The con is on... on me...

Never remembered this, when I watched all the con capers (Oceans' series is one of my favorites), never thought of this when I read about famous con artists. But when I read about the judgement against Charles Shobhraj, I remembered something. It has nothing to do with Charles Shobhraj or what he did, but this was one memory which was linked to that name.

One of my cousins said, as we grow older, we do not remember everything that happened but a certain word, phrase or name will trigger the recollection of a chain of events. In fact, he remembers my day of birth very vividly, because, when I was born, he and his brother went to the hospital and enquired about where they can find a Ms. Kalyani who gave birth to a boy. This apparently attracted dirty looks from the hospital staff and was the cause of a minor embarrassment. Now Ms. is not a big deal in USA, I don't think is a big deal anymore in India as well (I don't think it should be either), but when I was born (seems like eons ago), it WAS a big deal. So he remembers my birth because of the dirty looks he got. (Not sure if thats a good way to be remembered). And to my cousin, "If you are reading this, I am sorry to have let your secret out.

Back to CS. So I remembered that I was conned, comprehensively, when I was 16 years old (then is the only thing that could save me a little from the embarrassment).

When I was home for holidays, I met one of my Dad's old students at our house (Let's call him X, for lack of my creativity). He was a nice chap, talked about many things and with a generally agreeable character (Wow! that sentence seems to have been lifted from a Jane Austen's novel. YIKES...). That was my last day at home and I was back at my boarding school the next day. Just back from holidays, my wallet was fatter than it usually was :).

 A couple of days later, it just so happened that I had a visitor.

ZOOM INTO MY MIND

What did I do now? I am pretty sure I have been as good as I could be. I haven't hit on any girl (or did I?) when I was at home who might have complained to my dad about the wayward ways of his son. Why did Dad come to see me, that too just after two days? Did he miss me? May be not... Did Mom miss me and wanted me to come back for a couple of days?... may be...

Half the way to the Visitor's Lounge, my mind was racing to figure out what I did and as I was unable to figure out anything, the other half of the way was spent on figuring out a generic excuse that would cover any or everything that I might have done. So, when I didn't spot my Dad, boy was I was relieved.

However Mr. X was there waiting for me. He gave me a box of sweets (I might have mentioned I have a sweet tooth) and told me that my Mom asked him if he could carry a box of sweets for me when he mentioned that he had some work near my school. I thanked him and he left.

I was impressed by my mother's resourcefulness. Of course I ate half of what I got there itself, because, there would be none left the moment I entered my room.

So I was happy, and happy minds are inducive for a lot of learning, so I was seriously studying ( I may have doctored this detail a bit), then I had a visitor again.

This time I was sure that it was not my Dad, so I went to see who it was. It was X again. He was distraught and he said that when he came to meet me, someone stole his luggage and all his money was in the briefcase. And that he had to go to Madras (now Chennai) on a very important business matter failing which, he would incur heavy losses and that he had a train in 45 minutes. And he wanted to see if he could borrow some money which he would give me on his way back. And he asked for an amount which would make a big hole in my wallet and would leave me with enough money for a couple of movies, one call home  and no ice-cream.

ZOOM INTO MY MIND

Ah! the poor guy. He wouldn't have lost his luggage had he not come to meet me. What are you doing? Be the ever shining beacon of hope for the beat up and downtrodden. Dad would reward you greatly for this nice gesture and you can watch more movies and eat a lot more scoops of ice-cream. No pain no gain. A couple of days you will have your money back and with lots of brownie points.

So I gave him the money and went to watch a movie thinking about all the rewards that were in store. On my way back, I just felt like talking to Dad and to earn the brownie points ahead of time. So the conversation went something like this.

Dad : Weren't you supposed to be studying?
Son : Yeah, I needed some stationery, so I came out with a group of friends to buy those.
Dad : But you have a store in the campus.
Son : The quality is cheap. I would much rather buy outside.
Dad : Of course you would. By the way, remember, Charles Shobhraj's case that we were talking about, an article in the paper said that they have found some very good evidence against him. (Dad was the source of my then current events).
Son : By the way, Mr. X got me the sweets that Mom gave. Thank you so much.
Dad : Mr.X? Why did he come there?

Thats when it struck me. I have been duped, conned. comprehensively. *(^($(*%($) To say or not to say was the question. I had to, so I did. I was not the only one Mr. X had duped. My dad and a few others gave him some money too as he lost his briefcase. I did earn some brownie points because I tried to help someone in distress. I did however fail to mention, conveniently, my thought process.

Tryst with destiny

Time: August 14, 1947 towards midnight

Location: Indian Constituent Assembly

Jawaharlal Nehru made this speech

Long years ago we made a tryst with destiny, and now the time comes when we shall redeem our pledge, not wholly or in full measure, but very substantially. At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom. A moment comes, which comes but rarely in history, when we step out from the old to the new, when an age ends, and when the soul of a nation, long supressed, finds utterance. It is fitting that at this solemn moment we take the pledge of dedication to the service of Inida and her people and to the still larger cause of humanity. 

