From my mobile...

Making this post from my mobile...

Digging my own grave... Miss A!

Recently me and Vibhore were talking about Miss A and this is how the conversation went..

Vibhore: Any news of Miss A?

Azahar: Yes one interesting incident - blah blah blah (the incident!)

Vibhore: guess u r making ur own grave with your own hands, she is not looking very keen i must confess

Azahar: i might be digging my own grave but i will make sure i dont enter it on my own

Digging my own grave is my favourite past-time... the thrill of being so close to complete disaster, flying by the seat of my pants... its just AMAZING!

An unrelated topic...
Diwali is coming up and people ask me whether I would like to spend it at home (India) coz as they say 'home is where the heart is'

I reply:
Yes home is where the heart is... and I always carry my heart around with me. So where-ever I am that is where my heart is. Thus I am happy where-ever I am!

:)

The Night I Got £66,349.98

Here is a story for a long and boring dinner!

Yesterday night I was just going through my HSBC INVESTDIRECT account seeing how my humble investments were doing... and what I saw made my jaw drop out of its socket!
Apparently my INVESTDIRECT ACCOUNT which should have shown a NET WORTH of around £1000 (ya so I am poor!) showed £66,349.98.

For obvious reasons have blacked out the important details!

Being an IT guy I knew that there was some problem up at HSBC so couldn't even dream of being labelled the next Investment WhizKid (turning £1000 into £66k in 1 year without really investing.. that HAS to be magic!).

Who would have expected such a slip up from HSBC!

Heroes

My heroes had the heart to lose their lives out on a limb
And all I remember is thinking, I want to be like them
Ever since I was little, ever since I was little it looked like fun
And it's no coincidence I've come
And I can die when I'm done

Gnarles Barkley - Crazy

I always wanted to be the avenging cowboy hero- the lone voice in the wilderness, fighting corruption and evil wherever I found it, and standing for freedom, truth andjustice. And in my heart of hearts I still track the remnants of that dream wherever I go, in my endless ride into the setting sun.

Bill Hicks - Revelations

The Newest Member of My Gadget Family: Sony Ericsson P990i

An Unbiased Review.. and comparison with P910.

I have had the Sony Ericsson (SE) P910i for the last two years. Got so attached to it that didn't change mobiles last year. So when the next version was announced by SE I knew they would create something special and I also knew that I would want to get my hands on it.Finally by the Grace of God (and bit of my hard work) I was able to get it last Friday (22nd September). This is a review on the usability and not the technical features and specs. of the phone. I think for most people its not the technology but the usability that matters!

So lets have a head to head: P910i vs P990i

Feature: Ease of Use - Flip Closed.

Winner: Debate rages on but my money is on P910i. The 5 way JogDial (reduced to 3 way with a seperate 'BACK' button in p990i) was just too easy to use. While the 'BACK' button takes a bit getting used to and overall it is easy to use, it just doesnt beat the 'all in one place' feel of the 5 way JogDial. (For newcomers to the P series.. the 5 way JogDial allowed you to go back out of menus which has now been converted into a dedicated button just below the (new) 3 way JogDial). Also the old JogDial was easier to get at whereas the new one is encased in the body and a bit smaller..

The metallic keypad of p990i feels much better though! Let see how it lasts the test of time (and use!). BUT the naviagtion key on the numeric keypad is hell to use! The central selection key is so small that I end up pressing one of the direction keys instead!

Flip Closed (p990i on right).

The Tiny selection key!

The JogDial (p990i above, p910i below).




Feature: Ease of Use - Flip Open (including keyboard).

Winner: p990i. The new bigger keyboard is much easier to use especially since it within the main body of the phone and not on the flip. This means you can use the keyboard easily with one hand. Also the new backlight for the keyboard was one of the things I missed the most in p910i. Just like with the p910i the keyboard in p990i is well designed and the key layout is also good.

The Keyboards (note the nice blue backlight on the p990i).

Feature: Display Quality

Winner: p990i. The new display is sharp and vibrant (see next section).



Feature: Look and Feel of the User Interface (Software)

Winner: p990i. The UIQ 3.0 based interface is stunning. The difference in graphics is similar to the difference between Windows 98 and Windows XP. All the icons are textured and really smooth looking. In p910i the menu graphics were good but the lower level graphics were bit flat looking.

