I have now moved to a
WordPress blog. Why? Because they are easier to maintain and offer better navigation and categorisation options.
Also, I have an invite to give away... please me and it's yours!
My new address is:
Scribbler On The Net.See you there.
Egads! It's flying in my kitchen
I kid you not. This evening, I reached home after a tormenting drive from Andheri to Chembur (those in Mumbai will appreciate the effort it takes at about 6 pm!).To start with, things were normal... I came home, freshened up, changed and sat down in front of the TV... my 'seat' till dinner. Soon enough, though, I was startled to hear something that sounded like vessels clanging together and tumbling down from a height.
Initially, I thought the noise had come from the neighbouring house where the interiors are being done and did nothing about it... who wants to leave a nice cosy spot, eh? Soon again, the noise was heard again and this time, it was even greater and it sounded as if it were closer to me... time to check the clues, Watson!
A leisurely walk into the bedroom revealed nothing and on reaching the kitchen, I decided to reach for a bottle of water and lo, there it sat over the gas stove! A pigeon. In my kitchen. Chilling out! Once the initial shock died and I regained my balance (physical and mental), it was time to figure out how to get that feathered fiend out of the house.Let me assure you that I am no animal hater and in fact, the window ledge in my bedroom has been converted into a maternity home by all pigeons. I think word seems to have gotten about in their circles and there are more arriving by the day to meet the newborn(s). So much so, that a new would-be mother is also getting comfortable with her eggs as you read this.
So now that it has been established that I am not an bird hater, the problem of shooing the pigeon away was back at hand. For some strange reason, at this point, I started wondering about my choice of words to the pigeon and assuming (it's a safe assumption, you see) it knows none of the languages I do, it hardly mattered whether I muttered "shoo" or "avast" or any other words of 'choice'! Thankfully, I was alone at home and decided to test my knowledge of expletives!
It's one thing that the bird did not understand what I said (maybe because it cannot hear... I noticed no ears, you see) but it's entirely another when it decides to protest my actions. And how! I managed to get its attention (how is mystery) and the darn thing decided to go for its version of a stampede right there within the kitchen. In fact, I realised that it was scared when it decided to get rid of its lunch on the kitchen counter and then fly over to the light and perch itself atop. This put the problem in an entirely new light...
Moments later, a thought struck me like light(n)ing! I decided to switch the light on and off to scare it away. Hmph. A lot of good that did... only more defecation. Geez.
Soon enough, though, it relocated to its original camping place, the window. Now all this while, it kept on looking through the glass and wondering (I imagine) how to get out of there. Little did it realise that there was the open part of the window right under it. Over the course of the next 20 minutes or so, it explored all the corners of the kitchen including the sink. At one point, it was so scared that it confined itself to a corner in the sink and refused to move... poor thing actually, but my problem was yet unsolved. It would be fair to remember here that I was the victim.
After a round of the kitchen and a fair bit of fluttering (including that of my heart considering the glass objects present), it perched itself on the window again momentarily returning to further defecate on the kitchen counter. Dinner tonight will be hard to ingest.During its many attempts to find the open part of the window, it had banged against the glass on many occasions... it did so one more time and this time decided to sit on the counter to survey the terrain as it were.By this time, I had a kitchen cloth to aid my efforts and repeated flashing of this weapon produced more fluttering and showed no signs of a solution being found. With much courage (hey, it has a beak and can fly with a lot of fluttering that is scary) I got as close to it as I could and waved the cloth one final time.Finally, it flew straight into the open window and found its way out. I'm sure it's having quite a chat with its friends about its adventure. In fact, it could well be blogging about it in its own world... perhaps a search on Poogle would reveal something!For now, though, the kitchen window (and all others in empty rooms) remain closed. And so they shall when we leave home tomorrow. Technorati : birds, disaster, kitchen, panic, pigeon
Eating my words... and enjoying it!
Just a few days ago, I asked for the omission of Sachin Tendulkar from the Indian team. Little did I know that he would do this to me! But for once, I am happy to be eating my words... and I really enjoyed the way he made me do it!
Perhaps it's time I did the same about Sehwag... that would give the Lankans the heebie-jeebies! Anyway, I don't expect this to be a cakewalk for India in any case and tomorrow (Oct 28) should be a great game.
Technorati : Cricket, India, Mumbai, Sports, Sri Lanka, Tendulkar
'Dost' and 'Youn Aur Sheher'?
Sarah Jessica Parker in 'Sex and the City'
Sounds creepy to say the least! But that's what Zoom TV is announcing. It will create local versions of Friends [1, 2] and Sex and the City [1, 2]... why is anybody's guess. I mean, hasn't Friends been tried before on Indian TV (called Friends Forever) and was it not an outright disaster? Here's the sequel!Out of curiosity, I wonder what the cast would be like... especially in the case of Sex and the City. I mean, is there an actress that can play the character of Sarah Jessica Parker? (Yes, I watch it).Hmmm... here's a list that I think may just happen... actually I cannot think. (I'll just pen down some names!) Suggestions are very welcome. And the wackier the better!Friends (Original Cast) *That's some detail there*Rachel - Jennifer Aniston VJ Anousha?MonicaPhoebeRossJoeyChandlerSex and the City (Original Cast)Carrie Bradshaw Samantha JonesCharlotte YorkMiranda HobbesMr BigAidan ShawTrey MacDougal
IIPM issues notice in "intrest of IIPM and Planman fraternity"
Why bother, I ask? If you 'general notice' is in favour of only your own people,
may as well send out an e-mail or internal mailer...
