manage in the plane. On top of that he had an ear infection whose effects are said to be accentuated by air pressure in the plane. So we prepared ourselves by googling about it and getting everything possible to calm him in he plane. We filled our carry on bags with candies,suckers,cookies - everything sweet you can imagine. We also took a portable DVD player to keep him occupied.
As soon as the we boarded the plane, the most unexpected thing happened. Our first one started crying out of fear. Only then we realized that we totally did not plan for the first one. Even though our first one is only 4 ,we treat him like an adult after the second one is born.We expect him to behave fine and dandy every time, not realizing that he is still just 4. I guess this happens in ever house. Somehow we survived the plane ride with minimal incidents.

Likes and Dislikes

2009-08-07T20:09:00.000-05:00

It's amazing how kids develop their sense of personal taste at a very young age. My younger one rides with me to his day care everyday. I have a bunch of cd's I play over and over. My little one is very specific about what songs he wants in each and every CD. If I happen to put a song he doesn't like, he just screams. In fact looking back, My first one also used to be the same way. Amazing how they develop their own likings at such an young age.

Learning the Words

2009-05-21T08:38:00.002-05:00

Our kids have been busy lately 'Learning the Words'. The younger one is learning to speak while the older one is learning to read.

For a while now we have been guessing and second guessing what our little one is saying to us. He literally lets out various sounds thru' his mouth and gets very frustrated if we don't understand it. He sometimes gets over it by pointing at objects that he wants. But other times he is just frustrated and starts crying. But lately he is catching up and has begun to talk words that make sense to him and us. Even though we are going to miss his 'baby talks', I am sure the baby will be in much better mood once he starts conveying his wishes. No wonder they call it 'Terrible Two'.

It's been a different kind of challenge with the older one. I sit with him and teach him words. For the initial few days, he was frustrated that he cannot read. He kept saying 'Daddy, This is very hard'. Also I used to get frustrated that, inspite of all the efforts, he is still not able to read. Then suddenly one day he just started realizing how to read. I don't know what happened in his brain the previous night. But all of a sudden the next day he got it. He was very happy when that happened and so was I. Now he is slowly beginning to read short stories and he is enjoying it.

So the last few months have sure been very challenging for our family.

Contrasting personalities

2009-05-16T19:45:00.005-05:00

When we initially conceived our second baby, one of the first things that came to my mind was 'We already have one and we have gone through many ups and downs with the first one. Now that we have learnt our lessons , How hard can the second one be?'. I am a programmer by profession. That's probably why I must have thought like that.
But Oh boy! We just can't believe how different our second one is from the first one. Granted they look similar. But they are 2 different personalities. Life always seems to present us with challenges all the time. But we are thoroughly enjoying it.

Enforcing ratings on TV

2009-04-23T09:35:00.004-05:00

I read an article about a 9 year old boy in India dying after trying to imitate a stunt performed in one of India’s reality TV show. This is one thing that has always bothered me. I have subscribed to an Indian channel here in US and you can be assured that there will always be some R Rated gory scenes telecast by this channel without any inhibitions. So I always change the channel when such scenes come by and when my 4 year old is watching TV with me. This is true even when I watch News on TV. They show violence without any kind of censor even during daily news. This never happens on US public channels. Of course there are specific ‘Rated’ channels. But you can never expect to see such things on public television. I wish such things are enforced even in India.It would prevent these kind of incidents.

Apart from this Parents too hold the responsibility to steer kids away from watching such things. Media alone cannot be blamed for this kind of incidents.

What do you think?

Who was that guy?

2009-04-11T08:08:00.002-05:00

Yesterday while I was strolling in the mall with my family, I saw a guy but I just could not remember who he was. I was thinking long and hard for a long time but just gave up after sometime. Then suddenly when I woke up today morning, I remembered who he was. It was as if my brain was processing the request in the background through out yesterday night and found the answer and gave it to me today morning. Amazing how our brain works.

Sweetie, This is your first time!

2009-04-08T07:49:00.001-05:00

I overheard this conversation while I was having lunch with my son in Ihop. A young waitress was describing about her wedding preparations to an old couple. She was describing how stressful the whole process is and how much time it’s taking out of her day. The couple who was listening to all of this quickly remarked ‘Sweetie, This is your first. The first one is always stressful’. To that the waitress replied ‘Yeah. I know. That’s what I have heard.’
How long is that marriage going to last????

This is not the first time I am hearing the exact same conversation. A Real culture Shock!

Aliens and Monsters

2009-04-01T08:42:00.002-05:00

My 4 year old, like any other kid, is afraid of the dark. He always thinks that there is a monster somewhere in the dark waiting to attack him. So I have told him many times not to be afraid of Monsters and aliens because they are not real. Yesterday he told me a theory on why he is not going to be afraid of Monsters and Aliens anymore.

Varun: Daddy I am not scared of aliens and monsters anymore. You know why? Monsters are not real. They are only on TV. I am also not scared of aliens because they live outside the earth. But all the dead people who live outside the earth will fight and kill all the aliens. So I am not going to be scared of Aliens anymore.

I thought about it and laughed for quite a while. Pretty interesting theory. Then I gave a little dad’s talk explaining stuff to him. But I am not sure whether he got it or not. Anyway it was an interesting incident.

The City Commissioner cut my hair!

2009-03-25T14:34:00.000-05:00

The man who cut my hair today is the commissioner of city I work in. This man owns the salon and cuts hair apart from his responsibilities as commissioner of the city. Can that ever happen in India I wonder? We look down on some jobs and professions while we hold others in great esteem. I think this is one thing we should learn from the people here. No one job is better than the other as long as you enjoy what you are doing. That should be our bottom line. But our society is so ingrained with such divisive beliefs that it’s hard for us to look at things in a different perspective. But with time and effort, it should be possible.

Roku

2009-03-25T08:54:00.005-05:00

One of my best buys for 2008 was definitely the 'Roku' Netflix player. Of course you need to have $8.99 Netflix subscriptions to thoroughly enjoy it. But the amount of movies in Netflix Instant is vast. So personally I feel that it's definitely worth it (especially if you are a big movie buff like me).

The best thing about it is the video quality. No one watching it on TV would doubt it is a Streaming device. Most times the clarity is close to HD. There are some movies available in HD too.

Recently it added 'Amazon on demand' service to it. That pretty much rules out me travelling to a video store again. On a click of a button I can get rent any new movie and watch it.

There is also news that just like Amazon, it's going to add 10 other channels by end of 2009 with YouTube confirmed to be one of them. That's really exciting and I am looking forward to all future improvements of Roku. Great thing about it is it just costs $99.

This post may appear like a commercial. It's not. I just wanted to share my opinion/review about my Roku box.

Reestablish

2009-03-13T12:31:00.002-05:00

Another good thing that has happened in the last 6 months or so is that I have been able to reestablish my friendship with lots of them from my school, college, previous work etc. Thanks in part to all the major networking sites like facebook, orkut etc. Thanks in part to all my friends who took the effort to locate me. A big thanks to this blog and Google that helped most guys find me.

I sometimes used to wonder why I am writing this blog. Well this here is a good reason to do it. People who used to wonder about what kind of guy I am could get a sneak peek into my life and thoughts.

It really was great to talk with most of them over phone and reminisce about all the pleasant memories of my youth. Hopefully I keep in touch with them from now on.

ARR, Sachin and Dhoni

2009-03-09T11:44:00.000-05:00

There are 3 guys who are very much an integral part of my emotions apart from my wife, kids and family - A.R.Rahman, Sachin and Dhoni. They influence my daily emotions in a great way. My wife knows this. Whenever I am grumpy, the first thing she asks these days is - 'Did we lose yesterday?’

