The B Chronicles No. 7

It's been almost 3 weeks since I began working on a project. I still do not do any "work"! The project training is slated to go on till mid Jan. Then, hopefully, I will be able to do something so that my company can fleece its client. HeHe!!! I am currently posted at the client site at Fort. The client, being a Govt. organisation, I have to make a lot of adjustments for working here, as compared to my company's office. For one thing, gone are the posh environs where you could laze around with a cup of coffee in your hand all day. Gone is the shoe polishing machine, which helped me out by cutting out the routine of polishing my shoes, completely. Gone are the sparkling clean toilets and the funky phones and comp terminals.

Here, we sit on hard cane chairs, work on comps that are slower than my 5 yr old PC at home and yet handle 10 times as much data. Tea is available only between 3 and 5 in the afternoon and that too, on a coupon basis. Everyone seems to shout at each other and comp security is thrown out of the window. The iSecurity dept guys would have a fit if they saw this setup!!! The only good thing abt this place is that food is dirt cheap. You can get a complete veg meal for just Rs. 4.50!!!

But, it must be said that working at a client site is a completely different experience and I hope that I benefit from it. Until next time, then.

CIAO.

Back to Doordarshan???

Just yesterday, I read that the Hon'ble High Court of Bombay has banned the screening of non-U rated movies on cable TV. This includes the channels which beam these movies into our homes from abroad where the censor laws are not so strict. This means that even channels like Star Movies, HBO and Zee Studio will no longer be telecast by the local cable operator, and this time, its not his fault. Even the good Hindi movies which have a U/A certificate cannot be telecast on national TV.

Now where does this leave us? I, as an adult citizen of this country, certainly feel shortchanged as a result of this decision. I certainly do not want to be told what I should watch and what I shouldn't. This onus of making this decision should rest on my shoulders alone. As regards the argument that children may be adversely affected by the themes of the banned movies, GROW UP, YOUR HONOUR!!!!! Today, such movies are easily available in video parlours and the internet is an ever-burgeoning source of material that can even put adults to shame. If the children hailing from the rural or the economically backward sections of society cannot access these modern sources, they also cannot get access to a simple TV!!! Problem solved, isn't it?

Today, when the developed countries are becoming more liberal by giving Parental Guidance certificates to films that were once marked as Adult, we are going backwards by preventing the adults from watching films that they are perfectly capable of understanding. This, for me, is an insult of my intelligence as an average Indian adult.

Instead of taking such regressive measures to obtain short term solutions to problems, we should think of addressing them from a long term point of view. A legislation can be passed that makes it compulsory for cable TV to be routed through set top boxes which can provide access to adult certified programmes only with a password. This will surely help to make sure that the TV is not misused by kids in the absence of adults. Maybe this solution of mine is too feeble. But, I am sure that we Indians can think of some effective way of protecting our kids from adult material. We are not that bad, are we???

So, Your Honour, although your intentions may have been noble, the way to implement them that you have put forward is certainly not. Surely, you do not want to go back to the Doordarshan era or, maybe you do???!!!!

The B Chronicles No. 6

Today seems to be the best day in office. The reason for my thinking this, follows.

First, it started out as usual with a meeting being held in the recreation room so that it was closed to unemployed ppl like me, who love to spend most of their time there. So, 50 pages of Anne Frank later, RR and I decided to have an early lunch. Turns out that it was good we did. Moment we stepped out of the office premises to have a small post-lunch stroll, a guy from an Indica dealership offered me a test drive in the new Turbo Diesel. WOW!!!! He thought I actually needed an invitation to drive??? 5 min later, I stepped out of the car, feeling like a truck driver but, with a wide grin plastered over my face, nevertheless.

Then, MATC called RR and me and asked us to meet a GL of a banking project. He sent us to BKC for another interview and then, we were on board!!! I can finally say that I have some work after all!!! Champagne anyone??

The B Chronicles No. 5 (Contd...)

The B Chronicles No. 5

Started attending office since yesterday, after completion of AS/400 training. Its the same old story......We go to MATC, they make a plaintive face.....we return after 2-3 hours......they ask us to return the next day. Plus, since it's Learning Week, the Recreation Room has been converted into a mini lecture room for language training. That means that there is no TT or carrom this week!! :-(

So, the only recourse is to read a good book in the library. One can also spend a lot of time on the terrace. Since there aren't too many tall bldgs around in the vicinity, an excellent view is afforded. Plus, the sunsets can be beautifully captured from here. I am putting up some pics taken from the terrace here. They kinda show that whatever the case, be it even a beautiful sunset, nothing can stop this great city from moving forward.

Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire - A Review

Went to watch HP4 with family today. Entertaining movie. It starts out well enough by sticking to the mysterious atmosphere created in the first chapter of the book by JKR. But, after around 5 minutes, you find that the movie begins to deviate from the story. Then, it becomes an interesting exercise trying to find the differences between the book and the movie. I enjoyed trying to predict what scene from the book would come next. Not recommended for those who hate improvisations over the original. The movie is based on the fourth book of the Harry Potter series, so commenting on the story would be futile.

The acting seems to be pretty good, though, I must admit that this is the first Potter movie that I have watched. All the three lead actors do a fine job of portraying the journey from childhood to adolescence. Radcliffe is credible as Harry, who has to balance the expectations of the entire wizarding world on his 14 yr old shoulders. Rupert Grint constantly wears a goofy expression on his face, which seems to have made him quite popular amongst the girls. Now, if only Ron Weasley could have such good fortune coming his way.....!!! Emma Watson has done a nice job of transforming herself from a sweet lass into a teenage pinup. I found her to be extremely good-looking in the movie, esp. in the ballroom scene. The supporting actors do their job admirably. The surprise package of the movie is Mad-Eye Moody. He infuses some fresh life into the movie whenever it begins to get a bit too serious.

All in all, a good package. Certainly recommended for the kid in you.

The B Chronicles No. 4

Long time since I last posted but there hasn't been anything much to say. In fact, there still isn't.

Started AS/400 training yesterday. Its an interesting technology and I sure hope its something useful to waste 12 whole working days on. The good thing about this course is that the instructor is an extremely chilled out guy who gives us our space and yet manages to teach. A very helpful chap, indeed!! Plus, there is lunch for 12 days in a 3 star hotel. Granted, its veg, but its still very tasty.

The others from ILP who are not from Bombay are slowly adjusting to life here. It is sometimes scary for them, but I am sure they will manage. The only thing that irritates me is that the North Indians have not left behind their pompous attitude back home. For them, the most striking feature of Bombay is the abundance of small cars. "Hamare yahan to Skoddda, Mersideees jaisi gaddiyan to jagah jagah dikhti hain. Yahan to ek bhi nahin dekhi!!!" Dudes, ever heard of a Porsche before? Aww....forget it, I wouldn't expect those guys to know!!!

The B Chronicles No. 3

Ah....finally!!! My company seems to have found something for me. I am supposed to start training for AS400 next Monday. Lets hope this leads to something concrete (pun intended ;-) !!! )

In the meanwhile, the MATC person deputed to look after our allocations somehow reminds me of one of our faculty at Bhubaneswar. The same helpful nature, the same perenially confused look, the same desire to accomplish n number of things in one go. Hey AM(from my company), you seem to have found yourself an apt partner in the company. How I wish you two worked together....it would be simply hilarious.

More about the training in the next post.

The B Chronicles No. 2

Went to SEEPZ today in search of the MATC guy. He told all of us to go to Akruti. There we spent the first half of the day reading newspapers, magazines, staring at planes taking off from the airport etc. Lunch time was fun. Met many Compsy guys from college. It seems even they have nothing to do. Good for RR and me. I mean its psychologically satisfying to see others not working. It kinda makes you feel less guilty about your lack of work!!

The latter part of the day was spent in playing TT. I have not played the game for almost 3 years. Got to shake off the rustiness. Some guys here play like real pros. It seems many ppl here have either no work or very little work to do.

Garam Masala - A Review

Two cool dudes, lots of chicks, exotic locales and Priyadarshan+Paresh Rawal. Sounds nice, doesn't it? That's why I went to watch the night show of Garam Masala on Friday.

Movie starts off well with a nice catchy song and some gorgeous phirangi babes. Of course, there are Akki and John for company (;-) at the girls!!). However, one thing strikes you right from the beginning. Where is the goddamn story??? All that we can figure out is that Akki is a photographer and John is his assistant. Their roles somehow get swapped and now Akki has ego problems. To top it all, he begins to date 3 airhostesses (or airheads?), with different palates, at the same time. Enter the grumpy cook (Paresh Rawal). Cook manages to piss off all 3 airheads with the wrong cuisines. A lot of confusing moments later, the movie ends.

Of all the actors, Akki stands out. He is now beginning to deliver comic scenes very effectively, and it sure is a pleasure to watch him. John Abraham looks genuinely confused in some scenes but, most of the time, he manages to put on a very convincing impression of a dumbfounded monkey, who has not seen a razor in his lifetime!!! Paresh Rawal is, expectedly, brilliant. But, one gets the feeling that he is wasted in this role. Rajpal Yadav again plays Rajpal Yadav (Ho Hum!!). We also have Rimi Sen and Asrani in "blink-and-you-will-miss-it" roles. What a waste!!!

Corny jokes are liberally spread throughout the movie. One certainly feels that the movie could have been handled in a better way, especially considering that there was Priyadarshan at the helm. But then, the movie has its plus points. It moves at quite a clip. Plus, you at least feel like laughing at the silly jokes. And then, there are the girls to ogle at!!! (Sorry, girls!! I am human!)

All in all, timepass, but no substance. A strict one-time watch. Definitely not a Hera-Pheri. One word of caution to all the kaamwali bais in Bombay. Your jobs are now threatened by the multi-tasking airhostesses of Mauritius!!! Aaargh!!!

The B Chronicles No. 1

Report to Bombay branch at xxxxxx address on 31st Oct, 2005, said the transfer letter. The "show" began at 0930 hrs sharp. Some 10 presentations, a veggie lunch and a couple o' cups of tea later, we were done. The difference?? I began to love my bed at home even more!!! Presentations by various depts and GLs of imp projects!!!!???? Couldn't they think of something better than that? Gimme a break!!!

