Long time, no tag. So here is one

Pon tagged me with this quiz. I love tags because it gives an easy topic to write on interestingly. I was filling this tag from my office cubicle, thats reference to the place in the questions.

 

• Grab the book nearest to you, turn on page 18 and find line 4. Ans. You gonna hit me after reading this answer. I grabbed an e-book. "ARM11 Technical reference manual", that line unfortunately belong to contents column, so here it goes "Figure 2-16 SEV instruction format in Thumb ............................................................................ 2-45"
• Stretch your left arm out as far as you can.& catch air? Ans. my cubicle's white board
• What is the last thing you watched on TV? Ans. Legally blond 2 movie in star movies
• Without looking, guess what time it is? Ans. 5.15
• Now look at the clock, what is the actual time? Ans. 5.19
• With the exception of the computer, what can you hear? Ans. "frens voice in my cell phone"
• When did you last step outside? What were you doing? Ans. Today morning, I came to my CAT class
• Before you started this survey, what did you look at? Ans. lot of freshers face who came to interview in my company today. Hey today we are working to conduct interviews for freshers for our team, poor fellows are waiting to get interviewed ;)
• What are you wearing? Ans. Westside casual shirt and weekender blue jean
• When did you last laugh? Ans. After taking interview, we laugh at the mistakes people commit during the interview. This time a guy who came for the interview was asked about what is a PCM signal? this intelligent candidate dont know the answer, so he started off saying "I like to think a lot, let me start from huffman coding"!!!! bad way to manage not saying i dont know, isnt it?
• What is on the walls of the room you are in? Ans. "My Fair Lady" cinema poster
• Seen anything weird lately? Ans. all veg/non-veg starters in thailand restaurant looks like same to me. I think they just call same thing in different name to fill up the menu. weird.
• What do you think of this quiz? Ans. teasing intelligence ;)
• What is the last film you saw? Ans. 36 china town in theatres with my dear fren
• If you became a multimillionaire overnight, what would you buy? Ans.Buy a beautiful bungalow in koramangala, bangalore. All are architectural classic pieces here.
• Tell me something about you that I dunno Ans. Really, I am a good guy.
• If you could change one thing about the world, regardless of guilt or politics, what would you do? Ans. seed good thoughts to all politicians in India and make them naive
• Do u like to Dance Ans. Wow....love to dance
• Imagine your first child is a girl, what do you call her? Ans. Neha ( I have a craze for this name for looong time)
• Imagine your first child is a boy, what do you call her? Ans. leave the choice to my gal.
• Would you ever consider living abroad? Ans. yes  to travelling abroad, but definite no to living abroad. its really sick to be away from my dear ones. I will live with dears in India and succeed in life.
• What do you want GOD to say to you when you reach the pearly gates? Ans. God: "Come on son, I will retire now" ;)

 

 

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Yet Another Marketing Manoeuvre (YAMM)

Financial Institution offering loans with repayment option through Earnest Monthly Installment uses this gimmick to lure customer. Lemme narrate my own experience with personal loan from leading financial institution in India. I was logging enquiry calls for personal loan with different banks and most of them stated interest rate around 21-23% per annum, and they are ready to negotiate on the interest rate based on personal profile and company I am working for. When I enquired with this bank, they claimed 12.3% as interest rate. Wow, cool, I thought I landed in good deal. Got ready for all proceedings and while coming to EMI calculation, I landed in different numbers than those quoted by those sales guys. Got into inquisitive mode, while enquiring further found that compound Interest rate is only 22% as in any other bank, but the 12.3% they claim is a magic number. It works out like this

 

Principal Loan Amount	100,000.00
Interest rate(p.a)	22.00
Interest rate(p.m)	1.83
Tenure (months)	12.00
EMI	9,359.44
EMI * Tenure = Total Repayment	112,313.26
Effective Interest Rate	12.31

Assume I loaned 100,000 from the bank. With 22% compound interest rate, my EMI works out to be 9360. With that EMI, I will be paying 112,313 at the end of the year. Which these guys taken as base for to calculate effective loan amount and effective interest rate works out to be 12.3%. The terminology is made to sound flawless, 12.3% is called flat interest rate and 22% is called interest rate on reducing balance.