I have been following A.R.R right from his 'Roja' days till now (Delhi 6). After listening to Delhi 6 , I am convinced that this man will keep me entertained till the end of my term/ his term. So when he won Oscar and GG, there are no words to describe my happiness. I am typing this listening to mellifluous voice of ARR in 'Rehna Tu'(Delhi 6).

Next is Sachin. The master scored 161* two days back. People talk about age in modern day cricket. Well guess what??
I still remember Sachin taking on Abdul Qadir in an exhibition game when he was 16. That's when I became interested in watching cricket and it hasn't waned till now. My family knows how my day will be when Sachin gets out in 99.

Dhoni is a relatively new comer to play into my emotions. But man, is he an example of grit and determination. You can be sure India will win as long as he is there. And sure enough they have been for quite some time now.

Since it's a personal blog of mine, I just felt this should be there. I am sure many fellow Indians can relate to this.

Making a mountain out of a mole hill

2008-10-17T09:35:00.002-05:00

There are some people that work very less but make a big deal out the small work they have done. On the other hand there are people who work extremely hard but remain quiet and not show off.

Extremely hard working people somehow shine through and get rewarded most of the time. But what really bugs me is when these insincere people who don’t do much, but make a mountain out of a mole hill, also get recognized.

One lesson that such things teach us is the fact that there should be a good balance between working hard and at the same time making higher authorities aware that you are doing it. So there is nothing wrong in being a little bit of a boaster as long as you have the work to back it up.
Of course working hard will reap its own benefits. But doing both will reap such benefits a little quicker than the other way.

There may be times when the ‘other’ kind will go up faster than you. When that happens, I think it’s a sign that you are not under a good management. That'll be the time to seek the alternative, when possible, instead of being bogged down and depressed. It’s a big wide world out there. We should just move on.

What do you think?

Turmeric Milk

2008-10-15T15:35:00.005-05:00

I am a big fan of drinking Hot Milk with a pinch of turmeric in it. More than the medicinal value, I like it for it's taste. FYI, Turmeric is said to have high anti inflammatory properties.

Do you know who else likes to mix turmeric with milk? Our little Master. I was pleasantly surprised to read this in NDTV.com.

Now I guess there is no reason for me to feel weird when I drink this.

Health is Wealth

2008-10-08T14:36:00.002-05:00

Lately our family has been becoming health freaks. I think it's one of the side effects of having babies in our home.

It’s almost as if we are turning away a few decades of innovation in cooking and going back to old days, when people didn’t have all the variety and choices that we have today. Here are few examples of changes we have made to our lifestyle :

1. We try to eat organic sources of food as much as possible. In olden days, that was the only means – Organic. Now with mass production techniques in place, organic foods are luxury.

2. Multigrain whenever possible. We eat only brown rice.

3. We are actually thinking about throwing away our non stick cookware and switching to cast iron or copper cookware. There are lots of reports on the voodoos of using nonstick cookware.

4. We are trying to stay away from processed food – Trying to eat as much home cooked as possible.

I have even heard of instances where some babies are being brought up with only organic foods. With the incidence of diseases like diabetes, cancer etc. increasing at an alarming rate, I think these changes should help.

On the other hand there are skeptics that say ‘Life is too short to be spent worrying’. To them I say ‘health is wealth’.

Working in Phases

2008-09-30T08:59:00.000-05:00

One thing I have observed about me over a long period of time is the fact that I work in phases. I seem to be too enthused about something during a certain period of time and then totally ignore it after that period of time. This has been true in almost everything in my life. I guess that's true with this blog too. I have ignored it for too long now and I think I should jump into the mix of things. I can give the usual excuses that most offer, that I have been very busy in my personal and work life. Even though there is some truth to it, I guess I could spend a few minutes every week on this blog. So I guess I am back again. Look for more of my ramblings in future.

More Fun ahead

2008-03-11T13:14:00.004-05:00

It’s a real fun with 2 boys at home. There were lots of people scaring us before the birth of the second one about the amount of work involved, stress etc.

To be candid, our lives haven’t changed as much as people portrayed it would be. It is now more fun than it used to be. We are really enjoying every bit of our little one and the older one.

The first picture is my first kid Varun when he was 4 months old and second one is Naveen who is now 3 months old.

I am sure there is lot more fun ahead.

Happy 2008, New kid on the block

2008-01-02T08:13:00.000-05:00

Wish you all a very happy and prosperous 2008!

On a side note - we became proud parents of a boy early December. So we now have 2 boys. With that we are planning to put an end to a flagrant display of our procreating prowess.

Happy Blogging!

Are only White people allowed?

2007-08-08T09:44:00.000-05:00

I was waiting in a hospital waiting room yesterday and there was this African American kid waiting with his parents. His dad was an African American and his mom was white. His mom was pregnant and had come to visit the doctor. As her name was called, she walked in and his dad told the child ‘We are not allowed inside. Only mom should go’. After a little while another person who was waiting was called and both the parents went in. Incidentally they both happened to be white. This kid who was watching this immediately asked his dad ‘So only white people are allowed to go in?’ Everyone who heard this was shocked and I could see that the dad was very embarrassed.

How Sachin showed me a sign!

2007-07-30T08:00:00.000-05:00

For those who weren’t following the India vs. Eng series, Sachin was unfairly given out when he was on 91 and as usual I was totally frustrated. I was so down for sometime that I couldn’t even eat my breakfast. Then as I was watching the match, I saw Sachin come out on the balcony with an ice cream in his hands with his usual smile looking totally unbothered. It was one of those moments. I immediately hurried for my breakfast feeling totally embarrased.

Why I haven’t been blogging?

2007-07-26T08:08:00.000-05:00

I worry too much about our Indian cricket team, probably more than the team management. The last few days, instead of writing my own blog, I have been visiting a series of cricket blog sites and reading all the blogs about the latest India vs. Eng series.Obviously I feel frustrated to view comments that conflict with my own views and happy to read what I would like to see. But it has kind of kept me occupied. My mind is kind of filled with cricket thoughts and refuses to look outside of it. I guess that has kind of made me stop looking at fairly obvious day to day observations I write about in my blog. I hope I get out of this cricket halo soon and start observing the world around me more.

Iphones Bringing down Wireless LAN

2007-07-17T13:17:00.000-05:00

I heard from a lot of people around that Apple Iphones are somehow flooding wireless LAN's and bringing the servers down. I read an article about it Network World. Here you go.

My Dilemma

2007-07-16T11:21:00.000-05:00

I walked into my doctor’s office for my yearly medical checkup with a lot of apprehension. I knew in the back of my mind that my triglycerides are high and I expected the doctor to confirm the same.

The doctor came in and went through my blood work reports with a lot of enthusiasm. There were 5 pages of it and she went through page by page. I saw her skip the third page in the process and I immediately knew it was not a good sign. She usually informs the bad news at the end. As expected she returned to the 3rd page after the 5th, moved her chair a little bit closer, and informed me the bad news. As usual she prescribed me TRICOR and asked me to start on it immediately.

I have gone through the same chore for the past 4 years and just like the last year I went back to google to look at the side effects of TRICOR. I had done the same thing last year and know it does have some nasty side effects. I just wanted to make sure that nothing has changed and as expected nothing had changed. So as I am typing this mail, I have this hope at the back of my mind that I can reduce it through exercise and diet just like I did last year. May be I am right.

What if I am not? Any Advice?

Celebrating mediocrity

2007-07-11T12:34:00.000-05:00

Celebrating mediocrity is a part of American culture. Here People tend to celebrate anything that would be deemed ‘silly’ in other cultures. As an example, here in school, they celebrate graduation for moving from one grade to other. So if you are moving from 1st to 2nd grade, they celebrate it as a big thing. Parents, grandparents etc. attend such ceremony and make it a big thing.

Lately I have been wondering whether it is a good thing to do. Is it good to celebrate mediocre achievements? Would that leave a contented child even though he/she is capable of achieving more? Or will it instill a lot of confidence in the child’s mind?