After all this, we came to know that our allocations were not yet done. Wow, what a won-derrr-fullll day it was!!! The only silver lining?? We don't need to report until next Monday. Happy Diwali to me!!!!

Sumo Speaks from Bombay

Had a lot of problems trying to get connected to the net throughout this week. Conversion from Dial up to Tri Band. Looks like it'll be another week before I get a proper connection. And this time, I am really anxious coz I will be paying for it!!! ;-)

Had a pretty uneventful flight back to Bombay. That is uneventful, if you can ignore the fact that I almost slept over my lunch, spilled coffee over my pants and, as a grand finale, sat back nursing a throbbing nerve in my temple, just as the plane was about to land!!! Pretty commonplace for me, I must say.

Having reached here, the first thing I did was sleep. And then, I slept again, and then some more! Finally, when I decided that I had rested enough, it was Sunday. And what does one do on Sundays? Of course, SLEEP!!!! :-D

Had to report for work on Monday, but then, that comes in the B Chronicles. Until later, CIAO.

Chronicle No. 29

Feels strange to write this blog today. Hardly any time has passed since I whined about this place and the lack of facilities. But, I dont think I have wasted time out here. Staying here was an enriching experience, one which I can never forget.

However, this experience now has to come to an end. The time has come to bid goodbye to the ILP. Adieu TCS Villa, adieu KIIT.

This is Sumo from BBSR, signing off!!!

Chronicle No. 28

Phew!! Project finally over!! Gave the project demo today. T'was OK, considering the fact that we were doing such a thing for the first time. The tester found quite a few errors and pointed out a few cases we had not considered. All in all, it was a good experience, and I am sure we all learnt something from it.
End terms exams were held today. They were quite alright. Lets hope I can do better than last time. Unfortunately, instinct tells me that the possibility of that happening is very bleak!!! Well, at least, the tension is over. Thank God for that!!

Chronicle No. 27

I have hardly had time to blog in the past week. Its project time, baby!!! Of course, the fact that I am doing the seemingly easiest work of all, is a different matter, altogether. ;-) Actually, I am in charge of the front end ie. the webpages and their links to Java programs. The other project members are handling the back end part. We seem to be functioning very nicely in this manner and I dont see why we should change this policy until the end of the project next week.

Notice for the dreaded end terms was put up yesterday. Monday is the D-Day. This time, we will be tested in all the subjects we have done in the ILP so far. Guess, that puts a lid on the enjoyment we had planned for Sat and Sun.

Today, we have a full day of Life Skills classes. Inter-personal Skills & Team Development (IS&TD) is the subject name. It is said that this subject has lots of practical exercises. Let's see. We shall soon find out.

Its the fourth day since the new batch of inductees joined the ILP here on 17th. All of a sudden, the food in the canteen is better, there is background music (tho' silence sounds much better, given the music they play!!!) and the buses (Surprise!!! Surprise!!!) are on time. WOW!!! Just because their batch has a few good looking girls, the management has suddenly turned very co-operative. BTW, there ARE quite a few good-looking females in their batch, no kidding!!! As per VRS' observation, most of them have, what he calls "child-bearing hips"!!! LMAO!!!! ROTFL!!!! :-D But, it sure is nice to have better auxillary services in your last week in this place. Plus, there are always the girls to see!!!! ;-)

Chronicle No. 26

Hardcore project work starts tomorrow!!! Gotta read up on JSP and Core Java. Front end interfaces almost over. Yaay!!!

Chronicle No. 25

Its been a really long weekend and it is with a very heavy heart that I return to office. Somehow, 4 days of holiday make you really lazy. Enjoyed a lot with Mom and Dad during the hols. Went to Puri, Konark and Chilka. All visits were memorable and I shall sure remember them for a long time. For the first time, I saw a spotlessly clean beach with a blue sea. The sea at Bombay looks so black!!! Puri was simply amazing. Konark's single offering - The Sun Temple was breathtaking. The carvings were so intricate that one wonders how many years it must have taken those artisans to complete the temple. I really admire their patience.

Got GPS, thats Good Programming Skills class today. And then, its back to WC. Sigh!!!!

Chronicle No. 24

Feels so quiet here in office here today. All the Comps guys have left for their resp. centres and now, its only 3 batches of NCS guys. 3 weeks more!!!! I am striking off the days as they fly by.

Only 3 sessions out of the regular four today. Yaay!! The last session has been given free so that the participants can go to their resp. homes if they wish to, for the Puja holidays. 4 whole days of bliss stretched out in front of me......Wow!!! Plus, Mom and Dad will be here today, so thats gonna be double the fun. Plans on the anvil to visit Puri, Konark, Chilka, Udaygiri-Dhaulagiri. I am certainly gonna be daydreaming in class today!!

Java is now nearing an end. Our project's final phase will start on Thursday. Lets hope we are able to impress the assessing committee.

Chronicle No. 23

Today, the Comps batches had their final day. Watching them go, I felt really depressed that I still had another 3 weeks to go before I went home. Anyway, I suppose this time will also pass like the time gone by. We had 2 lab sessions today so it was not boring at all. I hope we have many more such days.

We have 4 consecutive days of Puja holidays starting Sunday. Mom and Dad are coming here for a holiday tomorrow so I will be having a kind of mini vacation within the ILP. At least, its the next best thing to going home.

Spending on the air ticket has left me with practically no salary. Hope, I am in a better situation next month. Here's to that thought!!!

Chronicle No. 22

Got my allocation yesterday. Thankfully, I am allocated to the Bombay branch. Will be leaving for Bombay on the 28th. The only problem is that they have asked us to report to work on the 31st. They could have at least waited for Diwali to get over!! Anyway, something is better than nothing.

Have been working on 3rd project deliverable now. Submission is on Saturday morning. Like always, I think it will be done. ;-)

Now, its Java Java Java all the way. The only change in the day is the EC lecture. That is really refreshing, considering that one can actually die out of boredom if one sits continuously for the tech. lectures!!!

Chronicle No. 21

Filled out my preferred locations for allocation. Hope I get Bombay. Will get to know tomorrow, at the earliest. Till then, its back to work for me. I have a Japanese test in a few minutes from now. Dont know how I will fare, considering that we got less than 24 hours notice for this test. It seems that our sensei is extremely confident that we will do well in the test.

JAVA before the test. Its going to be an extremely hectic week what with us having to write a small skit for EC and there's also the next project deliverable. Phew!!!

Chronicle No. 20

Was very busy for the past 3 days and thats why I couldnt blog. The quiz VRS and I had organised was a success. Thankfully, the quality of the questions was appreciated. Finally, what makes me happy is that all those who were present were not bored and we had a good time.

VRS and I went for a local quiz here on Sunday. Unfortunately, it was not our day and we could not get into the finals. However, the winner of our quiz got through and eventually came fourth. The good thing was that we tied with a rival company and did not let them get on top of us.

Got OOAD/UML today. Once thats done, we will have our next deliverable waiting. Looks like the 4 day holiday is not going to be a good one, as I feared. I am hoping for the best.

Chronicle No. 19

Had a hectic day yesterday, what with all the classes to attend and the quiz to prepare. We started off with OOC. That was taught by a very nice looking half-Bong, half-Russian female from the Kolkata branch of the company. She taught quite well, actually. It was not mentally taxing to sit for her lectures as was the case with the other visiting faculty. Then, came Japanese and Life Skills. One bombshell dropped during Jap class. Jap viva is on Monday. Its study time once again!!!

Dont know how I will complete the quiz with VRS. The situation calls for some serious multitasking. I got to get back to the quizzing now.

CIAO.

Chronicle No. 18

Got my mid term results yesterday. I scored 3-5-3. Thats Tech-LifeSkills-Overall. Grades out of 5 each. Guess, I could have done better than 3 in Tech but I dont think the system is flawed. I mean, I deserve what I got. RR got 3, and surprisingly, VRS got 2. I guess all the SPCE guys continue getting 3, for that was the case in Coimbatore with the rest of our gang too.

We start with the actual Comps stuff today. 3 sessions of GUI and one of Effective Communication. Lets hope at least this stuff is taught well. I would like to design a really nice interface for my project.

Preparations for VRS and my quiz are in full swing. Sometimes, we think that it may be impossible to get enough questions ready in time for the quiz. But, I think we will be ready on D-day. Promise to put up a few questions out here.

Chronicle No. 17

Made good use of the holiday yesterday. First, it was sleep then, a late breakfast. Lunch was at the tasteless joint that is our canteen. Went for a movie after that. "Chocolate" was good (read review in next post).

Then, time for the quiz preparation. We managed to make up the Elims questions in the short time provided to us. We will have to research for the Finals questions during this week. Hope the event is a success.

Dont know today's schedule yet. Will have to find out and then adjust the quiz preps as per that.

Chocolate - A Review

Went to watch Chocolate in the local movie theatre yesterday. It's a story about a group of friends who go about evading the law with innovative moves that leave one spellbound, albeit temporarily. They are unwittingly helped by a lawyer to go scot free. All in all, the movie is completely a game of wits.

The movie starts off well. The movie has a taut feel to it. Never does one feel bored in the movie. However, the narration is jerky and right until the very end, the viewer may find it difficult to understand what is going on. There are a few unexplained points, as well, but then, all in all, its a good effort.

Performance-wise, Anil Kapoor as the eccetric lawyer steals the show. His every move exudes an intriguing sense of style. He displays a variety of qualities, which makes his character a pleasure to watch. Of the five friends, Irrfan Khan and Suniel Shetty do a credible job. Suniel Shetty exudes menace in just the right amounts and Irrfan is too good when it comes to portraying a brooding character. Arshad Warsi is, as usual, bankabla with perfect comic timing. He also puts in an earnest histrionic performance. Emraan Hashmi has broken his uninterrupted run of smooching his heriones in every movie. This one, in fact, has his character yearning to find a girl. Tanushree Dutta seems to be there just for the eye candy. Already, in her first two films, her characters have been sleazy. She should be careful, else she will also be typecast in the Neha Dhupia mould. Oh, and yes, some acting classes are surely recommended!!

