Bye 2011! Welcome 2012!

As another year comes to an end, I can't stop myself from looking at the year gone by and remember the key moments of the year. As the famous quote goes, 

We don't remember days, We remember moments

This was an year characterized by change. Also this was an year when everything looks the same as the last year.  When i look back, the moments that WOWed are few but the moments that brought a change in me were a lot.. 

WOW Moment:

2011 will be remembered - for India's World Cup Win. Personally, my WOW moments happened after the matches: quarter-finals (Excited in Tawang Cold that i was going to see India-Pakistan @ Mohali LIVE), semi-finals (No Words can describe the elation, the pure joy of walking & sharing the triumph with fellow cricket fans in the stadium and the people from Mohali) & finals (Spontaneous Outpouring of Delhities on the streets). 

In the field, it was not Dhoni's Six in the world cup final that wowed me..  but Gambhir-Kohli innings at the final. Finally, Indian Cricketers did not choke and had the winning mentality. Thank you! Gary Kirsten!. We miss you!! 

WOW Moment - 2:

Anna Hazare's Protests caught media and public attention. India Media gots its 'Tahiri Square' Moment. From the perfect timing ('No News' seasons) to well-planned strategy & tactics, ensured that India took a step closer to its Lokpal bill dream. Hope this would be the beginning of much more active participation of civil society in the major policies of the government. 

Surprisingly all the major nations had one protest or the other. US - Occupy Wall Street Moment. UK - London Riots, etc.. 

WOW Moment - 3

 By far, this would be my most traveled year. Memories of 2 Wonderful Trip Posts here - Assam & UK

Hope 2012 to have many more memorable moments for all of us. Wishing you all to have a lot more memorable moments in 2012.

My Secret Sauce to Office Popularity

Want to know my secret sauce of knowing answers to colleague's difficulties ranging from designing the right chart for a set of data points to setting up a collegue's outlook account.  My Simple Solution is "Google".

Google Search Result Page

I even figure out how much googling does a person know in an interview. :) And I believe knowing the right words to google is one of the key skill required for a modern day working professional. 

If you are not using Google to find answers to your work issues, please start now. Who knows? It might even win you a 1 Million US Dollars.

Honest Scrap

Vimal wrote about Honest Scrap where i was one of the people to be awarded to write 10 Honest things about me.. [I have not figured why it is called 'Award'. If anybody comes to know let me know]. There are two rules for Honest Scrap Award Post

1. You have to first list 10 honest things about yourself (and make them interesting)
2. Second present the award to seven other bloggers

10 Honest Things About Myself:

1. Until 3rd Standard, I studied in a class in which two thirds of batch was consisted of girls [Extremely Lucky and Extraordinary in an Indian School.. :(]
2. I always feel that the quality/beauty of the girls in my class went down as i moved up in my academic life. School was better than undergrad college and undergrad college was a lot better than post grad school. [It is true that that you don't realize what you have, until it is taken away from you]
3. Though I am a marketer today, I have only taken 3-4 marketing courses in my B-School. [Ever met a marketer who has not studied consumer behavior???]
4. I am a closet ManU Supporter. [Since nothing gives me more fun than deriding other ManU Fans like Sajeev]
5. And I am crazy about Chennai Super Kings and Boston Red Sox. (I maintain the most popular Chennai Super Kings Fan Blog - http://cskfansite.com)
6. As a true Tirunelvelian, my childhood dream has always has been becoming a big "rowdy" with a golden heart in whose control lies the entire city
7. I do support George Bush. :) [And Still Believe Hillary would have made a better president to Obama]
8. I am a Congress supporter and believes BJP is one of the worst things that ever happened to India
9. During my indore days, whenever i visited Tirunelveli, I have to explain to near & apart in Tirunelveli why i did choose such a far away college in central India rather than studying at 'Mummy Papa College' nearby
10. Now I have to explain the reason for not working at an IT Company.

Vimal has already picked most of the others. So whoever reads this post, consider yourself nominated for the 'Honest Scrap'.

P.S: The post was lying in my draft for so many days. So decided to complete it only today and post it.