My wife always says that a little encouragement to the child will make him go a long way. I accept that. But at the same time, wouldn’t even a small failure affect him immensely when such things should be just brushed away? I personally feel that there should be a good balance in celebrating mediocrity. But where the balance lies is something hard to figure out.

What do you think?

Microsoft Surface

2007-07-10T12:36:00.000-05:00

Have you guys seen the demo video of new Microsoft Surface? It really opens up a whole lot of possibilities. If this thing really works like it's shown on the video, it'll definitely revolutionalize various day to day things we do.

Check it out

Microsoft Surface

What does Apple’s IPHONE success tell others?

2007-07-06T10:51:00.000-05:00

We all know that companies like Samsung, LG, and Nokia etc. come up with new phone design every other quarter or so. But none of them have been a roaring success like IPhone is. We all know that it’s because of Apple’s great design team which is above par compared to others. Their user interface is so sleek and beautiful that it attracts people of all age groups.

Another major factor is Steve Jobs. The man is almost always followed by a mob of journalists. Everything he talks about is overly analyzed and that by itself is a free marketing for Apple products. Who knows the CEO of Samsung, LG, or Nokia? I don’t. I am assuming most people don’t. I think the first thing these companies need to do is to recruit some good PR people and spend more on Marketing rather than focusing more on technology. Motorola is doing a decent job with this. They have some decent publicity because of RAZR. But I still feel that they are still losing the battle.

These companies must somehow come up with ways to hype up their products. Also they need a good design team who can design something with good aesthetic sense. Then we can see some stiff competition for Apple.

Xplorer air dry system - Sideeffect - Deafness

2007-07-05T07:35:00.000-05:00

Have you came across the new ‘Xplorer‘ air dry systems installed in most restrooms these days? Aren’t they obnoxious? I am not sure who came up with the idea. I understand it saves paper, it’s environment friendly etc. But I see that almost everybody who uses it is just frustrated by the amount of noise it generates while using it. After you walk out of the restroom, you’ll be deaf for a few seconds.

It definitely does a good job of drying your hand fast. But the side effect includes deafness, scaring kids etc.

Channel Shopping time!

2007-07-02T10:20:00.000-05:00

It’s almost time that my cable contract ends with Comcast. I have been paying a reasonably low price for the past 1.5 years and it’ll go up steeply in the next few months.

I have like 300+ channels in my package. They call it a sliver package and package has all kinds of crappy channels. Our family hardly watches 10 of them. But the package is so designed that to watch all our favorite channels, I have to subscribe to all 300 channels. I don't understand why the cable companies can’t let consumers choose the channels they want and pay accordingly?

Now I have to go through the ordeal of shopping through various cable/dish providers. Also I have to go through the hassle of installation and other crap just to save some money. I know most people go through this cycle once every 2 years or so.

I just wish that our legislators pass some kind of a bill providing flexibility to consumers so that we can just stick with one provider and save all the hassles and of course save a good amount of money.

"congress" must be the opposite of "progress."

2007-06-28T19:28:00.000-05:00

“Con" is the opposite of "pro," so "congress" must be the opposite of "progress."

I came across this in one of the websites and I laughed out loud after reading it. If you have been following the proceedings in congress for the last few years, you'll agree with the above statement - Immigration bill, social security reform, Health care reform etc..

Possum Story

2007-06-27T12:14:00.000-05:00

Today while driving I had to make a sudden stop to make sure that I didn’t run over a possum. The person driving behind me totally did not expect it and somehow he also managed to apply the brakes. But he was so furious at me for braking suddenly. He actually came out of the car to yell at me (Here in US people usually don't get out of the car unless it's really necessary. I guess it's mainly because of loose gun control laws). I then explained to him that I was trying to save the possum. For some reason he got even more furious when I told the reason. I guess he had the right to be. He would have been hurt if he hadn’t braked at the right time. Thankfully nobody was hurt.

I always used to wonder about a Michigan law that states that you’ll be ticketed if you actually brake and don’t run over a deer. I guess it’s to avoid situations like this.

Future Cell Phone concepts

2007-06-25T15:39:00.000-05:00

Now that IPhone is the current hype, I have been reading a lot about it. While doing so I came across these 4 interesting future cell phone concepts. Check it out.

GrandCentral

This is the best I guess. One number for everything. Here is the review about it in New York Times.

Read this and you’ll be amazed at all the options it offers

EQO

This is a cheap way to make international calls through cell phones. But you have to download some software. I am not sure how compatible it’ll be with all the cell phones

Spinvox

Voice to text. Text to voice conversion.

Simulscribe

Voice to text. Get your voice mail as email. May be useful for high profile people who are very busy to check their voice mails.

Iphones Future

FDA Approved?

2007-06-22T13:24:00.000-05:00

I got this interesting/disturbing piece of news from NPR.

Did you know that 20% of the drugs prescribed by doctors are not approved by FDA for the treatment they are prescribed for? As an example, a doctor may prescribe a drug that is FDA approved for heart disease, but for an eye disease. They probably do it because it is a common practice among other doctors. The news anchor said that we should question the doctor every time they prescribe a drug to make sure that it is FDA approved for our specific medical condition.

My question to you is – How many of us are comfortable questioning a doctor about the drug they prescribe? We always assume that the doctor knows what he/she is doing and accept it as such. May be one thing we can do is Google it and make sure that it is FDA approved for our condition (i.e. if our condition is a simple one and we know the medical term for it). But I am not sure how practical this is. But this really was a shocking thing to know.

Call Center

2007-06-21T10:28:00.000-05:00

The most irritating thing that can happen to you is waiting to get a customer service representative over a phone. Most companies have too many menu options and it almost feels like they are discouraging you to call them. I was waiting for almost 15 minutes on the phone today calling Comcast. They encourage you to email them or chat with them online. But personally for the problem I had, I had to talk to them. I went through so many menus and submenu’s before I could get in touch with a rep. On top of that, the call got dropped in the middle and I had to go through the whole process again. In some companies they note down the number to call you in case the call gets dropped. That’s nice customer service. Many don’t do that.

I am sure many would have gone through with this at least once. I guess it’s justified if people here complain about calls going abroad.

1. They have spend eternity reaching the customer assistance
2. Once they get a customer rep, they have to put up with a different accent trying to figure out what he/she is talking.

Why should people go through this especially if they are paying boatloads of money every month to that company?

What do you think?

Ever changing life

2007-06-19T14:52:00.001-05:00

My toddler just moved from toddler room to Pre school room in his child care. This basically means that he is with a different set of children whom he has never been with before. As expected he was very scared and concerned. I guess the biggest challenge in a young one’s life is how soon one can adapt to varying circumstances that befall them.

I and my wife often talk about how good it would be to become a baby again just out of the mere frustrations and tensions in work and life. But looking at my toddler, I feel that it is even scarier to be one. They still have heaps of challenges that they have to face and deal with, that we as an adult have already dealt with. Of course we have our own sets of challenges in life. But I am happy that I am done with some of them already.

What about you?

Socially Responsible Investing

2007-06-18T15:37:00.000-05:00

There is always an uncomfortable feeling inside me whenever I think about investing in companies like Philip Morris, Diageo etc. These are all companies that make their earnings by selling tobacco, alcohol etc. I have wanted to buy those 2 company stocks for quite sometime now. But every time I wanted to pull the trigger, something stops me. I just feel bad that I have to make profit at the expense of other people’s health and life.So I have been avoiding it for quite sometime now. But every now and then when I see the stock price soar, I get this feeling as to whether I am being stupid to not buy it.

What do you think?

Careless!

2007-06-15T12:24:00.000-05:00

There is this cost saving initiative to conserve power at work. So the employees are very diligent in switching off the restroom lights before they leave when there is no one else in the restrooms. But every now and then some careless team members just switch off the light and leave, not minding to see whether there is someone else in the restrooms. This really puts you off if you are the one sitting in a dark rest room. This happened to me once today and I realized how irritating it is.I think they should install those automatic sensors. That is the best way to deal with these careless people.

