The Government works for us…Seriously!

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I hate our government – Here’s why

One- I have a BSNL broadband connection. When I was facing the problem of frequent disconnection, I raised multiple complaints to their helpline. No action taken!

Two- When I joined my current organization a year back, I had applied for a Provident Fund (PF) transfer from my previous organization using the standard issue forms given at the time of induction. 6 months later this was still not done. The agency in charge of our PF had told me that they were sending multiple letters to no avail.

Three – last month, when I was riding my bike near my Appt, I went through a pothole and felt a shooting pain in my back. I stopped my bike, turned around and realized that I had to pass through nearly 12 potholes before I could make it from the main road to my apt entrance.

Now, given the grudges that I have, I can:

  1. Not use government services to the extent possible
  2. Go through some agent and pay some bribes to get work done

Both of which are not that simple.

The other thing is that I’m not the type who sits back and throws up his hands. I want to do something about this situation. Of course I hate what the government is doing, ok rather not doing, but hey, I’m part of the system too. So instead of cribbing, criticizing and hating, I want to know if there is some thing I can do to right the system.

In all due fairness, the government has not been sitting on its backside doing nothing, because the entire public system couldn’t have simply appeared out of magic, could it? The roads we travel on, potholes notwithstanding, the telephone and broadband services, with all its flaws, the dairy and other products supplied by the government and even the the provident fund system managed by the very same government.

But we continue to fret and fume if we have to deal with this government and often choose to remain silent because we think that as a citizen who knows not one minister or higher up in any part of the government, can we get our issues resolved?

Yes, we can!!

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Latest Samsung Galaxy Nexus debuts with the Ice Cream Sandwich

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A few hours after Motorola launched the Droid Razr, Samsung has finally launched the Galaxy Nexus with Google’s newest dessert the Ice Cream Sandwich a.k.a Android 4. Currently this is the only phone running the latest version of android. Both Google and Samsung had engineers working collaboratively, that too in the same building to develop this phone, says Andy Rubin, senior vice president of mobile at Google. Apparently, the Ice Cream Sandwich version of Android will run on any mobile device. I think Google wants the Android platform to evolve to one operating system for both tablets and phones.

Now to some of the new features.

  1. 4.65-inch 1280 x 720 Super AMOLED HD screen
  2. 1.2GHz dual-core processor
  3. Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich
  4. 5-megapixel rear-facing camera with LED flash
  5. 1.3-megpaixel front-facing camera
  6. It has no physical buttons on the front. The buttons only appear on the User Interface.
  7. A swipe feature where one can swipe apps off the screen to close or delete them.
  8. The 5 MP camera apparently has zero shutter lag – so the moment you touch the capture button, you get exactly what you see.
  9. Added to this is the panorama feature which will automatically stitch together photos taken when you are panning across say a landscape!
  10. Near Field Communication has a feature reminiscent of WebOS wherein one can tap two phones with this feature enables to start sharing data over a ‘beam’.
  11. The Roboto font is supposed to be very eye pleasing as well.
  12. Face recognition for phone unlock – does not work too well as shown during the launch.
  13. Ability to take screenshots with the simultaneous press of the power and volume buttons
  14. Data usage controls that let you know if you have crossed a preset data limit
  15. Barometer!
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Google plus vs Facebook – Feature comparison

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Now that we are on Google plus, a lot of us are thinking about the similarities and differences between Google plus & Facebook. Here is an interesting infographic that depicts this.

Source – http://www.technobombs.com.

Disclaimer: By the time you read this, some features may have got added / changed! :-)

 

 

Invite friends to the new Google Plus (+) social network!

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Welcome to Google Plus

Google is making the Google Plus invites hard to get. Once you are in, thanks to the goodness of a friend, it is time to share some invites. It is a simple process – you will see a small invite link on the right pane that allows you to invite your friends.


All those with a valid Google account will get an invite. If your friend does not have a Google profile, it won’t work. So ask them to sign up here first.

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My first ever flight….Indian Airlines Zindabad!!

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Ladies and Gentlemen, Namaskar and welcome to Indian Airlines flight IC 555. Please pay attention to the instructions given….

The seat belts can be fastened by pressing this buckle into the holder. There are two emergency exits – one at the back and one behind me. In case of any emergency, oxygen masks will drop in from the panel above. Since we are flying above the Bay of Bengal and the Indian Ocean, life jackets are placed below your seats.

Ladies and Gentlemen, this is u r Capt. Speaking. The flight duration is 3 hrs. Have a pleasant journey and thank you for flying IA.

