Cycle Race – ICR on ECR- 19th Jan 2007

 

Schools for India

Proudly Presents

ICR ON ECR 

In Association with Cycling Federation of India 

International Cycle Race on East Coast Road 

Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India

Introduction:  

• ICR on ECR is an international cycle race-cum-rally planned for the 19 January 2007. Cyclists of global repute and participants from across the country, professionals and amateurs alike, will be invited for the ICR on ECR. The event targets 2500-3000 cyclists who will cycle through a distance of 150 kms from VGP Golden Beach (Start point) to Pondicherry (finish point).  

 Start Point: VGP Golden Beach

Student Race Break Point: Muttukadu

Corporate Rally Break Point: Y point that splits to Mahabalipuram and Pondicherry

Amateur Race & International Cyclists Finish Point: Pondicherry 

Primary Objectives – ICR on ECR:

The International Cycle Race-cum-rally on the East Coast Road is being organized by Schools for India, a non-profit charitable organization registered under the Indian Charitable Trust Act in December 2005. The ICR on ECR is being conducted by Schools for India to capture the attention of corporate bodies and individuals to participate in the commencement of the Pilot Project. (For more information on Schools for India, log on to: www.schoolsforindia.org)

Pilot Project: Thiruvannamalai District, Tamil Nadu, India

Area: 14.5 acres for the school

Facility Description: State of the art school building with latest building technologies with pre-fabricated building materials, with the following and not limited to features:

Perimeter fencing, playground, staff quarters, community facing facilities like dispensary, grocery shop, multi purpose shopping area, Modern kitchen, Information Technology lab, Science lab, library, music room, training halls, rest rooms, storage area, security and alarm systems, Community hall among many others.  

Secondary Objectives – ICR on ECR: 

(a)      The ICR on ECR is expected to act as an orientation to the society about Schools for India.

(b)     The ICR on ECR is planning to rope in students from various schools and colleges across the country to participate in the rally for education for the rural poor.

(c)      The ICR on ECR also plans to rope in corporate individuals to join the organizational framework of Schools for India as members.

(d)     The ICR on ECR also aims at diverting a portion of the proceeds of the cycle race and rally in to the pilot project. 

Simplicity and Determination:

 

Schools for India has ideated the ICR on ECR for the commencement of its pilot project for two specific reasons:

(a)     Simplicity: The rural poor in India and cycles hold simplicity as a synonym.

(b)    Determination: The concept of a race-cum-rally tempts the determination of any participant as much as education tempts the future of India, especially in the rural segments of the country.

Pre-event School Student Rally:

Date: 12 January 2007, Friday

Venue: Rajaratinam Stadium, Mount Road, Chennai

-         Participation open to XI and XII standard students (Chennai only)

-         First 500 registrations only

-         Cycles will be provided to the participants

-         Prize Money: I Place: INR 20000

 II Place: INR 15000

III Place: INR 10000

-         Registration Fee: Rs.50 per student

-         Celebrity participation in flag off ceremony and prize distribution ceremony

-         Press participation and coverage 

Prizes: 

Professional Rally and Amateur Race:

Participant cyclists will be registered members of International, National and Regional cycling federations.

Registration by invitation only.

Prize Money: I place: USD $10000

                    Runner up prizes – 15 prizes @ USD $1000 each 

Corporate Rally:

-         Participants will encompass corporate staff and sports persons.

-         First 500 registrations only

-         Cycles will be provided to the cyclists 

First Registration Fee: INR 1000 per participant

Prize Money: I place: INR 2,00,000

                    II place: INR 1,00,000 

Students Rally:

-         Participants will encompass students from various colleges from cities including Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chandigarh, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkatta, Mumbai, Pune and specific cities across Tamil Nadu.

-         Cycles will be provided to all participants

-         First 1500 registrations only

-         One-way fare shall be provided to outstation candidates.

-         Registration Fee: INR 300 per participant

-         Prize Money: I place: INR 1,00,000

 II place: INR 75,000

10 Runner Up prizes – Rs.20000 each

Over 2500 students from various city colleges will make a human chain by being placed in the various stables lined up enroute to cheer the cause of education. The event is expected to attract maximum press attention owing to the magnificent scale of the same.

