Media and it's ....

Some months ago there was this huge huge publicity given sometime in Feb-Mar about how rupee is bettering in terms of dollars. Then a dollar was somewhere around 43 times the value of a rupee. Hmm, and when all these articles on media were being published, the rupee held on to the growth and 1 dollar was equivalent to 40 rupees or slightly less at one time. Interesting than this was all the media hype that surrounded this rupee trend. All the IT companies in Bangalore were projected as if they would have to stop doing business around the dollar as in some amount of time (read infinite) the rupee would be better than the dollar!! he he he!! And then another morning (that horrifying morning for IT employees) there were discussions about the annual hike that happens in IT industry towards employee's salary being affected this year because of the rupee strengthening trend!! Such was the hoopla surrounding it that every single employee would fear thinking about the approaching April month. Well, came April and as feared, most of the companies which had given a raise of about 30% annually last year gave a 8%-12% hike. And some, believe me deferred it till July and there after. And the funniest was my previous employer who said something like this in a presentation, 'The dollar value is predicted to come down to 35 rupees in another couple of months' and we were not expected to get good raises and so on you know it how...(This was in May as i can remember). And the hike was post postponed to July there too. But i guess my previous employer game a descent hike in July. Kudos to them on that.

Now, it is August and i think the media hasn't noticed (neither have the employers) that the Dollar value as mentioned by the media or in the presentations hasn't gone down to rupee in any way as they've projected it would. In fact the Dollar is still climbing and it is a good 43 rupee (yesterday it was 43.75 i guess) even to this day!!

What does this all mean? Was this a very well thought out ploy to reduce hike? Is there a corporate lobby for getting the wrong impressions into the media and the public in general? Is this misleading or just one of those management 'games'? Hmm... probably most won't know... Ah! i rest here leaving it for you guys to think.....

Electra 5s

It's been a year since i seriously started to like this. About a couple of months ago i couldn't get to see a lot of them on a regular basis on road as i was in Udupi. Though there were a few around, they all were either the older versions of the Bullet or the locally converted diesel engines. Nothing that i hate off in them but then Electra somehow is the variant i love of all the bullets. Now, in Bangalore i notice a lot of them around and nothing beats the Royal Electra. The thump and the presence of the bike in the traffic just blows my mind away. One main reason to select the 5s is that the 5 speed left sided gear shifts. I really am not fond of the right sided shifts. Somehow they tend to be a bit uncomfortable with me. It would be bliss when i would own this one..

Surprised!

This was a google ad that was displayed along side my mail box window! (See the contents of the box marked in Red)



I was just too surprised after reading this for any words! phew! For a moment i thought i had read it wrong. 'Marry a well settled girl in Chennai'! Hmmm, good. So, guys who are home makers are required i guess.. ;) he he he... If this is true then there is a huge phase shift we are going to see... ;)

A few good men...

I've wanted to see this movie in a long time now. This because, i had seen the adaptation of this movie in hindi couple of months back. It was called the shaurya. Maybe it would be wrong to compare the two of the films to each other. Because the audience it was made for were different and hence you see changes here and there in shaurya to the original 'A few good men'. So on and so forth I would say both were equally good in their own way.

Well, now getting back to 'A few good men'. A court room drama surrounding the court martial of two marines who are guilty of murdering a junior marine in Guantanamo bay training base. The story builds up to the court scene beautifully. And the very witty portrayal of the young, handsome defense lawyer of tom cruise demanded him to perform to his best and he did. While Jack Nicholson like always does a lot of justice to his role as the commanding officer of the base. His voice and acting skills are top notch. Just love the way he delivers his dialogs. I loved the last courtroom scene between the two. Also the scene where cruise asks the witness to show where the dining room was in the rule book was awesome and timely!! :)

Tom cruise looks very young in this movie compared to his recent movies. Obviously because this was a 1992 movie. But, what i meant to say was he really looks cute(what girls say!) he he he. Hmm... after saying the last line it would be wrong if i don't appreciate that Demi moore was absolutely gorgeous! huh! A beauty. All in all a good movie to spend your time on and yes it is quite lengthy. So be prepared.... :)

Talking straight...

