ENLIGHTENED SIXTH SENSE

Musings of my alter ego

2009-04-21T17:31:00.000-07:00

I have an inherent character that constantly observes things happening around me so closely yet unnoticed. To be frank this waste a lot of neurons in my brain . Also it disputes what I think I am and tramples on all the rules I wish to follow without my discretion. Can't help, but that alter ego of mine is brilliant enough to altercate about issues that I don't want to discuss and finally convinces me to look at them. It produces a restlessness which is annoying at times.

Recently it raised the following issues for which I can't think of a way in which I could have helped.

1. Why on earth should "Indian" premier league happen in "South Africa" ? Who are those guys ? Is it helping anyone other than those usurper regime of billionaires aka team owners and the players who think they are GOD (inverse of this word is what they are except that they wag for money). How can someone who can't respect a national award be a captain of our national team. THAT IS RIDICULOUS !!!

But as I said above my real self watches every match without fail. CONTROVERSIAL ME !!!

2. Who are these Lalus , Varuns and Pawars ? How can someone uncivilized, civilize the entire nation. I don't think there isn't anything political in our Indian politics. It is all a gamble. In the pretext of representing their own minority groups there have been swarms of filthy politicians ruining the nation. If India is going to be ruled by those in possession of wealth and power looking to expand their influence for greater bad , certainly I wish I do something.....But I dunno what that damn thing is...CLUELESS !!

But as I said I am here sitting in New York working hard on my course assignments. THE REAL ME AGAIN !!

3. The massacre of classical languages like Tamil. Irony that the people of Tamilnadu hate to speak in Tamil. I am sure that the population of Tamglish, Telglish, Hindglish,Kanglish(*glish is better)speaking people is alarmingly increasing. I am not against speaking foreign languages but when there is no necessity why to stress oneself ?? According to me, our mother-tongue makes us think but a foreign language forces us to follow or accept things as it is. Nobody can refute the fact that their thought process happens in their native language....TRANSLATED VERSION OF MY THOUGHTS !!

Hmm. I am practising Uncle Sam's accent for my survival. THE SELFISH ME !!!

4. This is something I won't forgive myself for. There is a fraternity in my university representing my motherland. Err..probably I should replace the word "represent". They are probably good adopters "than" representatives. There were flyers around propagating the word that "Indian so and so" is organizing "Ball Dance", the event codenamed "Spring Ball". Isn't there anything interesting in our culture to be proud of ??? Agreed that you guys celebrate Diwali, Lohri etc.. That is within us(Can't elaborate on this)!! But when it comes to a university wide event I think you guys miserably let "us" down. Can someone name a single fraternity that did something that does not belong of their culture ?? I am not challenging but curious !!...

I wished to be a part of this not becoz it is organized by "Indian so and so" but for my interest in DANCE. But did not attend because of several reasons.So...EXCUSE ME !!!

I hope my restless alter ego will stay calm for a while as it has expressed what it wished to. I am back to work.

Been a while

2009-04-07T08:31:00.000-07:00

It has been a while since I scribbled anything in my blog. It is all attributed to the change in my designation. I AM A STUDENT AGAIN !!! I excused myself by one way or the other to stay away from blogging. I wanted to write about,

1. How I got my visa,
I didn't do anything special here. My parents prepared all the necessary docs and I got it with ease.

2. The excitement I had when I landed in New York,
I am no exception. I had my heart thumping with joy when I landed in New York. I was welcomed by snow storm. First drive on American roads was so exciting that I left my back-pack which contained all the papers, in the limo (Yea !!! Due to the non-availability of normal cabs they sent me a limo :)) I arrived. With the help of few Indian students I got it back within an hour.

3. First day class,
The excitement was all about the American education and how different it is from the Indian system. It is quite different and practical. I love the informal culture here.

4. The culture I observed here,
Way too formal !! I hate to see the artificial Colgate smile. Instead a normal "hi" is much better.

5. Trip to New York city
The most exciting moment of my life. I enjoyed every single minute amazed by the variety of cultures in the city. Be it be statue of liberty,empire state, brooklyn bridge or wall street, they have a history and sense of pride associated with them.

Hm..great...I have almost summarized what I wished to say !! New way to blog !!!

Software Engineers are not criminals!!!

2008-06-24T08:11:00.000-07:00

I got a chance to watch two absolutely fanatical Tamil movies that portrayed software engineers as the curse of the human society. I really could not comprehend this negative sentiment. Why such a sick, sinful, highly exaggerated display is required in a filthy movie ???

A software engineer do not cheat around. He does not rob,steal,mug anyone. He is also a common man who works for his living. He has commitments, responsibilities like any other person. Then what exactly discriminates him from common man !!!!

Salary ??? It is all an illusion. The fact is, he is the one who achieves much less and works much more than anyone else. The mental stress, deadlines, sedentary life style compensates for the extra penny he earns. To put it simple, HIS LIFE IS PENNY WISE BUT POUND FOOLISH !!!!I m sure that every software engineer will be looking for an alternate career option than being a couch potato, staying away from his families most of the time.

Lifestyle ??? This seems to be a major weapon for middle aged men to attack software engineers. I absolutely agree that they had tough time during their youth. They started earning only by late twenties and by that time they would have got married. New roles and responsibilities had kept them busy drafting future plans. But each and everyone would have some unfulfilled dreams and wishes of a typical youth. Even a software engineer is like everyone else except that most of them start earning pretty early and get a chance to fulfill some of their dreams. The most notable being the fancy clothes, bikes, bike trips etc. Wake up folks !!!

Most of the people in jobs other than IT live closely with their families in their habitual place. But life of a software engineer is disturbing rather annoying. As the IT companies are mostly located in confined areas, relocating is mandatory rather compulsory. As those places are expensive and highly mechanical his parents decide to stay at their native places. The result, even if any urgency, he cannot visit his home due to the non availability of travel tickets. In my case, there is only one train to my home town and I need to book tickets two months in advance at least. For anyone who was brought up in a conservative, affectionate environment this separation will definitely have some impact on their day-to-day lives.

A software engineer loses so much to earn very less. Every IT company just sucks the hell out of every employee and awards him some peanuts. But each and every person, right from street vegetable vendor, auto driver till people owning shops in big shopping malls, try to wiggle out the hard earned peanuts from him. Is it ethical ? After all he is a software engineer, not criminal, becoz if he was he would have entered "The great Indian politics" !!!!