 

Life on a continuous re-run!

Yups! It’s that patch of my existence again! It’s been happening pretty often off late! Deja vu everyday! The scary part is that the re-runs are as though from the same season. Anyhoo, my last few week ends have been better. Lot of fun actually! But the paradox about hectic week ends is that you feel as though you have been thrown into another week without a break!! I’ve had nothing much to think over the past 2 weeks. Our project has got into the component testing phase and this is easily the most boring phase in the cycle! Its so void from any creativity or juice that, the feeling of uselessness lingers even after you get back home and you just wanna waste anything that’s left in the day!!!

 

Anyways it’s almost December already. 2006 is slowly becoming another year in history! Now 2005 was an amazing year! There were many firsts:

• The college Degree
• First Job
• First Salary
• The All India Trip
• The coming of age of our gang
• Discussions moving from rock bands and games to life and relationships!!
• Close encounters with the second kind!

 

Let’s see how 2006 fared so far. Major achievements –

• Started paying taxes
• First drubbing from – ‘The man!’
• First major recognition at work
• First booze party!
• Took charge the house for 3 months and everything was almost in one piece when ma got back!

 

So basically nothing much has happened this year! How ever this might be an understatement because I have grown a lot over the past one year. Added new dimensions to me. It’s like the middle overs when you consolidate before you turn on the fireworks

So what did I miss over here ..????

 

 

Things to consider while buying the XBox 360 in India!!

The console market it opening up big in India and Microsoft has tried to up the tempo with the very enthusiastic Diwali release of their XBOX 360. It is the first console to be released in the seventh generation of game consoles and will compete against Sony’s PlayStation 3 and Nintendo’s Wii. I was caught in between this discussion of what all to look before going in for the XB360 or settle for the existing available consoles – XB/PS2. Here were the basic questions that Gom came up with

1. Price
2. Whether it’s the one with the hard-disk or the basic model
3. Does it have a mod-chip?
4. Where did you buy it from?
5. How much do the games cost?

 

Okay so here’s the background. Why to go for the XB 360 in the first place?? The main reason to go for an XBox is coz the mod-chips were not available for the XB 360. Also, the fact that most games available for the XB360, were also available for the XBOX. But slowly there’s a shift towards exclusive XB 360 titles. For e.g. PC Games like F.E.A.R are only being ported to the X360. That and the availability of the life-saving mod-chip for the 360 changed my plans towards buying a 360. So basically with the XB360, one can be pretty sure that my gaming life will be bliss for the next 3-4 years.

But the concern is that the new mod chip for X360 hasn’t been tested and would be worth waiting for some time coz it usually goes through a coupla rounds of updates!!! So according to one expert (Dinesh) it would be wise to wait till Feb/March before going in for that. Either that or you could change the mod chip when the new update is available.

 

Now word of caution – One of the guys went in for the hardware modified XB360 but found that backward compatibility sadly didn’t work. He downloaded the update and ran it. But still it still didn’t play pirated Xbox games. However he hadn’t tried original XB games. That might work. It’s known that Backward Compatibility is achieved through software emulation of the original Xbox. Updated emulation profiles can be obtained through Xbox Live, by burning a CD with profiles downloaded from Xbox.com, or by ordering an update disc from Microsoft.

 

This brings us back to the answers to the question asked in the beginning of this post. This was what came out of the discussion:

1. Can get it for as cheap as 22k or 27k with 10 titles. (Have to pay another 1k for a step down transformer as the unit came with an 110V power supply.)
2. Go for one with the hard disc. The without the hard disc is apparently as good as useless.
3. Unless your rich relative has left you lotta cash when he kicked the bucket, go for the one with the mod chip. Original games are expensive. But be careful when buying. Check if the unit is hard ware modified as there are also software modified XB360’s for sale and they don’t support all titles. BE VERY CAREFUL!
4. Every city has an electronic street (home of grey market products). Try that but make sure you go with some one who knows the place.
5. Right now the games are sold at 130-180. Its bound to come down in the coming months.

