Oru Cup Coffee

Karma - From a Bicyclist

2009-10-25T15:55:00.000-07:00

This morning, I was on a bike ride and very quickly I went into backroads. The road did not even have shoulder and I was scared as hell for the cars that go very fast next to me. So I was watching things carefully and stopped on the side of the road, whenever I saw a trailer on my back. In a little while, I heard the hissing noise that all bikers hate - my front tube getting flat. I had a spare tube and co2 canister so I was not worried. I changed the tube quickly and as I was inflating the tire, the head that keeps the air in broke off and rendered the whole effort useless. So, I started to push my bike towards home at least 7 miles away. Some bikers asked if I needed help, but I decided not to disturb them as everyone would carry just one spare tube and they may need it. There was a guy biking on the opposite side of the road, stopped to ask if I needed any help and he would not take no for an answer. He gave me a spare tube (he had one extra), a new co2 canister and told me "Being top of the bike biking is so much better than on the side pushing". Well, I would not disagree. He was so generous with his parts that I wanted to pay him and he refused any payment. He said that was his karma, hopefully it will pay him back when he needs help. I hope so too. And I rode back - thanks to the unknown bicyclist. Bicycling on Sun morning is like going to church for me and has its unique lessons.

Political blogs

2006-06-22T23:26:00.000-07:00

I've noticed that it gets very hard to blog everyday and when I see many blogging not one, many I wonder where they get the time. Well that is not why I am blogging this. Anyway to the matter here...

I've been following hotmachihot.blogspot.com, but he stopped his updates and I thought he was personally threatened by DMK folks.

Anway, I read Charuonline once in a while and I found by far the worst article by Charu. He writes a letter to Karunanidhi that makes me wonder whether he has joined DMK. I am no DMK/ADMK supporter, but his article plays this seesaw game of trying to balance out actions of the DMK leader. Some good, some bad. Also, Charu has never accepted anyone but his own group as the saviors of literature. But to add Karunanidhi as the savior of Tamil and accepting him in the ancestry of Tamil Pulavars , he has gone so low. Only his banian seems fancy but not his thoughts!

Tamil Songs - an irony

2006-05-19T00:16:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Sun TV for getting me the songs of 70s, 80s and I am having a ball with them. Especially with the ones that has weird and unimaginative choreography and cinematography. Few samples:

1. Film: Vaikasi Porandhachchu, Song: Thanni Kodam Eduthu..Thangam Nee Nadanthu Vandha

I remember that exchanging the song cassettes with my friends for songs from this movie. Actually it is surprising to see Kaveri, who can be spotted in serials full of tears (probably thinking about her career path), in this song. The director decided to shoot this on a beach where one would not use a kodam (will the word bucket do justice...) and also dressed Kaveri up in a bridesmaid dress with kodam in one hand. I think these were mistakes deliberately made as it is inconceivable to shoot it in this form unless one just wanted to frustrate the viewers.

2. Film: Rail Payanangalil Song: Vasantha Raagangal...Isainthu Padungal

The heroine, whoever that is, is dressed up in a bharthanatyam costume is staying put in one place and makes some funny gestures with her body and hands. The singer sings, "Asainthu Asainthu aadungal", but she would not budge. Good fun.

Vikatan Politics

2006-05-13T12:56:00.000-07:00

Even though election just got over, Vikatan still has a hangover. Vikatan message looks like an election statement. Almost, personally written by Mu. Ka.

BTW, personally I do not have have anything against the magazine as I've enjoyed reading it all these years. Only thing of concern is the quality and trustworthiness.

Worldcup Cricket 2007

2006-05-05T15:18:00.000-07:00

Tickets for the world cup 2007 in the Jamaican islands are available for purchase. I like the follow the path of your favorite team tickets. They start at $375. And volunteering opportunity is available for Carribean national and residents. Wish I was living there. The fever has started already

Listening to

2006-04-22T23:06:00.000-07:00

1. Dalamo..Dalamo.. Baskar song from Dishyum - cool beats
2. Kuruvi song from Cheran's Thavamai Thavamirunthu. I liked the dramatic picturization of this song also
3. Of couse, still listening to Theepidikka...Theepidikka... along with original "Manida Jenmam" by T. Bhagavathar

Hey, what's up Tamil education in film songs. Vairamuthu started this bad precedence with "Atrai..Kotrai" and it has gotten us to "Alabadai". Soon, we will be dancing to Yuvan Shankar Raja's tune of Thevaram....