At the dawn of history India started on her unending quest, and trackless centuries are filled with her striving and the grandeur of her success and her failures. Through good and ill fortune alike she has never lost sight of that quest or forgotten the ideals which gave her strength. We end today a period of ill fortune and India discovers herself again. The achievement we celebrate today is but a step, an opening of opportunity, to the greater triumphs and achievements that await us. Are we brave enough and wise enough to grasp this opportunity and accept the challenge of the future? 

Freedom and power bring responsibility. The responsibility rests upon this Assembly, a sovereign body representing the sovereign people of India. Before the birth of freedom we have endured all the pains of labour and our hearts are heavy with the memory of this sorrow. Some of those pains continue even now. Nevertheless, the past is over and it is the future that beckons to us now. 

That future is not one of ease or resting but of incessant striving so that we may fulfil the pledges we have so often taken and the one we shall take today. The service of India means the service of the millions who suffer. It means the ending of poverty and ignorance and disease and inequality of opportunity. The ambition of the greatest man of our generation has been to wipe every tear from every eye. That may be beyond us, but as long as there are tears and suffering, so long our work will not be over. 

And so we have to labour and to work, and work hard, to give reality to our dreams. Those dreams are for India, but they are also for the world, for all the nations and peoples are too closely knit together today for any one of them to imagine that it can live apart Peace has been said to be indivisible; so is freedom, so is prosperity now, and so also is disaster in this One World that can no longer be split into isolated fragments. 

To the people of India, whose representatives we are, we make an appeal to join us with faith and confidence in this great adventure. This is no time for petty and destructive criticism, no time for ill-will or blaming others. We have to build the noble mansion of free India where all her children may dwell. 

The appointed day has come-the day appointed by destiny-and India stands forth again, after long slumber and struggle, awake, vital, free and independent. The past clings on to us still in some measure and we have to do much before we redeem the pledges we have so often taken. Yet the turning-point is past, and history begins anew for us, the history which we shall live and act and others will write about. 

It is a fateful moment for us in India, for all Asia and for the world. A new star rises, the star of freedom in the East, a new hope comes into being, a vision long cherished materializes. May the star never set and that hope never be betrayed! 

We rejoice in that freedom, even though clouds surround us, and many of our people are sorrowstricken and difficult problems encompass us. But freedom brings responsibilities and burdens and we have to face them in the spirit of a free and disciplined people. 

On this day our first thoughts go to the architect of this freedom, the Father of our Nation [Gandhi], who, embodying the old spirit of India, held aloft the torch of freedom and lighted up the darkness that surrounded us. We have often been unworthy followers of his and have strayed from his message, but not only we but succeeding generations will remember this message and bear the imprint in their hearts of this great son of India, magnificent in his faith and strength and courage and humility. We shall never allow that torch of freedom to be blown out, however high the wind or stormy the tempest. 

Our next thoughts must be of the unknown volunteers and soldiers of freedom who, without praise or reward, have served India even unto death. 

We think also of our brothers and sisters who have been cut off from us by political boundaries and who unhappily cannot share at present in the freedom that has come. They are of us and will remain of us whatever may happen, and we shall be sharers in their good [or] ill fortune alike. 

The future beckons to us. Whither do we go and what shall be our endeavour? To bring freedom and opportunity to the common man, to the peasants and workers of India; to fight and end poverty and ignorance and disease; to build up a prosperous, democratic and progressive nation, and to create social, economic and political institutions which will ensure justice and fullness of life to every man and woman. 

We have hard work ahead. There is no resting for any one of us till we redeem our pledge in full, till we make all the people of India what destiny intended them to be. We are citizens of a great country on the verge of bold advance, and we have to live up to that high standard. All of us, to whatever religion we may belong, are equally the children of India with equal rights, privileges and obligations. We cannot encourage communalism or narrow-mindedness, for no nation can be great whose people are narrow in thought or in action. 

To the nations and peoples of the world we send greetings and pledge ourselves to cooperate with them in furthering peace, freedom and democracy. 

And to India, our much-loved motherland, the ancient, the eternal and the ever-new, we pay our reverent homage and we bind ourselves afresh to her service. 

JAI HIND.

Regardless of what my opinion in general is, I do think that this guy could speak. He is a great orator. His words hold true even today, because even after 63 years (in another 15 days), we have not really achieved what we could in the way we should have.


Yes, experts are saying that we would cross China by 2050 in terms of development using whatever metrics they find convenient, which I doubt seriously because, our growth is not really in manufacturing (I am not belittling service sector, I work in it).


Video on youtube



Found this video online as well :D

Very Legal but definitely unethical... 1

Recently I started paying more attention to the really small print on a EULA or a contract or a warranty card etc. And as expected I started to find so many things which one would never realize, unless of course , one reads the fine print.

