Gridlock - The Knowledge Management Blog

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Check out this new blog.. http://arjunthomas.com ( Gridlock)

Gridlock :

"GridLock" is written by Arjun Thomas. This blog is a guide to various topics related to Knowledge Management, its technologies and practices, in an attempt to De-mystify it.

The Good Food Guide.....

We've all at one point or the other wished we had a place that could give us a run down of the best restaurants in any city. While there are a large number of sites out there that cater to a wide variety of tastes i've yet to come across a site that allows me to share my experiences with other people and navigate through a variety of eating joints situated all over the world.

The Good Food Guide is one such site, though it doesnt have very much information on it right now i'm sure given time it could be one of the best food guide sites out there. So if you are a person who appreciates the finer things in life, log in , create an account and be a part of something tasty......

The day bangalore stood still.....

The week wore on rather slowly, and as usual you'd expect that the event of a holiday of any sort would be reason enough for celebration, unfortunately for us poor souls in bangalore that was not the case on the 12th and 13th. The city stood still those 2 days and for the first time in years the streets cleared up. I could probably do the stretch from the office back home in 10 minutes. Wondering whether the infrastructure improved overnight? Let me save you the shock, Raj Kumar the actor passed away that very same day, leading to riots across the city. Whether this was the handy work of his fans or "anti-social" elements i really cant say, though most of the time i have a feeling the two are inexorably linked.

I was lucky to get back home on wednesday though some folks were stuck at work for quite a while as the cabbies were'nt willing to risk a game of "stone-me-if-you-can".

The next day the city was empty, stones, and burning vehicles ensured most of sensible bangalore stayed indoors. They even cut all channels except the ones streaming news ( thought we lived in a democracy ). i had half a mind to step outside and stone someone ( half a mind , i still consider myself a part of that sensible bangalore , for now) .

What completely confounds me is the fact that all this happened over someone who died a natural death. The adminstration of the city is completely to blame, they should have figured that something along these lines might happen and its' this lacadasical attitude that got people killed.

Here's to hoping that the next time someone important dies in this city i'm not around to enjoy it!

A thursday ....

Mid-week breaks always seem to liven up that period from monday to friday just a bit. Makes me wonder why it isnt implemented as corporate policy, wait, then we'd have too much fun. So it's back to the 5 day week for us poor slobs.

Thursday started off rather well , there wasnt any work to begin with , though there was a movie at 10:30. Malamal Weekly was the name, a rip-off of an older english movie. Then again, with the indian plot twists and burst of comedy / emotion you wonder if it isnt an entirely new movie. Had to step into the forum to get to the theatre, wasnt as crowded as i thought it would be. Half an hour later we hit the roads.

That was followed shortly by lunch at the Only place, i had been dying to try their buffet, and at 125 bucks i thought it was a steal. Little did i know lady luck had other things in mind.Their buffet was indian ( indian food at the only place !! ). It's been a while since i've had their steaks, and truth be told that place is heading steadily down hill. Didnt enjoy their steaks as much as i used to.. The drinks were even worse, and i'm talking about iced tea not a cocktail.

Our order was as follows, a green salad, a potato salad, a steak , a fish steak, lasagne and a london crumb fish ( by far the worst thing i've eaten at the only place to date ) . We spent a little over 3 hours at the place, well past closing time. It's a wonder we weren't chucked out. The only thing of any real interest over the course of those 3 hours was the conversation. It's safe to assume i shant be visiting the only place for a while.

So till next time and a better restaurant......

How i lost half a day of my life.....

You've probably heard of the crazy driving methods of us indians, and for those of us who reside in this country it's a way of life, nay, a right of passage. It's amazing that we are still a nation of over a billion people , specially with the way people drive in our cities.

I experienced first hand this weekend what night driving on a bus is all about. To give you a little background i was heading to kerala to catch up with a few relatives ( cuz, aunt, uncle, granma.. you know the story ) . Well, i'm not too fond of travelling by bus, i swore those days were over after college. I dont want to sound like a snob, but i really cant sleep on a bus. K.. i'm deviating... the onward journey went well ( well = no sleep , arriving in one piece ). So i'm there, ate a ton of food ( i love home cooked food ) and then after spending some quality time with my family i decided to headback.

