julishu

IIPM - What a joke!

2005-10-12T10:10:00.000-06:00

Curious about what the deal is with IIPM ?
Check out these sites: Gaurav Sabnis quit his IBM job.
Want to know why ?
Wonder who else is affected ?

What do i want to be doing right now ?

2005-08-10T15:44:00.000-06:00

1. Be in Eqypt excavating a forgotten tomb of some important queen or king...
2. Ride on a helicopter trying to get pictures of Wild Life in Africa...
Best of all:
3. Would love to be Scully (in X-Files) and give Moulder the "you must be kidding me" look

Ha ha ha...
dreams...

Alas...

2005-07-29T14:18:00.000-06:00

(Attention: if you haven't finished reading the latest Harry Potter book, i warn you not to go ahead and read this post...for i may give out something that is not for your ears) ;-)

Alas...is this what fighting for justice means ? Losing all the ones you love ? Can i stand this sudden emptiness in my life ? Why should i come back to Hogwarts next year ? No one can protect me...i have to stand for myself. And i am not supposed to love anyone ? Is that it ? Is that what i need to do to wipe out Voldermort ? If that is the case, then i will keep away from all my loved ones...and fight him alone. I won't rest until i avenge him for all the deaths!
(just some thought running in Potter's mind now...)

NASA and its carelessness ?

2005-07-26T15:55:00.000-06:00

I was reading about how there was some debris spotted during the liftoff of Discovery. Agreed that its impossible to have no debris during liftoff....but is it so much not possible to record every debris that is falling no matter how insignificant it is ?
I definitely don't want this to be another Columbia tragedy.
Is this the value NASA attaches to human lives ?

Ultimately, the question comes to: "Is it worth sacrificing human lives to explore the Outer Space ?"
Ofcourse if the expedition group is ready to sign a form saying they don't care if they die, then i would think there is no argument here.

But isn't it a carelessness on the part of NASA to not find a way to atleast detect the kind of debris falling off during launch ?

Hanging on the walls

2005-07-21T15:10:00.000-06:00

Last week, we had gone to a restaurant called "Hard Rock Cafe" for our monthly team-lunch. In justification of the name of the place, there were many memorabilia from Rock-stars hung on the walls...jackets, drum-sticks (is that how you say it ?), guitars!

I was trying to image how it would be if we Indians adopted their technique....somehow i could not imagine veenais and mirudhangams hanging carelessly on the wall...what if it accidentally falls on someone's head!!
Man...thats life-threatening
Thats why we just stick to wall-hanging-pictures and drawings ;-)
(correct me if i am wrong)

Mum

2005-07-16T14:06:00.000-06:00

Mum is the word - An interesting read.
BTW, lots of things happening in my life. Recently got promoted to the Lead Tester position in my company (but ofcorse...the pay is the same) ;-)
Anyways, time life is moving fast...i watched Swades and Black. I liked Swades better than Black. It made me realize that i am not doing anything for my country...made me realize that there should be a purpose for my birth as a human...its definitely not meant for eating, sleeping, shi**ing, sleeping and the same routine again and again.
I have taken a major decision...like Keerthi once said :)
I have to just patiently work towards my decision.
(Hey...i am not going to quit blogging yet) :-)

Thought for the day

2005-06-30T13:31:00.000-06:00

Read it somewhere...

A man's mind stretched by a good idea can never return to its original dimension.

Women in Asia For Noble Prize!

2005-06-30T13:26:00.000-06:00

As quoted in Hindu:
The largest number of nominations — 157 — has gone from South Asia, including 29 from Pakistan, 16 from Bangladesh, 12 from Sri Lanka and nine from Nepal. "The number of nominees from India is the highest from any country and the figure shows the immense contribution of women towards peace, justice, human rights and sustainable livelihoods," said Kamla Bhasin, South Asia project coordinator of "1000 Women for the Nobel Peace Prize" group, here on Wednesday while announcing the names of Indian nominees.

