Its Room no 368 now

Hey..

This blog has been permanently shifted to www.roomno368.com
I will not be posting on this blog anymore.
I am trying to figure out i can somehow redirect this link to the new blog address.
Catch you there.

The traveler from rajasthan

Lagoons was one concept i didn't really believe in, not that I was bad at geography, or i lacked scientific rationale, but the very fact that being in rajasthan imagining backwaters and coconut trees was too much to ask for.
Infact, if you belong to rajasthan and your traveling is restricted to gujrat and maharashtra(primarily bombay) looking out of the window while travelling in a bus would mean staring at bushes, almost dry rivers, naked mountains, or to be more precise desert and desert like structures.
Now for a person like me ,who has not really traveled much around, watching coconut trees and lagoons and backwaters in kerala can be quite a experience.This was perhaps the reason, in fact one of the reasons i was looking forward to Jagriti Yatra.
So just in case if also belong to the species deprived of traveling privileges, try registering for the yatra next time.
Believe u me,standing on the gate with a cup of tea and enjoying the western ghats and waving at arbit random people is something you dont want to miss !!

Spam beyond inbox!!

Although I have joined the facebook group- “I don’t read newspapers anymore” my MINT subscription still continues. The Wall Street Journal articles are my favorites.
The first tab that I open after checking my mail , is my feed reader followed by twitter and facebook.
When it comes to TV, which is a rare phenomenon, I prefer sticking to Discovery and TimesNow.

Whatever medium I may choose to update myself and the world, my immunity towards the Ads is one thing that has increased exponentially.
Not that I don’t see ads or I use Flash Ad Block, but the fact that the Purple Cow is nowhere to be seen. The last time when I actually clicked on an ad it was a friend’s birthday who still believes that Google Ads on his blog would fetch him dollars.

But then a couple of days back I decided to contribute to google’s earnings. I actually clicked on a couple of ads, noticed the ads on Mint, actually watched a movie on TV wtih a gazillion of breaks (this one was the worst of all). And then I concluded that

• I wish the TV had google ads, they can be actually more effective.
• The ad placement and targeting in the print media is nothing but pathetic.The internet still did fairly better since google new my search patterns so I was given highly targeted ads.
• Customizing ads on newspaper according to reader’s interest might actually result in a better ROI for the Adverstisers, which although is immeasurable for the moment.
• Last but not the least, if you compare the amount of spam we are literally exposed to, courtesy the offline print media, the gmail spam folder would take ages to catch up
  

The fact that while a advertiser
would invest in getting the prime spot hoarding, airtime during the matinee hours , grab the front page for advertising , I or for that matter intellectually mature people would simply ignore it very genuinely. I guess it’s time for CMO’s to read Purple Cow.

Relative Terms

Relativity is a term that often goes beyond Einstein.Not the fact that Einstein's concept of relativity was false, but then the people we relate to are often not so compatible with the older version.
The concept of relativity and absoluteness has often resulted in laying down the foundation of the best of controversies ,errors,confusions not to mention the frustration.

Good Will Hunting , is one of the best examples that covers all the emotions when it comes to comparison and setting standards, because for more then once what seemed trivial to Mr Will ,was rocket science for his Professor Gerald Lambeau.
And when Will Hunting sets a paper on fire ,which had the solution to a equation that his Prof was struggling with, for ages and believed that it could fetch him the NEXT NOBLE, a flood of emotions are expressed in the scene when Will tells him that

"You know what is this..this is fucking easy for me "
And this is where relativity comes in.
While the Prof felt inferior, frustrated,helpless Mr Will simply moved on for his standards were beyond the scope of his professor.

Infact the concept of absoluteness itself is relative as there are no permanent standards.

So the next time you start comparing things, start getting judgmental, have prejudices, do consider the fact that You Cannot Compare APPLES and ORANGES.

I am a TAG !!!!

