Tuesday, April 15, 2003
A real YES man by Jim Caple, ESPN Page 2 columnist
I laughed my keester off. Caple should win an award for this one. Praise Steinbrenner, infidels ;^)
11:06 PM
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I got pulled over by a cop...
Regardless of language barrier, it became clear that he didn't like the color of my license plate. This doesn't surprise me because I know a guy who got pulled over for having a "dirty bike". The point is not the offence, but the Rs. 50 fine on the spot. Imagine my surprise (not) when the cop asked me for Rs. 250, five times the going rate. I was polite, claiming my ignorance, but also asked him if I would be getting a receipt with his name & badge number. He hemmed & hawed, asking to review my photocopied vehicle papers. He had difficulty understanding the International Driver's License. When the fumbling ended, he declined to proceed with charging my crime. As I was starting my bike, putting on my signal, he looked at me imploringly: "Saar, I gave no ticket". I gave Rs. 50 ;^)
2:36 AM
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Monday, April 14, 2003
Today was the Tamil New Year & a little fun...
I met some fellow Bullet riders at the beach (Besant Nagar) where we had a 9AM breakfast: pongal (rice flour made into a mashed potato consistancy with cashews). It's served with sides of sambar (spicy gravy) & coconut chutney. While the mush is always a little heavy in the stomach, the thump of a Bullet ride kept me alert. As we were exiting the city, heading for the temple town of Mahabs 50km to the South, I noticed lots of people heading into temples on this auspicious day. Many were carrying the stalk of a banana plant & sporting a new garment. Quickly, we were onto the area's premier highway, East Coast Road (ECR) where we could average 80kph. At Mahabs, I had some excellent grilled sora (shark) washed down with "The King of Good Times", Kingfisher beer. On the way back to Chennai later that afternoon, I saw 5 or 6 sulkies racing. Normally, this wouldn't surprise me, but it was right down the middle of ECR, along with the regular, homicidal traffic. And this wasn't just some short sprint. The rustic carts were stretched out over a kilometer & surrounded by well-wishers in vehicles, all weaving en masse at 45-50kph. Did I mention that the race horses were in fact, pygmy ponies?
11:58 AM
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Sunday, April 13, 2003
The boss is out of town
I had hoped to hook up yesterday evening, but it didn't work out. Instead, after doing laundry, I got to bed at a reasonable hour & back up at 7AM in hopes of reversing my circadian cycle. It was nice to see the sun & have a fresh pot of good South Indian filter coffee (Leo's). I've just finished all the mopping & brushing the rug clean. It's time to hop on the motorcycle for a little grocery shopping (I bungee a tote bag onto the pillion seat). I hope to swing by Apollo Neuro Hospital to see how some employees are doing. As mentioned last week, they were motoring home from Tirumala temple & pulled out to pass, meeting a lorry head on. Nasty.
 
2:53 AM
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Friday, April 11, 2003
Let's Do the Time Warp Again...
For you RHPS freaks, my 7PM-5AM schedule is about to flip to 7:30AM-5:30PM. I have the long weekend to get ready. After less than a week, I'll head to my father's 80th b-day in the U.S. which is 9 1/2 hours difference. A week later, I'll be back in India, readjusting another 9 1/2 hours. It's a jump to the left & step to the right, but do so lightly & quietly.
"Long weekend"? Fish-eaters have Easter, we have Tamil New Year. I wonder if our Tamil friend Suresh back in Rochester, NY will celebrate? Break out the fruits & sweets ;^)
7:30 PM
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Thursday, April 10, 2003
The Boss is in town... (not Bruce Springsteen)
Tonight, I got to catch up with what's happening in our U.S. business AND had a great dinner at Chennai, India's 5-star Park Sheraton hotel near my flat. The only drawback with not meeting him at his regular hotel is that I didn't get my usual haircut/massage. Some entrepreneur in the U.S. really needs to incorporate head massages after haircuts.
As I pulled over to the road-side chai wallah (tea vendor) at 5:30AM, a herd of water buffalo were walking down the middle of the road. That's not so surprising in this city of 6 million, but I noticed the feral dogs were having great fun with a half-hearted bark. It was like a canine yawn, I think the mutts were just waking up. They didn't get too close, they didn't chase, the buffalo didn't seem bothered. It's not a bad life: Chennai bovines & dogs can go where they want, do what they want ;^)
 
5:54 PM
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Beautiful sunrise over the Eastern coast of Chennai, India...