Upcoming Events - This Week

1. As I have said in one of my earlier posts(Google Updates), Facebook-style Open Social Applications is expected to go live on orkut this week. Personally I have been expecting Open Social Applications in Orkut for a very long time. Hope it happens as announced and Opensocial applications in Orkut are as good as Facebook applications.
2. Google's competitor, Microsoft is expected to release a software that may change the world. Unlike regular PR pitches, this announcement is extra special due to confession of famous Tech Blogger Robert Scoble that he shed tears on seeing the software. Techcrunch predicts that Microsoft is either going to offer Opensource on Feb 27 or announce worldwide telescope on Feb 27. But nobody sure what it is going to be.
   
3. This update is Personal. IIM Indore is having its placement week till February 29th So my Career and my future might be decided in this crazy week.

So keeping my fingers crossed.

100th Post

In Cricket, Nnineties however important it is, can never match the aura of a hundred. We still recall how Dan Bradman missed a career average of 100 runs by just 4 runs. The number 100 is special to all of us including me... We all would like to live to a magic age of 100...

But why all this hullabaloo about number 100?
Simple Reason: This is the 100th post to be published in this blog - http://robinsamuel.blogspot.com. The blog has evolved and grown in the mean time. From just being a space where i write some idiotic stuff about myself, it has metamorphosed itself into an India-centric Opinion blog with less and less personal stuff.

Rather than writing something new to make this special post extra-special, it would be better if i pick out the five best posts of mine in earlier 99 posts... [It also serves the purpose of informing the new readers of this blog of my earlier posts :) ]

1. In Service for Sight - This post is special because it is the first post in which i moved from personal stuff to general stuff. It is about Dr. V and Aravind Hospitals who by their single-minded focus and vision has shown us what is possible for a single person to achieve individually in the land where we live in.

2. Why Tirunelveli is the City of the World? - One Post that still brings me smile even after reading it umpteen number of times. Extra-Extra-Special

3. Orkut Celebrates India's Independence Day - Only Post that has the record of bringing in more than 1000 page views in a single day. Thanks to some luck!

4. BSNL And its Comical Vision - Something that i found out comical about BSNL's Vision and only person on the net to point out the foolishness committed by such a huge Public Sector Company of India.

5. Are Pyramid Schemes(Questnet, Goldquest) Easy Ways to Make Money? - A Constant Traffic Driver even today. My Only Hope is that People who are thinking about investing >30K in those scams get to read this post or posts with similar messages from other blogs.

Enjoy Reading!!!

P.S: Incidentally, This Blog has also hit 10K Page Views Mark. :)

Happy Birthday! Madras!

We all have that one 'special' day when we get cakes, gifts & bumps... A day that was made special to a few of the people around us, just because of our birth... If we, the mortals deserve it, why not a city that is beloved by thousands? Don't know about other cities, but Madras(namma Chennai) surely deserves it. If you think so, don't forget to wish Madras & all Madras-ians tomorrow(August 22)

It is believed that on August 22, 1639, a sliver of land, where Fort St. George stands today, was transacted by the East India Company, laying the foundation of this great city, which has seen enormous growth in the last 368 years.

Madras! My hearty Birthday wishes!

Can read about 'The Madras Day' and various events happening around the theme in 'The Madras Day - Website'.

Desktop Tower Defense - One more Game Worth Getting Addicted to...

Today when i dozed off in the class room, the images of creeps with decreasing lives - moving through the maze came alive before my eyes.. [Even now(while typing), I am seeing them in the middle of the editor]. No Deja Vu or Trance. Just the effects of playing another addictive computer game - Desktop Tower Defense all through the night.

Desktop TD is a fun flash based puzzle / strategy game where you have to protect your desktop from invaders by spending money on attacking pieces and building a maze for them to follow. Strangely addictive yet stress relieving... Just try and find out how many levels can you survive?.. I am still struck up at 'Hard' Mode.

Goal: Creeps enter from the top and from the left. You must stop them from reaching the other side or you will lose lives. You start with 20 lives, and when they are gone the game is over. Towers are used to attack creeps and also to block their path.

If you have never played a Tower Defense before try the Quick Start Tutorial.

For those new to the DTD game, here's how Rafe at CNet describes it:

Our desk is under attack by invaders coming from both land and air. Your only solution? Defend it at all costs, using tiny turrets. Fight off waves and waves of attackers that get more challenging with each onslaught. Use your victory winnings to fortify and buy more defensive units. Losing this battle means losing your humanity.

Another interesting game sure to make you addictive. If you want to scold somebody for introducing this game(that made you to lose precious time), put a word in "Desktop Tower Defense 1.5 leaves the building" who introduced the game to me. :)

P.S: You can't download Desktop Tower Defense offline - the Flash swf file requires an active net connection.