Kamalhassan -An Unparalled artist

2008-06-15T00:18:00.000-07:00

The much awaited movie "Dasavatharam" got released last week. Me being a avid Kamalhassan fan, used to watch all his movies on the day of release. Though some of his movies were not up to the expectations, most of them did. Dasa is not an exception. As a method actor of his own sort, he has put three years of hardwork in this movie, which is so apparent to anyone who watches it. Moreover I really admire his "technical wizardry" (Backed by Sujatha who is no more!!) that is so evident in this particular movie. He has weaned himself out of the traditional Indian formula movies and has elevated himself to a new dimension. No wonder, he has the distinction of being the actor with the most number of films submitted by India in contest for the academy award for best foreign language film.

Unfortunately I did not get a chance to watch Dasa on the first day. But I managed to sneak into the theater on the second day. Kamal has reprised ten roles which according to me is completely unnecessary as the story demands nothing of that sort. To be in sync with the title "Das Avatar" a couple of roles has been nudged in and that make the movie to digress from its main line. The only advantage of this 10 role is that it proves his proficiency in acting. As stated above it proves why he is a "method actor". Being the most expensive film in Indian cinema, I really wonder why they did not take care of the screen play. It really sucks. It is simply a mix and match of some hollywood movies. I dont know whether it is Kamal's fault or director's. But this has attracted worst reviews from the so called critics appointed by every news channel and news paper.

But I really liked the concept in this movie. After the movie "Anbe Sivam" which preached his view on atheism, Dasa preaches his agnostic views. At the end of the movie he says,

"I am not arguing that god does not exist but I think it would be really good if god exists"

And that says it all. Conceptually the movie is really good but the screenplay is not up to the mark. Worth watching JUST FOR KAMAL and to have a vision of how Indian cinema is going to proceed from now on.

Some Joke

2008-05-31T10:48:00.000-07:00

Today I was chatting with my colleague. The topic eventually turned towards our college life. He was mentioning about a chemistry lecturer who had "Englishphobia". I found it really funny. Here are some snippets.

In the chemistry lab some guy was supposed to mix some acid with some other. This should be done drop by drop. But our guy tried to pour it at one shot. Lecturer spotted it and the following statement says the rest,

Lecturer : Guy !! Don't POUR !!!! POUR POUr POur Pour pour pou ....!!!! :)

In yet another situation, some guys were disturbing this lecturer's class by making funny sound. Unfortunately the sharp lecturer spotted a particular guy in that group.

Lecturer : Hey you !!Stand up....

A guy in the front bench thought he is being called,

Front Bencher:Sir,me ???

Lecturer : Not 'me' !!!! Behind 'me' !!!! :)

In some other situation he wanted a guy a get out of his class. But poor lecturer,he didn't know how to tell it. So he went out of the class;Stood there;called that guy out.

Lecturer: U stand here !!I go inside !! :)

Hehehe!! Define Love??

2008-05-10T05:58:00.000-07:00

Being in India, I had enough theories about love through all these bollywood,kollywood,tollywood,huhh....I am tired...let me put it as *woods. Love sequence is mandatory in every Indian movie without which it will be termed as a documentary and screened only in some film festivals that is conducted by the intellectuals for the intellectuals. Anyway I will discuss about it in some other post. Currently lets focus on the so called divine entity, "Love".

Recently you must have come across an advertisement on TV starring Madhavan and Vidyabalan. They do something cryptic to express their love (Obviously acting!!), to promote Airtel(mobile service provider),whose tag line itself is "Express yourself". For me it is just yet another advertisement. True, they seem to be a good pair but nothing else appeals to my small or non-existent brain.

But one of my friend finds something extraordinary in that advertisement. Let me introduce him as "Lover boy", that is how he is known to many. He is all in smiles whenever he sees that ad. It is so weird to me. I couldn't understand his reactions. When asked, he said he could understand some chemistry that is similar to something that happened in his life..

Me : Hehe Don't lie da!!U flunked in that subject when in school..hahahaha..
Lover boy: Grrr..I am talking about the love chemistry ..
Me : Oh sorry. I flunked in it. So its beyond my understanding.
Lover boy: Ya,you can't understand until you get committed.
Me : Dude !!then there is no chance for me to understand that. You are committed,so can you please define it??
Lover Boy: Its a feeling da..
Me : Oh Ho..Is it similar to the feeling you get when you see Mallika Sherawat or shreya on screen ??
Lover Boy: Idiot !!! Its a feeling form the heart. When you see your girlfriend or when you get a call from her number you feel a jerk in your heart. Some reactions happen in your body. Your heart starts beating really fast;you struggle for words..
Me : Ohhhh yaaaaa!!! Wait wait wait....I clearly understood. Recently scientists have discovered a new disease called "Cardiovascular hemo pulmuno acute deficiency syndrome". I guess you are suffering from this disease. Please meet a good cardiologist. Hahahahhhh!!!

Rest of the conversation,
@###@$$$%%...wait let me explain..you idiot %$$#&&*...no no no...my mistake to consider u as serious **$$#&**#@@@..no past please.. ##@#$%%^##@@..calm down dude... no way %$$###%&&**..that defies logic ha ha...finally bam bush!!!

Though I could not write everything that happened, I would rate it as a good time pass. I know that it is impossible to define love. If it is defined, I am sure that our Indian movie industry's future will be in doldrums.

Shopping online !!!

2008-05-03T03:58:00.000-07:00

I don't want to start conventionally by saying "In this era of information technology ...blah..blah...online trading is a new fascination..blah..blah". It happened last December when I came to know about an online shopping website which offered unbelievable discounts on products in my all time "wish list". It was a new venture and no doubt, their offers are certain products were really attractive. I never traded online as I have heard stories of people receiving bricks instead of the expected mp3 player. Now I don't understand one thing.Why these guys parcel bricks.They are heavy hence attract more freight charges right ?? A better idea would be to mail a sheet of paper with a brick diagram in it. Thats more profitable and it really enrages the receiver.

