hmmm

Have been meaning to put up a post but i kept getting cut off by someone or something.. Now its post lunch and I am kind of slowly moving to La la land of Snoozes and thought that i should write something to cut out the zzzzzzzs. Was going through the TWIN ( Technical Writers of India) mails and came across an interesting article which surprised me. I am an avid user of google more than any other search engines and today i came to know that google uses pigeons to facilitate the great search results... huh !! The technology being PigeonRank technology which Google has patented. Now that totally contradicts the notion that anything to do with computer must come from inside a computer or a human's head... a surprising but a refreshing concept. I was not aware that pigeons were used for anything other than the traditional purposes. "When a search query is submitted to Google, it is routed to a data coop where monitors flash result pages at blazing speeds. When a relevant result is observed by one of the pigeons in the cluster, it strikes a rubber-coated steel bar with its beak, which assigns the page a PigeonRank value of one. For each peck, the PigeonRank increases. Those pages receiving the most pecks, are returned at the top of the user's results page with the other results displayed in pecking order." Hola to the little creatures who are helping us search for the right information. And till date i have found google to be the most helpful search engine. This is news to me... Some related info about this process.

10 commandments

This is something I came across..... found it really cool !! 10 commandments for 'working hard': 1. Never walk without a document in your hands: People with documents in their hands look like hardworking employees heading for important meetings. People with nothing in their hands look like they're heading for the cafeteria. People with a newspaper in their hand look like they're heading for the toilet. Above all, make sure you carry loads of stuff home with you at night, thus generating the false impression that you work longer hours than you do; 2. Use computers to look busy: Any time you use a computer, it looks like "work" to the casual observer. You can send and receive personal e-mail, chat and generally have a blast without doing anything remotely related to work. These aren't exactly the societal benefits that the proponents of the computer revolution would like to talk about but they're not bad either. When you get caught by your boss - and you *will* get caught - your best defense is to claim you're teaching yourself to use new software, thus saving valuable training dollars; 3. Messy desk: Top management can get away with a clean desk. For the rest of us, it looks like we're not working hard enough. Build huge piles of documents around your workspace. To the observer, last year's work looks the same as today's work; it's volume that counts. Pile them high and wide. If you know somebody is coming to your cubicle, bury the document you'll need halfway down in an existing stack and rummage for it when he/she arrives; 4. Voice Mail: Never answer your phone if you have voice mail. People don't call you just because they want to give you something for nothing - they call because they want YOU to do work for THEM. That's no way to live. Screen all your calls through voice mail. If somebody leaves a voice mail message for you and it sounds like impending work, respond during lunch hour when you know they're not there - it looks like you're hardworking and conscientious even though you're being a devious weasel; 5. Looking Impatient and Annoyed: According to George Costanza, one should also always try to look impatient and annoyed to give your bosses the impression that you are always busy. 6. Leave the office late: Always leave the office late, especially when the boss is still around. You could read magazines and storybooks that you always wanted to read but have no time until late before leaving. Make sure you walk past the boss' room on your way out. Send important emails at unearthly hours (e.g. 9:35pm, 7:05am, etc.) and during public holidays; 7. Creative Sighing for Effect: Sigh loudly when there are many people around, giving the impression that you are under extreme pressure; 8. Stacking Strategy: It is not enough to pile lots of documents on the table. Put lots of books on the floor etc. (thick computer manuals are the best); 9. Build Vocabulary: Read up on some computer magazines and pick out all the jargon and new products. Use the phrases freely when in conversation with bosses. Remember: They don't have to understand what you say, but you sure sound impressive. 10. MOST IMPORTANT: DON'T send this to your boss by mistake!!!

Traffic in Airport Road

ARRRGHHHHHHHH just when you think that ok the road is smooth and the traffic is organised on comes the plan to construct a flyover and lo and behold chaos reigns !! Bangloreans passing that way in office hours must be going through hell. At least i go through it everyday. I had to wait in the traffic for more than half and hour and it is irritating to sit and watch more than one policeman directing traffic this way and that.. if the junior wants the cars to go the senior officer raps him down and shouts just the opposite... ha ha its a joke.. i spent my time looking at more than one officer in different signals in Airport road waving hands and shouting... and moving to the middle of the road doing that... huh ... arent they it was comical .... And to think that they are they managers of road safety... Where will we ride our bikes or drive our car if they start gesturing standing in the middle of the road.... going nuts... huh !! It was a classic case of confusion and " too many cooks spoil the broth" case !! They seriously need to take stock of how to manage traffic... or maybe let one person do his job instead of butting in with ego hassles... well thats all blah for today !!

