Happy Holidays…

Metro Transit experience today …

I don’t know if there was something wrong with this bus route or if it was my luck today 🙂

I started off for a bus at 4:35pm and was a few minutes early around the bus stop, however, when I was at cross roads and about 50ft away from the bus stop, it just flew away. I decided to walk down to my 3yr old’s school which is approximately about 4miles away. It was a good walk, though it was tiring since I haven’t done this in a long time now. It took me around 45 mins to get there, I rather hurried up so that I could pick her up and get back to the bus stop for the next bus timed around 5:39 a block away from her school.

Reached her school at 5:21pm and it took about 5 minutes get her out. She was also excited to go in bus for the first time. we walked down to the bus stop within about 6 minutes and waited for the bus. Although it arrived a couple of minutes late, he didn’t stop the bus. My daughter was disappointed for a moment that he didn’t stop but not realizing much, she just stayed with me. Now, with no choice, we walked back for another mile or so for another bus or perhaps walk down towards home for other 3 miles or my wife would meet us somewhere on the way if she noticed us on the way. Anyways, we got onto another bus after walking for a mile from her school and reached home.

I don’t know if it was me or the bus, and it was not a good experience with the bus today – well, I think things happen for good at times (a) I got to walk for 4+ miles today 🙂 (b) noticed my 3yr old’s attitude – she remained calm and enjoyed a walk with me, I guess.

Aviation pilots failing alcohol tests…

this article says it all…

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25370855/

now that’s scary to have our lives in the hands of pilots flying onboard 🙂

I will give you my card if you need to call again…

I was at a doctor’s office yesterday for an appointment I had made few days ago. After a few minutes of consultation/discussion with him, we decided to follow up a few months later again. Anyways, at the end of the conversation he offered me his business card.

I often wonder why doctors’ office offer the business cards when it was a fact that I made a phone call to make an appointment to see that doctor. So that means. I already either have their card or have called them on their phone. Obviously business card does not have his direct line or email or whatsoever. So I would still have to call the clinic’s number in general and they are open only during the week days between 9am to 4pm. Also, the receptionist would give out the papers having the clinic’s phone and fax numbers on.

so, I just assumed that’s another card to either pass on to some one as a reference or keep it somewhere at home and still search when I need it further. hehe…

It is 1am, a Cat is crying somewhere….

The other night at around 1am, while I was still awake reading, heard a cat’s voice. It was a bit feeble but still audible enough to check it out. At first if it was our 3year old daughter, but then, I heard my wife woke up as well and asked me if I heard the cat’s voice as well. I agreed, yes. Just about while I tried to listen well if it was coming from inside the house or from outside, just in case if one entered the house and trapped somewhere. I looked around upstairs and proceeded towards downstairs to check it out. We knew the doors were locked and checked again for a garage door and the garage. since, it is possible that Cat might have entered the garage when I parked the car at around 10pm. Well, didn’t find any.

Now, the voice got more feeble when I listened from the 1st level compared to the 2nd level. Peeked outside the window for any clues – none. Looked around the yard – none.

around this time when my wife reminded me of an article she read somewhere, about the hoax where people tend to have a recorded voice of either cat or a baby crying, trap the people for any reason. hmm… now, I don’t have a flash light at home, should I go out to look further – may be on the roof, may be by plants around the house, what next?

Should we call someone? if so, whom? like a 911? or a police department or city pet department?

one side of my brain started thinking various things. What if it was really a cat trapped somewhere on the roof or by the plants? what if it needed some help? what if it was a little kitten seeking help? What if it was shivering out of cold on a rainy night and needed some help?

on the other side, what if it was the other way? something worse, something threatening?

I had attended a presentation the other day, where I heard, software testing is about going further to see what happens. well it did not have a clause “depending on the circumstances“.  well again, that was for a software testing *sigh*

Anyways, midst of these, I started to dose off 🙂

What would you do in such a situation?  Two options:
A. do nothing? –> this has two folds: (a) feel sorry the next morning for not helping a poor kitten, if it was a real animal (b) be glad for not taking that decision, since it was fake.
B. Go and check it out and face the outcome

Moments later the cat’s voice fainted. My wife said that she heard additional noise at this time. I asked if she heard the footsteps or car or else or may be a cat jumped off of a tree or roof.  Cat’s cry was stopped. I woke up again, looked out the windows for any clues, didn’t find any.

Looked outside the next morning and didn’t find any cat around.

Scorpion in a carton of watermelons…

that’s a scary one… http://video.msn.com/video.aspx?mkt=en-US&brand=&vid=01e385e7-21f2-4aec-9681-a0a37125a6df

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24831118/

D6: presents interview with Microsoft…

 

through techmeme, I noticed a post about D6 presenting an interview with Microsoft’s Steve Ballmer and Bill Gates. There is also a link to Bill Gates’ last day at MS video posted in a section about windows 7 preview.

