Mes Secrets Inconnus

2011 resolutions:
01. Be more organized and certain.
02. Dedicate more time to myself.
03. Eat more greens.
04. Enjoy more and more the good time with people I love.
05. Bike more.
06. Spend less money buying things I don't really need.
07. Focus more on the English grammar (I know mine sucks).
08. Read more books for pleasure.
09. Learn something new.
10. Focus on one project a time

Since I happen to have used all these devices, I kind of felt that this pic relates to reality.. BTB, don’t ask me what I am using now

• Movie characters driving in the city will get to park wherever they like when they get to their destination.
• When you are alone in the back seat of the car, make sure you sit in the middle.
• Sudden acceleration of a car (be it forwards, backwards, stopping, skidding, sliding, or whatever) causes a loud skid, even on dirt or wet roads. Be prepared. Each wheel is also fitted with a smoke device to let you know when this happens. Hollywood cars are also special: when you take off quickly, you always leave a skid mark for each drive wheel, regardless of whether you have a limited slip differential or not.
• There are always people carrying around large sheets of glass on the street during a car chase.
• The person behind the wheel is talking to and looking at their passenger for the entire journey without actually looking at the _road_, changing gear, signalling etc. 
• Cars chasing each other in the middle of a city will not suffer enough damage to stop the chase.
• People being chased by a car will keep running down the middle of the road instead of ducking in somewhere where a car cannot go.
• A car will always explode when shot at, unless the hero is driving it.
• When you drive a car, you can always recognize all the persons you know that pass you in the opposite direction.
• If someone has "fixed" the foot-brakes in the car, the driver never use the hand-brake and the gears to slow down, at least not until the last moment.
• Cars often end up on cliff-edges with 2 wheels in the open air. The good guys are saved just before the car falls over, the bad guys join the car in the free fall, often caused by a bird setting down on the part of the car hanging over the edge.
• When a car falls off a cliff after a car chase, it usually explodes before reaching the ground.
• When speeding cars hit a parked car, they fly up into the air while the parked car doesn't even wiggle
• After a car crash, no movie character ever sits and shakes for five minutes, or becomes incoherent with shock.
• All cars seem to run on kerosene rather than gasoline (hence the copious black smoke when they burn).
• Not only do movie cars always park right in front, but they are never locked. 
• Movie cars have all excellent brakes and can come to a full stop from 120KPH (with loud screeches, even on dirt roads) in 20 ft.
• There are no stop signs in movie land. Wherever you have to drive, no matter how close or far away it is, you never have to stop before you get there.
• Film cars never start the first time when you're running away from the bad guy.
• If there is a large bump in a downhill road, speeding cars will always fly over them and hit the ground in shower of sparks. An interior view will then show the reaction of the passengers at the moment of impact. They will not be injured, even if they are not wearing safety belts. No tire damage, broken axles, or suspension failures will occur as a result of the impact. The car will then execute a sharp left turn at the bottom of the hill. Losing a hubcap at this point will be optional.
• Police cars involved in chase scenes usually tend to suffer more than any other vehicles- they have head on collisions, smash parked cars, fall into water, and of course, experience the ever popular flying-roll, causing the car to land upside down and crush the lights and siren. Usually, we never get to see the unlucky police force member before or after the inevitable accident.
• Acid applied by the villain to the hero's brake lines never has any effect unless the car is heading down a steep, winding road. Cars at traffic lights have invujlnerable brake lines.
• No one ever runs out of gas (even in long car chases). Corollary: every stolen car has a full gas tank and gets great gas mileage.
• Vintage cars are always 100% immaculate and freshly polished. They never have any scratches, dents or repairs.

Just like the one below, my mom also has lot of such things. I would not figure out these things as a kid, but when I now see her doing such things to my lil one, I understand. This means – I am now mature

The day started as early as 3 am. By the time even two of us were ready the cabbie arrived. We were late. We rushed to the airport with just a few minutes for departure. My lil one was the most excited as she was wondering where we are off in this wee hours. I had already learnt that Indigo was not going to feed us and so had some biscuits handy. The question of air pressure was back and I instantly stuffed some cotton wool in my ear. But the greater question was – how would my lil one act? What if she develops my traits? I was the most concerned as i did not want a cry baby ( i hated this during my bachelor days though i am very supportive now :-))

Fortunately, my lil one had a good flight. She did complain in between of some ear pain, but that was a very short phase. For most part she slept with her grand dad and we landed safely.

