The warm weather was a welcome break and I could literally tell people at the office and outside were enjoying the sun break. This evening we decided to try out a new place for dinner. Since we had to return on time for a work related telecon, we picked a near by restaurant called Mary Callendar's. It's a cozy, medium sized restaurant. Their welcome lobby displays their specialty - freshly baked pies and pastries which are appealing. The other thing I noticed is their uniqueness in the menu. They were extremely friendly in offering the vegetarian options. While I tried the unlimited soup and salad, my wife had pasta with alfredo sauce. The kid's meal came free with one entree and a beaverage. The food was excellent and we did not have room for the pies!. Once back home, I did some researching; their online address is http://www.mcpies.com/ and they are present in the west coast. They are a big chain listing more than 130 plus restaurants and the PERKINS chain in Mid West, Pennsylvania belong to the same group of companies. PERKINS - We frequented this lovely pancake restaurant, during our stay at Mid West and North East.
Apr 6, 2009
Apr 2, 2009
Stir/Protests/Demonstrations
Isn't it surprising that we find so many protests/stir/demonstrations in India than the other democratic countries? While the answer is not simple, many things have changed in the recent past and still requires a lot of changes. I mean some time back, the administration in Bangalore came up with a list of places where the affected parties can hold their demonstrations. But is that implemented? I am not sure. The political parties lack the nerve to ban any large scale demonstrations or marches because these very steps are perceived to be the tools to demonstrate the authority or the popularity.
It is during these protests or demonstrations that the common people are inconvenienced. The roads are blocked, children cannot get to school, essential services are disrupted and there is a possibility of mob attacks. While disagreements, open forums and public meetings are required in a democratic setup, they need to moderated in a frequency acceptable to the local communities. It is the responsibility of each individual to raise his/her voice against these type of inconveniences to daily life.
It is during these protests or demonstrations that the common people are inconvenienced. The roads are blocked, children cannot get to school, essential services are disrupted and there is a possibility of mob attacks. While disagreements, open forums and public meetings are required in a democratic setup, they need to moderated in a frequency acceptable to the local communities. It is the responsibility of each individual to raise his/her voice against these type of inconveniences to daily life.
Mar 29, 2009
traffic stoplight......
I took a long break from blogging, I am now back!...
Everyday when I get to work, I pass through about 7-8 stoplights and 3 rail road intersections. Every stop provides an opportunity to look around and catch up on things that I've missed - like an advertisement bill board, an apartment community or a restaurant or a store. In contrast, the stoplights at Bangalore offer a variety of time pass options...most of the busy lights have timers which count down the wait time. A lot of hawkers get on to the roads to sell flowers ( seen this in New York, no where else in US), news papers, auto cleaning products, sun glasses, etc. The "organized begging" goes on too...I have heard off late eunuchs are showing up on the Bangalore stoplights, trying to "beg" or extort money from the motorists. While the car passengers have an option to shut themselves in, the 2 wheeler riders at the mercy of these guys...I had seen eunuchs in Mumbai, where they ask for some money, when not obliged, will snatch from the shirt pocket...
About the technology associated with traffic stoplights, US is far ahead in terms of configuring the lights to support movement of emergency vehicles, red light camera, sensors for low traffic areas where lights change upon arrival of a car at the stoplight. Policemen rarely do traffic management, unless there is an accident, road construction or some special event. In contrast, the Bangalore stoplights are also being upgraded. I heard, some of them have still cameras, video surveillance. In addition, most of the stoplights have 1-2 policemen manning them. The mix of electronic controls and manual intervention work in tandem to support the massive vehicular flow. Hats off to the Indian traffic police, they do a tremendous job in keeping the traffic under "control" inspite of so many dynamic variations every day. When the lights turn green and the vehicles surge forward to criss-cross in the opposite lanes, that sight reminds me of the epic kurkshetra war where the warring enemies rushed to each other in full strength.
Everyday when I get to work, I pass through about 7-8 stoplights and 3 rail road intersections. Every stop provides an opportunity to look around and catch up on things that I've missed - like an advertisement bill board, an apartment community or a restaurant or a store. In contrast, the stoplights at Bangalore offer a variety of time pass options...most of the busy lights have timers which count down the wait time. A lot of hawkers get on to the roads to sell flowers ( seen this in New York, no where else in US), news papers, auto cleaning products, sun glasses, etc. The "organized begging" goes on too...I have heard off late eunuchs are showing up on the Bangalore stoplights, trying to "beg" or extort money from the motorists. While the car passengers have an option to shut themselves in, the 2 wheeler riders at the mercy of these guys...I had seen eunuchs in Mumbai, where they ask for some money, when not obliged, will snatch from the shirt pocket...
