tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79140252024-03-08T05:43:28.020+05:30take it ezzz!It is not a bad idea to get in the habit of writing down one's thoughts. It saves one having to bother anyone else with them.Karthikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10535620120932600946noreply@blogger.comBlogger51125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7914025.post-68689926338688580382009-04-05T20:17:00.003+05:302009-04-05T20:30:29.463+05:30Screw-deria Ferrari<div>My opinion on Ferrari on its 2009 Championship season till now! <a href=http://bleacherreport.com/articles/151082-sepang-2009-screw-deria-ferrari>Here</a>. </div>Karthikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10535620120932600946noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7914025.post-18666129636858904482008-05-29T00:04:00.001+05:302008-05-30T00:13:54.487+05:30Shame on you Media…<span style="font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">On May 16th 2008, the Breakfast show woke the country with the news of a murder of 14 year old Aarushi from Noida, the day which incidentally was her birthday. The press and TV were on their tows trying to gather every bit of the information they could muster so that the news comes first on their news channels.<br /><br />The first reaction to the incident was a shock, a shock at gruesome murder of a child who had great dreams of her birthday, a girl whose aspirations were never to be fulfilled. But the second shock was on the irresponsible behavior of the media, especially the TV.<br /><br />Aarushi Talwar was no more, Hemraj, in-house servant of the Talwars was found dead too, Aarushi’s father Dr Rajesh Talwar became the prime accused. The family was barely coming to terms with these horrifying incidents, by then the media goes on pumping stories relentlessly. From alleging that Rajesh had an extra marital affair with another woman, to hideous claims of Aarushi of having a clandestine relationship with their house servant. Pulling a distressed family to roads and striping them of its dignity is unethical and absolutely uncalled far.<br /><br />Now, things have gone way too far, every channel is taking turns with her mother Dr Nupur Talwar.<br />It is really agonizing to see the media repeatedly pocking her wounds by asking her accounts of what happened on the night of the murder, how she reacted on seeing her daughter lie dead, what was her thoughts on her husband’s alleged affair, what relationship she shared with her daughter. As if Nupur has a short memory of the events, the anchors will contantly remind her with statements like “Now that Aarushi is dead….” etc, grow up folks, For god’s sake, she’s the mother.<br /><br />I appeal to the media to kindly have some consideration, please spare the wounded hearts. Probing into news is your job, but pocking your nose beyond a point makes it ugly. What pleasure do you derive by seeing a terror stuck mother chock in sorrow? There are many ways to improve TRP ratings, please, please, please, have some mercy, please act responsibly.<br /><br />Strangely, in this episode till now, the media has cared little about Hemraj’s death, why media, was going to Nepal not all that interesting??<br /><br />Ps: I am not putting any links. The net is already flooding with information.</span>Karthikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10535620120932600946noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7914025.post-57689144103599701532008-05-26T00:41:00.001+05:302008-05-26T00:45:52.289+05:30Force India Laps a McLaren<span style="font-size:85%;">This was the headline I was expecting after watching the highly eventful 2008 Monaco Grand Prix. In a race clouded by clouds, rain, skids, slides, near misses and wall kisses, in a race where, Kimi, Massa, Hamilton and many others went on to make mistakes, if there was one person who drove sensibly, it was Adrian Sutil of team Force India.<br /><br />Sutil kept his cool all over, just driving on the race line with a calm mind when chaos was prevailing all around him. The myth of Monaco as race where mind rules the heart was beginning to become apparent as the drivers with higher impulse began making mistakes. Once by one most of the front runners had to get into the pits, and a seamless Sutil moved from as low as 18th to 4th place having only Lewis, Kubica and Massa ahead of him. The highlight of the evening was when Sutil lapped Hekki, unbelievable!!! My hair stood straight when the mighty McLarens were lapped by the usual “backmarker” - Force India. Sutil went on to trade Fastest Laps and at the moment locked like it was not all luck. The turning point was when Rosberg crashed heavily bringing the safety car out. The significant gap between him and Kimi was reduced to peanuts. Sutil was now sandwiched between the Ferraris, Massa in the front on 3rd and Kimi behind on 5th. It was quite expected that Kimi would fight hard to move forward, and given the fact that Monaco offers very little space for overtaking, its was up to Kimi to find a way past Sutil. And then it happened, a charging Kimi lost control of his F2008 and banged straight onto the back of the unsuspecting Sutil. I missed a beat, probably more. Sutil’s brave run came to a grinding halt and understandably, Sutil remained inconsolable.<br /><br />Monaco is known to spring in surprises. Today it was Sutil’s turn to experience what it takes being in the top and becoming a flop.<br /><br />I don’t want to blame it on Kimi, although I wish he were a little calmer.<br /><br />In a sport where it’s usually the car-driver combination that wins races, Monaco has the ability to distinguish between the great drivers and the good ones (if you are in F1, you’d better be good). </span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Adrian, you are absolutely sensational. I am sure this will make you and the Force India team stronger than before.</span>Karthikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10535620120932600946noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7914025.post-34734688046414476812008-04-15T23:26:00.003+05:302008-04-15T23:43:13.017+05:30Ranganathan Street<p>Indian Economy is growing at 8% a year but looks like human traffic in Ranganathan Street grows at 8% every month...