Graphics (p990i on the left).

Feature: Look and Feel of the User Interface (Hardware)

Winner: p910i (in my humble opinion)
This is mainly because with p910i the screen was much bigger, memory slot easier to access and the separate bluetooth indicator light was really handy. In p990i there is just one light which starts to blink when you have a missed call or new email.
Style wise the p910i had a much better looking body. Sorry to say, but to me p990i looks like a fat bar of chocolate. Well, didnt buy it for looks..
Also one of the MAJOR issues is the hard to use Memory Slot. I think SE people thought you would 'install and forget' the external memory card 'coz once inserted and locked the Memory card is very difficult to unlock and take out. The main reason is that the Memory card slot is recessed into the body (just like the JogDial!).

P910i (note that is the normal locked position of the memory card - it has NOT been unlocked!)

P990i memory slot (note the recessed slot)

Would like to mention one thing though, even though the p990i is heavier than p910i (by 5 grams) it feels lighter. Maybe SE has done something about the distribution of mass within the phone.

Finally I wish they had given a 3.5mm headphone jack in p990i since it is much easier to just switch headphones rather than carrying around the handsfree.


Other issues:

CONNECTIVITY

BLUETOOTH (including A2DP), INFRARED, WiFi (802.11b only), USB

Left to Right Icons: Cellphone signal bars, 3G connected, WiFi connected, Globe: Connection Established (on WiFi), the Battery Indicator, Task Manager.

One of the strongest selling points of the p990i (if it had been launched in First Quarter of 2006 like planned!). But I was quite surprised that the WiFi was not upgraded to 802.11g especially since other devices (such as imate JASJAM) already offer it.
One good thing is that within the USB option you can enable 'charging thru USB' so you dont have to cart around the adapter everywhere, nor invest in a seperate USB charger. Very useful for people who hardly ever travel without their laptops. The USB data cable of course is provided with the phone!

WiFi connectivity is quite good for a device this size even though the WiFi indicator gives no indication of the connection strength! The only problem is that the browser restricts the full usage of WiFi. The phone should have come with an inbuilt streming media player so that one can access Internet Radio Stations thru WiFi or 3G.

The SE people just have not given enough software along with the phone to utilise the advanced connectivity options. The software included is the usual selection you can find in any good phone such as Document Readers and (being a game freak) just 2 lousy games! One good piece of software (though not unique to P990i) is the RSS Feed Reader. Great for people who want to catch up on the news.

Main Menu

Multimedia (note the RSS Feed Reader - also found in K800i)

'Entertainment' CRAP GAMES! P910i had Chess!

'Office' No special PDA software in there!

Tools.

The inclusion of A2DP means you can use Bluetooth enabled headphones with the p990i to listen to music (like a normal headphone!) and at the same time use it like a handsfree. The only problem is that dual mode Bluetooth headphones (stereo music + handsfree) cost about 100 pounds a piece!


THE TASK MANAGER

Quite a deadly piece of enhancement this one. Unlike the old p910i, most programs on p990i don't exit when you receive a call or an sms. In fact most programs (like the Web browser) don't have an exit option! So you have no other option except to use the Back button to go to the main menu. This leaves the program open and if you keep doing this it will leave you with a long trail of programs in the task manager which you need to go and 'End' one by one, kind of like in Windows when a program hangs you can end it thru Task Manager.
This not only slows down the phone but also makes the whole UIQ 3.0 experience weird.
Maybe I am doing something stupid (if YES then please do let me know!) or else SE need to come up with a solution for this.


THE FINAL WORD

So all in all there are lots of good as well as bad things about p990i. While discovering each new feature made me squeal with pleasure (like a small farm animal I admit!) at the same time certain glaring mistakes made me groan with pain (especially the Memory Stick slot and the tiny select key!)
In making this phone SE designers seem to have gone 10 steps forward but they have also taken 1 step back which will keep it from becoming the best PDA phone of its time (atleast in my books!).

This phone is selling like anything, but that is mainly due to:
1) Hype generated by SE (drawing upon the success of the previous P series phones).

2) Delayed launch (by more than 6 months!).

3) Limited supply of hansets.

A Comment By Bhuvan...

Bhuvan wrote a very revealing and clear comment on my post 'Indians are In and I am Out'
I thought I should convert it into a full post to do it justice, so here goes...