 List of Xbox 360 games   So Game On mates !

 

Pimp my ride!

My company believes in continuous learning!! So as a step toward ensuring that, they have decided that we go ahead and get some internal certifications!! Now who would voluntarily take these tests? So they go ahead and attach a biscuit along with it. If we want a share of the company profit pie we need to get one Domain and one Technical certification a year! So I went ahead and took my Domain Certification today. And as I, found myself uttering the same silent prayer that has become a routine every time I’m about to press that ‘Submit’ button – “So help me god!” there was a teeny bit of desperation coz the guy 2 seats next to me got a 60 followed by the guy next to me who got a 64 (need 65+ to pass). Anyways the anxiety didn’t last long as to my relief I got a 73!! (yay! ). Anyhoo, the most fun part of this whole exercise was I got a little more information about my domain – Automotive n Aerospace (Don’t go woa!! … I do the same shit all u guys do ..The fancy name doesn’t make me a F1 driver or an astronaut! ).

 

As any person who has testosterone in him I fancy cars and bikes!! These fancy pieces of metal and machine do make my head turn and mouth drool!! Can appreciate a pair of hot rods and desperately wanna own a Merc and a chopper someday!! So when I was going through the material for my test I came across some startling info:

 

The sheer size of the Auto industry in terms of revenue alone can be summarized as:

• Box office collections of the top 10 Hollywood grossers – $4,268,752,087. Total revenue just by selling the Ford F Series in the US in 2004 – $28,185,330,000.
• Total Revenue generated by selling cars in the US in 2004 – $270,000,000,000 would put it at 30 in the top 30 GDP of countries list!

More interesting trivia –

• GM was the largest company in the world until recently overtaken by WalMart, soon to be displaced as the Largest Automotive Company by Toyota.
• Did any one know that the Maybach and the Merc came from the same stable – DaimlerChrysler (They were 2 separate companies till ‘98)
• All of these Auto Giants are just OEM’s (Original Equipment Manufacturers) and only assemble cars from Tier 1-n suppliers and do not manufacture cars from scratch!

 

Still in such an industry which is reaching stagnation a profit margin of 2-3 % is considered huge!! The industry is just surviving on aggressive consolidations in the 90’s with all fighting just to increase their market share!

Anyways, enough of domain talk. As we are around the subject I cannot understand the fuss over Formula One Racing!! I mean as much as I love cars and bikes I cannot appreciate this sport, if we may call it so! I mean so much is dependant on technology that sometimes the skill of the driver becomes non-issue! Who knows what Narain Karthikeyan would have done on a Ferrari or the fate of Schumacher if he would have been stuck with a Jordan!

Other than that I’ve been kinda indisposed fa the past few days .. got the flu I guess .. been scaring mum that’s its prolly chikungunya! For my sake, I surely hope not!!!!

 

These Days …

Diwali’s upon us I love the festive season… don’t we all! It gives us a reason to be happy even when there is none. Maybe that’s what they mean when they talk about the festive spirit getting to you! But then I do have reasons a plenty to feel good. My aunt-uncle are visiting us this extended week end. So for the next four days its going to be one party coz my cousin’s moved in and my sister’s in town! Had it not been for the friggin certification I have to give on Wednesday it would have been a purrrfect 4 days! Anyways the next few days would include sweets.. lights.. shopping more sweets and the works! All the Dawgs are back home too.. Voice chat ho jaaye biaatches !!!! Here are some updates on the personal front:

Reading now: Freakonomics
Humming: Snoop Dog, Xzibit ..
Mood: Happy
Thinking about: Career switch .. maybe I wanna be a song writer!
Thinking about right now: Breakfast!
At the back of my mind: The Domain Certification test on Wed (Damn!)
Waiting for: Garden State to download

Happy Diwali people

 

Ze Mallu Rap!

Pangs passed me this link http://www.viknluda.com/ and boy! I have never been prouder to be a mallu. I mean mallus never sounded this good … Anyhoo .. As a tribute to em I decided to pen down my own mallu-rap!