Looks like perfect bait to attract customers. Isn't it? There is one basic flaw in the argument with flat interest rate. The 22% interest rate seems to come down to 12.3% because I am repaying the part of principal and interest every month. This is an apparent illusion with the compound interest rate maths. Suppose if I  don't pay the EMI and am willing to pay the final amount at the end of the year, Will the bank accept this offer? No and they can never.

 

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Known company, Unheard story

Cafe coffee day is my favorite company in recent times. I wrote about its business model earlier in my blog. Recently read/heard a lot about its origin and spirt of entrepreneurship it nurtures. VG Siddhartha leads the CCD's dominance in coffee retailing. No wonder you never heard about him earlier, he is a media-shy person and he keeps his profile low because of inintentional political tint associated with him. He is son-in-law of SM Krishna, former congress chief minister of karnatka. Other than family relationship, Siddhartha maintains a well kept distance from politics.

His story is one more Indian rags to riches story in post-globalisation regime. Not completely a first generation entrepreneur, he had his dad to give him a huge sum of money to start business with. He got trained in management in JM Morgan Stanley, Bombay. After his management trainee tenure, started a share investment company called Sivan. He started investing every penny of profit he gets out of his share business into coffee plantations in chickmagalur in karnataka. He has been a lot of coffee plantaion then. Now his empire is India 2nd largest coffee plantation, next to Tata. Identifying the potential coffee retail market and staunchly believing in Indian economy is laudable attributes I like to speak about him. India's economy is a success story in itself and it has potential to write a lot of business success stories in history. Siddhartha believed in this buoyant economy when he started his company. His belief is earning him in tons of golds these days.

Those days, coffee plantation owners sell their products to coffee boards of Indian goverment. Post-1992, they were let off in the free market. Siddhartha started his Amalgamated Bean CoffeeTrading Limited and started trading coffee. He entered in coffee powder retail market first. The Barista evolution in India in 1990's and Star Bucks influence lead him to cafe retailing in the brand name of Cafe Coffee day. Now CCD has more than whopping 300+ retail outlets all over India. They cover a huge retail area in Bangalore itself. In Indiranagar where I am residing, there are four CCD outlets in the near vicinity and still all are brimming with crowds all through the peak hours and in weekends. Coffee days are identified as youth icons and their 23% percent of business comes from teenagers. Remanining market percentages are shared by adults in age group of 20-29 years. His aim for the company is to become "StarBucks of India". With the profits of CCD, Siddhartha has diversified to technology ventures with his new company. It had invested in best known startup companies in India like Ittiam. Way to go indeed!

Now some economics funda, their profiit model could be explained as pyramid model. Defining pyramid profit model: these companies offer different product ranges for different segments of people in society. Basic ingredient is same, but quality and frills are changed to accomodate multi level society. A classic example of this profit model is retail petrol pumps, where you could see them selling petrol/diesel in different price tags with a differentiation in oxidiser content. I could see a tint of saturation logic of Walmart model too. Saturation logic symbolises the company to open a lot of retail units in the same circle and saturate the market. Which will provide a tough challenge to its competitors to enter that retail region. Walmart is often quoted/fussed about for sticking to this saturation profit model, they started in rural america, slowly saturated the market and then went further towards urban area. By the time walmart entered urban area, they had become a giant with big market in rurals which can never been taken away from them. By the time other retailers had woken up to competition from Walmart, they had scaled new peaks in revenues.

External Links

[+] Coffee day group home

[+] Amalgamated Bean coffee trading Ltd

[+] Global Technology Ventures

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Lets Twist Again

Life never gets more interesting than this. I am learning four dance genres now, Hip-hop, Jazz, Jiving and casino Rueda. Best of them is jiving for a lovely song of Chubby checker's 'Lets Twist Again'. Song goes like this....

 

Rap: Come on everybody, clap your hands
Ar ya lookin' good
I'm gonna sing my song
And it won't take long
We're gonna do the twist, and it goes like this

 

Come on, let's twist again, like we did last summer
Yeah, let's twist again, like we did last year

Do you remember when, things were really hummin'
Yeah, let's twist again, twistin' time is here

 

Ee a round and a round and a up and down we go again
Oh, baby make me know you love me so and then
Twist again, like we did last summer
Come on, let's twist again
Like we did last year, twist

 

Rap: Who's that flyin' up there
Is it a bird, no
Is it a plane, no
Is it the twister, yeah

 

Yeah, twist again, like we did last summer
Come on, let'd twist again, like we twist last year

Do you remember when, things were really hummin'
Come on, let's twist again, twistin' time is here

 

Ee a round and a round and a up and down we go again
Oh, baby make me know you love me so and then
Come on, twist again, like we did last summer
Girl, let's twist again
Like we did last year
Come on, twist again
Twistin' time is here, Bop Bop

 

[+] You can listen to part of this song here.