As I kicked the Enfield to life at 5:30AM, there were more clouds than usual. No, it wasn't about to rain; that last happened in December. The clouds did help the reddish colors streak across the sky as I headed home with a throaty staccato.
8:48 AM
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Tuesday, April 08, 2003
I'd like to thank U.S. politicians for making my life more difficult...
Who has the steely courage to legislate the end of Daylight Saving Time? Who has the moral fortitude to do the right thing? Who has the eagle's vision to recognize that few American children work in the fields anymore, let alone have the desire to extend their outside, sunny hours (MTV & AIM rule). Daylight Saving Time is simply an U.S. capitalist plot to screw up Indian business who doesn't observe. This American assault does nothing more than confuse an entire employee transportation system. The payback, however, is that it's the Americans who don't get their service calls answered when an entire Call Center is tardy ;^)
7:35 PM
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Sunday, April 06, 2003
U.S. Army M-88 & Ford F-450 provide platform for innovative NBC productions of moving Iraqi frontline video
The tank recovery vehicle is mounted with a gyrostabilized camera. Maritime Telecommunications Network outfitted the truck with a stabilized VSAT antenna & soft Goodyear tires that travel nicely through sand. Linking between the two vehicles, the video signal stays locked on its satellite-based communications transponder. For readers having high bandwidth (DSL or cable Internet), here's a Link to an 11MB video of the systems. BTW, videophone reporting runs US$7.50 per minute while this specially equiped truck is "less than a million". PPS: the truck was delivered "target white" & had to be re-painted "camo sand".
7:39 PM
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Saturday, April 05, 2003
I'm now the proud parent of a brand new...
boy Blog. Check the BlogTree icon to the left and welcome Abhi nahin to kabhi? (If not today, when?)
Saturday was a long day. After getting home from work at 6:45AM, I tried to stay awake for the iron vandy (clothes ironing) who's supposed to arrive at 9:30AM. Sadly, he was a no-show for the second day in a row. I consequently opted to head for the motorcycle mechanic because I was pretty sure there were no bandhs (strikes), festivals, holidays, or other excuses not to work. I rode in a tank top & got some rare sun. I got home at Noon with a purring motorcycle & pink arms. The iron vandy was still absent, so I finally went to bed after a 21 hour day. Around 7PM, I joined friends Charmain & Vernon for our usual weekend restaurant trek. We stopped to pick up another friend Harsh (who has a nice flat, cold beer & an interesting Nepalese man servent). We continued on to "Banana Leaf", in central Adyar (close to our Tidel Park offices), where we sampled some quick & delicious Chettinad (South Indian) styles of chicken, mutton, & shark. All this was mopped up with dosa & paratha (different breads). I hadn't eaten all day & really enjoyed the spiciness. I was crashing hard by 2AM.
10:43 PM
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Friday, April 04, 2003
From the HomeOffice in Rochester, NY...
Steve P. letting us know where he stands ;^)
4:46 PM
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Thursday, April 03, 2003
Following up on yesterday's Plog, the black gunk from the water tank cleaning seems to have affected my geyser (pronounced gee-zer)
In the U.S., a geezer is an eccentric old person & a geyser is a spouting hot spring, but in India, a geyser is my 240 volt hot water heater which is small, "instant" & attached high on the bathroom wall. Now when I flip the geyser switch, sparks fly across the bathroom before tripping the main circuit breaker. The timing of water supply gunk & geyser failure is suspicious. Perhaps the heater coils or exchangers are clogged, leading to burn-out. BTW, if you're a dedicated reader of this Plog, you'll hopefully remember that an Indian bathroom floor is the shower floor in its entirety. Imagine the excitement of standing naked, flipping the switch, & getting fireworks ;^)
4:57 PM
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Wednesday, April 02, 2003
This will probably read like a Personals Ad from an American newspaper
"SWM, US, Bullet rider, 52, domesticated, gainfully employed, entertaining, ISO ...". The first point is that I enjoy doing a good job on laundry. When I got home at 6:30AM, I started a load of clothes & was alarmed by beeps/codes on the washing machine's LCD. I opened the tub to find my white shirts & towels streaked with BLACK gunk. The inlet valves to the tub were clogged shut. I went outside to find the Ceebros building manager who has been described in previous Plogs as "should not be allowed to breed". As happened several times before, the source of the slime was the cleaning of the building's water tanks & once again, the property manager neglected to warn or prepare me. Like a repetitive myna bird, he cawed that another wash should save the shirt. Duuuuh, the second point is that I'm employed & working late. I really don't have time to scrub & wash a shirt several times.
