Fortune and Misfortune come in pair!

Fotune and Misfortune come in pair they say. If my experience this week anything to suggest, I would say they are absolutly right. On wednesday while going to my office, I lost my mobile on London tube. Tube is not the place to lose any thing; certainly not your mobile. Though the chance of getting it back was very bleak, I was hoping for some good samaritan go get hold of it and contact me. I realised that I had lost my phone once I left Earl's court tube station. Upon reaching my office in South Kensington, I started calling my phone. Loosing ones mobile phone is painfull; especially if you have all your contact information. For me its more painfull as I am moving to different job and very much dependent on the phone for all communication for various services. As I told you in the begning, misfortune and luck come in pair. Frtunatly for me, the phone was found by a Univercity of London student. Who like me happen to go through a similar ordeal of loosing his phone. This good soul decided to save the trouble he had gone through, contacted my faamily member from the phone book. He also, after seeing my messages, contacted me on my office phone and told where to colect the phone. Latter I went to his college and received my phone. I also waited for him to get free and personally conveyed my thanks.

First Ever Formula 1 Night Race...

Today Singapore successfully hosted the first ever Formula 1 night race at their Marina Bay circuit. The Singaporians have done a good job to make the safer and entertaining. I really liked the idea of night race. Todays race showed that they are really entertaining, and FIA should consider making few more in the race calendar.

HCI LONDON: Improvements and short comings.

Today I have to go to the Indian embassy to get a sworn affidavit to obtain passport for my new born son back in India. Previously, the father has to just give a consent letter; at least that's what I remember my friends have done. OK they seem to have changed the rule. No problem; we are law abiding citizens, aren't we!

I had to reach the consulate early and stand in the queue. At least that's what my experience was in the past. Today I wasn't expecting anything better. I have read about Indian embassy outsourcing the VISA processing to private contractors. But that shouldn't change the way passport and consular service are rendered at the embassy!. Well I was surprised (truly; I mean it, really; believe me). So what are the improvements:

1. No more long queues outside the embassy. There is no VISA queue at all (at least I haven't seen one).
2. No need to stand outside till they open the counters. There is ample sitting arrangements inside the building.
3. At least some form of vending machine for food and drinks.
4. LCD display showing must see destinations in India (I don't understand why they need to show this to Indians; don't they know them already?) periodically interrupted to display the called token number and counter (Sorry guy's the facility is available only for passport services).
5. Definitely much friendlier embassy staffs (I haven't seen those perpetually pissed-off guys around).
   

OK I accept there has been some very good improvements, what are the short comings:

1. If you are going for consular services, you have to stand in yet another queue inside; in spite of having a token number.
   
2. The lack of token number display for consular services means you have no way to know when your turn will be.
3. Though the embassy staff advice people to come in order of their respective token number, it seems we Indians are addicted to forming queues and we simply ignore their advice.

My token number was 26. So I decided to sit around for while before I go and join the queue. After some time, when I am pretty sure that my turn is about to come, I went to join the queue. I was immediately told to join the back. I was told that the queue is formed as first come first serve basis and my token number has no say in my position. But I insisted following the order and took the spot which is rightfully mine. Little I know, the queue behind me has rearranged itself as per the token number within no time.

Overall this has been a very good experience compared to the past. Hope the embassy keep-up its good work and continue improving on them!!!....

The End of an Era!

Today I submitted my resignation for my job at Imperial College London. Now things are set to take up my new position as CFD HPC Engineer at McLaren Racing ltd., Woking, UK. 17th October will be my last working day.

The life at Imperial has been good overall. Though there were time when things didn't go just the way one expects them to; overall, I would say that my experience at Imperial has been satisfactory. I may have lost some for coming to UK; I had definetly gained a lot from coming to UK.

Finally after a long time!!!

This is my first blog from my N800 using maemo wordpy. I am hoping to continue my blogging this way. If this works out well, I might blog quite often; not like in the past. I haven’t been blogging well in past two years or so. After taking up this job in Imperial College London, I haven't done my blogging. Hopefully I will get enough time in my new job @ McLaren Racing ltd.

NG Hawkeye sale - Needs a Hawkeye!.

Northrop Grumman Corporation will be demonstrating the capabilities of its Hawkeye 2000 airborne early warning aircraft at the Aero India 2005 Air Show from Feb 9-13 in Bangalore, India. The company designed, developed and produces the Hawkeye 2000 for the U.S. Navy. It is currently offering the aircraft to the Indian navy as the solution to its requirements for an airborne early-warning and battle-management command-and-control system.

What does this mean to us?.

1. By selling Hawkeye to India, US wants to overshadow similar Research and Development program in India (Embraer-DRDO AEW&C based on EMB145 platform).

2. By selling it to Indian Navy, US can maintain a strategic advantage over India in any future conflict (The possible theater of conflict between India and US is over Indian Ocean and its resources).

Religion and Politics

When religion influences politics, what we have is a big mess. As we have seen, repeatedly, through out the history, these two ideas are best kept separate. "War is merely the continuation of policy by other means" said Karl von Clausewitz. In today's world religion has become merely the continuation of politics by other means. The result in both case is destruction. People need to have faith, faith gives purpose and probably meaning to once life. But their faith shouln't be such that some selfish, blood sucking f**kers (pardon my French!) may exploit them. The recent episode of Benny hinn in Bangalore has yet again brought the political colour of religious practice in India, when the CM of Karnataka choose to attend the meeting. Many scholars and columnist wrote articles about the incident expressing the anger, amusement, and concern about such meetings in general and CM behavior in particular. They raised lots of questions in their articles, many them are published online. What surprises me is that why these, so called mouth-piece of Indian society who claim all kinds of legal violation by the CM of Karnataka, didn't take him to the court. You need not get a verdict, just get a holding which would form a precedence to the such events in future. Let me tell you one thing, the success of democracy, liberty, and freedom of choice and faith lies at the collective wisdom of individuals practicing it. It is a pain staking process, if we want to achieve it legally.