Disappearing moustaches in India

As India modernizes, moustaches disappear. One more thing that can be blamed on the western world

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7806039.stm

It's time for a new state...

As I sat in traffic today on I66, again, I kept thinking of how Virginian lawmakers screwed up another chance to establish funding for Northern Virginia's congestion problems. Folks not affected by the congestion refuse to pay an increase in taxes. The regional tax increase plan did not succeed either.

I think it's time for Northern Virginia to secede from Virginia (just like West Virgnia did) and create a new 51st state. It's time law makers from NoVa took matters in their own hands and paid attention to the areas congestion issue. It is impossible to get any where in less than 30 mins. Rtes. 28 and 7, Dulles Toll Road, Beltway, I66 are all congested beyond imagination. Every one either commutes to DC or to Tyson's Corner for work. In fact, this area is turning Democratic (as opposed to the Republican Va). Virginia is slowly turning a blue state i.e. Northern Va is blue as opposed to rest of the state. Additionally, people residing in this area now recognize these few counties as NoVa anway.

Really, if the folks down south are not going to listen to us, it is time for us 'Northern Virginians' to take matters into our own hands and create a new state.

Great Song...

http://youtube.com/watch?v=sTJ7AzBIJoI

Simple pleasures of life...

Last Sunday, My wife and I were sitting on our bay window watching the rain falling outside. My son climbed up on my lap and excited jumped up and down pointing to the falling rain (Maai.. in his language), the cars driving in the rain and little kitten that darted in its house to avoid getting wet. As we smiled, amused, at the little one's shenanigan's, I couldn't help but think ... these are what are really.... 'The simple pleasures of life'.

India-SL Series

Dhoni will not be playing the Sri Lanka series - too much cricket, too tired etc. were his reasons.


My opinion - his real reason is that he's miffed because he wasn't made the captain of the test team. After all, there are no seniors (except Sachin Tendulkar) in his one day team. And who did Anil Kumble lobby to be picked - Rahul Dravid - as a 'second' wicketkeeper. Who else is included - V.V.S.Laxman. I am almost certain that Dhoni didn't want to play in a team with too many seniors and whose stewardship was not his.

We are seeing the final days of Kumble, Sachin Tendulkar, Laxman, Ganguly and Dravid - and BCCI agrees - after all, they let Dhoni take "as much time of as he wants". I am betting that by the end of this year, Dhoni will assume the mantle of the test team captain.

Wimbledon FInal yesterday

Wow! What a match. Hats off to the two champions. I was exhausted after watching such an incredible performance from both players who are simply by far the best in this age. Both are a class apart - Federer did not drop a single set on his way to the Final where as Nadal dropped only 1.


A five setter with some breath taking shots from both players left all of us, the viewers, on the edge of our seats. At one point, Federer was down 2 sets and 2-5 in the tiereaker but he came back to win that set and the next one. In the final set, under fading light, Federer finally gave up - the match, the fight and the crown - to Rafa Nadal.


I'll never forget the Federer's back hand at Advantage-Nadal, Final Set, 7-8. It was magnificient but not enough to stop Rafa Nadal from winning the championship. Both were equally majestic and graceful in victory and defeat acknowledging each other's tennis. A magnificient performane - On and off the court

This Wimbledon can be truly considered a Gentleman's game!

Billy Joel....

I found the following on YouTube -

1) Piano Man - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZ1_M_L_RSI (A Classic)
2) Uptown Girl - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2F-nt7aC_JQ
3) We Didn't start the fire - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKu2QaytmrM
4) You are always a woman - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWMG7BYJ8Q8

Still more to come...

Will anyone ever write such simple yet superb songs

We have a Wimbledon winner.....

Ladies and Gentlemen, I predict that Rafa Nadal will be this years Wimbledon winner. He massacared Andy Murray - 6-3 6-2 6-4. I am taking bets!

Oh! what a classic rivalry we have between Rafa Nadal and Roger Federer. Reminds me of the classic Sampras-Agaasi, McEnroe-Connors.