As the main office of that particular website is in Bangalore I decided to give it a try. After verifying that the office actually exist I ordered an iPod. Bingo !!!! I received it within 2 days, well in advance than the promised 7 days delivery time.
I got good discount, reward points, gift vouchers.
Feedback asked - I replied "U guys rock!!" (I was rewarded with one more gift voucher ;) )

After a month I ordered a digital camera which I received only on the last day of the mentioned deadline i.e. the 7th day. Fine, not a problem as long as i receive it within the stipulated time. Not much of discounts and misc stuffs this time.
Feedback asked - I replied "Ok.but you guys can improve"(I did not get any points for this)

One of my friend who had similar online shopping phobia heard about my success and inquired about the latest deals posted. He wished to purchase a digital camera and asked if I could help by ordering it using my credit card. I agreed to that and ordered one last month. It was a long wait. I almost forgot that I ordered one until my friend reminded me of that. I contacted their customer support officer,

conversation()
{
Voice : welcome to "".How may i assist u?
Me : I ordered a digital camera .Here is my order no.Can u update about the progress?
Voice : Definitely sir. One moment.
After a while,
Voice: Regret to say that we couldn't meet the deadline. The item will be shipped by today. You will receive it by tomorrow,sir.
Me : Oh cool.thanks.
Voice: welcome sir
}

But I did not receive anything the next day and I called up again.
conversation()
I waited and again rang up on the third day. I really got irritated as I already received my credit card bill and my payment date was imminent. I still got the same conversation()
On the fourth day I decided to cancel the order.Called them up,

Voice : welcome to "".How may i assist u?
Me : I ordered a digital camera .Here is my order no.Can u update about the progress?
Voice : Definitely sir. One moment.
After a while,
Voice: Regret to say that we couldn't meet the deadline. The item will be shipped by today. You will receive it by tomorrow,sir.
Me : This was the same reply I am getting for the past three days.
Voice : Whom do you talk to ?
Me : I don't remember the names.
Voice : Male or female?
Me : Male voice, I guess.
Voice : Its not me then (Obviously!!!!I am mature enough to identify male and female voice)
Me : But day before yesterday I spoke with a female voice only. Was that you?
Voice : No sir (Why did you ask this question. Is it gonna help me in anyway ?)
Me : What about my order???
Voice : You'll definitely receive it tomorrow.
Me : You know "Tomorrow never comes".
Voice : With us it will come sir.
Me : Hmm. Let me see.
Voice : Sure.Any other thing ?
Me : whats your name ?I have to quote it tomorrow.

I got the name and had two more days of heated conversation with her to cancel the order. Finally I managed to cancel the order just before the due date of my credit card bill. When I visited the site yesterday i saw that the delivery time of all the products has been changed from 7 days to 15 days.

In my opinion this website guys had a really good start. But failed to keep up the momentum. I decided not to shop on that website again. One more lesson I learned is,simply don't use the credit card everywhere. That may land you in worst troubles.

Goa Trip - Prologue !!

2008-04-09T09:16:00.000-07:00

After a tough, mind boggling, grueling 10 months life with the intelligent box , I was desperately looking for a break and fortunately I got a chance to explore GOA. What can I say!!! I was an amazing trip in many ways for me. Firstly, I didn't look into the intelligent box for THREE days !!! secondly, I marked the end of my life inside rabbit warren !!! Ya, till now my life has been company->home->company. The credit goes to all my friends who made it happen. It was a hassle free, excellently planned trip. If not the sweltering heat, Goa is just a paradise that is not lost yet.

I discerned a certain freedom which I never felt anywhere till now. Sitting in beach, enjoying the zephyr, getting good food served right there under candle light, at 00:00 hours, I couldn't explain how peaceful my life was at that moment. Would update on this trip soon as I am bit loaded now...

Night out in Bangalore

2008-03-30T06:14:00.000-07:00

Weekend arrived with the promise of fulfillment and fun and it was indeed fun. This time I decided to look beyond the usual routine. I am bit curious about the night life in bangalore. Heard a lot about it though never experienced myself. This week I decided to check it out. Around 12:30 AM we left to a restaurant that is legally allowed to serve in the night. Only few are allowed and they are located adjacent to each other. As we got closer we could see lot of bikes, densely populated cars sprinting towards that particular road. It was a different world altogether. At 1 AM, the road seemed as though a festival is hoisted. Almost 90% of the population present there were in their "own worlds". Staggering on road heedlessly, bolstered by "a friend in(n)deed", shouting eternal truths, playing death metal in their car stereo, trying to create a romantic fog with their cigars, it felt as if I am in some place like las vegas (Never been there but seen in movies !!!). Mention or not, the restaurant was making the most out of it. The weird fact is that, the people out there were very different from the regular faces. Where these guys come from ??? Where they live ?? Where they work ??? Are they some kind of aliens who come out only during weekends, I bet you can't see such faces during weekdays. They were expressing the cultural advancements through their way of dressing, heavily altered race cars and much more. Poor cops, helpless, lost the hope of managing the traffic and people, they left the place.

It was indeed a new experience. I felt the difference , I felt the arrogance, I owned the road, I drifted, I felt the peace, I felt the freedom, no traffic, no congestion, I wanted to drive endlessly. But I can't be like that, I don't belong there, I can't act, I can't breach my virtues, I am just a regular face with not-so-advanced lifestyle. I prefer to be like this forever !!!!

That was really funny

2008-03-28T09:36:00.000-07:00

Few days back I was forced to attend one technical session by one scientist from USA. It was on some cryptic architecture slated for the future which I couldn't decipher a word even with my antagonistic brain. To add to that, the acoustics of the presentation hall was very bad. Some interesting things happened during the presentation. Have you heard of a English ->English translators ,or let me put it as Indian English -> American English translators ??? The scientist found it very difficult to understand the questions form the audience. He somehow managed to decipher it with sign language or through various versions of the same question translated by others. That was funny. We couldn't understand what he is talking about and he couldn't understand what we asked yet he was talking and people were asking doubts. The meeting ultimately succumbed into a clear less , pointless introspection of two uninterested minds. I don't know whom to blame !!!

Much awaited break

2008-03-21T10:02:00.000-07:00

Wasn't able to update my blog as last two weeks were bit hectic. I was eagerly awaiting this vacation. But something somewhere is really wrong in this world. South India is receiving unusually heavy rainfall off season. Yesterday we departed bit late from our home. Our train was scheduled to arrive by 9 PM and we managed to get an auto by 8:15. The auto driver was clever enough to gauge our urgency and used it effectively with his share of reasons. Things seemed fine at that point,but they really weren't. Bangalore's iconic "traffic congestion" combined with rain gave us a tough time. Till 8:55 my heart was pounding with anxiety but after that I lost the hope of catching the train. I started to draft plans to spend the week in bangalore. Now that I got a new bike and as it was advised to go for a long ride for the engine to settle, I was thinking about some places around bangalore at "bikable" distance. My bike must be cursing me as it is not going to get the pleasure of carrying any beautiful beings as "I" own it. Can't be helped, I pity you my bike !!!