Now then..
Tagging is something that i love doing.
Weird tags ..nice tags ..short tags.. long tags...strange tags..
So here we have an inspired and requested post from a Di /fellow blogger/cook of the year/wanderer

U can answer all of them if --

• We have met a couple of times or
• U have stayed at Room No 368 or
• We have spoken on phone more then once.

Not that i m looking around for opinions about my self but then m doing it on a speacial request made by a Cook.
So here we go..post your answers in the comments section or mail them to me if u have all the time in world.

1.Who are you?
2. Are we friends?
3. Something I have and YOU want?
4. Give me a nickname and explain why you picked it?
5. Describe me in one word.
6. What was your first impression of me?
7. Do you still think that way about me now?
8. What reminds you of me?
9. If you could give me anything what would it be?
10. How well do you know me?
11. How do you see me in the future?
12. Ever wanted to tell me something but couldn’t?
13. Are you going to post this in your blog and see what I say about you?

Train No-2955

A picture is worth more then 1000 words.

Now,if you are thinking that i have exxaaggeerated the entitre thing by putting up this foto.
Beleive u me ..nothing less then this could explain the situation on 2955- BCT-JP Superfast Express.
























For this diwali ,and new year i just had a couple of resolutions---
I M NOT GOING BACK TO JAIPUR FOR THE NEXT DIWALI.
n
the reason for saying so is nothing but the journey of the lifetime i had in 2955 .

A train where booking a Tatkal seat can fetch you Endurance Award.
A train whose passenegers are awarded Red n White Bravery award .
A train where meeting people who were so close to the Confirmed Seat.
A train where atleast 100 passengers would claim the Waiting List 1-Title.
A train where people are willing to stand in the the Loo (both English and Indian) .
A train where you get to know about the High's and Low's of a Gujati Family.
A train where you can meet Jignesh,mahesh,suresh,Ramesh Babu and Deenanath ji.
A train where you would need to wait atleast 10 hours before you can actually see the "loo"

A train that teaches you --DONOT USE INDIAN RAILWAYS DURING VACATIONS.
n if you are really desparate use nothing less then a 2nd AC.

Information Explosion...

These are the best of times,these are the worst of times.For today we live in a era where almost each one of has access to an unimaginable breadth and depth of information.
But then the era of Information Explosion has more and more air blown into the Bubble.

Thanx to the information explosion.
SPAMMING ,although being the last thing that a marketer would ever like to do , seems to be on a high .
Filtering content is another challenge that people are now getting used to.
And to add to that the hyped Talks ,workshops,Sessions,Lectures are getting monotonous

The podcasts have replaced the interviews.
Slideshare has replaced powerpoint presentaions.
Youtube has better talks or workshops .
Add to that blogs .
To be precise , now you can actually choose to stay out of a event ,since you know for sure, the Internet has better alternatives.

As far as my experience goes ,yes i was a die hard fan of GYAN.
I craved for it.
I used to read almost over 100 blogs a day on social media,SEM-SEO,Blogging,Internet Marketing......
I loved the sessions at Barcamps.
I enjoyed being a part of this ecosystem that was evolving like never before.


But then , i guess what looked like the driving force for joining such communities, turned against itself. And the obvious reason being perhaps the INFORMATION OVERLOAD on the internet
Add to this -the general story telling .

"THE MOST CLICHED STORY"

I was a common man. I had a idea--but had no idea how to implement that. Then we thought over it .
But then we had no money. Then we bootstrapped Then we hunted for VC's. After n iterations in the product plan,
and 2n meeting's we got funded. n now ,I am THE ENTREPRENEUR.

With all due respect to the ecosystem and the entrepreneurs .Nobody would or even can/ever raise a question over your credibility as a entrepreneur or the amount of efforts you have put in.
But then,
As the audience we get this story everytime..in Livemint, on Radio,Podcasts,Blogs n everywhere.
If you can present the entire journey as a casestudy , it might add more value to the story.
Telling the general story,i guess really wont attract ME.