This is one of the best books I've ever read entire life. Iaccoca is a master in writing and he puts into words some of his experiences which he encountered when he was in Chrysler. And the way he put it made me read this book end to end. I did take a lot of time to finish this book considering it took me a long 3 weeks but then i did not want to run through this valuable writing of one of the most celebrated persons around the world and successful CEOs of the world in a hurry. He's put in thoughts on values he has, be it family/work he has a way to do everything. I picked this book up to read from a library near by but, now i feel strongly that i should get myself a copy of this extraordinary piece of a book. Though I've not read the biography Mr.Iaccoca has written, now after reading this book, i certainly am looking forward to it. I like the humorous part of Iaccoca a lot. He has a different way of putting things into words.

The part which touched me most was the importance of cutting down on military expense and putting them into educating the future population of the nation! I think that is noble. On how a country's assets are it's people and it's the government's duty to look after them. How a country can be a little considerate in forming laws that could help the home industry survive and fight external competition. And some of the trade practices followed by Japan and Korean companies were a eye opener! His sense of patriotism in the book shows and that is the kind of love every citizen must show to his motherland.

And so it goes.. with a wide variety of topics put up chapter wise very nicely. Do read this book when you have time to spare. You won't be disappointed. :)

Reading habits!

An article that says it all on how bad we Indians are at reading/buying literature. :( Link here...

I was wondering about this a couple of days ago and now i read this beautiful article on the reading habits and comparisons of what an average person could/will spend to read is written in a logical manner. A good writer like Amitav Ghosh sells only 30k books in India!! that is serious question that cries to be answered. Is it that we don't have the reading habit (leave newspapers)? Or is it just that lot of us look for public library or just conveniently read some pirated e-book out of the internet? Don't know. Now i wonder even more on what the regional language books would sell like? (i'm not speaking of the periodicals and magazines here) No wonder we have produced less number of literary giants in the world of story telling (forget bollywood/tollywood/kollywood...). Maybe, the urge to become an literary figure dies off when one notices the amount of struggle he/she will have to go through in the path (if) opted. A person who dares, must be a financially well off guy and writing comes to him second. Hmm.. so there is nothing in there to get more people to write and sell more books here as of now. But hope things improve. uff....

Update..

Had been following on the games all these days when i was at my native. And what a finish it was to the already glittering career of Micheal Phelps! A total of 8 gold medals with 5 of them being in individual events. What should not be missed here is that the other 3 gold were from the group events or relays rather. His team mates were equally good to keep up to their best performances in helping Phelps achieve his Golds. Now Phelps is in an league of extra ordinary sportsmen. As i was watching the 100m butterfly i was sure Phelps would loose it and was filled with disappointment but alas, the last minute plunge saved him or rather the new electronic time machines saved him i would say. Cavic was the proud though he lost the medal by hundredth of a second even after leading the race all the time till this last plunge.! Read this article here. Doing the unbelievable was something Phelps took as a challenge. Be it hanging the photo of his rival who bet him in a race in world championships to get inspiration or accepting the huge challenge of breaking the world record the great Spitz had set decades ago, he has won all the challenges fighting for every chance that came his way. Read here a good article again from ny times.
Another event that was most awaited was the 100m dash that took place on Saturday. And Usain bolt seemed to be knowing of what he was doing and took control of the whole event from the second go till the end. Finishing it in style, the sprinter was already celebrating past his 80 meter mark as his challengers unable to catch up with his speed and they were seen to be gasping behind him to catch up with the ace. A world record followed the gold medal finish here which was shortened by .04 secs to 9.68Secs. I thought Asafa powel would be finishing second at least but then he disappointed. Anyways luck didn't favor the sprinter. So the fastest man in the planet would be Usain bolt for the next four years. :)

Other than that did nothing much all these 4 days. Got to know when i weighed myself that i've lost a good 2 kilos in last 2 months! :) Good for me i guess.... He he he. Back in office and to the routine after a small change.. :)

Holidayzzzzzzzzzz..

