A London Christmas Miracle

Imagine that feeling you get when you think you are incredibly unlucky -- all those random incidents which when combined together makes you feel very unlucky indeed? 

I cannot even begin to voice my disappointment when I realized that my laptop had crashed on Dec 24, 2010. The bugger had been my best bud for the best part of three years. Vodka, Cider, Beer, Jamesons -- nothing could take him down -- and I do not even know why Windows is failing to start. I am sure it is not a hardware issue as my little champ has stood through the test of time and a LOT of alcohol that were accidentally poured. 

I put that behind me and started enjoying a nice Christmas dinner with a few friends and what started as 'would have been an early night' soon turned into a long night. Trouble was, a friend of mine had a flight to catch at 12:30 in the afternoon on Christmas day. It is well known fact that there is no public transport on Christmas day and so we had planned for another friend to drive us there. Problem was that he was also a part of the Looooong night.

MBA Survivor

I ask you.

Outwit. Outplay. Outlast.

Do those words mean anything to you? If you think 'Survivor', you are where I want you to be. If you have other takes on these words, please feel free to share them. It is amazing what you get to know when you hear from someone outside the box.

Anyway, my next question is this. Do you think doing an MBA course is Outwitting, Outlasting or  Outplaying your colleagues? Or does it have everything to do with making your employer think that you are the best candidate for the job? (It could mean establishing that the other candidates are not as good as you are.)

How NOT to audition for The Amazing Race!

This is my buddy and I trying to prepare the 3 minute video to send to The Amazing Race Asia 4. We ended up having an awesome time in a little boat that we had hired in the backwaters of Kerala.



Needless to say, the video was never sent. ;)

Peter Day at Middlesex University

Peter Day (born 1947) is a broadcaster on BBC Radio 4 and the BBC World Service. He attended Lincoln School, at the time a boys-only grammar school, from 1957-64 as a boarder. His father was a manager with Midland Bank (became HSBC in 1999) in Lincolnshire (Horncastle and Gainsborough). He studied English at St Edmund Hall, Oxford. He was trained on the International Publishing Corporation (Daily Mirror Group) newspaper training scheme in south Devon. He worked at the Daily Record from 1970-4 in Glasgow.

Yesterday (November 16,2010), Peter Day was at Middlesex University  as part of distinguished lecture series and to be honest, it was really enjoyable. The name of the session was "The world turned upside down and he started the discussion with soundtrack of "World turned upside down". Peter went on to talk about the panoramic view at Ching Dao which was the source of epiphany. The view included crates of raw materials(iron ore) that were on one end of the visibility spectrum and on the other end, there were crates of finished goods. This woke him up to the fact that the China was on their way back to world dominance. He mentioned that it was 'painful' to see it. I hope it was a purely personal opinion because one billion Chinese people surely will not think that the resurgence of China is painful.

Before and after Microsoft!

How many of you have seen this wallpaper before?

Bliss wallpaper

Let me ask again. How many of you know the story of this wallpaper?

READ International charity fundraiser at Middlesex University

 

 

Read International Society

C/O Middlesex University

Students’ Union

 Hendon, London

 NW4 4BT

Coordinator: Karlis Albergs

07950974572

middlesex@readbookproject.org.uk

 

Dear Sir/Madam,

READ International is a multi-award winning charity dedicated to improving access to education across the globe. READ International coordinates groups of student volunteers in universities across the UK  to collect books and raise funds to help achieve this aim. We are proud to showcase that to date; 850 000 books were sent to Tanzania alone.

This year, we a team of Middlesex University students are organising a book collection and fundraising event, for which we need your valuable support. The activities are two fold:

Firstly, as Abraham Lincoln once said “The things I want to know are in books; my best friend is the man who’ll get me a book I ain’t read”. Everyone has books at home and perhaps some of them are gathering a bit of dust and are no longer needed. We are, therefore, appealing to you to give your books a second life. By doing so, you will bring joy, knowledge and a better future to a lot of students in East Africa.

Secondly, we are organising a chairty fundraising event in the second week of December at Middlesex University’s Hendon Campus. The main attraction of this event is an auction and we would appreciate your support with it. To make the event a success, we will need fun and quality products and this is where we hope you will contribute.

We believe that your benevolence will add to overall quality of the event.

Faithfully yours,

Read International Society

The magic of perspective

Do you think you are working too hard? Do you think you are unlucky?

Italian Job!

