Once upon a time there lived a happy family. A family with a father, mother and two kids. Both twins. While the older one was active, talkative and an extrovert, the other was coy, shy and an introvert. The older was called Sivani, the younger one was known as Sneha. Vani and Neha to family. Both had a normal childhood. Went to the best schools in the town. The parent couple was a model for all. They moved in all the known and right circles. Often hosted parties. But not all was well under the skin.
The mother had a problem of depression. The couple often quarrelled behind closed doors. The kids knew about the quarrels. They could do nothing ‘bout it though. All that they could do was cringe at the sounds coming through the door. One fine evening, in a fit of rage, the mother emptied a bottle of sleeping pills, took Vani and left in the car. Never to return. When the wreckage was found, the bodies were badly mutilated and charred beyond recognition. Neha was left behind because she had been to a friends place nearby. She never could forgive her father. She thought he was the reason behind the suicide.
Things changed after the accident. Neha turned into cold Sneha. She tried all that was possible to turn into Vani. She suddenly changed into an extrovert. But inside, she shivered each time she thought. Her father also changed. He spent more time inside his study and office. The only contact the two if ever had, it was during the dinner, sometimes only. The two avoided each other like plague.
Sneha’s palatial house had all the comforts that one could only imagine. The best cars; Ferraris, Beemers, Mercs; the best perfumes; Azzaro, Burberry; they only wore designer labels from half way across the globe;Dolce and Gabbana, Gucci, Armani. The palatial house also housed a bar that the parents had made to entertain the guests who often came home. The parties always had liquor flowing like water. The favorite being one of the world’s best, Black Dog.
Sneha had taken to drinking secretly and often smuggled bottles to her room in the dead of the night. With age, her weirdness only increased, and so did her despise for her father. She was sure to do everything that she could to annoy him, including colouring her like a parrot to creating a wall decorated with all the different types of bottles of Black Dog Scotch. She showed her creative best when she had to annoy her Dad the most. She left no stone unturned. Despite all this, Sneha had grown up to be a fine lawyer and a women’s rights activist.
Her dogged family life had also left another scar on her. She could never trust a man. She had been so often in and out of relationships that it was hard to tell what was more; her ex boyfriends or her clothes in her wardrobe. Her parents’ friends now cringed at the very sight of her. She had also become an eyesore at her father’s office. The employees there cast a sad glance at her each time she would leave the office crying after one of those fights and her father’s partners tried to ensure the two, the father and daughter, never got any close.

Sneha had been bitching incessantly about her boyfriend. She seemed to be totally inconsiderate of the fact that Suman was no longer listening and was lost in her own world. Sneha’s boyfriend had been recently caught in a compromising position with another girl. This expose had been orchestrated with a TV show in the tie. She had been seeing such instances happening very often in the last few weeks. This had raised a suspicion in her mind for long and the answer how loyal her guy was dogged her for long.

Suman was a TV Show producer and worked with a well known production house. She was also the person who ha seen to it that Sneha had gotten rid of the douchebag as soon as possible. She worked with the same production house that produced the loyalty test show. Being a part of the media industry meant that she often was privy to some of the best page three parties in the town. She chose not to attend those was a different question altogether. Today was however different. Sneha had dropped by her place and managed to pull her out of hiding to a party she had intended to throw. After all, Sneha owed Suman one.

Sneha’s Dad was one of the richest people in town. He owned the TV Channel where Suman’s shows were aired. The two had come across each other at the Channel house when Sneha was in a huff after having an umpteenth fight with her Dad. Choicest expletives were being exchanged between the father and daughter. Suman had ignored and had gone straight to the cafeteria. The cafeteria was teeming with all kinds of people and was full of gossip and incessant chatter. She found the sole empty table and settled down there.