Over worked … under paid…

I was on the metro transit this morning. Two techies (I realized ‘coz they later talked about 2008 bits, computers, ship dates, etc…) walked in at one of the bus stops and sat next to my seat. They greeted themselves, appeared to be have known each other riding the bus at the same time often, I think. Here goes the conversation:

Person 1: good morning,
person 2: good morning, how are you doing?
person 1: very well. How about yourself?
Person 2: okay! as usual.
Person 1: as usual!! Over worked! …. Under paid! ?
Person 2: (aggreably) yeaahhhh.. things move on…

Who is responsible? and why a mess?

Although not enough information mentioned here in this write up I just came across on a kannada daily news paper, it is still a mess that people created and not knowing who exactly was responsible for this accident.

        

“translation: a person was ran over by a bus while she was getting off another bus and she passed away on the spot. This caused the people around get angry and threw stones at the bus.” 

The way I notice people cross the streets, the way they board and get off the bus, it is interesting to understand who exactly be responsible for such incidents.This write up poses few questions, it is not known whether the stone war happened on the bus she was getting off of or the bus that ran over the lady. It says the bus moved from the left. People get off the board from the left side of the bus so that means, the one she was getting off from was not really towards the curb where it should be comparatively safe to alight. So why did she have to get off the bus in the middle of the road? These buses do not have the door to close at the door way, so that means the driver of the bus she is alighting from can not be responsible either, since he has no control over people who wants to get off the bus (or jump off the bus) whatsoever, unless he intentionally stopped the vehicle in the middle of the road for people to get off.

Now, the mob, why did people take the act of throwing stones? was it because bus ran over the lady? or because the bus stopped at the middle of the road? or just an emotional and have something to create a mess. Why do people take such decisions without understanding the fact?

I see people show their arms as if they have magical powers in their hands to stop the vehicles in the middle of the road and take their time to cross the very busy street.

Who is responsible for such accidents? Pedestrians? vehicle drivers? the city development for not having supportive infrastructure?

Childhood Memories: Bunking classes…

I am inspired from Vijay‘s post “Missing School – Part 1” and got myself to flash back on my school days. I studied at Jnana Mitra High School in SBM Colony, Bangalore.

As I remember, I was very studious, obedient, good boy kind of a person during my school days and I did not know any other places except walking from home to school. I used to start 20 minutes before the start time, it would take about 20 minutes to walk down to the school which was about 1.2miles away. School ends at 5pm and I used to be home at 5:20’ish, to go to the evening classes at 6:30pm and that was bout 10 minutes away from home. It used to be busy days in general.

However, in the midst of these, I recall few instances where we (about 4-5 kids) used to take off from school, not letting anyone know and back home around the same time we would return from school. so what did we do for those hours…

1. “mara kothi aata” –> I don’t know the English version of this name. all the kids except one, used to climb up trees (about 3 minutes away from school) and one on the ground. Monkeys (kids) on the tree should jump around the branches and jump over to another tree. One on the floor needs to catch the kid jumping over. If caught, that kid’s turn to watch out for other monkeys. This was fun

2. Tamarind Tree: There were about 5 tamarind trees about 5 minutes away from our school. Go over there and throw stones at tamarind. We used to eat those so much at the time. We would do this until either some one get hurt or if any home owners around the trees come after us.

3. about half hour from the school, were beautiful Grapes fields. This used to be fun, go over to the fields, pluck bunches of green grapes, oh! yummyy!!!!  eat ’em all, and back to school in another hour or two.

4. around the same place where grapes fields were, there were few creeks on the way. We used to get into the creeks. we did not know swimming, and did not have towels or any, so didn’t really jump in, but still well get wet playing in the creek water. The place used to be lonely, no people around, that means, even if some animals come through, we would not know. that was scary, but we never felt so, back in those days. Oh! we did not know if the creek water was good one or ummm…. umm… back waters 🙂

5. There was this season called “Cricket“. We used to go some one’s house to watch cricket, during our lunchtime and at times past those lunch hours. I still remember a resident asked us if we were missing classes or if it was off that day, when we knocked the door and requested to allow us inside to watch TV. Well, I think it was a Saturday, and we said the school was over (saturday’s school hours used to be 8am – noon). Watching Cricket at the stores and other homes, did continue during my PU and Engg days as well. hehe

Anyhow, I did not know the word “bunking” classes until I went to the college I think.

Funny thing is, I am blogging about these now, but I don’t think I had ever shared these with my parents or anybody else. I have probably shared few of these memories with my wife. I don’t think I will share these with my 3yr old little girl while telling her the stories – and these would become “of course not” (copyright: Vijay) category.