The catch now was to move from Delhi airport to old delhi railway station. The expected duration was 2 hrs including the traffic. I was told many stories about delhi traffic. But we got lucky, it is May day and most shops & offices were closed and what seemed to take 2 hrs was made up in 45 mins.

Old delhi railway station was not very clean. It’s one of the busiest junctions and so i guess it takes a lot of effort to keep it really clean. So we got into the waiting room and decided to move to the platform when the train arrives. I do not want to divulge more info here since i transitioned into a “coolie wala” for not trusting any coolies and my back still aches.

Finally after a 5 hr journey we reached the ludiana railway station and  guess what? – A chevy captiva was waiting for us :-) The drive to reach our hotel was cooool !!!!

All my family is very excited. Not with the fact that we all are off to North India – Delhi , Punjab & Himachal to be precise, but with the fact that i would be away from any electronic gadgets( read laptop  & iThings). Well the preparations are on and the tickets booked. We are all set. But the greatest challenge is getting my lil one’s items all in one bag and not more than that.

We started for this trip by first persuading wifey to come out with a checklist of most common items that we would use for a week and would be sure that, we would use more or less the same items most of the time.( when will women learn :-) , Go MS go!!!)

Finally the list was up, but I had a real tough time getting all the items in one bag. I carried forward my funda of travel lite ;-) So i gave instructions that we should have only 4 bags to carry and that should not exceed. I hope this time atleast my funda of travel light would work ;-) Only the next week would tell.

BTB, i heard that Indigo would not serve us breakfast. I will have to travel lite :-)

29.  When we think about ourselves, many of us tend to try to work on our weaknesses.  In doing so, we limit the time we spend leveraging our strengths.  I’m not suggesting to ignore areas in which you need improvement, but every time I focus the bulk of my energy on my strengths (without totally ignoring other areas), I achieve much better results even within my weaknesses.  It’s a matter or positive perspective and sustaining motivation.  It really works.

30.  Never register anything  but your real name as your primary email address. You’ll regret it when you grow older

31. Trust your Mom.. because when all the world around you crashes your mom will always be there with you." Life is a challenge, accept it....Life is a problem, solve it.....Life is a maze, walk through it... Life is a mystery, solve it...THEN Life will be heaven, so enjoy it..."
Accept every problems that comes in your way as the test from God, and pass with flying colors

25.  The more I act like my daughter.  The happier I am. The more I play, mimic, tease, and chase my daughter in any given day… the happier I am when I go to bed at night.  The simple act of being silly is one I lost over the last 6-7 years.  It’s taken a toddler to slowly infuse this back into me.  I want to embrace it even more.

26. Empowering other people is what really matters in life. I want to empower.  I want to empower my lil one  to be the most amazing and fulfilled person she can be.  I want to empower complete strangers to see opportunities in their own lives that they’ve buried under mounds of stuff, debt, and excuses.  :-)

27.  Instead of teaching kids to study concepts, we should be teaching them to solve problems. I won’t dive too much into what I know is an insanely deep and polarizing concept.

28.  You don’t need nearly as much money as you think you do. Another revelation that has come into my life in the past year or so.  You really *need* far, far less that what you think. 

21. Intensely research any decision that limits a large amount of your freedom. :-)   As a rule, the more freedom that is at stake in a decision, the more I’ll research it.  The real reason is that I’m o.k. if research leads to indecision in cases where freedom is at risk.  Take buying a car, deciding to have kids, or taking a new flat, for example.  It’s not really a bad thing to second guess yourself there.  Things to stop analyzing?  The perfect weekend to go camping, a new product/service you want to launch, or whether or not to let your lil one paint their room neon pink.  Do it.

22. Being a parent is harder than you think. Before I had kid, I used to get annoyed by kids whining on airplanes. How hard can it be? And now… I know.  Even with only one (who, by the way, is an angel 95% of the time) I get it.  I can’t believe how easily I become frustrated sometimes.  I can’t imagine those of you with 3, 4, or 5 naughty ones.