We are expecting a second baby!

2007-06-14T08:34:00.000-05:00

First the good news - We are expecting a second baby!

Now here is the part where I vent my frustrations.

There is this rather annoying tendency with some people in a way they reacted when I shared the news with them. Most people congratulated me when I shared the news with them and wished me luck with a broad smile on their faces. This is the kind of response you would expect.

Here are some annoying responses I got from people

‘Your life will totally change. Don’t think you can be like how you are right now’
‘Your stress level is going to shoot up like you cannot imagine’
‘You are not going to have any personal time.’
‘You are going to get more annoyed and frustrated’

In fact this is exactly the same kind of response I got from these same set of people when I told them that I was going to have my first baby.

Come on guys - I am sharing a good news with you. Shouldn't you all at least try to feign some happiness instead of responding like this?

The funny aspect of it is that most of these people already have 2 kids. So my question to such people is – ‘Is this what you feel about your second kid? – Annoyed and irritated’.

I downloaded Apple Safari

2007-06-12T08:02:00.000-05:00

I downloaded the safari browser from Apple yesterday to check it out.
Here are the nice features

1. Looks cool. Has the same feel as IPOD
2. It is definitely faster than IE or Mozilla.
3. I like their bookmark page which has the same look as Itunes.
4. The default font is a bit different and looks cool.

The bad feature

1. The only bad facture is its security. I tried to access a financial institution site (T. Rowe Price) using it and the site recognized the browser as a Netscape Navigator and asked me to upgrade to its latest version. It said that the current browser did not have all the security in place. I don’t have any problems accessing the same site with IE or Mozilla.

Other than this everything else looks the same as IE and Mozilla. Now that their browser is open in Windows, I think they could potentially gain a decent market share. Just like me others might download it just out of curiosity. Here is the link to download safari on Windows

http://www.apple.com/safari/download/

Innocence!

2007-06-11T08:05:00.000-05:00

This weekend we took our toddler to a local Zoo. He was very excited to see all the animals and birds there. He was particularly impressed with the monkeys.

While casually chatting with him near the monkey cage, I asked him

Me : ‘Do you have a tail like Monkey on your back?’
Varun : 'No Silly. We don’t have tail in our back. We have it in front'.

We laughed and laughed thinking about what he said.

No Spare change to tip!

2007-06-08T12:55:00.001-05:00

It’s always embarrassing when you have to tip someone but you don’t have any spare change. I usually don’t carry too much money in my purse and has encountered this situation so many times.

Few weeks back we had to get to a car rental company from airport using a shuttle bus. We were the only ones in the bus and the driver was rendering all possible help he could to us. His body language very much suggested that he was doing it for tips since he was going very much out of the way to help us out. I realized as soon as the bus stopped that I didn’t have even a single dime to spare. So I apologized to the driver and felt bad that I did not have any spare change.

Humidity and Smoke is a bad combination

2007-06-07T14:57:00.000-05:00

People here in US are crazy about going in an open car. I was going out with my friend here the other day and he rolled down all the windows of his car while traveling in a freeway. Not only did it make a lot of noise, but it felt like the dust was blowing all over my face. After the ride, I kind of felt dirty.

That reminded me of my days in India, when I would travel in a motorcycle with my friend to work. If I don’t wear a helmet, I can be assured that I can take a layer of carbon out of my face. Humidity and Smoke is a bad combination. In India you have no other choice but to take a shower every time you go out and come back home. That’s why I have always hated traveling in open. Here in US, even though the pollution is well controlled, I guess I just couldn't redeem myself from my past experiences.

Characters

2007-06-06T13:36:00.000-05:00

Lately I have been using ‘characters’ to scare my kid off to get things done during crunch situations (like getting to do some stuff when we are running out of time to go to work). Every time he refuses to do something, I say that the ‘cops’ are going to get him and he immediately agrees to do it. It’s been working pretty good so far.

Once in a while, I feel bad about doing it. But looking back, I was raised like that. I was scared of some fictitious character my parents used to come up with and they used it to get things done. But you eventually grow out of it. So I don’t think it’s a bad tactic. It definitely works in crunch situations.

Any advice / suggestions?

Directions

2007-06-05T07:25:00.001-05:00

When I first came to US, one thing I really found it difficult to follow is the directions that people give. In India people usually direct by asking to ‘go right, take left’ etc. But here in US when I first stopped in a gas station to ask for directions, he told me something like ‘go south, take east and then go west’. I had no idea which way was east or west. But now after 7+ years I am getting comfortable with this east, west, north, south directions. But it certainly was quite confusing for me initially. Even now sometimes I have to map in my mind that ‘Facing North, east is my Right Hand Side and west in my Left Hand Side’.

Interesting contrast between Indian and US economy

2007-06-04T07:41:00.000-05:00

Indians are earning more and spending less. Average Indian is now saving and investing more rather than spending. This is in direct contrast to Americans. Here in US, people are earning less and spending more. Check this out

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070601/consumer_income_spending.html?.v=4

I guess I didn’t need a financial expert to say this. It’s a very obvious fact that we Indians are big savers. But it’s nice to see the proof in numbers.

Other interesting numbers

1. US GDP this quarter is 0.4%. Indian GDP is 9%
2. Indian key Inflation is 5.5% vs US 2.57%

Indian market is roaring right now. But it'll be interesting to see whether this kind of growth is sustainable in the long run. That's what is going to define whether Indian economy will transform from developing economy to developed.

Best Value stocks

2007-06-01T07:32:00.000-05:00

If you ask me, what the best value stocks are in this heated market, I would say Finance/Bank stocks.

Banking stocks are good buy now I think. Look at Bank of America, JP Morgan, and Citigroup ( the 3 big banks).Their P/E is very low and I think the stocks will go up when Fed begins to cut rates, which is most likely to happen in the next 6 months. Also take a look at their dividends. If you want to minimize risk, buy XLF – Financial ETF which comprises of a good percent of all bank Stocks. Overall I think Finance stocks are cheap right now.Also the housing and related stocks are cheap. But I am not sure whether it's the right time to buy them now.

What do you think?

P.S. I am not a financial adviser.

Please call!

2007-05-31T12:31:00.000-05:00

Have you noticed that almost all consumer products have a helpline number in their boxes? Colgate toothpaste carton had 1800 number on it and said that it is available 24 hours a day for concerns and questions about the toothpaste. Excuse my ignorance. But who in heck would be calling them? I feel sorry for the person working in the help desk eagerly waiting for a call. Maybe they would explain us proper techniques of brushing.Whatever it is 24 hr hotline is a little too much.

Happy Memories

2007-05-30T08:04:00.000-05:00

I was on a 2 week long vacation in Boston and Connecticut. I am back in Michigan. We had lots of fun and my kid especially had a lot of fun with his cousins and family. It kind of reminded me of my childhood days when I used to visit my Cousin's house every vacation. We used to have a lot of fun. Their house was located near the Besant Nagar beach in Chennai and we spent most of our time in the beach. We also used to play a lot of cricket.

I can't get back those days even if I wanted to now. Now it's my turn to provide my kid the same kind of fun I had when I was young. The most precious thing we can give our kids is memories and we hope to give him as much happy memories we possibly can.

Azaleas

2007-05-22T07:46:00.000-05:00

I am in Boston and first thing that caught my eye when I landed is a big bloom of azaleas. The bloom is so good and very attractive. It is much better than what we have in Michigan this year. I guess Boston must have had the right weather for the bloom this year.

Atrocious!

