Although im two continents away the concept of thanksgiving is still alive in me. The sad part? that there is no turkey at home today but hey theres loads of alcohol and the weekend is just a good time as any to have this festival. so heres to yanks killing red indians and drinking and eating over it.
Cheers
MEL
Thursday, November 24, 2005
Wednesday, November 23, 2005
IT Infrastructure? Hehe
Well ive been in b'lore for about a month now and its becoming more and more apparent to me that this state really is oblivious to the raw potential that is availible to it. B'lore could be the best city in India if it got its act together and got rid of some of the minor facts that are hindering its progress in the field of IT infrastructure.
Availibility of Facilities to Residents
------------------------------------
Well to be honest with you im quite disturbed about the fact that most of the software companies in b'lore reside on a road where restaurants arent plenty, moreover, residential areas are more prominent which also makes sense but instead of putting residential areas close to workplaces, restaurants and areas of relaxation and leisure make more sense. We all know the wonderful messes that we have at work and how easily one can get bored of the menu at work despite the freshness and variety in food availible.
Learn to speak more than one language it really helps
------------------------------------------------------
B'loreans really need to understand that Kanada isnt the one-to-end-all language and the necessity to learn hindi or english should be an important factor in hiring people for any public service. but alas this is an unrealistic demand in a realistic world where most of the people that own restaurants only speak the local language or broken hindi and can say the proverbial 'hello' word.
Respect Everyone
------------------
For some odd reason, people from india and mind u only people from india will speak in their native tongue around foreigners. In my entire lifetime of travelling I have never seen any other culture do that unless you let them to. And what do they do when you tell them to behave and stop talking in their language they talk even more. Do we honestly think that foreigners want to invest in our country when we are consistently talking in our own language amongst them? take a scenario, lets say two chinese people are doing business with you and they are always talking in chinese around you but when you come around they stop talking and smile and shake your hand, fishy isnt it? well take a few steps in the right direction.
Lastly, on a personal note, people all over the world need to learn one very quintessential social attribute and that is ..... CIVIC SENSE/DUTY. if you throw garbage on the road then it makes it ok to actually let other people do it too. keeping a city clean isnt difficult if you actually take the time to be a little literate and throw garbage where its meant to be thrown. now this also goes hand in hand with having the facility to actually dispose of waste as well which brings me back to infrastructure all over again.
In a few more years, b'lore is going to have to sell people to make money because at the rate this is going some other city in india like hydrebad or chennai is going to step in and do the right thing and if that happens God help B'lore.
Cheers
MEL
Availibility of Facilities to Residents
------------------------------------
Well to be honest with you im quite disturbed about the fact that most of the software companies in b'lore reside on a road where restaurants arent plenty, moreover, residential areas are more prominent which also makes sense but instead of putting residential areas close to workplaces, restaurants and areas of relaxation and leisure make more sense. We all know the wonderful messes that we have at work and how easily one can get bored of the menu at work despite the freshness and variety in food availible.
Learn to speak more than one language it really helps
------------------------------------------------------
B'loreans really need to understand that Kanada isnt the one-to-end-all language and the necessity to learn hindi or english should be an important factor in hiring people for any public service. but alas this is an unrealistic demand in a realistic world where most of the people that own restaurants only speak the local language or broken hindi and can say the proverbial 'hello' word.
Respect Everyone
------------------
For some odd reason, people from india and mind u only people from india will speak in their native tongue around foreigners. In my entire lifetime of travelling I have never seen any other culture do that unless you let them to. And what do they do when you tell them to behave and stop talking in their language they talk even more. Do we honestly think that foreigners want to invest in our country when we are consistently talking in our own language amongst them? take a scenario, lets say two chinese people are doing business with you and they are always talking in chinese around you but when you come around they stop talking and smile and shake your hand, fishy isnt it? well take a few steps in the right direction.
Lastly, on a personal note, people all over the world need to learn one very quintessential social attribute and that is ..... CIVIC SENSE/DUTY. if you throw garbage on the road then it makes it ok to actually let other people do it too. keeping a city clean isnt difficult if you actually take the time to be a little literate and throw garbage where its meant to be thrown. now this also goes hand in hand with having the facility to actually dispose of waste as well which brings me back to infrastructure all over again.
