New Year Bash - 2012

Well this is time of year when you wave good-bye to last year and welcome new one. This year we decided to go for a bollywood style party. After lots of discussions, we finalized ICC Milpitas (sold out), then took Avalon Lounge . Well Gold member passes got us a private booth.
Partners in Crime: Me, Anshu , Nimi , Suhaas, Geet
Possible people to meet : Jas Arora, Anusha (nonsense not-good looking) Dandekar

The long queue at enterance was the first evidence of heights of mismanagement people can have, long queue for appetizers (which unfortunately was dinner as well) was ridiculous , one hour open bar was made a mockery since the bands were not provided till 8 25 PM , when it was only till 8 : 30 PM. Food was OK (Peacock was providing the food, making sure the demand and supply are never met, most of the trays were empty, and possibly caterer had not sufficient supply to keep on filling it).

Finally the music started, with Harjeet Mehndi (real brother to Daler Mehndi) sang a few Mika songs, and then came some Zaheer Abbas. We were already out dancing , and this singer kept on doind improper lip syncing. I really would have appreciated if he would have stopped faking it in front of an audience 10 feet away, and easily recognized that he was not singing. Well, I suppose if he would have sang it, then people on the floor would be less. Nevertheless , he played same song 3 times in a row, reminding of a hindi movie sequence "Pyar ke side effects" in which the DJ was made to play the same song 17 times.
Well , after an hour of dancing ,we went back only to meet Jas Arora. At first he looked the same as he did 20 years ago, just a few extra pounds, a heavy chin .. He looked like mixture of Jas Arora 20 years ago , and Jeetender 40 years ago. Well,  after we had our photos , Nimi Suhaas and Geet had their share of pic with the handsome guy.
While Anshu took the pic and Jas moved out , Anusha stood (looked like posing for the pic), but these three moved out. I think she got offended, but the look on her face was astonished. I told Suhaas about the incident, and Geet went back to ask for a photograph. She was already offended , and promised pic after her "too boring, too feeble, useless" performance.  Whatever be the case, Anusha didnt let anyone take a pic after that, and I think she didn't have too many takers after the performance.
But we did have a lot of fun dancing with our friends, till our legs broke and each muscle in the body pleaded to go home. We went back , welcoming new year 2012 with dance ...

Don't remember

As much as I try to remember you , I am reminded of the pain. I don't really remember your face, nor your name , neither the place we met or where we separated. I don't remember the first time we met, and the first flowers I sent. I don't remember those daily late night phone calls or the gifts we exchanged. I don't carry your name or number in my wallet, nor I remember if we ever were friends. I don't remember if we went to a dinner together or had an evening walk. I don't remember you making to my birthday party nor I remember the help you seeked at each phase. No, I don't remember that I used to think it will be impossible for you to survive without me. No , I don't remember any of those stories you shared with me, nor the time when my friends asked me to distance from you. I don't remember those friends either. I don't remember the fun we had, I don't remember we went to office together. I don't remember telling any of them your name, I don't remember.
I have managed a big amnesia in myself, the hole is bigger than the pot. The darkness is immense like a big cup in a dark room. Like two de-motivated armies fighting for victory over a dead territory. I know you feel the same as I feel for you , and there is nothing we can ever remember about each other.
Its just blank now , a piece of paper where nothing was ever attempted. A lone forest, which is still uninhabited,  untamed and unleashed. A white pure paper which is blank on both sides but watermarked Love.

The Flat Road

It has happened well over a dozen times, but to have this fate on Freeway was an experience in itself.
Nov 18, 2011 - I got up at 5:30 AM to reach the office on time, so I can come home a bit early to avoid peak time traffic which is insane at regular time.
The drive to the office was smooth, and made a presentation for the day. Completing the other stuff, I hit the road after completing the job. Concerned about not hitting the road after the carpool lanes turn green, I took the exit for San Mateo bridge.
There was a peculiar gushing sound as I went through it. The sound was disturbing, but the car didn't show any loss in air pressure, and I thinking it to be a normal road condition noise, I rushed through. The noise dropped and I cleared off the San Mateo Bridge, and to 880 South . Few miles before I would turn for my house, the car starting dwindling. A loud noise and unbalanced car at over 70 mph, in high speed traffic. The challenge was tough , it was a split second decision.
Steps I took :
1. Put on the hazard lights , the person behind me slowed down and rushed off.
2. Opened the moon roof (with single push) , and took my right hand out of it, grabbing the attention of person behind me , and pointing to fact I need his help.
3. Now I slowly applied breaks , and veered off to the other side ( emergency stop).

I was on the other side , went out and saw a foot long cut right in the tire, with a steam of smoke coming out of it. I knew it was friction heat, but not sure whether it could have lead to a fire. I had to go and empty a water bottle to cool it down.

