Some more Pgh Photos

Pgh Left!

A funny quirk about the city I learnt from the locals - Pgh Left. What this means is this: In most cities in the US, when you're standing at a traffic light waiting to turn left, you normally yield to oncoming traffic in the opposite direction. Once the oncoming traffic has eased, you make a left. But in old-style Pittsburgh tradition, when you're trying to take a left and the signal turns green, more often than not, the driver of the car on the opposite side will wave for you to take the left turn first before he starts going straight. In fact this tradition is so common that people take it for granted that you'll let them take a left and just rush in when the signal turns green. The first couple of days I was here, I was pissed that the guy taking a left didn't yield to me, and I had honked my horn in disgust. But now I do understand it :)

Here is a Wiki Entry for this phenomenon: PGH Left.

Pittsburgh!!

I've fallen in love, yet again! This time it is with this beautiful city. There might be people in the US who beleive that Pittsburgh is dead and is in the middle of nowhere, but I've fallen in love with it, dead or alive! And in particular, with the bridges of Allegheny County. Pittsburgh, as you might know, is in the crossroads of western Pennsylvania's hilly terrain, and naturally, there are a number of bridges and tunnels to ease commute. But, the beauty of these bridges lie in two things: First, the fact that many of these were built over a century ago. And second, you don't realize in most cases that you've gotten onto a bridge and off it! The bridge network is so seamlessly built, especially with the smaller bridges in the interior.

Pgh also has a decent sized downtown, not comparable to the skylines of NYC or LA, but good nevertheless. On the left and below are some pictures I took from across the Allegheny river last weekend.

Memories

This brought some very old memories ...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8i_YPfenqc&mode=related&search

So did this ...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=seB1XFRjluo&mode=related&search

iPhone mania

It's amazing how much hype a new gadget on the market can generate. For the last six months, if there has been one thing on every tech-savvy person's lips, it's the iPhone. And finally, today at 6 pm, the wait will be over. From the last 24 hrs, there have been hordes of hungry geeks camped around the flagship Apple store in New York City (image inset). If that's not enough, there are people capitalizing on the iPhone mania that has struck the nation from Silicon Valley to The Village through innovative means. A domain name called www.iphone-usa.com is up for auction on eBay for fifty grand. Real and fake iPhone ad videos are making the rounds on YouTube.

The tons of reviews that have come in this week have all been unanimous on one aspect - that the iPhone, while not the utopia of cellphonedom, has lived up to the hype and expectations quite well. From it's intuitive user interface and rich features to the sleek and ergonomic design, it has Apple's trademark penchant for creativity written all over it. One of the earliest reviews came in Jan 2007. PC Magazine has reserved its comments for now, saying they have to test this 'important phone' further - my feeling is that they're afraid to give a review in the wrong direction ;-) .. It's true that there have been mixed reactions to the iPhone from some corners - some skeptical and some lashing out blanket statements like Apple is Evil! - but the overall response to the phone has been one of a huge welcome.

Amidst all this confusion, I'm just planning to go to the At&T store across the street this evening and check out the phone myself!

The 'i' factor

I've often wondered why there's no phone in the market without all those teeny-weeny butons. Why wouldn't phone manufacturers just put a touch-screen with only soft buttons? Like my GPS Mio Digiwalker 310

I asked her about this the other day, and she replied that it would probably be difficult to use it because you would inadvertently press the wrong places on the screen which could potentially dial the wrong number and so on. Also, on my current phone, I easily text away under the table in meetings without looking at my phone, which I would probably not be able to do with a touch screen!

All said, here is a phone with no buttons, finally. Here's to the iPhone! Looks like it needed an 'i' to figure out that buttonless phones would really work.

The iPhone!

 

Painting an Airbus A320!

I found this video on, where else, YouTube. It is a time lapse imagery of how a humongous Virgin America Airbus A320 is painted. It's a sight to watch!

Painting an Airbus A320!

Monumental Monument

A view of the Washington Memorial from the Jefferson Memorial across the Tidal Basin. This shot was taken on a sunny afternoon during Spring, 2007.