No particular individual stellar performances, as such, but put together, the movie gels wells. Go, watch it!!!

Chronicle No. 16

Phew! Finally, I have finished with my midterms. T'was a good exam and I feel that I have done well but one never knows the right answers out here. All the options sound right. I hope that the people who correct my paper think like me, else I am done for!!!

Didnt do anything significant during the day after the exam. Had a bit of testing, but the faculty seemed bored so he left us early. I took advantage of the opportunity to catch 40 winks. ;-) After all, school students do need to sleep for 6-8 hours, dont they??!!!

Japanese, as always, was fun. The Japanese songs the faculty plays for us are funny to listen to, but their music is quite lively. All in all, its a good way to ease the mental stress that develops due to the Tech classes.

Chronicle No. 15

That's it!!! Less than 24 hours left for my midterms. Now, its officially time to panic!!! Actually, I am hoping it wont be as bad as engg. We had a review session taken by a Trivandrum faculty today and it was really nice. He cleared quite a few doubts I had and now, I am beginning to feel a wee bit more confident. I am hoping for the best.

Had a chat with the ILP centre co-ordinator, D today. She has given me and VRS permission to conduct a quiz here next week. Yaay!!! VRS is from BITS Pilani. He is also a UC semi-finalist. Hope the event will elicit a generous response. The other thing D told me was that I neednt be very happy even if I got a Bombay base branch posting. That's coz a lot of cities come under the base branch and I could be even sent to a place like Bangalore. Well, I sure hope not!!! MATC, my future is now in your hands!!!

Chronicle No. 14

Got some good news today. Our midterms have been postponed to Saturday. That's a whole 24 hours extra time!!! There is a God after all!!!

Had Testing today. Same faculty as SDO. Bored chap, gonna go to Deutscheland soon. Comes in 15 min late, "teaches" for 15 min and then, we have to sit in the class for an eternity before we are "authorised" to get out!!! When did I ever get out of college?? No, wait!!! I left college and got back to school!!! Yes, that must be it!!!

WC was boring as usual. Different tones of writing. That' all. Ho Hum!!!!

Chronicle No. 13

An unusual day today. Only one scheduled lecture!!!! Actually, the problem was that the faculty was not feeling well and hence, had to take the day off. That gave us plenty of time to complete our second deliverable of the project.

We had our first session of Technical Writing today. It was strictly OK. Personally, I feel that life skills sessions should be more fun. Just sitting and listening to how stupid letters must be written is like visiting college all over again. Believe me, its really frustrating!!!

The last session was an impromptu French session. The French faculty was very nice and it was good revising La langue belle!!! I have spoken to the ILP co-ordinator here and she is willing to let us have extra French sessions after hours. Lets hope that this works out.

Chronicle No. 12

Had the second consecutive of DBMS today. As expected, boring!!!! These faculty will make good parents. I mean they are soooo good at singing lullabies that their children will never have any problems sleeping. An instant sleeping pill anyone???

The day ended with Japanese. T'was a nice session and we got the results of our first class quiz. Thankfully, I did pretty well. Hmm....thats "Arigatou Gozaimashta" to "Matsuimoto Sensei"!!! (BTW, all are free to try their hands at translation in the comments section at the bottom of this post.) It seems that we have to answer a quiz at the beginning of every session of Japanese, henceforth. Guess, that's the only way we will "condescend" to revise the previous session's work!!!

We have Testing tomorrow, and we start with Written Communication & Effective Technical Writing. Why do I feel as if I never left college??

Salaam Namaste

Went to see Salaam Namaste in a theatre called Maharaja in the main city. Dolby stereo sound et al. Price?? An incredible 20 bucks for balcony!!! I couldnt believe my eyes.

The movie starts off quite well with the narrative building on the interactions (live and via media) between an RJ and a chef. As expected, they meet, like each other, fall in love. Then, the unthinkable happens!!! The guy asks the girl to live with him so that they can test out their compatibility. Girl agrees, they move in together, have fun, and screw all over the place. So far so good.

Then, comes the bombshell. RJ is preggers and our chef freaks out. A false abortion later, the convo leads to the usual "Where is this going?" talk. The only problem is that our chef doesnt wanna marry. Oops, wrong decision!!! RJ breaks up and continues to live with him!!! Some long drawn minutes later, chef realises his "mistake" and proposes marriage to RJ and they live happily ever after. Sniff, soooo touching!!!

The movie seems to be trying to convey a very pertinent message in today's world. It tries to show live-in relationships in a more acceptable light. However, the movie loses its track after the interval. Too many complications are introduced in the form of the RJ's friend and a blonde who befriends our chef. Even the chef's principles seem to be skewed. After resisting marriage for so long, his resolve suddenly changes when he sees the sonographic image of his unborn child!!! How's that for fickle-mindedness? And as usual, in the ending, the RJ and the chef agree to marry and live happily ever after. Acc. to me, a better ending would have been the case where the RJ rejects the chef's proposal for marriage and goes her own way. Maybe, the chef can be her child's father but, he can never be her husband. But, I guess it takes guts to make such a movie.

Performance-wise Preity Zinta is OK. Her cute looks pep up the first half, but she certainly deserves to be hidden in the second half, even if you consider the pregnancy of her character. I feel an actress like Rani Mukherji would have been a better choice for this role. Saif seems to be improving with every movie. His comic timing is perfect and you can feel his anguish in the serious confrontational scenes. However, he must take on a greater variety of roles, or he stands the risk of being typecast. The character played by Javed Jaffery is avoidable and can grate on your nerves. He tries to imitate Feroz Khan and fails miserably. He kinda reminds me of ARK!!!! And whats with Abhishek Bachchan as the bumbling doc?? Almost the entire scene seems to be copied from F.R.I.E.N.D.S.' s Rachel pregnancy!! AB jr would do better to concentrate on the more serious movies. C'mon, he has all the chicks after him, hasnt he?

Chronicle No. 11

Had an OK weekend. Went to watch Salaam Namaste in the city on Sat. Then, it was the mall for us. We had a nice time simply going around the place and soaking in the crowded atmosphere.Finally, it was feeling like home. Dinner in the Food Court above the mall was nice and we felt like we had FOOD!!!

Yesterday was, however, a dampener. It rained throughout the day with great gusts of wind for company. It was next to impossible to get out of the villa. At least we managed to get out for lunch. Otherwise, it was a very boring day and we spent most of it playing cards.

Today, it was back to business, as usual. T'was the last session of PG&E. Then, we had three continuous sessions of DBMS. Again, the faculty was someone from the bench, who had no prior experience of teaching. I dont know when these guys will start giving us trained faculty so that we can actually learn something.

On Friday, we got to know about our secret friends. Turns out that mine was a girl!!! I was also writing for a girl!! I ended up getting a Reynold's Metallix pen for my efforts. Neat deal, isnt it??

Chronicle No. 10

Managed to finish half of the project deliverable due on Saturday. Feeling very sleepy now. Thankfully, there is a PG&E class in the second session. That will liven up things a bit. Today, we will be getting to know the identity of our secret friend, after a whole 5 days of suspense. Lets see who is mine. Will certainly mention him/her over here once I get to know.

The other 3 sessions are all SDO. The guy who's supposed to teach us is treating it as an informal interaction session. One thing's certain, though. I still dont feel as if I am out of college. The only silver lining is that SPCE has trained me to take on anything head on.

Chronicle No. 9

Had three sessions of Systems Design Overview today. Then, it was time for Japanese. Its an extremely confusing language, especially because it has its own script. thankfully, they are not teaching us the script. As regards SDO, the guy was simply not made to teach. He spent most of the time narrating his experiences in the company. That made the sessions interesting. Else, it was simply back to college.

We finally managed to register our accounts with the company server. Now, I hope they will not have any problems in crediting my salary to my account. I am certainly keeping my fingers crossed.

I will have to sit up at night today. Gotta to meet a Saturday deadline. SPCE revisited!!!!

Chronicle No. 8

Got a call from S yesterday. T'was nice to talk to him after such a long time. We caught up on the good times and yapped on like the days of yore. He's invited me to visit him in Calcutta after my ILP gets over. I shall certainly be considering the invitation.

Got SDO classes now. God knows what that thing has in store for us now. I guess I will just have to wait and find out. I also have Japanese in the end. The worst part abt Japanese is that you are expected to bow down low, and that can be extremely irritating, esp. to a lazy guy like me. Good thing is that its only for 15 sessions in all, and we dont have to learn the Japanese script.

Gotta go for classes now.

Chronicle No. 7

Got my employee no and bank documents yesterday. Now, I have a full-fledged salary account. The only problem is that there is no salary in it!!!

The axe has finally fallen on our plans for merriment. Today, we had our first project work meeting. We have to design a software for a Software firm!!! Can you believe it?? First submission deadline is Saturday, the next being Monday. I can still remember waving goodbye to my glorious Sunday, as it floated out of the window!!! Guess, I will have to get used to all this.

In the beginning, when I got here, there were very few people who wanted to go to Bombay. But, as the days pass, I find that this number is steadily increasing. Even today, when I am introduced to a new colleague, the dialogue goes something like this.

Other Guy : Hi, I am xxxxxxx from xxxxxxx, xxxxxx(mostly Calcutta here).

Me : Hi, I am Sumedh from SPCE, Bombay

Other Guy : Oh you are from Bombay?? Where in Bombay??

Its as if those guys know every inch of the place. And the other question me or RR often get is "Have you seen any filmstar/shooting in Bombay??" Oh come on, gimme a break!!! I would rather catch the 7:53 Virar fast rather than watch some stupid filmstar give 50 takes to get a simple scene right!!!! The guys from Calcutta seem to looooove their city, and are vehement supporters of Dada. The guys from Delhi are extremely snootish, however. But, all that attitude changes when you give your place of origin!! Its as if there's Bombay and there's the Rest of India!!! Hmmm......sad, isnt it???