Next was calling for help, thanks to Anshu for getting the roadside assistance, and Suhaas for picking me up. He traveled all the way from San Fran to pick me up, on a busy day. Well , guess that's what friends are for. It was followed by an epic game of AOE , nice dinner and playing cards. Piyush and Kavita joined me , Ansh, Suhaas and Nimi for a rocking end to a day that rocked the air out of my car.

PS: The guy who replaced the tire was assertive it was a sabotage attempt ;)

waqt ki chaal ...

ab waqt ki jhuriya chehre per aur rang baalo mein .... dikhne ka waqt kareeb aa raha hai , ya khuda , kuch aisa ker ki her kadam per mera ateet mere aaj ke saath kadam mila ker chale. Woh jaise kal ki hi baat thi jab hum bori bistar liye school college mein yaar dosto ke saath pade rehte the. kabhi kisi class mein bhi chale jaate the, to kabhi bhool bhi jaate the. waqt tab bhi dheere chal raha tha, waqt ab bhi dheere hi chal raha hai ... hum kahin ateet mein kabhi kabhi ruk bhi jaate hai , per waqt chalta rehta hai, aur saath chalta hai humara yeh nashwar shareer. Aatma shayad ajar amar ho, per yeh dhancha jo poori aatma per hai woh waqt ka hi saathi hai. waqt ke saath bada, jawaan huwa aur ab uske saath hi rang bhi badal raha hai. Iska ab yeh aisa saathi ho gaya hai ki humari bhi nahi sunta , apni marzi se kahin se ek safed baal nikal deta hai, to kabhi aise hi bimaar pad jaata hai. Kabhi chidchida ho ker khud ko haani pahuncha deta hai to kabhi khush ho ke duniya ko pyar. Ajeeb sa hi hai yeh waqt, aur is waqt ke saath chalta humara shareer ....  ajeeb sa

test google

Life as a Stock Market

Lets play Stock Market with life. I had this curious feeling of going to stock market, every now and then. Study the market for sometime, and come out of it. But in last three years, I have realized , the stock market is so much as the life we life, unpredictable yet stable. Being aggressive is fine, being greedy is dangerous. Instincts lead to glory, as they do to misery. Flowing with the traffic might assure of safe sailing, but then neither life or stocks are meant for that kind. You need to have a partner in crime in life, and if that ends up as one for your stocks too, the more glory.
Faith works best in both these situation, while blind faith works only in life. The stocks like life go up to a high , and come down to a low. Stocks go a long way in the style you live your life. A pessimistic approach in stocks is most common nowadays, but thats not what you have come to stocks for. Take a risk , judge the water. Remember when you buy a stock, you are purchasing a part of company. Purchase the one in which you would like to work given an option. Don't go by advise everyone tells you, go with your brainpower with a pure heart and clear sight. Remember , stocks can be played with and life is what plays with it.

fir ....

fir se chal gayi goli ,
fir se fat gaya bum ,
fir se sannata mein gayi mumbai,
fir kisi ka sapna toota.

fir kahin reh gayi tammanyein adhoori,
fir kahin tooti ek choori,
fir bhai ka sahara na mila,
fir zindagi ki ahemiyat na rahi

fir toota umeed ka sapna,
fir khokali huwi suraksha,
fir samachar sun ke hil  gaye hum,
fir kahin kisi bekasoor ka nikala dum.

fir kahin pakda ek aantankvadi ko ,
fir kahin police wale ne khaayi ghoos,
fir kahin ban gaya ek aur swizz account,
fir kahin hatyara ho gaya out of town.

fir kismet ne dikhaya rang,
fir bharatvarsh pe utha ek malang,
fir mat ker barsdaasht mere vatan,
fir rond ke unko bata tu hai mere sang.

fir kerne de mujhe tujh per honsla ,
fir se jeene ki umeed jaga ,
fir se jo baithe hai door videsh mein ,
fir unko laane ki saazish bana.

fir ek baar uthane de fakr se haath,
fir ek baat fehra paun trianga tere saath,
fir taali baje jab uthe tera naam,
fir bata de padosiyo kohinoor ka daam

fir se ek baar fir se meri jaan,
fir dil se nikale ek hi aawaaz,
saare jahan se acha mera hindustan ...

Sorry State of Affairs ...

