#raintree

One of the nice things about IITB was the quarterly magazine Raintree..

What better way to go all nostalgia than to read a magazine - that focuses on one holistic view of past, present and future of one facet of your alma mater - in each edition...

Be it the evergreen and ever relevant questions like "Why am I in IIT?", "research vs job?", " importance of sports and encouragement to it ", " teachers vs students ", " where does the institute stand? " etc
Or limericks about how the institute was before the internet invaded it, glaring gender ratio perils, snaps of peculiar sightings found only here, fest fundae, comic illustrations via 'salt and pepper', and some good old aerial shots of the campus on its yester years - each magazine is an amazing read!

And best part - it fits perfectly into the two hour schedule of home to office travel \m/

For those interested, the archives are publicly available at:
http://www1.iitb.ac.in/Raintree.html

Lastly, just one question:
Anybody knows where the later(post 2011) e-versions of the magazine are available ??

#workFromGoa

Early this year when I went on a trip to Goa - I decided that I would do some 'work' over there that was left for the weekend.

So, I carried my fantastic office laptop that had 15 mins backup time, as usual forgot the travel adaptor, no USB internet device - and thought somehow I could manage :D

Result - I could just open the laptop, plug-in a friend's Internet dongle - and click install; and before anything - the laptop is dead...

So basically I had carried some 3 kg of dead weight - on my way to Goa, in and around Goa, and on the way back: all for nothing!

And to top that - had to take sick leave after coming back - with a dead laptop until I reached office again...

I so wanted to put 'Working from Goa' in the office communicator - but that never happened...!!

At least I re-learnt the fact: "Never carry work to vacation"!

#mi3

Finally bought mi3...
Thanks to flipkart ☺

After the fiasco of last time, I had given some strong feedback on what happened...
And flipkart takes feedback very seriously.
I got two calls asking what happened, and they expressed their concern - and that if I book again, they would deliver it promptly..

So I registered for 12th Aug sale day, but couldn't make the 2.4s mark to add the phone to cart..

Then, on 13 Aug, out of the blue, I got a call from one of the representatives saying that they have added a mi3 to my cart - out of the normal process - due to the mishap earlier; and that I can buy it during the subsequent buying slot...

Booked it on Wednesday morning, and the phone was delivered on the very next morning :)

Good job flipkart #thumbsUp

#cet

Remember the not-so good old days of our times at the CET Cell of Karnataka:  

All that tension, all that hustle, 

Those big projector screens that displayed real-time seat selection, 

Those big A-3 seat matrices sold outside the premises, 

That nagging Future-Uncertain feeling, 

Carrying Demand Drafts for the specified amount - not knowing where you will end up,

Calling the 'experts' who had faced this ordeal earlier for advice as the colleges and seats dwindled, The HOT SEAT where you had to look at the numbers on the screen and make a selection on-spot, 

All the tensed parents who were as worried as their kids, 

That excruciating whole day affair - from document verification to seat confirmation to payment(each stage pushing your patience and peace to the limit), 

That mumbling about having to come again for second/casual rounds and going through all of it again

Finally the mix of exasperation and happiness at the end of it all....

Well; all that roller-coaster ride is no longer there...

The Karnataka CET cell is now a calm place - which you visit only once - to get your documents verified - then get a key and a password to an online portal that allows to choose your preferred courses and colleges - and walk out  tension-free in half an hour.

Everything else is done almost stress-free right at your comfort: online.

Truly, time changes everything - and many times for the better..

#flipkartDoesItAgain

Recently I read this article following a Quora post:
Flipkart Screws me Over

However, optimist that I am(in very few things) - I decided to go ahead and follow the herd in booking the Xiaomi Mi3 phone.
I seriously hoped that the above was a one-off incident - and the delivery would be hassle-free: as it has been for my previous orders at flipKart

So I register - add it to the cart when it opened on 5th Aug - opt for Cash on Delivery by relentlessly refreshing the browser until I could complete the checkout process - and wait for my phone delivery.
I was both impressed and skeptical that the delivery was estimated to be completed within 3 days.


First - shipment reaches Whitefield warehouse.    OK
Next - In Transit                                                     OK
Then - it reaches nearest hub - Mysore Road.        Great

End of day 2 - I check the status - and it says: Order returned at Customer's place. I immediately call Customer Care and clarify that there was no cancellation - Forget  cancellation - I did not even get a call from the Courier service(WS Retail itself).
I was promised that a re-delivery has been initiated right then.

Day 3 - I check the status - same story: Order has been Cancelled. Shortly thereafter - I get a mail saying that the order has been cancelled; stating that the courier partner was unable to deliver the shipment.  On calling the customer care - I get a different reason this time around - that the 'Package' was empty....
If so, why bother sending it from the warehouse to the nearest delivery hub ? Dont they check the contents at the warehouse itself ??

On asking if they can re-initiate the order - I get the "Can't do - Hot Selling Product. Please re-register and order again" response - both on-call and via e-mail. Dejected by the whole incident - I gave the lowest rating and some stern feedback.

I may enter the phone-booking race again - but yeah, lost the trust on India's 'trusted' online megastore :-(

EDIT: flipkart followed up on the review I gave for this shipment - and added an mi3 to cart which was then delivered in a day..
http://hashtagnostalgia.blogspot.com/2014/08/mi3.html

#nowWatching

ARROW  ===>     The Dark Knight  + Voice Disruptors 

Another take at a realistic vigilante superhero out to save his city.

There is:

• Billionaire playboy who turns Vigilante by night and fights crime
• A detective who is his accomplice
• A villain fed by rage and a super-serum who breaks his bones
• Ra's Al Ghul's henchmen
• Sidekick in the hood
• Girlfriend who kicks a*s
• Eternal love interest who aspires him to be what he is
• Salvaging a city - stopping it destruction
• Man with a scarecrow mask 
• Central prison where all the prisoners hate the hero

.

.

.

You get it right...

Oh and there is Captain Andrew Russell from Lagaan...

This time playing a good cop and a caring Dad..

#facebookNostalglia

Facebook has been real good at triggering nostalgia with the auto-render cover pic for the smart lists - once you head over to one of the smart lists on the desktop; where you get to relive pics like these:

Credits: One such smart list pic...

 #reliveOldMemories :-)

#instiMap #mapMyIITB

Looks like a very helpful app is available on playstore - to help one navigate through IITB.

Will be beneficial for newbies and oldies alike :)

Get it on playstore :
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=in.designlabs.instimap

#suggestion

#TravellingToWork

Came across this awesome article that I can totally relate to..

Shit People Who Live Far From Work Go Through

Although now I have cut down the traveling to just Friday nights and Monday mornings, it still stings to travel 30kms for work...

#WTHWIT

The past - It gives you a lot of experience and memories. There is a lot to look back to and have a blast..

But, there are a few of those odd 'facepalm' moments that makes you wonder "What the hell was I thinking??"

With the internet and social networks - its just much easier to gaze at them and feel sheepish!

This was my description on my Google Profile - probably written for Google Profile before the days of Google+ or Orkut(of course - that is way back!). Indeed, what the hell was I thinking?? :D :D

Now, the new one sounds better,with a bit of a philosophical touch to it:

"Put a little about yourself here so people know they've found the correct Sumanth."

Look back at your facebook posts, tweets, google+ shares, About Me and tonnes of other 'social sharing' that you would have done - there would be a lot of such #WTHWIT things there !!

And yes, #backToBlogging