CLSIDs, Windows GodMode and Lock Utility

Today I am going to write something about Class IDs popularly known as GUIDs. A Class ID (CLSID) is a 128 bit number that represents a unique id for an application or component. Typically they are displayed like this "{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D}". They are used to uniquely identify a given program. GUIDGEN.EXE (or UUIDGEN.EXE) is the utility provided by Microsoft to generate CLSID for a given application.

Now comes the interesting part. You can play with these GUIDs or CLSIDs when they come from system tools. Meaning, there are CLSIDs for all system tools like 'My Computer', 'Control Panel', 'Administrative Tools' etc. Below is the list of some of the CLSIDs:

Administrative Tools            {D20EA4E1-3957-11d2-A40B-0C5020524153}
Connections                          {241D7C96-F8BF-4F85-B01F-E2B043341A4B}
Computer                              {20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}
Documents                            {450D8FBA-AD25-11D0-98A8-0800361B1103}
History                                    {ff393560-c2a7-11cf-bff4-444553540000}
Network Places                     {208d2c60-3aea-1069-a2d7-08002b30309d}
Printers and Faxes                 {2227A280-3AEA-1069-A2DE-08002B30309D}
Programs Folder                    {7be9d83c-a729-4d97-b5a7-1b7313c39e0a}
Recycle Bin                             {645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}
WEI                                          {78F3955E-3B90-4184-BD14-5397C15F1EFC}

GodMode                              {ED7BA470-8E54-465E-825C-99712043E01C}

Lock                                        {2559a1f2-21d7-11d4-bdaf-00c04f60b9f0}

WEI stands for Windows Experience Index.

Create a folder 'Softwares' and rename it to 'Softwares. {ED7BA470-8E54-465E-825C-99712043E01C}'. The properties of the folder are changed according to the CLSID appended to it. That is if you rename the folder 'Softwares' to 'Softwares. {20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}' the folder is changed to My Computer. Pretty interesting, isn't it?

Now, the most exhilarating part of the whole name game is the GodMode and Lock class IDs. Create a folder named 'GodMode' and rename it to 'GodMode. {ED7BA470-8E54-465E-825C-99712043E01C}'. The icon of the folder changes to something like that of control panel. Now open this folder, it contains almost every system tool from defragmenting a drive to creating a partition to configuring services and so on. This is called as GodMode feature of Windows 7 because all the system utilities are captured under one roof.

Another interesting thing is the Lock CLSID. Create a folder called 'Movies' and rename it to 'Movies. {2559a1f2-21d7-11d4-bdaf-00c04f60b9f0}'. A lock icon appears on the folder and you cannot open the folder. This can be used to protect important files and folders from other users.

All the CLSIDs are stored in System Registry at the location 'HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID'

PS: The information in this post has been taken from various sites through Google and then consolidated into an easy-to-understand blog-post.

‘Right’ ya ‘Wrong’

It’s not always the right or wrong that matters in life. We cannot decide each and every thing in life by checking whether it’s right or wrong. Because right and wrong is pretty much a relative term. What is right for one person might not be right for other. So, one cannot judge everything on the basis of right or wrong.

Life is strange and seems to miss the rules set by it. While most of the things go by the aforesaid rules of nature, some seem to sneak a peek through the defined algorithms and go the unwanted way. In technical terms we might call them ‘bug’ just because it goes the unwanted way. For this, however meager the part may be, we have to take extra care and make sure that we resolve the bug. During doing so we cannot follow the then so usual way of looking at it. This holds exactly true even for life. Some things have to be interpreted in different manner when it doesn’t go the desired way. Then it doesn’t matter if it was right or wrong. Only thing that matters is how well we tackle it.

How great this life would have been had it been governed only by the definition and differentiation of good or bad? But life usually seems to take a curve when you feel you are getting a hold of it. And that’s the best part of life. Probably uncertainity.

My first Muslim wedding

May is the month of marriages in India. With lots of mahurats around, one is always busy attending marriages and receptions here. So was I for the past 6 weeks and it has still not ended. But of all, the marriage that is still stuck in my head was a Muslim wedding I attended of one of my colleague.


The hall was decorated in a large open engineering college ground which could easily accommodate anywhere around 800 – 1000 people. I along with my friends reached the venue well in time. Having dressed in formals I thought it was perfect for a wedding cum reception party. But I was indeed very wrong. As soon as I entered the hall, I saw a large crowd with all (all means literally all) women in burkhas and men in sherwanis or kurtas.

Feeling like aliens we creeped our ways to the last of the seats and started our wait. Wait for what? Even we did not know what we waited for. Maybe for the bride to arrive or may be some announcement or some program or at least dinner. But there wasn’t even the slightest of the hints for anything. I was nervous as everything seemed Greek to me, but I enjoyed the curiosity. After a long time, we saw the groom entering the hall. He was heavily built with broad shoulders. We had a sigh of relief as we took his entry as a sure shot sign of the commencement of at least a program or something. We were proved wrong yet again. He along with his family went to the very first row and settled there where many people surrounded him, may be to greet him.