About the technology associated with traffic stoplights, US is far ahead in terms of configuring the lights to support movement of emergency vehicles, red light camera, sensors for low traffic areas where lights change upon arrival of a car at the stoplight. Policemen rarely do traffic management, unless there is an accident, road construction or some special event. In contrast, the Bangalore stoplights are also being upgraded. I heard, some of them have still cameras, video surveillance. In addition, most of the stoplights have 1-2 policemen manning them. The mix of electronic controls and manual intervention work in tandem to support the massive vehicular flow. Hats off to the Indian traffic police, they do a tremendous job in keeping the traffic under "control" inspite of so many dynamic variations every day. When the lights turn green and the vehicles surge forward to criss-cross in the opposite lanes, that sight reminds me of the epic kurkshetra war where the warring enemies rushed to each other in full strength.
Jan 2, 2009
Good Bye 2008
Wish you a very happy new year 2009...Thanks for taking time to view my blog.
The year 2008 came and went in a flash. On the personal front, there were significant milestones or changes. We moved to a different city, I started working for a different customer and we visited India on vacation. I got an opportunity to visit my customer's vendor, which is quite a rarity in my area of work.
Welcoming new year is always refreshing. Over a period of time, there has been some difference in how I am celebrating the new year eve:
College days: New year eve used to be mostly at the Sardarji Dhaba on the hosur road near Madivala. It used to be popular choice for the engineering college guys, mainly due to the attractively priced menu and excellent taste. Also, drinks would be served from the near by liquor stores with absolutely no service charges!. All such parties would be complete only with a dessert at Arun Ice creams at Koramangala...The shop would remain late in the night!
After college : We would target few restaurants and pubs in the brigade road area...Then gradually we moved towards the resorts and far off restaurants. We also ad few celebrations at our friends' houses
While in the USA: Mostly with friends at their or our house. Focus is on having good time with family and friends. The parties generally start off around 7pm and go all the way up to 2-3 Am in the morning. A cake is cut to mark the transition to the new year!. Some new year celebrations that I remember in the US mainly due to some travel involved with each of the events;
2005: We drove from Pittsburgh to Waukesha, WI to meet with friend's family. Together we traveled to Las Vegas and Los Angeles. We then came back from LA to his place to celebrate the new year eve.
2006: We were in Space Needle, Seattle to witness the wonderful fireworks display
2009: We drove up from Portland to our friend's place at Seattle and had a good time
The year 2008 came and went in a flash. On the personal front, there were significant milestones or changes. We moved to a different city, I started working for a different customer and we visited India on vacation. I got an opportunity to visit my customer's vendor, which is quite a rarity in my area of work.
Welcoming new year is always refreshing. Over a period of time, there has been some difference in how I am celebrating the new year eve:
College days: New year eve used to be mostly at the Sardarji Dhaba on the hosur road near Madivala. It used to be popular choice for the engineering college guys, mainly due to the attractively priced menu and excellent taste. Also, drinks would be served from the near by liquor stores with absolutely no service charges!. All such parties would be complete only with a dessert at Arun Ice creams at Koramangala...The shop would remain late in the night!
After college : We would target few restaurants and pubs in the brigade road area...Then gradually we moved towards the resorts and far off restaurants. We also ad few celebrations at our friends' houses
While in the USA: Mostly with friends at their or our house. Focus is on having good time with family and friends. The parties generally start off around 7pm and go all the way up to 2-3 Am in the morning. A cake is cut to mark the transition to the new year!. Some new year celebrations that I remember in the US mainly due to some travel involved with each of the events;
2005: We drove from Pittsburgh to Waukesha, WI to meet with friend's family. Together we traveled to Las Vegas and Los Angeles. We then came back from LA to his place to celebrate the new year eve.
2006: We were in Space Needle, Seattle to witness the wonderful fireworks display
2009: We drove up from Portland to our friend's place at Seattle and had a good time
Dec 25, 2008
A for apple
My daughter has been practicing or rather we are getting her acquainted with alphabets from the last one year. However, yesterday she picked up a crayon and wrote "A" on her own. I was immensely overjoyed at that moment and made her write multiple times....These appear like ordinary moments for any one but for parents, this is a significant milestone!
She has been identifying the alphabets for sometime now and it is funny sometimes when she reads the alphabets off some one's T shirt!.
