Just Sarin

check this link:
http://incometaxindia.gov.in/archive/ListofexemptionsunderI.T.Act1961.doc

the IT authorities are planning on reviewing the exemptions that are
available at present.

hopefully, since the salaried class is a significant portion of the
vote bank, they would not like to remove the few exemptions that are
avilable to such people, however, you might wanna just take a look at
the 20 page document at the end of this link and see if you would like
to send in your two cents to the IT chappies.

Once in America a plane crashed, only a monkey who was traveling in
the plane was left alive. Fortunately the monkey was intelligent
enough to understand our language and reply in actions. The officials
went to see the monkey in the hospital and had a talk with the monkey.

Officer: "When the plane took off what were the travelers doing?"

Monkey: "Tying their belts"

Officer: "What were the airhostesses doing?"

Monkey: "Saying Hello! Good morning!"

Officer: "What were the pilots doing?"

Monkey: "Checking the system"

Officer: "What were you doing?"

Monkey: "Looking for my people"

Officer: "After 10' minutes what were the travelers doing?"

Monkey: "Having beverages and snacks"

Officer: "What were the airhostesses doing?"

Monkey: "Serving the travelers"

Officer: "What were the Pilots doing?"

Monkey: "Handling the steering"

Officer: "What were you doing?"

Monkey: "Eating & throwing"

Officer: "After 30 minutes what were the travelers doing?"

Monkey: "Some were sleeping and some were reading"

Officer: "What were the airhostesses doing?"

Monkey: "Make up"

Officer: "What were the pilots doing?"

Monkey: "Handling the steering"

Officer: "What were you doing?"

Monkey: "Nothing"

Officer: "Just before plane crash what were the travelers doing?"
Monkey: "All were sleeping"

Officer: "What were the pilots doing?"

Monkey: "Handling the air hostess"

Officer: What were you doing?

Monkey: Handling the steering!!!!!

No more Questions!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

enjoy some good jokes :-)

WHAT IS AN ARJUN SINGH SALE?
Ans: 49.5% off.

WHICH IS ARJUN SINGH'S FAVOURITE CITY?
Ans: Kota

WHY DOESN'T ARJUN SINGH HAVE TOO MANY FRIENDS?
Ans: Because he's 'reserved' by nature.

WHY DID ARJUN SINGH LEARN ARABIC?
Ans: So that he could read 'backwards'.

ARJUN SINGH WAS MADE THE LAW MINISTER. HE ZAPPED EVERYONE BY CREATING
ANOTHER SUPREME COURT. HE CALLED IT THE SUPREME TRIBUNAL. WHAT WAS HIS
LOGIC?
Ans: For every SC, there should be an ST.

IF ARJUN SINGH WERE TO MAKE A CAREER IN FILMS, WHICH JOB WOULD HE OPT FOR?
Ans: Choosing the caste.

IF ARJUN SINGH OWNED A MOVIE THEATER, WHAT WOULD THE BALCONY BE CALLED?
Ans: Backward Class

IF ARJUN SINGH WERE A HISTORIAN, HOW WOULD HE DIVIDE TIME?
Ans: AD, BC & OBC

hope the weekend looks good for all of you. :-)

==================================================

ONE DAY while at the service desk of the large discount store I worked
for, I saw a hand reach over and pick up the microphone for the
public-address system. I assumed it was one of the assistant managers
and didn't bother to look up. Then I heard a male voice say over the
loudspeaker, "Hurry up, Margaret! I'm ready to go."

-- Contributed to Reader's Digest "All In a Day's Work" by Patricia A. Yager
==================================================

you can get the text at:
http://exclusives.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1555998.cms

the Opus Dei is involved in a lot of stuff in the country - they
currently run two study centers in india (that i am aware of) - one in
delhi and another in mumbai.

i have participated in two of the social work camps they've organized
- one to help waterproof water tanks in sat tal and another to help
rebuild (though we were there only to clear rubble) a camp in gujarat
after the earthquake.

other than this, they run classes to teach students computers, normal
tuition classes and even some musical instruments.