2007-05-21T08:38:00.000-05:00

There is a new security check in place at all airports that we are not allowed to carry water with us in the aeroplane. Atleast it's new to me. I went through the security check and then stopped by the food court to have some grub.As usual I asked for a cup for water. But the person at the desk said that they have stopped giving courtsey water. This is ridiculous. So i had to pay $4 to get a bottle of water.

It's atrocious that these shops take advantage of this already uncomfortable situation for the air passengers. They know that we couldn't get water anywhere else and the only option is to pay them and get it. I dropped in a complaint about this.

Just show the price already!

2007-05-17T20:01:00.000-05:00

One aspect of internet shopping I really hate is the idea of putting the merchandise in the shopping cart before you can know the price. I don’t understand why the websites want to make the customer go through that extra step of putting it in the cart, knowing the price and incase they don’t like the price (which is the case most of the time!) remove it from the cart.

Wouldn’t it be easier for everybody if they can just display the price? I guess there is a valid reason for it. But whatever be it, it irritates me.

Gas Trading!

2007-05-16T19:55:00.001-05:00

Buying gas is like trading stocks these days. I am always looking for the price to come down. The other day I went to Costco to fill up gas and it was $3.19. I thought it was very high and decided only to fill up half my tank with a hope that it’ll come down in the next few days. But alas it keeps going up like Apple’s stock. So I have decided that I am just going to fill gas whenever it is needed irrespective of the price per gallon and hope that Dollar cost averaging works in my favor just like how it works for stocks. Just trying to save some money here.

Yellow ribbon on a hummer!

2007-05-15T18:50:00.000-05:00

I am sure you must have all seen mails floating around about the one day boycott of gas stations. Personally it doesn’t make sense to me. There are so many better ways to do this. Buy energy efficient vehicles, carpool if you can, don't overspeed, walk wherever you can etc. The best way would be to come up with an efficient alternative for gasoline.I am sure that the day is not very far when this would happen.

Today I saw a man driving a big gas guzzling hummer with a yellow ribbon on it in support of the troops. Seeing it I wasn’t sure what to think. He should realize that he is indirectly helping the hegemony regimes in the Middle East and ofcourse the big oil companies by driving that hummer. I guess he would look a little more patriotic if he put in on a hybrid rather than on a hummer.

P.S I am feeling guilty typing this. I own 2 SUV’s! But my next vehicle would deifinitely be a hybrid.

A/C or Heat?

2007-05-14T19:33:00.000-05:00

Spring is the most confusing time of the year when I am not sure whether to turn the A/C 'on' or heat 'on'. If I keep the A/C turned on all the time, it becomes very cold in the night and if I keep the heat on all the time, it becomes very warm during the day. So everyday I have to keep changing between heat and A/C at various times depending on how the weather is. I am sure most people here in Michigan go through this at this time of the year unless they have something to automatically switch between heat and cold depending on outside temperature.

I don’t work here!

2007-05-11T05:32:00.000-05:00

Don’t go to a retail store wearing the same colored outfit as their official uniform. I went for shopping yesterday and since the store was being remodeled, I had to ask for help to locate various items. So I asked for help from one of them wearing the same exact outfit as the store employee not knowing that he is also out there like me shopping. The man was so upset and said that he did not work here. I could see that he was furious as soon as I asked the question. But it wasn’t my fault that he happened to wear an outfit that looked exactly like the store uniform. I simply apologized and walked away.

MasterCard Surge

2007-05-10T19:37:00.000-05:00

If you guys have been following Master card which IPO’ed last year, you would have noticed how the stock has jumped almost 250% in a matter of months. This leads me to the question as to the credibility of the people pricing these IPO’s. It’s just stunning that this IPO was priced so low ($39) especially knowing what a mammoth MA is. Now the entire sets of analysts are coming out one by one with an upgrade saying how mammoth MA is.

What were they thinking when an IPO price is set? Or is this a Wall Street ploy to reap huge profits that an individual investor like me cannot understand?

Marketing Drugs

2007-05-09T08:32:00.000-05:00

The most disturbing thing about the drug industry is the fact that it pays doctors incentives for prescribing their drugs to patients. Granted the industry helps the masses by researching and creating a cure for different kind of diseases. But for it to survive, it has to market like any other company that markets consumer products. I am not sure how much federal help is lent to these companies. But based on the aggressive marketing, I can conclude that it is either very less or none.

The negative side to it is the fact that consumers may end up taking medicines that might be unnecessary for them. Even though it is not harmful, it may still be unnecessary. So ultimately we end up being the losers. But this is the reality and we have to put up with it.

Export quality?

2007-05-08T07:47:00.000-05:00

Every time I go to Indian grocery store to buy stuff, I always feel good seeing ‘export quality’ label on the merchandise. Recently I read that most of the goods that are imported into US do not require a quality check to be performed in the originating country. Also only a very tiny percent of what is imported is sampled and checked by FDA for quality and assurance here in US. FDA attributes it to usual complaints like lack of resources, funding etc.

So essentially most goods we buy here that are imported is not assured to have good quality. After knowing that piece of info, ‘export quality’ label doesn’t make me feel good anymore. In fact it makes me very nervous now.

Freedom to make my own decisions

2007-05-07T07:50:00.000-05:00

It’s a well known fact that most Indians in America buy Japanese cars. Just go to any Indian party or gathering, you’ll know what I mean. Just the other day I was talking about this to my American friend and he remarked that it would be unimaginable for him to possess a foreign car. He said that his neighbors and friends would make fun of him if he owned a foreign car and there is no way that he can even think about buying a foreign car even if it is more reliable than the American counterparts. (FYI - I live in a conservative Republican city.)

That’s when I realized how I can make any decisions I want here, not minding about what my relatives or neighbors think about it. Being away from home does have its advantages.

Office Space

2007-05-03T19:01:00.001-05:00

This morning I saw a trouble desk record in my email saying that ‘Level 5’ Report has failed. My mind almost immediately remembered the movie ‘Office Space’. Many times I have laughed thinking about the movie 'Office Space' and the significance of ‘TPS Reports’ in that movie. If you are in software and haven’t watched the movie ‘Office Space’, I suggest you watch it. It’s a funny movie and you can very easily relate to it.

Watching too much TV

2007-05-02T10:40:00.000-05:00

Yesterday after dinner I was sitting in my living room which doesn’t have a TV. My son looked at me and said ‘No TV. You cannot turn it on.’ I was so embarrassed. I guess I am watching too much TV in front of him. It’s probably because of all the world cup cricket I have been watching the last 2 months. Now that the world cup is over, I hope I can change his opinion.

Comedians

2007-05-01T12:03:00.000-05:00

I am always intrigued by the kind of creativity most comedians are bestowed with. Most of them have this ingenious capability to take ordinary things that unfold in front of their eyes and make it into something very funny. These are mainly what I would call ‘Jerry Seinfeld’ kind of comedians. It’s a clean comedy which usually does not get into other people’s nerves or senses. It’s something you laugh about and forget when you go back home. No nonsense comedy.

There are many out there doing comedy by making fun of people and their feelings. Some are no doubt very hilarious. But what seems hilarious to me may not be the same way for somebody else.

So personally I don’t rate them as much as ‘Jerry Seinfeld’ kind of comedians. Many might disagree. But this is what I personally think.

We are not that great!

2007-04-30T17:56:00.000-05:00

Human beings, no doubt, have been a very dominant in planet earth. At least that’s what I have been thinking all along.

For the past few days I have been suffering from severe cold and sinus. That has made me realize that we still haven’t been successful against these damn viruses. These viruses are supposedly so smart and could mutate in such a way that prevention and cure is almost impossible.

I almost laughed when I watched the ending of ‘War of the Worlds’ by Steven Spielberg where aliens couldn’t sustain the earthly diseases. But now I guess Spielberg must have had bronchitis when he wrote that story.