After the fight Sneha had rushed out of the office but then decided against it and took to the cafeteria for a cup of cold coffee. Unfortunately for her, the cafeteria had been full. There was only one table that had one alone chair inviting her. Being the spoilt brat, she sploshed down on the chair without any permissions or pleasantaries and yelled out her order. “One Cold Coffee with double ice cream now!” Suman had not liked this attitude but ignored. After all she was not concerned. Sneha was not like that. She started off with her rants. She poured herself to Suman. This was the first time she had poured her woes out to someone. Suman sympathised with Sneha.

Nobody till this date has any clue how then these two totally different girls become thickest of the pals. However, Sneha post this would be found only at Suman’s place if she was not sleeping over at her boyfriend’s place. She seldom went home. Even if she did, it was only for her clothes or for more money.

Sneha’s party did not look like it was in any mood to get over soon. Suman grew impatient by the minute. Finally not being able to hold any longer, Suman had wandered out of the party area into another event that was happening. She hoped it would be better here. The event read “Black Dog Comedy Evenings with Russell Peters”. She dragged herself there hoping to get her evening better. And she had been right. Russell had had  soothing effect on her and had left her in splits. She was having a gala time.

It was here that she had first seen him. A rather simple looking guy, yet fairly handsome. Not so fair, yet not so dark. She had some how felt an attraction towards him. She kept looking at him for the rest of the evening. The guy never noticed though. She wanted to talk to him but then she could not. She had been tongue tied. Her phone buzzed incessantly. She could let the world wait for him.

 

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I am starting out a story that I am planning to build. I would be posting an episode daily. I haven’t thought of a suitable title for the story yet and would be hosting a poll at the end of the series to get it a suitable name.
It was a fine evening and Rishi was relaxing in the bar. He had had a fairly rough day at work and was badly in need of unwinding. It being a Friday today, he had plans to hit his favourite hangout; the place where he generally picked up his weekend dose of fun and girls; the Kama Sutra Bar at Hotel Ashok. The place was famous for having the best pick from the entire town!
Rishi was a Private Detective, 30, suave, unmarried and a playboy with the girls! He had had enough of being pestered around by his parents to get married but had no intentions of doing so. He lived alone in Bangalore, away from his parents who stayed in Lucknow. He had come down to the city to make a living out of working for a software firm but then things had not worked out as he had intended. He was soon out of job thanks to the recession. Just when he was planning to go back to his parents in Lucknow, his friend Bobby had introduced him to Sunny, a Private Detective and the two hit it off well. The money was good, and even better was the prospect of being at the best places at the client expenses. His clients were mostly women who wanted to know what their husbands were up to. Today, he had successfully solved a high profile case. 
Once at Kama Sutra Bar, Rishi ordered his favourite drink, Black Dog Scotch, 21 years old blend on the rocks. He loved sipping the scotch. It always left a fine taste in his mouth. It was a relief after the down market whisky he had been drinking at the dingy dungeon like place while tailing his client. Since Rishi was a regular at the bar, it was only one Bar Tender who served him, Alex.
Alex was someone who was known to his colleagues as a fun loving person. Always alive and had never had a dissatisfied client. It was his capability to entertain clients and get them to mingle that kept him everybody’s favourite. 
Today, the bar was empty. The people had not started pouring in yet and Rishi had come in early. Out of curiosity or out of plain humor, Alex asked Rishi why he preferred Black Dog over the other brands. Rishi was not surprised. He had thought of it often too. But then one swig and he knew why he chose it. The brand was over a hundred years old. 130 to be precise and carried true Scottish legacy on its shoulders like a responsibility. It was an international luxury brand. One to which people all over the world relaxed to. One of the world’s finest Scotch Whiskeys! Beyond that Rishi loved the colour. It was intensely golden and had shimmering highlights. It tasted bold and magnificent. Intense flavors of Seville oranges, ripe sweet mangoes and ginger spice rewarded the palate and then whispers of bitter chocolate, liquorices and crushed almonds drifted lovingly on. Just like a lady in the arms melting just after a deep passionate kiss. The smell was no less. Soft peaches and ripe citrus fruits coupled with pear, marzipan and bergamot all blended well by a master, one who was definitely a magician in disguise! 
Alex had certainly not expected so much of knowledge about the scotch from a person like Rishi. After all, Rishi was known to Alex as only a guy who often came to the bar to relax, unwind and enjoy. This was the first time Alex realised Rishi to be a fairly learned and a well-travelled person! Rishi loved to refer to these as just his, personal evenings, Black Dog Easy Evenings!
Just then someone caught Rishi’s eye. She was stunningly beautiful and he had never seen her at the bar earlier. She was just the right person he would call living in style!