So today i think twice before i enter a session on Startup's or VC's speaking, or rules of blogging,tips on Internet Marketing,or for that matter even technology.
And even if i enter it ,the repetition of topics, drives me out.

The freshness quotient ,i guess has been lost or atleast decreasing.
Everytime i see a mailer/poster about a session by XYZ , i think !!!

DO WE REALLY NEED TO GO AND LISTEN TO THEM ?
WHY CANT WE LISTEN TO THEM ON A PODCAST
OR SIMPLY READ ABOUT THE RULES OF .........
WHY DO WE NEED THE SAME THING OVER N OVER N OVER?
DONT U FEEL saturated ALREADY?

I guess i need a break,BADLY. SO I shall logoff from the Community for a while.

The Tragedy that never happened.

This one comes straight from my heart.
I have been thinking to right this from past one month but then, realised a brand name(Room No 368) was at stake.But then decided to against it.
For a change u shall read something really serious

When the Pathology Lab in IIT Hospital, claimed to be a nothing but just a bacterial infection,i like any other student would have.
By Wednesday they decided that it was Salmonella and not just another bacteria, so under the rules they had to name it TYPHOID.
First thing that came to my mind after that was the concept of REMIDSEM ,because it was already 28th, and the doctors had declared strict bed rest for 2 weeks after one week .

But then my WHITE BLOOD CELLS started disappearing , and then the entire Typhoid treatment was postponed for 5 days.
And it was on the 4th day , when the IIT Pathology Lab was closed (thanks god!!) another blood sample which was sent to Hiranandani Hospital came out clean.
NO TYPHOID
The worst part was the fact that another second year student had made plans to skip midsems simply because he was told that he too had TYPHOID.
And then on the fifth day just before getting admitted in ICU ,one of the doctors confessed that the PATHOLOGY DEPT is too primitive to not to detect typhoid.

Take home message--Being part of a institute that

• has funds well over 100 Crores
• hosts festivals with budget exceeding a crore (not to mention the ECell has few lakhs to spare)
• gets funded every second year from its Alumni
• also has students who opt to fall sick to justify their casual leaves.

But then blood test is something that is recommended to most of the people and that too quite frequently.
N to get it wrong ,with such a huge margin of error sends the wrong signal.
We can practically get screwed up.
We need to realize that there is something that is between Gulmohar and Convocation Hall, and if not all, some people do have Medical problems and this continues ,all we would be doing is wasting the doctors out there.

Throughout my experience at IIT hospital, the entire staff was amazingly cooperative and sweet and caring, something that was missing in Hiranandani and Riddhi Vinayak Hospitals.
But then it really wont make sense if they don't get the blood reports right.

I dont need to write what all can a false report lead to .
We all can well imagine the consequences.


P.S>>>
IF NYBODY FROM THE AUTHORIES HAPPENS TO VISIT THIS BLOG PLEASE TAKE THIS AHEAD AND GET THE LABORATORY EQUIPPED WITH THE LESSER PRIMITIVE TECHNOLOGY.WE SERIOUSLY NEED HELP.

Day# 3 Who's the patient.

Day-#3 who’s the patient.

The internet says, that a normal human does not require nything less than 2 days to recover from Urniary Traction Infection which the doctors claimed I had.

Another factual update-There are over 100+ types of fevers available out there and out of those 100 ,90+ come/or can become weird/really weird. I had dismissed the probability of my body getting nything but one of those 90 Elite fever Forms.

But then yes, I had my share of Highs n Lows. With a high of 103 , I had people coming in to meet me and all my whims and fancies taken care of. It was this day when the billion $ question was popped “Who’s the Patient”

It was almost post lunch, when the the Gang of three (Nick/PP/Goyal) invaded my bed in ward. The last thing you would expect is people visiting you to eat your share of hospital lunch .but then it happens. Every god damn thing is bound to happen when the TRIO gets into act. My lunch boxes,Biscuits,Namkeen,Mathri ,everything was raided .While I was made to sit on the stool,and Nikhil(Goyal) was playing Solitire and PP and Aniket were confused over what to eat Mathri or Namkeen, the SMO entered the ward. Also in the past three days,the last thing that would have changed was Appearance. With the trio on the bed and under utter confusion and frustration the SMO fired the question –Who’s the patient.