I am so much in awe for these ladies. Wish i could do atleast 1/1000 th of what they do sometime in my life.
I wonder where the rest of 843 womean are from...Africa perhaps ?

Story

2005-06-27T13:44:00.000-06:00

Here is a try on a short story inspired by Ammani ;-)

He has always followed his passion since his childhood. Whenever anyone asked what he wanted to be, he would say doctor or an engineer just to please them. But in his heart of hearts, this was the path he wanted to follow. He came from a very affluent family so money was not an issue at all. He knew that his dad would be the most disapponted one of all. But he didn't care. He chose the location....under the cool shades of a Banyan tree near the Balaji temple and decided to start on his job the very next day. He made a note of asking his mom for a bowl and some ragged-clothes.

You Know You're a Mom When ...

2005-06-23T09:40:00.000-06:00

I read the following when i was studying in college and found it pretty funny...now, i am experiencing it and can't believe everything is true!

1. Your feet stick to the kitchen floor.....and you don't care.
2. When the kids are fighting, you threaten to lock them in a room together and not let them out until someone's bleeding.
3. You can't find your cordless phone, so you ask a friend to call you, and you run around the house madly, following the sound until you locate the phone downstairs in the laundry basket.
4. Ice-cream becomes a food staple.
5. Your favorite television show is a cartoon.
6. You're willing to kiss your child's boo-boo, regardless of where it is.
7. Your baby's pacifier falls on the floor and you give it back to her, after you suck the dirt off of it because your too busy to wash it off.
8. Spit is your number one cleaning agent.
SO TRUE: 9. You're up each night until 10 PM vacuuming, dusting, wiping, washing, drying, loading, unloading, shopping, cooking, driving, flushing, ironing, sweeping, picking up, changing sheets, changing diapers, bathing, helping with homework, paying bills, budgeting, clipping coupons, folding clothes, putting to bed, dragging out of bed, brushing, chasing, buckling, feeding (them, not you), PLUS swinging, playing baseball, bike riding, pushing trucks, cuddling dolls, roller balding, basketball, football, catch, bubbles, sprinklers, slides, nature walks, coloring, crafts, jumping rope, PLUS raking, trimming, planting, edging, mowing, gardening, painting, and walking the dog. You get up at 5:30 AM and you have no time to eat, sleep, drink or go to the bathroom, and yet...you still managed to gain 10 pounds.

More funny things i have experienced are:
1. Wearing pink/blue or yellow rubber-bands to work instead of the usual black (cause its not where i kept it last night)
2. Wearing maternity clothes to work cause i am very much behind in laundary.

Anniyan - The Verdict!

2005-06-16T13:34:00.000-06:00

Looks like a great movie from this review. Can't wait to watch it!

Sodoku

2005-06-15T15:35:00.000-06:00

As mentioned by Kiruba, Sodoku indeed is an interesting game. Here is how i go by solving it:
1. Take a print out of the borad (from the web)
2. choose a line or a column or a 3 by 3 grtid that has the maximum number of filled numbers.
3. Write down the numbers that can occupy each cell in the chosen line/column/grd by verifying the line rule, column rule and the grid rule.
4. If successful, you can find the correct number in each cell.
5. If not, just move on to the next line/column/grid and try ur luck there
;-)

usually, i don't like to play real tough puzzles. But this is not tough...its interesting and logically solvable.

line rule: every row must contain only one copy of the digit from 1 to 9.
column rule: every column must contain only one copy of the digit from 1 to 9.
grid rule: every grid must contain only one copy of the digit from 1 to 9.

Mohan - King of 80s ?

2005-06-14T09:13:00.000-06:00

I would hate to see Mohan dancing around trees in today's movies. But he was the ultimate king (sorry...thalaivar is always the king) or atleast next to a king in mid-80s. Eventhough he has a short stature, it was made up by his high-spirited and enthusiastic acting abilities. What more...his movie songs were the greatest hits! And what lovely heroines he had....Amala, Radha even Poornima.
Ilaya Nila is my favourite songs from his movies!