ADMK Rice Scheme

2006-04-19T23:21:00.000-07:00

The rice scheme announced by ADMK has astounding financial implications to the state govt. Here is a simple calculation:

1. There are 1.88 crore ration card holders in TN.
2. 1 KG rice costs Rs. 8.50 to the govt.
3. ADMK wants to provide 10 KG rice free every month to all the ration card holders unconditionally.

Total budget required for a year 1.88 Cr * 10 * 8.50 * 12 = Rs. 191,760,00,000. A whopping 191 crores.
If this was carried out for a term of 4 years, it would be Rs. 767,040,00,000.00. Close to Rs. 800 crores.

God help TN.

Elections 2006 Potpourri

2006-04-19T22:41:00.000-07:00

Rediff is doing a great coverage on 2006 elections.

On Tamilnadu elections, a short interview with Cho Ramaswamy also features here.

Wonderful blog on Tamilnadu elections at HotMachiHot. (Thanks LazyGeek). The imaginary interview with Jayalalitha is very funny.

BTW, Karunanidhi is giving away TVs. I guess there is going to be big secondary market for buying those TVs. This is a cool marketing initiative to expand the grips of Suntv across TN. But, will this strategy be successful with Radhika having no future in Sun TV? We have to wait and see. How about Jayalalitha providing cable free w/o Sun tv on it? I guess that would be a balanced use of the TVs distributed.

Muslim looking for a home

2006-04-16T15:09:00.000-07:00

I've always felt the Muslims in India must be feeling very insecure as a minority. Here is an article in Rediff that affirms my thought. And the comments to this article are nothing but disparaging in spirit.

Galatta 2006

2006-04-15T23:13:00.000-07:00

Galatta is an yearly event that promotes Udavum Karangal chapter of Bay Area. I had missed it for last couple of years, but this year, this evening, had a chance to attend the sold out event. Generally, events in the Tamilian community are in two distinct ends of a entertainment spectrum. One being the eclectic language based events that only serious Tamil literates can follow and the other as an evening of cinema songs. There has not been serious effort within the diaspora to have an event that will appeal to wide variety of people, at the same time, have a charitable means to it. Though, Galatta borders with latter of the category spectrum, meaning cinema songs & theme, it also provides enough mix of programmes that are with non-cinematic themes. Last year, they had programme for kids, various other competitions that were not based on cinema themes. This year, a new concept called Galatta Idol, borrowed from American Idol, was introduced and it brought in enough local talents to participate. After all, these events are all about participation. At one time, participation used to mean attending the event. As many as 110 participants went through a process of elimination and the final six were on stage today. Out of them two finalists were selected.

The finalists’ idols sang in the Pallavi troupe for the Galatta Idol. Pallavi troupe itself has matured quite well. It was refreshing to see new singers that were outstanding in their deliveries. Galatta also continued its fashion show from last year with the concept of "Pancha Bhoothas" aka. Five Elements and it was rendered extremely well. The seating, food and the time management were key to such events' success. Galatta kept it all very well. Kudos to the volunteers that pulled it off.

Elections and Promises

2006-04-13T21:48:00.000-07:00

With elections in Tamilnadu looming large, it seems like there is no clear measure of candidate effectiveness in the places they contest. In the cities, where people can clearly distinguish between actions and inactions, do not do so because of all the election time claims made by politicians. IMO, this can be done very well by civic entities in each of those constituencies, that can record list of things executed in favor of public and can be used to compare notes about the candidates. If nothing, this will help motivate politicians to do something for their constituencies. I guess, we're all to be blamed to be not caring so much that anything goes with politicians. I am sure such listing may be happening in some blogs, but it should reach the common man in the cities at the very least. Who will bell the cat?

O Podu - 49-O

2006-04-12T21:40:00.000-07:00

Recently, I got a mail on this subject. O Podu is an organization that highlights to people the importance on voting. I always thought you need to vote for someone. But there is an article in the elections called 49-O that allow people to discard all the candidates. Though taking this path does not seem trivial as the process is more complicated. But there is a push towards making selection of 49-O more simple and discreet. You can all read about this at this site. So, O Podu...