We then waited for another huge amount of time, not knowing what to do. Very soon there was a fuss of people rushing to the sides of the hall. We then came to know that it was the seating for dinner. There were dining tables arranged on the ground with loads of food on it. It included the bread, water bottles, and a large cola bottle. We got a table for ourselves and settled ourselves there. The waiters started to serve food which obviously had to start with chicken. He served many different dishes of chicken, then rotis, and breads and curries and then finally came in the biryani. The food was delicious. Finally came in the ice-cream which completed our appetite.

No sooner than we had our meals completed, we saw our friend, the bride who entered the hall. We all got up and stood at the border of the red carpet on which she was supposed to walk into the hall onto the stage. She looked beautiful, heavily clad with beautiful red saree with all the work, loaded with ornaments and jewellery; she walked slowly on the red carpet with her eyes looking the ground which showed a sign of feeling shy. We finally were joyed from within that at least something is happening over here which we were able to understand.

People started gathering near the stage to queue up to meet the newly wedded couple. We waited for a moment and then we too got into the line. We greeted the couple with loads of wishes and had some snaps with them. After some time, we all decided to leave as it was a day with trains on strike and everyone of us had to travel a great deal of time to get back home. It was certainly one of kind of wedding which I would remember in times to come.

What is happening here ...

I mean what in the name of God is happening here. Everyday same shit and same things happen. It is like there is no variety in the universe and no other option too. Everything is pre-planned and all the results are repeated unanimously. I mean, I just can't understand how this can be repeated each and every single time. Whoever is the opponent how come MI (read Mumbai Indians) manages to win every match? This is great, indeed awesome. And the sculptor of most of these wins is none other than Sachin Tendulkar. As he is called, the MASTER (which he truly is), he has mastered every nook and corner of the game. Today during the presentation ceremony after winning the game against CSK (read Chennai Super Kings), he was asked by Harsha Bhogle, any message to the fans, they are thinking you are already in the semis to which God (that is what I and for the matter of fact, many others too call him) replied … Oh no. This is funny old game (awesome). Whenever everything seems to be alright, some or the other thing starts to go wrong. What an idea sirjee. What a man. What a personality. In spite of spending more than 20 years in this game, he still treats it like something sacred and with utter respect. He could have said, oh yeah, I mean we are playing so well, and I am after all God of cricket (I know I am being more flamboyant and boasting Sachin a bit too much) so we will definitely be in the semis, but no. That wouldn't be a God's reply. Arrogance is something which experience brings in, but this man always does the impossible. He is always so calm, so steady and witty and yet never outgoing or wrong in any sense.

A fantastic knock of 72 with yet another man of the match, he continues to score from his bat in all forms of cricket. And still manages to be so generous by opting out of T20 World Cup (so that other young players get a chance) in spite of being forced by almost everyone.

God hail such a man. God hail Sachin. The hope of India, the Master of the world.

For people of my generation the love for cricket would surely diminish when God retires.

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Happy Valentine’s Day!!!

Hey friends, Happy Valentine's Day to all of you. Have a great time with your loved ones. Make them feel special. Do the best you can at the moment irrespective of all the mess, all the bad things, all the insecurities happening in your life. Just for a moment, keep all your worries and concerns aside and do something extra-special for your loved ones; they may be your girlfriend/boyfriend, husband/wife, parents, siblings or even your bikes/cars. Give them that extra care that they truly deserve. Make their day by doing something which could overwhelm them.

And for people, who miss their better half coz they are staying away from them or cannot meet them, call them and talk to them, or arrange some chocolates and flowers (a red rose says it all) for them, or send them some gifts or greeting cards, or write them a romantic mail. Try to reduce the distance and make them seem things are easier than they think.

For people who are struggling with their relationships, there won't be a better moment than this to revive your relationship. Think of the unusual and do it. You will feel better. Then, even if your effort is not recognized or there are some comments on it, you would feel better that you have given all that it needed. And there is a need of divine intervention now to save the souls.

For people, who are going through a break-up, don't lose your heart. Be proud that you weren't the one to dump (if that is a case). Be happy that you loved in the best and truest possible way you could. And life really doesn't end at this. So just give it some time and things would start rolling for you soon.

For people who are without any halves and for people who have done with all their halves (married), congratulations and all the best. For the former people are the happiest people in this world, stay that way. And the latter have won half the war in their lives. So, kudos to both of you.