A woman goes to Italy to attend a 2-week, company training session. Her husband drives her to the airport and wishes her to have a good trip.

The wife answers: " Thank you honey, what would you like me to bring for you?" The husband laughs and says: " An Italian girl!!!"

The woman kept quiet and left. Two weeks later he picks her up at the airport and asks: "So, honey, how was the trip?"

"Very good, thank you."

"And, what happened to my present?"

"Which present?" She asked.

"The one I asked for - an Italian girl !!"

"Oh, that" she said "Well, I did what I could; now we have to wait for nine months to see if it is a girl" She breathed and walked towards the car with an evil grin playing on her lips.



Lesson learned? Anyone?

IT Analogy

Ever tried to related IT personnel to anything else? Here is an attempt.

1) Project Manager is a person who thinks nine women can deliver a baby in one month.
2) Developer is a person who thinks it will take 18 months to deliver a baby.
3) Onsite Coordinator is one who thinks single woman can deliver nine babies in one month.
4) Client is the one who doesn't know why he wants a baby.
5) Marketing Manager is a person who thinks he can deliver a baby even if no man and woman are available.
6) Resource Optimization Team thinks they don't need a man or woman; They'll produce a child with zero resources.
7) Documentation Team thinks they don't care whether the child is delivered, they'll just document 9 months.
8) Quality Auditor is the person who is never happy with the PROCESS to produce a baby.
9) Tester is a person who always tells his wife that this is not the right baby




Credits: A forwarded email.

Alternative thinking

How would you answer these questions? You will find suggestive answers as you read on but may I recommend that you give it a thought before looking for the answers.

1. How can you drop a raw egg onto a concrete floor without cracking it?
2. If it took eight men ten hours to build a wall, how long would it take four men to build it?
3. If you had three apples and four oranges in one hand and four apples and three oranges in the other hand, what would you have?
4. How can you lift an elephant with one hand?
5. How can a man go eight days without sleep?
6. If you throw a red stone into the blue sea what it will become?
7. What looks like half apple ?
8. What can you never eat for breakfast?
9. Bay of Bengal is in which state?

Releasing music online

Musicians all over the world have always had the problem of finding a record label to represent them and their creations. In India, movie soundtracks dominate audio sales among youth and given this scenario, young musicians are looking towards the Internet for releasing their albums. The budding musicians I know during Erasmus in Gothenburg have had many things coming in their way of self releasing their albums. Aspects like cost, Distribution and Promotion all have a way of working together - for example, if there is a PR company lined up to launch the release, a distributor will be motivated to work with you, as naturally, media attention makes the album easier to sell, and if you have a distributor, the manufacturer will perhaps take an educated risk and might extend credit, because the distributor will help get sales to cover the bills.

Affordable price, social media tools for exposure and multiple platforms make it the method of choice for new age young musicians rather than waiting to be signed up by record labels.

Aung San Suu Kyi to be freed!

Aung San Suu Kyi is a Burmese opposition politician and a former General Secretary of the National League for Democracy. The latest news is that the democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi will be released days after Myanmar's first election in two decades. In the 1990 general election, Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party won 59% of the national votes and 392 of 492 seats in Parliament. The Nobel peace Laureate had, however, already been detained under house arrest before the elections. She has remained under house arrest in Myanmar for almost 14 out of the past 20 years.

Pippin singing for Denethor - Lyrics

Legolas and the Dwarf

I have always been a big fan of Lord of the Rings and a moment in the movie that stands out as one of my favorites is Pippin singing for the Steward of Gondor, Denethor. The scene plays out like this: Orcs are shown as firing arrows at the charging army. Just before the arrows strike, Denethor is seen to be symbolically representing blood spewing out of the bodies of the army that included his younger son.

I found lyrics to this enchanting song and I thought of sharing it.



This is lyrics to "All shall fade"

Bojana Novakovic - Lucky or Talented?

Talk about being at the right place at the right time!

Bojana Novakovic in "Devil" and "Edge of Darkness"

Notably, Bojana Novakovic moved to Australia from Yugoslavia at the age of 7 and graduated from National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) with a degree in Performing Arts (Acting) in 2002. In "Drag Me to Hell", I first saw her in a form that did no justice to her reasonably good looks. She is Serbian and as per a few of my good friends, Serbian girls are very good looking. Bojana does not disappoint. Much.

Marriage: Does that mean sharing everything?

The old man placed order for one hamburger, French fries and a drink.