Villivakkam

2006-04-01T11:05:00.000-08:00

Villivakkam is a suburb of Chennai where I grew up. With its infamous railway station, place of worship and the ever bustling market street, it caters to various demographics. I'll write about the history of the town itself some other time, but what caught my attention recently was the Lions club of Villvakkam. Not a fancy website, but I heard about it a while ago when my dad's friend Mr. A.M. Kumaraswamy used to be associated with it. We used to live in Thazhankinaru street next to his house. Only today I realized that he was the first Secretary of the club itself. I am not sure of the accomplishments of the club itself, I could see that the club has setup eye health clinic and promotes eye health check campaigns. Anyway, another interesting piece of information for those who lived in Villivakkam is that the first president was Dr. T.V.N. Iyer. He is famously knows as Nelliapa doctor, who served the community until his very old age and quit only when he could not continue. I've visited him during my childhood, vividly remember his palacious housed colored in white. I do not remember him, treatment or the medication, but I recall how good he was to his patients from the stories I heard from my parents. Today, that house has given away to newer structures. Sometimes, I fear walking those streets to find my memory of Devar street completely out of place.

30 Minutes Endurance - contd

2006-03-12T23:38:00.000-08:00

Latest additions to tamil movies list that fall under 30 minutes endurance.

1. Dishyum - "Day in the life of a Stuntsman" got a horrible Kollywood treatment. Guess it was directed by a director's double
2. Kalabhak Kadhalan - Silly overtures. Seemed like, at a point (within 30 mins) the director himself got bored and gave away the control to the actors

Makes me think that I should reduce my threshold. I am beginning get more impatient.

Vikatan Quality

2006-03-12T23:28:00.000-08:00

I do not about many people who read Vikatan, but I used to take what I read from the magazine as facts. It came as a shock to me when I saw an article in this week's Vikatan. It claims that Vice President Cheney shot and Killed Harry Wittington! Read the excerpt above. Also, it uses this callous killing to relate to war in Iraq. Absolute absurdity and I do not know how this got to see the print. I sent the a mail about this to Vikatan and it bounced. There are lots of articles we read in Vikatan that I do not have knowledge about and I assume there is validation behind each story. Unfortunately not.

Air Travel

2006-03-04T11:18:00.000-08:00

Having been on the road (or air) for a while, I sometimes wonder when I get out of sleep whether I am in my home, hotel or in a plane. I hare red-eye cross country trips as I can barely sleep sitting. I am irritated at most airlines providing the slightest of inclination, which your body barely registers and harly lulls you to sleep. My fellow travellers are gifted to sleep even standing, so they just go snoring even before the flight takes off. I've tried many things to get some sleep, but more I try the more I am awake. Some of my friends in Chennai, used to commute from Chengalput and Nanganallor to the city. They would sleep the moment they board their commute, either sitting or standing. They would automatically wake up, sleep walk a bit to their work and fresh enough to get to work. I always wondered how this is humanly possible. Anyway, back to air travel. After many such travels, I've learned the trick now and I am able to get some sleep. Not the sound ones like my friends, but just enough to not yawn in front of my clients in a morning meeting. I'd like to hear what others who read this think about this and how they cope with this.

Top Cars

2006-03-04T11:15:00.000-08:00

The consumer reports has come up with an issue on top cars this year. Surprisingly (or not so surprisingly) there are no american cars at the top. All Japanese. Even in the truck category! The interviewer at msbc is also musing over this with the consumer reports guy. Very interesting and I hope American cars do something to catch up soon.

Listening to...

2006-01-20T21:41:00.000-08:00

It seems like ages since my last post. So I decided to break the impasse with something that comes to my mind right now.

I am listening to "Arindhum Ariyamalum" songs. Wow, I must've listened to it like 100 times now and everytime I listen to the songs, they entertain me to no end. Especially the "Theepidikka...Theepidikka..". Have not listened to such mix of old and new. BTW, I've the old song also and I alternate between the old and the new. Though I'd have liked more of old in the new, but I am not complaining. And the other songs are in this movie are just as good.

During my college days, my friend Saravanan and I used to analyze the songs, especially Illayaraja's, to every bit of detail. Like the humming that comes in between the last word of the first line and the first word of the next line. It used to drive some of our friends crazy. As we would eloborate that a single note in the corner of a song added to the life line of the song. The reminiscence of this is due to the fact that I self muttered (having lost the active audience like Saravanan) the 'boing's and 'dooing's in the song as I heard them.