[+] Jiving is one of dance genre evolved from Swing dances, which got popular in 1920's. It's variant of salsa, where the complexity in the leg movement are reduced.

 

[+] The new dance style that we are learnign now is called Casino Reuda. Casino is synonymous with cuban style. It's a variant of american salsa. Reuda means group dance. Casino name originiated from a place in cuba called Havino's casion Espanol. The characteristics of this dance requires the dancers in the group to follow the cue of a caller through a series of short, choreographed steps, some of which can lead to a change of partners mid-dance.

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Are you F +ve?

Fashion is an absolute undescriptive word. What's hot now will roll down to new trends. Its unarguable truth that fashion world reinvents itself with fusion of things from past and latest trends. Righto, coming to the point. Got bored with my same ole look for long time. Desprately wanted to break this, so went to spratt hair studio in Bangalore last week. Booked an appointment at 1.30 in afternoon. Went there well ahead of the schedule as if it's an exam day of a school going kid. My appointment was booked with a hair stylist, who got his hair colored in blond color and distinct cloud like style. He should have been fashion world's lost freak. It's all started with shampoo and conditioner bath and those shampoo was packed with rich aroma to give best of world experience.

 

Spoke to hair stylist for 10 minutes about my idea of sporting a new look. He gave a big catalogue of various hair styles in vogue and suggested styles that will fit me. Grown up as a normal mid-town boy, I never had any freaky, funky hairstyles before. I used to have army cadet like hairstyle. Lot of hair styles which he suggested were too funky to fit my software engineer image. We decided finally (much to my disappointment) not to have any hair cut this time. He asked me to wait for 1 and half months and get little more lengthy hair to sport a new look. Sad! Whats next? hair coloring was the only option before me. Went for it and now I am with this new look- streaks of hair colored in dark brown as highlights. Don't have photo to show you my new hairstyle, you gotto meet me to see my new look ;) 

 

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Dogma, SWAT, women folk.

This is controversial topic on generalisation. Wish to hear all your views on "Gals are dogmatic by their very nature". Men and women are behaviouraly totally different entities, as the saying goes 'Men are from mars and women are from venus'. As much as you understand your opposite sex's nature, it helps, helps always and everywhere. Dogmatic is dominant behaviour I found in all my frens in fairer sex. Ok, ok dont barge on me for generalising, lemme explain what I mean.

 

Here is the dictionary meaning of the word.
dog·mat·ic (dôg-mat'ik, dog-) adj.

• Relating to, characteristic of, or resulting from dogma.
• Characterized by an authoritative, arrogant assertion of unproved or unprovable principles.

When you speak to your girl fren, you can find her
1. Like to buy some luxury cars/luxury articles, irrespective what it takes to achieve it. I remember hearing one gal's life time aim is "buying a Merc".
2. Highly opinionated. She has a big list of things what she likes and dont' like. And in contrast, men folks always are flexible. They tend to experiment now and then. Some men even change their likes/dislikes based on their better half.
3. She either hates/likes the third guy, means there will be no neutral stand. In contrast, a man has lot of frens in his list whom he can empathize, antipathize or apathize (thats the neutral stand). We keep a list of frens as mere acquanitance, whom I am comfortable to work with, and I can lead my life without their frenship/enemity.

The list will become exhaustive. Now here is my SWAT analysis on this dominant behaviour. Strength: Because of strong dogmas, Gals know how will be their life. They drive their whole family with their views. These principles (if constructive) will definitely take the whole family in the positive wave. Weakness: These arguably ain't  the best interpersonal skills in our dog-eat-dog world. Come on,You can't fire the guy for not having your opinion.

 

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Reizender Geburtstag

Every birthday adds an unique memorable day in your life! Today is internet savvy birthday. Lots of email wishes and ofcourse orkut stands first in reminding my birthday to all my frens. Dad and mum called me in the morning, asked me to go to temple atleeeeeeast today ;) . Well, I am not an atheist, but still i dont go to temple normally unless somebody pushes me. Spoke to my anna, anni and my dear niece harini. Harini was wishing me in her lovely gibberish style of talking.