Our auto driver accelerated his BMW (He had that symbol all over his vehicle!!!) and somewhat managed to get us safe to the railway station. It was 9:30 and I don't know why came to railway station even. The station was tightly packed with fleeing out-station bangaloreans like us. Despaired of reaching my home town I vaguely looked at the TV that displayed the train timings. Wow!!!!!! Amazing!!!! Can't believe this !!!!! My train was late by one and half hours. After all,there is some justice in this world and god has shown some mercy on us.

After boarding, my friend was praying as usual for some "good fortune". But as our quota of good luck for the day was already over his prayer didn't work out. I reached my hometown around 9 AM. It was raining here too. I am feeling really fresh and exuberant after reaching home. Had exotic and delicious food. East or west,home is the best !!!

A cute trouble...

2008-03-10T07:03:00.000-07:00

Yesterday when I boarded on train I was welcomed by one of the most beautiful smile in the world. It was very cute, innocent, graceful, pleasant. The beam was from a six months old baby on my bay. Whenever I noticed him he dimpled at me with an ineffable joy. His mom had very tough time to manage his mischievous pranks. When she showed signs of anger he just managed to appease her with just one boisterous laugh. She fell for it,not once or twice but every time. I guess only babies have the ability or freedom or innocence to laugh at angry faces. Whenever I smiled at him, he just curled himself on his mother's lap with such a verve and joy. I couldn't understand that but that was funny. Babies have their own world, their own meaning for each and every actions. We cannot interpret that, but every little thing they do gives us a glimpse of what their world is !!!

It was time to sleep and I settled in my berth listening to music as the lights were still on. Finally, the lights went off and when I was about to sleep I heard a loud noise. "O my god !!! whats wrong",I rose swiftly from my place and witnessed the "cute-smiling-baby" slowly turning into a "cry-baby". His mom was fast asleep(her shift was over I guess !!). His dad soothed him and somehow got him somnolent. Does the story end here?????

No!!! There it was , a loud war cry from the bay on the right followed by even more louder war cry from the bay on the left. War of babies !!!!! At this point our first baby got really aroused and swiftly got into action" Voices louder than mine !!noooooooooo..I am innn!!!" . I have to accept ,he fought back really well with loud continuous cry. Now the dad's or in other words "the pacifists" took their positions and tried to pacify the warriors ( Did you notice..Night shifts belong to dads !!!Moms were fast asleep even amidst the battle..hmm...gifted beings ) . I was eagerly expecting one moment, the meeting of the pacifists !!! It finally happened. Their eyes spoke their grief, not the words. All the three turned their heads at the same time to look at their sleeping beauties (wives) and then looked at each other that said "Dude!!! same here..pity you".Then they got back to their work.

All the warriors had a good long cry. And what I was doing ???. Just sitting in my berth with my legs folded thinking and grinning at my fate. Occasionally trying to guess if any kind of symphony or tunes or remixes can be made out of the sounds. I REALLY ENVY PEOPLE WHO CAN SLEEP COMFORTABLY IN ANY GIVEN SITUATION !!! Its an art and they are blessed with it.

Getting Hitched !!!

2008-03-08T05:40:00.000-08:00

I am hearing quite a lot of banns for the past few days from my friends as well as colleagues. My god !!! What is happening guys???? Is this world gonna end soon or any other exigencies??? Somedays back I blogged on Social Marriages. Is this trend a part of it ??? Today I got a news that my school mate,a girl,is getting married to some UK guy (Note this!!!). I was really shocked. No no no !!! Don't imagine anything. I met her few days back. She didn't tell anything about this. Thats the reason for my shock. With some visceral feelings,I blurted "why u girls are getting married so soon". Then I got to know about one guy,my school mate,tying nuptial knot in a couple of months. Now that gave me a real jerk. Am I lacking something or am I lagging in time,may be back in 1960's that I m unable to understand this culture???We had a discussion on this in our room,

(Please read this to understand the naming conventions of the persons involved)

Zaheer : You know, our college mate xyz is getting married. Groom from US.

Harbhajan was involved in some controversies with that girl while in college.No wonder,he was desolated.

Harbhajan: Guy from US ?? Hmm go-go-good(Oh oh ,Don't cry dude !!)
Zaheer : Also abc is getting married. Groom from US !!!
Parthiv : what !!! she is getting US groom!!!! ( Btw the general consensus indicated that both xyz,abc are below average)

Harbhajan was deep in thoughts. He's been a bit blue after the news of xyz's marriage.

Ganguly : What happen dude ??
Harbhajan (despondently): Even US grooms get such average girls only. How about us? Are we ineligible to live even, the cursed beings !!!!
Ganguly : Wow !!!nice observation. But what you want to do? Get into a relationship !!!Let me tell you, its absolute non-sense .(This guy broke-up recently)

Ishant came running ,

Ishant : no no love is a panacea (this guy got committed recently. So decide which one to take !!!)
Harbhajan: Whatever , I want to see what it is !!
Ishant : Good,All the best !!!
Ganguly : I pity u. You will join my club one day !!

Btw, is it necessary that one should be from US or UK to get married???? There are some guys in my office, well-paid(though not enough to meet the exorbitant requirements of the women they come across!!) still struggling to find their partner. I couldn't comprehend or reason this.

May be we could revolutionize this process of finding a bride or bride-groom. Why can't it just be like getting a job? You send your resume to a guy/girl you like with parameters such as height,weight etc,importantly photograph. If it matches their criteria then probably they will call you for personal interview with several rounds in which you may have to face his/her parents,friends,relatives and if u manage to pass all this then that guy/girl(Final round !!!). Recommendation letters or references can be an added advantage. But a caution, a much hyped company can have a bad working culture and it is a lifetime bond!!!

M$ Slangs !!!

2008-03-06T21:08:00.000-08:00

While wandering around the web I found this interesting dictionary called Urban Dictionary. It provides definition for lot of slang words and expressions. I found some interesting definitions related to M$ (infact the definition of "M$" itself). I feel that the number of definitions related to M$ is very less considering the "ability" and "dominance" of that company. So here is my attempt to coin some terms.