</p><br /><p><img src="http://www.geocities.com/karthik_0712/TNagar1.JPG" /></p><br /><p>There is not an inch of space left to move... Proof that deframentation technique was invented in India ;)</p><br /><p><img src="http://www.geocities.com/karthik_0712/TNagar2.JPG" /></p><br /><p><img src="http://www.geocities.com/karthik_0712/TNagar3.JPG" /></p>Karthikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10535620120932600946noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7914025.post-65233818902010225242007-08-29T00:30:00.000+05:302007-08-29T01:36:23.637+05:30What a way!<span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size:78%;">I saw this board in PizzaHut, Radhakrishna Salai.<br />What a way to politely say "No Smoking!" :)</span><br /></span><br /><img src="http://www.geocities.com/karthik_0712/DSC00055.JPG" />Karthikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10535620120932600946noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7914025.post-83538614371928224872007-06-28T00:02:00.000+05:302007-07-02T23:55:24.585+05:30Impulsive Shopping - Part II<span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;">The Credit card woes I highlighted in </span><a href="http://mymerc.blogspot.com/2005/02/impulsive-shopping.html"><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;">Impulsive Shopping</span></a><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;"> earlier is still haunting us,<br /><br />“All Cards accepted, minimum bill values 200”<br /><br />Many at times when I read this, I would think, what is their problem? Why don’t they simply accept cards for lesser amounts? They are loosing out potential revenue. I’ll blame it on poor business strategy and walk away.<br /><br />And one fine day, I acknowledged that it was indeed a great strategy.<br />Last Friday, after a long day’s work I was on my way back and felt very hungry. I wasn’t sure what was available at home and didn’t want to risk disappointing my hungry stomach.<br /><br />I parked my bike outside Trinetra, a big Retail store near my house and went in for some purchase.<br /><br />As I was wandering the aisles picking junk food, I realized I only had 50 bucks in my wallet, I read the board, “All Cards accepted, minimum bill values 200”, but I’d already picked stuff worth 70 bucks. Keeping them back was never an option, so I went on to buy some stuffs hear and there, some wanted and some not so wanted, and finally the bill came to around 400 bucks.<br /><br />I happily swiped the card, ignored the 700% increase in bill value and walked away!</span>Karthikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10535620120932600946noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7914025.post-46196914809382851652007-06-21T23:54:00.000+05:302007-07-02T23:56:50.632+05:30Spend Vs Invest<span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-family:verdana;">We’ve read/heard many instances like<br />“Please spend some time learning something new”<br />Or “Spend time doing something worthwhile”.<br />Although Spend seems to convey the message, it could well be undermining the potential of the English language to express the point.<br /><br />Today, 21st June, incidentally, World Music day, I was listening to </span><a href="http://www.big927fm.com/"><span style="font-family:verdana;">Big92.7FM</span></a><span style="font-family:verdana;">, where Speed Dheena was doing a program with playback Singer </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sujatha_(singer)"><span style="font-family:verdana;">Sujatha</span></a><span style="font-family:verdana;">. On her final words for the listeners, she was advising young and aspiring singers to “<strong>Invest</strong>” sometime everyday practicing their music. This statement just took the wind out of me!<br />How true, commoditizing time makes our work accountable to us. It tells us to wisely use every little time we have and reap its benefits. However subtle the statement may look, it wraps within, millions of words that says how determined one must be.<br /></span></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;">Ennaku Pull arichidu!</span>Karthikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10535620120932600946noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7914025.post-52933684117979481392007-06-07T00:12:00.001+05:302007-07-02T23:57:30.861+05:30Confessions of a Software Professional<span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;">I got a forward from a Software professional friend, who was sharing a common confession, it read,<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="color:#009900;"><em>The Software Engineer's Preamble<br /><br />We, the unwilling, lead by the unknowing, are doing the impossible for the ungrateful.<br /><br />We have done so much for so long, with so little knowledge that we will one day qualify to do anything knowing nothing.</em><br /></span><br />I thought, let's cut the euphemism and get to the crux, and so came my one line,<br /><br /><span style="color:#009900;"><em>We, the unsatisfied, lead by the uncaring, are being paid the unthinkable for doing the unwanted and still feel underpaid!</em></span><br /><br />And thought its worth sharing with the rest of my cult!</span></span>Karthikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10535620120932600946noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7914025.post-1160476968113091762006-10-10T16:10:00.000+05:302007-07-02T23:58:27.189+05:30Is India truly Independent?<span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:78%;">On the Road to our 60th year of Independence, lets look back to see where we really stand.<br /><br />Is India truly Independent? Mahatma Gandhi once said that only when women wearing all her jewels can go out safely at any time of the day, is India truly Independent. Yet 59 years after India got freedom from the British rule, she is yet to find her path to true Independence.<br /><br />We talk a lot about India’s growth and achievements in the last six decades, we have at our disposal an array of Industries in every known sector and we’ve proved time and again about our potential to excel in all fields we lay our feet on. Our GDP has grown, we have become economically self reliant, and by all means we changed the way the rest of the world looks at us, and you bet I am proud of this. But the big question is “Are these just smoke clouds concealing the harsh reality beneath it?”