It has come , the final reality that we are still vulnerable.We are still too lenient, and not angered enough to strike back. We are the people who have died in bomb blast on July 13 2011. We were all having a fun time, shopping, getting ready for dinner. Few of us have new born kids, and many of us live a normal life. We have died, but not naturally. An explosion took place, and we are no more.For us the life came to an end, but those who were with us, they have come to standstill.
Do you understand when you kill a person , you kill a relation. You make a hole in the family that takes ages to mend, and sometimes it never does. It depletes the entire family and affects the next generation directly. I never would have imagined this life, had it not been for my better half. The challenges life throws are huge, and loss of someone out of nowhere shatters more than one dreams. Suddenly the promotion is gone, there is no more Diwali or Holi, neither is bhaiya-duj, and thats because some sorry son of a B*** didn't like India having Kashmir? Someone didnt like India progressing. It can not be religious, but sadly sometimes it is.
Is going out and having war is the solution , it will lead to more soldiers lost, more deaths, more casuality. Bigger holes in the wall , but then it would let us smile. It would give us a reason that what tax I pay is used in correct way, and that no intruder can dare touch my motherland. Come on , loser politicians, wake up. Take the money out of your swiss accounts and be an Indian. They want Kashmir, do it unprecedented way.  Make all the desert a real desert. For once, that would silent them forever. They should know its the time ,India is no longer in hands of people who dont care, and who dont dare. Gone is the era when Ravan took Sita, gone are the times when Drapadi was done ... the first half is done. We have tolerated. Now is the time to act. To go out for final Ram-Ravan war, like for Kaurav-pandav war.
Men in blue won the world , now lets win the peace. Lets make it loud and clear, that we are superpowers, and we have mousetraps to flush out mice from life.
 The worst part was www.indiatimes.com , as i heard the news, it was still flashing "non sense" Bollywood news,  not interested in people who died. timesofindia.com did a better job. But still for TV media, its just a matter of TRP. instigate people, the common man needs to wake up. The blasts happened on Wednesday, and the movie of same name could be the solution. I wish but hope not. I hope the democratic government does something, before India becomes milliatary dominated country to revenge the death of people who died in blasts like today.
Come on India !!!

G+ ... plus facebook ?

New social network on cards. Second attempt by google (after orkut). Will they integrate Orkut with Google+, that would save me a lot of time to get up and working, and lot of my lost friends back in my circle.

I have used G+ for a few days now, and here it goes, over Facebook:

Chat : GTalk , google chat have been longer than facebook, but still obsolete. There are circles ,  but no way to chat to people in one circle. I can not be invisible for one particular group in G+.
On other hand, grouping in FB is very logical. It lets me select who all groups see me online , and offline. Then , the groups now have a chat feature ( just like yahoo rooms). So a group with 100 people have 100 people chatting at same time, discussing and feel like in a group. The admins having power to deny chatting rights to people.

Well , while Google takes it sweet years to get the feature in place, does it realize it will have to let commercial people make good money out of it. Let ads come, paid apps and free apps. A thing which will be soon in there, but then there will be ads all over the place. Is google trying to get the apps in place is another question. How will it hook to the framework.

If there ever are groups on G+ , and end user has common friends from 5 different groups, how will that be handled. This can always be nullified saying "we wont have groups (or communities as per Orkut). Can they survive without it.

Since its google product, the crawlers will now be going through Google Plus more than they do to FB, will it not affect the search results. Google Plus feature , which is like "Like" feature of FB, but definitely of some higher value, what is the value.

Is there something other than circles of life G+ has to offer over FB , something which a FB person can't do.

Google Plus Vs Facebook

When i come down and try to answer this question, I am invariably lost in thought about business model. Google is a data hungry model, which feeds, thrives and survives on data. User data. It all started with Google search engine which crawls through search to make it better.
Then came ORKUT, which did good , and integrated with google made it best thing. Then came facebook and swept the world. People started finding classmates, teachers , long lost friends and even parents of the late. People got into applications, and likes and then came chat. Now its video chat.

In the meantime, linkedIn and twitter came, but FB still kept its place. Google started its small piece of effort. Google Wave ... it waved off without any ripples. Then came Buzz , it still is an extra piece of noise in my gmail account. I hardly use it , but it keeps on adding to distraction. Well to the point, if Google Plus as of now is good.

As compared to facebook ,it has google chat in it. Like it . Not for long. If you enable it, and you have a gtalk / gmail chat running, then u will hear ping sounds more often. It has groups but not apps. One day u want to share a piece of news with a group, u post it for them. But if you think there is someone else who would be interested in that news, either you have to add him/ her up your group or let it go to all. Reposting and long procedures.

Video chat will take a long time, and there is no feature as group chat as in facebook. There are circles but they are not grouped. If you have an interest based group, then you can post them but not talk to them as in facebook.
The apps in google are not added, and even when they will be , i dont think it will be as wide as in FB. Facebook is used by millions today, and it does not require you to have a gmail account or a facebook account. It gives u a facebook account when u join. Will google plus give you that.
The idea for google plus would be a downturn since it will go to an already established network with very less features.