Heard about twitter??

Are you someone who regularly feel the need to update your friends & relatives - "What are you doing at that particular moment". 'Twitter' is the right thing for you.

A global community of friends and strangers are answering one single question: "What are you doing?". You can update using your phone, messenger or right through the web itself. I joined it today and was really excited by the concept. You can access my personal twitter at http://twitter.com/robinsamuel. Just access http://twitter.com to sign up for this new social networking website.

My Angels in Pune

I recently read an article where the author calls all the people who helped or guided in his journey to an unknown land as 'angels'. Similarly, this is a photo in honour of My own Pune Angels

P.S: I don't believe that angels can be grouped under a single gender only

Story of an Alarm Clock

Most of this post is an excerpt from one of my comments in Sajeev's Post - 'Terror Strikes E-Block'. Don't have any doubts. The sleeper who was not disturbed from his slumber even when the powerful cracker(atom bomb) burst on his neighbour's room is Me. So I decided to narrate my life at College of Engineering, Guindy where my neighbours had a hell of a time with my alarmclock. [Posting it here since somebody commented it is good.] :)

"Once long ago, there was an alarm clock in the hostel room of a student studying in a dream city called chennai in one of the best colleges of the world. And this alarm clock had the rare ability to wake up the whole block when it likes to. But alas! it does this every morning... So when its music begins, everybody in the hostel will wake-up and run to the door outside the block to hear its most beautiful sound.. But for sometime, they will stand outside shouting, encouraging this alarm to sing louder. After a few minutes resenting the fact that the door outside was reducing the effects of this great musician, they would start to kick & bang the doors... After a few minutes of their turmoil, the owner of the clock will slowly get up.. Immediately the happiness of the alarm clock would go a notch higher, thinking it is going to see its fans who daily come to hear its beautiful music.. Alas! dup! the owner will switch it off... Now, it has to wait until the next day for its audience.... Hmmm... Still relishing those beautiful days.."

This Summer @ Pune

Please don't read this if you don't want to know about the person behind the name 'Robin'.


The reason I choose my Blog title as "Tirunelveli--->Chennai--->Indore--->???" is mainly because it neatly sums up 'who I am' in a whole lot of ways. A person from a place unknown to most in the country(Tirunelveli) first experiencing a city that too a metro city with a more than a million people(to be exact - 4.2 million people in the city), then moving from the conservative TamilNadu to one of the places filled with highly intellectual people. These transitions and stays, coupled with my hopes about the unpredictable future have imparted an unique flavour to me. [My competitive advantage]


My home town - Tirunelveli, which is making a slow transition from a semi-urban to a city life style gave me a privilege of identifying myself with the rural masses of this land. Chennai exposed me to traffic, pollution, exorbitant auto rates, multiplexes and the beauty of beaches. Though i lived in the heart of the city, the hostel life surrounded by rural & semi-urban students prevented me to know about the true city/liberal lifestyle. Being cash-starved, also played a major role in it.[Luckily/Unluckily, Being surrounded by Computer wizards of CEG did not have any major impact/learning on/for me]. Indore in a year has made a whole lot of changes to my personality that even my undergraduate course was not able to accomplish in its four years. Though in Chennai, certain activities outside college transformed me as never before. Now for a short period of time(around 2 months), I am moving to Pune for my academic summer internship. Hope Pune too would have an impact of its own in my life.

P.S - Phew! A very long post to convey a simple message that 'I am moving to Pune during this summer'[Impact of studying in IIM???]. Hope to write the next article on 'My beautiful Memories with 2007 Batch of Planet-i".

Human Beings! I am disappointed with you!

If the Earth's moon gets an chance to speak...
An Imagination...

Moon: "O Unfaithful men! How much have you changed in these thousand years?. In the early days of your rudimentary life on earth, you saw me as one of your gods/goddess. Even when the later religions gained importance, you still gave me the importance i deserved... [by deciding the date of celebration of the important festivals on the basis of my different phases.]


I was there everyday when you used to fear darkness; giving you hope that my Big Brother 'Sun' would come back, next morning. I with my star slaves gave you company at night when you were bored or afraid. I was there as your laboratory and your observation tower. You predicted the future of the nations and individuals based on me. My beauty always reminded you of your beloved. I gave you meaning for your night life. But when my competitor 'Science' came with new inventions you started forgetting me. You never cared when my brightness was slowly getting reduced by your inventions of different night lamps.

