January 16, 2007

Glad to leave the organization

I got this mail from a friend of mine who recently left my organization (let us give the organization a fictious name - MBI)

I'm doing good... the new company is having a very positive effect on me already, do not miss MBI at all now. I guess that's a good thing.

Sometime back another firend who left MBI told me that the organization's India wing has stooped to a level that he found no other choice but quit it...

MBI, are you hearing? Guess not :-)

January 15, 2007

Ant and Grasshopper

OLD VERSION:

The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long building his house and laying up supplies for the winter. The grasshopper thinks the ant's a fool and laughs & dances & plays the summer away. Come winter, the ant is warm and well fed. The grasshopper has no food or shelter so he dies out in the cold.

MODERN VERSION:

The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter. The grasshopper thinks the ant's a fool and laughs & dances & plays the summer away. Come winter, the shivering grasshopper calls a press conference and demands to know why the ant should be allowed to be warm and well fed while others are cold and starving. NDTV, BBC, CNN show up to provide pictures of the shivering grasshopper next to a video of the ant in his comfortable home with a table filled with food. The World is stunned by the sharp contrast. How can this be that this poor grasshopper is allowed to suffer so? Arundhati Roy stages a demonstration in front of the ant's house. Medha Patkar goes on a fast along with other grasshoppers demanding that grasshoppers be relocated to warmer climates during winter. Amnesty International and Koffi Annan criticize the Indian Government for not upholding the fundamental rights of the grasshopper. The Internet is flooded with online petitions seeking support to the grasshopper (many promising Heaven and Everlasting Peace for prompt support as against the wrath of God for non-compliance). Opposition MP's stage a walkout. Left parties call for "Bharat Bandh" in West Bengal and Kerala demanding a Judicial Enquiry. CPM in Kerala immediately passes a law preventing Ants from working hard in the heat so as to bring about equality of poverty among ants and grasshoppers. Lalu Prasad allocates one free coach to Grasshoppers on all Indian Railway Trains, aptly named as the 'Grasshopper Rath'. Finally, the Judicial Committee drafts the Prevention of Terrorism Against Grasshoppers Act [POTAGA]", with effect from the beginning of the winter. The ant is fined for failing to comply with POTAGA and, having nothing left to pay his retroactive taxes, his home is confiscated by the Government and handed over to the grasshopper in a ceremony covered by NDTV. Arundhati Roy calls it "a triumph of justice". Lalu calls it 'Socialistic Justice'. CPM calls it the 'revolutionary resurgence of the downtrodden’ Koffi Annan invites the grasshopper to address the UN General Assembly.

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Many years later...


The ant has since migrated to the US and set up a multi billion dollar company in Silicon Valley. 100s of grasshoppers die of starvation somewhere in India.

Courtesy: Fwded Mail



January 13, 2007

DoT and call fraud

Got this sms from the Department of Telecommunication: "Dear customer, if you receve an international call for which the CLI displayed is a local or national number, please inform at toll-free number 1-800-1104-20". Looks like reliance have yet again started routing International calls through BSNL/MTNL network after masking them as domestic calls. If you don't know the history of what I'm talking, read this, this and this.

BSNL Broadband service

BSNL Broadband service in Bangalore has the worst customer service I have ever come across. Their DNS keeps going down almost every alternate day and it takes them more than six hours to get it fixed. The worst thing is, you can't reach their customer helpline. Dial 1-800-424-1600 and keep listening to this message for eternity: "Your Call is important to us. You will be attended shortly".

January 12, 2007

Eve-teasing

Eve-teasing is seen as a joke, a prank. The woman feels it could be her fault. Unfortunately, unless it's rape, it is not taken seriously; but even staring is an offense - Jasmeen Patheja, BangaloreTimes 10-Jan-2007

Jasmeen, we guys stare at you gals in admiration of your looks. We consider you as one of most beautiful creations of God. Please don't jail us for that “offense”…


The Camel Story






MORAL: Skills, Knowledge, abilities and experiences are only useful if you are at the right place! Where are you now?


Courtesy: Fwded mail