<br /><br />Let me illustrate, On 15 August 2006, in view of the Independence day celebration, the national capital was declared a No fly Zone (height of insecurity), Public coming to watch the parade were not allowed to bring their mobile phones, radios, and worse even water, the Prime Minister was on his way to address the nation, the whole area is fit with signal jammers, he travels in a bullet proof car, and his escort convoy was as dramatic as the parade itself. Are we calling ourselves Independent? Whom are we trying to fool?<br /><br />Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, respectfully known as Mahatma Gandhi, is the father of our nation, although I don’t subscribe to many of his Ideologies, he is definitely a National Icon in my eyes, but is the country anywhere closer to accepting his ideologies? Easier or hard, Gandhi was Instrumental in a non-violent freedom struggle and in creation of an independent India 60 years back, but on this very day every year, our Prime Minister accepts a Military Guard of Honor! Except on October 2nd when the youth remember him for many reasons but for his birthday, and our leaders garland his otherwise crow-befriended statue, we hardly recognize him and his much talked about contributions. Is Gandhi good enough only for the currency notes? A recent ad-hoc interview by a leading news channel of few of the members of our honorable Parliament revealed a lot of disheartening facts. Many didn’t know who wrote “Jana gana mana” or “Vande Matham” and more horrifying the full name of Mahatma Gandhi. When a question was asked to a sitting MP as to who wrote our national anthem, the MP said “There are many who wrote it, I am getting late for the parliament session, we’ll sit one day and I’ll tell you in detail who wrote what”, another MP was asked, “what is Mahatma Gandhi’s full name” and he replied “I call him with respect as Bapu, how can I spell out his name” and when he was insisted all he said was “um…mm…um…”, and we entrust these morons (forgive me for using an un-parliamentary word here) to decide our fate? Is this what we envision for Independent India?<br /><br />India is the world’s largest Democracy, and we get a pat on the back for being “Of the people, by the people and for the people”, and till date the only contribution this democracy has give us is, over 900 political parties split across every division of Religion, caste, creed known to India. On an average every state in India has 30 political parties and more are coming up for every friction in ideology. Interestingly, close to 90 parties have the word “Congress” in their name in some position or the other. Surprisingly almost all of them will have a huge turn over when they make public speeches; it’s a shame when crowd is gathered for Rs. 25, a pack of Biriyani and a bottle of local liquor. The members who get elected may know nothing about economics and development but are masters of vote bank politics. It has more than just co-incidence that in most of the electorates, tickets are given to a person belonging to the religion or caste that has a vast presence there. </span><br /><span style="font-size:78%;"></span><br /></span><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;">This was in news some days back, The Home Ministry ordered all the states to crack down a banned outfit that was linked to many terrorist activities in the country, but still one state gave a deaf hear to the order since election was round the corner. More recently when a death sentence was passed against the primary accused on the 12/13 parliament attacks, a section of people of Kashmir, many leaders and even the Chief Minister of Kashmir requested a Presidential pardon. When a minority religion after 60 year of being Indians suddenly said they won’t recite <em>Vande Matham</em> since the words meant worship the nation, the ruling party was more than happy to make it optional. Is this only because all of them belonged to a Minority religion? Is that community and votes bigger than the country itself? How many more days are we going to tolerate this cheap politics to woo those votes? People who know nothing about history and economics can write white-papers on hypothetical minority oppressions, demand for reservations in every place they know public have access to, and can talk hours together about (pseudo)Secularism, but still have no privy to what this polarization can cause to the nation. While India continues to fight anti-Indian Terrorist attacks in the north, anti-government militant attacks all over central, south-central and eastern regions, underworld dons controlling the western region, our humble representatives would be busy (just) playing blame games on one side and having high-tea on the other. Is this what Independence gave us? Did we free ourselves from the clutches of a lion only fall prey to a vampire?<br /><br />Yes, India has grown multifold, its is an emerging superpower, we did have over 8% growth for the past five years, but we still are fighting our battles and until every Indian starts to think rationally, every step we take towards a better tomorrow, we will be finding far more powerful issues to deal with. It is as the saying goes, “It’s the duty of science to make better mouse traps, and it’s the duty of nature to create smarter mice”.<br /><br />Jai Hind. </span>Karthikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10535620120932600946noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7914025.post-1160461823253634522006-10-10T11:57:00.000+05:302007-07-02T23:59:15.744+05:30BACK or KCAB ??<span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;">If you were wondering whether I’d said that I was back or was I showing my back after my over hyped “<strong>I’m back</strong>” article way back in August, we’ll I am not to be totally blamed. My office in India blocked all blog sites and message boards and my home system was down with viral fever for a long time giving me no access to the site. I just got past one hurdle and wanted to show my attendance.<br />Expect more soon!</span>Karthikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10535620120932600946noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7914025.post-1156177969019330602006-08-21T21:56:00.001+05:302007-07-03T00:04:04.006+05:30Tryst with Technology<span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;">Yesterday my brother had left Chennai on a pilgrimage tour, and couple of 100 kms on his way he tried to contact my mother back home. He kept calling but all his tries to the land line and the mobile were in vein and the only message he got was “Network busy”.