Today is the day which gives you another chance to live your life better, in a more reasonable and sensible manner. Don't miss this chance. Try to see things in a different view, from a different direction. Try to sense things which you were not able to during all these days. Be an extra sensitive towards your loved ones. Because, we only realize their importance when they are not with us or when they are gone. And believe me, that is a disastrous feeling. So steal up a small time from your lives and make someone feel special on this Valentine's Day.

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

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The INTERNET now has a personality. YOURS! See your Yahoo! Homepage.

The feel good factor

As humans, we tend to go by feel good factors. If we do something and we feel good about it, its great and we seem to be doing it again and again. But, for instance, we did something and we did not quite like it, then we might try to avoid doing it at a lalter stage of life. Also, the feel good factor is, most of the times according to me, the wrong vibe of doing or not doing a particular thing.
Its just that, we feel good about certain thing/people/place or feeling. Its only that we just "feel". Might not be true in all the cases, might be true even, but this is just a feeling and not a sure-shot reality.
My current status is I am not feeling quite good about anything in life at this stage. So i have grown my beard (yeah, i know its hard to relate to the blog title and the nonsense I am talking here) from past 2 weeks and I really dont care about how i look. I obviously look bad, tired and ill in this image. But I really don't care about it at this moment. And more importantly, if I foresee to the matter of fact of the 'feel-good-factor' alone, come what may, then too I would not be achieving it. Because, even if i do so, I know for sure that I wont be feeling any good. So when I have the assurity that i won't be even coming near to the feel-good-factor feeling, then why am I supposed to do/believe a certain thing.
I know, this is gonna be difficult to even read and (if read) digest coz it hardl makes any sense. But that is what happening to me right now. I am in no condition of making sense. He he ....
F**ked up to the core :-)
Enjoy .....

Life is crazy ...

Today, while coming to the office, I was listening to 'Life is crazy' song from the movie Wake Up Sid on my iPod and believe me, this songs literally made me feel that life is indeed very crazy at times. And I am going through the same phase yet again in my life, which I am clearly not enjoying even for a moment.

Sometimes we tend to believe in and do the things which are absolutely not necessary for us, or for a moment, least necessary. As the matter of fact, things then start getting messed up. But it is very late when we realize that we have wasted a great deal of time and energy on things no-so-important to us. And while doing this, we tend to ignore the other aspects of life viz. our family, ourselves, the beautiful nature, etc. It is because of this that we lose interest in life in due course of time. It is because of this, that we bother about un-important things and get ourselves stressed to our limits. Once in a while we get panic and depression attacks. And we also tend to deteriorate our health. From a high 66 kgs to mere 59 kgs and then as the resistance power decreases we fall prey to any and every disease coming our way lowering our morale to further bottoms.

Many a times, we know what are the reasons for screwing up, for all the bad things, for the bad health, for bad relationships, but we seem to be so helpless with ourselves that we tend to seek pity and sit useless doing nothing. In Marathi we call this as 'Kaltay pan walat nahi' (we understand it, but we seem to be very lazy/tired/unwilling to mend things).

Why? Only because we pay heed to wrong things during wrong times. This is a realization blog where I know that certain things are wrong and it is never too late. So, I think, we all should take a vow against all the undesirable things in our lives (personal as well as professional) and try our best to work out things and stay out of mess. We also take an oath to make our lives more meaningful in every possible way and make it worth living it. We will try to stay happy and cheerful so that we see that life is indeed very beautiful. Its only the direction from which we see it. And while doing this, I switch back again to listen to the song – 'Life is crazy' coz it indeed is. At one moment, full of life, hope and love and at the other deserted, lonely, sad and depressed. This is the blend of it, and that is its recipe. Now, we just want to try to experiment with it the other way round.

Cheers to life.

Stay Happy, Stay Sweet :-)

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The INTERNET now has a personality. YOURS! See your Yahoo! Homepage.

I know it wasn’t easy for you either ... :-(

I know it wasn't easy for you either...
When we met for the first time...
Cuz I had to struggle...
To ignore your adorable nature…

I know it wasn't easy for you either...
When we talked for the first time...
Cuz I had to think hard for the topics…
In fear that the conversation would end never...

I know it wasn't easy for you either...
When you said those three magical words "I LOVE YOU"
Cuz I had to smack myself hard…
Just to make sure I wasn't a day dreaming creature… :)

I know it wasn't easy for you either...
To care for me like my mother…
Cuz even I tried unsuccessfully…
To be more than a lover…

I know it wasn't easy for you either...
To love me more than myself…
Cuz I was envy of you…
Since I couldn't love myself more then u dear…

I know it wasn't easy for you either...
When you never uttered a word though you needed me the most…
But seriously it wasn't easy for me too…
To decipher your silent gesture…

I know it wasn't easy for you either...
When you said that it was over…
Believe me my heart sank that very moment
Deep inside my tears forever..

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The INTERNET now has a personality. YOURS! See your Yahoo! Homepage.