Your kid looks up to you

2007-04-25T14:52:00.000-05:00

I usually eat a lot of fruits daily. Yesterday my 2 year old stayed at home because he was sick. When I came back from work, he was so excited to see me back home. He immediately ran to the refrigerator and got me a plum and got himself a plum and started eating with me. I was so happy to see it.

Just goes to show how kids observe you each and every day. It’s a good lesson for me as a parent. Instead of just telling your child to eat healthy, you should lead by example. They automatically look up to you.

We take things for granted

2007-04-24T14:40:00.000-05:00

We take so many things for granted.I was listening to NPR today during lunch and they were discussing about the water scarcity in Kenya and how tough it is to get decent supply of water to a household everyday.

I came back from lunch and a guy who just participated in Boston Marathon was talking about how good the Kenyan runner was who came first in the marathon. He was going on and on about how these guys are very athletic and was wondering what they eat to keep themselves fit.

The Kenyan runner must have gained his strength by walking many miles everyday to fulfill his daily needs. I am not sure whether he really had all the luxury, comfort and time to think about what he should eat to run good in a marathon.

How ironic?

Bunny bites!

2007-04-23T15:04:00.000-05:00

Rabbits are no doubt cute to have around. Spring is finally here and all the rabbits are finally coming out of their burrows to have a bite of all the beautiful plants and shrubs that are blossoming right now.

I was very curious to see how the tulips would bloom in my front yard this spring. But those hungry bunnies spoiled my curiosity by biting away a lot of flower buds from my tulip plants. I sprayed some repellants yesterday to save the remaining. But it is a little too late.

I’ll have to wait one more year for the blooms. Damn Bunnies!

Virginia Tech Shooting Revelation

2007-04-20T15:18:00.000-05:00

When the news first came out about the Virginia Tech. shooting incident, everyone was curious to see who the killer was.I was amazed to learn the response from a few after it was known that the killer was Korean. Here are a few responses I heard -

One Afro-American guy said that he was happy that it wasn’t black.

There was a loud remark from a Caucasian friend of mine – ‘Did you see it was a Korean?’

A Chinese friend of mine was angry that the media reported it as Asian and Asian mostly refers to Chinese.

We talk all about democracy and everyone being equal. But in heart we are still divided by Race. I have no doubts about it.

Did you hear similar responses?

Not My Daughter

2007-04-19T22:23:00.000-05:00

Today I met a friend of mine who was shopping in a store with his little daughter. I greeted him and he introduced his daughter to me. Then I told him that his daughter looks exactly like him just to be polite. That sentence usually brings a smile in a parents face. But to my embarrassment he said that it was his step daughter and not his own. I was very embarrassed and didn’t know how to react.

Our Little One!

2007-04-18T21:39:00.000-05:00

My 2.5 year old is going through a phase right now where in he says anything to anybody irrespective of time or place. We are trying to be as cautious as we can when we talk to each other these days. It won’t seem like he is listening when me and wife are talking to each other. But his sharp ears are listening to every word we talk. He is amazing us every day with a new word.

He also puts us in embarrassing situations sometimes by telling things to others - things that they are not supposed to know. But it really is a fun phase.

More TV's than People

2007-04-17T21:42:00.000-05:00

Did you know that there are 2.73 TV sets for every 2.55 people here in US? This is according to a research by Nielsen.

Almost every household these days have 2 TV sets. These days even the refrigerators come with TV attached to it. TV's these days come in many possible dimensions so that it can be fit in any possible nook and corner of a house- kitchens, bathrooms etc..

So I wasn’t surprised when I saw the above numbers. Are you?

Marriage and Indians

2007-04-16T19:32:00.000-05:00

How Indians have progressed with respect to marriage

1. Parents strictly wanted their child to marry within their own caste.

That changed.

2. Parents were OK as long as their child married within their own caste or sub caste.

That changed.

3. Parents were OK as long as their child married somebody within their own religion irrespective of caste or sub caste.

That changed.

4. Religious barrier is broken. Parents are OK as long as their child had a happy marriage.

With globalization in place and people moving to different countries the current scenario is

5. Parents are OK as long as their child married somebody within their own race.

6. Even the race barrier is broken to some extent. Parents are OK as long as their children have a happy marriage.

The common joke here in US among Indians now is
‘As a parent I am fine as long as the marriage is between a Man and Women’.

Even though not everyone’s thought has progressed this way, many are open-minded these days.

What do you think?

Always think Long Term

2007-04-15T13:12:00.000-05:00

It’s always better to take decisions thinking about its long term implications rather than making it based on your current situation. I am sure most people must have encountered stressful situations at work or other places which may have made them think that they should just quit and move on.

The most important thing to do in such a situation is to control your anger and then think about the long term implications of it rather than making a decision in a fit of anger/stress. If you think about it, there is no guarantee that such situations will not arise in the other place we move out to. So we should always have this in mind before we make decisions.

I am not saying that you should ignore what’s happening around you. But make sensible moves to avert the current crisis especially if the long term perspective of what you have is good.

What do you think?

Frequent Accidents

2007-04-12T18:16:00.000-05:00

Have you noticed that accidents happen at particular spots very frequently? This almost seems like a coincidence. But it is hard to accept it as a coincidence.

In fact back in India wherever such a thing happens, some people attribute it to evil spirits and other un-natural phenomenon. In fact I have seen few spots where they had kept idols of god with the hope that it would ward off evil spirit.

There are those who don’t believe in such things and they attribute it to physical imperfection of the road, signal placement etc.

Science or religion -Whatever be it, I think it would be wise to be precautious if we are driving through such a spot.

What do you want today?

2007-04-11T18:19:00.000-05:00

I am becoming very predictable. These days any time I go to any of the fast food places that I usually frequent during lunch, they seem to know what I want. I have this habit of eating specific food at specific places and as soon as I walk in, people there guess what I want even before I tell them. It’s probably because I am the only guy getting the same vegetarian dishes day in and out.

It’s embarrassing sometimes when I walk in and the person there says ‘So what do you want today? Veggie sandwich?’.

The hype about American Idol

2007-04-10T18:29:00.000-05:00

Somehow it seems that everybody is obsessed with American Idol. I don’t see the show much and I can’t understand why it’s creating such a sensation like it’s a crisis. It’s after all a cheesy television show with no values in it. It’s mostly filled with misfits and people just watch it for insults that the judges make.

Why does the entire popular newscast talk about it all the time? Why do they care if some guy Sanjaya, who is supposedly, not as talented as others keeps progressing in the show? I don’t mind if the news appears on the entertainment section of the newspaper. But it really bothers me when I see it as a headline. I am just waiting for this show to end and for all the hype and buzz to be over.

Smoking inside a theatre

2007-04-09T20:29:00.000-05:00

I never thought this would happen here in the US.But it did. There was this guy smoking inside a theater and nobody ever questioned him. It was very unpleasant and we had to move to a different seat to avoid smoke. It totally ruined our movie experience. I was surprised that the smoke detector did not go off.

How do Private Equity firms do it?

2007-04-05T19:06:00.000-05:00

Chrysler is up for sale. I am sure many private equity funds and individual investors are lining up to bid for it.

The ideology of these private equity funds is to buy a company which is weak currently, somehow improve it and then sell it to somebody else/make it public again and make money out of it. But the question I really have in my mind is, if a private equity firm has the confidence to turn around a company, why can’t the current company management do that? This always baffles me. I am sure there is a very good explanation for it. Please share if you know the reason. I am curious.

Prejudiced mind

2007-04-04T19:42:00.000-05:00

Some people are very loud. There is this guy at work who talks really loud that I can hear his conversations clearly even though he doesn’t sit close to me. Because of his loud voice, people generally surmise that he doesn’t do much work. They see him mostly as a big talker and not as a big doer, even though this is not essentially true.