Humans by nature are short sighted and not to mention 'greedy'; often the latter is exposed through the former. KPO, BPO, call it any name, it is some 'smarty pant' thinking and driving this capitalist economy, and such smarty pants can be found anywhere, in US, UK, India, literally anywhere. The way job market works, I can draw some parallels from the economics of the world. The whole idea of a good economy is to promote consumerism which they believe is good for some reason, for example it shall keep the money in ciruclation, which has two key benefits:

-> Equitable distribution of money
-> Competitivenes, and creation of more jobs

and some drawbacks

-> 'exploitation' of the less educated by smarty pants
-> Selfishness and individuality taking precedence over 'higher' values in life

BPO, KPO any goddam job going to east is a way to expand the horizon and help the capitalist achieve their goal. The society in east becomes materialistic, and above all has the purchasing power which will help keep the money in circulation and ...this is a big question...who benefits from this money circulation. Few other goddam capitalists i.e. global brands.

Let me digress a little here. State of a body always carries a inertia and changes are slow and painful. Who said exercising / running on a treadmill would ever be easy, building that perfectly appealing body would be easy. The process is very painful, but one should have a vision, a long sighted vision of beautiful things that would come as a result of the effort put in now.
Coming back to east, I must say that a big chunk of responsibilty lies in the hands of the 'government' to manage the changes that are happening due to influx of BPO, KPO etc goddam jobs.

I am sure they as final arbitrator get huge chunks of money, in terms of cash reserve in their Banks, or in terms of tax paid by the companies. What my point is that this money could be used to create a just and social governance system, not only in terms of addressing current needs of subjects, but also managing the societal acceptance of such jobs by educating the mass.
Last but not the least, use the money to provide a culture of entrepreneurship (forget the bollywood for a change) so as to create more home grown smarty pants. This may sound contradictory as these smarty pants will kick of another chain of exploitation but sorry to say I am a proponent of capitalist system, and these smarty pants are required to drive the system. All I care about is an equitable distribution of smarty pants across the globe so as to achieve 'REAL COMPETITIVENESS', and 'REAL EQUITABLE DISTRIBUTION' of money and goodwill.

'Indians are In and I am Out'

Recently I was watching a program on TV about the response in England to the recent shift of a large number of call center (BPO) jobs to India. During the program they asked an ex-employee of Norwich Union (who shifted 2500 call center jobs to India) how he felt after loosing his job to an Indian call center.

He replied (rather calmly) 'Indians are In and I am Out, that's the way the world works'.

 This, I found to be, a stunning acceptance of the new world order. The BPO business is firmly shifting east-wards. But again and again we are forced to question the hand that feeds us. Debates still rage on about the BPO industry (and its respectable sister the KPO / LPO industry) and how good/bad is it for people working in it.

Companies like 'e-serve' with their 'ad-campaigns' do try and throw a positive light on working the graveyard shift. But I wonder again what would happen if the call center business was to start leaving India. What will happen to those people who have spent their formative years working into the wee hours of the night serving people half-way across the world.

Is the BPO industry also creating a generation of people who to make money have sacrificed their future? 

 What is the use of such growth if it is not self-sustaining?

What use is this growth if to achieve it one has to sacrifice the well being of our youth?

Speaking with a friend of mine who used to work for Norwich Union in India further opened my eyes. People do hate the fact that Indians are taking away their jobs. At the same time they enjoy the savings that they get because their insurance provider has outsourced operations.

We come back to the age old question of whether being a source of cheap labour is a good thing or bad. Should we put a positive spin on things like the e-serve people are trying?

Back home this new found business opportunity (i.e. BPO/KPO/LPO) are not seen in a positive light. I think BPOs etc. are respectable lines of work. Any form of work in which you can earn money without doing anything illegal is perfectly ok and respectable for me.

But looking at the intensity of the ad-campaing made me think that the Indian BPOs are not only having a tough time finding acceptance among people outside India, but within India as well.

Case in point being that if you are a call center employee you would find it difficult to get a good marriage proposal. Most people just wouldnt want to live with someone who works at night. Other factors like money and type of work also influence people a lot.

Many people still react negatively if they know you are working at a call center.

So for the call center people it seems they are trapped between a society that doesnt give them the true respect that they deserve (as the bringers of new-found wealth) and often difficult clients who blame them for taking away their jobs.