We were privy to Qualcomm’s Snapdragon’s stall at the ISA Vision Summit 2013 at Bangalore this year. The stall had some of the best things under the sun to show! In fact the devices and the kind of technology that was at display was enough to blow our minds away! Before I delve into any more details about the processor and its offering, here are the specs of the processor line!

Snapdragon product specs

 

S4 Play

S4 Plus

S4 Pro

S4 Prime

CPU Up to 1.2GHz Dual or Quad ARM Cortex A5 Up to 1.7 GHz Dual Krait CPU Up to 1.7 GHz Dual or Quad Krait CPU Up to 1.7 GHz Quad Krait CPU
GPU Adreno 203 GPU Up to Adreno 305 GPU Adreno 320 GPU Adreno 320 GPU
Video FWVGA Up to 1080p HD video 1080p HD video 1080p HD video
Modem 3G/4G World/multimode 3G/4G World/multimode LTE on select processors 3G/4G World/multimode LTE on select processors No Modem
Camera 8 MP Up to 20MP, Stereoscopic 3D Kit Up to 20MP, Stereoscopic 3D Kit Up to 20MP, Stereoscopic 3D Kit
GPS gpsOne Gen 7 gpsOne Gen8A gpsOne Gen8A gpsOne Gen8A
USB High Speed USB 2.0 USB 2.0 High Speed OTG (480Mbps) USB 2.0 High Speed OTG (480Mbps) USB 2.0 High Speed OTG (480Mbps)
Bluetooth Discrete solution BT 3.x Integrated digital core BT 4.0† Integrated digital core BT4.0† Integrated digital core BT4.0†
Wifi Discrete solution 802.11n (2.4GHz) Integrated digital core 802.11n (2.4/5GHz)† Integrated digital core 802.11n (2.4/5GHz)† Integrated digital core 802.11n (2.4/5GHz)†
Process Technology * 45nm 28nm 28nm 28nm
Individual Chips
  • MSM8625
  • MSM8225
  • MSM8225Q
  • MSM8625Q
  • APQ8060A
  • MSM8960
  • MSM8660A
  • MSM8260A
  • APQ8030
  • MSM8930
  • MSM8630
  • MSM8230
  • MSM8627
  • MSM8227
  • APQ8064
  • MSM8960T
  • MPQ 8064
† -Digital integrated in SoC, Analog added via additional chip
* See detailed table for specific chip information as some generations include multiple microarchitectures

The source can be found here.

While we were at the stall, the team there demonstrated a few features to us that are relatively undeveloped and new. We were told that the processor family now runs on a quad core architecture. Nothing new at that. But then it was added that each of the 4 cores are capable of being individually controlled. When the device runs a regular application or is in the sleep mode then only one core is powered up and runs at the potential needed. However, when the user decides to play a game or get into a heavily processor intensive application, then as per need each core is individually powered and pushed to the required processing power in steps. Let me explain in detail. Say we are running a game and all the four cores are running fired at the full potential and you receive a call. Ideally speaking the run of the mill processors would generally keep running at the full power there by draining the battery. This would not be the case with Snapdragon. In a snap the processor would power down 3 cores and keep one core powered at the potential needed to run the device without lag. This would not only save the battery but also maintain the experience of the device.

Further, the devices were also demonstrated to be able to render 3D delightfully! We were shown a demo app that not only was able to use AR (Augmented Reality) and show us the innards of our body but could also delve into more detail as we selected the options. While this may seem run of the mill to you, let me point out that all this was being displayed real time using the phone’s camera and being rendered in 3D on the phone’s screen!