5:08 PM
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Tuesday, April 01, 2003
Chennai traffic is quite light at 7:30AM. Many businesses don't spin up until 9-9:30AM
Traffic was so relatively easy, I made the 5km to the mechanic's shop in about 30 minutes. A neighboring chai walla (tea maker) indicated the garage would be open in another hour (9AM). After waiting 1 1/2 hours, I learned that there was a bandh happening. Who remembers a bandh from earlier posts? Hint: they happen quite often in India & other labor intensive markets. Answer (tho you could have done a search by now): a bandh is a strike. Apparently "tradesmen" (but not tea vendors) are relaxing for the next two days in protest of some tax issue. Me: I'm finally home for some sleep after 23 hours.
12:37 AM
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Monday, March 31, 2003
WoW, this new schedule has me getting home at 6:30AM vs. last week's 2AM
Now, I can ride directly to the motorcycle mechanic & get some work finished. Hope I stay awake. Rumor has it that a car-load of our techs just had a terrible road accident. Our India Country Head & HR Manager stopped by a training session I was running tonight, but said nothing to us. Apparently those bosses were in at that late hour to announce the tragedy to others.
8:49 PM
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Sunday, March 30, 2003
IPO of this Plog on BlogShares.com
Get in now at US$0.03 ;^)
3:07 PM
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Blog '03: National Panel on Blogging
was held yesterday at Chennai, India's Anna University. I was the keynote speaker & a panelist on "What Makes a Great Blog". With only a day's notice, the presentation was moved to an auditorium with no WWW connectivity. There's no shortage of Indian willpower & browser caching saved the presentation (thanks, PD). I only came to know of a power outage during the event when a moderator mentioned that we were running on gen set with 20 liters of petrol that had been carted on someone's mini scooter.
The Madras Bulls met at Elliot's Beach, Besant Nagar, late as usual. I wouldn't, however, call 7 of 70 members a quorum. Some people had Saturday night plans & had to leave before we finally got under way after 45 minutes. I raised an expense question of our domain name simply being used as a redirect. Duuuuhhh, it's almost like a motorcycle club with a vanity name. That query never got resolved. I left when the meeting fixated on a club speed ride in April when I'll be at my father's 80th b-day. In addition to the club's tardiness & lack of resolve, I notice the unity of club colors (t-shirt) being ignored. There's no Sunday ride today & I suspect a crumbling house of cards.
7:54 AM
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Friday, March 28, 2003
Added a new gadget last week, BlogShares, still in beta
I see it's since been copied to the Blog o' ZonkBoard & GeoURL. Some say it's sincerest form of flattery towards the lead dogs. Check out the Top Players.
8:28 PM
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Thursday, March 27, 2003
Got out of work at 4AM, sped home on the motorcycle & just finished laundry at 6AM in anticipation for this morning's iron vandy.
In the pic below, the giant iron is filled with charcoal & the kid might return my nicely pressed clothing by Saturday. If I want them back sooner, I'll go look for him. Each item sets me back US$0.03
7:52 PM
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FutureFeedForward will be added to the BlogRoll on the left by the time you look there ;^)
I'll enjoy the site as will you (otherwise, submit your better-crafted stories to them). FutureFeedForward's author & staff, monkeys all, will continue to have a canted outlook very similar to someone I hope to remain knowing in the first person.
2:00 PM
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Wednesday, March 26, 2003
Calling all Brainiacs...which web host will it be?