Then on 21 July, 1969, after years of decreasing interest on me, you finally found the courage to come near me. For a few days, i was thankful for the advances, my competitor 'Science' has achieved. I hoped your infatuation with me will never end. But you left after tearing my skin and taking them back to your earth. Now you are planning to go near my distant cousin 'Mars' by establishing a base on me.

Hmm! I never spent money on Research to improve myself but i expected a little bit of gratitude from your side. Today i remain forgotten. None of you come out of your homes to check my beauty. It is months since you saw me.

Hey! Human Consultants, What should i do to regain my market share against my competitor 'Science'? Shall i change my colour to 'red'? Or Shall i start playing 'Hide & Seek' with man?. What should i do?. Please give me a solution.

Though you have been unfaithful and without gratitude, never mistake me to act like you. I will still come out everyday(Oops, every night) and do my duty of giving you light in the darkness you once feared. Just remember however your attitude may change, I will be still there. Sleep/Rest in peace."

P.S : Just thought of writing about how our night life has changed in these last thousand years.

Mr. Hyde & Me

Again got an inspiration to write a post after reading about Mr. Hyde in some other blog. For the unintiated, Mr. Hyde is a famous character from the novel

Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr.Hyde

in which Hyde is the split personality of Gentleman Jekyll and an exact opposite of him.. Book available in the following site e-book.. I remember a funny incident from my school when i wrote in one of my classmates autograph books that i want to become Mr. Hyde.. She in his reply in my autograph wished me to become one...[I also dont understand what is funny in it but it still makes me to smile when i think about it].. On that day found to my surprise that there a lot of people who really do not know who Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde are.

Now coming to the debate "Is there a Hyde in all of us?". That wants to come out if we give it a chance? That will go out of control if we let it out more frequently?

[Never thought this post would go in a serious direction. Started writing the blog thinking it would be a confession of things when Mr. Hyde personality of me has taken over. Did not have the guts to write them in a public forum so coming to the boring discussion of the question. Anyway the question makes me to think.]

According to me, I believe that if we let Mr. Hyde out of us once, his strength would be increased and will start coming out of our gentleman mask more frequently. Our first lie is the hardest and afterwards it has become more frequent. Our first sleeping experience in the class and how afterwards it has become more frequent. Our first jump in the traffic signal and how frequent it has become after that. Our first bunking of class and how frequent it has become after that. Also stopping the Mr. Hyde[i dont want to call it Mr. Evil]personality of ours, after it has started showing off is tough and hard. But it also raises a question

Is there a terroist/murderer inside all of us which we have never let out?..
If it is true, why should we punish the terroists and murders since there is no big difference between them and us?
Does we all have personality like Mr. Hyde inside each one of us that is waiting to be explode when we let it out?..
Or we all are born good?..

Expecting your comments..

Will never vote for Flies

Fly - This insect until now in my life has been just a two-winged insect... Not to be worried about much or even cared about.. But in these days, these insects have now made me to change my decision.
Here goes my story. As i start spotting a lot of flies near the mess, i thought this is something that is restricted to areas near to the mess.. Also they are attracted by the leftovers of the eggs and other things that are used to bathe the birthday baby.
Yesterday, after coming from the class, saw 10 0r 15 flies inside my closed room.. Thought o.k. it is not a problem. They can be easily driven away. But to be my surprise, these insects are good at dodging away from the well-aimed shots taken by me. If i keep my room open, there are more number of flies eagerly awaiting for their chance to have a darishan of my room.. Just coming to the conclusion that i can do nothing about them, even if they come and sit in my face, i slept.
Next morning, went eagerly to our QT professor's class.. Expecting a good sleep.. But alas, there were more than five flies eagerly awaiting for the students to come. Don't know why they have this attraction[atleast i look attractive in their eye!!!!...] to me, started their time of rest in my body.. Auch! The whole class was wasted to dodging of them... And missed a good sleep.. Would have loved to continue "The Adventures of Robin and Flies".. But have to catch the sleep missed in the QT class.........

My First Post

This is my first blog. If you asking why this blog, the reason is i just got motivated on reading other's blog.. Still don't know why i am doing this. But hoping that like all the other new things i attempeted this does not end in ditch after a few posts.

[Deleted a few things from this blog...]