<br />So, called me up and told me that he’d been trying to reach her but couldn’t and wanted me to call her and pass the message. Ok, what’s so great about this? Well I was just 10,000 miles away in Toronto and his call came to me as an uninvited wake up call at 6-ish on a Sunday morning. I called my Mom and the line connected, I passed the message to her and told her to call him.<br />It may be a desperate move or sheer audacity, but for making the world smaller it’s definitely “Bravo Technology”.</span>Karthikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10535620120932600946noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7914025.post-1154464995848500802006-08-02T02:12:00.000+05:302007-07-03T00:04:35.937+05:30I am back!<span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;">I am back!<br /><br />Yes, after a particularly long deserved hibernation, I finally gained enough courage to face the blog-ing world. While I was out, the world had a lot of interesting things happening to keep readers busy even while my blog was asleep, viz:<br /><br />Government got ready to reserve seats of OBCs, Vote bank showed its power,<br />It had to increase seats, pay and infrastructure, Government goes under cover.<br /><br />Amma and Kalaignar changed seats,<br />They have also changed seating arrangements.<br /><br />7 years back in Kargil Indians fought,<br />7 years later, Indians forgot.<br /><br />Mittal’s bid good enough for Arcelor takeover,<br />Still, Arcelor delays Mittal’s makeover.<br /><br />The Sensex crashed like never before,<br />It crashed again.<br /><br />To increase accountability RTI (Right to Information act) was enforced,<br />The act was deflated as the government was getting exposed.<br /><br />Israel goes on war with Hezbollah,<br />Give me a break, says Nasarallah.<br /><br />Indians lost to WI in the one-days,<br />India does came back to win the Test some days.<br /><br />In 2006 F1 GP, Alonso as yet won six races,<br />Schumacher too made the best in five chases.<br /><br />I am back and I am back for good,<br />I am here to give my thoughts some food!</span>Karthikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10535620120932600946noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7914025.post-1143817593264660512006-03-31T20:33:00.000+05:302007-07-03T00:04:57.842+05:30Trade Over<span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:78%;">Do you have the flair for the share market? Want to play with Big Money?<br />Ever wished you buy Shares of Microsoft, Google, BMW, Pfizer and Nokia all for a hundred thousand dollars each?<br />Do you like playing with Tons of Gold, Platinum or Crude Oil? Wondered how it will be to buy Indian Rupees for a million Dollars and sell them when US dollar goes down?<br />Then its time for your dream to come true. Enter the world where only the fittest survive. </span><br /><span style="font-size:78%;">Enter </span></span><a href="http://www.tradeover.net/"><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;">www.tradeover.net</span></a><span style="font-family:verdana;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:78%;"><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">Trade Over is a share market simulator that gives you a Million Dollars to start with. You can buy stocks of all your favorite companies from around the world at current market prices.<br />The latest prices are updated from the Stock exchanges world wide and you get a taste of the real world market with no real penny at stake. You can short sell products based on speculations and Market sentiments and make money.<br />You can create your own league and compete with in friends and also against thousands of players globally.<br /><br />Indulge, Invest, Involve and Increase.<br /><br />Enjoy!</span></span>Karthikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10535620120932600946noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7914025.post-1139594508740658872006-02-10T23:22:00.000+05:302007-07-03T00:07:39.662+05:30Super தத்துவம்s.<span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:78%;">This is a consolidated list of some funny தத்துவம்s (Thathuvams) I came across lately.</span><br /><span style="font-size:78%;">It's really hilarious, so take a break and laugh out loud.</span><br /><span style="font-size:78%;">Folk who don't understand Tamil, Sorry about that.</span><br /><span style="font-size:78%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;color:#006600;"><strong>தத்துவம்s:</strong></span><br /><span style="font-size:78%;"></span><br /></span><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;">Mechanical Engineer Mechanic aagalam, aana,<br />Software Engineer Software aaga mudiyaathu.<br /><br />Paaku marathula paaku irukum,<br />Thaeku marathula thaeku irukum, aana,<br />Panamarathula panam irukaadhu.<br /><br />Tea cup-la tea irukkalam, aana,<br />World Cup-la World irukkuma?<br /><br />Cycle-la poana cycling,<br />Train-la poana training-a?<br /><br />Pant Pottu Muttipoda mudiyum, aana,<br />muttipottu pant poda mudiyuma?<br /><br />Fan-ukkum rekkai irukku. Paravai-kkum rekkai irukku,<br />Fan-ala parakka mudiyaathu, Paravai-ala sutha mudiyaathu. Aaanaa,<br />Fan-a amukina suthum, Paravai-a amukina kathum.<br /><br />Tool box la tool la parka mudiyum,<br />match box la match a parka mudiyuma?<br /><br />Irukkurappa enna daan Complan, Bournvita kudichalum,<br />sethadukkapram ellarukkum pal daan.<br /><br />South India-la Narthangai kidaikkum. Aaana,<br />North India-la Southangai kidaikuma?<br /><br />Mezhuga vechi mezhugu-vathi seyyalam, Aana<br />kosuva vechi kosu-vathi seyya mudiyathu.<br /><br />Kovil maniya namma adicha saththam varum, aana,<br />kovil mani nammala adicha raththam than varum.<br /><br />School testla bit adikkalaam,<br />College testla bit adikkalaam, aana,<br />BLOOD testla bit adikka mudiyaadhu.<br /><br />Vaayala "naai"-nu solla mudiyum, Aaana,<br />Naayaala "Vaai"-nu solla mudiyuma?<br /><br />Enna than naai nandri ullatha than irunthalum,<br />Athala "Thank you" solla mudeyathu! Idhuthan valkai.<br /><br />Aayiram than irundhalum,<br />Aayirathi onnu than perusu.<br /><br />Yennathan Ahimsavathiya irundhalum,<br />Chappathi-ya SUTTU than sappidanum.<br /><br />kasu irundha call taxi!<br />Kasu illaina kall than taxi!<br /><br />Train yenna thaan fasta ponnalum,<br />Train ode kadaisee potti kadaiseeya thaan varum!