Apocalypto

Mel Gibson is doing it again! Making a movie that stands out from the ordinary. And as always happens, there is critisism from people who claim that the movie is not a clear depiction of Mayan culture. And its all based on a 3 minutes trailer. Hmmm...interesting!
Anyway, I was reading a bit about the Mayan civilization on Wikipedia and supposedly they never used the WHEEL!!! In the present world we just cant imagine a life without the wheel and here are these people who lived for so many centuries without ever rolling anything!
Ok, let me imagine what would happen if I decide to give up all usage of wheel today!
Early morning - I wont be able to use my toothbrush - its got a motor. Thats acceptable, I can use the regular one. I cant use my commode flush - its lever is a wheel. Umm...I can draw water from tap and drain it down the pot. Oh wait a minute, I cant use the tap - tap's knob is a wheel! Hmm...I will have to go to the stream behind my house and get some water from there and then come back to my bathroom and then be done with my early morning chores! Atleast 1 hour work!
Anyway, next - I get ready and get out of the house to drive to - oops! Cant drive. No car, unless Japanese have invented a new car that moves over the road - like their trains! Cant take the bus either. Since this is all hypothetical, lets imagine that I do move to a place near my work so that I can walk to work everyday. Ofcourse, I would need to make sure there is a water stream behind my house! Else my neighbors will be in deep shit! I mean deep trouble :D
At work: Ok, so I walk to work. Since the elevator / escalator all work on lever/pulley mechanism - wheel again, I cant use them! Thats ok, since my desk is on the 2nd floor, I can walk up. I need exercise anyways - this stupid tummy is getting more and more awkward by the day. Alright, now I am at my seat - oh I need to get rid of the chair - its got wheeled legs! I dont think there are any non-wheeled chairs on this floor, but I have seen some elsewhere in the building, so that wont be such a big problem. Lets not get too technical with this requirement, coz in that case, I might have to get rid of my laptop as well! This is my hypothetical situation, I can manupilate it which ever way I want to ;). Ok, so no other major glitches till the end of day.
Evening: I need to go for a haircut. In this chill no way am I venturing out on a walk! Well, maybe I will let it grow for a while (now we know why the cavemen had such long hair, hehe ). I need to post letters. Nope to that also. Oops Avinash calls - he is making chicken! Noooooooooo, I cant go walking - his house is 10 miles from mine! And I dont think home delivery is an option - that bugger never comes to my house! Just realised - there is nothing to cook in the house! Well...this is life and death situation; I need to eat! Ok...I will go to the nearest Giants (there is one a mile away) and get some vegetables. Another hour gone! Alrite, now back from Giants, I am ready to cook. Put oil in the pan and turn on the gas, put onions in it. Waittttttttt! 'turn on the gas' !!! Hell nooooo! Knob turns a wheel too! So no cookingggggggg! O mannnnn!!! I will have to use the fireplace to burn woods and cook on top of that tonight! :(

Ok, the day was not too bad and looks like I can sustain for a while without wheels. But this hypothesis is ignoring all other things that are present in my life that have in some way or other used wheels! No way buddy, I dont think in the present world, one can survive without wheels! Weird but true, only a millenia ago, ppl did survive without them!

Why Employees Leave Organizations!

Came across this article on the web - amazing how simplistically problems of a company can be characterized - The Managers! :)

WHY EMPLOYEES LEAVE ORGANISATIONS? - Azim Premji, Wipro
Every company faces the problem of people leaving the company for better pay or profile. Early this year, Arun, a senior software designer, got an offer from a prestigious international firm to work in its India operations developing specialized software. He was thrilled by the offer. He had heard a lot about the CEO. The salary was great. The company had all the right systems in place employee-friendly human resources (HR) policies, a spanking new office, and the very best technology, even a canteen that served superb food.

Twice Arun was sent abroad for training. "My learning curve is the sharpest it's ever been," he said soon after he joined. Last week, less than eight months after he joined, Arun walked out of the job.

Why did this talented employee leave?

Arun quit for the same reason that drives many good people away.

The answer lies in one of the largest studies undertaken by the Gallup Organization. The study surveyed over a million employees and 80,000 managers and was published in a book called "First Break All The Rules". It came up with this surprising finding:

If you're losing good people, look to their immediate boss. Immediate boss is the reason people stay and thrive in an organization. And he's the reason why people leave. When people leave they take knowledge, experience and contacts with them, straight to the competition.

"People leave managers not companies," write the authors Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman.

Mostly manager drives people away?

HR experts say that of all the abuses, employees find humiliation the most intolerable. The first time, an employee may not leave, but a thought has been planted. The second time, that thought gets strengthened. The third time, he looks for another job.