Another song that I liked recently is the "Freea vudu" song in Aaru. Wow, Madras was right in my ears. Especially, Saroja akka...cool

Outsourcing to India will help USA

2006-01-04T17:17:00.000-08:00

Here is an article on about this subject. I remember reading something similar to what Dr. Charles Weelan says in a right wing magazine. I guess the effects of outsourcing is not completely measurable, but I feel that the long term effects would be to bring equilibirium to the cost of the resources. In a way, few (or many) years from now, an Indian software engineer would cost the same as the American counterpart. Because you cannot make a particular region get on to a wealthier life-style and have them earn the same salary as before. Already, the high end talents are cost almost the same between India and USA. For instance, an IIT and IIM graduate in India makes around Rs. 80,000 - Rs. 150000.00 a month ($1800 - $3300.00) + lots of tax deductible perks. In the US a similar candidate would cost anywhere from $5000.00 - $8000.00 per month. The motivation for these guys to come to the USA for money is not there anymore. Because, $1800-$3300 in India can buy a lot more than $5000-$8000 in the US.

Year 2005

2006-01-01T20:45:00.000-08:00

This year has been a year of mixed bag like every year. I would very surprised if any one year was not. We started with the remnants of last year Tsunami that hit South India and Andamans. I had exchanged first hand stories of bravery, compassion and also perseverance from the people that were involved in this tragedy. Overall, it is a great effort from the government and also non-governmental organizations to pull people out of the tragedy. This tragedy just contiued in different form in the north with the earthquake. I hear that there are people still waiting in the cold without any help. Then the never ending Iraq insurgency continued on. There is some hope now with the elections complete. I hope Iraqis get a breather from everything and get to lead a normal life. The job market in the US got better with continued bashing about jobs going off-shore. And off-shore (especially India) got lots of wheels turning to maximize the opportunity. This has lead to a social change in India, in the metros and also the satellite cities. I guess, the villages remained untouched with regular exodus to the ever promising cities. All this made Thomas Friedman wonder and write book about how our world has flattened. Mumbai, Bangalore and Chennai had their rains more than expected and remained crippled for few days. And I had my vacation during this nature's fury in Chennai, though there was a day of reprieve for Deepavali. Anyway, overall as it should, lots of things happened this year. What to expect in year 2006? Here is short list of what I expect:

1. No terrorist attacks
2. More respect for nature and eco-friendly environment
3. More quality time for me to travel, read and be with my family
4. Good movies (Tamil, English, Hindi...) and less that test patience
5. Good blogs to read..

Bye Bye 2005.

Dollar a Pixel

2005-12-29T22:17:00.000-08:00

This is an amazing story I read on MSN. A smart guy has created a web billboard and sells the real estate by pixels. I understand that he could make quick money as people flock to him to be part of his web billboard real estate. What I do not understand is that the companies that rent space say they get lots of hits for the price. The page looks cluttered and devoid of any design to make it better. I could not even find one advertisement worth clicking in that mayhem.

King Kong

2005-12-15T21:49:00.000-08:00

I’ve seen glimpses of the original King Kong movie and it never attracted me. I want to watch it now because the new King Kong has made me feel bad for ignoring the original. King Kong at the hands of Peter Jackson (PJ) should be nothing but marvelous. Having proven himself with LOTR, a concept that many failed, I’ve great regards for him to make movies of gigantic scale. I walked into the theater late, cursing the filled parking spaces that made me part a mile (well not really a mile, seemed like a mile) away from the theater. I thought I’d miss the King Kong entry. What a sigh of relief to see theater still running some local ads. I’ve always liked to watch the previews and the theater did not disappoint me. They played them until the collective audience sighed over it. The movie magic then started.