A land of coconut oil and banana chips,
White sprawling beaches and fancy mallu cribs!
Gods own Kondrry, land down under they call
We’re taking over the world so watch out y’all

With our shirt tucked mundus we are so cool
With dark sunglasses.. oh they’ll make the babies drool
Pelvic thrusts in da club with all our pride
Gorgeous gals in half saaris on either side

So you think our accent’s funny? Well, wipe off that grin
Let’s see how you act when some toddy gets in!
Idli’s, Samber, Fish Curry.. we got it all !
Be Mallu … we the coolest of them all!!!!

We got our Lal’s and our Mamuttys!
Our daaashing Appu Kuttans and our raaavishing Lola Kuttis
Don’t you snicker when u see mallu homies pass
They’ll lift up their lungis and kick your ass!!

So moral of the story as u see
Being mallu is the only way to be!
Coz swear by Lord Ayyapa u get us mad..
And somebody’s gonna get hurt real bad!!!

 

Irrelevant Conversation!

So how many times has it happened that you bump into one o ur good friends online and all you talk is utter meaningless gibberish!!! (almost always eh ..! ) Well, It doesn’t get more irrelevant than this –

ME: So we meet again ..

She: Indeed… therez place enough only 4 one among us!

ME: And may I ask what the reason for this convenient coincidence is??

She: It’s either u or ME

ME: Precisely!

She: The coincidence isn’t convenient

ME: So how do we draw??

She: it’s carefully planed … RFID has been attached on ur backside.. by means of which I can track u and all ur minute movements.

ME: Hmm … tech savvy .. ooo .. I like that… u might be competition after all missy

She: Ha! we operate in mysterious ways .. little do u know

ME: I know I do .. but then thought u were too blond for that

She: Therez not a blond strand in that immaculate head of mine .. u have been cleverly deceived. I’m smarter than I let on

ME: Hmm .. I knew u were a blonde in a brunette’s body!

She: And u of course are dumber than u portray. Hmm… Am planning my next strategic move…

ME: Hmm ..

She: So how have u been engaged all these days?

ME: Doing stuff…. ( read as work ) Just off a 16hr a day week

She: Whoa! That’s grueling. So Jim and Steve have been following my orders

ME: ???

She: In keeping u indoors

ME: Who are Jim and Steve?

She: But the lesser mortal that u are, u will never know who Jim and Steve are only that u work under them

ME: Are we talking about ur dolls here again ???

She: And have to submit to their whims.. They in turn, report to ME

ME: Okay .. we are talking about ur dolls !!

She: my dolls?

ME: Yea .. Jim and Steve of your dollhouse!

She: My phone is ringing. Jim and Steve called

ME: At the same time?

She: To tell me that a packed week has been planned ahead 4 u

yes, together

ME: oh oki ..

She: They’re my cronies

ME: Hmm .. is that what u call em these days

She: cronies? Yep ..sidekicks

ME: Last time we spoke u called em ur boobly doobies!

She: they assume different identities 4 diff operations. it’s all part of subterfuge

ME: Oki .. things get pretty strange in ur doll house .So when are u throwing ur annual tea party??

She: It aint no doll house, dangerous weapons have no place in a doll house

ME: Yes they do when u put em in ur kitchen!

She: U have no idea how many of my men are decapitated every week for failing to carry out my orders successfully!

ME: ooo .. I’m scared .. that don’t scare me no more!!! It may work for ur boobly doobies!!!

She: Doesn’t that send shudders down ur spine?

ME: not even a pinch my lady .. ul just have to try harder!

She: I don’t need to try.. Wait n watch what will become of u. U will be at my feet begging 4 mercy

ME: I’ll be ready!!! And keep some handkerchiefs ready … ur boobly doobies would come crying back to u after I whoop their ass!!!

She: hmph! Their heads will roll on d floor

ME: Till we meet again then missy … and do come prepared this time …Last time we fought ur diapers fell off !!!

She: Diapers??? Don’t get me started on your dentures ..

ME: I’ve sacked my dentist .. Ill be ready this time

She: See u then!