Chronicle No. 6

ILP seems to have started off completely now. We have just submitted 2
assignments, and things are beginning to get hot. Deadlines have to be
met and unfortunately, they are not flexible any more. Also, the hours
of sleep we get out here are dwindling steadily. Well, in that sense,
I am thankful for all those stupid drawing sheets and assignments
given to us by our @#$%# profs. At least, they have taught me to stay
up at unearthly hours and go for days together with low amounts of
sleep.

Bombay seems to be in the grip of some more heavy rainfall. It makes
me homesick to watch the news on TV about the floods in Bombay, or the
fire in Jaslok. Nothing ever seems to happen out here. The only hip
crowd here seems to be the cows. They seem to occupy every inch of the
road. I certainly wouldnt like to drive out here. Coming from me, that
is really something!!! ;-)

Had to get up at 5:30 in the morning to get here to write this post. I
hate the morning net slots. Thankfully, we will be back to the evening
slots next week.

Chronicle No. 5

Had a gruelling 3 in 1 session of Requirements Engg today. We were supposedly taught by some esteemed faculty who had been specially brought in from Chennai!!! All she did was to ask us to read from the meagre handouts and explain the concepts ourselves. The only thing we learnt from the session was how to make the Data Flow Diagrams. That was mainly due to the threat of a deadline issued to us by the faculty. ;-) Guess nothing else will make us work that hard. HeHe!!!

We also had a Personal Grooming and Etiquette session today. That was very interesting. It kinda livened us up, especially after we had woken up to a very gloomy day, full of rain, complete with sound effects. Guess, I AM going to experience the mandatory cyclone before I leave this place for good, after all!!! Anyway, back to PG&E. It was a very nice and introspective session. However, the presentations reminded me of the tacky apparel ads often seen on the local cable channel. Hmm....guess you cant have your cake and eat it too!!!

Nice lunch today. Fried fish!!! Yummy!!! Although it was Rohu, which I am not exactly used to, I certainly didnt mind. It was a nice change after 2 whole days of tasteless, veg. food. Chicken Biryani awaits me now for dinner. :-D

Tomorrow's a working day. Will have to get up early in the morning again. The very thought of that makes me sick!!! Lets hope tomorrow will be a more interesting day.

Chronicle No. 4

Had a long session on CO today. Was taught by the same chap who taught UNIX. Lets call him ARB. His priceless quote during the UNIX session - "I have not worked much with Windows and I dont know much of UNIX!!!" Today, too, it was the same situation. He was supposed to come and teach us CO but ended up learning a lot about the way a CRT functions from the participants. For him the rest was all "cryapppp"!!!

We had gone in a group to the Nandankanan zoo yesterday, coz it was a holiday for Ganesh Puja. Huuuge place that. Langoors line the road at every corner, waiting to pounce on the edible assets of some unsuspecting passerby. The biggest attraction there was the tiger. Both varieties were bred there and mind you, they were big. The white tiger was the biggest of the lot and we got quite a visual treat when we got to watch him bathe in the heavy rain that has been lashing this place for the past couple of days. Unfortunately, I could not capture it on film for posterity, lest the rain ruin my camera. Oh, what a waste!!!

It seems we are to learn Japanese. The two batches after mine get to learn French. I would have dearly loved to revise French and see if HC had done a good job in training us in school. Well, you cant have everything.....lets hope that they will at least put me in Bombay for my posting.

We will be having these internet sessions every evening till the 10th. Hope to be able to blog regularly until then.

Chronicle No. 3 ( on an IBM ThinkPad) :-D

Had the first net session today. We have been allotted individual IBM ThinkPads and they are extremely good. Feels good to work out here. Am slowly getting used to Bhubaneswar. Its a nice enough place if you decide that you are not going to expect any facilities out here.

Had Systems Approach to Consultancy Lecs today. For the first time, I was interested throughout the lecture. It mostly preached about how you should uphold the squeaky clean image of the company ....Blah!! Blah!!! But it was good!! :-)

Got nothing more to say. The only thing I dont like out here is the company policy of wearing ties on weekdays. It can get very hot out here in Bhubaneswar and there is also the humidity. Hope the weather gets better in October. The locals say that it gets very cold towards Oct end.

Lots of Bongs out here. It seems that the official first language of the ILP here is Bangla. Kinda reminds me of the conversations between S, R and A during those golden days. Sigh....those were the days!!!

Chronicle No. 2

Here goes my first Sunday in this God-forsaken place that is Bhubaneswar. Actually, I don't mean to be demeaning to the place or anything but, home feels sooo much better!! Well, whatever, I HAVE to spend 2 months out here, so might as well, enjoy the place.

The training has started off completely now. We have done a bit of UNIX, which will be wound up tomorrow. I guess I must thank PHS for making us do our C programming in UNIX. That has really helped me a lot. Hmm....must message him tomorrow for Teacher's Day. In addition to the Comps stuff, they are teaching us "Soft Skills". Its like going back to school!!! They teach you how to talk, eat etc. They are even teaching us a foreign language. The only problem is that the workplace is about 1.5km from our villas and the buses are available only at odd timings. No bus=1.5 km walk in the hot sun/dark, unlit road strewn with cowdung. How very romantic!!!

Went to the old city today to see the Lingaraj Temple. Lovely structure. It's indeed a Civil Engg. marvel. The carving on the main dome is extremely intricate and goes right up to the top, which is around 12 floors away from the ground. The temple complex has 1001 temples inside it!!! Loved the architecture and got quite a few good pics. Then, we went to see the Orissa State Museum. Nice small place. The only thing interesting are the small stone sculptures they have sourced from Orissa and Bihar. Extremely beautiful carvings. Definitely worth a dekko.

Well, I hope JD awakens from his slumber on Sundays to condescend to write something. And, I hope I never sail in the same boat as him. Me and not checking mail for more than a week?? Aaargh!!!

Chronicle No.1

Landed in Bhubaneswar on Monday, the 29th at 1:15 pm. Outside temp. - 34 degrees. Felt more like 54 degrees, esp after the cool environs of the plane's cabin. A long prepaid taxi ride later, RR and I found ourselves in front of the company villa. It looked like a very well-developed place in the middle of nowhere. On checking in, we found that as per company policy, no 2 students from the same college can share rooms, meaning that RR and I had to part ways.

Room was nice and clean, good toilet facilities, and water round the clock. Even the power cut is executed for arnd 30 min in the evening when it turns cool, so its quite alright. After a full Udupi dinner, which cost the whole of 20 bucks per head, I headed back to my room to find that my previously non-existent room partner from Jadavpur Univ. had now put in an appearance. Quite a nice chap, the only two problems being that he speaks in such a heavy Bong accent that I have to ask him to repeat himself at least 3 times before I can understand what is going on, and, he smokes. The former problem is pretty easy to solve. However, having heard of JD's predicament in Chennai, I solved the latter by requesting him to use the bathroom to smoke. He was game, so I am saved the trouble of having to cough for most of the day.

Today, I made a visit to the local Big Bazaar. Seems to be a nice place to come and shop every Sunday. Everything available at dirt cheap rates. Nothing much happened worth mentioning throughout the day.

Tomorrow, we start training. Hope it goes well. I certainly do not wish to stay outside Bombay for more than 2 months. My fingers are crossed.

Govt. v/s Judiciary

For the last two days, I have been seeing headlines about the public spat between the Central Govt. and the Judiciary splashed about everywhere. This leads me to think - Who will emerge as the eventual winner?

The entire dispute started when the Hon. SC (Supreme Court for this post!!) passed a judgement abolishing the reservation quota in private colleges. Although a majority of the college owners were overjoyed, this order sure made the Govt. see red. You see, they had their vote banks to protect!! The govt. started claiming that the Judiciary was infringing on its territory. On the other hand, the Judiciary curtly asked the Govt. to see to it that they do their job properly.

Well, in a way, the Govt. of India is right. India is a democratic nation and Parliament is the body empowered by the Constitution to make our laws. If we complain that Parliament does not act responsibly, then it is we who are to blame. After all, it is we who send our representatives to Parliament as MPs. Whatever be the case, Parliament SHOULD remain the sole law-making body in the country. The Hon. SC is simply expected to ensure that these laws are upheld in letter and spirit.

On the other hand, it can be argued that the large no. of PILs being filed in courts against the Govt. negligence forces the courts to look into the matter. After all, the Constitution guarantees every citizen the Right to Justice. Hence, it is implicitly implied that it is the duty of the Judiciary to ensure that this right is upheld. This leads to an internal conflict between the duties of Parliament and the Judiciary. Now, how can this conflict be resolved?

I feel that our esteemed Parliamentarians are to blame for this whole mess. If they discharge all the functions expected of them, then it will be no longer necessary for the citizens to resort to the courts for justice. Then, even the courts can carry out their functions without infringing on Parliamentary territory.

Coming round to the original argument, I feel that the executive viz. the Govt. will eventually emerge the winner, and rightly so. The only problem is that the powers of the Judiciary may be curbed in the process, resulting in denial of justice to a citizen in the future. Now, if only our politicians could do their job properly.......Sigh!!!!!

Another Futile College Visit

Had gone to college yesterday to make renewed attempts at trying to get a Transfer Certi from college. But, the guys in office were too smart for me. This time, the excuse was a fairly legitimate one, as compared to last time. FE admissions!!!Now what could I say to that?? With the pall of gloom that had now descended over my demeanour, I walked towards my former class with heavy strides.

On reaching the desired destination, I found, to my chagrin, that the classes had again been reshuffled, as regards classrooms. On inquiry, I found that this was PHS' doing (now why doesn't that surprise me??). It seems I was in time to witness another bombshell being dropped on the class. PHS wanted the total no of project groups in the BE class to be 12. It seems that the students were, somehow, unable to reach this figure. Now, they had it!!! PHS marched into the class, divided the class into 12 grps in his typical style and that was that. Thankfully, the groups were allowed to opt for their guides. This incident has, predictably, left the BE class disgruntled. Hope they manage to sort out this problem soon.