It was nothing like what I had expected. It was showing America during depression, a gal trying to make a life in acting/drama and a pushy movie director. I’d not seen the original so there is no way to compare this. I thought that PJ had changed it a bit and it is only a matter of time before the King Kong arrives. Alas, there was no sign. I was feeling the same as what the movie ship captain on the eerie ride felt, not knowing what was going to hit him. The scene of the ship encountering the wall of the island is one of the many best scenes in the movie. Especially, the young chap at the top of the ship, swaying like a pendulum, unsure of what’s gonna hit him makes us join the boat trip. The audience is swaying themselves. Then they find the wall, very abruptly, and the water pins the ship to the wall. Then the crew ventures into the land only to find tribes ready to kill them with their primitive tools. They get rescued and the movie moves from the soft story telling in the rough waters to the fast paced rugged terrain. Where is King Kong? Well I forgot about that. And so would you. Half the movie is already done. From this moment on the movie builds up extra pace and takes you with it. King Kong appears with every bit looking real. The rest of the movie is almost like riding atop this beast that falls for the beauty. Like Naomi Watts (NW). The special effects bring about every form of conceivable animal on that island attacking the humans. And the beast falls in love with NW, does all the things a hero would do to rescue her and more, ending with a grunt. Then the treacherous movie producer brings the beast to town for shows. The beast escapes and mutilates the city ferociously. Finally the beast succumbs to its love and dies atop a tall building and falls flat on the ground. We also fall flat and feel for the beast and develop distaste for the inhumane army that shoots at it. The movie ends. Three hours of saga, gone in a minute. That is the power of PJ’s story telling with his special effects. Though there are few places where the special effects fail to mix with the cast, the movie comes out a winner. The effects are used well to support the story and not to boast what can be done. The story track of incessantly pushy and opportunistic director played by Jack Black, beautiful Naomi Watts that falls and fells the beast, Adrien Broody to keep her company and of course the King Kong played by Andy Serkis together sculpt this monstrous movie frame by frame. I did not know that Andy Serkis also played Gollum in LOTR. He also played a face showing role in this move. Watch the movie and figure it out. I am awaiting the DVD to see the making of King Kong. Read more about Andy Serkis here.

Like the director in the movie says “Piece of enchantment for the price of admission ticket”, well there you go. It is PJ himself in the movie talking about his movie. Sweet.

30 Minutes Endurance

2005-12-11T21:47:00.000-08:00

I've a 30 minute (approx) window to decide whether I should complete watching a movie. May be the 30 minutes are too much for some movies, but I still try. Here is a list of Tamil movies I stopped watching recently in and about 30 minutes:

1. Chinna
2. Priyasaki
3. New

For those who sat through these flicks, well what can I say..

Tamilnadu Registration Department

2005-12-11T21:35:00.000-08:00

On my recent visit to Chennai, I was looking for some properties and did not know whether the govenrment would help. With lots of skepticism, I searched for Tamilnay Registration Department to find a jewel at http://www.tnreginet.net/. This site has very comprehensive street and plot level listing of many properties with government estimated values for land and property. You can also find your sub register offices (SROs). You can apply for Encumberance Certificate (EC) online and have it delivered to you at home. This, I heard is a process that would waste days of your time at the SRO office. If you do not understand what an EC is, this posting may not be worthwhile to you. I've not tried applying, but I am hopeful that it works.

Other than this service, the site also provides a template for all sorts of documents you'd need to fill up/produce in dealing with registration department. This includes general power of attorney, special power of attorney, sale agreement and many other. The list is very comprehensive. Try it out and post comments about what you think.

Break

2005-12-10T10:53:00.000-08:00

The unprecendented rains in Chennai were giving me company during my vacation. My vacation got postponed by a week and the rains continued. Especially, the storms during Nov. 29/30 were something I've not experienced in my lifetime. I woke up that night to heavy winds and incessant thunder. The drum beats from the clouds were so loud that it rattled the doors and windows in my home. The lightning showed me the glimpses of other people in the home sleeping through this. My cousin that stayed upstairs watched my description of the night in awe, as he did not hear any of this. Well the logged water around the home was some proof, but he made me doubt my experience. The water receded in the next couple of days and we quit practicing ballet going in/out of the house. I came back to USA and Chennai is going through another storm.

Cricket and Rain

2005-11-21T11:44:00.000-08:00

I never thought I'd have to deal with so much rain in one vacation. The rain has been considerate so far to let me enjoy the important events like Deepavali and some outings. Otherwise, it has taken the city apart along with it my vacation. I am all geared up to go to Chepauk tomorrow. It seemed like Indians were going to be on the nets today, but I do not think they would've ventured out during the downpour. Lucky SA'ns that they practiced yesterday. I hope it does not rain tomorrow and I'd get to see a wonderful match. BTW, what's with Chennai, Cricket and Rain. I think if Chennai needs rain, they just've to have a match scheduled.