It took us while to recognize and declare that I was THE ONE. And thus the SMO rescued me from the attack of the TRIO.

But then, the hospital lab which was updated with my blood samples early morning ,came up.My affair with Salmonella was discovered and disclosed.

IT was declared officially,that i had TYPHOID.

Day# 2-- Who's the patient

Now then ...
The second day of the unplanned hospital trip was unexpected,for i had a discovered that what seemed like just nother tiring day had actually turned into a infection.

Now this is one thing somebody would not really appreciate about a Govt Hospital.
"Its like underworld ,u get in at ur will,n u get out at their will"
The last time somebody walked till lakeside , a security alarm was raised and we had jeeps and ambulance running in the campus.THIS WAS COVERED IN BUT OF COURSE AAJTAK.

Being media shy i really didnt want this to happen , so i decided to stay back n have a shot at the food out there.
But then since most experiments are bound to fail,this one did fail..n it failed bigtime.
Their so called" ultra nutritious food was definitely not meant for me.
Lets not talk about food here.
Back in ward, i had company of a Hepatitis A bearer.The third guy had practically patented malaria.
But then amidst this atmosphere, i realised something that people realise after they reach himalyas after reading "The Monk Who Sold His ferrari"
I was enlightened when i discovered the Punch line of my life
"Never take people/objects for granted"
It was then i realised that i was missing something more then nything else.

Now here comes the differentiator-
A common patient, in such conditions looks forward to company,sympathy,care,......
but
the first thing that an IITian would ask for would be his LAPTOP.and if possible with High Speed Internet connection as the Hospital Walls let everything but the WiFi network.

I missed u lan:(

But then ,i finally i got my laptop n then rest of day was religously devoted to "Jason Bourne".

Day# 1--Who's the patient?

Its been nother long break .. but then this was well deserved.
+ this time i got a story.
The famous question--"who's the patient.?"

What seemed like a prank to skip the "biotech quiz" on tuesday turned into a wild chase.
As i had mentioned earlies regarding my fling with salmonella.
The exact series of events might not seem to be really exciting but then yes, there were moments which certainly deserve to be on the blog.
So it all started out on monday when right in the middle of the night , i decided that i cannot sleep without a Air Conditioner, whose presence in RoomNo368 was by no means possible.
Since the dept labs stink, and the sofa in the office was locked, after waiting for over an hour i decided hospital would be the best place to sleep in.
I choose the emergency room to sleep in, after faking a 101 fever, but then there are times when u need to make compromises, which in this type of situation turned out to be a Syringe (rite in the middle of the ***)

But then yes, thanx to all the amazingly cute nurses out here, it went in peacefully.

My Affair with Salmonella

"It took me over 3 days to realize that something was going on between me and salmonella.
And another one day that things just might get out of control.

Salmonella was someone i had never heard about.
And falling for her was totally justified since I had no clue what so ever about it.
Add to that the "first time thing"- it was for the first i had fallen for somebody,so it was kinda weird ,but then the point to focus on is that "IT HAPPENED".

Hmmmm .....

Hmmmm is something many of us relate to.
When i asked my friends what comes to their mind when they see/hear/type/speak Hmmmm
Tried to aggregate some of the weird thoughts ..