1. M$ villain:

You can find this kind of villain in lot of Tamil movies. Entire city will be under his control. He will be goosestepping around the city all the time with numerous goons around him. Everyone in that city should follow his codes and conventions. He never follow any standards but what he follows is made as a standard. If someone works or talks against him,he will be crushed with iron fists.

But one day our super hero Rajnikanth will blow them away with one single push of his finger. Everyone is awaiting his arrival in that city..

2. M$ product:

A product or project that never gets completed in the stipulated time. Consider that you are building a house..

You : When will the house be ready ??

Contractor : Ahhhhhhh hmmmmm Ah,within 2 years...

You : Dude !!!this is what you said two years back. Come on,its like M$ product !!!

Contractor : Oh really !!! Then I will do one thing. I will finish the brick work within 23 months so that you can comfortably stay here.

You : Brick work alone!!!

Contractor : Yeah, interesting, isn't it? You can enjoy natural air. I will fix doors and windows within another two years.

You : Sure ,you are close to gates !!!!!!!!!!!

3. M$ Strategy:

"When you can't beat the best try to partner with the second best and announce yourself as the best. Don't worry about the quality of the product or ethics. You must monopolize and dominate every field."

4. M$ Work :

One who cares only about the presentation (in other words GUI !!)than substance,can be said as doing M$ work.
(ex)
Dude 1: Dude ! This shirt looks bad, change it. Why don't to apply some gel to you hair ???

Dude 2 : Dude ! Why you doing M$ job. I am just going to my class room !!!

Nice Comparison

2008-03-04T07:59:00.000-08:00

Staying with your friends is always fun. Be it be college life or work life you will feel the comfort. I am staying with my friends, all software techies. It is very difficult to spend time as a group during week days as everyone is loaded with work and their definition of "Home" is "A place to sleep peacefully for at least 6 hours". Some will be loaded with work during weekends too. But last weekend the entire quorum was present. We had a nice chat session. The topics eventually succumbed to a cricket match which India won that day. It resulted in a comparison of our characters with the performance of some cricketers throughout the commonwealth tri-series. Here are the names of the cricketers and why that particular guy was personified as that cricketer.

Ishant Sharma - A guy who got committed recently and steadily progressing up in the ladder !!!

Zaheer Khan - A guy who is actually good but plagued by injuries (Err..U know what I mean)

Harbhajan Singh - A guy who gets into lot of controversies but never gets committed.

Piyush Shawla - A guy who is yet to see what is in store for him.

Venkatesh prasad(Coach)- A guy who cannot get committed but can give good advice to others.

Rahul Dravid - A guy who progress very slowly such that the game ends before he gets into action.

Saurav Ganguly - A guy who broke-up recently even after being a good performer. He was personified as ganguly only because ganguly is looking for a comeback. But that guy said he is retiring !!!

It was an interesting comparison. Try it with your friends !!!

My Travelogue II

2008-03-03T09:52:00.000-08:00

Traveling alone is a painful experience. Not just for the loneliness but for the way other people treat you. Before all family men(FM) you will appear like a social outcast. Especially in train,if you are traveling alone, your seat number doesn't matter at all as you will teleported so many times to different locations until you end up with a group of outcasts like you. A typical situation goes like this,

You would have just settled in your designated seat. Suddenly you will notice one of the family man in your bay getting excited. Thats the first alert for you. At that moment if you have a music player, put it on your ears immediately. It doesn't matter whether it is charged or it actually works. In fact you don't even need a player, just an ear phone will do (use your intelligence here !!). Even after that if that family man murmurs something to any member of his family tree rooted there, its a second alert. Your first technique did not work as expected.

Now the best strategy is to use your mobile phone. Its up to the intellectual bend of your brain to use this technique effectively. You might call customer care and ask how you got 50 paise extra in last month bill or you might call your friend whom you never called in your lifetime and give a shock or surprise. If you have a girlfriend,well,this is the best situation to show your love towards her. Brag about how you gonna miss her, how happily you spent time with her (Though you would be back in two days,it doesn't matter!!!You got to save yourself now !!!). It is better to leave your seat, may be to the door as you can't have romantic talks in front of family men(It is considered as a biggest blunder and you will be treated like a felon.So careful !!!). It has added advantages too as most of them would not come searching for you to teleport you. Wait there until most of them settle in their places.It reduces the chance of getting teleported as family men generally hesitate to leave their place after settling there(In life too !!!)

Even after the implementation of the above techniques if they wait for you to talk to you then your situation is very critical. Now no intellectual bend can save you. But put the burden on god and try your best as it also depends on how intelligent the other person is,in convincing you.

Family Man : Excuse me, Are you traveling alone ?
You : Err,No my friend will board in hosur.
Family Man : ahh hmm,But our bay is already full. Which is his berth ?(You can notice him getting scared as he gets doubts on the reservation chart and he would start checking his train ticket to check whether he has done any mistakes in positioning his family tree)
You : No, He doesn't belong here (No other go sadly !!)
Family man(Bit irritated) : So you are alone here,in this bay?
You : Hmm ya (Trapped !!)
Family Man : SO can you shift to coach s5,seat 6 .My dad's friend's uncle's daughter-in-law is alone?? (If you are a frequent traveler you would know that its upper berth.So use that fact)
You : Is it lower berth?
Family Man : arrgh,No...
You : Hmm sorry,I got hamstring and cramp. So I wish to settle in lower berth.
Family Man : err but you are already alloted upper berth only ???
You : I will be exchanging it with my friend who is boarding in hosur.( Now you get why I introduced a new friend at the beginning!!!).

You are almost saved now. But there will be some exceptional situations in which you will see the family man's face getting bright.

Family Man : That is great. My son's friend's dad's father is in coach s8,seat 4. It is lower berth. Can you shift there?I will carry the luggages for you (trust me ,it never happened !!)
You : grrrr,ok (I feel sorry for you,can't be helped !!!)

Once you reach your new place and try to settle yourself, you will hear an anxious voice

Voice: Excuse me, Are you traveling alone ???????

GOD SAVE THE WORLD !!!!!!!

As a bachelor I always have dreams about who is going to travel with me that day. I imagine a lot of romantic situations (Ruined by movies I guess !!!) but I always end up in situations like this.