It is true that sometimes your personality overrides everything you do. You are almost always judged based on your personality if you are too bombastic in your actions. For some reason there is a perception in our minds that big doers are generally not pompous in their actions. Even though this is not essentially true, this I think is a great example of how prejudiced we are in some common situations.

Hard to accept!

2007-04-03T19:59:00.000-05:00

One thing I have noticed is that if someone gives an advice that is contradictory to a popular belief, they are usually booed out. There is this guy Robert Kiyosaki, who writes in the financial section at Yahoo. He almost always writes a column suggesting how it is dumb to invest long term in Stock Markets and rather beneficial to invest in Real Estate and Precious metals. If you look at the comments to his article, most people just make fun of his assessments. Another glaring historical example I can think of is Galileo. We all know what happened to him when he opposed the popular belief at that time that Earth is the center of the universe and not sun.

I think it’s tough to think beyond years and years of beliefs/ideas implanted in our minds. If somebody comes up with a contradictory idea, we are almost always, not very welcoming of that idea. Even if our common sense tells us that the other person might be correct, we still prefer to go with our ingrained belief and ideologies. If not for this inexplicable odd behavior in us, people would have been able to look beyond religions, faith and bad principles and live a happy and harmonious life.

To Lick or not?

2007-04-02T17:48:00.000-05:00

The other day I went to the post office to mail some documents. I realized that I needed a bigger envelope than what I got and decided to buy one on the counter. I stuffed the document in and realized that I had to lick it to close it. I was so embarrassed to lick it in front of the person in the counter. Thank God the guy had a cello tape. I asked him to put that instead of me licking it. The counter guy said that he was waiting to see if I am going to lick it or not with a chuckle in his face.

It was one of those awkward moments.

Over the counter!

2007-04-01T19:42:00.000-05:00

Aren't you afraid when a popular drug company suddenly pulls their popular drug of the market citing patient concerns?

I think you all remember the days when Pfizer and other big pharmaceutical corporations pulled their popular arthritis medicine off the shelf citing concerns. If I was one of them taking the medicine, I would be deeply disturbed. Call me crazy, but I like to avoid drugs as much as possible unless it's a serious condition.

On the other hand there are people who gobble up drugs like Tylenol, aspirin even if they sense slightest discomfort. I think Human body is more adaptable than we think. I sincerely feel that it’s not a good idea to be taking too many over the counter drugs for slightest of problems.

What do you think?

Money – Marketing!

2007-03-29T17:31:00.000-05:00

Lately I have been stumbling upon dollar bills with Ads in it. Recently I got a dollar bill in which somebody advertised their website in it. It seems like an easy and effective way of advertising. But I am not sure whether it is legal to do it that way.

Some people try to get their message across by hook or crook. I have tried to do some research on Internet marketing. From all my analysis, I can see that the startup websites success depend on the most part on Google results. They somehow have to find a way to make sure that they stay on top of Google ranking. If not there isn’t much chance that someone is going to visit your website by chance. There are lots of websites who claim that they can ensure that your site stays on top of Google rankings and charge hefty fee for the service. I am not sure how effective they are.

It’s a tough world out there. Anybody can create a website. But it takes real talent and patience to market it.

What do you think?

Casual writing

2007-03-28T18:15:00.001-05:00

One thing I have noticed with people’s casual writing these days is that they have started composing sentences in a manner easier for them rather than being grammatically correct. It has become a vogue these days. E.g. ‘Where as’ is getting replaced by ‘Were us’, through getting replaced by thru’ etc.

I am not a purist by any means and I always believe that language is just a means of communication. As long as we are able to deliver the message, the purpose is served. But I have heard people complaining about it. I usually avoid doing it out of the fear that that I’ll get used to it. Once you get used to something, it’s tough to revert back to original. Also this kind of a language does not help in professional writing. You’ll inadvertently write it that way if you get used to it.

I think the main reason for this to happen is because of advent of SMS, blackberry, cell phone etc. People want to convey their message as short as possible and have come up with this easy way. There is nothing wrong with it. But it sure will anger some purists.

Begging Problem in India

2007-03-27T18:56:00.000-05:00

One of my friends recently visited India and said this story to me which I found shocking. He was traveling one day in Chennai and his car stopped in a traffic signal. A beggar who had no legs was pushing himself on a wooden slab with wheels begging for money.So my friend out of sympathy handed over five rupees to the beggar. But to his surprise the beggar started cursing my friend saying that he is cheap and demanded more money from him. My friend was totally embarrassed and didn’t know what to do.

I am not sure how I would have reacted in that circumstance. But I think such things should not be encouraged. Begging has become more like a business in India. I have heard horrible stories about people choosing begging as a profession since its easy money. I have also heard stories about how people force their kids to beg since it extracts more money from people out of sympathy.

What would you have done?

Cage free farm fresh Vegetarian fed hen eggs

2007-03-26T21:13:00.000-05:00

I was walking in the grocery aisle at my local retail store and decided to buy some eggs. I usually get the 'cage free farm fresh eggs'. There is some theory that eggs from hens which are bred on a farm, are supposed to be tasty. The reasoning seems to be that those that are not caged are supposed to be happy and happy hens produce tasty eggs (?????!).

Yesterday I was surprised to see 'Vegetarian fed hen' eggs. I am not sure what the reasoning is behind it. Are Vegetarian fed hen supposed to create more tasty eggs? Whatever the case maybe, we should appreciate the good marketing idea.

So far the best of the eggs according to egg companies are ‘cage free farm fresh Vegetarian fed hen’ eggs. I am wondering what’ll be their next move!

Who will she support?

2007-03-25T06:58:00.000-05:00

This weird question popped in my mind when we where watching the India vs Srilanka match on Friday. Who would Muralitharan’s wife support? As most of you know Murali’s wife is a native of Chennai, India.

As we were watching the proceedings, our doubts were cleared. She was cheering for every move Murali makes thereby supporting Srilanka.

Typical Indian girl? Something in light vein for an otherwise depressing day.

Toddlers Grocery List

2007-03-22T19:52:00.000-05:00

My 2 1/2 year old almost always wants to go to Meijer, a local grocery store, just to buy candies. I was intrigued and I thought I would try to get the list of things he would buy from Meijer.

Me: Varun, What do you want to get from Meijer today?

He thinks for a few seconds and came up with this list

Cheese
Waters (This is how he says if he wants lots of water)
Suckers
Lollipop
Kit Kat
Candies

I wish we can eat like this everyday.

Mexican food makes me sleepy

2007-03-21T17:25:00.000-05:00

I have always felt very sleepy after I have had Mexican food. Same is probably true with South Indian food. But I know that for south Indian food, it is because of the carbohydrate load.

So I decided to do some research on what in Mexican food makes us feel sleepy. To my surprise I found that both black and pinto beans have high level of tryptophan. This is the same substance found in Turkeys which supposedly causes sleepiness.

I guess it’s better to cut down on my bean burrito lunches.

Cricket is not boring

2007-03-20T18:57:00.000-05:00

There are many who feel that cricket is a boring game since it is played for quite a long duration when compared to others. They are accustomed to watching Basketball, football etc. which usually runs for 2-3 hrs.

As far as I am concerned, cricket is like chess but physical. You work on your opposition for quite a long time, coming up with strategies to defeat them. You have to Plan, Analyze the pitch, Pick players to suit the conditions, Keep adjusting to different situations that arise during the course of the match etc… I don’t know about others. But I am always tensed throughout the proceedings wondering what would happen next.

You can imagine how these people would talk about test matches which are played for 5 days. But I like test matches too because for those 5 days there are always twist and turns and you are always worried about what would happen next. If you are a cricket fan like me, following cricket since your early days, you will definitely understand my feelings.

But for others – Oh Well! Some thing’s cannot be described in words.

Cricket - my passion

2007-03-19T18:10:00.000-05:00

I am kind of enjoying my days as a cricket fan. I usually get much tensed in a crunch situation of a cricket match. I am one of those who wouldn’t like to eat or in fact do anything when things are tense out there.