Disclaimer---Some ,if not all the thoughts are definitely mine .lol

• How Milan/Mudra Met Mudra/Milan's Mother/Maid/Maa'm/Madame Master.......
• you are busy or pretending to be busy
• Ignoring somebody or manybody's
• Thinking !!! pretending to be thinking
• on Thought provoking questions ..just before before the answers..
• when your conversation reaches the "What's Up" syndrome.
• when do u dont have a answer like Joey
• when you answer diplomatically
• When u agree to somebody
• Even when u disagree but still to agree..
• While u try to show that u really have grey matter
• When u r really serious.
• agreeing Unanimously
• last but not the least--If u r into Marketing :D

Looking forward to update the list..
keep waiting :P

Attention Prof's and Studnets-

If u think you are the worst professor alive
believe you me you are definitely wrong.

There are people alive who claim to be professors with no talent what so ever when it comes to teaching and they can definitely beat you in the RAT race.

And if you think you are "THE STUDENT"
Believe u me ,this time u are definitely wrong.


P.S >>> Felt this on the 5th day of the 5 th Semester attending lectures of the 5th Course i registered for. This is definitely not Pre Sem/Insem/MideSem/EndSem frustration.
Genuine, honest thoughts of a Under Grad.

Love Thy Smoker

Love Thy Smoker!!

With this blog post ,i would like to introduce Malvika Parmar, as a guest author on this blog. Malvika happens to be a old school friend, whom i met after 6 years courtesy Social Networking . Since i have only 1000 Mb of space left on this blog, i shall register a new blog to introduce the epical stories of Malvika.



I am a person of very peculiar and sometimes strange likes and dislikes, and I guess the latter outnumbers the former. So I thought that since this is my first post, let me just pick something on which I have plenty to talk about-the ‘dislikes’. Sounds contrary to the title? Well, I don’t blame the readers! But seriously, I am going to discuss one serious ‘dislike’ of mine.

I often come across people saying, “I hate smokers”. And this is exactly what I seriously, positively DISLIKE. I really fail to understand the logic behind it. Let me dissect the statement now, in an effort to understand the deeper meaning hidden within the spaces. To hate “smokers” means hating people who smoke (we are not talking diesel buses here for god’s sake). I don’t as often hear people saying, “I hate nose diggers” or “I hate men peeing on the pavement” as much as “I hate smokers”.

If you are so against smoking why don’t you say “I hate Marlboro” or “I hate cigarette lighters”? That would really be more logical. Its insane to hate someone for a habit that only goes to harm him. And yes this reminds me of the good old rationale of ‘passive smoking’ which people often come up with as a defence to their hatred. To all those people who think passive smoking of cigarettes would kill them, honey, the vehicular pollution affects you much more adversely. So you can start saying “I hate automobiles”!

I can understand if someone says that he/she hates the habit of smoking, like Mahatma Gandhi said, “hate crime and not the criminal”. Just imagine you have a very dear friend who you have known for a very long time and share a great bond with. Will you start hating him if he starts smoking? Will he suddenly be a less of a friend or a lesser being? He would undoubtedly hold similar importance and significance in your life. In fact you might just become a lot more caring for his lungs. I fell in love with a person who smokes and that really changed nothing, just like it wouldn’t have mattered if he snored while sleeping.

People, smoking is just another habit and I urge you not to judge a person’s character by a single habit. It pains me to think that people who lie, cheat, deceive, bitch and backstab their own friends get more respect just because the don’t possess any of the so called “anti-social” habits.

I am not a chain smoker. I smoke like ten cigarettes annually, but some of my dearest friends smoke on a regular basis. And whenever they are subjected to this social bias just because of one habit and others ignore any talent or the kindness they possess, it hurts me to be a part of such morally blind society.

This article was a result of a long argument with another friend of mine who apparently “hated” smokers. I managed to change his stance to an extent and thus I decided to write this article with the hope of changing a few more ‘opinions’.

So as they say, in spite of all the inhibitions and doubts, “love thy neighbour”, we can also follow another modern ‘sister saying’ “Love Thy Smoker”

Reality Check --India US Nuclear Deal !!!

These are the best of times.
These are the worst of times.
Today when we have access to a breadth and depth of information, some of us still continue to live in a virtual world. While some of us live in a world away from cause and effect, some of us live a life which is more driven by the things happening around. The latest thing happening around forced me to share some of the facts and figures.