to the best of my knowledge, they've never employed assasins :-)

http://www.orkut.com/CommMsgs.aspx?cmm=57075&tid=2461977154334167121&start=1

for all those who are fans of orkut, check this link as well:
http://www.ecyrd.com/ButtUgly/wiki/Main_blogentry_230104_1

turns out, orkut in finnish might be slang for something else. i'm
sure that google never did realize this when choosing the name for
their *social* networking experiment :-D

The two women (from right) in the picture above (way back there in the back ground) are scheduled to join IIM-B in this year... Some people did express the wish of returning to the alma mater in case it were the other two in the frame :-)

i've posted a shit load of photo's on the blog.
the links are below, in case i've missed any thing, do check through
the archives etc. for any posts for which i've not given the link
below.

http://iimblog.blogspot.com/2006/05/delhi-anusmaran-06-our-guys-on-ramp.html
http://iimblog.blogspot.com/2006/05/delhi-anusmaran-06-fashion-show-ends.html
http://iimblog.blogspot.com/2006/05/delhi-anusmaran-06-l-square-profs-show.html
http://iimblog.blogspot.com/2006/05/delhi-anusmaran-06-felicitations-and.html
http://iimblog.blogspot.com/2006/05/delhi-anusmaran-06-warming-things-up.html
http://iimblog.blogspot.com/2006/05/delhi-anusmaran-l-square.html
http://iimblog.blogspot.com/2006/05/delhi-anusmaran-06-its-unbelievable.html
http://iimblog.blogspot.com/2006/05/delhi-anusmaran-06-more-photos-of-our.htmlhttp://iimblog.blogspot.com/2006/05/delhi-anusmaran-06-l-square-blood-is_23.html
http://iimblog.blogspot.com/2006/05/delhi-anusmaran-06-still-more-photos.html
http://iimblog.blogspot.com/2006/05/delhi-anusmaran-06-dingi-shaking-his.html
http://iimblog.blogspot.com/2006/05/anusmaran-06-our-batch.html

Hi guys,

"catwalk video.MPG" (7.87 MB) is available at the following link:

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=TSAT3JJ8

sarin.

great article which shows exactly how much in control of the
reservation issue our HRD minister is.

aman made a very great point on reservations - in college where hefty
tuition fee's (and capitation fee's/entry "donations" more than just
the tuition fee's) keep meritorious students out, there is no great
protest. perhaps we should also include those colleges into this
controversy and have some changes made there too.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Raman Jauhar

ever since i saw my first episode of "american idol", i thought 'this
is the place where you will find the dumbest of people giving the
dumbest of answers to straight forward questions'.

but after reading the following interview, my perception has totally
changed. we have something that beats the american show hollow.

a must read for all - its so hilarious that it sometimes seems unreal
- a work of fiction!!

http://www.ibnlive.com/article.php?id=11063&section_id=4

Very enjoyable movie, though definitely not up to the mark of the Peter Sellers original, though Steve Martin manages to do a pretty sturdy job. Only thing that I found a little disconcerting is how the bumbling Inspector Jacques Clouseau turned into a top investigator in the last 15 mins - rather than stumbling onto the final criminal.

The biggest let down in the movie would be Chief Inspector Drefus, that Kevin Kline is not able to match up with the desperation that was shown by the pervious actor (can't recall his name).

Too gory a movie for my taste. Haven't seen the original one, and am quite happy not having see that.

Hear from a friend that its physically impossible for a ship to over turn and stand upside down as it did - but i can trust engineers to design something in a way that this could happen too.

The plot's simple - turn a ship over and let a few survivors try to crawl out from its under belly. Has a lot of special effects, and a lot of thrills and chills... but definitely not a film for the weak of heart.

Fairly funny movie, though i prefer Cheaper by the Dozen, since there is much less emotion involved there.

Tale is pretty funny, with 18 kids trying to break up the couple, and then working to get them back together. At least one scene with "Hot Mama" should've been included in this too, though Rene Russo does her bit to put the spice into the film (though a little old now).

The final return of the family is as always emotional, and in my opinon wasted in a comedy.