My 101st blog :-)

Hi All,

It has been more than a pleasure to see my blog prosper in the year 2009. I have completed 100 posts to this blog (Friends Forever being the 100^th one).

And I hope that the same flourishing path continues in the year 2010 with more meaningful posts, and more fans and followers to my blog.

So till then, just give yourself some time and stay blogged :-)

Friends Forever ....

Just words can never tell

What you mean to me

The simple things you do

To keep me away from worries

Your funny grins, your witty jokes

Have always bought me a smile

To hold the friendly hand you stretched

It just took a while

You need no words to be told

You guess me so right

Though you support me always

I always find a reason to fight

And then I have your shoulders wet with all the tears

Don’t know how you manage to fill my heart with cheer

The lightning and darkness don’t frighten me anymore

I turn and find you there, standing at the shore

I promise, will let you down never

We are and will be friends forever.

The way of life .....

Life is being more tough and strict now a days. I have to pine for even the smallest and simplest of things in life. They may be completing a task or recovering from a stupid throat infection, or finalizing on project plans or deciding on the relationship hues. Every single thing is posing a mountain of problems before me. And I don’t know why, but I am feeling all the way lonely, tired, lost and helpless in every matter. It is just that I have lost all the power and energy to fight back life. And then I feel, life is one hell of a problem. Its only our insight that makes it look beautiful at times and messy at other. Probably I am passing through the latter phase, one has to undergo at least once in his/her lifetime.

At this moment, all I am trying to be is more patient and think less. But the basic problem of attempting to think less is, the moment you start to think less, thoughts erupt in your mind continuously like a nuclear reaction with infinitesimal bombardments giving an effect of a total disastrous blast which knocks the best of the best. I just have to survive this tide of time and wait for the sun to shine back again.

When every (and I literally mean every) way disappears, probably God opens a new way for you. I am just waiting for the view of that way.

I GIve Up !!!!

I give up. I have tried my level best to even out things between us, but in vain. I am not writing this in anger or frustration, but its more of a revelation of myself. Its more of a i-accept-the-loss kind of thing. I really, have accepted the defeat. It has been a long time and now I can no more make my mind understand.
I dont say, whatever happened was wrong or you were too harsh or I am more crappy. Coz I dont want to be judgemental about anything. Its just that I want to kill this process, coz I can't try anymore.
You mean a lot to me, and even you know that, that too in the truest sense. But something or the other has to mess up and there are some past flicks which just cannot be turned off. Which creates a whole lot of nuisance.
I know, you are happy and so be it. I wanted that. That is great.
Dont take me in any wrong sense. And I am sorry for hurting you. All the best and keep smiling forever.

Stay sweet,
Sagar.

Welcome 2010

Hi Friends,
Welcome to the year 2010.
A year which would complete a decade, a year from which we all have huge expectations and some unachievable resolutions.
This year started with most of us making some serious resolutions. Even I made some, not to be said here in blogs, but yes, some of them are damn serious. Atleast I seem to take them seriously. Then there are resolutions for some of my friends like losing weight, getting a good job, for some to get married, for some buy a new flat and for some to get things he always wanted. For some, its gonna be a year to chase their dreams, a way to say themselves that, yes, I can do it. For some to break the old unforgiven bonds and move on with their lives, for some to relieve their old friendship. For some, its gonna be a year of committments, a year of promises and to stand true to them. All in all, there are plenty of planning already poured into the new year.
I seem to seek the same magnitude of optimism in myself in the coming year. I always wanted to be a guy with no increased blood cell pressure. I ought to become one, but then I realised it might have a negative impact on some of the other aspects of life. But now is a time to materialize atleast one things long thought and planned but never implemented.
And I am sure, everyone amongst you have atleast one such thought or plan long awaitened to be given a shot. Go ahead, give it a try. The worst is you would lose in your attempt. But atleast you would be happy to have made an attempt. So go out, and give it a shot. Its worth a try. I am going to do it. And if successful, it would surely make a blog entry.
Till then, Happy New Year 2010 :-)

Luv,
Sagar.

Adieu 2009

Hi Friends,

This is an official goodbye to the year just gone by, not only from the calendars but also from the hearts, minds and memories of many of us.

2009 (MMIX) had many important events and stories that took by all of us worldwide. In January, Barack Obama was inaugurated as the first African-American president of the United States. In March, Sri Lankan cricketers were attacked by few gunmen in Pakistan which led to the banning of Pakistan from hosting any ICC events. In June, Air France Flight en route from Rio de Janeiro to Paris crashed into Atlantic ocean killing all 228 on board. Also, the outbreak of the H1N1 influenza strain, commonly referred to as ‘swine flu’, was deemed as a global pandemic infecting more than 10 lakh people with a mortality rate of over 10%. Then, on 25^th June, the king of pop Michael Jackson died due to cardiac arrest and his funeral had a record breaking audience close to 35 million people and so on.