Extended weekend this week too as am off to my hometown today with loads of movies and books with me. Hope i get some time to read while i am home for the next 4 days. Looks like will be watching some movies that i've been waiting to watch from a long time now. Last week was a extended weekend too with my employer planning a day's off with all of us from office taken to Club Cabana. Was a fun trip with my colleagues. The place is descent enough for a day's outing with lots of recreation facilities. After all the fun, this Monday i was sulking to start to office in the morning after 3 days of rest. I have a hunch that the next Monday will be even worse. Let me see after all it more in the human nature and i expect it ;) All said i had lost track of time once i reached Bangalore. It's been two months since I've last visited my parents. Quite long in terms of number of days. i don't remember in the recent past that I've not been there in such a long stretch. Must be those 11th and 12th standard schooling days. But that was long ago. From the day i set foot here 2 months ago to till this day, days whizzed through as i was kept busy in office and had something or the other to be done in the weekend. And i was too occupied to complain and now I'm not complaining that i should've complained.. ;) Anyways, see you all in 4 days time.

Another day of glory!

And again, the whole of world must be knowing now that Phelps has won another Gold(4th in a row) in this Olympics and that too in a record time again! I'm in awe of this personality! How can he manage to do it time and time again multiplying his success in water in such close repetition! Boy, he is good or should i be telling 'He is great'! I think words would exemplify his spirit. Cheers to the guy...

NYtimes news

After this, there is another swimmer who is fading into the dusk of his career (more looks like it now). But, he seems to be doing it gracefully. He is Brendan Hansen. Read this article.

Abhinav Bindra has done a country of billion people proud. I'm proud to be Indian more than ever now. A gold medal in Olympics in 100 years is an achievement. And you could read through this (what looks like) temporary blog (looks genuine) of Abhinav to see what he has to say. Is our 'Neta' listening? :( Bureaucracy kills sport every second in this country of mine... Anyways, Abhinav needs his share of appreciation for weathering it all to win and realize his and a country's dream. :)

add on to last post..

Got these two interesting links:
Here and Here...

Found them when browsing along. I found them interesting hence go through in your free time. Nice read...

Swimming & summer Olympics!

Every four years when the Olympics are held, Doordarshan is one channel that airs the events live or sometimes a repeat telecast of the event. And as a kid i used to hate watching the swimming and boxing (both for different reasons) events on the TV. Swimming never made any sense to me as i had never jumped into the pool till then and boxing because i thought it was inhuman to box or punch one another (which i even to this day think so). But during my engineering days i got into the pool to learn how to swim thanks to my ever pestering friend, i had to oblige and accompany him. Hmm, i feared initially but then everyone knows this who's been in water and then you over come this particular point when you know how to swim. Though to this day i have not perfected the art, i know a bit of it so that i can survive if i ever fell into water. ;) But somehow once i tried out swimming, i had huge interest for the sport and respect too. It requires a lot of stamina and hell a lot strength and not to mention the right technique!

Now again the Olympics sporting extravaganza has started and DD sports channel is airing the events. Swimming not to mention seems to be there the event that happens to be shown every time i get to see the TV! Somehow over the years, I've found a soft spot for the sport (only watching). And, also thanks to the stars like Alexander Popov, Pieter van den Hoogenband, Ian Thorpe to name a few. They've popularized this sport. Bought commercial interests into this sport. And as Ian Thorpe made an exit everybody thought he was the greatest swimmer the world has ever seen but, there was another guy around the corner called Micheal phelps. I fail to understand how he manages to beat his own records every now and then. It's like he is competing against himself. New records and then again new records. He just keeps going. And if you check the wiki site, there is this 2008 Beijing summer Olympics games section in the article where there is an table showing what he is going to do and already done in the Olympics this year! I was just wondering, 8 days flat the guy will compete every single day to fight for the 8 Golds that he is expected to win! 8 days! How can he concentrate and keep his body together for so many days is the question! I just can't believe a person can stay focused so long at such high competitive level to achieve this. Whatever, i wish he does it. I'm a huge fan of the guy now after reading through his achievements. He has already won 3 Golds out of the 3 events he competed in and the next 5 events are eagerly awaited. :)

