What have I been upto

It's been a long long time I've posted... posted anything interesting... It's more because I'm bogged down by so many things happening around, rather than, not having anything worth while sharing. There's NEVER a dearth of things I want to share.

So what the hell have I been doing lately, besides getting ground in the usual, boring, mundane and frustrating product releases and useless reports...

Movie Update

Yes, you know that, however busy I'm, I manage to see at least one movie in a fortnight, if not 3 or 4.
Jhoom Bara Bar!
Yes, I know the first reaction from the most of you will be" 'Atul! I don't believe you even agreed to watch this!'
Well then, the fact buddies, is that, I DID! I @!#$ing DID! Rather I HAD TO! (Note: not because of GF! Thank GOD I haven't any, to force me into such inhuman acts!) I'm so ashamed to admit this, that I walk with my heads down in front of movie buffs! Without diving into reasons why I watched it, I wanna tell you PLEASE, FOR GOD's SAKE DON'T EVER watch this shit! I'm telling you, the movie sucks, 3 love stories till the interval, and then 2 more after the interval. Never ending songs... and ever shortening clothes... (oh yes, don't watch with your younger/elder siblings if you aren't too comfy) and the @!#$ed up song (read title song) keeps playing every 15 minutes! I tell you, you have to be completely brain dead (not once, but a hundred times) to like this movie! The Bachans suck BIG time ever on the screen! My verdict: I believe the makers of this movie, including Bachans, should switch to the vacuum cleaner business where people actually want products that suck!!! Once again, NEVER WATCH THIS MOVIE! May GOD forgive me of committing this sin! Amen!

Guns of Navarone

An impregnable fortress... An invincible army... and the unstoppable commando team Another war-time classic, based on the battle of Stalingrad. Very well made movie... once again only makes be think... Only the dead knows what a war was like!

The Gods Must Be Crazy-I:

A Sho in the Kalahari desert encounters technology for the first time - in the shape of a Coke bottle. Thinks it's GOD's gift... And the life is NEVER the same for him again!
A nice thought provoking and light hearted movie, with a nice love story, good cast and amazing direction. What's most exciting about this movie is that how the small tribe survives in the extremities of Kalahari desert.

Pirates of Caribbean: At World's End

You will find a zillion reviews out there... so I'll keep it short...
Amazing special effects, worth watching once in a theatre. But the story is VERY incomprehensible. You better own a DVD if, like me, you can't take the fact that you can't explain every word exchanged on the screen. And don't dare watching it without seeing the first part, if not the previous 2.

Life Update

There's a one? Oh! Sorry! Next time around I'll remember that there's one! No novels! No new programming language (my stint with python died a premature death!) No new treks! No new places! Ah.. there's 1 new place I went to, 3D Funky, near Chandani Chowk. Nice place to kill time if you are in a group. I liked bowling the MOST followed by air hockey. First time I ever played both.

Funny Sticker

It was a smooth drive back home yesterday evening... though the sheer thought of visiting dentist sent chills down my spine. And suddenly I saw a big car ahead of me sporting a weird sticker. Reading it, I almost pumped down the brake pedal, and the very next instant I realized what an interesting typo it was!!! Fortunately, even at 60 kmph, I was able to click this photo, just to share with you all:

The sticker reads:

'Brake Down & Towing Vehicle'

What!!! Don't get it yet??? Read it again... B R A K E down! Brakes out of order, it implies!!! Imagine what would be your immediate reaction when you are driving at high speeds on city roads and read this sign on a BIG vehicle ahead of you :)

The sign actually intended to read:

'Break Down & Towing Vehicle'

Photographed with Sony W700i from a moving vehicle.

Weekend update and funny demands

After a LONG LONG time, maybe a couple of months, we played a full game! We have been playing short games for quite some time now, due to lower turnaround of the gang. It took me a while to get adjusted to full game, it requires completely different skill set compared to short games. Controlling ball from long passes and making one is really tougher. But it was FUN! Wish the fun continues! There was once a time in U2 when people used to be at the ground at 7 SHARP, so that they don't have to wait as substitutes to get into the action. Even the senior-most and best of the players had to wait if they came late! But not anymore :-(

Apart from that... I would like to share a really funny thing from my workplace... There's a concept called as 'mid-week status report'. As the name suggests, its idea is to track where you are going wrt your schedule at the mid of the week, rather than at the end of the week. So that corrective measures can be applied (if applicable ;-) ) And guess what... we are expected to send such reports on Monday EOD! ROTFL!!! Such a ridiculous thing, isn't it! I couldn't control laughter when I heard about it! There might be logical reasons to demand this report by Monday EOD, but I wonder the usefulness of such reports. What makes it funnier is that we do send a weekly report just on Fridays! Plus 1 more report sometime during the week. GOD! I completely lost track of *when* all should a report be sent. Sometimes such things just drives me crazy :(

Besides that, weekend was plain average, but relaxing. With 2 product releases going on in parallel, I don't have much time for myself, and very little to share here. Hope to get over it soon.