She has been identifying the alphabets for sometime now and it is funny sometimes when she reads the alphabets off some one's T shirt!.
Dec 7, 2008
Instruction manuals
Instruction manuals are part of the package when we buy any electronics, toys or other items that require some assembly or set of instructions to be followed in order to make the product working.
Let me confess that I've never read any product instruction manual completely or referred to them on a continuous basis to improve the product usage ( like exploring all the camera features, etc). This is mostly because either the products are too user friendly or intuitive that you don't 100% instructions or the lack of patience in reading the complete documentation. I have seen the instruction manuals getting thinner by the day - may be they heard people like me complaining or giving feedback. IKEA goes a way further by providing a one page doc with some funny cartoons... one exception being the "MALMA" mirrors that look easy to assemble but requires significant thinking!
I really try hard to maintain these product manuals/instructions because they are the first source for exploring additional features, warranty and other information. But over a period of years and lots of traveling - I don't find them when I need them most. So what I do then? Google or look up the product writeup in the respective company website...Given the push to reduce operational cost, even the camcorder/camera manufacturers might come up with a one page simple instruction manual and provide links to the Internet documentation!
Bottomline: I implemented a new rule that I will start using the product only after reading the documentation....There was a feeling of triumph and some satisfaction....I am not sure how long will this practice continue :)
Let me confess that I've never read any product instruction manual completely or referred to them on a continuous basis to improve the product usage ( like exploring all the camera features, etc). This is mostly because either the products are too user friendly or intuitive that you don't 100% instructions or the lack of patience in reading the complete documentation. I have seen the instruction manuals getting thinner by the day - may be they heard people like me complaining or giving feedback. IKEA goes a way further by providing a one page doc with some funny cartoons... one exception being the "MALMA" mirrors that look easy to assemble but requires significant thinking!
I really try hard to maintain these product manuals/instructions because they are the first source for exploring additional features, warranty and other information. But over a period of years and lots of traveling - I don't find them when I need them most. So what I do then? Google or look up the product writeup in the respective company website...Given the push to reduce operational cost, even the camcorder/camera manufacturers might come up with a one page simple instruction manual and provide links to the Internet documentation!
Bottomline: I implemented a new rule that I will start using the product only after reading the documentation....There was a feeling of triumph and some satisfaction....I am not sure how long will this practice continue :)
Majestic Mount Rainier
Check out the link;http://www.katu.com/blogs/weather/35631614.html
Mount Rainier continues to be one of my fav places!
Mount Rainier continues to be one of my fav places!
Nov 23, 2008
"Bear" in Mind
Teddy bears are extremely popular with kids, starting from infants to teenagers. Well, my first present to my daughter was a small teddy bear, which I picked from the hospital gift center. Subsequently, she did not develop a deep love for stuffed toys. One of our friends brought a big bear from their New York trip. Rather than cuddling and playing with it, my daughter was initially afraid or not so comfortable with the big one. She instead developed a lot of interest in the kiddies rhymes that are broadcast in the baby boast channel. Some of the rhymes involve playing and kuddling the bears and my little one picked cue and we've seen enjoy playing with the bear for a significant time. At my place, we have a unique way of naming the bears, difference - they all carry typical indian names. Following is the list of daughter's bears or stuffed toys or animals, they are listed in the order of their arrival
1. Vimala
2. Sangeetha - Gifted by my friend, whose name
3. Vikram ( 1,2, 3 are all US born bears now settled in India, also they are not in the picture)
4. Nirmala Bear - Biggest and most popular with my little one and the guests - for its unique name
(first one from left)
1. Vimala
2. Sangeetha - Gifted by my friend, whose name
3. Vikram ( 1,2, 3 are all US born bears now settled in India, also they are not in the picture)
4. Nirmala Bear - Biggest and most popular with my little one and the guests - for its unique name
(first one from left)
5. Kausalya - Kausalya is a ABCD singing toy (second from left)
6. Anurag - The tiger toy, which was christened a day ago...but I forgot to include in the earlier post)
7. Minni - The cute "costco" girl who came home 2 weeks back. The package had many skirts, tops, 2 pairs of shoes, purse, etc.
8. Sasha - the latest addition on 11/22. ( extreme right in the picture)
Caution: While naming bears, we exercise caution or discretion by not selecting the names of the people that we know ( offcourse in the immediate circle of friends and relatives!)