Sniff sniff

Sniff sniff cough cough i go and i think i am feeling like going and getting cozy in a quilt with a book. Have a heavy head and SIGH !!! This is the result of a extended weekend in Wellington and walking in the clouds and then coming back to Bangalore and sitting in the AC i think. But whatever the case might be, the weekend trip was a well deserved break. Myself along with my visiting relatives decided to visit Wellington some 15 kms from Ooty. We have a relative who is in the defense and he was staying in the Defense Staff Services College. We started from Bangalore in a Qualis. We were 6 of us and we fitted well into a qualis with all the luggage. I was having mixed feelings since it was Puja time and well i wanted to celebrate the Puja like a true Bengali but well the option of going up to the hills was irreristible and so off we went. After reaching the outskirts of Bangalore we had breakfast in Kamat Lokruchi which is famous for its food. After having our fill of dosas and sugarcane juice we went on ahead via Mysore and then to Bandipur. Bandipur was pretty dry but the moment we started to drive through the Mudhumalai section it was raining cats and dogs. But after a few kilometres we had dry weather again which was very pleasant. Got to see some lovely deers and peacocks and as we speeded up Masinagudi we saw ahead of us the ghats which we were going to climb and which had about 36 hairpin bends. Our qualis was easily lumbering up the ghats and at the top we stopped to take a few pictures. I am a picture freak so i do not let any opportunity go by when i see some nice landscape. Anyway this route was pretty good and not many were travelling through this route so it was kind of okay. We saved upon the kilometres because of this ghats. the other route is kind of longer. Our driver knew his routes well. I was impressed. We reached Ooty and then Coonor and then Wellington at 6:00 in the evening. The next day we came down to Ooty and did some leather shopping there. Leather is cheap there specially if you have some DSSC guy with you. You get upto 40 percent discount. The thread garden of Ooty is another thing which was kind of nice to see. I was dying to see some nice landscapes and waited till we could go to Dodabetta peak. It was raining for sometime and i thought that this would put a damper but hey what the heck the peak was all the more beautiful because of the peak. you can see Kerela, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu from this place. The Nilgiri hills is so blue and beautiful. Anyway, we clicked a lot of snaps walked in the clouds and had some hot pakoras and coffee. As we were having coffee suddenly the clouds cleared and we had a maginificent view there. more snaps followed. You know it was truly like walking in the clouds in the dodabetta peak !! The next day we visited Beulah's farm where we would buy some wines and some jams. His homemade wines are famous in Bangalore. So we went and sampled all his stuff and it was a heady hour i must say that we spent. The wine was tasty and as I was tasting the wine I wanted to buy everything but I had to be satisfied with 4 bottles of wine and 2 bottles of Jams. I must say that if one goes that side one must visit this place if one likes to have wines. As we were roaming about the hills in our car i was hard pressed not to stop the car and start walking. Such a place is made for walking. Fresh mountain air, pine forests all around you with birds chirping about and a nice winding path, the weather being sometimes rainy and sometimes sunny. I was also thinking that it would be wonderful biking it up here. Anyway after a very scenic trip we made our way back to bangalore. And back to the daily routine of work and french grammar but i must say it was a well deserved break and I hope we can do this soon. In fact I am praying that we take off for the Diwali weekend in our bike. Some are saying Pondicherry, some are saying Kodai... anyplace is good for me !! So here i am eager to travel again !! I can never tire of travelling.. Love seeing new places and making new friends !!

allo allo !!

allo allo !! Well i am kind of feeling quite refreshed this morning having taken a well deserved rest yesterday.. My legs were giving out and i ended up stumbling and falling down in the mub path that has accumulated in the kachha road... GRRR i was so angry at myself for not being able to balance myself... somehow i realised how helpless one might feel without proper functioning of the limbs... So yesterday i decided that I simply had to stay at home and chill. So i watched some cartoons and did lots of French grammar. LOL what a way to spend a day but hey it worked. my limbs are back in action and i can walk with out distorting my whole frame. Must remember to exercise regularly... man that climb over the weekend was kind of a killer on my calf muscles... Anyway i got a lot of calls for jobs. Man if anybody is looking out for a job, Naukri.com and monsterindia.com really works. I got couple of offers now got to sit and sort them out... We are having holiday from tomorrow and we are leaving for Ooty. I have been there before but then my guests want to visit there so i guess we got to go there. My other friends are going to Goa and I will be sorely missing that trip since i was thinking i could go.. I guess i have to compromise but hey we can always ride down there. Anyway I think i shall do some leather shopping... he he !! Leather is cheap in Ooty. And hopefully i have a great holiday. I looveee holidays !!! Basically am in a mood to just travel... Maybe i shall visit the Toda Village again this time... It was a great experience to see their lifestyle last time. I am sure everybody will be having a gala time during this time.... the holidays have been so strategically placed.