Fun movie, with good voices that match the characters. Little excessive amount of a build up for the squirell who helps the climax be the climax.

if anyone wants gmail invites... i've got 100 left, and no one to give.

link: http://www.whatevergames.com/db/viewtopic.php?t=302

VP of Marketing and Product Development
San Francisco
Competitive Salary

Respond to andie at devastation3 dot com

Note: This is an Adult Entertainment Media Company – will work with
explicit adult material.

THE COMPANY
Successful, fast growing adult entertainment/media company is seeking
a VP of Marketing. They are currently developing future plans to
expand into mainstream movies and a night club. They are also
expanding operations internationally and have recently incorporated a
subsidiary in Holland.

KEY OBJECTIVES
The VP of Marketing and Product Development will maximize revenues in
existing markets, and develop/help execute strategies to expand into
new markets. The position is initially hands-on but will expand to
include managerial responsibilities.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Marketing

- Develop and implement the overall corporate branding strategy
(logo's, the look-and-feel of all products).
- Conduct market research to identify growth opportunities for each
existing product line.
- Develop and execute marketing plan for each product line.
- Develop marketing materials, such as trade show flyers, banner
advertisements etc.
- Hire, train and manage help where necessary.
- Attend trade shows and industry events, seminars and conferences.

New Product Development

- Gather market data from various sources, e.g. internal employees,
existing customers, trade publications etc.
- Use data to make recommendations about new products (e.g. new genres
of websites, interactive media, higher budget movies, toys etc.) or
new distribution channels for existing products (e.g. IPTV, DRM,
cellphones, Cable, pay-per-view, DVDs.)
- Present research to CEO, department heads, and directors.
- Work closely with department heads in IT, production and accounting
to develop an implementation plan for approved new products.
- Develop marketing plan for new product introduction.
- Hire, train and manage sales staff to cover ongoing work associated
with new products (e.g. a DVD salesperson would be needed to push a
DVD product line.)

SKILLS/EXPERIENCE/EDUCATION

- MBA or equivalent in Marketing
- Ten years of product development and/or product management experience.
- TV, movie, or video distribution experience preferred
- Proven track record of increasing responsibility.
- Strong analytical skills. Ability to gather data from diverse
sources and synthesize it to support product and business
recommendations.
- Comfortable with technology, proven ability to work effectively with
IT professionals.
- Strong communications skills – able to communicate at all levels of
the company.
- Demonstrated leadership and teamwork skills.
- Strong people management skills including the ability to motivate
and develop staff and build a high-performing team.

SUCCESS FACTORS:

- Organizationally Aware - able to effect results by maneuvering
through appropriate formal and informal organization channels
- Business Acumen - knowledgeable in current and possible future
technologies, laws and trends affecting the company.
- Innovative - links multiple and varied concepts to develop new and
workable ideas. Is good at bringing the creative ideas of others to
the table.
- Global Vision - understands and can communicate vision and purpose
beyond the short-term.

BENEFITS:

- Competitive salary based on experience.
- Commissions based on new product sales
- 401K plan (eligible after one year employed)
- Health plan
- Bright, spacious offices in the heart of San Francisco
- Fun, dynamic work atmosphere
- 10-6 Monday to Friday.
- Vacations, holidays, sick time.

For consideration please forward resume along with an outline which
highlights relevant experience, current and expected salary to Andie
Clarke andie@devastation3.com – andie at devastation3 dot com
Note: This is an Adult Entertainment Media Company – will work with
explicit adult material.

the time 16:00:59, sunday, 14th may 2006

message received on my cellphone:
Hey swthrt..Whts up..Me done 4 2day..Aisa pata hota to apne kal hi
plan kar leta..Wel nahin to next sunday to ab pukka hi rakho:-)

sender: +91-9891241672

obviously, was quite kicked at the message and all set to meet some
mystery chick.

the time 16:02:00, sunday, 14th may 2006

message received:
Oops. Wrng msg,wrng no. Sorry.

sender: +91-9891241672

all my visions of hot chick crumbled to dust... *sob sob* :-P

hope you guys having a good week :-D

DURING A TRIAL at which I was an attorney, an eminent psychologist was
called to testify. A severe, no-nonsense professional, she sat down in
the witness chair, unaware that its rear legs were set precariously on
the back of the raised platform. "Will you state your name?" asked the
district attorney. Tilting back in her chair, she opened her mouth to
answer, but instead catapulted head-over-heels backward and landed in
a stack of exhibits and recording equipment. We watched in stunned
silence as she extricated herself, rearranged her disheveled dress and
hair, and was reseated on the witness stand. The glare she directed at
onlookers dared anyone to so much as smirk.
"Well, doctor," continued the district attorney, without changing
expression, "we could start with an easier question."