In a few more years, b'lore is going to have to sell people to make money because at the rate this is going some other city in india like hydrebad or chennai is going to step in and do the right thing and if that happens God help B'lore.
Cheers
MEL
Monday, November 21, 2005
Interesting New Age Gaming
Today i saw the first screen of Joanna Dark's Perect Dark Zero. Very cool stuff for people that arent so into gaming and have missed it from their childhood to present, Perfect Dark was a game developed by a small company called Rare for a console called the N64 also popularly known as Nintendo 64. In that time and age it was considered ahead of its time in terms of FPS (First Person Shooter) but alas times changed and Microsoft came in with this game called HALO that revolutionized the gaming market. now back to the topic at hand.
PDZ is a very polished game from what i can tell and the screens and vids that i saw today are clear demonstration of where MS is heading with XBOX 360. very cool stuff cant wait to see more but that will have to wait and if it ever comes to b'lore and i can only hear disappointment because what fun is HALO unless uve played it online or how good fun is Splinter Cell w/o the online feature?.
Only time will tell and the release of PS3 will also see how the market shifts once the Master Chief (HALO Hero) plays alongside Solid Snake (Metal Gear Solid) . Personally, I prefer Japanese market gaming to MS but dont tell that to my employer lol cause they work for MS hehe.
till the next rant
MEL
Song of the moment : Led Zepplin -- Thats the Way
PDZ is a very polished game from what i can tell and the screens and vids that i saw today are clear demonstration of where MS is heading with XBOX 360. very cool stuff cant wait to see more but that will have to wait and if it ever comes to b'lore and i can only hear disappointment because what fun is HALO unless uve played it online or how good fun is Splinter Cell w/o the online feature?.
Only time will tell and the release of PS3 will also see how the market shifts once the Master Chief (HALO Hero) plays alongside Solid Snake (Metal Gear Solid) . Personally, I prefer Japanese market gaming to MS but dont tell that to my employer lol cause they work for MS hehe.
till the next rant
MEL
Song of the moment : Led Zepplin -- Thats the Way
Sunday, November 20, 2005
Weekend Splurge
I know its been a long time since i posted but hey the weekend was on and there was loads to be done so i had no time to post. I still havent gone and watched Harry Potter and the Goblet of Wine He Can't Drink Cause He's Underage movie yet lol.
On a much brighter note my weekend went very well considering the fact that I was under the impression that b'lore didnt have much to offer. I visited b'lore central and garuda mall this weeknd and was quite pleased with the prices they had to offer. not too bad considering b'lore is a pseudo metropolitan city.
Now onto the rant of the day ... Rickshaw drivers in B'lore
Whoever said cabs were a public service wasnt talking about b'lore. it seems that rickshaw drivers in b'lore are working for themselves and not for the employer that hires them lol. If you want to catch a ride home in the evening before 9pm then its ok but after 9m be ready to pay double and sometimes triple of what you would normally pay. ridiculous you say? i say yes it is. But get this, some of them dont have a watch so you can do tell them its 8:20pm when its actually 9:15 pm lol and they believe you lol. so sad. add to that, the taxi service out here is good but its costly and the rickshaw drivers are total assholes so that leaves u with one option
PERSONAL TRANSPORT ... which is also going to cost a fortune considering that the price of gas is going up evreyday and you need to take care of ur vehicle. so in all respects ur screwed on transport unless ur lucky 365 days of the year and get a cab/rickshaw driver that is on-time., efficient and doesnt overcharge.
the solution to this problem.
Someone can run these guys into the ground by providing a cab service from all the hot spots in b'lore. for example, if you started a cab service from Forum to anywhere in b'lore witha price that was Rs. 10 over the normal price of the cabs at anytime of the day you'd be a hit infact ppl would sign up for it. its like taking a cab at the airport in bombay. its fixed and you cant argue about it.
But alas this is an idealistic thought in a not so idealistic city lol.
till the next rant
Cheers
MEL
On a much brighter note my weekend went very well considering the fact that I was under the impression that b'lore didnt have much to offer. I visited b'lore central and garuda mall this weeknd and was quite pleased with the prices they had to offer. not too bad considering b'lore is a pseudo metropolitan city.