This year was also seen as the year of economic recession. With giant firms like Lehmann Brothers and many others collapsing and still many who filed for bankruptcy. This was the year when Sachin Tendulkar completed 30, 000 runs in International cricket. This was the year when Tiger Woods announced an indefinite leave from professional golf to focus on his marriage after his past infidelities came to light. And many other things.

Personally, I did not like the way this year went by for me. But, some of the toughest and the biggest decisions of my life were made in this year. I quit my first job (Infosys Technologies Ltd.) to join Capgemini Consulting India Pvt. Ltd, Mumbai; a switch which I actually did not dream of, but never the less it happened. I booked a flat in Mumbai which I consider as a naïve decision of investing a huge amount at the age of 24. My blogs came to life again in 2009. And I hope, it goes on and on with many transformations.

There were many promises made, most of them taken care of, some of them forgotten. There were many commitments made, professional as well as personal. There were new things learnt from Microsoft technologies to blogging skills to some inadvertent matter.  There were many new hobbies grown and pursued, new friends made, old friends re-touched, old bonds revamped, mistakes forgotten and worked over. It was a year which took off life from me in terms of efforts and dreams. It was a year which taught me to the core about deepest aspects of life and relationships. This was the year which gained/lost self-confidence for me.

All in all, a year full of events, which at times demystified me and sometimes depressed me. I bow my deepest gratitude to this year for whatever good or bad it has given to me and my loved ones and pray for the new year to be more fruitful and pleasant for all of us.

Happy new year.

Indians in the matter !!!

GENEVA: The bronze Nataraja in its famous tandava pose gleams golden as it catches the first rays of the sun, bouncing off the glass façade of the international hostel nearby. Scientists, walking briskly to their labs through the chilly mist, cast quick glances at the ‘God of Destruction’, sitting above the tunnel where two proton beams are colliding at the rate of 40 million hits per second. This is where an explosion in a pipe on November 10 last year brought the world’s biggest scientific experiment ever to a halt. This is where rumours of doomsday began. The symbolism of the Dancing Shiva is hard to miss.

But, the Nataraja, gifted to CERN or the European Centre for Nuclear Research five years ago by India’s Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), is not the only Indian presence here. More than 100 Indian scientists have been working since the day the large hadron collider broke down last year. This happened just as 6,000 scientists were starting an experiment that hoped to find Higgs Boson -- the so-called god particle -- by creating conditions similar to that of the Big Bang some 13.7 billion years ago. The Higgs Boson, incidentally, is a massive elementary particle and its detection would help explain the origin of mass in the universe.

In the 27-km-long tunnel, 150 m below the ground on the Swiss-French border, scientists have been working to fix the problems quietly even as conspiracy theories run riot over “micro black holes” and “anti-matter bombs”.

Tapan Nayak, an Indian scientist, smiles when you ask him about the black holes. “There is no such threat. Here, we are trying to unlock the mystery of the Universe,” he says, fixing his helmet as he whisks down to the tunnel in an elevator. Nayak is joined by a dozen other Indian scientists, engineers and technicians. Indian scientists have been involved in two of the four experiments at CERN.

At the experiment called ALICE, located on the Swiss side of the border, Indians have been putting in place the photon multiplicity detector (PMD). Nayak says it “is truly an Indian detector from conception to commissioning”. Scientists are trying to record the temperature and density of the “Little Bang” – conditions within microseconds of the Big Bang -- with detectors and chips made in India. “Our contribution to this experiment is fundamental,” says Nayak, walking through a mind-boggling maze of wires, chips and huge magnets.

Indians remain key to yet another CERN experiment - the CMS, in Cessy, France. A shiny black road cuts through green fields and yellow forests as one heads to the laboratory. “Here, we are trying to find the god particle to know why the world is the way it is. If we make progress, we’ll be able to explain all physical phenomena,” says Archana Sharma, who has worked at CERN since 1987 and is the first non-European to be given a permanent position at this prestigious laboratory.

Born in Jhansi and educated in Varanasi and Delhi, Archana is the face of India here. She has started a new programme at CERN, inviting Indian students to the laboratory every summer.

The first CERN-India cooperation agreement was signed in 1991 but Indian scientists took five years to get involved with its experiments. Funded by the DAE and Department of Science and Technology, India has contributed close to $60 million to the Big Bang experiment and become an ‘observer’ at this European venture.

“India’s biggest contribution has been its scientists,” says Nick Chohan, a British scientist who worked with Indians to fix magnets that direct the proton beams in the tunnel. “Without their work, this experiment would not take off again. They came here in groups and worked round the clock in shifts and we fixed the problem.” But it wasn’t all work and no play. “We also had fun as we played cricket, organized picnics and had Diwali parties,” says Chohan.