Help me out, become a resource (after all, this is the World Wide Web). I'd like to migrate to Movable Type-powered web logging, they have their requirements, & I think I've narrowed it down to:
34sp.com at US$21 per year for 30GB space & 1GB transfer per month
or
powweb.com at US$93.24 per year for 500GB space & 30GB transfer per month. Any "dirt" is welcome.
1:44 PM
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Monday, March 24, 2003
Live from Bagdad, it's the Salam Pax Blog...
whose ISP has come back to life after two days of initial Allied air strikes. Google has kindly mirrored the Blog at http://DearRaed.blogspot.com (for those having difficulty with the underscore between Dear and Raed). The original, working URL remains in my BlogRoll to the left. Notes of interest include confirmation that Bagdad police have lit sooty oil trenches around the city and a non-military Iraqi's opinion that fellow citizens will not be surrendering en masse.
10:19 AM
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Sunday, March 23, 2003
World Cup Cricket Final was pretty much a bust...
except for having good friends over to watch the broadcast, eat pizza, drink some beer, etc. India won the toss & elected to chase. Undaunted, Australia stepped up to bat & proceeded to set a record 359 runs on 2 wickets. At the lunch break, the pandits grew quiet, many were depressed & distracted (hence the pic below). India's Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar started off with a lousy 4 runs. This is a guy used to hitting Centuries. When it started to rain at 17 Overs (out of 50), many Indians were chanting for a cancellation. I explained the Rain Dance of the Other Indians, i.e. Native Americans. Choreography aside, both the rain & India's hopes ended quickly. Team India managed a respectable 234, but a quick succession of match-ending wickets closed this Cup. Champions (and US$2M richer): Australia.
 
3:15 PM
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Saturday, March 22, 2003
I got what I paid for
My US$10 per year domain included 5MB of hosting space & that was perfect since I only wanted somewhere to store web pix. The free BlogSpot hosting only handles my text & I've had my pix disappear several times from free webspace, e.g. xoing.com. As faithful readers know, my pix have also continued to vanish from the current paid webspace. I will NOT be renewing next month with the following family of companies:
UnifiedNames.com (parent)
RegisterFly.com (domain)
FlyServer.com (hosting)
They have system issues or make changes & aren't openly honest with the customer. They do not have a Status Server or post current downtime reasons in their KnowledgeBase. They do not respond to FlyServer.com email. I could go on, but I'll save my energy for transferring my business. Any suggestions & success stories would be appreciated. I'm looking for a more robust service to include CGI bin & PHP so I can migrate to Moveable Type. I expect to pay US$5-7 per month.
2:44 PM
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Friday, March 21, 2003
I've got gas over this petrol price issue & I must let it out
The Brits have since agreed that it's 7 well fires, so that extrapolates to 0.88% of Iraqi oil production. The naysayers talk myopically when they don't reference Iraq in terms of world oil production. Who believes Iraq is big time & influences world pricing? Guess again, brain sturgeons, Iraq is hardly a player in the Mid East arena. Bottom line: Iraq produces 3% of the world's oil. Multiply that by the temporary interruption noted above (0.88%) and you've got a whopping 0.0264% effect on supply & demand. The world should boycott petrol retailers cheating us on that minuscule difference. We don't need Saudia Arabia & Venezuela making up that picayune amount: as global citizens, we could easily conserve that fossil fuel energy. How, you ask? If we ran a light bulb or car engine for an entire year, simply turn them off for 2 hours 20 minutes.
BTW, here's a great study on the world running out of oil. Note that Middle East & Iraqi oil production will pick up, peaking in another 7 years, but it's all downhill from there. Please get your kids off Reality TV & have them work on hydrogen fuel cells. [/rant]
4:49 PM
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What price to remove a torturous dictator & his sons?
Of the friendly Chennai, India citizens speaking with me, few have little to say on the current Iraqi conflict other than "US President George Bush has caused petrol price increases". I offer that any consumer pump hikes would come from greedy middlemen who defy both Saudia Arabia & Venezuela promising their vast reserves to cover any Iraqi shortages. Additionally, British Defense Secretary Geoff Hoon notes that it is an Iraqi President Saddam Hussein plan (and reality) to torch their oil economy and an Allied practice to protect the global resource. Hoon goes on to explain that quick Allied incursion into the southern Iraq peninsula of al-Faw has limited the Iraqi-set fires to 30 of 400 wells or less than 4% of relative production. US estimates of 7 well fires lower that production loss to less than 1%.