Words...

2005-06-03T11:20:00.000-06:00

Who determines the spelling of words? Who decides that "believe" should not be "beleive" ? I am just so pissed of with these people.

Nicknames...

2005-05-27T15:08:00.000-06:00

Everyone would have had nicknames...atleast when they were a child. I had a nickname too.
My mom used to lovingly call me "lagose" (spelt as: Law Goes). My uncle got the best blast out of it. When i was a kid, i used to spend my holidays at my grandmom's place with all my cousins. In their presence, my uncle used to call me: Lagose....Muttagose (Cabbage in Tamil)....Kakkoose(no need to explain what that means). Understandably i used to get angry. When all my cousins laughed at me, i used to cry and hate my uncle. But now, thinking back, those were the best days...after u get kids of your own, u become an adult...no one would treat you like a kid.
Wondering what my blogname (Julishu) means ? It is a nickname too ;-)

Etiquette

2005-05-25T10:41:00.000-06:00

There is a co-worker in my work-place who is hated by everyone for his arrogance and many other things. Here is a list of "Rules" we all framed for him:

1. Use Kleenex. Snorting loud is disturbing and unpleasant for others. It can be very distracting.

2. Do Not Talk To Yourself. People will think you're crazy and may not want to work with you.

3. If you've never been to Kosovo, please keep political discussions to yourself. Only those who have been shot get to talk politics. In addition, unless your last name is Greenspan you’re not allowed to talk about economics.

4. Keep the singing to a minimum, especially because you suck at it.

5. If You Eat Melon, cut it up. Do not eat over your garbage can and slurp so the entire office can hear.

6. Keep the package displays to a minimum, nobody wants to see a guy in tights.

7. If you're going to be a cheap-ass, fine. But keep your monetary views to yourself, most people like being respected.

8. No sprinting around the office, please keep movements to a light jog at all times.

9. Bathe regularly, and brush your teeth and wash at home. Your office is not your bathroom. No one likes a smelly neighbor.

10. No cackling, all laughter must be of normal pitch and volume. Cackles scare people and make them wonder about your sanity.

11. Please don't yell at crazy people on the street. Just because they're crazy doesn't mean you have to be.

12. While the word “like” is a part of the English language, it’s not the only word. Please use this AT MOST once per minute of talking. Also, please try to finish sentences with a minimum of pauses.

13. Coupons are not a source of income. It is not considered polite to hassle employees for their coupons, ask for their coupon books, or take the coupon books of employees that have left the company. Expired coupons are especially unacceptable. Under no circumstances do you tell women that you use coupons, and ESPECIALLY NOT ON DATES. Also, you are not to use a coupon at the same establishment at every visit, at most you may use a coupon once every three visits.

14. If you throw stuff at the bar while drinking, expect to get beaten within an inch of your life.

15. Bodily noises are unacceptable under any and all circumstances. We’d rather see you explode like a cherry bomb than smell the consequences of the anchovies you ate for lunch.

16. Brake fluid goes in the master cylinder, not in the power steering pump.

17. Ski helmets and goggles are to be worn outside. You might frighten someone, and the receptionist WILL hit the panic button.

War of Worlds

2005-05-24T14:45:00.000-06:00

Want to read the book without buying it ;-) Check out this link.
But it doesn't give the satisfaction of owning the book.
Check out the teasers of this movie being release on June 27th.

Booked The Tickets!

2005-05-19T15:44:00.000-06:00

Finally...we are going to India for a vacation (barely 2 weeks). Wish i hadn't got this job...i could have stayed for a longer time at mamma's place.
Anyways, here is a list of things i am looking forward to:
1. Go to the temple everyday, suthify the gods, get prasadam, ring the temple bell!
2. Go to the beach (unlike the Marina, the beach in Kalpakkam is absolutely free of pollution).
3. Take my kid to the park i used to go to when i was a kid.
But we need to do 2 "mottais" for our kid.
I wonder if i wouild be able to do all these in 2 weeks.
Life SUCKS in US.
Wish i had never come here.