While there was more to show, I was running short of time and was too interested in taking the devices on display on a spin, however, that should not necessarily mean that you would have nothing more to know about it.
You can find the Wiki link about the entire family of processors here.
Also you can read more about the processors at the company’s website here.

It’s been a while since I blogged. Basically I was too busy with my own life to think about anything else. The list weekend I traveled to Chennai. Being on a break has its benefits about being able to go anywhere any time and not bother about office! I am particularly enjoying this freedom.
In the meanwhile when I was helping my uncle out with some issues that he was having, I hit up on a business idea. Need to discuss it with a friend. Let’s see what he’s hit to say about it.
Until then sayonara!

Yesterday’s Times Of India carried an interesting article about a Gujarati family that made a killing faking death of several people on fake LIC policies. News item here. Incidentally the lady who comes home to massage my new-born and my wife also went missing with her cell phone switched off.
The missing Bai sent my wife and mother in a tizzy since we did not want even a single day of maalish missed for either of the two, my wife and baby. After waiting for several hours, my mom decided to take it up in her hands and finish off the maalish is another story but non availability of the bai was something neither were ready to accept.
Just because of these indispensible helps, I thought it was fairly interesting to know what some of the common excuses these Bais made. I have compiled my list below from my experience. Let me know if you think there is more to the variety of excuses made!

  1. What tops the list and the reason the Gujarati family article was mentioned was that the Bais are excellent at killing the same person several times! in fact even if the person is related in a distant way, they take off at the drop of a hat citing the reason of death! so Excuse number 1, “Mera <insert name/relationship here> kal guzar gaya. Isiliye mai udhar gayi thi!” It is for this reason I think the poor Gujarati family has done no harm, it is these Bais who need to be arrested! Pun intended.
  2. Somebody or the other has to fall ill and then the entire responsibility falls on the Bai! Poor Bai, she not only has to work at other places, but also tend to the ill at home! so Excuse number 2, “Mera <insert name/relationship here> kal bimaar ho gaya tha aur ghar main koi usko dekhne ko nahin tha!”
  3. Well, if somebody cannot fall ill, why no the Bai become that somebody! A precursor to expecting the Bai missing the next day is to carefully listen to what the Bai is talking about today! She may complain of a backache or feeling feverish or even a toothache! In short she is warning you in advance to be prepared to do the work yourself the next day! “So Excuse number 3, “Meri tabiyat kharab thi, mujhko <insert ailment here> hua/tha!”
  4. You cannot kill somebody everyday, you cannot fall ill or get someone to fall ill everyday, so what do we do! Very simple! Complain of excessive work at another employer’s place and say you cannot make it! Complain of how the employer is mistreating you with loading you with less than half of what she does herself! Complain how there are so many guests that you are not able to finish your work! So Excuse number 4, “Aaj <insert name here> ke ghar pe bahut saare mehmaan hai, main nahin aa sakegi!” Well, this would come to you after you have waited for her all day and then finally decided to call her up!
  5. Final excuse when all fails and you have nothing to say, it’s no vacation season, no guests expected and all excuses used. Failsafe and one that the employer can never refuse. For this excuse to be used, it is mandatory that your Bai is married and has kids. the more grown up, the better! So final failsafe Excuse number 5, “Aaj <insert name/relationship here> ke school main bulaya hai, parent – teacher meeting hai!”

Can you think up of any other excuses that can be added to this list?

Given the current situation and times of needs, I am looking to monetize all my blogs in the best possible ways. This may include paid reviews, posts etc. I would not have done this had the situation not demanded. I do not expect my readers to be clicking the ads etc. however, if they like something then they are free to click the links.

I do not intent to hurt anyone with this but if I am ending up doing so, then please do excuse me.

In case you would like to have your product reviewed, or would like to place an ad on my blog, please feel free to contact me at normaltusker@gmail.com. I would gladly grab the opportunity.