Now onto the rant of the day ... Rickshaw drivers in B'lore
Whoever said cabs were a public service wasnt talking about b'lore. it seems that rickshaw drivers in b'lore are working for themselves and not for the employer that hires them lol. If you want to catch a ride home in the evening before 9pm then its ok but after 9m be ready to pay double and sometimes triple of what you would normally pay. ridiculous you say? i say yes it is. But get this, some of them dont have a watch so you can do tell them its 8:20pm when its actually 9:15 pm lol and they believe you lol. so sad. add to that, the taxi service out here is good but its costly and the rickshaw drivers are total assholes so that leaves u with one option
PERSONAL TRANSPORT ... which is also going to cost a fortune considering that the price of gas is going up evreyday and you need to take care of ur vehicle. so in all respects ur screwed on transport unless ur lucky 365 days of the year and get a cab/rickshaw driver that is on-time., efficient and doesnt overcharge.
the solution to this problem.
Someone can run these guys into the ground by providing a cab service from all the hot spots in b'lore. for example, if you started a cab service from Forum to anywhere in b'lore witha price that was Rs. 10 over the normal price of the cabs at anytime of the day you'd be a hit infact ppl would sign up for it. its like taking a cab at the airport in bombay. its fixed and you cant argue about it.
But alas this is an idealistic thought in a not so idealistic city lol.
till the next rant
Cheers
MEL
Friday, November 18, 2005
Slipping An Indianism In Someones Drink
Hola,
Well yesterday was an interesting experience. for the first time in PST (program specific training) we had a group session and it turned from a fun-intended session into what can only be described as animal-kingdom overload.
anyways, the point of this blog is to explain things that should never be done lol. ill take two examples and we'll see what happens at the end. The topic under discussion is movies ... so lets choose two movies. One from the English genre and one from the Hindi genre. Now to be totally fair in this aspect i have chosen two movies that are considered classics in the two cinemas == The Godfather (Francis Ford Copolla) and Sholay (Ramesh Sippy). But before i go ahead id like to tell you'll why i chose these two movies and what I am going to do with them.
Today in class someone said that they would have liked to have Shah Rukh Kahn (forgive the spelling i dont care much for this clown) and Aishwarya Rai in Jame's Camerons "Titanic" so this got me a bit disturbed for the mere fact that Titanic is long to begin with and adding these two to the movies makes it even more longer and unbearable. However, this got me thinking on how to rectify this problem and make sure the concerned parties understand the dire ramifications it would have on each industry.
The Godfather
==========
When Mario Puzzi wrote this book he was under the influence of italian immigrants to the US and how they faced a tough time before the instillment of the mob and organized crime popularly know as Il Mafioso(The Mafia). Now the roles in this movie are so intricate and need to be played with sheer splendour that putting a man like Marlon Brando or Al Pacino in there makes total sense. The acting is superb, moreover the actors have Italian heritage (well not all of them but that discussion is not for now) and the ambience of the movie isnt ruined by dancing, song singing and other related Bollywood drama. The movie sells for what its worth: good acting, great storyline, impecable family values and its an italian mobster movie.
Sholay
=====
Enter Bollywood and the concept of friendship. Its amazing how many people in India can recite the dialogues and sing the songs from this movie. it truly is a great movie that describes how friends can overcome any adversity to finally win in the end. Amitabh Bachan and Darmendra do a splendid job in both running around trees and acting. Moreover, they are able to get away with silly action sequences and other such thrilling and nail biting instances. The movie leaves you feeling all happy inside and gives you that need to hug your friend and say 'Ive got the best mate in the world lets go have a beer on me'.
Hybrid Time
=========
Now what would happen if for some reason we had the movies main actors switch the movies they were in. Can you imagine the look on Copolla's face if he ever directed Amitabh? or the amount of seriousness that would have destroyed Sholay if Pacino got angry in a scene? i sure can. so instead of saying anymore to shock the fans of either movie im only going to say this.
DONT SUPERIMPOSE INDIAN ACTORS ON HOLLYWOOD MOVIES AND VICE VERSA. AND IF YOU WATCH A MOVIE MADE IN INDIA THAT IS A HOLLYWOOD RIP-OFF AND VICE VERSA DONT GIVE IT PRAISE BECAUSE IT'S NOT THE MORALLY CORRECT THING TO DO.