23. Being a husband is harder than you think. Everyone told me marriage takes dedicated and consistent effort.  I acknowledged the words, but detached myself because I assumed we were an exception.  What an idea sirjee.

24.  The best feedback you’ll ever get is when you try to sell something to someone.

17. Choosing the correct mentors is the #1 most important factor in success of any kind. Modeling a mentor is the fastest way to success.  It doesn’t matter if you are climbing the corporate ladder, starting a web-based business, playing professional cricket, or studying religion.  You’ve gotta find your Gates, your Jobs, your Tendulkar, or your Krsna.

18. The answer will always be no if you don’t ask. Seriously, if you want something you have to ask.  Don’t be a blunt idiot.  Ask genuinely and ask politely.  If you just ask…  you’ll be surprised more often than not.

19. It’s o.k. to be a fan. I used to reject the concept of being a fan.  I didn’t want someone to call me a “fanboy”.  I wanted to think for myself.  Now, I’ve come to terms that being a fan is fun.  I like cheering for the RCB. 

20. Focus the bulk of your energy on leveraging your strengths, not on improving weaknesses

13. There are very few unique personal problems. Chances are millions of people have gone through whatever issue you may have.  Chances are at least one of those people is much closer than you think.  Problem is we think any issues we may have are unique and we assume those close to us wouldn’t understand.  Wrong.

14. Find your motivation (I’m talking to myself here).

15. Be the change you want to see in the world. Yeah, I know…  it’s a little :-).  But this one is a good one.  If you are trying to convert people by knocking on doors and handing out pamphlets, you are doing it wrong.  It’ll always be an uphill battle.  Try modeling for people.  Try impressing… try inspiring.  Use your actions to show me not only the how, by the why.

16. The worse I eat, the less productive I am.  The less productive I am, the worse I eat. Also, I’ve realized that feeling like crap on a regular basis is not enough motivation to eat healthier.  Sad, but true.  And I don’t think I’m alone on that one.  Most of us know that it’s the cause of so many problems, yet we don’t change.  You don’t eat healthy and exercise because “it’s good for you”

9. Surround yourself with people who inspire you. Mentors are essential, however you’ve got to also find a relate to inspiring people on a daily/tangible level.  My wife, parents and daughter inspire me.  I want them to be involved in everything I do.

10. Be willing to give away the glory. One of the best ways I’ve found to have someone accept an idea/concept is to make them feel like they came up with it themselves. Many of the people I respect most are amazing at sharing and giving away the limelight when it comes.  They are constantly taking a back seat to build up others.

11. Money doesn’t buy happiness, but it buys everything else! :-)   This is my fun way of saying that I like money.  I want a lot of money.   I want my family to live a remarkable, yet secure life.  I rarely worry about money now, but I want to all but eliminate it as a concern altogether.  I want to be able to focus my life on giving in the coming years, while still being able to have an income.  But even with money, I want to ensure we embrace…

12. Experiences almost always trump possessions. I don’t mind spending money (you shouldn’t either), but the key is to do so consciously.  For me, conscious spending is concentrated on 90-95% experience and 5-10% actual “stuff”. 

5. The largest thing between you and what you want is whatever glob of excuses you can pile up. Try this, you can actually get away by doing nothing and talking shit

6. Very few decisions in life require intense research. 90% of research/data-gathering is a waste of time.  I’ve found this true in my personal life and I’ve certainly found it true at work.  Nearly without exception, I over analyze every decision I make.  Stop talking… stop thinking… stop planning… start doing.

7. The majority of people think they are above average. I constantly remind myself of this fact.  By nature, we tend to over estimate our own skills and/or contributions.  Not only that, but we are much less aware of what other people contribute. I do it and you do it, too.  So recognize it.  Go out of your way to thank people for the things you do notice.

8. People automatically devalue anything they get for free. While we are on the topic, be careful about what you give away for free.  This can be applied beyond work, too.  Family, friends, clients, colleagues…  We automatically place more value on things we have to pay (money, time, effort, energy) for.  Give someone something for free consistently and they quickly begin to expect it.