Some More Pictures

Closeup of the Clifton Bridge (Bristol, UK)


Clifton Bridge and Bristol (on the right bank)
The muddy Avon River flowing through the Avon Gorge


Strange clouds

Sunset over Western Europe...

Photographs of twilight taken by me while on the Amsterdam-Bristol flight. Camera used: Canon S2-IS.

Some Spectacular Pics.... (1 of 4)

What follows are some of the pics I took while travelling thru Canada. Here I am posting the pictures that I found to be spectacular.

Some Spectacular Pics.... (2 of 4)

What follows are some of the pics I took while travelling thru Canada. Here I am posting the pictures that I found to be spectacular.

Some Spectacular Pics.... (3 of 4)

What follows are some of the pics I took while travelling thru Canada. Here I am posting the pictures that I found to be spectacular.

Some Spectacular Pics.... (4 of 4)

What follows are some of the pics I took while travelling thru Canada. Here I am posting the pictures that I found to be spectacular.

Thoughts at 5 AM

On a random Sunday morning it comes to me:
A breakup is like an accident of the heart. After the accident you might recover fully the use of your heart but the scars never really go away.

A Conversation with Sorabh

posted here at his suggestion...

Sorabh : waise wht is the threshhold
Sorabh : I wud like to discuss
Sorabh : before u beat the hell outta ur boss
Sorabh : I mean till wen u shud wait???
Sorabh :
Azahar: till u have enough money to hire the best lawyer to get u out

Substitutes for Love

I was thinking one day.. why do we crave love of the opposite sex (same sex if you are homo-sexual).

We start out by needing love of our parents... a mother and a father.
We also may or may not get the love of a sibling and other family members...
Yet we seek another kind of love... this basic love is not enough to sustain us.

Next stage comes when we go out into the world... we develop a friend-circle.
They give us love too... the pure love of a good friend is something amazing.
Yet we seek more! A different kind of love we keep on seeking...

Then we find a girl (or boy), if we are lucky, to fall in love with.. if we are REALLY lucky they return our love...
Thus we discover what some people call the ultimate emotion of them all... the emotion of love..

Just like a child demands a new toy once he gets bored of the old one...

My question is.. can we achieve happiness with just one of the forms of love available to us.. do we need all all the forms of love in our live to really smile and feel happy?
Most importantly why do all other forms of love fail badly in front of the love between a man and a woman...
(For example: people leave their parents to marry the person of their choice, fight with their best friend to date a girl...)

Cute Quote...

Power of Quotes:

Full Quote taken from: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/1653687.stm

How you quote can totally change the meaning … proof:

Quote 1: He told BBC News Online: "Women have smaller brains…”

Quote 2: “ ….there is no difference in the mental performance of men and women”.



Full Quote: He told BBC News Online: "Women have smaller brains, but there is no difference in the mental performance of men and women.”



Quote 1 is 100% accurate… but Quote 2 doesn’t make much sense ;)

LOVE: SIGNS AND COUNTER-SIGNS...

Recently I got a forwarded email talking about the 13 signs of falling in love...
So I added few of my comments to it.. and here goes!

***13 signs of falling in love***

13. When your on the phone with them late at night and they hang up...but you miss them already when it was just two minutes ago
> MAYBE COZ U FORGOT TO ASK THEM WHAT YOU WANTED TO ASK!

12. You read their texts over and over again...
> A GOOD WAY TO TEST YOUR EYESIGHT TO FIND OUT IF YOU NEED READING GLASSES.

11. You walk really slow when you're with them...
> COZ YOU ARE THINKING ABOUT THE 500 BUCKS U JUST BLEW ON 'THEM' AND WHAT YOU COULD HAVE DONE WITH IT!

10. You feel shy whenever you're with them...
> COZ U DON'T LIKE TO BE SEEN TALKING WITH THEM IN PUBLIC...

9. When you think about them, your heart beats faster and faster...
> COZ U GET FRUSTRATED THINKING ABOUT THE AMOUNT OF TIME AND MONEY YOU HAVE WASTED ON 'THEM' (FOR NOTHING) AND ABOUT HOW YOU NOW DONT HAVE ANY MONEY TO BUY THAT NEW IPOD!