As regards me, I shall launch a fresh attack on the impregnable fortress that is the SPCE office and try to con them into giving me my TC. Akramaaan!!!!!

When will I get the Transfer Certi??

Had gone to college last week to get the Transfer Certi and the 500 bucks refund. Was stared at in the most condescending manner possible and curtly told by the Accounts chap to return the next week. Of course I should have realised this. How very stupid of me to go and bother them when they are soooo busy yapping about imp topics like why the trains are late and why that lady was looking so pale today and why Manmohan Singh should resign. These topics can affect the entire socio-political balance of the country and I actually have the cheek to go and attempt to stop all this??!!! All this information was conveyed by the contemptuous look cast in my direction by the Accounts chap when I tried to request him to do my wok ASAP. Damn - it made me wonder why I was even born!!!!

Now, I am again going to go and attempt the impossible on Monday. Lets see what new look I get from the office guys. God help me!!!

Glorious Pune

Had a nice extended weekend this time, so Dad suggested that we go to Pune. It seemed like a nice idea to Mom and me, so we set off on Sat. Pune was glorious and it was extremely cool due to the rains. A very refreshing change from Bombay. Plus there was no power cut, which was the biggest plus of all!!! Pune definitely seems to be improving. However, it seems there must always be a reason for me to complain about. And without fail, this time too, Pune provided me with one. Bad Roads!! Long potholes, wide potholes, circular potholes, even ones with no particular shape, which reminded me of amoeba. You name it, you had it. And not to mention, the slush all around. My car is back in its parking space looking like a wounded warrior which has just tackled some horrendous battle and just managed to scrape out of it alive!! I will HAVE to get it serviced ASAP!!!

Drive back to Bombay from Pune was fun, though. Smooth bypass road, smooth expressway = good motoring experience. Had to encounter very very heavy rain in the ghat. Visibility down to around 10m. Horrifying experience. But, t'was still fun!!! :-D Wouldn't mind doing it again!!! God Bless the person who first thought of the expressway!!!

Urgently Required - A Govt. for Bombay

Finally, Bombay is recovering from the deluge that submerged it for the past week. A lot of aspects of the average citizen of this megapolis have come to the fore. Be it the generosity of the people towards strangers, their willingness to help, their propensity to spread rumours or their eagerness to pose as victims and get undeserved aid, you got it all. But, amongst all this, one thing was missing - the so-called Govt. machinery. Where were those cars with flashing lights that we normally see on the roads? Where were those stupid village yokels who call themselves ministers and attend every opening of a flyover or a road? Where were those "Mamas" who are always eager to stop you if you dare to break a traffic rule? I am sure these questions are being asked not only by me, but also by thousands of my fellow citizens.

All this leads me to think. The State and Union Govt.s impose a variety of taxes on us, and manage to fill their coffers. However, very little is pumped back into the upkeep of the city. Where does all this leave us? I certainly feel shortchanged. How can Bombay be ruled effectively by a bunch of guys elected from villages, who don't have any idea as to how the city functions? What we need is a Govt. by our own people. We need a separate city state of Bombay a la Delhi. Then, our rulers will be truly answerable to us. We need a mayor with executive powers a la New York, who will be elected directly by the people. The entire BMC has to be restructured. Its current Commissioner has failed us miserably. In June, he was calling press conferences and tom-tomming the preparedness of the BMC for the coming rains. Well, Mr. Joseph, how does your foot taste?? Bitter, I think!! These guys hold us to ransom every year before Diwali and now, when they are needed the most, they disappear into thin air!! Alright, the rainfall was the highest in a century, but the extent of the catastrophe could have been curbed.

I thin its high time all this changed. I want a Govt. of my own for my city. I want a CEO who will be answerable to me, and whom I can oust if he/she fails me. Silly thoughts?? Naah....more like a Utopian concept. One which I hope will come true in a decade's time.

Why must side plates always be on your left??

Went out for dinner today with Mom and Dad to Balwas. As usual, nice ambience and food. Managed to somewhat drown out the sorrow of India having lost its first match of the season. The Tandoori Chicken course had me wondering. Wouldn't it be nice if side plates were on your right (for a right-hander), instead of the usual left? Yet, table etiquette demands that the side plate MUST be placed on your left. Nice idea if you were working for a detergent company. It would present you with a nice opportunity to demonstrate the effectiveness of your product. Or wait a minute!!! Hmm.....seems like the person who decided on the etiquette was a southpaw!!! Yes, that must be it!!!

Why, oh why, must side plates be placed on the left???? Aaaarghhh!!!!!

ILP - I Lack Patience

Was supposed to attend the Initial Learning Programme of my company from the 28th of July. Only one problem. No flights took off for C'batore on either the 27th or the 28th, coz of the heavy rains here. End result?? My company told me to go and join the next ILP starting on 16th August at either Pune or Calcutta.

So, now I am at home for at least 2 weeks with nothing to do. Guess BCL will have to help me out again.

Now, do I call this situation luck or a spanner in the works???

Submerged !!!

Was preparing for departure to C'batore the next day when M called in the evening. Said he was stranded and needed a place to shelter, coz of the heavy rains. V was with him. After some confusion which saw M and V end up in Tardeo, I finally met them at Grant Rd and got them home. Slowly, news of the plight of others started reaching us. P had got stuck in Bandra with a few colleagues and finally spent the night there. R and AB were stuck in office. RS had to camp at SCH's place. We were unable to contact SC, so his fate was unknown. Ditto for the rest. Experienced the frustration that, I suppose, our parents' generation must have experienced, what with cells not working and landlines dead.

Hail Thee O Rain God for bringing our Shanghai-drunk heads back down to the Bombay gutters. Hail Thee for providing an opportunity to flies and germs to thrive, guess they also need to enjoy sometimes.
Hail Thee for bringing out that indomitable emotion we call the Spirit of Bombay.
Hail Thee for reminding us that no matter what, we are always at your mercy.

Adieu!!

Well, my training in C'batore starts on the 28th of July. That means today is my last day in Bombay for quite some time. It'll be the first time that I have been away from the city for so long. I will really miss this place. Adieu, Bombay, the city of dreams, the lifeline of the country, the symbol of hope for millions, adieu!!!

Results are finally out!!!

Well, the Sem VIII results were finally put up yesterday in college. The overall performance is very good for Civil with 7 distinctions. Only 2 guys with a Second Class and one with an unfortunate KT. The rest have secured First Class. This is one of the best performances of Civil in college for a long time. My heartiest congratulations to the entire class on its stellar performance!!!

Met all profs yesterday and appraised them of the situation. All were extremely happy with the scenario. It is hoped that the unfortunate guy who got a KT will clear the subject in reval. Well, the class keeps its fingers crossed.

T'was nice to meet up with most of the members of the class. We sat down for a few hours and reminisced about the happy days. Sigh!!!!

Came to know later in the day that our class topper was only 6th in the University rankings. It seems guys from DMCE are at the top. I guess that was bound to happen, what with all their profs distributing marks as if they were Indian bowlers distributing runs!!! I think I am beginning to sound like Sidhu Paaji. So I will just shut up and sign off!!!

CIAO.

A Day out with Friends

Met up with R, G, T, M and GA today. T'was good to see them after such a long time. We first went to Vrindy's where we caught up with each other's lives. Finally, the era of going Dutch for rick expenses seems to be over. Everyone seemed to be keen to pay up on their own. Hmm...things are sure changing when GA offers to pay for a rick journey to college on his own!!! Lunch was on M as he suddenly decided to be generous and cough up the entire bill amount. Guess all that needling about he being the only one to have received a salary worked!!!

We then went to G7 to watch Viruddh. Nice movie. Review is in previous post. T'was nice to unwind and watch a movie lazily on a Sunday afternoon with friends. A was supposed to join us but she got delayed and by the time she called us up, we were already entering the theatre. Awww!!! Well, that was all I could think of!!! ;-)

Unfortunately, everyone had to get home for some work or the other in the evening, so it was curtains on our day out. We bade each other adieu and headed for our respective homes, hopeful of such wonderful opportunities of a rendezvous with friends would present itself pretty soon.!!

( Sniff!! What a touching reunion!!!! HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!)

Viruddh - A Movie for Mahesh Manjrekar

Went to Viruddh yesterday with friends. Liked the movie, in general. The papers seem to be right. Even I got the feeling that Mahesh Manjrekar has made this movie for his own satisfaction rather than for the masses.

The first half builds up the story of the retired AI employee and his ex-principal wife who lead a middle-class existence. They squabble over petty things and make up quickly too, getting mushy at times, a la Baghban. Then enters the only son who is here on a visit, with his firang girlfriend in tow. Hitler Mom makes them marry and everyone seems to be very happy. But then the son goes to a party and witnesses a killing. Trying to intervene, he gets shot in the ensuing scuffle. Down come their dreams in an instant when the news of the son's death reaches them.

The second half is about how the father tries to get justice for his dead son by fighting the corrupt system and a very unsympathetic police force. However, when all seems lost, the patriarch takes the law into his own hands and kills his son's killer in cold blood. I don't seem to understand the difference between the father and the son's killer. Murder for revenge should not be forgiven!!! And the court actually sets the father free without so much as a suspended sentence!!! Bad precedent for the young minds out there!! Tut, tut, Mr. Manjrekar, why the Vaastav mixed with Saraansh???

Performance-wise, John Abraham is surprisingly fresh and crisp. Maybe its those sparkling kurtas which give us that impression. ;-) Anousha fits the bill as the foreign girlfriend. Just keep out the overacting and unnecessary expressions, baby, and you will do just fine. Sharmila Tagore puts in a performance expected of her. Whether its as the stern wife/mother or the loving mother-in-law, she excels in every emotion expected of her by the director. AB is, of course, miles ahead of the rest. He renders the role of the grieving father with aplomb. Of note is the scene when he watches his laughter club members laugh, just days after the death of his son and tries to join them. How empty and full of grief that laughter sounds!!! AB, we bow to thee!!!