Sasha's coming was quite unique. We bought her in a unique store called http://www.buildabear.com/. The kid gets to choose from various stuffed animals, followed with the custom filling to suit the little one's needs, dress material, shoes and a birth certificate!. Yes a birth certificate - the bear comes home with a birth certificate carrying details like height, weight, date of birth!, belongs to..... I liked the innovative idea of the person(s) who started this store. I could see the kids buying the bears were really engaged in selecting the bear and selectin the accessories. The store has gone a long way in establishing a USP - they even host parties if you want!
Caution: While naming bears, we exercise caution or discretion by not selecting the names of the people that we know ( offcourse in the immediate circle of friends and relatives!)
Sasha's coming was quite unique. We bought her in a unique store called http://www.buildabear.com/. The kid gets to choose from various stuffed animals, followed with the custom filling to suit the little one's needs, dress material, shoes and a birth certificate!. Yes a birth certificate - the bear comes home with a birth certificate carrying details like height, weight, date of birth!, belongs to..... I liked the innovative idea of the person(s) who started this store. I could see the kids buying the bears were really engaged in selecting the bear and selectin the accessories. The store has gone a long way in establishing a USP - they even host parties if you want!
Oct 1, 2008
Harishchandra coffee!
Unique and catchy names are the key to consumer products, especially groceries and food products. I am always curious how they name such products. Example: MTR, Parle-G,Vajradanti,Centerfresh, etc...
Couple of days back, I came across "Harishchandra Coffee" at one of the indian grocers in Portland. I was so amused with the name because that name has some mythological connection. Harishchandra, the mythological charecter stood by truth all his life, even while facing acute difficulties....
I was guessing what would be the value proposition of this brand? You will develop some truthfulness by drinking this coffee everyday? drink this coffee everyday and land up in the job at the cemetry like the mythological charecter???
Or is that the name of the person who founded this coffee company? This reminds me some of the one time local coffee brands in bangalore; Annapoorna Coffee, Panduranga, etc. Well known brands:Bru, Nescafe, Coffeeday
Couple of days back, I came across "Harishchandra Coffee" at one of the indian grocers in Portland. I was so amused with the name because that name has some mythological connection. Harishchandra, the mythological charecter stood by truth all his life, even while facing acute difficulties....
I was guessing what would be the value proposition of this brand? You will develop some truthfulness by drinking this coffee everyday? drink this coffee everyday and land up in the job at the cemetry like the mythological charecter???
Or is that the name of the person who founded this coffee company? This reminds me some of the one time local coffee brands in bangalore; Annapoorna Coffee, Panduranga, etc. Well known brands:Bru, Nescafe, Coffeeday
Jun 9, 2008
Where did the mouse go?
One of the days, I reached office in the morning, setup my laptop. Something was missing!, yes the mouse!. For a moment, there was a feeling of guilt - missing something very basic and thoughts about how to manage the day without one. This incident made me think of the all the stuff that I have been carrying daily to work / school. We don't want to miss carrying the critical stuff everyday. However, given the human nature, there is a tendency to have some occasional forgetfulness.
Out of the current list of stuff that I carry, laptop and the accessories are the key to perform daily work. The rest of the items get added based on priority and importance. During my early days in the software industry, I did not have a laptop but still carried a similar office bag. However, the bag was not lightweight and there were all kinds of other stuff like stationary, some personal papers like bank statements and other important docs. Only time I did not carry any bag for work was during tenure in the manufacturing shop floor. Those were the days of glory when I would go empty handed. Off course carrying the ID card was very important.
School days( read in India), especially up to grade 7 required carrying most of my text books and the respective notebook to take notes. Commuting in the city buses with the heavy bag was always a challenge. However, the weight of the bag reduced gradually as I passed thru my high school and college. During my engineering days, it was common to find guys carrying just one notepad or a file with lots of sheets...
Out of the current list of stuff that I carry, laptop and the accessories are the key to perform daily work. The rest of the items get added based on priority and importance. During my early days in the software industry, I did not have a laptop but still carried a similar office bag. However, the bag was not lightweight and there were all kinds of other stuff like stationary, some personal papers like bank statements and other important docs. Only time I did not carry any bag for work was during tenure in the manufacturing shop floor. Those were the days of glory when I would go empty handed. Off course carrying the ID card was very important.
School days( read in India), especially up to grade 7 required carrying most of my text books and the respective notebook to take notes. Commuting in the city buses with the heavy bag was always a challenge. However, the weight of the bag reduced gradually as I passed thru my high school and college. During my engineering days, it was common to find guys carrying just one notepad or a file with lots of sheets...
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