Couples who share everything

He unwrapped the plain hamburger and carefully cut it in half, placing one half in front of his wife. He then carefully counted out the French fries, dividing them into two piles and neatly placed one pile in front of his wife. He took a sip of the drink, his wife took a sip and then set the cup down between them . As he began to eat his few bites of hamburger, the people around them were looking over and whispering.

8th grade of yore!

1895 8th grade final exam

Take this test and pass it on to your more literate friends.

What does it take to get an 8th grade education in 1895? Remember when grandparents and great-grandparents stated that they only had an 8th grade education? Well, check this out. 

Could any of us have passed the 8th grade in 1895?

Angels of apathy - Food for thought!

I once read that shadows were printed on concrete walls of buildings and pavement in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. These shadows were imprinted by the historic nuclear blasts. Some say that these shadows can still be seen even though the bodies that made them were never found - evaporated they were - as if they never existed.

Angels of Apathy

Imagine the peril of the ones who have seen the shadows scorch the tumultuous grounds. For them, the shadows are mere curiosities of history - images of a time that has passed. What we must not forget is that if they have all come to be mere whimsical fantasies, they are indeed angels of apathy.

Here are some more pictures:

Super Chennai Super Kings win Champions League T20 2010

Statistics show that when a team has ...
1) Highest run scorer
2) Highest wicket taker
3) Highest individual score by a player
4) 3 bowlers in top 5 wicket takers
5) 2 batsmen in top 5 run scorers
6) 2 bowlers in top 5 economy rates

.... the team wins 80% of the time. OK, I made that statistic up. :D But, it doesn't matter because tommorrow's newspapers are going to celebrate an awesome team winning a major tournament in the same year they won the Indian Premier League 2010 (IPL 2010). Oh the CSK team and supporters painted the ground yellow tonight.

Afraid of Plagiarism?

Well, who isn't? Are you afraid that the child of your creativity is being abused by someone else who chanced by your website? Are you worried someone is taking away your brainchild and claiming it as their own? Are you worried whether someone has already written the same things you are writing at the moment?

The malaise India outgrew long ago

Who knew that when CWG 2010 was entrusted to the capital city of one of the most influential nations around, it is going to be a profound disappointment? The games have not even begun but it has already shown India under poor light. If Commonwealth Games 2010 go down badly, it will be a serious let down for a proud nation like India. It has gone so south that prime minister Manmohan Singh has decided to put his shoulder to the wheel. The involvement of a very esteemed and naturally busy leader like him confirms the parlous state of preparations.

Lyrics to Axe Music star. Enjoy!

The much awaited lyrics to Axe Music star - ENJOY!

It's good to be king
number one sexy chicks
everyday taking trips
all my ladies love this

Check my bling
I ride fly
on my plane sky high
it's a thug life

all you ladies
you can feel me
I know you want this

Chennai Tops group - faces RCB in semi-final

How important was the 19th over bowled by Tsotsobe? How important was saving Murali/Bollinger/Ashwin for the last three overs? How important was bringing in Jakati who took Warriors captain's wicket for Balaji?

The Commonweath Games debacle

India has an 8% growth in GDP this year and is clearly a world leader in IT.

But.

Water-logged lobbies, leaking roofs, collapsing bridges have made Incredible India a laughing stock in front of the world. CWG2010 should have been something that India could have showcased as a job well done - instead India stands to suffer national embarrassment. A day when the world watched Canadian atheletes clean up their own room in the village, Scots have delayed their departure and other nations have expressed deep concerns and are considering not turning up to the games and pulling out.

Make the most out of Sweden

Misi.se is a "one stop shop" for all international students in Sweden. It is an NGO that aspires to offer a complete guide for international students in Sweden.
URL: MISI home page

Erasmus Nostalgia

Memories of Gothenburg Erasmus class of 2009

Change is scary. When the friends I made in the Erasmus 2008 batch left Sweden, there was sense of void in my heart which I thought could never be filled in any way. I was never so wrong in my whole life. While the friends you make are irreplaceable, the memories you make with new friends will fill any emptiness. That is why they are called friends.

Mumbai Indians Lose

Whoever said catches win matches!

Two drop catches and sloppy fielding effort finds Mumbai Indians staring down the barrel in Champions Trophy T20 cricket tournament 2010 in SouthAfrica. South Australian Redbacks with their unsung heroes ( and remember, they are minus Pollard and Bravo) beat them in what turned out to a decent match. It only became interesting once Mumbai Indians started playing badly.