When Sarkar came out i actually took the time to watch it and realized that they can never capture that aspect of the Godfather and why? well the more important question is why not? we have the same family values, we share a rich culture and yet we havent made anything as solid and so concrete to show the rest of the world and say here is our underworld and how it operates is how a man should take care of his family and make sure no one fucks with him.
When that question is answered and fully resolved I believe that Indian Cinema will no longer be called Bollywood and we will have people that go to watch a movie in theatres because they want to see the acting and not to see silly item numbers.
Cheers and Best Wishes
MEL
Well yesterday was an interesting experience. for the first time in PST (program specific training) we had a group session and it turned from a fun-intended session into what can only be described as animal-kingdom overload.
anyways, the point of this blog is to explain things that should never be done lol. ill take two examples and we'll see what happens at the end. The topic under discussion is movies ... so lets choose two movies. One from the English genre and one from the Hindi genre. Now to be totally fair in this aspect i have chosen two movies that are considered classics in the two cinemas == The Godfather (Francis Ford Copolla) and Sholay (Ramesh Sippy). But before i go ahead id like to tell you'll why i chose these two movies and what I am going to do with them.
Today in class someone said that they would have liked to have Shah Rukh Kahn (forgive the spelling i dont care much for this clown) and Aishwarya Rai in Jame's Camerons "Titanic" so this got me a bit disturbed for the mere fact that Titanic is long to begin with and adding these two to the movies makes it even more longer and unbearable. However, this got me thinking on how to rectify this problem and make sure the concerned parties understand the dire ramifications it would have on each industry.
The Godfather
==========
When Mario Puzzi wrote this book he was under the influence of italian immigrants to the US and how they faced a tough time before the instillment of the mob and organized crime popularly know as Il Mafioso(The Mafia). Now the roles in this movie are so intricate and need to be played with sheer splendour that putting a man like Marlon Brando or Al Pacino in there makes total sense. The acting is superb, moreover the actors have Italian heritage (well not all of them but that discussion is not for now) and the ambience of the movie isnt ruined by dancing, song singing and other related Bollywood drama. The movie sells for what its worth: good acting, great storyline, impecable family values and its an italian mobster movie.
Sholay
=====
Enter Bollywood and the concept of friendship. Its amazing how many people in India can recite the dialogues and sing the songs from this movie. it truly is a great movie that describes how friends can overcome any adversity to finally win in the end. Amitabh Bachan and Darmendra do a splendid job in both running around trees and acting. Moreover, they are able to get away with silly action sequences and other such thrilling and nail biting instances. The movie leaves you feeling all happy inside and gives you that need to hug your friend and say 'Ive got the best mate in the world lets go have a beer on me'.
Hybrid Time
=========
Now what would happen if for some reason we had the movies main actors switch the movies they were in. Can you imagine the look on Copolla's face if he ever directed Amitabh? or the amount of seriousness that would have destroyed Sholay if Pacino got angry in a scene? i sure can. so instead of saying anymore to shock the fans of either movie im only going to say this.
DONT SUPERIMPOSE INDIAN ACTORS ON HOLLYWOOD MOVIES AND VICE VERSA. AND IF YOU WATCH A MOVIE MADE IN INDIA THAT IS A HOLLYWOOD RIP-OFF AND VICE VERSA DONT GIVE IT PRAISE BECAUSE IT'S NOT THE MORALLY CORRECT THING TO DO.
When Sarkar came out i actually took the time to watch it and realized that they can never capture that aspect of the Godfather and why? well the more important question is why not? we have the same family values, we share a rich culture and yet we havent made anything as solid and so concrete to show the rest of the world and say here is our underworld and how it operates is how a man should take care of his family and make sure no one fucks with him.
When that question is answered and fully resolved I believe that Indian Cinema will no longer be called Bollywood and we will have people that go to watch a movie in theatres because they want to see the acting and not to see silly item numbers.