8. You smile when you hear their voice...
> TO HIDE THE FEAR... ;)

7. When you look at them, you can't see the other people around
you... all you see is him/her...
> COZ U GO INTO SHOCK (COZ OF FEAR!) AND UR EYES CANT FOCUS

6. You start listening to slow songs, while thinking of them...
> SO THAT YOU FALL ASLEEP ASAP AND DONT HAVE TO THINK OF THEM!

5. They become ALL you think about...
> WHICH IS A CLASSIC RESPONSE AFTER BEING SUBJECTED TO EXTENDED PERIODS OF TORTURE AND INTIMIDATION!

4. You get high just from their scent...
> YA COZ U DRINK TO FORGET THAT THE 'SCENT' THEY ARE WEARING COST U A SMALL FORTUNE!

3. You realize that you're always smiling to yourself when you think
about them...
> OR U R GOING SENILE AT AN YOUNG AGE ;)

2. You would do anything for them...
> AS LONG AS 'anything' DOESNT INVOLVE GETTING OUT OF BED N GETTING DRESSED OR SPENDING ANY MONEY...

1. While reading this, there was one person on your mind the whole
time.....
> THERE WERE MANY... WHICH SHOWS EITHER THAT I LOVE MORE THAN ONE WOMAN (MAKING ME A PLAYBOY) OR THAT I HAVE AN ATTENTION DISORDER

Now make a wish

> MY WISH: PLEASE STOP SENDING ME SUCH EMAILS!

;)

--- Azahar

Independence Day.....

Is it really our Independence Day?
Being thousands of miles away from home the only thing I feel from India is a deep sense of dread and billions of people hiding in their houses fearing to go out on a holiday.
Independence Day when security is most important. So much so that most people prefer to celebrate our 'indepdence' by locking themselves in their houses, protecting themselves against 'terrorist attacks'.

The question I ask on this Independence Day is: why are we Hindus afraid of dying. Our philosophy tells us that we all have to escape from the cycle of birth and death one day. If we are good in a particular lifetime and learn all lessons which we were supposed to, we progess towards release.
So if every birth - death cycle brings us closer to release... why do we run away from death. Are we so afraid that we will not rise towards release because we spent this life stealing from our own people? Are we so afraid of our sins or have we forgotten what it means to be a Hindu (beyond just visiting the temple).

No one should hide in their houses. Go forth and live your life yet do not get attached to it.
Death is sure to come knocking at your door... and when it comes welcome it with a smile... no matter if you are 80 or 20.

Death is but a new beginning... that is what Hinduism teaches us.

Kabhi Alvida Na Kehena (Never Say Goodbye)

After my mind, emotions and spirit had been hammered into blackness by the LATEST KARAN JOHAR masterpiece (A.K.A. 'Kabhi Alvida Na Kehena' or 'Never Say Goodbye') I was just aware of the following three things.
1) Deep and almost primal hatred for almost everything around me.
2) Lust for a sexy girl!
3) A yawning emptiness inside me like emotional blackness or vaccume.

For me watching this movie was like having an overhaul of my brain and emotions. While the overhaul was going on I was just aware of the above three things.
Kind of like when a room full of people goes quite one person at a time. You can slowly start making out what everyone is saying!
The same way this Karan Johar movie made most of my thoughts and emotions shut down (one-by-one). So I became aware of certain things. ;)
They should show this movie before they start to interrogate spies. It will surely break down any mental barriers ;)

The message (it may save your life!) that the movie wants to put out is:
Don't start thinking about how you are going to dump the gum which you are chewing in the middle of the road.... (that is what the main guy was doing when he gets run over by a car!) So make sure you are in a safe place before ruminating on the final destination of you gum.

The background girls (backup dancers/extras/etc.) are AMAZINGLY BEAUTIFUL in this movie.
I wonder if they picked out professional models / small time actresses or just issued an ad for extras. The girl I like the best is one with Amitabh (LUCKY LUCKY LUCKY!) when Rani thinks that Preity is in the bedroom...

Oh yes and call me insane but I thought the 'bondage mistress' look (leather corset/whip) really suited Rani Mukherjee... something tells me that this is not the first time she has worn such clothes ;)

All in all this movie is a combination of the following five things (in my humble opinion):
1) story line which makes no-sense whatsoever
2) impossible (and strange) characters
3) no connection with 'real life' either for the characters or the story!
4) sexy extras.
5) hollywood style jokes (weird ones at that).