Snow!

It's been snowing since two days. There's at least 6-8 inches outside at the moment. Scared to venture out .. I saw this lady this morning trying to pull her car out of the apartment parking lot. There was so much of snow around that her car was going almost sideways! She almost gave up after a few attempts. Then a few good people came and gave her car a nice big push and onto to the main road! I have a video of what happened. Will post it sometime later. I know you must be thinking .. "What an a** .. Taping the car rather than going and helping the lady out!" .. But then, it's way too cold outside. Not me .. Sorry!

Just spoke with my sis-in-law. She was going to work in her bus as usual this morning on I-95 near NYC and lo ... This car from the next lane skids across, turns halfway around and stops in front of her bus! The guy in the car thankfully didn't die of shock .. he just put his face in his hands and shrieked! The bus was going very slow anyway (10 mph on NJTP!) and stopped in time.

My office has shut down for the day. Working (so-called) from home. It's good to be home on Val-day with wifey dear, tickets to "Music and Lyrics" as a surprise for her in the evening, the white clad lawn outside and this big mug of steaming coffee in hand! Ah Heaven!

New Blogger

Heyy I just upgraded from the Old Blogger to the new version. Yet to explore all its new features. But at first sight, it looks good! Google seems ot have taken care not to screw up any of my template formatting or content. Then, I feel that it's much faster than the previous ones (or is it just my internet connection?). Then the template drag-drops are quite cool. You should check it out ..

Back!

First things first. There's been a reason for my absence from blogger these past few months .. a good one. I had been studying my a** off for my GMAT and MBA admissions. Two months of hardcore prep for the exam and I managed a pretty cool score. Another two months of introspection, soul-searching or call it just plain bull, and I was pretty much set with my essays and references for the apps. Sent in my apps to four schools - Chicago GSB, CMU, Wharton and Columbia. Already been accepted at CMU. Have interviewed at the GSB. And waiting for the adcom folks at Wharton and Columbia to warm up to my essays!

Now isn't that a good excuse for not being active around here?

Wikimapia

Here's my home in Mysore!



Here it is!

New logo

Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport got yet another facelift in the form of a new logo. Note how the logo cleverly embodies the letters CSIA. Smart, huh! A Bangalore based design firm was hired to design it. Can't help but notice that the colour scheme is too close to Bangalore Intl Airport's logo ;-)

For a Song

My dear sis-in-law forwarded me a mail yesterday. It was some debate about why the national anthem of India "Jana Gana Mana" by Rabindranath Tagore isn't appropriate and does not deserve to be our national anthem. According to the mail (it was an email-chain and had already crossed I wonder how many inboxes), Tagore composed this song in praise of King George V of England when he visited India in 1911.

I was piqued by the suggestion and was reminded of a similar case trying to tamper with the song a year ago.

To me, the issue sounded weirdly interesting. The song may have been written in praise of whoever, though there isn't conclusive proof that it was written in "honour" of the King, but does that warrant renouncing it as our national anthem? Agreed, it was sung for the first time the King visited India by none other than Tagore himself. But it is hard to believe that a poet of Tagore's intellect and calibre would denigrate himself and his country by praising the King over God.

Here's an excerpt from a letter that Tagore wrote to a friend explaining the circumstances:
"A certain high official in His Majesty's service, who was also my friend, had requested that I write a song of felicitation towards the Emperor. The request simply amazed me. It caused a great stir in my heart. In response to that great mental turmoil, I pronounced the victory in Jana Gana Mana of that Bhagya Vidhata (God of Destiny) of India who has from age after age held steadfast the reins of India's chariot through rise and fall, through the straight path and the curved. That Lord of Destiny, that Reader of the Collective Mind of India, that Perennial Guide, could never be George V, George VI, or any other George. Even my official friend understood this about the song. After all, even if his admiration for the crown was excessive, he was not lacking in simple common sense."