<br /><br />Bus poita bus stand angayae thaan irukum, aana,<br />Cycle poita cycle stand koodavae poogum!<br /><br />Cellula balance illana call panna mudiyathu, Aana,<br />Manushanukku call illana, Balance panna mudiyathu.<br /><br />Poison 10 naal aana payasam aaga mudiyaadhu ,<br />ut, payasam 10 naal aana poison aagidum!<br /><br />Meelendhu vizhuntha aathu Aruvi,<br />eeszhenthu parantha aathu Kuruvi.<br /><br />Finally one in English:<br /><br />If you drink ethanol you will dance<br />If you drink methanol others will dance.</span>Karthikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10535620120932600946noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7914025.post-1139432303482910872006-02-09T02:27:00.000+05:302007-06-22T23:07:55.411+05:30The Global Indian<span style="font-family:georgia;font-size:78%;">The story begins with Lakshmi Metal (sorry Mittal), the Indian born billionaire, steel tycoon and the chief executive of the world’s largest steel maker Mittal Steel, bidding $23 bn (€18.6bn) to </span><a href="http://www.ndtvprofit.com/homepage/storybusiness.asp?id=29461&frmsrch=1&txtsrch=Arcelor"><span style="font-family:georgia;font-size:78%;">acquire</span></a><span style="font-family:georgia;font-size:78%;"> his closest rival Arcelor of Europe. Arcelor is the product of a merger four years ago between three steel companies -- Spain's Aceralia, France's Usinor and Luxembourg's Arbed. Luxembourg is the largest single shareholder with a stake of 5.6 percent. France which is a major player in this has expressed serious concerns over this bidding. Other governing bodies including Belgian, German, Italian, Luxembourg and Spanish unions have expressed "unanimous opposition" to the takeover.</span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;font-size:78%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;font-size:78%;">While the apprehension over job cuts as the primary concern, Arcelor has strongly criticized Mittal's </span><a href="http://www.ndtvprofit.com/homepage/storybusiness.asp?id=29468&frmsrch=1&txtsrch=Arcelor"><span style="font-family:georgia;font-size:78%;">"hostile"</span></a><span style="font-family:georgia;font-size:78%;"> approach, claiming the two firms' businesses and cultural values are incompatible. And although </span><a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060202/india_nm/india234971_1"><span style="font-family:georgia;font-size:78%;">France tries to avoid looking arrogant over Mittal</span></a><span style="font-family:georgia;font-size:78%;">, since that might jeopardize the diplomatic relationship with India, the obvious hint behind the disinclination could be because Mittal is an Indian.</span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;font-size:78%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;font-size:78%;">There are two arguments to this issue.</span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;font-size:78%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;font-size:78%;">The less significant side: Why is India so keen on this? Why is the Indian government is closely monitoring the issue of Lakshmi Mittal, who operates in 17 countires including Algeria, Bosnia, Germany, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Mexico, Netherlands, Poland, South Africa and the U.S but nothing as yet in India? When I say “as yet”, am I hoping he would have a set up in India soon? Is it so typically Indian?</span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;font-size:78%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;font-size:78%;">But the more significant side: Why is there so much insecurity among the French and the other European counties about a bid? Lakshmi Mittal may be Indian by birth but he has nothing yet to do with India and his company is as European as any other. A lot of questions have been raised about him, his Indian-ness and his way of doing business. Are they worried if this takeover would monopolize the European steel Industry or is it because it’s done by an Indian?</span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;font-size:78%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;font-size:78%;">Being Indian, I know it’s very difficult when you just keep thinking of the days when you were on top and doze off in the present (Who better than us to talk of that, we've been and still are talking about how susrutha was the world's first surgeon and how we founded astronomy before they wore clothes in Europe).</span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;font-size:78%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;font-size:78%;">Anyways, it’s more apt to say, “Hello World! You may love or hate India, but you just can’t avoid her”.</span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;font-size:78%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;font-size:78%;">So wake up Europe and smell the curry. The global Indian has arrived.</span>Karthikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10535620120932600946noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7914025.post-1138747933994957072006-02-01T04:14:00.000+05:302006-10-11T10:59:37.952+05:30Outsource to Out of Source<span style="font-family:georgia;font-size:78%;">Why is India the best choice for outsourcing? Because we are English speaking, we deliver quality work and most of all, we are cost effective. </span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;font-size:78%;"><br />Countless companies mainly from North America chose to outsource all their IT and ITES (IT Enabled Services) jobs to India to save valuable bucks. There were large scale job cuts in that continent as they were all moved to cheaper locations in India. This made both the players happy since the giver got the job done for peanuts and the taker was able to do a lot with those peanuts. However, things are now beginning to look different and soon we’d be moving form being a victor to a victim of the same thing.<br /><br />Over the time, many IT companies in India began increasing the pay package of their engineers and the greed to get more money made well paid engineers feel they are underpaid. This led to higher demands, high attrition and greater efforts by organization to hold on to the resources. Even people who worked all day collecting status in Excel sheets began demanding annual compensation in 7 digits. And in no time these peanuts grew to become watermelons, defeating the cause of this whole outsourcing exercise. The Source of work and money that felt the bite of this expense has began searching for alternate destinations like China and other East Asian countries.