Interesting Article about Sunday School

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/7484282.stm

Daddy Day Care - Part 2

Today is even tougher than last week. My wife is out of town (Orlando) for a conference. This means that our son is under my care tonight. A couple of weeks back, although she was working long hours, but because at least she came home from work at night, if my son woke up in the middle of the night, she would put him back to sleep. In a nutshell, I would simply rely on her to make our son go back to sleep in case he got up. Tonight, this is not the case. In case, our son gets up, It is upto me who has to do this job. This will be challenge. I am preparing myself for a Long Night...

Thank God, she is back tomorrow night!! I will miss her very much today

Film Noir at Compton Lane

Last Tuesday something funny happened. I woke up at 4:00 am to take the trash out (why do I do that- another blog posting sometime). I opened the door and stepped out of the house and I noticed a car with two people coming quite fast on the street in front our house. As the car came screeching to a halt, I noticed two people in the car.

Although I was terribly foggy (sleepy), I suddenly thought of an old B/W mystery movie scene - the hero is in the wrong place at time, sees a car speeding and coming to a screeching halt. A dead body is thrown out while the hero, unnoticed, starts sweating. Out steps the villain who looks around to make sure that no one is around when suddenly the hero steps on something making some noise thereby starting the movie....

Anyhow, as the car screeched to a halt right in front of our house, outstepped a woman with something in her hand as she advanced towards me. I was 1) sleepy and 2) stunned to even react. Within a minute, I realized what was in her hand - it was the Tuesday morning Wall Street Journal. She literally handed me her newspaper and as she turned back, I heard a chuckle. Perhaps, this was the first time happened to her - deliver the newspaper at 4:00 am to some one.

Also, the same thing happened last Friday too ... this time though I was ready for her!

I absolutely love this one....

There was once a young man who wanted to become a great writer.He said " want to write stuff that the whole world will read, that people will react to on a truly emotional level and make them scream. He now works for microsoft,writing error messages

Wimbledon's in progress...

Given Nadal's performance at the French Open, I am betting that he will win Wimbledon against Federer this year. I am very much pro-Federer but Federer was outclassed at the French Open. Has a new era begun?

Good Joke

Marketing - The Joke

You see a gorgeous girl at a party. You go up to her and say, "I'm fantastic in bed."That's Direct Marketing.

You're at a party with a bunch of friends and see a gorgeous girl. One of your friends goes up to her andpointing at you says, "He's fantastic in bed."That's Advertising.

You see a gorgeous girl at a party. You go up to her and get her telephone number. The next day you call and say, "Hi, I'm fantastic in bed."That's Telemarketing.

You're at a party and see a gorgeous girl. You get up and straighten your tie, you walk up to her and pour her a drink. You open the door for her, pick up her bag after she drops it, offer her a ride, and then say, "By the way, I'm fantastic in bed."That's Public Relations.

You're at a party and see a gorgeous girl. She walks up to you and says, I hear you're fantastic in bed."That's Brand Recognition.

Daddy DayCare

For the last 10 days, my wife has been working long hours, quite literally long (8:00 am - 10 pm) and I have become a 'single parent' for these 10 days. Never imagined it would be so tough.

I am up by 6:30 am, get ready after having a cup of tea and also, get my son ready (which is a challenge in itself). My wifehas already left for work by then (7:30 am or so) for work. After that, I prepare my son's bag (milk, snacks, breakfast), dress him and put on his shoes. Then, I put on my shoes and prepare my laptop bag. While I getting ready, my son takes off his shoes (or poops) or does something else - which means an additional 20 mins. Somehow, I manage to put him the car seat and manage to leave by 7:50 am. The ride to his daycare involves 20 odd mins of traffic and by the time I get on to I-66 is its peak rush hour (8:15 am). I takes me an hour to get to work. I work until 5:00 pm and leave work (again on I66) to get to my son's daycare before 6:00 pm. As I have to leave early, I have been taking shorter lunch breaks.