I'm personally bothered by this pseudo-national awakening that is growing in our people. The British ruled India for centuries. To clean up their acts would mean not only to rename Bombay to Mumbai and Madras to Chennai, but also to undo the Indian Railways and the numerous hospitals and schools they built. Are we prepared for this? There are thousands of roads and buildings in India named after the British; we simply can't afford to waste time, effort and resources renaming all of them. There are a zillion other urgent tasks that need attention all around us.

Don't you think that we'd do better by giving up this quest to undo what the British did (though I'm no great fan of everything they did), and do what we as Indians can do? If something warrants correction, it needs to be corrected; But what's in a name, a rose by any other name would smell as sweet, and so would Bombay!

That said, our national anthem was written by an eminent Indian poet whom all of us hold in very high esteem. Isn't that and the fact that it has been our song for over fifty years not enough to maintain its sanctity? This is the question all of us have to ask ourselves.

Life, Liberty and ...

Last night we were watching a program on TV. It was about the 9/11 commission and the struggle the brave families of those who lost dear ones in one of the most brutal incidents in modern history were going through to get answers. It was quite a graphic story which showed video footage of some extremenly horrible sights of that fateful day. It left her in tears at the end.

Watching the program and her, I could not help but remark - "If there really is something or somebody called God, and He created the world, I'm sure he didn't intend it to be like this. Did he make a mistake by putting Man in the picture? Has His creation gone beyond control? Has He given up on the world and let us fend for ourselves?"

Most certainly yes. We attribute so many good qualities to God, and I'm quite sure sadism isn't one of them. Then what is the purpose of letting all these deadly incidents happen? Is wanting to be happy too much to ask for? Or is it the "want" itself which is the ugly feeling? Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness - wasn't that the goal of the makers of this country? Did they ask for a wee bit too much? Probably they should have left out the "Pursuit of Happiness" thingie, or was it "Life" itself?

Faiths

Man will stand up to defend what he believes in. Religion, ideology, belief, faith - call it what you may. Early man was geographically spread across vast areas of land, separated by natural boundaries like mountains and oceans. The birth of ideologies in these distinct populations was naturally peaceful as all people of one geographical area subscribed to one thought, and there was no reason for conflict. With an increase in population, the urge to explore, conquer and rule swelled. This led to the clash of armies first and religions later on. The former was swift and brutal, but the latter wasn't. Because man will hold on to his faith and die rather than give in to an alien one. Because feelings like hunger and survival are physical, but religion and ideology stem from someplace more fundamental than the physical self.

Aug 15th

I woke up this morning earlier than usual. The first thing I did was to log on to the Times of India website. My only concern/instinct/urgency -- to see if something had happened in India. Why, you may ask. It was the 15th of August, Independence Day in India. And there was this lurking feeling that something bad would have happened.

I came to work. My friend, after a while, remembered that it was August 15th. And said "Kuch hua nahin?" .. As an afterthought, he added, "Happy Independence Day".

I've often pondered these last few months on why we are living amidst a cloud of fear. It seems to be constantly feeding on an unseen dread, and growing within us in the process. Many recent terrorizing acts within the country, compounded by the West's continuous brainwash about the War on Terror, seem to have taken a mighty toll on the Indian psyche, the distressing effects of which are instances like the ones above.

This brings me to a more general concern about the state of affairs we are in today. Why is it that suddenly I feel like I'm in the middle of a battlefield, though in reality I couldn't be farther away from it. Why do I hear "War" everywhere? Is it a war for power? Is it a war for religion/beliefs/faiths? Is it just Big Oil? Is it just a modern reincarnation of the Medieval Crusades?

The answer, I'm yet to find.

God!

I had been debugging an elusive piece of code since morning, struggling to get a grip on its slimy appendages. Every time I made an advance, it would slip away between my fingers. Lousy piece of binary junk! Finally, at noon, as my tummy began to give up on me, I nailed it, bam! A simple reference gone haywire, and my boss was looking at it like it was Watergate in the making!