--Contributed to "All In a Day's Work" by Pamela Williams

http://dilbertblog.typepad.com/the_dilbert_blog/2006/05/gender_pay_disp.html

its written by scot adams.

guess i have already posted my comments on reservations before and
will do so many more times. my basic stand is in opposition of
reservations - being a general category student.

as per the below author, most people who enter IIT are coached through
institutes that train students to crack the JEE exam. i don't deny
this, however, one must remember that this is purely human nature - to
adapt to the environment (in this case JEE) and take advantage of what
ever possible support (coaching institutes) is available.

at the end of the day, evolution is the final meritocracy, and it
truly is the survival of the fittest. i'm sure all the animals out
there must be cribbing their ass off that humans have weapons and so
are keeping them subjugated etc. not sure if the author would like us
to fight a tiger for our food on even terms with him.

of course, contrasting with the evolution picture is that of us being
a society - and most importantly having to keep the under privileged
just about happy enough so that they don't resort to crime. thus
people are fine with giving some amounts of reservations and also to
help the "back ward" people out of fear that in case these people
decide to resort to outright lawlessness, we wouldn't be able to step
out of our houses at all. this can be pretty much equated with the
scenario in any corporate where people are paid just enough to keep
them in the job, and prevent them from moving on to a "better"
opportunity.

unfortunately, at this juncture step in the politicians, who disrupt
"normal" society as well, and go for vote bank politics.
unfortunately, while the bulk of this country remains in the
"backward" bracket (with a huge number of people below the poverty
line and the general standard of living low), the politicians can
always hope to get votes through such policies. though i'm not very
well read about US politics, i do believe that there are similar
instances in terms of a tax rebate (or something like retaining jobs
in the US by preventing outsourcing), which aim at populistic vote
bank politics there too.

finally, everyone is selfish - hence "backward" people will always
want more reservations while "forward" people will always prefer
"meritocracies" which give them an advantage.

i think the most relevant argument that i've heard opposing
reservations is the fact that it does not actually benefit the
economically "backward", since people who take advantage of these are
actually on an even footing with the general category students as far
as economic strength is concerned. i base my opposition to
reservations on this point - especially since it is very simple for
anyone to get a SC/ST certificate (i believe in UP this can be
achieved at as little as Rs. 500).

thats a lot of quotes. enjoy the reading. :-)
==================================================
Eviscerating a holy cow

NISHEETH SRIVASTAVA

LET US NOT DELUDE OURSELVES. IIT IS A VERY EFFICIENT AND CONSISTENT
BREEDING GROUND FOR PRODUCTIVE MEDIOCRITY

IT IS very fashionable for the young upper middle class `global'
Indian citizen to inveigh against the `sectarian', `populist' and
`parochial' policies of the government. The article `Reservation saga'
(Open Page, April 23) denouncing 27 per cent reservation for OBCs in
the IITs and IIMs falls under this category. It seeks to question the
validity of the anti-reservation lobby. As a specific case, we will
examine their claims with regard to IIT.

The most feasible approach towards analysing the argument against
reservation in IIT is to view the underlying axioms that its
proponents cheerfully assume to be unquestionably true. The most banal
of them all is the presumption that the IITs are merit-based
`prestigious' `temples of education' that command international
respect.

Centres of excellence?

Merit-based? As of JEE 2004, more than 25 per cent entrants to IIT had
been enrolled in a coaching institute named FIIT-JEE. The curriculum
is based on analysing trends in JEE papers and focusing students'
preparation on mindless precision in solving problems to clear the
JEE. The fee for the two-year course is upwards of Rs. 40,000. And
FIIT-JEE is but one of myriads of coaching institutes that populate
the high-school education system in our cities. Vidyamandir in Delhi,
Ramaiah in Hyderabad and Bansal in Kota are household names in the
society of JEE aspirants. All these institutes, with perhaps the
honourable exception of Vidyamandir, concentrate on rote-repetition
and practice to prepare candidates for the JEE.