Wifi Access at MAA airport

2005-11-13T18:38:00.000-08:00

I am blogging this as I am waiting for my flight to Mumbai. I heard about the free wifi access at Chennai airport through Kiruba's blogs. So when I got a chance, I wanted to try. First, I got the bsnl connection but was not able to acquire a network address. This was absolutely disheartening as I thought this would be great. My wireless connection connected me to TataIndicomm service, but it took me to a page that showed me to enter information from a TataIndicomm card. There was no information on where I could get one. I looked around, could not find a kiosk. So, I rebooted my machine to see whether by luck I could establish connection to bsnl. And voila! it worked. I checked my mails and also wanted to immediately write about it. I am sure not getting an ip address could be a problem with my laptop too. Anyway, I was happy to check my mails and browse before I get to my destination. Isn't this wonderful?

Through the looking glass

2005-11-09T09:10:00.000-08:00

I was travelling to Virugambakkam in a taxi and I took this picture as the rain was making the poster look more interesting.

Rain, Rain and more Rain

2005-11-06T10:49:00.000-08:00

After Deepavali, we'd few hours of sun in Chennai and rain for rest of the time. I've not seen so much rain in Seattle. It has been a continuous downpour. I hear the frogs croak in the night, with water welling up around the home. My neighbors had water in their house during the first storm and they weathered it by staying with us. Now for this storm, they just left to another part of the city. Our wells are full, garden is flooded and our homes are barely dry.

My home has a big ditch in the front that becomes the dumping ground for people around us including a nearby slum. The ditch was already filled with water when I came here before Deepavali. Now it is rising and leveling with water on the road. Couple of days ago, I felt foul taste from the well water. I stopped using it and advised my family to do the same. My dad ignored it, used it and got sick. I called the pest control board to find out what they can do. They answered my calls politely, surprisingly very responsive on the phone, spoke to me with concern and felt that they were in a hurry to leave for my home, but so far did not do anything to alleviate our problems. I am still waiting for them to show up and spray something to stop the mosquitoes. Thankfully, I suspect our well water is better now. It does not have the foul smell, but may be as bad or worse than it was. Surprisingly, through all this, we still have electricity. Though we get power cuts 30 to 60 minutes a day.

Chennai and Deepavali

2005-11-05T23:24:00.000-08:00

I am on a break in Chennai, arrived here right in time for Deepavali. I purchased lots of crackers for the kids at home and the rain dampened the spirit a bit. Unusually, the Deepavali was not as noisy as before. Also, there are much bigger fireworks that fill the sky with patterns this time. I am in Chennai during Deepavali after 10 years. It is very much different, but many things are still the same. When I walk around the streets, there is always someone running inside, with a long bathi, with closed ears and tries to say something to you, but bang..bang...goes those atom bombs. We both then share a smile. Sometimes, you heed to such warning and wait for ever to see nothing. The 7 in 1 crackers never bursts seven times. It is always below 7....with a maximum of 5 in the set I tried. There was a new cracker called Butterfly that has been certified kids friendly. In reality, it is anything but. Though it is supposed to be on the ground and form patterns like butterfly as it swirls around, when lit, it flies around in a random direction like a comet. Onlu half packet of oosi vedi bursts, rest just sigh heavily. All in all, it was fun. Thanks to the rain gods that it stopped right in time for the Deepavali morning.

Rain and Subway

2005-10-27T23:43:00.000-07:00

Picture From Dinamani.com

I've been following the news on rain lashing out in Chennai and Bangalore. Granted that such rain is out of ordinary, especially in Chennai, but I cannot help wonder how the civic facilities could fail everytime. I can understand the areas low lying getting flooded. But the whole city including the roads in front of corporation building, almost all subways and most roads become a huge well for the days to come. What could be the problem for this happening with almost every rain? Do the drains not work or there are just absent? Let us assume that the corporation knows that it does not work well and they do not have money or the mind to fix it. But combined with the information from metereological department, they could test this prior to such rains or even when the rain starts. But no one seems to care.

Also, I wanted to write about the underway or subway's built under the railway bridges. Every one of them goes under water during the rains. So, why build a subway at all? It makes good sense to built roads that go over the tracks as they always stay dry during the rains. May be the water drains to the roads, but atleast it does not present danger as the subways do. Is it cost that makes the subways more attractive? I am no architect, but I cannot understand the reason for building these sure-to-be-wells when it rains.

And x Chennai mayor also complains...

Outsourcing Life

2005-10-27T23:21:00.000-07:00

A.J. Jacobs is attempting to read the entire Encyclopedia Britannica.Photo: Julie Jacobs

Thomas Friedman wrote about how the world is flat and A.J. Jacobs, a senior editor at Esquire magazine, personally tried it on his life. Read this My Outsourced Life. It is a funny article on outsourcing jobs to India and it definitely pushes the envelope on what can be outsourced.

