Friday, October 21, 2005

You know why humans suck?

Well, here's one very appealing photo/ad that I found on the net and couldn't resist sharing with you all. Bad that text at the right bottom corner cannot be read.



Check out another reason why humans suck!!!

Thursday, October 20, 2005

Life off lately and Red Eye movie review

Posting after a LONG time. Well, it's not that I didn't have time, or nothing to write.
For time... If you *really* want to do something, you will have all the time on this planet to do it (there always are exceptions, though).
For something to write... Believe me, I have loads and loads to write. Most of the stuff I post are conceived while: I'm taking a shower, or driving (I know this is not a good habit), or talking to friends, or read something interesting, or am sad, or am happy, etc, etc.
So why the @#$% there have been no posts off lately??? Well, I haven't the zest to do so. Not that I'm toooooo stressed, or depressed, or over-worked, none of these. Some things just don't have explanations, that's the way life is. Every passing day life seems to be slipping off my hands. I believe I should stop for a while and organize my life. But with Diwali vacations curbed, I don't see this happening this so soon :'-( (sigh...)
Am reminded of this saying...
"Flow with whatever is happening and let your mind be free. Stay centered by accepting whatever you are doing. This is the ultimate." -Chang Tzu
Well, if you have read so far, then you deserve a special treat ;-) Last week, I managed to see a movie in theater after a LONG time, Red Eye. On the scale of 10, I would rate it at 7.5!!!
Click here for trailer (requires Apple QuickTime).
Theme: Thriller Plot:After attending the funeral of her grandmother in Dallas, Lisa Reisert must take the dreaded late night flight back to Miami to make it to work the next day. Lisa soon meets Jackson Ripner and their attraction grows. But moments after take-off, she's a kidnapped woman! Threatened by the potential murder of her father, she is pulled into a plot to assist Jackson in offing a politician.
The movie *never* digresses from it's central theme, cast is perfect, direction is good and movie progresses at a pace fast enough to not let you move tushes off your seats! Not even during interval!!! No shit just fun, is how I rate it. I personally insist you do see this movie.
 
Hope you are clear by now whether you want to go for it or not ;-)
Ok, it's time for me to get back to work, my lab is calling me, loads of work to do...
Bye, see you soon...
Extra Information: What does Red Eye mean??? Here's the dictionary definition: redeye, n: A night flight from which the passengers emerge with eyes red from lack of sleep. I didn't know it earlier, you are lucky you know it before you go for the movie!

Friday, October 07, 2005

AJAX enabled Yahoo! mail

AJAX support to the classic Yahoo! mail and makes it a little more friendly.
This is all you get:
- Preview your messages without leaving your inbox
- Send back messages with a single click using
- Download any attachment with a single click

Anything that turns out to be economical in terms of clicks is MOST welcome to me!!!

You can get this sexy extension here: AJAX Yahoo! Mail (Viamatic Webmail++)

A snapshot of what you get out of this extension...
(Lookout for 'Instant Reply' link at right hand bottom corner and +/- sign near message header)




AJAX is new type web application architecture, check this out for more details.

Tuesday, October 04, 2005

Nevis' CEO-President kicks balls

How many of you out there can boast of playing football with your CEO!!! Well, I can [Smug smile] Or, the whole of my team [whole team smiles smugly]!!!
Yes, Nevis' CEO & President, Charles Dauber, while on his regular visit to Pune was keen on watching Nevis-Wipro football match (soccer, as Americans call it) this Sunday. Then, he changed his mind and asked if he can be part of the team! See him flexing his muscles...




Warming up is necessary before the game...


Little digression into history...
Change at CEO level in a company is not seen as a very auspicious sign in a startup, so I was very skeptical of how this change will affect Nevis, when Charles came aboard on 18th of July 2005. But soon after his arrival on board, he went on refining Nevis' focus. He has been successful in converging us to a laser sharp focus. Not satisfied with just doing his usual duties, he wanted to spend his energy at building a GOOD and friendly environment.
That is the reason I was very glad to see him play with the team. Going beyond the normal!



Match started and we ruled the ground for most of initial first half. Wipro made some good moves but didn't manage to score. With Ranjit scoring one goal early on, we were leading with 1-0 and became a little complacent. At the end of first half, Charles didn't like this and commented:
'Don't play with an intention of Not to Loose, Play with an intention of Winning!'

At the satrt of second half, Wipro not only levelled the score, but got the lead with 1-2. The first goal was really amazing, kick from near corner, parallel to the frame and directly into right top corner of the goal. It was then when Charles saw dejection in our faces & his leadership instinct kicked in. He called everyone near the goalpost and encouraged us. He told us they we were playing FAR better than other team and have more stamina left then their players. Just that we need to organize. This was enough to charge all of us. But Ranjit got over-charged and ZOOOMMMM he went. After a few minutes, he caught the ball near midfield and in his typical (& almost patented) style single-handedly carried it all the way through opposite D and BANG! It's a goal!!! Click here to watch Amazing_Goal_by_Barve.mpg! Everyone was relieved with this goal for it levelled the score to 2-2 just 2 minutes before the end of second half.



It was a spectacular performance by all the team members. When asked if he was tired after playing for 40 minutes, Charles said that he jogs and cycles everyday! That's why he wasn't fatigued. And not only that, everytime he got the ball, he made amazing passes, which unfortunately fell short of conversion.

With our release dates just a few weeks away, in time of extreme pressure for Nevis engineers, Charles wanted to pass this message:
"Come what may, I'm there with you on your tough ride".

I personally am enthralled by his humility and enthusiasm.

Nevis team with it's audience!!!


First sitting Row (L to R): Praveen Kaushik, Amit, Kapil, Malhari, Vivek.
2nd sitting
Row (L to R): Ranjit(captain), Ashsih, Atul.
1st Standing Row: Mayuresh, his colleague, Sandesh, Nazir, Charles, Yogesh, Sagar (vice-captain), Kiran, Gauri, Raghu
2st Standing Row: Amit, Shrirang, Manish (our hardware team's driving force)
Extreme Left Corner: Jaya (Orange) & Mimi
Not in the pitcure: Ramesh, Amit S, Chidanand, Shailendra.



Photo Credits:
1. Nik, who is as much passionate about his photograhy hobby as he is about his work.

2. Raghu, who undoubtedly is my ideal, my ex-manager, my mentor (he probably doesn't know this) and the sole reason for me to be at Nevis, a veteran in the field of computers, with his years' worth of photography experience.

Video Credits:
My colleague, Praveen Mhapsekar, takes full credit for flawlessly capturing the Golden goal.