He’s not the only one impressed with India’s scientists. John Ellis, one of the world’s leading theoretical physicists, says, “India has contributed, both in cash and kind. Your scientists have been working here for years and have made some important equipment too. Their work is fundamental for the success of this programme. This makes India a strong contender for associate membership of the institute.” He calls the CERN exercise an effort to prepare the “instructional manual of the universe”.

It is also about going where no man has before – into the heart of matter

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/sunday-toi/special-report/Indians-in-the-matter/articleshow/5280370.cms

Some interesting GK

Answers below

1.       *Ash nazg durbatulúk, ash nazg gimbatul,
ash nazg thrakatulûk agh burzum-ishi krimpatul

What? (don't bother to translate)

2.       "A public toilet, where you would not know who used it last“ - Encyclopedia Britannica. What were they referring to??

3.       X is the senior supervising producer. X was born on 6 June 1973 in Machilipatnam, Andhra Pradesh and was brought up in Delhi. He studied at Woodstock School, Mussoorie, but continued his graduation in Delhi University. X was a student of the Deshbandhu college in the first year. In the second year, he joined Sri Venkateswara College but he didn’t sit for the third year at all. Both he and his brother dropped out of the college. When they were studying at the Delhi University, their teachers predicted that they both have no future and would sell bananas on the streets. His first solo project was called Find the Road. Who?

4.       Another off the assembly line of “New Maradonas”, X may be the first to live up to that unfair comparison. Javier Saviola, Juan Roman Riquelme and Pablo Aimar have unsurprisingly failed to match HIS high standards despite initial promise. X started playing when he was just five years old at a club which was coached by his father. After three years he moved to Newell's Old Boys. At the age of 11, he was diagnosed with a growth hormone deficiency. Cost of treatment was $900 a month. A big European club offered to pay for his treatment and signed him. The rest is history. Id X.

5.       Fill in the blank:

Janus, Chicago, Memphis, Millennium, Odyssey, Whistler, ____ , Vienna, Red Dog.

6.       Saqib Abdullah a.k.a Skip was born in Dammam, Saudi Arabia in 1984. He is the 3rd and youngest amongst his siblings. Skip attended a Pakistani school in Saudi Arabia. He started a one man band. Name of the band is a Persian word meaning life & existence, while synonymously it can be used as Hope, faith, light etc. Skip's major breakthrough came in early April 2005, when he released his 4-5 year old composition through the Internet for free mp3 downloading. Within no time, his single became a popular hit amongst Desis living not only in Pakistan and India, but also throughout the world. The song became one of the most downloaded songs in India. Name the band.

7.       X and Y teamed up for a film, Devaa, somewhere in 80's. It was later unceremoniously scrapped due to some misunderstandings. X and Y being the giants of bollywood have never worked together since then. X finally relinquished the title and it was Sunny Deol (co star: Amisha Patel)  who was supposed to star in the movie which is due for release this December.

Identify X, Y.

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Answers

1.       Inscription on the Sauron’s One Ring (LOTR)

2.       Wikipedia

3.       Raghuram or Raghu of Roadies

4.       Lionel Messi

5.       Longhorn (these were all Window 7 codenames)

6.       Zeest

7.       Subhash Ghai & Amitabh Bachhan

Addiction

Lately, I have been attending a lot of training sessions. No, not because I am interested in them, but we have to complete 40 hrs of training in a financial year to make things fall in the right places(this is what I guess). The trainings range from technical, behavioral, project specific to latest technologies and so on. And I always thought that technical trainings are boring to attend.

But I was proved wrong by my behavior last week when I was attending a non-technical training on how could be make this world green by being in IT. I had concepts like carbon footprints and all in my mind when I entered the training room. But soon, it rolled out to be something different, irrelevant and hence boring for me. Then I just thought, how did I survive for the rest of the training hours all the year. And I got my answer – Computer. Almost all the trainings had we using the computers and that is the sole reason, why I wasn’t bored.

I mean, we IT people are so habituated to seeing a computer all the time, the very moment when we don’t see it, makes us feel sick. The same way is with outlook. I don’t know why, but I have an unusual connection with my exchange server. The day I leave on Friday to the morning hours on Monday – I am complete dumbstruck. I don’t know what’s happening, I have no clue what I am supposed to do in the coming week, I don’t remember any birthdays or anniversaries, because for all these days, I am away from my outlook which is apparently me, a reflection of me. I am so obsessive about computers that even when I am home, I sit in front of this intelligent box doing nothing. Well, doing nothing means, doing no work. I just enjoy some movies or Seinfeld or some documentaries. But I make it sure that I am doing something which utilizes my mean machines memory. Such is the attraction.