Civil might make a record !!

Well, heard the good news today that C had cleared his Sem VII KT exams as well as the original one through reval. That means that the class result was 100% for Sem VII. Which now leaves Civil in a position to try and get to the 100% pass percentage record which, for Civil, will be a great achievement. Hope we manage to do it. Sem VIII results expected soon, so we shall soon know.

Sarkar - The Desi Godfather

Went to Eros and watched Sarkar on Friday. Very good film. RGV seems to have regained his lost touch. AB's mere presence exudes a lot of menace throughout the first half. He says a million things without even speaking a word. AB's baby is good and comes into his element in the second half. He takes over quite seamlessly from the senior Bachchan but I guess he has miles to go before he can even come close to his father's screen presence. He sure seems to be headed that way though. Girls - Continue to drool over this hunk!!!!

The surprise package seems to be KayKay. He delivers a KO performance which is bettered only by AB. He is one very much underrated actor, somewhat like Pankaj Kapur (that's Shahid Kapoor's dad, for the uninitiated). Hope he continues to get such good films.

The roles of the women in the film disappoint me, though. They just seem to be there as showpieces. They had the potential to play a much larger role as the anchors at home but RGV does not seem to have given this angle much thought.

All in all, a good effort and I will certainly call it a very good tribute to that Baap of all gangster films - THE GODFATHER!!!!!!

The Vacation Dwindles

Slightly less than 2 weeks left for me to join my company. Now that I think of it, there are so many things that I feel I could have done but haven't. Guess this happens to everyone. Still a lot of shopping left to do. Gotta get shoes which can be polished but do not rot due to rainwater, a bag which looks formal enough but does make me look older and lots of other things that I cant even think of now, but I am sure I will once I reach C'batore.

Now, with S back in Cal for good, there is hardly anyone to talk to on phone. The others are working and I don't have the heart to disturb them and make them jealous of my inactivity. On second thoughts when did I have a heart? Yeah, I WILL call them up. HehHeh!!!

I am not in the greatest of spirits currently 'coz of this stupid 'flu which refuses to subside. This damn thing's left me feeling very weak and sleepy. Hope I get over this thing soon.

R coming to Bombay today at night. So, finally, I will have someone to talk to, even if its for a day!!!

CIAO.

Happy Birthday to RK!!!!

Time for the third birthday of the b'day spl month, as I call it. RK's b'day today. He turns 21. Must be good having your b'day on a Sunday when you have worked for a week. I still dunno what that feels like. Guess I will have to wait for at least a year for that experience.

Had gone to Pune on Friday for overseeing a bit of furniture shifting from Bombay. Pretty boring day it was with me having no energy left over even to go for a movie in the evening. Somehow, Pune seems to bring out the worst in me, at least in terms of mood!!! Saturday was a bit better, considering that it was my turn to drive. Still, the stupid scooterists in Pune don't leave you in exactly a very happy mood after a stint in the main city. At least, I managed not to knock down someone. Run from Pune to Bombay pretty uneventful except for the sight of the mangled remains of a freshly knocked down dog on the Pune bypass road. Gory sight that. Now I know how I must have looked when I dislocated my arm. Ugh!!!!

Pretty disappointing not to have any rains here recently. They lend a nice cool nip to the air which is not to be experienced at any other time of the year. Well, I am keeping my fingers crossed.

Since my last post, V, P, RK, RS, YD, AE have already joined work. Hope they are enjoying it. At least, I hope its better than college.

CIAO.

A Congregation over Lunch

Had SC,SCH,V,P,RK,M and SB come over to my place for lunch today. T'was rather fun to meet up again after a long time and do something together, even if it was for a short while only. M had office today and had come during lunch time. It gave us great pleasure in announcing to him our grand plans of enjoyment after his departure!!! Sure hope that he felt jealous of all of us throughout the afternoon sitting in his office. Naah!!! Missed his enthusiasm, actually!! Everyone seemed to be determined to put on a show of their best behaviour and this lasted until we actually got down to playing cards for passing time. The sheepskins were off then and the wolves' claws were beginning to show! Had a few good games and I managed to pull off the look of an extremely stupid person at cards!!! (Actually, I WAS feeling rather stupid!!) All in all, not a bad day at all, as compared to the large no. of boring days I am having at present.

On the personal front, there was also something to cheer about. Got news yesterday night that Dad had been promoted to the post of DGM, and that too, out of turn. Finally, Govt. offices have also started adopting this trend and I think its quite healthy. Let's hope this trend continues.

R left for Cal today so, I will have to wait for some time before I can trouble someone with continuous msgs. Unfortunately, she is the only one using the BPL service amongst my friends.

Nothing more to say, so I sign off!!

CIAO.

Happy Birthday to Me!!!!

Went to college on Wednesday to meet up with friends. Was nice reminiscing about college days and trying to predict everyone's future. Caught up with a lot of gossip regarding the dept. also. It seems admissions for ME (Enviro.) have already taken place and classes will commence soon. That is as soon as the main professor MMK manages to reserve time for it from his busy schedule full of invitations to conferences, prize distributions and "televised" interviews. After all, these are the main duties of a professor aren't they? Teaching is always secondary!!

As expected, PHS could not keep quiet and immediately announced 2 PG part-time programmes!! His policy seems to be like Brazil. You score 99 goals-fine, I don't care. I will score 100!! Entrance exam for the ME programme in CM was held on Tuesday. S saw RRR sitting nervously in the class before the start of the exam, looking very nervous. I wish we all were there to see this sight. It would have been fun to point at her and laugh as if she was some caged animal. As of now, she is not caged!!! Guess PHS asked to join the programme just so that he could have the pleasure of failing her in the entrance test. Or better still, let her pass the test and give her reams and reams of assignments, just like she used to give us when we used to be her students!! Way to go, PHS!!!

Its my birthday today so I sang myself a song today!! HAHAHAHA!! I sound loony don't I? Barrage of calls today from friends so I am quite busy on phone. Had messages from R and RS at midnight. Feeling rather sleepy today, though. Will be going out for dinner today at night with Mom and Dad. Lets hope I enjoy the year ahead.

CIAO.

The Birthday Season starts!!!

Its 23rd June today. RS' birthday today. The month long birthday season which has as many as 4 birthdays in it. Yaay!!! However, this feeling of happiness receded after a few minutes this morning when I realised that my company has asked me to read a few books before joining them and I have not yet touched a single book. I guess this will be like engg. exams. Last minute cramming!!!

Dad said that it was an important day in office for him. He didnt say why, though I kept on probing him for the information. Even Mom says she doesnt know. What can be so important for him today, of all days?? I must find out somehow!!

Rains continue to lash the city continuously, with hardly any respite. I wish the hostelites were here now. I am sure the skeptics amongst them would have been turned into believers when they saw this season's monsoon.

I dont know why I am rambling like this nowadays. Maybe its because I have nothing very interesting to do, except read. I really miss the sporadic bouts of malaria I would get because of the mosquito. I miss the bossiness and Just-do-it attitude of PHS. In general, I miss college. SIGH!!!!!

Is that a Bird??Is that a Plane?? No, its a Plane with Sumo on Board!!!! :-D

I seem to have got up on the wrong side of my bed today. I have a very stiff neck and I dont know what to do. Someone please help!! Slept almost through the entire morning to get rid of the stiffness. Problem is that it has worsened!!

Had a debate with Dad on the choice of airliner for travelling to Coimbatore for training for my job. Methinks IA is good, he thinks Air Deccan should do. Lets see who wins the battle.

My life's sooo boring now that I dont even have something to say on my blog!!! This is terrible. BooHoo!!!!

Sumo's Back !!

Feels great to be back after a long hiatus. Had gone to Pune and hence, could not write on the blog. Pune seems to be quite horrible at this time of the year, at least it was when I visited. The days are extremely hot and plus there is the added burden of power cuts which adds to the agony. A four-hour power cut is third degree torture for God's sake!!! I dont know what' wrong with MSEB. I am told that power cuts in rural areas last for 8 hours!! Can you believe it?? To top it all, a few weeks ago, in an MERC meeting, MSEB had the audacity to suggest that power cuts be imposed in Bombay and the resulting surplus power be diverted for MSEB's use. Thank God, Tata Power had the sense to veto this ludicrous suggestion outright.

Watched a drama and a couple of movies in Pune. Nothing much to write about. Strictly timepass fare. Good enough to evade the power cut, but just about.

Congratulations to M on starting his new job. Hope he does well. My joining date has been declared as 28 th July, so I have a long wait.

CIAO.

BURP !!!!!

Was invited over to M's place for lunch on Sunday. Central line trains were pretty tedious but it was good fun otherwise. Had a lot of fun at Mangu's place, esp. during the card-playing sessions, thanks to an over-zealous JD failing to realise that playing cards are ambigrammatical (Hope this is the right word !!) and, can be read from the other side too!! Food was great and M's parents and sister made sure noone went hungry.

Later, I went to do some shopping for monsoon footwear. Although my size is 11, size 10 can do, albeit its a tight fit. At least I dont have to go and order for specially made shoes or go about searching high and low for them!!! ( ;-) -----> VV)

Had my project viva today. Hardly felt like a viva, though!! We are so used to sitting in PHS's cabin that it now feels like a second home and we are never uncomfortable there. Plus, there is the added advantage of having an external who has no idea of what GA is!! Kinda makes my job easier!! HehHeh!!

Went to SC's place after the viva. Once again, a sumptuous lunch, excellent hospitality and AC in this sultry weather!!! WOW!! SC, M and their respective families, you guys rock!!! Everyone managed to poke some more fun at JD and his non-flattening stomach. :-) Got some excellent songs from SC's comp on my flash drive. Will help me on my drive to Pune tomorrow. Went to BCL later and got a few books. An Agatha Christie, and 2 Keatings. Oh, and yes, a British Autocar too!!! Should hopefully last me for the stay in Pune.