<br /><br />Is this Shining India just a lamp that’s going to go off? Did we count our chickens before knowing whether the eggs will hatch or become omelets?<br /><br />Just when countries like China are emphasizing more on learning English, if things go the same way, we will soon move from the “Destination to Outsource” to a “Destination Out of source”.<br /><br />Also read: <a href="http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1393571.cms">SAP finds Indian techies too costly</a></span><br /></span>Karthikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10535620120932600946noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7914025.post-1138600949219077192006-01-30T11:22:00.000+05:302006-10-11T10:59:37.894+05:30Governmentium<span style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:78%;">I got this as a forward, and its really hilarious.</span><br /><span style="font-size:78%;">While I was Rolling On The Floor Laughing, I wondered, Is that all I can do? Are we going to live with it just making fun?</span><br /><span style="font-size:78%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:78%;">Anyway, for now, let's have some fun.</span><br /><span style="font-size:78%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:78%;">Governmentium:</span><br /></span><span style="font-family:georgia;font-size:78%;">A major research institution (MRI) has recently announced the discovery of the heaviest chemical element yet known to science. The new element has been tentatively named Governmentium. Governmentium has 1 neutron, 12 assistant neutrons, 75 deputy neutrons, and 224 assistant deputy neutrons, giving it an atomic mass of 312. These 312 particles are held together by forces called morons, which are surrounded by vast quantities of lepton-like particles called peons. Since governmentium has no electrons, it is inert. However, it can be detected as it impedes every reaction with which it comes into contact. A minute amount of governmentium causes one reaction to take over four days to complete when it would normally take less than a second. Governmentium has a normal half-life of three years; it does not decay, but instead undergoes a reorganization in which a portion of the assistant neutrons and deputy neutrons exchange places. In fact, governmentium's mass will actually increase over time, since each reorganization will cause some morons to become neutrons, forming isodopes.<br /><br />This characteristic of moron-promotion leads some scientists to speculate that governmentium is formed whenever morons reach a certain quantity in concentration. This hypothetical quantity is referred to as Critical Morass.</span>Karthikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10535620120932600946noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7914025.post-1138060266763411452006-01-24T05:20:00.000+05:302006-10-11T10:59:37.831+05:30I am Clueless…<span style="font-family:georgia;font-size:78%;">I was rather bored of being bored during weekends and decided to beat the lull. How best can one spend the weekend during peak winter if he doesn’t know skiing? Go to pubs? Well if he doesn’t drink? Hm, may be a movie should lighten up the spirits. After careful scrutiny of all the running movies and their reviews, I opted to go for the movie that had the maximum review score. To answer your curiosity it was ‘Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire’ that had scored 8.9/10. </span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;font-size:78%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;font-size:78%;">I and my friend reached the Paramount Theaters well in advance to book our tickets. And, what do you know, the movie runs in an IMAX facility (without 3D and of course for few extra dollars). Having never been to an IMAX before, I was curious to see what all the hype is about. We entered a rather empty theater and took the central location for best view. The movie started. </span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;font-size:78%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;font-size:78%;">The screen was massive and I couldn’t fit the whole picture in one view, and watching those spectacular visuals with great precision on the BIG screen was a treat to the eyes. The 3D surround sound surrounded us. The movie went on for two and half hour without intermission and we sat there in comfort.</span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;font-size:78%;"><br />The movie got over and we were out, just then I realized I hardly remember any scene of the movie. I lacked the feeler one generally has after a movie. That’s when this question came up. What makes a movie deliver the punch? Is it the IMAX clarity, the flawless graphics, emphatic sound, a best selling story or the $15 you pay to watch it? What makes a movie leave an impression that lasts at least a day? How are movies rated then?<br /><br />All of a sudden, I was clueless…</span><br /></span>Karthikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10535620120932600946noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7914025.post-1137449517073808622006-01-17T03:25:00.000+05:302006-10-11T10:59:37.771+05:30How fast is an F1 car?<img src="http://www.geocities.com/karthik_0712/McLarenMercedes.jpg" /><br /><p><span style="font-family:georgia;font-size:78%;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family:georgia;font-size:78%;">We’ve all seen or heard that the F1 cars are really fast. But how fast are they anyway?<br /><a href="http://krazykars.blogspot.com/2006/01/how-fast-is-f1-car.html">Wanna see?</a></span></p>Karthikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10535620120932600946noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7914025.post-1135919692378589342005-12-30T10:39:00.000+05:302006-10-11T10:59:37.704+05:30This is how India lost Rs. 87000000000 in 2005<span style="font-family:georgia;font-size:78%;">How is this possible? The economy looks so bright; the Sensex has reached it’s highest ever only in 2005. India has been ranked as the <a href="http://www.indiaonestop.com/economy-fdi.htm">Best Destination for FDI</a> with Investments running in billions of dollars.<br /><br />This is how it happened.