The world's fastest Indian...

This post is sort off continuation of my last post. This was not intentional but then it just happened to be so. It turned out to be a rather boring Sunday morning until i decided to watch this movie called the "The world's fastest Indian". I had this copy of the movie with me for a long time now since i got it from a friend of mine and some way or the other didn't happen to sit to watch this movie. Sunday morning was the perfect time when there was nothing to do and the sky was cloudy and it promised good rain that i happened to remember about the movie. Anthony Hopkins doesn't need any introductions of sorts as to what an actor he is. But then for every actor it's a new opportunity when it comes to another new movie and the performance and story should gell together to get the best out of him/her. The character portrayed by Hopkins is that of an real life hero(there is nothing wrong in calling this man a hero) Mr. Burt Munro. A terrific human who cannot be explained completely in words when you think of what he had achieved. Get some insight as to what kind of a character he was here and here. The kind of determination he had and the things that he believed in and himself were just too good. He believed in something and stood for what you believe in. Had a dream and lived to achieving that. And when this is the goal, life becomes fun. :) Every moment lived leaves you with happiness that lasts for eternity. Such a character was well portrayed by Hopkins when he played it in the movie. With such great poise he bought in some respect and a also bought a worthy story to screen in the best possible way. I also think Roger Donaldson (director and writer) did excellent job by making this movie. Watch it surely if you need to know about Burt Munro or if you are an avid motorbike fan or need to cheer up. And what he said about some people living life in 5 minutes more than others who don't live that in a lifetime was so true to the context.

Words that inspire...

I jus happened to come across some very inspirational quotes when i was reading something. The first one was:

“Be the change you want to see in the world.”

And then some time later i got to see this:

“To believe in something, and not to live it, is dishonest.”

and this too:

“You may never know what results come of your action, but if you do nothing there will be no result”

Wow! all these three quotes were stated as said by none other than Mr. Mahatma Gandhi regarded as Father of my nation. A wise man whom i respect for some of his ideologies. Leave what i don't like about him as it's significance is so small considering the stature of the soul being a great leader that he was.

The third quote is something that i strongly believe in. There is nothing called luck if you don't try something at the first place. Luck comes into picture only when you start doing something and you get lucky to have luck on your side. :) Imagine yourself wanting to play in Indian cricket team and you do not plan to hold the cricket bat/ball and practice. You do not play the game saying it is not your cup of tea after giving it a small try. And then later you blame it on luck saying you couldn't be the player you wanted to be. People don't get lucky so easily. But some do ;). But inorder to get lucky you need to play and play and play and do not quit until you can play no more. Now you get lucky during this period of time that you kept playing the game to the best of your ability. Not only do you keep your self in contention of being lucky enough to get selected, but also get your skills that you've honed during this struggle to show it's colors. So don't blame it on luck any more and quit doing something in a cheap way but you rather keep trying and increase the probablity of getting lucky and have some self respect.

Second quote is something that just made me recognize that i'm a dishonest person that i've never imagined to be. :( At times more than once i belived in something and have not stood by or lived upto what i've belief in. Hmm, time to re think and act on them. For some things i won't be able to amend damages already done but i can bring a change and make things better.

The first quote in itself says it all. This post started off with me reading that quote and one thing led to another and i was reading all the 3 quotes and i just thought to write it down.. :)