Prestigious? Infosys recruits upwards of 50 B. Tech students, from a
batch of about 500, to work as software-writing minions at a salary of
Rs. 11,000 a month. The IIT system has acquired a reputation for
producing `techno-clerks' to create wealth for the burgeoning Indian
economy. That's not prestige; it's pragmatism.

Temples of education? Of the 180 credits that a B. Tech student is
required to accumulate towards completing his degree, how many do not
relate to science and technology? A grand total of twelve — including
an instructional course in English. How much flexibility does a B.
Tech student possess in deciding his course work? None.

Let us not delude ourselves. IIT is a very efficient and consistent
breeding ground for productive mediocrity. It generates graduates with
a one-dimensional view of the world and with an intellectual horizon
stunted to perform in a particular field of economic activity, viz.
technology.

This leads us to the crux of the argument against reservation — there
should be no regulations upon excellence. "Why not have reservation in
the army? Is education not as important as defence?" goes the
plaintive cry. Such an argument would have much merit if we were
speaking of actual centres of research that do indeed strive for
creative and disciplined endeavour — TIFR, BARC and IISc are the first
examples that spring to mind. But to raise such an argument in favour
of the IITs evinces an almost criminal disregard for the ground
reality.

Even a cursory perusal of campus culture in the IITs — their cultural
hierarchy, their social interactions, their means of recreation, etc.,
paints a definitive picture of IIT students as self-aggrandising
delusional brats living off the fat of the land in the form of
subsidies that an indulgent government continues to ritually bestow
upon a system that has deviated so far from its founding principles
that it betokens those who feel responsible for it to look the other
way.

It is instructive to note that the only opposition to the reservation
proposal arises from the sections of society that will `suffer' as a
consequence — the self-labelled `Forward Class.' Both the faculty and
the administration of these markedly autonomous institutes have
expressed no views publicly on the matter. Does this not imply that a
concern regarding the dilution of merit as a consequence of the
reservation is groundless? Either that or, as is more likely, the
faculty at these institutes is too blasé to view any change as making
a difference to the commercially guided ethos that prevails.

Suggestion

Thus, the argument against reservation ought to be viewed for what it
is — a self-serving, pompous plaint. A parallel could be drawn,
without much exaggeration, with the righteous indignation of the
French aristocracy at the time of the Revolution. While a caste-based
reservation system may be opposed on other principles, the argument
that it would dilute the quality of the intellectual product it offers
India is flawed because it presupposes that such quality actually
exists. This is an extremely narcissistic claim.

(The writer is a student at IIT Madras)

All three of us set off to have dinner at Golden Dragon in DT Mega Mall. Mom and dad grab some hard drinks, while i stick it out with water. Soups downed and we're into the main course before I remember to get a photo clicked.

Mom tries to down her drink without any evidence being left, but i'm too quick.

Perhaps this photo will let her know who was drinking her beer. She constantly kept wondering who was drinking from her glass, even though it was safely perched out of reach of anyone else at the table.

Dad has a go at his glass, trying desperately to squeeze out a few drops more out of an empty one.

After dinner, we decided to grab a few sweets from the Candico cart. Guess who went to town on the chocolate coated almonds... ;-)

The three of us trying to pose on the steps with a timer...
A little better pose, as i got the hang of it... but only slightly better...

some time ... way way back... must've been almost a year back... there was a pottery class held in our office, and i had the good fortune of being allowed to try my hand at "pottery".

by the side here is the result of my two attempts at it... as you can see... the person "helping" me out was quite talented, and managed to put up quite a good structure, inspite of all my best efforts to ensure failure. :-)

have been watching the roads in gurgaon develop almost magically, and
never managed to spot a road roller or a blockage of the road - it was
(and still is) being handled very well...

then only at the last weekend, did i spot the road roller on the road,
late at night... and today for the first time, there was a blockage on
the road...

definitely think that the gurgaon authorities should be given great
praise for the very professional and planned way in which the roads
have been tarred.