</span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;font-size:78%;">The tectonic plates that were sitting still for millions of years decide to scratch their back a little, how would they know that by then millions would be dead and billions lost. Few hurricanes and cyclones tired of monotony chose to play, little did they knew this would leave mega cities inundated, and render millions homeless.<br /><br />Starting from 26th December 2004, India has witnessed over seven natural calamities and 2005 became a year of largest financial loss as a result of weather-related disasters.<br />The loss is estimated to be over Rs. 87,500 crore during this year with some of the industrialized states getting the hardest blow.<br /><br />The Mumbai floods, that created history for receiving the most down pour in a single day (944 m) combined with the ONGC’s <a href="http://inhome.rediff.com/money/2005/jul/28ongc3.htm">Bombay High disaster</a> caused a loss of 30,000 crore. Tsunami and the recent floods in Tamil Nadu cost a cumulative 44,000 crore. That’s not all, the Karnataka floods cost 7500 crore, the Gujarat floods 4500 Crore and the Himachal floods 3,000 crore. If there were floods all over here, there were other parts that were drying in drought. Of course, let’s not exclude the earthquake in Kashmir.<br /><br />We are not alone in this issue, the December’s Tsunami created havoc from the coasts of Australia all the way to Somalia, destroying everything in its way. There were earth quakes in Indonesia, Iran, Pakistan and POK. China faced severe floods.<br /><br />Who can forget what Wilma and Katrina (not the models but the Hurricanes) did to US? Wilma (Miss Universe) was the strongest Hurricane ever while Katrina (Miss World) was the costliest Hurricane ever with a price tag of over $125 bn.<br /><br />Across the globe, weather-related disasters led to an estimated $200 bn loss in ’05 compared to $145 bn in ’04.<br /><br />Are we testing the limits of ecological balance? Is this Mother Nature’s way of teaching her children to respect her?<br />As the most intelligent and the single most dominant species of a world that’s shared by billions of different species, it’s our duty to conserve nature.<br />Act now or there won’t be a tomorrow.<br /><br />Read more <a href="http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshowbnews/1347160.cms">here</a> </span>Karthikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10535620120932600946noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7914025.post-1135293104228720122005-12-23T04:36:00.000+05:302006-10-11T10:59:37.644+05:30India wins the Cricket World cup 2005<span style="font-family:georgia;font-size:78%;">India beat England in the finals to win the World cup 2005 participated by nine countries .<br /><br />“Funny! World Cup is in 2007, and morevoer this is end of December 2005 and I didn’t see any World cup happening this year, and that too nine countries, you must be out of your mind.” If this is what you are thinking, continue reading.<br /><br />Ganguly was dropped from the team and the impact rocked the Parliament. If Sachin injures his left leg little finger, it’ll be on the main page of the Daily new paper and if some one plays for one match, he’ll be the next target for the billion dollar advertising company. Most of all, if the Indian team is going to the world cup next year, the entire country gears up to watch it already. From customized music albums, to constantly recurring motivational advertisements to even offering special poojas at temples, every player is in the spotlight.<br /><br />But when a team of proud Indians play cricket against teams from eight other countries and win the World Cup, it won’t even get a single line mention in papers leave alone the media only because they are all Deaf?</span><br /><span style="font-size:78%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:78%;">Visit the <a href="http://www.deafcricketdcif.org/">Deaf Cricket International Federation.</a></span><br /><span style="font-size:78%;">Read more about the <a href="http://www.deaftoday.com/news/archives/004464.html">Second World Cup for Deaf.</a></span><br /><span style="font-size:78%;">Read about the <a href="http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=159320">Final Match</a> when India beat England to take the cup.</span>Karthikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10535620120932600946noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7914025.post-1134961954400469702005-12-19T08:36:00.000+05:302006-10-11T10:59:37.571+05:30Toronto, the city that never stops!<span style="font-family:georgia;font-size:78%;">Toronto is the largest city in Canada and one of the most cosmopolitan cities in the world with people from over 150 countries making their presence felt here. Although its population is around 3 million, which is merely a forth of Mumbai or Tokyo, Toronto’s downtown is on top gear and faces usual problems with too many people and too little space.<br /><br />The city wakes up early, and by 8AM people are already on the move. More people mean more activities. This city has a lot of activities and entertainment all through the year, including seasonal carnivals, ethnic fests, theater plays, night clubs and fanatic sports activities. Toronto may appear happening and industrious during the day, but past 7 PM, most of downtown will become deserted and turn cold in silence!<br /><br />Toronto homes the <a href="http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0886190.html">CN Tower</a>, the tallest man made structure built till date baring only the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KVLY-TV_mast">KVLY-TV mast</a>, which is a TV tower in North Dakota, USA. <a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/b7/Worldstallestucoctprogress9iw.jpg">See Also</a><br /><br />So, why is Toronto in my blog today?<br />Is it because, it’s not in the top 20 cities in population, or not in the top 20 cities in economy or just because it has the tallest concrete structure in the world?<br /><br />Toronto is a geographically challenged city. The city has two wonderful seasons like spring and fall but faces the wroth of the summer and winter in between them. If the summer bulls the mercury to 40 degree C, the winter can bear it to -40!<br />So, if this city’s weather is so unforgiving, why is it still so happening?<br />It’s because of the best use of the exorbitant 15% tax levied on every merchandise bought, apart from the 30% levied on income.