By Aditya, on April 23rd, 2010%
Pune’s roads are notoriously unsafe. And free-willed at the same time. They run on the will of the drivers. Who run about freely without any regard for safety or rules. Ergo, free-willed.
So last weekend, I had a minor run-in (of the verbal sorts) with one such free-willed driver. While planning, attempting and then being halfway through the U-turn, the following ensued:
As I flicked on the indicator and initiated the right turn, I realized that I wasn’t going to make the turn unless I started a tad wider. So I made the minor adjustment and then proceeded to turn. In the meantime, an enterprising driver decided he should go ahead from my right (while I turned). Upon suddenly finding my car blocking his way, he became angry. Rightfully so. Who would want their progress stalled suddenly by a car across the road. He proceeded to reprimand me for my callous ways…
Driver: . . . → Read More: The indicator has two meanings…
By Aditya, on November 10th, 2009%
10 years ago, Pfizer launched Viagra. The answer to many a man’s woes. It also became the stuff of spammers’ wet dreams. One can well imagine a spammer getting up in the middle of the night all excited and sending out viagra mail. Such was the effect even the name had on humanity.
And this video created to celebrate 10 years of erection (sic!) of viagra is very well done.
It perhaps also alludes to the fact that there was a time when spam was falling down. Losing it’s strength. And then came viagra. And spam once again rose from the depths of ignominy and reached dizzying heights of success ejaculating at the rate of millions per day.
Prost!
Video via David Airey.
. . . → Read More: 10 years of erections and frustration!
By Aditya, on October 9th, 2009%
Completely WTF!
Via Facebook.
. . . → Read More: Punjabi School Assembly
By Aditya, on September 18th, 2009%
Yes, it’s one of my pet peeves. And I can’t be like some who find Zen in it. No disrespect… just that, I’m too hotheaded!
But there is hope yet. Some solutions can go a long way in “curbing the overenthusiasm” on Pune’s roads. Suggestions:
Place spikes (big enough to puncture bus tyres too) at the STOP line that come up when the light turns yellow and go down only when it turns green. This will not only control speed, but also stop that irritating habit some have of standing across the line or zooming through before the traffic light has turned green. Or worse, after it’s turned red!
Create separate routes for buses and trucks. Ideally, don’t allow trucks into the city from 8am to 10pm. That’ll ease the roads.
Allow citizen policing. That is, if I see someone breaking the law, I can report them. Or beat them up. Maybe just report them!
Refuse . . . → Read More: Saving Pune’s traffic. Maybe.
By Aditya, on September 10th, 2009%
It’s a fee paid for enabling contact or a service. That’s how I understand it. I’m not against it, but at times, can’t understand the value demanded by those who live off it.
Prime examples of commission proving to be a pain in the seat is when house hunting. And I’ve felt this pain many times over the last few years. None more so than in 2007 when I moved into my current rented accommodation in Pune. I’d paid commission in Mumbai and Bangalore previously where the norm was one month’s rent by the tenant and one month’s rent by the landlord (or so I believe… I couldn’t know for sure since I was always the tenant). In any case, I had never paid more than 30 days’ equivalent of rent to a broker/agent.
In Pune, though, landlords are truly lords. They don’t pay commission. The tenant needs to pay for two months’ equivalent. And there is really no scope for negotiation. 45 days? Bah. 50? Get out. 60 days’ minimum. Continue reading Commission.
     
By Aditya, on August 28th, 2009%
See, we’re expanding. So I’m interviewing a lot of people for various positions.
I was to interview someone today at 11.30am. The candidate had applied for a job and after exchanging a few mails, the time was fixed. She turned up half an hour early. Great. But I was out and came in about 20 minutes before the scheduled meeting time. I was told she had come and left. Strange!
So about 45 minutes after the scheduled time, I messaged asking if she was coming in. No reply. Then I called. And she told me that since this is a start-up, she had changed her mind. She wants to work for a bigger company! Wow. Jobs must be easy these days again. Anyways, to each their own. But what baffles the mind is there are ways of turning down a job offer/interview. There are ways to research a company you want to . . . → Read More: Professionalism and the job market
By Aditya, on August 26th, 2009%
This is a forward. But worth reading:
A beautiful Madam was having trouble with one of her students in 1st Grade class. Madam asked,’Boy. what is your problem?’
Boy answered, ‘I’m too smart for the first-grade. My sister is in the third-grade and I’m smarter than she is! I think I should be in the 4th Grade!’
Madam had enough. She took the Boy to the principal’s office. While the Boy waited in the outer office, madam explained to the principal what the situation was. The principal told Madam he would give the boy a test and if he failed to answer any of his questions he was to go back to the first-grade and behave.She agreed. The Boy was brought in and the conditions were explained to him and he agreed to take the test.
Principal: ‘What is 3 x 3?’ Boy.: ’9′.
Principal: ‘What is 6 x 6?’ Boy.: ’36′. . . . → Read More: Class 1 or 4?
By Aditya, on August 12th, 2009%
That would be the normal retort if we knew which pig to blame for the flu. As cities start to panic and people start to believe anything they hear, the government is starting to make some knee-jerk decisions. Take Pune, for example, where the outbreak seems to be the worst.
As of Tuesday morning, Pune had reported 5 H1N1 deaths of the total 8 in India in addition to over 300 other confirmed cases. While this hasn’t come about overnight, it is a typically lazy response to what now seems like a pandemic.
So what one saw on the streets of Pune this morning was a Sunday-like but only eerie silence. There was a heaviness about and one could really gauge what was being thought. As everyone adorned the “bandit queen” look, the ridiculousness of the entire situation was overwhelming. Despite repeated reports that the masks are to be used for just a day and not all masks are useful, people continue to buy them en masse. A report claims that almost 250,000 were sold across the city on Monday! Good business!
The solutions by the powers that be? One of the first things that the authorities have done is stay away. Pune’s two ‘powerful and influential’ ministers — Suresh Kalmadi (Congress I) and Ajit Pawar (NCP) have been conspicuously absent. Except for Mr Kalmadi’s face on posters welcoming Digvijay Singh to Pune, the city hasn’t heard so much as a peep out of him. And Mr Pawar responded to a newspaper report about his absence by making some nonsensical statement. Ignore, please. Then, remotely, they have administered the shutdown to the city. For those who aren’t aware, all schools, colleges, malls and movie halls are to remain closed for 3-7 days starting Tuesday. When some people were asking for this action about a week ago, there was ridicule that we should not bow down to it. Continue reading You Swine!
By Aditya, on January 5th, 2009%
Truer words were ne’er spoken!
TechCrunch once again proves it worthiness!
Being an entrepreneur is also damn hard, for thousands of reasons and then some. I would like to point you to a testimony of that undeniable fact, penned by one of the founders of web startup MakeFive, whose Elevator Pitch video we recently highlighted. Eric Karjaluoto is his name, and his must-read blog post is titled ‘Why your web startup will fail‘. Required reading for aspiring entrepreneurs!
Here’s the gist, summarized in 6 points:
- You won’t have an audience- You’re going to run out of cash- You’ll get frustrated- The emotional rollercoaster will beat you- You’ll get excited about something else- But it won’t be because of the competition
Read the full thing here.
. . . → Read More: This lifestyle chooses you, not the other way around
By Aditya, on December 26th, 2008%
Simply outstanding.
. . . → Read More: The best tribute ever?
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