So, it's sunday evening...i catch my bus but as luck would have it my seat was changed from the 5th row to the first... Now if any of you have travelled by a volvo bus you know the front is all but a sheet of glass. So here i am starring out onto the road sitting right at the front of this monstrous beast and the driver takes off.. ... i'm not kidding, he'd give alonso a run for his money. The roads in kerala are really tiny, 2 cars ( read all types of vehicles including buses ) can pass each other with inches to spare.. Add to that the abundance of blind turns and you've got yourself an action / adventure flick.

I spent the entire night starring out in front while the driver weaved ( remember we're talking about a friggin bus ) in an out of traffic on the highway, and on occasion using the slipstream of the vehicle in front to slingshot his way around it ( once again this is a friggin bus!!). It was like watching a train wreck in slow motion i couldn't take my eyes of it, and the only though that kept racing through my mind was ( there's no crush zone!! ).

Though hats off to the driver, he did manage not to kill anyone, and that ladies and gentlemen, is saying a lot.

So here ends the story of how i lost 3o minutes of my life, though honestly i'm just glad i didnt loose all of it.

Till next time....

The perfect chain mail response......

“I want to thank all of you who have taken the time and
trouble to send me your stupid chain letters over the
past few years.

Yes, thank you, thank you, thank you from the bottom of what's left of my heart for making me feel safe, secure, blessed, and wealthy.

Because of your concern...I no longer can drink Coca
Cola because it can remove toilet stains.

I no longer use Gladwrap in the microwave because it
causes cancer.

I no longer check the coin return on pay phones
because I could be pricked with a needle infected with
AIDS.

I no longer use margarine because it's one molecule away from being plastic.

I no longer go to shopping malls because someone will
drug me with a perfume sample and rob me.

I no longer receive packages from Austpost or TNT Express since they are actually Al Qaeda in disguise.

I no longer answer the phone because someone will ask me to dial a stupid number for which I will get the phone bill from hell with calls to Jamaica, Uganda, Singapore, and Uzbekistan.

Thanks to you, I have learned that God only answers my
prayers if I forward an email to seven of my friends and make a wish within five minutes. (man, the BIBLE did not mention it works that way!)

I no longer have any savings because I gave it to a sick girl who is about to die in the hospital (for the
1,387,258th time).

I no longer have any money at all, but that will change once I receive the $15,000 that Microsoft and AOL are sending me for participating in their special e-mail program.

Yes, I want to thank all of you soooooooo much for
looking out for me!

I will now return the favor.

If you don't send this e-mail to at least 1200 people in the next 60 seconds, a large bird with diarrhoea will mess on your head at 5:00 PM this afternoon and the fleas of a thousand camels will infest your armpits.

I know this will occur because it actually happened to
a friend of a friend of a friend of a friend of a friend of a friend of a friend of my next door neighbour's ex-mother-in-law's 8th husband's 2nd cousin's 3rd husband's ex-wife's mother's beautician!
........

Have a great Year 2006”

Enigma project cracks second code

Online codebreaking enthusiasts working to solve a series of German World War II ciphers have cracked the second of three codes.

Thousands of users around the world have joined the M4 Project, using spare computing power to crack the codes.

The messages were encoded using the German Enigma machine, and outfoxed wartime experts at Bletchley Park.

Project leaders have already failed to crack the last remaining message, but insist it can be broken.

The three messages were unearthed by amateur historian Ralph Erskine, who submitted them to a cryptology journal in 1995 as a challenge for codebreakers.

read more.....

Satellite may have found Noah's Ark!!

All you christians, pay attention. Seems the boat that once carried every known species of all things creepy and crawly might have been found.

"March 15, 2006— A satellite image may launch a scientific expedition to search for Noah's Ark. The snapshot captures a mysterious object on Turkey's Mount Ararat.

"I see for a 1,015 feet in length a shiplike object that has almost unbroken symmetry," said Porcher Taylor, an assistant professor at the University of Richmond. "

Read complete story..

Need a date???

" An employee at the Roane County Courthouse went out three times with a convict on Maine's Most Wanted list. Robert Fain had active warrants against him in four states, with prosecutors in Roane County planning to charge him with aggravated assault after they say he tried to run over two Kingston Police officers last Friday..... " Read more

Ok, i understand that some folks are desperate... but really?? This story really tickled my funny bone. While this is amusing on many levels what amazes me is it also shows how much google has become a part of our lives. Googling your date, sets a new benchmark on backgroup checks. Think of all those Poor out of work PI's.

Moral of the story..? Google your date :-)

Will keep you posted on more such weird stories that i encounter......