Tribute to the Genius

2008-03-03T08:23:00.000-08:00

It feels too hard to accept that this genius is no more. "Sujatha" Rangarajan was one of the important writers who made me appreciate the quality of tamil movies through his terrific and informative dialogues. I admired his screenplay in movies like Mudhalvan(Nayak), Indian(Hindustani) etc. Hailing from science background, he was in love with writing. He aimed at making people familiar with science through his creations. I m also one among the millions of people who benefited by his creations. He made good directors through whom he conveyed messages to the society through his dialogues. One of my favorite dialog is,

"Valkailayum rewind button erunta evlo nalla erukum " (How nice it will be to live a life with rewind button !!!) from movie Mudhalvan. I love to dream over the good old days and I have often carved for a rewind button in my life (so desperate now!!!) .

also,
"Tappu enna baniyan size a, large, xl nu classify panna" (A mistake is a mistake. U cannot classify them as small,medium,large,xl ) from movie Anniyan.

I found his dialogues with subtle comedy as, much better than the loud and crass comedies we find in movies now-a-days. A little smile that it puts in your face is much better than those stupid comedy tracks by other "supposed" comedians.

One sequence from movie Ayutha Ezhutu(Yuva),(Literal translation not possible!!!Sorry)
Siddharth: avalukku semma vaai da
Siddharth's bro: ada paavi!! Kiss adichittiya?
Siddharth: cha, intelligent aa pesaraa nu solla vanthen da
Siddharth's bro: appram eppdi un kooda pesara??

He had been a trend setter. Its a great loss to art and literature. Let his soul rest in peace. He will be survived for ever by his contributions.

My Travelogue

2008-02-29T08:56:00.000-08:00

It all started when I got admitted into NIT,Trichy back in 2003. Being mom's kid I found it very difficult to settle myself in hostel. Even my choice of this college was heavily influenced by the fact that it was just 3.5 hours away from my sweet home. Remiss in my studies or any event in college I fled to home every weekend. I improved as the years passed by slowly reducing the frequency of home trips and somehow managed to complete my course successfully. I got a job too, guess what, I was posted in Bangalore which is around 11 hours from my home. But since I got matured enough over the past four years it wasn't so unusual or weird for me as it was in college. But the indisputable truth is,nobody will regret to be in Bangalore,green dense foliage everywhere treating your eyes, a quaint and charming place indeed!!!

Unfortunately there is only one train that covering the entire stretch, Bangalore till Tuticorin. Getting a ticket in this train is like watching first day,first show of a Rajnikanth movie. You have to plan three months in advance and book it accordingly(Thanks to railway department for increasing the advance reservation period to three months!! ). Typically the process of booking ticket in this train has the following steps.

1. Set a remainder where ever possible to remind you that u have to book a ticket that day for a particular date that is exactly three months away from the current date.
2. Make a strategy with your friends. Ultimately everyone should be trying simultaneously so that atleast one will make it.
3. I would suggest everyone to book in office as the bandwidth is better over there. I always do that. But the catch is , you have to go as early as 8 AM (Don't worry..Hard work definitely pays off)
3. If it is a festive season then you have to ask your parents also to join the team. As these online systems cannot be trusted they should serve as an alternate arrangement. You must be highly vigilant and dexterous, constantly getting in touch with everyone in your team through IM or mobile.
4. Don't underestimate any of your competitors. After all, they are birds of same feathers.
5. After all your efforts, if you lucky enough you will get "the precious", a ticket to travel to your home town !!!

My choice of train travel is only due to the comfortability factor in it. But there is a powerful force working against me towards spoiling that comfort. I will explain it in my next post .

Credit card

2008-02-23T04:13:00.000-08:00

Glorious sight of splendid credit cards !!!! These are the cards owned by one single person in my room :). He is the god for all the bank agents whose bread and butter is decided by the number of customers they convince to apply, for a credit card. And his courage is also indisputable. Managing all these credit cards require a sound strategy and planning. No wonder, he is the premium customer of all those banks. I feel citizens like him decide the economic growth of our country by making sure that there is some movement of money :)

For U my dear!!!

2008-02-20T22:15:00.000-08:00

Doesn't worth it .. So deleted entirely

Love or Life !!!!

2008-02-16T09:12:00.000-08:00

This is a continuation of my previous post Dangerous Drug

I thought I ll never get philosophical again. But situation demands. Its again about my friend and his love. Let me call that friend as Devdas(Fits to the situation !!!). Devdas belied my observations last time. Even after being desolated to that extent he again submitted to her flaccidly. What a dweeb!!! Ya, he doesn't deserve any respect. Initially I thought it was just a chink in his Armour but he succumbed to be that girl's poddle. Executing her orders without self-respect, taking all her libelous statements, not even sure of what is in that girl's mind. The only thing he used to do -To cry wistfully at his fate. Why he does all this - To show his commitment towards that relationship !!! That is absolute non-sense I would say.

Something subliminal is affecting me. I couldn't assert what exactly is wrong with that couple. Is he too submissive which eventually is getting exploited by that girl ? Or is due to the social status of them - The girl in a big company, devdas in a not-so-well-known company ??? Until that girl got into that big company they were doing well. But she didn't even inform our poor devdas about her great job. Devdas on the other hand had great plans to build her career(I m the one to hear all his stories!!!). No wonder,he got dejected. I thought the hatred between them will wane. But It got intensified when devdas spoiled the most important day of his life because of unnecessary arguments with her. I do not justify devdas and put the blame on her for his failure. But I think there should a better understanding between both of them and she ought to be a morale booster of Mr.Devdas on such important occasions.

My impression about love- It spreads like a grape vine in the heart and bears the sweet,juicy fruit of success, ultimately. But like sloughing off the overgrown nail that girl threw our poor Devdas completely out of her life. Now, his career is in doldrums. He is not going to his office,gets very maudlin, expressing moribund thoughts, I m really scared. Left in a pit of pique, I cannot understand what he is upto. Hope there won't be a need to write another blog on this issue.

It really hurts to see a capable guy wasting his life for someone who did not understand him. I m out of words to be a solace for him. Suggestions welcome !!!!

Swingers

2008-02-11T22:09:00.000-08:00

Life of a Software engineer is not so easy. Working from dawn to dusk,apprehensive of what's in store that day and how to disburse it, week days can better be called as "dreaded weekdays". Last week was one such, a drab and dour week (Paradox!!). Though it was not too demanding nevertheless I badly needed a break. Finally the much awaited weekend arrived. Weekends sometime appear like a monster trying to wangle money from me by mesmerizing me with shopping malls,commercial roads and restaurants,specially Chinese restaurants( I guess I have a strong bond towards these Chinese restaurants !!!! I always end up settling here,in spite of all my plans, whenever I decide to eat out) After losing so much to that treacherous monster I decided not to meander anymore through that monster's residence. Unfortunately there are a lot of them in Bangalore.