Mind's blank, got nothing more to say so will sign off. Next post probably on Monday.

CIAO.

Rating Sem VIII

This is how I would rate the curicullum for Sem VIII.

Point system is out of 10. Points are alloted for the following :

1. Interest in the matter
2. professor rating
3. easy in studying (assignments) during college
4. easy in studing for the exam
5. nature and satisfaction over the exam paper.

1. Construction Planning and Management: 8|8.5|7|10|5
2. Quantity Surveying Valuation and Estimating: 5|6.5|8.5|3.5|9
3. Soil Dynamics: 8.5|9.5|10|9.5|9.5
4. DDRCS: 8.5|10|5.5|7.5|3.5

Thus I give the following subjects the following rating

CPM : 7.7
QSEV : 6.5
SD: 9.4
DDRCS: 7.0

This gives SEM VIII an overall rating of 7.7

Nemore additions and suggestions ?

*** Note that this rating solely represents the view of the author.

Parineeta's too Cool !!!

Whew!! Finally, my work in the project has come to an end. Came back home at around 1700 hrs and promptly went off to sleep. 1830 hrs. saw me land up at Liberty to watch Parineeta. Lovely movie, excellent camerawork and stellar performances. All-in-all, a must watch for anyone who eschews good stories.

Got to go to M's place tomorrow. Someone please help me keep my eyes open!!! YAWN!!!

Who's bothered about the Project??

I had talked to PHS yesterday and he had asked me to be there in college by 1100 hrs. I dutifully reached at around 1055 hrs. What to do - I guess some old habits die hard!! I still have to learn to be "fashionably" late, a concept PHS is no alien to. Well, he certainly proved that today by making an entry at 1215 hrs. After a few deliberations about the project, it was decided by me with some help from SC and RS, that working on a project was an extremely silly thing to do, esp. the day after your last engg paper. So we decided to go and watch KKHH (which, BTW, is certainly NOT Kuch Kuch Hota Hai).

1550 hrs saw us land up at G7 for a 1515 hrs show, but what the hell!! At least I am a few kms away from college!! Movie was good for a few laughs and I certainly thanked my stars that any of my friends from the opposite sex was not with us. The show got crappy at times but then, what do you expect from a Balaji Films product?? I mean, c'mon, guys in coital poses with cats??!!!!!

After the movie, M spotted C and A and we rendezvoused with them for a while. All in all, it was a very nice first day of my vacation. Here's to a few more days like this one, albeit, with some work actually done!! (Heh!!Heh!!)

CIAO.

Ahhhh!!! College!!!

So...finally, the exams are over and so is the extreme torture that we all had to endure for four years. Now that engineering is finally done with, I suppose we all can now sit back and look fondly at the days gone by and eschew the memories, both good and bad. V suggested that I write about what I will miss and what I will not abt college. Found this to be a good idea, so here goes....

Things I will definitely miss

• Catching the early train to be in time for the 9 am lecture.
• Fighting for my favourite seat in class.
• Hoodwinking the profs into playing into our hands.
  
• Flashing gems of so-called easy logic which, I suppose, only I could understand.
  
• JD's laziness (Oh, and mine too!!!).
• SC's discourses on food (esp. non-veg.).
• JD's mauling by V and P.
• M's presence.
• Conversations between SCH and PHS.
• IMPLOSION!!!
  
• C and A's cartoon-like romance (no offence meant!!).
• Quizzing with S.
• Sitting in PHS's cabin for hours together.
• Mini get-togethers at Vrindy's (and Shetty's too!!).
• Site Visits (esp. Satara, Khopoli and the Airport).
  
• Motley Crew.
• Nirmiti.
• Sem. Hall.
• Mr. A. P. Kadam.
  
• PHS' and the mosquito's lectures.
• Car discussions with C.
• RS' chimp-like antics.
  
• My most special friends (S and R).
• SPCE

Things I will definitely not miss

• RAH's lectures.
• Class politics for CR.
• Tated as CR.
• BDD and Applied Science.
• The two instances my shoulder got dislocated.
• G and AM's singing.
• MMM's afternoon lectures.
  
• Project Grp. formation at the end of Sem VI.
• RCOE's fests.
• RRR.
• Exams.

Phew!! Thats it!! Thats all I can think of now. Anyone wanting to add to this list is free to do so in the shoutbox. I have not yet bid my final adieu to the college yet. That will be when I finally finish with my project, though only God knows when that will be (Probably, even he doesnt know!!). Hail PHS!!!

CIAO.

Message for the Last Day of Exams

Four years ago, we made a tryst with destiny.
And now, the time has come when we shall redeem ourselves,
Not wholly or in part but very substantially.
Today at this 15th hour, when the world sleeps,
BE Civil shall awake to LIFE and FREEDOM!!!!!!

Too Bored to Blog

I had thought that the extended periods of staying at home would allow me to do some regular blogging. But, I was mistaken. As I no longer go to college, I dont have much to share. Its the same boring routine everyday. Study, read paper, study, eat, sleep, study. So I dont think I will be able to blog regularly, at least until the exams are over.

I am sooooo bored!!! Sigh!!!!!!

College is officially over!!!

Long time since I last wrote here. But its been a very hectic submission time and its finally over! Yes, you read right! My engg. submission days are finally over!! I am over the moon with joy. We are also done with all our vivas for the first time in our engg. life and believe me, it feels good.

I had my last interaction with the mosquito today for my Structures viva. So this will perhaps be the last active mention of the mosquito on this blog. Feels so sad that college is finally over. Anyway, I had a very good viva today and the external played into my hands by asking me about the programs I wrote for the batch. Methinks I cracked the viva. That is a very good feeling and I am quite elated to leave with a good impression. Thnakfully, the mosquito didnt ask me much, with the external hogging the limelight.

Most of us in the Structures batch went to Silver Beach after the viva to celebrate our liberation from college. We all had a whale of a time there what with the boys having a good game of football and the girls making do with a frisbee. We were joined by GD and R from the Foundation batch. All in all, it was a grrreat day for all of us and surely one we will remember for the fun time we all had together.

There's nothing much more to say as my mind has gone numb with a mixture of joyous and sad emotions. So I will just sign off. More in the next post, which will follow soon after!!!

CIAO.

And The Sem VIII Exams Begin!!!

Just gave the CPM viva yesterday. And boy, was it a harrowing experience!! PVP, one of the old guard of the college was the external examiner and he certainly made sure that no stone was left unturned in the quest to make us realise how grossly underprepared we were. It was a bloodbath right from the beginning, when I entered the cabin of PHS, our internal. Even PHS, who is normally the big bully of the college, was reduced to trying to defend his teaching in front of his former professor!! It was nice to see a reversal of roles for once. Anyway, I hope that everyone gets good marks in this viva.

Last Wednesday, everyone in the class had a collective bout of malaria in the afternoon due to the mosquito's test. Boy, was that test lengthy or what!!! To add to it, we had absolutely no time to prepare for it so we were groping about blindly in the dark. Plus, there's always the DDCS submission, which is going to be another headache for us. God save us from these profs!!!!

Dante's Inferno of Hell

The Dante's Inferno Test has banished you to the Third Level of Hell!
Here is how you matched up against all the levels:

Level	Score
Purgatory (Repenting Believers)	Very Low
Level 1 - Limbo (Virtuous Non-Believers)	Moderate
Level 2 (Lustful)	Low
Level 3 (Gluttonous)	Extreme
Level 4 (Prodigal and Avaricious)	High
Level 5 (Wrathful and Gloomy)	Very High
Level 6 - The City of Dis (Heretics)	Extreme
Level 7 (Violent)	Moderate
Level 8- the Malebolge (Fraudulent, Malicious, Panderers)	High
Level 9 - Cocytus (Treacherous)	Low

Take the Dante's Divine Comedy Inferno Test

Well, I got the link for this test from Ranj's blog

Awaiting Final Submissions with Trepidation

Well, now that the CPM submissions are over, it's time for all of us to concentrate on QSE. RRR is ready to create trouble at the slightest provocation so, I suppose, we should all beware of her malicious intentions. I have got quite a bit of QSE to write so I will be quite busy for the entire day tomorrow. So much for hoping to watch the F1 race in peace!!

Had a pesticide spraying session at home today so we all went out for dinner. I must say it was a welcome change from the same old routine of write-eat-write-write-write some more -sleep(maybe)!! Balwas provides very good food and I am thankful that there are such hotels in Bombay which can cater to my palate. Ice-cream at K-Rustom's was the cherry on the cake.

Passed through Marine Drive while returning home. There was quite a big crowd gathered at the Police Chowky under the flyover where the rape incident took place on Thursday. There was tension in the air and a couple of riot control vans were also parked in the vicinity. Some locals were holding up placards saying "Rapist More should be hanged!!". Well, I dont quite agree. But, I certainly feel that such people are a menace to society and they must be severely punished by the law. I mean, come on, is it no longer safe to walk with your friends on a well-known public promenade at 4:30 in the evening???!!! Thats ridiculous!! That means all our sisters and female friends are at risk. This will not do. I feel the Dep. CM should take interest in such pressing matters rather than try his hand at moral cleansing by banning dance bars! He will try and make students attend kirtans next, while his state police force goes around raping a few more innocent girls! The Govt. is beginning to misuse and misdirect its power and its high time we, the people, did something about it. In the meanwhile, here's hoping that More is not seen for a long long time in public, at least, not until he is no longer capable of committing such heinous crimes, if you get what I mean. ;-)

The Structural mosquito is back with a vengeance!! His first bloodsucking session is scheduled for Wednesday. God help us!!!!

CIAO.

First Submission is Done!!

Hmm...its been a long time since I have blogged. 13th of April seems such a long time ago. Still, this was to be expected, I guess, going by our experiences in the previous 7 sems. Actually, as compared to the earlier sems, this one seems to be pretty tame!

Nothing awfully interesting to write about, though. The past week has been full of submissions, especially the CPM one. I never expected PHS to take such a devilish turn, especially towards the end of the semester. RRR looks like an angel when compared to him. At least we are able to bully her into reducing our workload! Over here, it works the other way round.