2:24 PM
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Thursday, March 20, 2003
Cricket: India beat Kenya; reach World Cup final (against defending Australia)
India led off with a healthy 270 runs on 4 wickets. Indian captain Saurav Ganguly had his century & the chase was on. Considering Kenya's previous best follow-up was a 214 run production to beat Bangladesh in 98-99, today's meager output of 179 was no surprise. The final is Sunday in South Africa, mi casa es su casa.
5:43 PM
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On the Iraqi Front, Where Is Raed? and what is he doing?
Answer: BBB, triple B (Bagdad, Blogging and Bending over with his head between his knees). Not only does the link above work, but he's been added to the BlogRoll on the left. Updates less than 12 hours old are noted & moving your cursor over his BlogRoll link indicates the exact time of posting.
2:06 PM
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Wednesday, March 19, 2003
India will not provide logistic support to US
India's leadership has been perfectly consistant: on Monday, they had stated that unlike the 1991 Gulf conflict, U.S. military planes would not be allowed to refuel in India during the current conflict. There's a lot to be said for nationalism, the politics of minding one's own business. Perhaps the U.S. will learn to stay at home, taking care of its own problems, rather than intervening into others. The U.S. would have a full time effort fixing its own borders, employment, health, crops, energy, etc. Other countries can be left to resolve their own issues. Let nature's selectivity take its course. Up for discussion: how fine is the line between a nationalist & an isolationist?
P.S. Iraqi soldiers are surrendering six hours ahead of deadline at the Kuwait border. Considering the attrocities Iraq committed against Kuwait in the 1991 conflict, it's poetic justice that the current Iraqi deserters were turned over to Kuwaiti police. I don't believe police operate under the Geneva Convention ;^)
2:17 PM
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Tuesday, March 18, 2003
Holi: Indian Festival of Colors (and also the Fire Festival)
Celebrated on the full moon of Phalguna (March), mostly in the North of India. Also known as Dol Jatra in Bengal, the holi-day (d'oh) holds several meanings. It marks the end of Winter, the burning of dead branches & leaves, casting the evil effigies (Holika & Pootna) into the eternal fires of the damned. Sometimes the pyromania gets out of control. Holi also marks the beginning of Spring, memories of Krishna frolicking with beautiful gopis (female cow herders). It's a fun time when gulal (colored powder) is smeared on the faces of unsuspecting revellers.
2:27 PM
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French cognac not doing well in the world market
The BBC was just discussing how sales of the time-honored French brandy have declined 40% over the last several years due mostly to the "Asian financial crisis". One worker on hunger strike against the Martell winery in Cognac, France, complained that his management didn't understand global issues. Gee, go figure. The BBC went on to note that the U.S. was France's second largest cognac consumer, but anti-French sentiment could easily cause additional skidmarks. France is certainly entitled to their less than global strategies, but I suspect they'll soon need to change their soiled panties. Meanwhile, I can unequivocally confirm the fine ports & sherries from our ally Spain. I have good memories of Australia's malted beverages, particularly XXXX.
6:03 AM
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Sunday, March 16, 2003
Spring Cleaning... as South India's days get warmer (32C/90F).
I have a small living room rug that looked stained & today, I gave it a shower. The beauty of totally tiled Indian bathrooms is that there's no bath tub, just a showerhead. Brilliant: I could spread out, scrub, & rinse half the rug at a time. Its wet weight was probably the hardest part. I dried the rug on my balcony rail in hours. Next, I machine washed the towels I roll at the base of doors to keep out the corsu (skeeters). Lastly, I cleaned all the fan blades. After 2-3 months of slicing thru polluted air, they get a greasy, sooty coating that sometimes flys off onto my clean bedding. When I finish with the fan blades, that sponge gets thrown away.
I also shopped for food today, the 2nd time I've hung grocery bags from my motorcycle mirrors. I wonder why Chennai eggs are ten to a plasticine bag? A year ago, they were packaged as nine. They can't have gotten any smaller. Unlike U.S. eggs that come jumbo, extra large, large, medium, & small; Chennai eggs come one size ;^)
2:17 PM
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