Disclaimer: I am not waging a war against anyone :D

BestBuy is a place that I frequent. Not necessarily to buy, but to look at all the new toys :P, though I end up buying mostly from the store, that is definitely not the intention. I still like the store a lot but recently have become wary of a lot of things.

An experience that I am definitely not happy about is buying laptops from them (online or in-store).

ASUS definitely makes good laptops and I am a big fan of the RoG line. I cannot buy something without first actually looking at it physically, so I went to BestBuy to look at an ASUS laptop, liked it and of course bought it even though I was unhappy with some options not provided :D.

Bluetooth module- It is a $15 add-on option (internal) which BestBuy chose not to take. Its legal, disappointing but definitely not unethical. However it was puzzling that a store which sells electronics and whose loyal customer base is mostly gadget crazy population thinks Bluetooth isn't a great option. Of course the sales associate offered a free suggestion to buy a rocketfish micro Bluetooth adapter for about $40 (Meritline sells it at times for $2)

Then there are "supposedly better" Geek Squad treated laptops where they install an antivirus and supposedly clean up unwanted programs (I can vouch that they do not clear all unwanted programs). It is helpful for some customers, I don't need it and guess what there are very few laptops in the store that are not "treated". Guess too much free time for Geek Squad. And of course you pay an additional $70-$150

Anyway coming back to the unethical stuff. I didn't accept their homegrown service option from Geek Squad, (I believe that I know more than them about a laptop, you may call it arrogance, but it is what it is :D), also because the warranty from ASUS would cover me for a year.

As a proud owner of an ASUS RoG laptop, I registered the product online at ASUS' website. --SHOCKER-- I am not eligible for ADW (ASUS' accidental damage waiver for when I pour coffee on to the laptop :p). It is provided free with all of their laptops, but of course BestBuy actually cancelled that program on the laptops that they sell and try to convince customers to buy their Geek Squad program which costs about $300. The ADW fine print is here. Incidentally, only 3 retailers opted out and of course all three have their own versions of the ADW. Now this, I think is perfectly legal but grossly unethical. Denying what should be mine for free and offering to sell the same for about 300 bucks. And you are not privy to this information till you actually go and register for the ADW.

It is a long post but then equally greater was my frustration :D Though I am a little happy cuz its vented. But not opting for a Bluetooth :o .... c'mon... If I never use ftp and still have the capability on my laptop, why did they think I don't want Bluetooth on my laptop :o

By the way, I was not buying a BestBuy laptop, I was buying an ASUS laptop. BestBuy was not the selling point, ASUS was. Darn it, BestBuy has DELL and HP laptops too, why would I buy a BestBuy laptop? arghhhhhh.....

Rules of Engagement - A Man's Perspective

I had to post this. I did not create it but do agree with each and every one :)
Credit to the original writer ....

These are our rules! Please note.. these are all numbered ‘1 ‘ ON PURPOSE!

• 1. Men are NOT mind readers.
• 1. Learn to work the toilet seat. You’re a big girl. If it’s up, put it down. We need it up, you need it down. You don’t hear us complaining about you leaving it down.
• 1. Sunday sports It’s like the full moon or the changing of the tides. Let it be.
• 1. Crying is blackmail.
• 1. Ask for what you want. Let us be clear on this one: Subtle hints do not work! Strong hints do not work! Obvious hints do not work! Just say it!
• 1. Yes and No are perfectly acceptable answers to almost every question.
• 1. Come to us with a problem only if you want help solving it. That’s what we do. Sympathy is what your girlfriends are for.
• 1. Anything we said 6 months ago is inadmissible in an argument. In fact, all comments become Null and void after 7 Days.
• 1. If you think you’re fat, you probably are. Don’t ask us.
• 1. If something we said can be interpreted two ways and one of the ways makes you sad or angry, we meant the other one
• 1. You can either ask us to do something Or tell us how you want it done. Not both. If you already know best how to do it, just do it yourself.
• 1. Whenever possible, Please say whatever you have to say during commercials.
• 1. Christopher Columbus did NOT need directions and neither do we.
• 1. ALL men see in only 16 colors, like Windows default settings. Peach, for example, is a fruit, not a colour. Pumpkin is also a fruit. We have no idea what mauve is.
• 1. If it itches, it will be scratched. We do that.
• 1. If we ask what is wrong and you say ‘nothing,’ We will act like nothing’s wrong. We know you are lying, but it is just not worth the hassle.
• 1. If you ask a question you don’t want an answer to, Expect an answer you don’t want to hear.
• 1. When we have to go somewhere, absolutely anything you wear is fine… Really .
• 1. Don’t ask us what we’re thinking about unless you are prepared to discuss such topics as football or cars.
• 1. You have enough clothes.
• 1. You have too many shoes.
• 1. I am in shape. Round IS a shape!
• 1. Thank you for reading this. Yes, I know, I have to sleep on the couch tonight; But did you know men really don’t mind that? It’s like camping.