One of my colleagues asked me whether I remember the match where Miandad hit a 6 of the last ball to fetch that famous victory for Pakistan. I very vividly remember it. I was probably 11/12 at that time and I was so tensed that I walked out of the house for the last 2 overs. I was walking aimlessly in the street praying that India should win not having the courage to watch the TV. I was just back to watch the last ball and we all know what happened. You can never forget things in life if you passionately love it.

Cricket is my passion just like many other fellow Indians out there. Go India!

Bluetooth wireless headphones

2007-03-17T13:53:00.000-05:00

With the advent of Bluetooth and wireless headphones, you see people everywhere using wireless headphones. The other day when I was walking in a mall, I saw somebody walking toward me saying something. Then I realized that he was talking through the wireless headphones. Since these headsets are very tiny, sometimes you might think that somebody is talking to themselves.

But this is a better solution for driving and talking with cell phones. At least you would have both your hands on the steering. What do you think?

Reacting to things we see

2007-03-16T22:01:00.000-05:00

Have you realized that we usually react faster to things we see rather than the things we don't see?

Take for example, eating five servings of fruits and veggies a day. We all know it’s good for us. But still we don’t eat it. The main reason, as I see it, is the fact that we don’t see the ill effects, since it is happening inside the body. So we just ignore it. Just assume a condition that we get rashes all over our face if we do not eat 5 servings of veggies/fruits in a day. Wouldn’t we react to it? We sure would.

Too much Information?

2007-03-15T21:14:00.000-05:00

Are we getting too paranoid these days because of too much media exposure? With the advent of internet, all the information is at your fingertip. Any news that happens in the nook end of the world gets to you in a jiffy.

With that comes the concept of 'too much information'. Media always has this habit of blowing bad things out of proportions. So people these days are getting paranoid about those things they really don't have to.

Think about bird flu and the headlines it made last year. Most people experienced an 'end of world' like phenomenon because of the way in which it was covered by the media.Before this media explosion most wouldn't have known about these things and they would have been calm and happy. Now we are made to worry about every possible thing that can happen to us.

Some people may argue that too much information is better than very little information. This helps us to be prepared.

I guess we should somehow learn to just absorb the crux of the information and leave the exaggeration behind.

What do you think?

Indians and Tourism

2007-03-14T21:00:00.000-05:00

Indians have a penchant for touring places. I have been to many famous tourist attractions in US and Europe. One thing you can count on for sure is that you’ll be sure to see fellow Indians wherever you go. I guess it can be partially attributed to our population size.

Here are 2 things I cannot forget that clearly shows how we Indians dominate in many tourist places.

1. We went to Switzerland for our honeymoon. We had to travel for a long time to go to the highest point in Europe called Jungfrau. To our surprise there were so many Indians tourists out there. So many that somebody decided to start a samosa stall out there.

2. We went to Niagara few months back and we saw so many Indians out there. There were so many of them that one of the Americans inquired my family whether there was any Indian carnival that weekend in Niagara.

Have you noticed the same ?

Carpets and Toddlers don’t mix

2007-03-13T22:37:00.000-05:00

One thing I hate in houses here in US is carpets. It’s very hard to get any stains out of it and keep it clean all times. Granted there are so many cleaners available in the market and so many different kinds of vacuum cleaners. But it still doesn’t help.

Hard floors are easy to clean and once it is cleaned, you’ll have a satisfaction that it is clean. You can see it with your eyes that it is clean. But with carpets, even if you vacuum it multiple times, you’ll still not have the same satisfaction. There is no way to confirm that it is clean. If you don’t have a good quality vacuum cleaner, you can be assured that you’ll leave some filth in the carpet even if you vacuum multiple times.

Another major disadvantage of carpet is the allergy factor. There are lots of people here in US allergic to carpet fibers.

I have a toddler at home and kids are well known to vomit. So we have a hard time at home cleaning the carpets and maintaining it. Carpets and Toddlers just don’t mix.

Email vs Voice communication

2007-03-12T21:30:00.000-05:00

Have you been in a circumstance where you write something in the e-mail to somebody and the other person misinterprets it because of the way it’s written?

I have always found that, if possible, it is better to talk face to face instead of communicating through email. If you observe carefully, any sentence can be interpreted in different ways with different tone of voice. So if a topic is very sensitive, then I think it’s better to communicate through voice than through email.Also an email is a legal evidence in case you type something bad in a fit of anger. It's something irrevocable.

I heard recently about a new email system called 'self destructing' email ,which would basically leave no trace of where it originated.
http://www.forbes.com/2000/09/12/feat.html

Isn't this interesting?

Superficial

2007-03-11T19:21:00.000-05:00

Most people must have read about Arun Nayar – Liz Hurley wedding and how grand they are. Also most of you must have heard about Lakshmi Mittal’s daughters wedding and many other Indian big shot weddings. One thing I don’t understand is why are Indians so obsessed with extravagant weddings?

One thing I have observed with most of my fellow Indians is that, they are not shy to display how opulent they are to the whole society. People wear these big gold ornaments; celebrate opulent weddings etc. just to show the society that they are rich. What is even more pathetic is that sometimes people, who are not really rich, spend beyond their means just to show the society that they are no less compared to others.

We talk about how superficial western society is. On the other hand we do the same thing.

I really don’t understand what people gain by showing off their opulence and by being so superficial?

Students??

2007-03-10T19:20:00.000-05:00

I was reminiscing my years as a student here in the US. It was mainly because of the fact that I heard a presentation from my University’s chair today, who is now the president of the company I work for.

One thing startling for me when I first started my masters here in the US is the fact that most of my fellow students in class were old folks. Most of them were over 40 and it really surprised me that people here in US go to school even at that age. That is something unheard of in India. I haven’t seen any uncle or aunt going to school after their early years.

Corporate America is a bit severe sometimes. If you don’t keep yourself updated with latest skills, you could be left behind. Of course it does do it part of helping employees, by providing incentives to learn new things. Most companies reimburse for courses we learn through school. That is one of the inspiring reasons for people to go to school even after they age. In fact that’s what motivated me to do my masters.

But it really was a surprise for me the first time when I attended school.

Naariyal Paani

2007-03-09T15:59:00.000-05:00

I used to drink fresh coconut water when I was in India almost every day. That is one thing I really miss here. We get ‘Thai coconut water’ here in grocery stores. But some how it doesn’t taste like the ones we get in India. I find Thai coconut water very sweet.

There are lots of tropical fruits we get in India which we don’t get here in the US. Some of them we get it only as canned food. Even if we do get them, it is exorbitantly priced.

I really miss them.

ICC World cup 2007

2007-03-08T20:20:00.001-05:00

After a lot of deliberation on my mind whether to subscribe for World cup cricket or not, I decided to do it yesterday. It was a bit expensive at $200 for the whole series. Its 50 bucks an year since it is once every 4 years. So what the heck! I decided to subscribe for it.

Most of my friends suggested that I watch it through those illegal online streaming websites. Some how I didn’t feel it was a right way to do it. Plus you are at the mercy of some web site admin whom you have no way to contact. So I decided to do it the right way and I am sure I won’t regret it.

I am all set month and half of cricket fun. Hope India goes all the way at least till the semis.

Smoking to lose weight

2007-03-07T21:34:00.000-05:00

There are lots of people I know who smoke with the intention of losing weight. People smoke and starve to lose weight. There is this common consensus that smoking curbs your appetite. So people smoke to curb their appetite and in turn lose weight. But isn’t it common sense that it’s not the right way to do it?

I think this practice is especially prevalent with teenage girls and women in US who would do anything possible to lose weight. I just don’t understand why people would do something that is detrimental to their body just to look slim. Western culture is becoming very superficial day by day. I hope this culture doesn’t spread to India.