Now for instance , if I ask you today to delete your facebook account and start using google plus, would you do that if all your good friends are not on google plus.
Honest scare for those people who think a particular person will not add him/her up again will not do it.

As I finish , I will tell you one thing. Adding a person to your friend circle who have not joined google plus will not send them an invitation. Add a person to the circle, create a post and send them email. When the person receives email,  he /she opens the post and joins the Google+

Camping - Mt Medona

Camping is one of the things which I did for first time in USA, and have been a fan of it ever since. So here we are , all set to do camping on Mt Medona on July 4 long weekend. Its gonna be two night, 3 days stay in a bare minimum camping tent which would at max house two people. There were bigger camping tents, but that would defeat the entire idea of camping.
Staying back like in primitive days, in wild forest,with real bear scare ,starlit sky and no luxury of an Air conditioner or fan, just pure nature. The arrangements to the trip were immense. Tents, clothes and gear. It took us while to get to the mood of camping , realizing we will have to leave the luxuries of home.

Deleting Facebook Friends

When the whole world is trying hard to get to a million twitter followers, a hundred thousand friends , a hundred groups and 1 true friend, I took a different route this time. I opened up my friends list , it was so hard to find where it was hiding. I had 340 friends. Man , 340 people are my friends and I have no clue where the hell each one of them is. No wonder my privacy settings wont help me any longer.

Do you have over 200 friends , its highly unlikely you interact with all of them. If you do , you are really lucky. You have 200 facebook friends and 200 friends on facebook. It is not the same thing, it is different. Facebook is meant to be in touch with friends ( not with those you know, or you once know , and now its no business between u and them, dont add up). A pretty face telling you mutual friends, or just pester on "Add a Friend" would let you add one, then second and .... 

Do you see a person and read , Deepak Gupta is now friends with Sameer Mohan and 20 other people. Suddenly Deepak Gupta is rich , his friend list is long. The  fact is only Sameer is a friend and 20 others tagged along just because I saw friend request from them, or knew them. Then for 2 years 18 of them never talked to me, for those 18 the door is open.

So when I started looking in the list, I could easily delete 50 of them , even without thinking twice. The only thought was, "Was this guy my friend"? But yes, the challenge is hard when you look at refined list. Take a deep breath , delete the friends you dont interact with, most of the time , since they dont interact they won't even come to know you have deleted them. Or you wouldnt come to know if they deleted you. There is no reason to have a heavy FB friend list when every information you have here is at stake.

I did it today,  I know some of the people reading this might have been deleted. For those people, I am not sorry , and if you could have better interacted with me , or let me become a friend from facebook contact, you would still be there. A person who gets out of list was not supposed to be in it in the first place.


Thank you Facebook for helping me find friends and those not so friends

kabhi kahin mein aur tu

kabhi mein bol na paaya ,
kabhi tu sun na paayi ,
kabhi mein bula na paaya
kabhi tu bhula na paayi .

kabhi jashn mein na bulaya tujhe,
kabhi tu mehfil mein mil na payi mujhe,
kabhi mele ki masti mein gum thi tu ,
kahin apno ki talaash mein mashroof tha mein

kabhi kaam ke bojh tale na mil saki tu,
kabhi haar ke darr se bol na saka mein ,
kahin zindagi se ladti rahi tu ,
kahin jeet ke jahn mein choor raha mein.

kabhi zindagi ke talaash mein socha tujhe,
kahin soch ke kisi  mod per mila tu mujhe ,
kabhi haath milaya, kahin chai bhi piye saath,
kabhi zindagi ke her mod per mil bhi lo.

kabhi kahin saath mila tera ,
kabhi per mil na sake kahin dubara,
kabhi bachpan mein rehna ka vaada kiya tha saath,
kahin aa gaya hai waqt daal lo ab haatho mein haath,
Kabhi Samay Ki Dhaara Mein Beh Gaye Main Aur Tu

Cherry Picking June 2011

It is another year of picking the fresh cherries , and again we are there for second year in row to beat the heat. Brentwood gets a visit from us atleast once a year. Each time we go, the scenic route and the amazing lushless but beautifully crafted mountains make us smile. Last year heat made us go a bit early. We invited a hell lot of people, only a few enthusiasts turned up.
Participants : Me , Anshu , Vaishu , Nimi , Suhas , Nisha , Murgendra , Mustafa , Rajesh .

We started ON TIME , and were in

Back to PhotoGraphy

after a long lost time , i have realized one more dream . Owning of a Digital Single Lens Reflex camera , known as DSLR. Its not even 24 hours and I am ready to go to the place where I think this will be used to potential. I will complete the post with the pics when I am back.