I shrieked out in relief "Holy Crap!!" .. One of the underwriters from the adjacent cube was probably offended. She came over and said "You don't curse your God like that. Haven't you been taught not to?" I could make out from the stern and hurt look on her face that she was a devout Catholic or somebody of that sort. I gave her some gyan - "Look, I'm an Indian. We have 330 million recognized Gods as of the last census. Nobody has a freakin clue as to how many illegal immigrant Gods are crossing the border every day. So, even if I swear, no God'll mind as I can switch from one to another if somebody's cross with me. You know, Customer is King!"

One of those days

Yesterday was like one of "those days". When everything goes the wrong way with laser precision. It all started the previous night when, instead of setting my alarm for 7 am, I accidentally set it to 7 pm. Now, that was the first night I was spending in my new apartment, so I could barely sleep till past midnight, when I surprisingly dozed off into deep slumber.

9:00
As it had to happen, my alarm didn't ring, and I didn't realize the reason when I jerked open my eyes into the glaring sun (Told you, first night, didn't know east from west). It was 9 and I was expected to be at work at 8:30. I ran into the shower with gusto and was scrubbing when I heard my cell ring. I grabbed it and regretted my doing so the moment I pressed the green button. It was from the rental office reminding me I hadn't given them the check. Dammit! I rushed out as fast as I could to the bank nearby, got a cashier's check and dropped it off on my way to work.

9:55
Well, the bad streak continued when I realized I was lost and didn't remember how to get onto 270 N. After a couple of miles, I decided to ask and pulled into a gas station. The lady there sounded a little peeved at my query for no reason (probably she was expecting I'd buy something) and reluctantly showed me the way. I drove off at top speed, only to realize the fuel indicator on my car was hovering below the
E-for-empty mark. I was in a gas station a minute ago dammit! Another exit and 10 minutes wasted in filling up my new baby - a sleek Saturn Coupe.

10:12
I drove the 25 miles to work at the top speed my car could make, thankfully all the cops were on the other side catching cars going in the rush hour traffic (I was going against traffic, the sole reason for living on this side of town rather than that!) ..

10:45
Sliding into the first spot available in the lot, I rushed towards the building, all the while thinking that I should take the entrance farther away from my boss' cube. But it was "the" day, and I had to be a dimwit. So, I took the wrong entrance, and there she was, coffee mug in hand talking to one of my teammates. She smiled. I smiled. She smiled again. And I muttered I got lost on the highway and it was my first day in my new house and there was no gas in my car and I had to drop off a check at my rental office - you know, all the standard reasons that anybody would have given to escape a late entry, except that I gave all of them in one go and that made it look all the more fishy.

10:55
Sweating, I slid into my seat thinking what else could go wrong in an already cracked-up morning, when this cup of coffee landed on my neighbor's table from his hand, spilling half of it on my laptop.

Home

We made a trip home recently. During Jan-Feb. It had been just 2 months since I visited India, but for my wife, it was a visit after 2 years, to the day.

I was bent upon telling my wife all the time that it would be a rocking-shocking experience. But the optimist that she is, she kept hoping that Mumbai would've been cleared of its slums and Bangalore of its dust. I was secretly hoping the same, but I am normally closer to reality that she is, so I was not disappointed. The slums thrived, the roads choked, the traffic had grown 5 times, and the cricket team had lost 2 matches. But the indomitable Indian spirit showed no sign of waning.

We displayed the usual symptoms upon arrival - scared to drive or cross roads, wary of water, and the like. And we did the usual NewYorkers-VadaPav-Frankie circuit, visited friends, ate at Tendulkar's, attended a party hosted by her mom and then headed to Agra to catch a glimpse of the Taj before someone bombed it.

Down South, the sambar was sizzling and the new bahu was dazzling. My bro tied the knot and flew off to Goa to bask in the sun and spice up with mackarel curry and his new found love. While we kept saying - 3 weeks 2 short!

Before we knew, we were in the dry-cold-claustrophobic confines of a 747 en route to LAX, where an INS officer smiled at us and did not say "aliens", but said "Welcome". A welcome change!