Why did the Sine go out in the sun?

2005-05-18T12:36:00.000-06:00

cos he wanted a tan

Creativiy At Work ?

2005-05-18T08:51:00.000-06:00

Does that sound un-acheivable ?
Well...research says plants/flowers at work place make the employees creative.

Star Wars - Making People "Bunk" Work

2005-05-16T13:02:00.000-06:00

Read this article recently in Google news. It made me think about what my husband said yesterday.
He wa ssaying that the first StarWars film came out in 1977. Say children of age 10 or higher would have been smitten big time by the new film. It is 2005 now. Those children of age 10 would have become men/women (although its men who are more crazy about this film) of age 38 or higher. Given the fact that they are more matured than a child 10 years old, are they still so crazy about that film now ? Thats ridiculous.
But then it reminds me of our old cine hero: Thalaivar.
I have to admit...it is possible!

Manirathnam's Films

2005-05-05T11:01:00.000-06:00

I watched Yuva yesterday. I realized why that film flopped at the box-office. Its too boring! Many reviews i read before said there wasn't much time left after the first half to develop and complete the story. Thats BS. There is plenty of time! Infact, there is too much time. Manirathnam is good in doing love stories...ofcourse every film of his has a love story. I meant to say he is good in JUST love stories....he shouldn't adulterate it with other things.
Whats the deal with North Indian singers singing in Tamil films. Have the music directors gone crazy ? Whats the idea behind torturing Tamil like this ? What is it that those singers have which the native, tamil-speaking singers don't ?
That reminds me. My first language in school was English and my second language was Hindi. My mother-tongue was never taught to me. Thats so pathetic. I have always wanted to read Kamba Ramayanam in Tamil. Guess thats going to remain a dream. I wonder how the English Translation would be ?

Ilayaraja, Rehman and Harris Jeyaraj

2005-04-28T15:01:00.000-06:00

This is purely my opinion. So, don't send me hate-mails if you don't agree with this post.

Ilayaraja: I haven't listened to his songs much. But from whatever i have heard, he is THE BEST. No doubt about it. He can create magic even without background music. Take for example the "pottu vaitha oru vatta nila".
Rehman: I can repeatedly listen to *most* of his songs and not get bored. He has the magic touch! (probably he *had* it...i don't see much of his music lately)
Harris: He is not up to it folks. He can probably use all the instruments in world and create a song...but it won't be a hit for sure. Some of his songs click. No doubt about it. But not all of them like Rehman's. He has a long way to go. I recently listened to the songs in "Anniyan" and they don't impress me. Don't tell me he spent 8 months on this...

Doing an autopsy

2005-04-26T08:51:00.000-06:00

I had always wanted to become a doctor. The intricacies of an operation, the complex functioning of human body have always fascinated me. When i was in my teens, i used to read every single Robin Cook's novels ofcourse, later on when i figured out that every book had the same kind-of climax, it just put me off). The NBC's drama-series "ER" has always made me sit glued to the television.
Just take the birth of a child for example. How does a mass of flesh and blood get life immediately once out of the womb ? How does a child do the right things at the right time ? like...how does the child know to crawl around 6months or walk when its over a year. For that matter, why is the life-span of humans not more than 100 years ? When i start thinking of such unexplained theories, i am just filled with awe for God's creations.

But today, i came across a news which put my love for the field of Medicine into question. Check out the news about necropsy on a whale. I never thought about the bad stench during an autopsy/necropsy. How can the people who do that procedure stand the bad stench ? I have read detailed autopsies done by doctors in many novels. I was always intrigued by their findings...not a second did i realize the bad odour that they had to bear.

I am really in awe of those doctors.