Coming back to the session, sitting idle in a classroom like training room, with a boring (NOM, as he was just doing his job) trainer and NO COMPUTER in front of you, can make you a bit crazy and a lot more weird and restless. I tried to concentrate and add on to the session, but within minutes my enthusiasm saw a deep trench in the graph and I gave up. You see, I do give up things easily. Probably that’s my weakest point. I had to kill my time, so I started writing this blog. Yes, I actually scribbled this blog in my notepad and it had to wait till today to appear on my blog page. And not only this, I also composed yet another blog – Jashn 2009 (a blog about the annual event of Capgemini).

I owe a lot to this weird habit and addiction towards computers – my blogs, my fan following at social networking sites(which does not exist now), a lot of experiments on my home system, my website and my health :P. I am a happy man when I am in front of this chipset device.

Thanks to Charles Babbage (or whoever?) for inventing a computer. I don’t think I, or for that matter anyone, can do much without it :-)

Happy computing.

Jashn 2009

It all began at 3:00 pm on 30^th November 2009 while we left office to head towards Andheri Sports Complex which was the glorious venue for Jashn 2009 (Official annual event of my company). Cutting the noon traffic of Mumbai city we reached the destination at 4:30 pm. The sun was mild and we were amazed as what it could be like.

After reaching there, we got our hands stamped and made an entry. After freshening ourselves, we started to hunt for some snacks. As soon as we started to hunt, there were innumerable platters in front of us. Though helpless, we then tried out almost every item which included chat, pani-puri, ragda-puri, dosa, uttappa and so on. Juices included mocktails, fruit juices, pina-coladas, soda juices and so on. My company has many offices in Mumbai itself. So, being at Jashn meant having to see all other people from other offices as well. After a bit of 'people' hunting and a mouthful of snacks, we decided to settle down. Initially we took the last row in the first section. But very soon, I shifted to the front with one of my friends. The hosts for the evening were Jaggu and Tarana (some TV star). They started with some light jokes, some small games and very soon the event was officially commenced by lighting the Jashn 2009 logo by fireworks.

The jury for the evening composed of wives of the TOP management as well as a couple of other biggies. The evening also had the grand presence of Paul Hermelin (CEO of Capgemini), Salil Parekh (CEO of North America and Asia–Pacific operations – also known as the 'King of the World') and Baru Rao (CEO India and a VP). The evening grew by some subtle jokes, speeches by the biggies and the dance performances. Not for a matter of doubt, Mumbai team won the national dance competition. Also, not to forget to mention about the speech by Paul Hermelin which, I am sure attracted the audience. He was narrating an incident about how, during the initial years of Capgemini, many big people in India had in a way or other worked for Capgemini. He also mentioned that NR Narayana Murthy once worked for a company in France (much before forming Infosys and much before when he worked for Patni) which later was acquired by Capgemini, so in a way, NRN also worked for Capgemini for which Paul Hermelin was a proud man. This narration, sort of bemused me as I am a big NRN fan right from my Infosys days.

As time passed, the hosts announced the guest of the evening and he was Shankar Mahadevan. It took him 30 minutes to make an appearance. During the meanwhile, all the stage was being set for his band and troops to perform. He made a grand entry by singing a religious song and then many of the famous Bollywood tracks. Within few minutes of his appearance on stage, the crowd took its toll towards him. The bouncers and the security guards had a tough time to keep the mob away from him. He took the entire audience at the ASC up high on his vocals. Many exhilarating tracks from Bollywood movies like Don, Dil Chahta Hai, Rock On, etc were presented before the audience. He introduced to his band in a never-seen-before way. He used to sing a raag on mike, and the same raag was then followed by the octopad player. The same followed for keyboard, drummer, lead guitarist, bassist and the tabla. It was breath taking and I was truly impressed by it. Andheri sports complex was the very place way back in November 1996 when the Mumbai crowd and all rock and pop fans witnessed the King of Pop – Michael Jackson perform in front of an audience of around 70,000 people.  When seeing Shankar Mahadevan performing live in front of you can be so amazing, I just could not sum it up what it could be like to even see Michael Jackson. Forget about him performing in front of you. A few girl fans were also reported to be fainted just by his sight. He is truly an immortal legend.

After few hours of his music, people started to scatter in search of dinner. There was a huge variety of dishes. I stuck to a few spoons of Chicken Biryani and then ice-cream and gulab jamuns. It was late in night when the crowd began to walk back towards their homes. So, we also decided to walk back to our buses by bidding Jashn 2009 a sweet adieu.