 

My roomies are celeberating my birthday for two consecutive days. They had thought my birthday to be on May 8. Planned a lot when I was not in home on 7th evening, bought birthday cake and candles. I was totally surprised when frens were waking me at 12 at night on may 8. I had to clarify that that's not my birthday. so their operation birthday party happened to be a well planned one, but executed on the wrong day. ...yut loved that. That was a different surprise this time. Hilarious part was when my roomie trying to convince me that it was my birthday night. cho chweet. We had a boisterous laugh that night for the unintentional faux pas.

 

Had a great bash in office now. Mine is the first birthday party we are celeberating after the company's birth in bangalore. so special day for my frens to freak out in office too. Birthday song, cakes and drinks and ofcourse banterings. Its been a lovely celeberation with new office frens to remember for long time. Everybody wants me to open mouth and speak atelast today. Though i am not reserved guy, but I am yet to break the new-boy image with the office frens. Somehow yet to share the close kinship. I was concentrating on work for a while, blame that for time being.

 

Yet to catch my frens for dinner. Will write more on birthday celeberation later. Btw, title is german translation of "lovely birthday"

 

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World feels lucky

World Feels Lucky   

 

~ 26th Time ~

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Ayes. Present Sir!

Getting up late for for my CAT class, I rush to find we gonna have english vocabulary class today with oh-no-not-her-again faculty. She must be teaching kids in school/ freshmen in college, she treats us in the same way. sick. She is also one happy character on her own. "There is a lot of words packed here(pointing to her brain), it's you guys who have to bring it out" was her cliche and also her-so-called USP. She has the habit of praising herself after giving some important quote or example. "Students rush to bursary to meet the bursar to get their bursary" 'wow, what a great sentence' was her quip after the sentence.(No need to mention we were sitting irritated at the back though).

 

She call all of us dear ones. Hi deary, hi deararyyyy, hi deary dear.... what not? Whop, she fills the classroom with her speech for 2 hours. Today worst of all, she was running half hour more than her schedule. Though I have all sorts of criticism for her, I admire her no-stop talking for 2 hours. come-on, even in my all births, re-births, i will never learn this trick of being a chatterbox. You should see her expressions when she utter some words. wow.... She stands like hitler when say "Recalcitrant". She become pale when uttering macabre, cadaverous. She looks like ready to go to war when explaining bellicose, belligerent. Where to stop?

 

With so much criticsm, i dont want to end this post with bitter feeling and sarcasm. I had wonderful experience of been student of two great English faculties during my childhood. DavaManidevi madam and Ramesh sir: If you happen to read my blog, I really owe my knowledge on english to you both. Both are too good to be a simple school teacher. When they left our school, they had nearly inherited all their ken of english grammar and vocabulary to all of us.

 

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Larger than life

I wish I could write often in my blog. But life seems to be sailing smoothly, nothing special happening right here. Get up early in the morning, go for CAT classes (if there), reach office  early in the morning, go to dance class in the evening, practice for CAT and fall into bed damn tired and enjoy dreams . I love reaching office early in morning and I found 3 advantages: you are off the prime time bangalore traffic, you get plenty of time to plan your day and work at your pace and ofocurse he-is-a-good-and-sincere-worker image from your colleagues ;).

 

In dance class, just completed crash course on different Jazz styles and moving on to next crash course on Jiving, it's also a form of salsa. As a first time dancer, I dont have any big expectation of perfecting dance styles, picking up whatever comes my way. But my dance movements are funny at some part of the song, I still wonder how my dance master could able to appreciate me without a laugh. Btw, I may be performing onstage on the annual showdown of swingers dance school towards may end. I am part of the 50 member crew who gonna dance for a potpourri of songs.

 

I am still wondering,if life of a common man is so mundane and normal without anything special happening often, how these guys in movie alone manage to make such lovely stories on somebody's life. Its awesome to look at larger-than-life images of celeberities. In a  typical love story, within 10 minutes of the story start, the hero would have met his gal. In a typical soap operas, within 10 minutes of the story start, the heroine's mom would have wasted 10 litres of tear glands. In a typical bond movie, within 10 minutes of the story start, James bond would have been put on the mission to nail the villain in some antartica style island. I still dunno when that 10th minute of my story will come.

 

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