Last month I celebrated my birthday, exactly on the same day as today . Co- incidence had it that , there was another party ( for a different reason) and my occasion got coupled with that. Needless to say that this was my grandest birthday. Never in my life had i had such a reception. So I sat down to ruminate the first 31 “life lessons” that came to my mind :-)

1. As a child, I never once worried about food, water, shelter, or love.  I was never once abused or neglected.  I got everything I needed and most of what I wanted.  Both my parents were (and still are) hard-working, supportive, and have great values.  The older I get, the more I realize how insanely fortunate this makes me

2. Saying “no” politely is far better than saying a half-assed “yes”. Learning to respectfully and politely say “no” is one of the skills I desire most. Especially in the online world, I tend to want to say yes to everything.  There are so many amazing people, opportunities, projects, and feedback.  It’s all right here, right now.  But, I’ve been saying “yes” and then completely letting people down way too much recently.  It’s not a matter of being “busy” or “important”.  Everyone is busy and important.  It’s a matter of really being to knock  the projects I can do.  I want to either give 110% or 0%.  I want to learn to say “no” in a way people enjoy.

3. There will always be haters. No matter what you do or how much you give, there will always be haters.  I’m making a pledge to rid my life (and my online world) of any consistently negative, non-constructive forces.  If you want to hate… go get your reaction someplace else.

4. You can do anything you want.  No seriously… you can literally do anything. As kids, we are always told this, but most of us dismiss it as crap.  It’s not.  In the last year, I’ve really come to terms with this.  I can literally do whatever I want.  Some of that is confidence and some of it comes from just having my eyes opened recently :-)

Then was the time to test the ABS, I pulled her till 80 kmph and then floored the brake pedal, what came next was shock, the car's stability was mind-boggling, it felt like when I was once watching a show on discovery channel on one of the american army's tank, they were showcasing its stability under emergency braking on high speed. And it was not necessary for me to be in that tank, but it was visual how stable it was... I felt the same when I suddenly braked the Punto.

Exterior - The more solidly build doors I ever saw in any car was when my dad owned the Indigo and used to frequently tell me to watch my hand before closing the door, just because of the sheer weight of the door, after the test drive I even tried to press the sheet metal with my hands but to no use, and my M800's sheet is like thick foil. even kids in my lane have known to create dents with sheer push. Rest all is italian and only one word comes to my mind...Hot, if the japanese is an asian kick boxer, the Punto is a beauty pageant winner who's hobby is kick boxing

Interior - Exterior was too good, interior was too bad. Let me put it this way, how would you feel if you are visiting a house with beautiful drive way and garden, italian tiled portico, but inside done up by "Kumar Furniture Shop" sofas and tables, plastic is not at all upto the mark, but thankfully the things that matter are too good to be ignored, its like diamond studs on wrought iron necklace, the leather "coated" steering and gear knob, AC controls, Music System Controls, the fuel and boot lid levers (even they are crafted in a design) are too good. The seats are very well designed.

Performance - The turbo punch was not as evident as in the Jap but was quite impressive in this Italian beauty considering that its 115 kgs heavier and more solidly built than the Swift.

Noise Isolation - Both have a different type of in-cabin noise, so I would rate them on the same page (when you are a Suzuki rider with open mufflers,the ears are used to this "noise")

Suspension - This is where the Punto is light years ahead of Swift. The japanese is like a suspension-less rickshaw as compared to Punto. I deliberately took the Punto to some of the damaged roads around my office which I frequent on my Swift. I suddenly stopped cursing the roads for a change in Punto, so this car is also for the people who want to relieve themselves from the "road-is-broken-what-my administration-is-doing" stress. Very Very good suspension

Gear Shift - Swift's gear shift is like a second world war enfield rifle bolt, Punto on the other hand is like a AK-47 cock-bolt mechanism that can be operating with just one finger, the only other car with such super smooth gear shift I ever drove was Hyundai Accent CRDI. ( Please note , i have not used any othe above ammunition, but have experienced this on PS2)

Verdict - I love this car and will buy it as soon as I sort the other things....