P.S – I have a strict policy about the quality of content that goes up on my blog .. hmm .. this would prolly get a “Rubbish” on that scale .. !

 

~ Things to do to pass time when your train gets delayed ~

1.

 

I want to break free …

I’ve always wanted job that’d make me travel a lot .. At least for the initial few years! Make me live out of my suitcase!! Few months here .. then somewhere else…you know, take me places. Well..err.. To an extent my wish was granted! I now travel 50kms every day (one way!) to work. Am out 14-15hrs a day practically every day of the week! Talk about being constantly being ‘on the move!’. Come to look at it what we do is almost slavery right!! We have almost fixed working hours! Get paid peanuts, are constantly being watched. Have our bags checked every time we get into the building.. wait in the queue for long hours for food. We’ve all become corporate whores! I recently had my appraisal! Well.. I got a band below what I deserved.. Why?? Coz I couldn’t live up to the ‘perception’ that I had created for myself. Means I may have worked the same way as the guy who got a band above me but then since I hadn’t performed to my ‘so called potential’ I lost out!!  Hmm .. Shit happens I guess.. (Yea pangs .. u wipe it and move on! ) The last 2 weeks being hectic is an understatement! I slept for little over 5 hrs each day .. spend 15hrs in office…18 hrs outside my house! Its not like this all the time agreed.. But then in essence it’s the same!! Yes, I wanna get out alright but then my qualification would get me jus similar kinda jobs .. even if the pay increases!! I belong to the wild .. If u getting my drift!! I need to be let myself loose .. meet lotta people .. do something creative, may not necessarily be the arts.. In fact better not be the arts.. I suck at that!! I’m still searching for my calling. So its high time I get my ass off this chair and do some serious thinking..something radical. Out of the box!! Be more proactive .. take my destiny in my hands .. steer my own ship ..I NEED TO ACT .. NOW!!! Hmmm .. ah screw it .. got all the time in the world .. maybe tomorrow …

 

Tryst: The Outsider

Before and after HIM – HER .. There was ….

It’s a little difficult to know where to draw the line! Be it with you, your family or your friends. And even more difficult to let someone else know where to draw the line! Even if he is your best friend! Not every one leads the life the way u live yours. But I guess its human nature to try to impose yourself on people, especially on those you care about! Call me skeptical or judgmental, I, as I guess any normal person would have done, had made some preconceived notions about the whole thing. To me it was some weird celluloid chapter come to life and what was crazy was that somebody I knew very well was involved. “It doesn’t happen like this … it’s not a movie” I told myself! I reached Harsh’s place .. We joked around and some time passed! At the back of my mind there was this constant poking voice which said –” it’s been a coupla hours!! He hasn’t called … he always calls when I get here!” Before I realized what was on my mind found its way to Gom. I asked Gautam – ” Heard from him ??”

Gom: Nopes .. No news from him .. but then its understandable na ..

Me: Yeah .. I guess so! I hope he knows what he’s doing though!!!

Gom: yeah.. In the end it’s all okay …

Me: .. and if its not okay its not the end *High FI*

We met up later that day. She seemed nice! Totally not the mortifying picture I had in my head!! A little shy, she didn’t speak much that day. But then that silence said a million words. He looked happy too. The heartening fact is that he has been happy since! It’s been almost 4 months since then and its lovely to see it blossom! It’s even more heartening to feel he did the right thing by pursuing it. Thought it may be difficult for me to understand but it’s at least not hard to accept or digest! I guess that’s the beauty about getting to at least starting to fall into love – is that u just don’t care and all that matters is that you got each other! It takes 2 fools to do it coz there’s no scope for logic in it!! He may have been the first in our gang to take that plunge..while some of us still testing the currents whilst some of us don’t even want to get their fingers wet !! In end its what makes each one of us happy .. Its as much as letting go as much it’s holding on!! Who knows – maybe would be church bells ringing.. shiny stars in the sky .. or even animals singing .. but then this crazy little thing called love is something I may never understand but something I’m not wary off . But when the day comes I just might get that little fuzzy feeling every morning and that warmth when I get in to bed in the night!!!