And while I write this post,I continue to wonder over the Intellectual Immaturity the Media has been creating. The image as portrayed by the media of the Indo US nuclear deal is nothing less then " a step towards the Utopian World".

The quick check on what people believe Nuclear Deal is –

* It offers uranium at cheaper cost
* It provides us rocket science technology for Nuclear Energy.
* It offers us Cheap Reactors.

They believe so because they have been told by MEDIA –

· It provides us access to Latest Technology

---strengthening indigenous program.

· Access to Uranium and Reactors

---To help our power generation.



Reality Check –

· Since we use HW reactors, Fast breed reactors that are based on Thorium Utilization (a technology that is much better then Uranium based reactors) and we have 90% components that are indigenous ,why the hell do we need Tech Imports ?

· We have Uranium resources sufficient only for 10000 reactors,in a world where we hardly have 140 reactors operating.

· Quality of ore possessed by us varies from 0.1% to 14 -15% ,where as the Uranium Hubs in the world including Australia-Kazakhstan's exported ore is of < 0.1% quality.

· There is enough Uranium for all the Nuclear Supplier Countries but just not for us the lesser mortals.

· We are signing off with a nation that REFUSED TO ACCEPT US AS A NUCLEAR POWER AFTER POKHRAN.

Reality check for the Media---

Integrated Energy Policy, Volume I ,Xxii

---"Even if a 20 fold increase takes place in India's Nuclear capacity by 2031-2032 ,the contribution of India's nuclear power to energy generation, at best is expected to be 4 -6.4 %

For possibility of such a marginal contribution, our Government and Media are hell bound over mortgaging our strategic interests.

Growth of Nuclear power is indeed a definite solution for Energy Crisis and need of the hour but rather than continuing with the perpetual dependency and import we can explore our options and expand our capabilities.

Last but not the least—

Some more misconceptions—

1. 1.GOVT must see some point in this

* At a point in history our govt went to the extent of buying Cowdung
* We bought pulses,rice,wheat at very high costs while our farmers were waiting for their crops to be sold at nominal prices.
* We want to have One Laptop One Child program ,when we are struggling with figures at Primary level !!!

2. The Media –they cannot be stupid !!

Those who still believe in present media please mail me back, I have better reasons to not to trust them.


Facts and figures --
Collected by Anurag tripathi- anurag.r.tripathi@gmail.com-Phd Student -Dept of Chemical-IIT Bombay from Talks by Arun Shourie ,P.K.Iyengar,A.N.Prasad

The Wishlist of the 20 something...

Its been over a month since i have been into exile from roomno368 ,but then there have been reasons behind it.
And now since i m back after a long time ..its time to share something really close to me ...

TO -DO - LIST-

for the next 3 years (minimum number of years left in my graduation)

Now before i share the list ,a quick glance at the development of the list -

The list would be more of materialistic but then tht's how a 20 something is supposed to be ..
Some of the features of the list are inspired (not as the Indian films,genuinely inspired)
Some of them are truly mine
and the remaining are output of my imagination but then i mean to do those too..

• Get hold of a decent Car before my graduation (Dont ask y,m obsessed with this one)
• Grab a ipod + Camera and go shooting into the wild...
• Tour extensively around India with no constraints on expenses:P
• Work on an Ideasilver
• Make this blog as the hub for general junta = a 5 + page ranks
  
• Publish my personal novel
• For once..just once ...get a SPI of 9/10 (SPI=semester performance index)
  
• Owing a Macbook
• Work in a NGO -Explore the social part of me
• Create a political party
• Learn Marathi and French
• Finish of IMDB's top movies list
  
• Learning Linux
  
• Create a Business plan out of Chemistry

That's for the moment ..
The list would be updated every now and then .
I would love to know ur TO DO LIST ..so do chip in with your lists.
And now since i m back @roomno368 i shall have something interesting coming up soon.
Keep waiting ...