An ode to the nice guys

This is a tribute to the nice guys. The nice guys that finish last, that never become more than friends, that endure hours of whining and bitching about what assholes guys are, while disproving the very point. This is dedicated to those guys who always provide a shoulder to lean on but restrain themselves to tentative hugs, those guys who hold open doors and give reassuring pats on the back and sit patiently outside the changing room at department stores. This is in honor of the guys that obligingly reiterate how cute/beautiful/smart/funny/sexy their female friends are at the appropriate moment, because they know most girls need that litany of support. This is in honor of the guys with open minds, with laid-back attitudes, with honest concern. This is in honor of the guys who respect a girl's every facet, from her privacy to her theology to her clothing style.

 

This is for the guys who escort their drunk, bewildered female friends back from parties and never take advantage once they're at her door, for the guys who accompany girls to bars as buffers against the rest of the creepy male population, for the guys who know a girl is fishing for compliments but give them out anyway, for the guys who always play by the rules in a game where the rules favor cheaters, for the guys who are accredited as boyfriend material but somehow don't end up being boyfriends, for all the nice guys who are overlooked, underestimated, and unappreciated, for all the nice guys who are manipulated, misled, and unjustly abandoned, this is for you.

 

This is for that time she left 40 urgent messages on your cell phone, and when you called her back, she spent three hours painstakingly dissecting two sentences her boyfriend said to her over dinner. And even though you thought her boyfriend was a chump and a jerk, you assured her that it was all ok and she shouldn't worry about it. This is for that time she interrupted the best killing spree you'd ever orchestrated in GTA3 to rant about a rumor that romantically linked her and the guy she thinks is the most repulsive person in the world. And even though you thought it was immature and you had nothing against the guy, you paused the game for two hours and helped her concoct a counter-rumor to spread around the floor. This is also for that time she didn't have a date, so after numerous vows that there was nothing "serious" between the two of you, she dragged you to a party where you knew nobody, the beer was awful, and she flirted shamelessly with you, justifying each fit of reckless teasing by announcing to everyone: "oh, but we're just friends!" And even though you were invited purely as a symbolic warm body for her ego, you went anyways. Because you're nice like that.

 

The nice guys don't often get credit where credit is due. And perhaps more disturbing, the nice guys don't seem to get laid as often as they should. And I wish I could logically explain this trend, but I can't. From what I have observed on campus and what I have learned from talking to friends at other schools and in the workplace, the only conclusion I can form is that many girls are just illogical, manipulative bitches. Many of them claim they just want to date a nice guy, but when presented with such a specimen, they say irrational, confusing things such as "oh, he's too nice to date" or "he would be a good boyfriend but he's not for me" or "he already puts up with so much from me, I couldn't possibly ask him out!" or the most frustrating of all: "no, it would ruin our friendship." Yet, they continue to lament the lack of datable men in the world, and they expect their too-nice-to-date male friends to sympathize and apologize for the men that are jerks. Sorry, guys, girls like that are beyond my ability to fathom. I can't figure out why the connection breaks down between what they say (I want a nice guy!) and what they do. But one thing I can do, is say that the nice-guy-finishes-last phenomenon doesn't last forever. There are definitely many girls who grow out of that train of thought and realize they should be dating the nice guys, not taking them for granted. The tricky part is finding those girls, and even trickier, finding the ones that are single.

 

So, until those girls are found, I propose a toast to all the nice guys. You know who you are, and I know you're sick of hearing yourself described as ubiquitously nice. But the truth of the matter is, the world needs your patience in the department store, your holding open of doors, your party escorting services, your propensity to be a sucker for a pretty smile. For all the crazy, insane, absurd things you tolerate, for all the situations where you are the faceless, nameless hero, my accolades, my acknowledgement, and my gratitude go out to you. You do have credibility in this society, and your well deserved vindication is coming.

 

This rant was written for the Wharton Undergraduate Journal by Fu-Zu Jen.

Ouch - It Hurts ...

There are times when we take so much effort and precaution in doing something perfectly right. We prepare, plan and try to ensure that even in worst case scenarios our plan will work out. And finally during execution it fails – it’s not that the execution was sloppy but it’s just that something went wrong. It might be securing an admission to a college, maybe a proposal that went wrong or maybe even something as simple as planning a journey. When you look at all the effort that went into the task you wonder, “What did I do wrong to deserve this?”

And more often than not others will not know your effort. They would only see the result and the result was that you failed – when something turns out unfavorable who cares what method you tried, who cares whether you painstakingly planned or just tried to get the result through short cuts. They say that the means used to achieve a result is just as important as the result itself but you do wonder if that is true!

Take the case of Sachin Tendulkar – I have been reading about him quite a lot and there have been many instances where he does the bulk of the scoring but unfortunately for him, he ends up on the losing side. And people immediately start pointing fingers at him saying, “He isn’t capable of finishing the match. He should have won it for the team”. Oh come on, the guy has scored more than 50% of the totals runs; do you expect him to score all the runs?

So for those of you who have gone through the pain of having painstakingly planned, failed and then criticized…take heart – you aren’t alone.