Cheers and Best Wishes
MEL
Thursday, November 17, 2005
Customer Service Non-Existent in Karnataka
Its amazing the differences one can spot in customer service after travelling quite a bit. For example, in the states, even a guy who owns an openair hotdog stand has more couth and business sense than a little on-the-side hotel in Karnataka. Sometimes i wonder where these peoople get off thinking that you wont survive or be able to satisfy ur daily nutritional intake if you dont go to them.
Yesterday, i felt like eating something non-vegetarian so i call up a hotel that i know for a fact has the words 'Free Home Delivery' on their menu but when i call them up they say that their delivery boy is help up in some place that is quite far and that they will only be able to deliver the food 2hrs later. so i say thats fine because i have alot of time to spare and i really want to eat something non-veg. only after taking my order and realizing that it is too small does he start making fusses. he says that he will come to my house in a rickshaw(tricycle motorvehicle) and then he will ask me to pay the fare for food that im ordering from a Free home delivery hotel. i say total BOLLOCKS.
Same scenario, Melbourne Florida. i ordered a cup of soup and got it delivered to my home no questions asked. why the difference in service? i believe that people think that their businesses are safe with the customers that come in every day and kiss their stupid arses. if there was a way to shut down businesses because of poor service i would have shut down alot of places around the area im living in. it is just pure pathetic. indians can cook and hence dont eat out much but when u do decide to spend the buck u work for u should get what is offered and if u say free home delivery then it should be adhered to.
And to make matters worse the arsehole talks in his native language instead of hindi or english eventhough he can speak both very well. tsk tsk tsk. im going to get his phone number and post it to a local newspaper and see what they do but the problem here is no one is afraid. the people at work are not consistently scared of their job security, hell some of them are on the way out, they arent scared if they mistreat a customer in restaurants.
Hence i say Customer Service Non-Existent in Karnataka for people that dont speak the language and are looking for a place to eat and pass the time try catching a flight out of Karnataka it might be cheaper than the grief you face at a local restaurant run by idiotic bangloreans.
Till the next rant
Mel Out
Song of the Moment -- Coldplay:Fix You
Yesterday, i felt like eating something non-vegetarian so i call up a hotel that i know for a fact has the words 'Free Home Delivery' on their menu but when i call them up they say that their delivery boy is help up in some place that is quite far and that they will only be able to deliver the food 2hrs later. so i say thats fine because i have alot of time to spare and i really want to eat something non-veg. only after taking my order and realizing that it is too small does he start making fusses. he says that he will come to my house in a rickshaw(tricycle motorvehicle) and then he will ask me to pay the fare for food that im ordering from a Free home delivery hotel. i say total BOLLOCKS.
Same scenario, Melbourne Florida. i ordered a cup of soup and got it delivered to my home no questions asked. why the difference in service? i believe that people think that their businesses are safe with the customers that come in every day and kiss their stupid arses. if there was a way to shut down businesses because of poor service i would have shut down alot of places around the area im living in. it is just pure pathetic. indians can cook and hence dont eat out much but when u do decide to spend the buck u work for u should get what is offered and if u say free home delivery then it should be adhered to.
And to make matters worse the arsehole talks in his native language instead of hindi or english eventhough he can speak both very well. tsk tsk tsk. im going to get his phone number and post it to a local newspaper and see what they do but the problem here is no one is afraid. the people at work are not consistently scared of their job security, hell some of them are on the way out, they arent scared if they mistreat a customer in restaurants.
Hence i say Customer Service Non-Existent in Karnataka for people that dont speak the language and are looking for a place to eat and pass the time try catching a flight out of Karnataka it might be cheaper than the grief you face at a local restaurant run by idiotic bangloreans.
Till the next rant
Mel Out
Song of the Moment -- Coldplay:Fix You
Wednesday, November 16, 2005
Welcome To Day One
Well its been a while since ive started living in Bangalore and i think its a good idea to document the funnies and other important events during my stay here lol hopefully someone else can take humor away from this or even learn a lesson or two lol so here goes and hope you stay along for the ride.
Cheers
Melroy Coelho
P.S. ive got some pictures as well so dont worry if you dont like to read im taking care of you visual learners as well.
Cheers
Melroy Coelho
P.S. ive got some pictures as well so dont worry if you dont like to read im taking care of you visual learners as well.
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