I pick up son up and then take him to a grocery store or a similar place - an outing for him. We get home around 6:30ish and I let him loose for 15 mins or so while I prepare his food. Then, it's dinner time which can take anywhere between 15 mins to an hour (depending his mood). Then, it's bath time (45 mins - massage, bath, toweling, hair drying). Finally, the challenge is to feed him milk before making him sleep. If I am lucky, he sleeps immediately but usually he takes roughly 15 mins to sleep. Finally, when my son goes to sleep, it's 8:30 and I am exhausted.

I always appreciated how much effort my wife has to put in and will have to put in but this has given me even more respect for what mother's have to go through.

What i have learnt in these 10 days - PATIENCE. Oh, I can't wait for this Friday when my wife's long shift gets over...

Last King of Scotland

Whole heartedly recommend this Movie.

Forrest Whittaker is staggering as Idi Amin.

Yahoo!, Google and Microsoft.

The deal with Google is an acknowledgment of YAHOOS! incapacity to innovate. Threatened with a takeover, the best thing YAHOO could do was talk to Google. Of course, Google was more than willing to 'help'. What a lucky break for Google!

As for YAHOO, it has shown how dependent it will be on Google in the future for its revenue.

Funny Moments in Cricket.

This clip is really worth watching

http://www.metacafe.com/watch/1180210/funny_cricket/

Obama vs McCain

This will be a good election. Two completeuly different candidates. One who wants more government involvement and the other who wants to reduce it, One wants to stay in Iraq and the other wants to withdraw.Same issues different approach. Dare I say socialism vs free market?

Obama thoughts remind me of India - Government sponsored healthcare, government backed bailouts from the sub prime mess, more protectionism. May be socialist is too strong an adjective but it does seem that way.

As the Economist states, American can choose between two qualified and decent candidates - essentially, a choice between gradual path socialism or keeping capitalism?

What will America choose in November will be an interesting to see?

Good Article

A great article on Indian Cricket (although a bit dated)


http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7283996.stm

How to make butter chicken

A simple recipe to cook butter chicken. I tried it yesterday (my wife was mighty surprised that she got a break from cooking)

http://www.metacafe.com/watch/1268414/how_to_make_butter_chicken_recipe/

Tips:

1) Too many tomatoes could make the chicken sweet (courtesy: my wife)

2) I used Butter Chicken Masala for more flavor

3) Half and Half can also be used instead of Yogurt (courtesy: my wife)

Time Flies

Wow.. Time Flies. I was planning to get more active since I finished school. Vacation was busier than when I was in school.

1) Week 1 (and part of Week 2): my son was sick
2) Week 3: Guests (for my graduation)
3) Week 4: Florida trip
4) Week 5: Guests again!!

where did the time go? Anyway, I'll write up something about our Florida trip (our first trip with a baby).

Florida next week.

We are going to Florida next week - a long deserved vacation after 2 years of hard work. Our first trip with my son. We know it's going to be an adventure!

Roseola Virus

Last week was quite an adventure. My son fell sick on Wednesday had a temperature of 99.5 deg. F. We thought that that it was just a minor ailment but his temperature climbed to 103.6 by Friday. We went to the doctor's immediately who couldn't diagnose the condition either. He had no ear infection, no flu, no strep virus and his chest X-ray was fine! That really had us worried.

As soon as the doctor gave him some Motorin, his fever went down to 100.5. She told us that he simply had a bad virus and that his fever should go away by Sunday. If it didn't she wanted us to bring him in on Monday. So, we continously monitored is temperature from Friday - Sunday. He had temperature on Friday (upto 101), which went down in the morning of Saturday to 99.5. By afternoon he was normal but the temperature came back Saturday night (101.6). Sunday morning he was fine (temperature down to 99.5) with it completely disappearing by afternoon and not returning on Monday.

However, by Monday morning he had a rash. We took him to the doctor anyway who told us that he had the 'Roseola Virus' (common and that the rash would go away within 24-48 hours.

To all the new parents (like us). Following are the symptoms/indications of the Roseola Virus .
1) Fever lasts for 3-5 days and can be unusually high for a short time (upto 103.5).

2) Spikes up from low fever to high. In my son's case, the fever climbed from 99 to 103.6 in about 2-3 hours on Friday.