I have heard AJJ's interviews on NPR. You can listen to his interview on NPR web site about being a Encyclopedia Man, his humble quest to become the smartest person in the world.

Charu's Interview

2005-10-26T21:37:00.000-07:00

Charu Nivedita was interviewed in this week's Vikatan. As expected the interview itself was very spicy. And Charu does deliver with his ferocious punches in his satirical style. He has been writing quite a bit on his site also. I do not agree with everything he says in his site, but I admire his courage on various opinions disclosed. I am not sure his Vikatan interview is published in the paper form as it is available online. I remember that he mentioned in one of his articles earlier that his regular online column was stopped because of its very nature. That is, socially not acceptable. In a nutshell, he thrashes the duality of our political leaders raising issue over dancing in bars, cigarette smoking in Cinemas, etc. Also, the Kushboo episode gets its treatment.

One of the things I did not like about his site was about allowing Gnani to write a review of Thiruvasagam. I could not believe that Charu used Gnani as a critic of music. I've different feelings about the same album and I feel Gnani's was not a critic of the music but turned it as an attack on a celebrity. To use him as a rung in the satirical ladder is pathetic.

Flat tire

2005-10-24T23:13:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I fixed my bicycle flat tire. Much to the amazement of my bicyclist friends, I've not had a flat tire since 1996. Not that the bike was unused, but I've clocked few thousand miles over these years. Mostly on paved trails and roads, but sometimes on rugged terrains. Like, half way up Mt. Diablo on fire trail. But no flat tire. Which is very strange when my fellow riders average a flat tire almost once a month. I was counting on this continuous no-flat-tire path and unexpectedly, even for those who get a flat tire a month it is unexpected every time it occurs, my tire went flat. Well, I did not rush to fix it though I'd all the tools. I did not know how to do it. After seeking some advice, I went on to fix it yesterday. Wow, the tools were so simple and amazing. I wish those poor "Vulcanization" specialists on the side walks of Chennai had it this simple. I had anticipated this flat tire in 1996, when I bought my bike, and I got a spare tube. This tube did not work as it had developed crack on one of its many folds. So, I had patch, quick self adhesive ones and it was exactly that way - quick and adhesive.

This may not be as big a challenge to Mohan, my friend in Chennai, who I've seen more often with his bike taken apart than together and riding. He would polish every sprocket, spoke and grease every movable part, almost every weekend. I could not understand why he did this then, but I do now after my successful flat-tire mission. It is a great sense of accomplishment one could feel out of such a simple job. And I did not use a bucket of water, bench vise, glue, nor did my hands have a spot of grease after the job was done. Not that I was so good, but the tools make it so good.

a...A

2005-10-23T11:44:00.000-07:00

I watched SJ Suryah's a..A tamil movie. I had bad experience with his movie New earlier. I could not sit through New and for anyone who did, I applaud your endurance. Anyway, Sun TV showed a clip of dialogue from the movie. Which in itself was interesting. So, I rented it. I should say that I was plesantly surprised by the movie. Movie is nothing unusual and is not one of a kind like SJ Suryah portrays it to be. The screenplay and the acting has raised the movie from the otherwise mediocre story. I read about this movie that it would've been better without SJ Suryah playing the lead role. I do not think so. He added a distinct color to the movie. Especially with his comic like portrayal of the role. Though he goes overboard with his almost-but-not-there T. Rajendar voice. Also, Nila did her part well also. Could not believe this is her new movie. The exchange between SJ Suryah and Nila, their disagreements and possive nature were all done as natural as it can be, except for the restaurant episode which is half believable. All the songs are good dance numbers though I did not completely like the way they've been picturized. The graphics were unnecessary and I hope Tamil cinema use them sensibly in the movies. It is like I learn photoshop and keep using photoshop for everything. Director Shankar started this phenomenon.

The scenes of intimate moments between SJ Suryah and Nila were not out of place or overdone. But many scenes are muted by the censor. I do not understand how scenes can be visually allowed but not the accompanying dialogues. It was irritating to go through a movie with lots of lip movements but no words coming out of them. SJ Suryah throw another cell phone at them. I think it is worth going to jail for as a director's creativity should not be undermined by some mindless people. Creativity by nature can be absurd, weird and can be beyond the social boundaries. People can rate the output as horrible (like I did for New ) or amazing. I cannot bear myself to watch some other movies that have escaped similar treatment. But that does not mean they should not be out for public humiliation/appreciation. Anway, I'd recommend a..A to a friend, and New to my enemy. And here is an alternate perspective.