Last night I dreamt all night about her and was full of guilt when I woke up, my wife & lil one were still fast asleep, and I thought to myself, how can I cheat my love, my wife and my lil one but again like the last time the dark desires were too powerful to resist and the feeling of guilt turned into a desire for passion,

Then today i went out during office lunch hours for some work, while returning to work I saw her again on the road side, waiting for someone, I slowed down and stopped a few meters before her, she in complete red drape was looking like a princess, big eyes, best smile ever I saw in my entire life, and as inviting as a hot pool of water in the fridged cold of alaska when you are lost and want some warmth,

I went upto her and gathered all my courage to ask her name, she with a smile, as if she knows that the entire world around her admires her, said Punto....Grande Punto....

I was floored, and as I did this I was not only betraying two women in life but I was also betraying two other, my M800 and my long time girlfriend my Suzuki

Well,  Its a whole new world when you fall in love, that too AGAIN. But the situation gets tough and interesting when you are married and in love and then after 2-3 years of marriage you realize you are in love again. It makes you feel disgusted that you are cheating on your wife but finally you give in to your deep dark desires and decide to move on.

This happened for the first time when I was with my wife coming out of UB City , she was there at the signal, toned body, lovely eyes and real hot. But then she moved on and I was left with my wife, and then like it happens in the teens, you see a girl on a signal, she rocks your mind for a few days and then you forget her, the same happened to me and i also forgot.

Again I happened to see her when I was going to a wedding with wifey and the lil one , I immediately recognized her and wanted to go and feel her, but like the last time lost her in traffic.

It was quite some time I had been on an outing with my family. The last planned outing of December went for a toss because of my bad health. So this time when the opportunity presented in the form of a function in Hassan, wifey and myself were quick on planning this outing. We decided we make full use of this opportunity. I booked this homestay/resort in Chikamagalur called – Devigiri Estate which was located at the foothills of Bababudana giri hills

We left early in the morning and reached Hassan in time to attend the function there. My lil one got a little irritated and threw up a couple of times making my car smelly. I literally utilized my entire deo spray to get rid of the awful smell. But these are only small things that can happen when you have a lil one. So after a brief stop at Hassan, we left for chikmagalur the same evening. The idea was to reach the place for dinner. But boy, as we moved closer and closer to the hills, our cell phone service started waning. The lack of any street lights and people made the place so scary. All we could see was the big huge hills in the background. At times, i felt  i was going in straight into the hill. Luckily here and there, i could spot some localities who would always give me wrong directions. I still could not figure out why :-).

Eventually, we reached the place and the host – Mrs. Ramadevi was kind enough to offer us some hot coffee. The temperature had dipped and it was very cold. We opted for the tent house for our stay.

Read and see all about it here

microsoft could not go for another photo shoot for a different market campaign? cost cutting?

Replacing a white man’s head with a black man :-) Somebody lost their job

Read this news here

Gone are the days when children used to pocket coins from their father’s wallets to buy candies. With changing times and aspirations, as well as peer pressure, the amounts stealthily pocketed are getting larger and, of course, candies are no longer what children want.
Recently, a rich businessman’s son, a plus-one student, stole Rs 8 lakh from his home in Anna Nagar and purchased a car in the name of his father’s driver. It was the driver who finally blurted out the truth, and the family ended up with egg on its face.
The businessman, who kept large amounts of money at home, found Rs 8 lakh missing from the locker. There was no sign of a burglary, but he preferred a police complaint.
Investigations revealed that the driver had purchased a new car, and he was taken into custody. When police grilled him, he revealed the truth — his employer’s son had stolen the money to purchase the car, which was registered in the driver’s name. The shocked businessman then requested the police to drop the case.
Sources told TOI that the boy had stolen the money a few weeks ago, but his parents learnt about it only last week. “They seemed to have kept a lot of cash at home. The boy took the money to purchase a Swift Dzire car. He used the vehicle to go partying with his friends and for long drives. He would park the car by the roadside to prevent his parents from noticing it,” a police official said.
When we questioned the boy, he said many of his classmates drove posh cars and that they all had girlfriends. It was to attract female attention that he stole the money to purchase the car. Since he was not old enough to get a driving license, he knew his parents would not get him a car. So, he took the easy way out,” the official added

I can;t believe the boy bought a Dzire :-)Atleast he could have bought a Punto, I20 or IKON :-)