Anyway, the contents of this notice are hilarious. Must-see on today's Page 3 of Hindustan Times (Mumbai at least).
The gist of it is that whatever claims they have made are true and that everyone else (including the people who have denied having any association with IIPM are liars).
There. Go live with that!
Going by the language, they don't have much of a lawyer to issue 'notices' and maybe this is another exercise for the students itself! Har Har!
Technorati : IIPM, India
Ice Rocket : IIPM, India
Heh! The bluff has been called!
Looks like someone has finally called the bluff of the family Chaudhari. Dr (?) Malay Chaudhari's education (!) has been laid bare and soon, it may be time for his son's qualifactions to be laid bare.
Man, it looks like they will regret taking on the blogosphere![Via India Uncut and DesiPundit] Technorati : IIPM, India
Ice Rocket : IIPM, India
He looks pretty!
Logic escapes me when I see the photo with this story.
Check this.
Ice Rocket : Films, India, Mohanlal
Victory?
There's a smug feeling about Greg Chappell for the last couple of days and why not? After much controversy, it would seem that he has finally had things his way. How he did this is unimaginable.Getting through the an(n)als of Indian cricket and getting things his way despite being a 'foreigner' has indeed been nothing short of Herculean by the coach.
And no sooner than the team was announced, Chappell was waxing eloquent about the choice of the team and how Sachin is "almost hitting form" and how this is good for Indian cricket.
Gone is the grumpy look about him and he is a new man. One only hopes this augurs well for the future (read until the WC in 07).
p.s. I don't know how Ganguly too has managed to get a tennis elbow all of a sudden. Sounds rather shady, if you ask me.
Technorati : Chappell, Cricket, Ganguly, India, Mumbai
Ice Rocket : Chappell, Cricket, Ganguly, India, Mumbai
Double Standards
Finally, the team for India's next two series (v Sri Lanka and South Africa) has been announced and the selection leaves a slightly bitter taste in the mouth to say the least.Why? Because Tendulkar made the cut. Before you screm Bloody Murder, consider this:
In the recently concluded NKP Salve Challenger Series that was meant to display the talent available, Tendulkar barely made a mark (I wonder where Chappell gets this from). VVS Laxman, on the other hand, shone bright and scored rather well. The argument presented by Kiran More is that the "focus is on the youngsters". In that case, why is Agarkar in the team?Coming back to Tendulkar, he hardly moved the scorers and if experience is the argument here, Laxman has it too. Plus, he's in form and not returning from injury either.
Let's get one thing straight here. I am not against Tendulkar. He is a class act and deserves to be in the team as long as he wants to be. But if certain arguments are being presented for one player, they should apply to all.
I say bring in Laxman even if it is at the cost of Tendulkar. Call me crazy, but it's a question of using the same yardstick for all players. Else, don't give us this bulls*** about experience and form and age. Technorati : Cricket, India, Mumbai, Team Selection, Tendulkar
Blogs with Yahoo! News
Finally one of the big boys has picked up the news-worthiness of blogs and decided to add them to their News sections. About time too! Technorati : Blogs, India, Mumbai, News, Yahoo
MBA Mafia
And I don't say this! It's AC Himself! And on his own site! And in an article by his holiness the Ponytail!
What I am trying to drive towards is the non challengeable fact that management
as a stream of studies is more hype than content.
Lest you guys not believe what I have extracted from his 'thoughts', here is the link (to his site). Actually, you will have to do some work and find your way to Thoughts > MBA Mafia. I suspect it may soon be moved and hence the screenshot. Apologies for the size... but the sites is a Flash one and I cannot hyperlink to the article. I need to disinfest my mind because I actually endured that entire article and cannot think strett anni moar...
Sue This!
I think this post is jinxed. My computer has crashed thrice and each time I was about to hit 'Publish'! Never mind!
The point I try to make is bloggers are increasingly being tracked and even sued in some cases because of their outspokenness. This, in no case, though, should compromise the very nature of blogging and freedom of speech must be upheld. SOunds a bit like a speech at Azad Maidan, but bear with me. There is a point at the end of this!
About two months ago, a blogger was sued by a company not because he said something but because a visitor left a comment on his blog that was against their interests. Wow.
There's something to be learned for Rashmi Bansal and Gaurav Sabnis regarding their IIPM fracas from this... maybe they could sue all those nasty comment(er)s (which I am sure have originated from one of the IIPM edifices) and in a way get some of their back. At the end of the day, what they have said is in the larger interest of the students (current IIPM students excluded).
But it is not surprising that there has been so much of spam comments hitting the fan (or their blogs) because Mr A Chaudhari (aka Mr Ponytail) has a lot to lose. But, for someone who doesn't think before claiming that his institute is better than the IIMs and that he is a management guru (I am Dr Spock!), he sure has taken this expose rather badly.
Interestingly, there was also a ruling by a US court where it said that anonymous bloggers may not be sued for their views. Time to go underground, maybe? Nah! Some reactions about the court ruling are here as well.
Good job, guys.
And I don't say this! It's AC Himself! And on his own site! And in an article by his holiness the Ponytail!