Compromises

2005-04-20T15:20:00.000-06:00

I am feeling very dejected today...reason: i just cancelled an interview with a company cause the work place is very far away from were i drop my kid.
It might seem a genuine and necessary reason to you. Probably i should feel the same. But something is nagging me. If it were my husband, he would have accepted the job. But since its me, i have to give first priority to my kid. Not that i don't want to. But wouldn't it be nice if my husband drops and picks up our kid from the day-care ?
Ok...i am just trying to point fingers at someone or other now.
I know i will get scores of good jobs later...but thinking about compromises, i feel its the women who do it more than the men.
After a kid, i now feel that career in my life has got a back-seat.

I do love my kid...no question about it. But should i forget about my career too ? Is "taking risk" no longer allowed in my life ?

What about my dreams of going to Egypt or Galapagos islands ?
Am i ever going to watch late-night-serials in future ?
What would happen if i just forget to clean the kitchen or wash utensils just for a day ?
CHAOS! Utter chaos! thats what will happen.

Sometimes, i hate responsibilities...

Burrying Children Alive

2005-04-14T14:09:00.000-06:00

I hate it when any negative news appears about India in CNN. Check out this article. I have heard of infanticide...but this is the first time i have heard people burrying their children alive just for a few minutes to trick the gods!

Death...

2005-04-13T09:07:00.000-06:00

I usually listen to FM100.3 while driving to work (unless my kid in the back-seat is crying hard...at those times, i switch to nursery rhymes or some Unnikrishnan CDs). This morning, the folks at the radio-station were talking about how a couple had a disagreement about the death-wish of one of them.
That made me think about my own death...what would i do if i knew that i were to die tomorrow ?
1. The first thing i would do is call my mom and talk to her for a really long time.
2. I would play with my kid the whole day
3. I would make all the favourite dishes of my husband.
4. Call all my friends (those who still are...and those whom i lost somehow) and tell them how lucky i am to have them in my life.

Well...thats it...and then i would think of all the happy times in my life and thank god for it.
Any regrets ?
None at all.
Any fears ?
None...just excitement...after all it would be another adventurous journey.

After coming to work, i got a call from my boss saying she won't be in today cause her dog died...
talk about coincidences...

check

2005-04-07T15:34:00.000-06:00

Suppose...

2005-04-06T16:06:00.000-06:00

Did you listen to this peppy number by Vijay Antony from the film "Sukran" ? The lyrics are really funny and i liked the colloquial tamil used in the song.
The remix of "Thulluvadho Ilamai" is also good. But i see the same "dapanguthu" pattern being used for all songs.
I really hope Vijay Antony coposes music for more films in the future.

We do need more Composers (now that Chandramukhi's music is a flop, i am kind of disappointed with VidyaSagar)

Lyrics of Suppose:
(Green lines sung by male and Red by female)

Suppose Unnai Kaadhalichu
Suppose Naanum Baedhalichu
Suppose Enna Kattikkoanaa
Enna Solvaai

Suppose Om Mael Koabam Vandhu
Suppose Angae Ena Marandhu
Suppose Naa En Seruppeduthaa
Enna Seivaai

Velayaattaa Sonnaen Solvaen
Thappunaa Sorry Kaeppaen
Sorry Naa Sorry Illa
Saree Paappaa

Velayaatta Police Poavaen
Velayaatta Complain Seivaen
Konjamma Thatta Solvaen
Be Careful Paa

Un Mudhugil Kai Vaithu.. Dey aa..
Un Mudhugil Kai Vaithu
Un Udhattil Vaai Vaithu
Muthangalai Naan Poada
Varavae Illai
Innaikkoru Beachukkum
Naalaikkoru Parkukkum
Onna Thalli Poagum Ennam
Aravae Illai