Last weekend I practiced this art. I didn't go out anywhere except to a rbk showroom (I didn't buy anything. So it doesn't count). Sunday I came to know about this dance show by swingers. Even though I m interested in dance I decided not to go as it might be a new weapon in the monster's arsenal. But I got a wonderful chance of getting a free entry to that show through one of my friend. Since that doesn't break my resolution I went there. What can I say ?

IT IS ONE OF THE BEST PROFESSIONAL DANCE PERFORMANCE I HAVE SEEN !!!!!

The had a perfect inception with an enthralling Ballet -> Little bit of Jazz -> Nice hip hop which eventually turned into enchanting Salsa -> A perfect Spanish tango with absolutely stunning costumes -> Ended with a bewitching decades old rock & roll style with contemporary costumes.

A WELL SPENT SUNDAY EVENING !!!

And the best part of the show - It's all done by fledging dancers,some still in schools and colleges,some in IT companies(One from my parent company and thats the secret of my free ticket !!!). The props and the costumes showed the amount of hard work they had put in. No wonder, the success gave them an ineffable joy that was highly evident after the show. They deserve it.

HATS OFF GUYS !!!

Transmogrification !!!!

2008-02-08T23:34:00.000-08:00

We a bunch of singleton's (No geek meaning attached) living together used to banter on the agony of each other for not having a girlfriend, whenever we find time. The topics usually revolve around how someone else got a girlfriend or why all the "things" we like are committed to others. But there are some exceptional situations in which we digress from the usual topics and begin to focus on a particular guy. When this situation occurs ??? When someone within us spoke with a GIRL !!!! YA.... Any mention of a girl's name will attract a story that will be pinned around the guy who mentioned the name. Now let's call him a transgressor and the rest as victims. Yes, we are the victims of his joy. The story is a medley of all *wood (Sorry,geek meaning attached) failure movies that suits perfectly to the context. Also we spice it up with some songs too.

The real success of the victims is achieved through three steps

1. First they make the transgressor think that something actually happened between him and that girl even though nothing actually happened.
2. Secondly,they elevate him to his imaginary world in which he plays the movie based on the story we pinned around him. Trust me, the flux of expressions on his face gives an ineffable joy to the victims.
3. The ultimate thing is to develop a crush in his heart for that girl. (The girl would have just said "Excuse me" while passing by. But does that matter!!! )

This is not a one day process. The number of days essentially depends upon the target's desperation for a girlfriend :) .

Some days back a guy in our room was showing the photographs taken in his company during some occasion. Let's call him Annan (Don't ask why). In one of the photos there was a girl, really beautiful girl. A guy called Bab(pronounced BOB) in our room got terribly attracted towards that stunning beauty.

BOB :Wow. who's that girl Annan ?
ANNAN : Colleague da,your age only (fixing the target,smart!!!)
BOB : She looks beautiful. See how cultured she is, wearing traditional dress,ethnic looks, wow !!!! She is a perfect example of a family girl in my dreams. Can you introduce to me???

Transmogrification !!!! nOOOOOOO. Rest of us got to the edges of our seats...

ANNAN : Hmm,I don't know her
BOB : Try to introduce yourself and then introduce to me.(Wow !!!what an idea !!)
ANNAN : Hmm,ehh ok Bob. (With a witty smile)

We went to the next photo. In that a guy and that girl were standing together. BobSri frowned.

BOB : Who's that guy ?
ANNAN : Another colleague. Must be friends. You don't worry ( Keeping up the momentum..he he he)
BOB :Oh ya should be. She seems to be social.( bit relieved !!!! )

The next photo. This time there were two guys holding the hands of that girl on either side. Bob got absolutely perplexed.

BOB : What is this (In high pitched voice) !!!!!!!!
ANNAN : Colleagues da. She is very social it seems !!( Same witty smile)
BOB : Err..,ahhh..,Hmm ok

As we progressed through the album it turned out that each and every guy in that company has taken a snap with her !! We cross checked with Annan also about the number of employees. More or less everyone were in those photographs. And surprisingly everyone seemed to be her best friend, pinching her cheeks, friendly hugs. Indeed she is a perfect example of a social being !!!! Meanwhile we never missed to notice the wilting Bob. Poor fellow, being a perfect blend of culture and tradition of a old South Indian family he couldn't digest the photos of his dream girl. Finally,

BOB : Err..,Hmm I recant all my statements about her. SHE IS NOT MY DREAM GIRL !!!

Then he went to sleep. This guy has a weird habit. Whenever he feels bad he goes to sleep.May be with the hope that he can achieve that task, atleast in the dreams, I guess !!

Now someone suddenly noticed that Annan hadn't taken any photo with her. YES, WE FOUND A NEW TARGET !!!!

SIMI: Annnnannnnnnnn, You were the one who was taking all those snaps right ????

As usual we had fun time after that. After all, its a bachelor life. No worries, Just fun !!!!

Disclaimer : I m not attacking any traditions or social culture. Its just meant for fun. I don't mind even if you don't find it funny but please don't bring anything about feminist freedom and their rights!!!I m not the person

What an Idea!!!!

2008-02-01T20:39:00.000-08:00

After a long hibernation, the Bangalore administration fellas are awake finally . The hibernators who need to work on traffic conditions are coming up with some ideas to improve the pathetic Bangalore traffic. Hats off guys for your efforts !!!! . But my doubt is, are you guys completely out of hibernation or is this just a sporadic euthermic arousal that shows you are alive ??? No No No , No offense intended. I got bit suspicious by the most innovative idea you have conceived," ALTERNATE DAY RUN ".

Read about it Here . No wonder Mr.Lallu belongs to India, and his excellent administration skills are revered, even by the Harvard MBA'S. You guys are following his footsteps, isn't it ? Hmm, smart !!!
But me too being a fervent believer of Lalluism , this inchoate idea incites me. Breaking rules or exploiting them is always fun !!!! Here are certain ideas to tackle the "HIBERNATORS".