Well, quite a few good news regarding placements in our class. Only 6 ppl remaining to be placed. Hope we touch 100% this time. This will set a nice benchmark for the rest of the college. Finally we will be able to lay claim to some record. Hope that day materialises. Till then, I keep my fingers crossed.

Alongwith the submissions, the malaria epidemic is also spreading rapidly in the class. The Structural mosquito continues to haunt us with his never-ending lectures on designing efficient water tanks, which he probably wishes to infect!! God, I hate mosquitoes!!! Buzzzzzz!!! Get lost, you ##%^@%^$#!!!

Read an interesting anecdote in Mid-Day on Sunday. One reader had sent in this one.

Scene: Economy class of a London-Frankfurt flight. A negro businessman is sitting quietly working on his laptop. A 'prim and propah' spinster, stylishly dressed, is seated next to him, looking decidedly uncomfortable. Finally, she calls the air-hostess.

Lady: Excuse me, but could I have another seat? I am not exactly very comfortable here.

Airhostess: Why, Ma'am, is something wrong?

Lady: Cant you see who I am seated next to?

Airhostess: Well, Ma'am, I think we are fully booked but I will still go and check.

(goes and returns after 5 mins)

Airhostess: As I thought, there are no seats available in the Economy or Business Class, but we do have one seat in the First Class.

Lady: Well......can I??

Airhostess: Ma'am, as a rule, we don't allow passengers from Economy class to upgrade to First Class, but this is an exception. I understand the problem and we can make an exception in this case. We surely cannot make any human being sit next to someone so disgusting. Sir, if you will please take your hand baggage, a seat awaits you in the First Class!!

*******************************************

Lets end this post by recording my thanks to Mandela, Luther King Jr. and all those other great ppl who championed the cause of the blacks to achieve an equal status in society. HAIL THEE!!!!

CIAO.

(Me 2 lazy 2 think of Title) :-D :-P

Well, all the unplaced guys from class had come to Grant Road for placement interviews and also came over to my place on my request. That is all, but TP. Poor guys had not even had lunch and were absolutely famished. Unfortunately, I was able to tell Mom about their arrival only just before they actually came due to which, the extent of arangements she could make was limited. Still, I hope that the frugal snacks at least gave them enough strength to last out until they reached home.

Today, not unusually, was a bad day. MMM droned through all the lectures of the morning and made me wish I was never even born. And if that was not enough, Mom called during the break saying that I was urgently required at the Passport Office, as they had not included one form requiring my signature in the envelope containing the forms, making up the application.

After a mad dash to the Bengal Chemicals building, the clerk now told us that alongwith proof of date of birth, proof of place of birth was also required. Now, I had applied for a duplicate copy of my birth certificate in my local Municipal Office, but had not yet received it. The clerk was not ready to accept the municipal receipt as proof and insisted on having the birth certificate. Then, it was a mad dash to Nana Chowk in Grant Road. Dad kept up a frentic pace in the car and had Mom petrified. We reached Nana Chowk in 12 minutes and took another 10 to secure the original copy of the birth certificate. Another maniacal spell of fast driving by Dad saw us reach the Passport Office in just 9 min! Now, that stupid, errant clerk was forced to accept the application as she could not find any more faults in it. Yaay, what a moral victory!!

Hope the passport comes soon, though. I need it before I have to join my company. Nothing else of significance took place today. At least, I cant recall anything important. So I am signing off now.

CIAO.

Sumo Speak

hi guys i am over here tooo. more in next BLOG till then BYE.

madmangu

Sumo Speak

hi guys i am over here tooo. more in next BLOG till then BYE.

madmangu

Its Submission Time !!

Well, the dreaded time of every semester is here. The profs have now started hounding us for submissions. RRR was the first to start off, with the foundation batch being at the receiving end for most of the time. I mean what does she think of herself? Its very easy to ask us to repeat us the assignment but does she realise that her's is not the only subject we have to study? I suppose not! These young profs seem to feel that just because they were harassed during their days in college, they owe it to the system to set the record straight. Pathetic attitude, I say! Well, there's just one sem left. Now that we have lived through 7 semesters, surely we can scrape through another.

The BE farewell was held in college on Thursday. But our gr8 profs couldnt resist troubling us and hence, decided to keep lectures. Well, I have become used to this by now, but I sure hoped to have some respite from this rigmarole for the farewell day, at least! Alas, it was not to be! Practically everyone carried a change of clothes to college that day as it was extremely hot as well as humid in that week. So much for travelling light on that day! After the lectures on that day, the profs came to class and addressed us. SYM was the best of all and he gave some pretty pertinent advice. The rest were all mediocre and didnt offer anything substantial through their speeches. RAH actually thought it was a lecture and went on rambling endlessly until they were low murmurs of discontent from the back of the class. MMM droned about in his typical style, but thankfully, kept it short.

After changing into our dress clothes, we boys returned to college from the hostel, fearing that we had taken so much time to get ready that the girls msut have reached before us! But then, girls will be girls, right? Expectedly, they were not there and actually did not turn up for a good 45 minutes after we had arrived in college! Everyone from the class looked resplendent in their snazzy outfits - the guys in their blazers and the girls in their sarees. After we posed for a lot of photos as if all were brainless models, the programme started but it turned out to be a dampener.

The class then congregated in the Sem Hall to have a private jam session. It was extremely successful with most contributing to its success. We all chuckled at the stupid guys from the rest of the college wilting away in the heat, downstairs in the quad, while we were enjoying ourselves in the air-conditioned comfort of the Sem Hall. LOL!!

Nothing much took place after that. We all had dinner and started feeling tired. R and A wanted C and I to fetch their bags for them from the department. Their excuse? They couldnt climb one floor in their sarees! And people call me lazy!! Anyway, they made such pathetic faces at us that C and I decided to go and get the bags, if only to avoid being stared at weirdly for the rest of the evening! At least that was my reason!

We all went home after that like good kids. Thankfully, I got a lift to the station in C's car alongwith A. I reached home at around 2230hrs, and promptly flopped onto my bed and slept. After all, I had to get up my energy for the extra lecture arranged by MMM the next day, had'nt I?

CIAO.

Misuse of Membership

Looks like Jaidutt has not understood the reason I invited him to be a member of my blog. I have invited Jaidutt and Mangesh to be members of this blog so that they can comment on my life from their point of view, however stupid my life may be! This membership is certainly not for putting up some copied info from other sites and blogs. I request Jaidutt to desist from doing this and concentrate on actually writing something original. Please Jaidutt, I wanna know your views and not someone else's.

Howland student builds model of century-old dam

Andrew Hallett has known of the Howland dam all his life, but he never truly understood the history, inner workings and exactitude of its design until he had to build it himself. At one-eighth scale, that is.

"It was designed real well considering that it's stood for almost 100 years now," the Penobscot Valley High School senior said Thursday. "For the time period in which it was built, it's a very good job."

Not that the fledgling civil engineer thinks the dam is perfect.

"There could have been a couple of changes to it that could have made it better," Hallett said. "For example, they had to make the cement spillway by hand, so I don't think they reinforced it too well. That's why it has little cracks in it - and a couple big ones, too. Other than that, the people there have kept it in perfect condition."

The 18-year-old's attention to detail and apparent design talent made his 4-foot by 8-foot model of the dam a winner of the 2005 Civil Works Model Competition. The contest is held statewide by the Maine section of the American Society of Civil Engineers.

He received a plaque from Adam Meyer, a project manager with Engineering Technologies Inc. of Bangor and a society member, during a SAD 31 board meeting Wednesday night.

The society holds the contest annually to inspire high school and college students to pursue civil engineering and related arts and sciences, Meyer said. The contest requires students to do models of local landmarks to scale.

"What better way," Meyer said, "to inspire people to pursue this than to have them go out and replicate the design of something around them?"

A lifelong Howland resident, Hallett's first choice was the dam. To understand its design, he toured it several times and interviewed 20 to 30 people to grasp its maintenance and history, he said.

Building the model took about 80 hours, he said. He used wood, cardboard, plaster of Paris and joint compound, among other things, to make it.

And he is quick to point out that he had help. PVHS physics teacher Ellen Simone guided him through the construction and contest entry process. Fellow student Randi Rackley contributed her painting skills and helped create the model's landscaping.

Another student, Matthew Osborne, did much of the heavy lifting. "If I needed an extra hand holding something, he grabbed it," Hallett said.


Howland student builds model of century-old dam - Bangornews.com Staff

Engineering students provide water to Thailand Village

And what are we doing these days ??? Completing stupid assignments :(


A group of engineering students traveled to Thailand over Spring Break to help bring a small village clean drinking water. They have returned, deeming their project a success.For months prior to their trip, engineering majors David Cihocki, Robert Cucugliello, Mason DeFrank, Justin Pusey, Christopher Yanavich, Diana Garcia, Steve Hazel and Dana Kaminsky worked on a two-mile long PVC pipe with the help of engineering professors Yusuf Mehta and Jess Everett.It was installed in the village of Pateung, Thailand to ensure the villagers would have access to clean drinking water. Before the installation was complete, they ran out of clean water by early afternoon everyday.

"The project was a success," said DeFrank, a junior civil engineering major.

"The primary thing that we went for was installed and running by the time we left."

The group, along with the help of the Pateung people, installed the two-mile long pipe in a trench down a mountain side. It leads into a 1,000-gallon storage tank which is equipped to supply the people with clean water all day. The villagers helped the students by digging the trenches.

"The villagers got a mile of digging done in a day," said DeFrank.

The students stayed with the villagers in community homes in the Southeast Asian village, which didn't turn out to be what they were expecting.
"It wasn't quite as primitive as we thought before we went," said DeFrank.Although they have no running water, a majority of the 75 houses in the village have electricity. However, most houses have only one outlet and one light bulb per house. Some of the wealthier people have televisions and even satellite dishes.

"When you see all that, you question why we're here. But they still lack basic knowledge," Hazel said. "I felt justified in our project."