Thalli Poa Thalli Poa
PoigalaiThalli Solli Poa
Inimael Mavanae Paesina
Poa
Thirumbaama Oadi Poa

uNga akkaavukku Line Poattu...
aey chiguchiguchaan rascal chiguchiguchaan
uNga akkaavukku Line Poattu
Thangachikki Mai Poaatu
Familykki Ice Poattu
Vaarppaen Kadlai
Oncollegekki Phone Panni
Ngoppan Maari Naan Paesi
Matineekki Plan Poattu
Adippaen Ragalai

Paesudaa Innum Paesudaa
Vaaya Thakka Poraen
Kadasiya Paesudaa
Dhoosu Daa Neelaam Dhoosu Daa
Ummael Poada Poaraen Eve Teasing Casu Daa
Nee Sariyaana Loosu Daa
aaa...Poadaa.. Poadaa..Poa..

Suppose Onna Kaadhalichu
Suppose Naanum Baedhalichu
Suppose Enna Kattikkoanaa
Enna Solvaai

Daei Adhaan Soltaen Illa

1 Terabyte ?

2005-04-05T11:03:00.000-06:00

Just read about Hitachi's announcement of 1 TB Desktop Hard Drive
Now...who needs that much memory for god's sake ?
There are so many sites hosting photos and music and vedio clips...why should someone take the trouble of hosting them on their own computer and expose it to the villaneous viruses out ?
Anyways, 20 years from now, my kid is going to brandish her new desktop with a hard-disk of probably 1024 Terabytes (what is the term for that by the way?).

Movies to watch

2005-04-01T12:10:00.000-07:00

Desi movies:
1. Swades
2. Ayudha Ezhuthu
3. Vasool Raja MBBS
4. Kaaka Kaaka (have already watched it once...but want to see it again for the onscreen chemistry between Surya and Jo)
5. Mr.Incredibles (desi version)
6. Main Hoon Na
7. Raam

I am back!

2005-04-01T11:28:00.000-07:00

ok...what prompted me to return back ?
i have been visiting many blog sites lateley...particularly, lazygeek's and kiruba's (and he did really fool me on this day). I can see how vetti they are and how vetti they make their readers (agreed...i am one of their readers too). Hence i though i will join their league ;)
no...really...thats not the reason. :)
I was very much inspired by their writings...although i wonder if they would write any thought that comes to their mind...they won't ...would they ?
One thing about maintaining a blog is...you need to be very selective about what you write (i hate it). But if instead i begin writing anything that occurs to my mind, everyone would know how sick my mind can be ;-)

julishu

2005-01-25T16:11:00.000-07:00

julishu

Sybase SQL

2005-01-05T10:42:00.000-07:00

It sucks to do programming with Sybase SQL. Infact, i hate SQLs. A simple lopping of SQL "exec" statement using variable names is so difficult to code. I found it easier to use Perl!

Getting Up Late Vs Early

2005-01-05T10:39:00.000-07:00

Has anyone wondered why getting up late in the morning makes one drowsy and lethargic compared to getting up early ? After all when you get up late, you have had plenty of rest. Why must you feel drowsy ? (sort of feels like a punishment for being late) ;-)

Whats With Different Languages

2005-01-04T17:37:00.000-07:00

I was writing a perl code when something occurred to me. Whats the deal with so many languages out there ? Its so difficult to remember the syntax of string concatenation function in each of these languages. Why doesn't someone write a universal language that will encapsulate all common functionalities into 1 syntax. Why hasn't anyone compe up with something like that ?

How Did I Start ?

2005-01-04T11:53:00.000-07:00

Hmm...this is just for my record. How did i start this blog ? I wanted to write a PHP script to create blogs. It seemed a lot of work initially. Hence, resolved to do it later ;-).

Is The Ear More Powerful Than The Nose ?

2005-01-04T10:56:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, my husband asked me this question. The reason behind his question was: if a noise occurs behind you, you can find the direction of the noise very easily. Is it as easy to find the direction of a smell in a similar way ?
He felt that since both the nostrils are very closeby, its difficult for the nostrils. But i am yet to find a scientific answer...