Shift System:

We know about day and night shifts that are followed by most of the companies. Along with those we can introduce odd and even day shifts. If your vehicle is allowed on road that day its your shift. Here is one trick to implement this scheme. Form a cabal of big shots in your company and go whining to your manager about the difficulties involved in using public transport and how it makes you feel tired, thereby affecting the productivity. If you are lucky enough even the manager will join your group and fight for the cause. By this scheme,the advantages are Less work,Less traffic,More fun !!!!

Two Number plates:

I got the inspiration for this idea from a Bond movie (Not sure but surely possible in a bond car). Have two number plates, one odd and another even. A push of a button should load the required number plate depending on whether its a odd day or even day. If brilliant enough you can automate it!!! . This scheme directly challenges the "Hibernators" and their innovative idea. Most importantly, FEEL THE THRILL !!!!. And don't worry even if you get caught. All that "Hibernators" want is a few hundred's which they anyway going to extort from you in spite of your integrity. In fact this scheme reduces the chances of getting caught as in any given day you are driving a vehicle with number that is authorized for that day. By this scheme,the advantages are Less traffic,More thrill !!!!

Superstar scheme:

This "Alternate day Run" rule is not applicable to public transport vehicles. So how about buying an autorickshaw and using it for your personal use !!! Its cheap(Tata nano is cheaper but lets not discuss about it now) and you can also earn money with some trips during free time. There are some tips and tricks that you can follow from Rajnikanth to add to the fun. Play the title song of his movie "Badshaa" so loudly when struck up in traffic or while driving. When people around you start staring at you, try to amuse them by throwing a cigar up and catching it with your mouth. If you fail to catch it,never mind, just get down and start dancing for that song. After parking the auto in any parking lot don't simply get down and walk. Play the background music "Badshaa...Badshaa" and walk in Rajnikanth style. The security personnels will salute you. Trust me,anything from Rajnikanth amuses people.

The best and my favorite trick from Rajnikanth is the way he gets a multimillionaire girlfriend in that movie. I would recommend this scheme for guys who feel bad for not being able to take any girl in their bikes (Me being one among them). The free time trips I mentioned above can be used for that purpose. Even though thats not as close as being in a bike, this can be considered as a first step in your quest for a girlfriend. Try to use the above mentioned tricks from Rajnikanth and amuse them,particularly the dance. They'll eventually fall for you one day. Then take them out in your bike. Sounds cool,isn't it!!!!! The advantage of this scheme are Less traffic,More fun,More fun and if you are lucky enough, A GirlFriend!!!!

Thats all I have for now. If any more schemes to tackle the "Hibernators" please suggest me.

Moral of the story:

I appreciate the fact that the Bangalore administration is thinking of ways to curb the horrendous traffic. But this kind of plans sound silly. Come up with schemes that are more commuter friendly. The public transportation is not good enough. Improve that first before thinking of such schemes. All Companies should discourage the use of private vehicles and introduce buses to pickup and drop their employees. This reduces the traffic drastically.

Lucky to be unlucky :-)

2008-01-29T10:25:00.000-08:00

My Bangalore residence is located in a pleasant and well established area. After several sweltering years in Madurai and Trichy, the buoyant ambience is something new and exciting. Few yards away from my residence there is a super market. I was initially very happy about this as if blessed with all facilities near my house. As days progressed I realized that Bangalore has an unwritten rule, "A minimum of one supermarket per street". There are around 6 supermarkets to cover a span of three streets. So the ephemeral excitement vanished eventually and I got a feel of a grocery shop with a liquor section. Yeah !!!!! you get liquor and misc stuff in the same place without harming your "Royal Sophistication". And the inquisitive thing here is that,the security personals won't check your baggage or bills if they sense the "exciting din" from your purchases. Is it due to deference or disrespect ??? No idea.

One fine morning I went there to buy some stuffs. There was this guy standing near the egress who attracted my attention.

Guy : Sir, fill this lucky coupon.

Nothing struck me except the fact that its a "Lucky"coupon. LUCKY !!!! Wow will it bring me a xbox 360 or ipod touch or semiprofessional camera !!! whimsy, but can't help it. These are certain stuffs I used to add to my cart in any online shop hoping to buy it someday.Or will this luck reduce the amount of luck in the "luck bank" allotted to me by the almighty. Noooooo, I m thinking of investing the entire amount in getting a girl friend, a dream and ambition that stands top in my wish list !!!! But since I m unsure about the amount of luck alloted to me and being an optimist I decided to give it a try.

Me : Should I fill all the details?? (It was asking about my salary)
Guy : No sir, Just fill your name and mobile number ??

Anything fishy ????nah nah nah what a poignant face !!!! He must be nice guy and come on, its a "LUCKY" coupon. I filled up the required details and left the shop.

Same day I went there with my friends for a purchase. The same guy was standing there and he asked all of us fill the "LUCKY" coupon.

Me: (still ignorant)Morning I filled one. Is it ok to fill it again? (Wow I m increasing the probability to be lucky !!!!)

Guy: Of course sir. You can fill it agian.(With witty smile and poignancy intact)

How generous !!!! Bless this guy . Being a recidivist by nature I filled the coupon almost every time I went there, so did my friends. Days passed and my friends started receiving calls from some club, almost everyone. I became bit suspicious but still blamed my bad luck.

One day I got a call from some club,

Sweet Voice: I m saloni calling from xyz club. Would you like a membership ?
Me : No thanks
Sweet Voice : No problem sir . Thank kooooooooooo !!!! (Oh my god)

After few hours I got a call from the same number.

Sweet Voice: I am ayesha from xyz club. Congrats Sir, you are the lucky winner of xyz club. The coupon you filled got selected.
Me :Oh really, Saloni??
Sweet Voice : ah hmm Ayesha sir. Sir,You have won a trip to Indonesia (What a place !!). Please come to xx location for a meeting and you just got to pay 30k.
Me : Wow thats great !!! But how come all of them in my room can be lucky winner ??
Sweet Voice : ke kooo keeee keeee keeee (A laugh that reminded me of a whining junior pig when cornered)You guys are so lucky sir !!
Me : Ya I know how lucky I m, Saloni alias ayesha. I wish to be unlucky. Don't disturb me again regarding this.
Sweet Voice : ke koooo keeeee keeeee keee Tang koooooooooo !!!!! (God !! save the world)

But, as a recidivist will be immured several times, I was also subjected to this scam for each and every crime (coupon) I committed.

Moral of the story :
Shopping malls are not the places that preserve your "Royal sophistication". Its a place where this sophistication is exploited.