3) After 3-5 days, the fever breaks and is replaced by a rash (red dots) on the body. This means that the child is recovering

4) The rash goes away within 24-48 hours.

5) If the child has high fever and no other causes such as ear infection, flu, strep etc. are detected by the doctor, Roseola is a possibility.

6) By giving the child Motorin or Tylenol, the fever can be managed.

It's always good to take your child to the doctor. Especially, when you don't know whats going on.

Post MBA blues...

I wrote my last exam on last Friday (04/25). I am 'officially' an MBA.

Weekend went by quickly playing with my son. However, today I had nothing to do and I felt really restless. I did some stuff around house but really don't know what to do. I am enjoying this feeling which will last until June 1st.

I'll start blogging regularly from now on.

Longest Day in the MBA experience

Last Wednesday, 04/09/2008, was the longest day in my MBA experience. It started at 6:45 am and ended at 11:45 pm, 10 mins. before 04/10 - roughly, 17 hours! It beat the previous record of 15 hours!

Anyway, MBA is done today

You can find answers for anything now a days..

.. after a bit of 'ego surfing' I found the following,

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/30589863.cms.

One of my contributions to the 'The times of INdia' - Endgame section was published.

An Incident worth discussing...

OK, so, here goes - I witnessed the following on the metro the other day.

I was on my home from school on a relatively empty metro (enough space for one person to occupy a one whole row). A man was sitting, well sleeping, in the row front of me. He had the row to himself. The metro stopped at one of stations and a large (obese) man climbed into the train. Without looking around for any empty seats, he squeezed himself next to the sleeping man. As soon as the large man sat down, the sleeping man woke up, and looked at the man next to him and pointed to an empty row in the car. In short, the large man was rudely (or at least I thought so) asked to move. The large man did move but kept throwing the sleeping man dirty looks throughout the journey. This happened in less than 3 minutes.

OK, now the question - A decade or so a back, I would have clearly thought that the sleeping man was rude and should have been admonished. However, in today's world where obesity is frowned on and where airlines try to charge large people extra money for tickets, I wonder if it was the obese man who was rude. Granted that the large man didn't see the empty row, but should he have looked around atleast?

I still think that the sleeping man behaved rudely. Would it have been correct protocol for the sleeping man to get up and move to an empty row?. I wonder if the large man would have simply sat in an empty row had he seen one....

Sehwag's Triple Ton.

Virender Sehwag's un-beaten on 309 in the first test against SA. 91 runs behind Lara's world record of 400*. Can he do it tomorrow? I surely hope so. To be honest, I was a slighly disappointed Sachin Tendulkar didn't get a chance to bat. Oh well, he'll get a chance in the next test.

Anyway, here's wishing Sehwag the best of luck. I hope both of Lara's records get broken soon (400* and 11953)

Wikipedia...

I am amazed at what can be found on Wikipedia. More importantly, I am impressed that people take time out of their busy schedules and lives to contribute. I have used this site innumerable number of times to search for information ranging from Accounting examples to Bollywood movie plots - two extremes, really. The reason for making this entry is because I realized that I visit this site atleast twice a day. After so much use, I now blindly trust information found on the website. And, so far, I have never been disappointed with the quality of information.

I was lamenting, a few days back, that people (especially kids) in the age of internet spend less time reading books (history, fiction, science, whatever subject..) and more time surfing the internet. However, Wikipedia has restored some of my faith. I am certain that a lot people who contribute to this website are not only young but simply motivated to learn and share.

Instead of beaming (and sending) simple messages (or article), why not simply beam http://www.wikipedia.org/ into the outer space and let intelligent life (if it exists) learn more about Earth and it's inhabitants :)?

Anyway, to end this post, I do hope I can contribute in maintaining and expanding this excellent and vast source of information

Tendulkar getting close to a landmark...

Tendulkar has score 11782 runs so far. He's 171 runs behind Brian Lara (11953). Getting mighty close to the landmark of being the highest run scorer.

I hope he passes this landmark when India plays SA in March. I am keeping my fingers crossed!