When people cannot retort openly in anger, they do so by passive aggression. By digging their heels in and slowing down. By doing only what they are told to do and no more. By omitting to give the boss crucial information. Dev says: "If you work for a jerk, you basically want to get him into trouble. You don 't have your heart and soul in the job."

Different managers can stress out employees in different ways - by being too controlling, too suspicious,too pushy, too critical, but they forget that workers are not fixed assets, they are free agents. When this goes on too long, an employee will quit - often over a trivial issue.

Talented men leave. Dead wood doesn't.

"Jack Welch of GE once said. A company's value lies "between the ears of its employees"

I am off Google search :(

I was searching for my blog on google and I realized that my blog has been relegated to 2nd-3rd page even when looked up with so many search terms!
This was expected, considering the fact that its been more than 4 months since I posted last! Nothing specific to write right now, well except that I just woke up a few minutes back and its 7:30 on a saturday morning. Now, usually this doesnt happen, esp if I sleep late, like I did last night, but then like it always happens - I take time adjusting to a new place.
I moved to my friend's house this last weekend. So finally now I have company again - much better than the solitude of the other place, which btw I had come to hate so much of late!

Anyways, gotta go freshen up now - I smell !!!!

Elf.

Online Commenting!

I was reading a news article on 'Google 3D with Sketchup' - and how Google has released a free version thats available only for IE and Windows 2k/XP as of now. Well, article is all good and informative, but the most interesting part was the comments section at the bottom of the page - ppl praising/complaining/cribbing/just chilling or whatever.
So now, there were some who weren't happy that Google didnt come out with a "free" version for Firefox or Linux or to be more precise - anything "non-Microsoft"!! Scrolling a little more up the chain of comments, I found a comment by a guy that totallly cracked me up ! :)))))))) I almost fell off my chair laughing, while reading the comment over and over again! Article is @ Techtree.com India

Comment: (click on the image to enlarge and read)
Response: (click on the image to enlarge and read)

Monkeys..eh! ;) hehehe

Adios,
Elf.

Google Romance

We all know how Google Inc works 32 hrs a day/375 days a year to ensure they are able to churn out quality product every once in a while. So the other day I saw this update on the my GMail RSS feed of Google's Official Blog about a new product they are putting out in the market - Google Romance! Supposedly on this site you can find your soul mate using Google's Soulmate Search(TM)!
So I browsed the new product and liked what I saw and so decided to forward to all my school frnds. It was when I started entering the email ids that I realised...none of them were single anymore - they are either married or engaged or have bf/gfs - except me :(. Usually such things are not what I like to talk about, but after a glass of wine, I get a little free with words! :) Nothing special, nothing "unspecial" either, just that I had been to Safeway and while there, I got myself another bottle of Californian chardney!:)
Anyways, back to the topic - not that I regret that I am still single; to be honest all the time I have these days are occupied with something or the other to do. Even right now, when I look at my white board, I have 12 pending tasks to do! Ofcourse, silly things like updating the blog arn't up there, but nevertheless, I take time out once in a while and throw something here! Hmm...now that I look at the white board, I feel guilty that I have so much to do and I am sitting here and wasting my time! Ahhh, wat the heck, man needs time to relax, esp after a 10 hr work day! :( Ssshhhhhhhhh! again deviating from the topic! This is the reason why drinking and driving is a felony - one get distracted and diverted very easily! Soo, what I was saying was that I dont regret being a single. Well, right I dont, but sometimes I feel like I am running out of time... I see some of the senior ppl at work and they stay at work late into the evening almost everyday...and I start to wonder - this is how life becomes after a few years when more responsibility are dumped on your shoulders. Right now I have the time and the "freedom", if you know what I mean ;), but how do I use it - sit at home on my ass and brwose the net! I know I have to change things, and I am eagerly waiting for things to get a little smoother, to mend my ways...right now there is so much going on on and off work that nothing else gets priority - except for times like "this" - when nothing else is possible anyway :)))
Ok, I think I need to stop! Probably get a refil for that glass :)).

Adios!
Elf.

Rain Rain Come Again!!

Ah so finally it rained - after more than some 140 days if I am not wrong! And thats just not it; it snowed in areas around Phoneix!!! I almost felt like I was back on the east coast...
Its already March; in a month it will be a year since I came here and though initially it was really slow and weekends were drags, of late its been so busy with so much to do and so little time at hand! It always happens with me - I will keep procastinating till the last minute and then hurry things over :P. We were planning on going to Flagstaff this weekend, but had to backout of that plan coz I din want to be away for whole day...I have a course to finish! :(.
Ok, I dont even know y I am writing all this; honestly am in no mood to write, but the fact that I hadnt posted in, in a very long time was making me feel bad... will write someting nice over the weekend.. :)
Goodnite for now!

Elf.

Happy New Year!!

Another new year