Trip to Trichy - Part 1

2005-10-22T23:37:00.000-07:00

I found, albeit late, that I’ve lots of time when I am flying to Seattle every other week. Why I fly is another question? Traveling gives me time for myself and also in real sense keeps me going. The flights I take to Seattle remind me of the trips I took to Trichy from Chennai during my college days. Only that the latter was longer.

Traveling to Trichy was an unique experience. I used go by Rock Fort express and return by KPN bus service. I've very little memory of the train journey, as I slept on almost all of them. Except getting down at Srirangam was a harrowing experience almost every time. The train reaches Srirangam around 4.30 AM, the time I am in my deep sleep on the top berth, oblivious to the arrived destination. I’ve missed getting down few times entailing me to travel back to Srirangam from Trichy junction. My aunt and uncle lived few blocks from Srirangam station and this makes it a big roundtrip to get back to their house. Some other times, I’ve leaped off the moving train almost not being aware of whether I’d be landing on the platform or on the gravel surface between two set of train tracks. Luckily, it had been the former most of the times.

Then I endure walking along the tracks, which I am so used to and miss not being able to do it these days, to the street that awakens slowly to the morning. As my aunt and uncle lived in a apartment complex (called Ondi Kudithanam), which was once a big home with many rooms converted to accommodate many families now, I would not want to disturb them lest waking up the landlords and earn their wrath. Which btw, I’ve done it few times only to remember not repeat it. So, I’d sit on the thinnai of the next house and let my senses bombarded with nearby coffee/tea shop music, wafting idly sambar smell and news pouring out of the radio. I’d still be half asleep, with my body still registering the rocking train motions. I came to know that All India Radio (AIR) broadcasts news in Sanskrit only during my thinnai visits. No one, including the tea shop owner himself, understood the news, but provided the much needed company at the loneliest time of the morning. From listening to the news, it felt like the news reader was running and reading the news at the same time. Such was the panting and the noise that came out of the radio. My uncle would come and rescue me from the morning chill, into his comfortable home for me to return back to proper sleep from my slumber. I cannot forget their hospitality in hosting me for three years of weekends.

After my classes in Trichy, I’d go to Trichy bus stand. It is unlike any other bus stand I’ve ever seen in whole of Tamilnadu. Buses keep coming and going, oblivious to the walking of pedestrians, cycles, scooters and other smaller vehicles in front of them. A small mistake would cause a serious, if not fatal accident, but they all coexisted very well. Like the stars, planets, asteroids and other objects in our space. The food at Trichy bus stand is worth a special mention. There are many so called Bhavans that feed the people on the move near the bus stand. As with other restaurants, there are two distinct areas of in every restaurant air-conditioned and otherwise. As I was making money at that time, I’d choose to sit in the ac area. The unlimited meals was always limited, if you’re to test the limits, though I never was that hungry to venture that far. But I’ve witnessed people eat mountains of rice, with nice crater in the middle for sambar. Such people are kinda scorned upon and never visited by the waiters that serve food. For the sake of courtesy, once in a while, the waiters would drop some rice and sambar on these testing-the-limit’s plates. But otherwise, they would walk past these famished customers, in spite of their antics to get some attention for the next fill. But these customers won’t make it so easy past the pretend strollers. The weak would just fumble and give up, whereas the bold stand up and shout for their fill. Thiscreates dissatisfaction amongst all the customers, as this could only get worse, the manager would typically run to them and try to attend to their needs. The customer will smirk and show to other lesser beings in the restaurant, what we could get if we were to venture his route. It was always interesting to watch this, time and again without getting bored as each situation brings along specific flavors.

I guess I'll write more on this later. There are lots of experiences to share about Trichy.

Me & Blog

2005-10-22T23:31:00.000-07:00

I am a fan of the blogosphere. I try to read as much from the blogs when time permits. BTW, what is surprising is that Microsoft Word 2003 still does not recognize the word blog. I hate that red underlining. Microsoft is way behind the technology dictionary. Anyway, I’ve been thinking about writing about some of the things I find interesting, appalling and useless. It could be all at the same time also. So, here I go....