The time: 3:30 am
Location: Chennai International Airport, on board IC 555 to Singapore
Date : Sometime in the year 2000

All of us who have flown remember our first flight journey. Before we physically take that journey, we would have imagined a lot of things about that flight – the view, the feeling when airborne, the food frequent travelers complain about, the pretty airhostess…ok well maybe not on IA but … I can hope, can’t I?

Today let me take you through my first flight. Fasten your seat belts and hold on to that chair, for the journey you are going to take will make your stomach churn and your ears pop. After waiting in eager anticipation for years, dad had managed to collect enough frequent flier miles for that much promised Singapore trip, and finally the time had come. The fact that IA had leased an old jumbo from Philippines for this route didn’t bother me one bit. That was possibly the reason for the technical issue as the flight was delayed by over 3hrs. That however, did not mean much to me as I was very simply put – excited.

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Five ways to make 2011 your best year yet!

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2011 not just the start of another year but another opportunity to make something of the next 365 days. I believe we owe it to ourselves and to our loved ones to make every year the best year of our life. I happen to come across an article by Robin Sharma [the author of The monk who sold his Ferrari] which gave a whole lot of points to make the most of any new year.

I have selected five points that I feel will make a difference to me and perhaps a few readers of this blog. Oh! by the way, these are not new year resolutions [I hate those :P ] but just things to keep in mind. I believe that thoughts influence actions which in turn influence habits and it is our habits that help us reach excellence.

1. Remember that leadership isn’t about your position. It’s about your influence
2. Surround yourself with positive, ethical people who are committed to excellence
3. Remember that the more you go to your limits, the more your limits will expand
4. Smile. It’s a stunningly effective way to win in business and life

What happened to the fifth point? To do all the above and remain highly energetic and positive, you need to be healthy. So as Robin says – Get fit like a pro athlete!

Another thought – Do you have at least a few things that that need to happen by the end of 2011 for you to feel it’s been your best year yet? Well, that’s for you to ponder over the new year weekend! :)

Here’s wishing you a very Happy and Successful 2011!

Sachin, we bow to thee!

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Sachin Tendulkar has become the first ever cricketer in the world to score 50 centuries in Test Cricket! He is also the only batsman to score over 14,000 runs in Test cricket.

As the noise of the fire crackers starts all around our locality and am sure all over India and perhaps a few other places in the world as well, one can’t help but awe at the influence this legend has had on cricket lovers all over the world. A prodigy who started his cricketing career at just 15, this 37 year old has an influence on our cricket crazy nation that is unrivalled and unmatched by even our deification frenzy of film stars and politicians. Well, on the day he completes his 50th test ton, I am so happy that I was born in the same century as this sportsman and am lucky to see him bat for India!

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Bread Upma

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Finally, I have come out with a post on my a topic closest to me– food! Will try to post simple but workable recipes regularly.

Note: All recipes posted on this blog have been tried out by the author! Full QC passed, all ok, I say!

Bread Upma!

Got bored of eating plain old bread? Here’s a simple recipe that makes for a good breakfast as well. You can also use bread that has become a bit hard. The ingredients are basic spices that are available in most households.

Ingredients

Half loaf of bread per person [preparation with white bread is slightly tastier than brown bread :) ]

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BESCOM Electricity meter transfer

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I had decided not to pay a bribe to get my appt’s BESCOM meter transferred from the previous owner’s to my name. I had decided that no matter what it took, I would not pay a bribe. Luckily, it was a hassle free process and I did not have to pay a bribe at all. :)

Here’s a detailed version of how to get it done;

Documents Required

  1. Write a letter to the Assistant Executive Engineer Electrical {AEE(E)}, BESCOM asking for transfer of the electrical meter. Make sure you mention the following things;
      1. Meter R.R number: This will be mentioned on your electricity bill
      2. Previous owner name
      3. Sale deed registration date
      4. Sample letter for the above provided here [After all, Knowledge Management(KM) is about reuse]
  2. Go to the nearest BESCOM office (for me it was the office near the old airport -S7) and collect the application and other forms [Form I to IV] for meter transfer. Continue reading →

Labels in Gmail are in fact a cool kind of folders

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I overheard someone complaining that they are so used to MS Outlook and folders that they are not able to understand why Gmail has labels and not folders. Hmmm..the label feature of Gmail could be a bit confusing to someone who is new to it. I was, in fact wondering why Gmail did not use folders when I first started off with it.  I discovered that they have given a more advanced version of the folders – they only call them labels.

Folders in MS Outlook

Here’s an attempt to explain this feature; Think of your Gmail inbox as a bag that can expand to accommodate unlimited emails. Now if you consider every email you get a white marble, this bag will hold thousands of white marbles. Instead of creating a separate folder each for say work, bills, club, college alumni and other mails, you have the option of tagging every email to a label with the same folder name(s) you would have used in MS Outlook or Yahoo.

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