Monday, December 26, 2005

"Rama Shama Bhama"

Super cool film. A total timepass movie - Must watch for those who would like to laugh their hearts out. I have seen the original "Sati Leelavathi" and the hindi version "Biwi No 1"....but this is unique. You will never get bored thru out the movie.

Kamal Hasan has again shown his superb comic timing. His Dharwad style dialogue deliver has evoked appreciation from the media. He has also told that he would do a movie in Udupi Kannda style. I am eagerly waiting for it.
Ramesh has always been good when he is with Kamal. Because this is debut venture as a director, he has put in additional effort for the on screen display. He has again proven that he can do exceptional acting in comedy movies.
The ladies are also good. Daisy is the mod girl and suits the role to perfection, so does Urvashi as the fat house wife of the smart Ramesh. Shruthi is in top form in the last scene.
Dattareya rules with his innocent acting as the father of Ramesh.
Music is good and the songs are really romantic. Dialogues by Yeshwanth Sardeshpande is stomach aching!!!!!
Dont miss funny venture!!!

Thursday, December 22, 2005

Woman and security to them

With the recent uproar about all the security mess that caused the rape and death of a call center employee, a bigger debate is bound to start....Should I recruit a woman for the job? For an employer, it may become a headache to provide all the required security stuff to ladies. More than providing the security, it would be difficult to make it fool proof.

After the recent rape and murder of a HP call center employee in Bangalore, this debate is raging in all the newspapers and channels.
I always argued with all my female colleagues that this is not a general incident and should not be blown out of proportion. Most of the times the one shot blunt answer I got was - "You will know if you experience it and if you are a girl". But I still stand by my point...
1. Don't generalize that all cab drivers are bad.
2. Don't generalize that women are helpless and they need security at any cost.
3. Don't generalize that there should not be night shifts for ladies.
4. Don't generalize that women are being harassed by the employers.

The best debate place has been my cab...where girls poured with their problems...but none had a solution.

Yesterday evening we had a practical example...
After I got down from the cab, there were only 3 girls in the cab along with the driver. After the next stop, there would be just one girl. It was 2030 in the night and she has to go to a not so crowded area. What if the driver misbehaves?
Some answers that came are -
1. She should be on a phone informing relatives or friends the direction of the cab. (Most impractical!!! Can this save the girl from harassment or eventual torture??)
2. One of we boys should accompany her till the last stop (which is 5 kms from our stop). (As if we are super heroes. If a guy like me is given one punch, I am gone!)
3. The company should send somebody with her till her house. (FYI - My office runs 50+ shuttles. The company should not only recruit additional guys but they should be trusted guys too!!! No outsourcing here!!!)

I hope people realize that it is better to get equipped and fight the job themselves. One friend of mine circulated a mail which is at the end of the post.

It would be unfortunate if these things eventually lead to an unwritten law in the industry - Please avoid recruiting ladies!!!

Now the mail
A few tips that can definitely help everyone,


1) Avoid speaking to people whom you don't know (auto rickshaw driver, taxi drivers ....)
2) Avoid late night parties.
3) Do not mix drinking with your wonderful ability to drive.
4) Avoid taking ladies to the late night parties, if you cannot avoid then try going in groups.
7) Avoid taking short cuts when going out in the nights.
8) Avoid restaurant/dhabas in the outskirts of the city as these are places where anti social elements usually hang out.
9) Report incidents to the police if you feel it is the correct information that you are providing to them.
10) Make sure you inform any one before you visit them late at night and also specify time frames.
10) Couples in love please please avoid meeting up in lonely places.
11) Avoid arguing with auto rickshaw drivers and also when you find people who are fighting on roads(it could be a trap)
12) Avoid having personal and friendly conversation with taxi drivers, auto rickshaw drivers , Cab drivers (Specially women)
13) If the driver behaves suspiciously/ rudely try to divert the vehicle to some public place and then immediately get off. Inform the transport department and your manager.
14) Women make sure that you are carrying something to protect yourselves such as a bottle of pepper spray and also make sure that you are wearing a jacket or a shawl if you are not escorted by a man whom you know.

Tuesday, December 13, 2005

Some flowers of my garden

First of all...Why am I publishing these photos??
Sadly we had to remove the small garden of the house to accomodate a car parking area. My dad is missing the home grown flowers for pooja. These were some pictures taken before the big 'Nanj batlu' plant was removed.

Thumbe hoovu
Thumbe hoovu

Flowers in the concrete jungle
Greenry in the concrete jungle

Nanj batlu hoovu
Nanj batlu hoovu

Karveri hoovu
Karveri hoovu

Coding in VC++

Developing a desktop application with a decent looking UI was the task for 5 of us. The timeline was a 24 hrs. 4 of us are new to VC++. Everybody knows java, .NET. But we are super intelligent guys!!! We choose VC++. 20 hrs pass and UI is still trying to peep up on the monitor. VC++ is not just another language. The concepts are really different and needs some training or experience before launching devlopement. I did not use the 'powerful' features of the language so cannot comment on how good or bad is the language by itself. For non-CompSci students pointers is another headache. Actually this was the main headache. I cannot belive it but when some compilation failed, the trials done by me was - insert or delete a * or a & before the variable. It mostly worked. But unlike most projects, our application finished in the final hour and worked!!! Yes, we had coded in VC++ and finished the application.
Where is Murphy and his laws???

Friday, December 02, 2005

How to get a new idea?

I was planning to do a new thing (out of compulsion). I wanted to think of what the new thing is. I could not get any sensible idea. I am now wondering - how a new idea would come up?
After some thoughts, I have concluded that a new idea cannot crop up by force. If you needed something and that something is not available, then you think of some new way to get that something.
Once upon a time I wanted a on-line radio search. I wanted to search a radio station which is playing the song I wanted. So far no success here..