<br /><br />Toronto has one of the best public movement systems in the world. Apart from the busses, trains, street cars (trams) that are cost effective and cover the cross sections of the city, Toronto has something the world should admire.<br /><br />It has the PATH. Whether going for work, visiting a client, shopping for a gift, catching the subway train, or just lazing around, the PATH is the right medium for you!<br />PATH is downtown Toronto's temperature controlled underground walkway linking 27 kilometers of shopping, services and entertainment. Follow PATH and you'll reach your downtown destination easily in weatherproof comfort. It has over 4 million square feet of retail space running for 16 miles and connecting over 50 important buildings in downtown. See more for details on the <a href="http://www.toronto.ca/path/">PATH</a><br /><br />A snap of the PATH<br /><img src="http://www.geocities.com/karthik_0712/Toronto_PATH.jpg" /><br /><br />That’s not all; if you think you know all about energy saving, have a second thought.<br />Toronto is one of the pioneer cities pledging to reduce the citywide emissions by a whooping 20% in 1990. It has well exceeded this goal in its own corporate facilities and operations, reducing these emissions by about one million tonnes or 42% from 1990 levels.<br />And what’s next? Its new Deep Lake Water Cooling project will draw cold water from the bottom of Lake Ontario to provide air conditioning for a number of large buildings in downtown Toronto. It will use 75-90% less electricity than traditional air-conditioning.<br />Read more <a href="http://www.theclimategroup.org/index.php?pid=401">here</a><br /><br />Guess, now you accept this city is worth a mention. This city, Will never stop.</span>Karthikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10535620120932600946noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7914025.post-1133327451998954722005-11-30T10:34:00.000+05:302006-10-11T10:59:37.506+05:30Pasitha Pasta<span style="font-family:georgia;font-size:78%;"><em>(Pasitha in colloquial Tamil means ‘if you are hungry’)</em></span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;font-size:78%;">I have been in a major cooking spree, and I prepared some delicious Pasta for dinner.<br /><br />Incase case you wonder how I did?<br />First take adequate quantity of Pasta, add a pinch of salt, three times water and boil till the pasta is really soft. Drain the remaining water and keep it aside.<br /><br />Take some vegetables like Capsicum, Carrot and Broccolis (or anything you feel fit). Chop them finely and microwave for 2 to 3 minutes to make them soft. If you don’t use microwave, boil them on a vessel for a short while.<br /><br />Heat a dry pan, add some vegetable oil (or any edible oil you can lay your hands on), add a cup of tomato puree and cook till fresh smell is off, add the half baked vegetables and fry for a short while. Add a cup of milk, let it boil. Add salt and spicing ingredients. Stir continuously. Add the drained pasta and stir/cook for a while. Add butter or fresh cream and take it out of the pan. Garnish with the greens and your pasta is ready.<br /><br />Additional tip: Spread some grated cheese and microwave it for 2 minutes to have some melting cheese pasta.<br /><br />Now a treat for all the waiting eyes..<br /><img src="http://www.geocities.com/karthik_0712/pasta.jpg" /><br /></span>Karthikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10535620120932600946noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7914025.post-1133239352781186642005-11-29T09:48:00.000+05:302007-10-03T02:42:21.379+05:30Extraordinary People<span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-family:verdana;">How does someone who doesn’t have fingers in her toe, well no toes in her legs, actually no legs joining her thigh, in fact with no </span><a href="http://www.answers.com/lower%20extremity"><span style="font-family:verdana;">lower extremity</span></a><span style="font-family:verdana;"> live?<br /><br />How will it be when you only have the upper half of your body and you have to live with a father who suffers from Alzheimer's and dementia and a brother who is mentally challenged?<br /><br />Rosemarie (Rose) Siggins was born with a disorder known as </span><a href="http://www.cafamily.org.uk/Direct/s12.html"><span style="font-family:verdana;">Sacral Agenesis</span></a><span style="font-family:verdana;">. Meet her </span><a href="http://www.mymultiplesclerosis.co.uk/misc/rosesiggins.html"><span style="font-family:verdana;">here</span></a><span style="font-family:verdana;"> to know more about this Extra-ordinary lady and her fight for the right to live a normal life.<br /><br />I saw a program on TLC channel about her when she said (something similar to) “I am not handicapped, one who cannot do something is handicapped, I can do them, may be differently”.<br /><br />My hats are off to respect her.</span></span>Karthikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10535620120932600946noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7914025.post-1132971883902594622005-11-26T07:53:00.000+05:302006-10-11T10:59:37.386+05:30Try II<span style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:78%;">My dad's birthday was nearing, not that he really cares about it, but I did...<br />I was 10,000 miles away, but thanks to technology, we can do everything except touch, smell and taste.<br />I decided to make a cake, and cut it for him...<br /></span></span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:78%;">With overwhelming response for my first cake, and from the lessons I leant, I attempted a more mature cake this time.<br /></span></span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:78%;">I called it, <strong>Karthik's Choco-chocochip Apple cake</strong>... hm.. no prizes for guessing the ingredients here :)<br /><br />And here it is,<br /><img height="338" src="http://www.geocities.com/karthik_0712/Try2.jpg" width="451" /><br /><br />It was much better in looks and taste and really hard to resist, but with 24 hrs still to go for my dad's bday, I kept my hands and mouth tightly shut.<br /><br />Right on time, I got the cake, and cut it for my dad who was watching it live from the beautiful Far East.<br />Soon after, the cake didn’t last 15 minutes.<br />:)</span> </span>Karthikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10535620120932600946noreply@blogger.com2