The slow death and Re-birth of Batman....

Batman, probably the most interesting superhero of all times, and unlike most superhero's he doesnt have any "super human" powers to speak off, barring the over sized bank account.

By far the easiest superhero to relate to, a man pushed to the edge by the evil he see's, decides to take matters into his own hands.

Batman, draws on the darkness, in order to fight it. As the years went by the depictions got darker and gloomier, and as one, fans responded positively. Now , when you try creating a movie based on such an epic characted you'd better do it right.

Tim burton's batman got it right, just the right amount of darkness... and a joy to watch. Both batman and batman returns were visually pleasing movies and didnt mess around with the characters.

Joel Schumacher's Batman forever continued to channel the same darkness but the slide in quality from the first batman was very noticeable. His last shot at the batman series, batman and robin total messed up the theme. He tried to infuse a sense of comedy into the whole movie, which as fans will tell you is a very bad idea, specially in a batman movie. So the end result was, even with a stellar cast, as you guesssed a disaster.

Christopher Nolan's Batman, went back to the roots. By far the best batman movie to be every made this is a must watch. Christiane Bale's acting was spot on, playing both the tormented bruce wayne and the violent batman, it completed the transition perfectly. So as they say, welcome the change!

The Malls in Bangalore....

The term "Sardines in a Jar" seem familiar? Well it's the experience you go through the moment you step into anyone of the malls in bangalore ( i have a feeling this is a global phenomenon ). Your first instinct is to run for cover, the second more logical thought that crosses your mind is... "huh, so we really do have over a billion people in this country" .

When i first got into the city i was pretty impressed with the malls, the great stores, decent eating joints and most importantly awesome movie theatres. None of these have changed, mind you, it's just that the people have gotten a little outa hand. Ever been stepped on? bumped into? shoved through a door? ... well then you know what i'm talking about. The thought of genocide does cross my mind on occasion, but lets be honest , i couldnt afford it!

Parking!! as those of you who've lived in this city know, the chances of finding a place to park your car is about as rare as finding a decent place to drink in the city of chennai.

So the garden city no longer, blore has been replaced with too many people and too many idiots running the city.

So advice, if you want to catch a movie, book your tickets over the phone or on the internet catch a rick and get their 15 minutes before the movie starts. Most importantly, run like hell after its' done.

Looking forward to seeing the lot of you here ...

P.S : It isnt as bad as i make it out to be... then again.....

Alcohol and the city

A popular spin-off of "sex and the city" alcohol and the city talks about one mans quest of conquering every pub in the city and surviving the night to talk about it. ( yeah i know you've probably lost interest at this point )

In tonight episode the young adventurer steps into "casa del sol" a lounge bar on Residency road. Using the rear entrance he ascends into the most confused setting imaginable. 2 penguins loiter in the corner ( magicians ?? ) ( hosts??) who knows? ( we later find out they're a couple having an engagement party) He spots his comrades in arms and comfortably lands himself in a bean bag and then the drinks begin.. He starts off with a fuzzy screwdriver and follows up with a mojito.... while the people around order a variety of cocktails and starters.

A few jokes here , a bunch of anecdotes there and pretty soon you have a real party. In the background elvis sings ( i'm not kidding the dude's name was elvis ). While the slow slaughter of various artists occured in the background we tanked up on more alcohol. The party ended on a high note ( literally ) and we all managed to drag ourselves back home.

Though i did manage to get home a lot faster than usual....... i think it involves flying over some of those bad sections i talked about earlier.

Moral of the story , this post sucks!!!

I'm probably going to delete this post once i sober up so lap it up while you can....

Enter TaxMan

A horrible way to start a blog i know, but what can i say..... it's that time of the year. Having enjoyed the benefits of a relatively tax free 8 months i'm confronted with the horror of having a pretty large portion of my income given to the taxman ( not something i'm too happy about ). So after the usual scrambling around to get investment proofs and such i can safely say i dont think i'll be living on the streets ( atleast for a while that is ).

Speaking of tax.. where the bloody hell does all that money go?? certainly not into our roads. I've resorted to the "bunny hop" approach to prevent the re-ordering off my vertebrae.... The science behind this approach is memorizing stretches which have bad sections and hop to a parallel road. If you dont have a parallel road then it might be a good idea to get a much more comprehensive medical insurance package. The way i see it you have a greater chance of dislocating your organs than having an accident in this city.