I have been using the Samsung Galaxy note for over 6 months now and was fairly satisfied with the external package that was presented. In fact, the very first time that I saw the phone, I had wanted to own it! However, My experience as a Samsung Galaxy note owner has been far from satisfactory.

First a little about my usage.

  1. I belong to the set of users who can be classified as power users.
  2. I often flash latest firmware that is available, including custom ROMS limited to only Cyanogenmod.
  3. I mostly stick to Stock ROMs but then they are often modded enough by me.
  4. I use the handset heavily to play games, listen to music and watch music.
  5. My phone is connected to the internet 24×7, Mobile Data when out and Wi-Fi at home.

Beyond Samsung, I have 2 more different Android devices by LG and HTC. In terms of the sturdiness, I have been the happiest with the LG Optimus 2x that I own, although the software updates are bad I agree. The HTC Explorer belongs to my wife and I do not mess around too much with it.

Back to Samsung. Of the last few months that I have owned, my usage pattern has been fairly constant and uniform. However, I have had the worst experience owning the phone.

I have had to take the phone to the service center several times now. thrice for the same reason and for different reasons the other times.

  1. Thrice the phone had to be taken to the service center for a Motherboard replacement.
  2. Once the phone had to be taken to the service center to replace the microUSB port. This prevented the phone from successfully charging as well as connecting to the computer. This often led the phone being on charger for hours without getting even a percent increase in the battery charge. This has damaged my battery beyond repair now and I have to now replace it because I get no battery back up now.
  3. The power key froze on its own two days back. I could neither lock/power down/reboot the device. In fact each time I wanted to power down the device, I had to pull the battery out. Reinserting the battery would power up the phone on its own! No keys pressed!

Each time, Samsung has been a royal pain in delivering the device at the said time and often delayed things beyond acceptable limits. Despite asking them explicitly not to reflash the software, they always did reflash the software there by resulting in my loss of data.

I had really high hopes from Samsung when I bought their flagship device. Samsung has not been able to meet their promise of being the best. It’s a classic case of a company that tried too hard but when they were sure of not meeting their deadlines, pushed a half baked device!

Infosys replaces Nandita Gurjar as the head of HRD from 1st of April with Srikantan Moorthy who was previously the head of Education and Research. Both have swapped the roles. I feel this is a decision taken too late given the degrading policies that came in effect at Infosys in the year 2008.

Being the head of HR and coming from a BPO unit, Nandita had made radical changes to the org-wide policies which had led to an all time high attrition at Infosys. People who had been working as Project Managers were over night reclassified as Technology Leads, Delivery Managers became Project Managers etc. However, this change in the leadership has been attributed to supposedly the way she handled the Visa issue that Infosys was embroiled in. I disagree. Nandita’s head had been wanted since a long time. I now only wonder what Srikantan Moorthy would do once he gets there. He is relatively unheard of by me. I can only hope he does what is best for the company. Not what is against the employee friendliness.

Wishing Nandita and Srikantan a bright future ahead!

If you are reading this from Infosys and want to sue me, go ahead. These are my views and I stand by them!

Now that I have ample time at my hands, I have thought of a simple Plan of Action to keep my self preoccupied and busy! I have always meant to do these things but some how as a part of the rat race, I never got time for it! Although these do appear like the resolutions one makes during the New Year’s Eve or on their birthday which are never meant to be fulfilled, I would try my best to stick to them!

  1. On the top of my Agenda shall be to blog more, more and lot more. Be it about what I am doing, my photographs or even the stock Market. I shall try and revive my Stock Market tips blog and see where it goes!
  2. Next on my agenda definitely has to be to exercise. I know I need it really badly and now thanks to Jisha, my older daughter, I hope to get it too!
  3. Photograph my daughters more and photograph a bit of my surroundings too!
  4. Relearn my stock analysis skill! I seem to have forgotten more than I had anticipated!
  5. Read more books! I currently have a stash of books that are waiting to be read. Let me try and finish them once I am done with relearning my stocks’ analysis skills!
  6. Catch up with movies I have missed over the past so many months!
  7. Last but not the least, definitely find myself a new job!