Hello Airtel, why are you stealing my money?

I had a Airtel internet connection (USB modem) which was so hopeless that I disconnected it. However there was a initial deposit amount of 1000 with them and also I did not receive the final bill. I was wondering as to what has happened and if I had missed any payments to be made. 

So I called up 121 - I thought that its a toll-free number. But now they are charging 50 paisa for 3 minutes. Anyways, the executive informed me that the final bill was 991 Rs and they have adjusted the security deposit towards this bill. So, I asked 'what about the balance 9 Rs, thats my money'. Then he says that if the balance amount is less than 25/- then they will not bother to return that. Very funny. 

Is this not stealing? I understand that the amount is small. But, its not their money!! I have asked for a full and final settlement which details all this. Lets see. 

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The world is a playground. Somehow we forget to play as we grow up

Its Diwali/Deepavali time. I want to share some sweet memories of these festivities in my childhood. 

Without fail, we used to celebrate all the festivals in our village with loads of our cousins. It used to be huge, for us. We used to bother our grand-pa/uncles/aunts for 1 or 2 rupees (yes, money was very valuable then) and run to the cracker shops to buy crackers. Absolute joy.

On the evening of the festival, the villagers used to make a huge fire on a ground and bring their decorated oxen (mostly with marigold flowers, balloons on horns, bells on foot and neck etc..) to cross the fire. There used to a hidden competition as to whose oxen looks the best. It was much fun. Sometimes we used to lit the crackers right below an ox and watch it jumping wild. Sadists we were :)

The best part used to be the day after the festival. All the crackers we had bought would have been over by that time and nobody would give any money again. We would walk into the streets early in the morning and see if we could find any unlit crackers on the ground - those crackers which just refused to go off. There were precious because they were free :) We used to have lot of fun again.

Suddenly, festivals have no meaning for me.

I was watching the movie 'Yes Man' yesterday and one line from Allison got me thinking for sometime:

'The world is a playground. Somehow we forget to play as we grow up'.

So true, so bad.

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So, what about other contracts (other than CWG)?

Poor CWG chaps! I think all govt contracts are full of bribery, favoritism and commissions. These guys just got caught because CWG was in the limelight. They were just doing their 'work' honestly. So, what about other contracts (other than CWG)? There are tons of other govt-funded projects!! Who should monitor them. The media is not interested in these because there is not much masala in them. 

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ICICI - Part 2

My blog actually helped me to get the mobile alerts on my account cancelled. They also reversed the charges for 2 months. Not bad. 

I also want to narrate how ICICI marketing people sell their products - In this case: current account. 

One fine day 2 ICICI people(from Vijayanagar branch) came to my place to get all the formalities done for the opening of the account. I told them of my concern that I have to come all the way to Vijayanagar to drop any cheque. There is an ATM near our place (near Ambedkar college) but there is no cheque-drop box. The guy confidently told that the drop-box has been installed recently and he actually uses this drop-box regularly as he lives nearby. As I had not been there recently, I thought that this was true. But later (after opening account), I saw that there is no drop-box in that ATM. It was just a plain marketing lie by the ICICI guy.

I don't know why they do that - lying to customers. I visited the Vijayanagar branch sometime after this and met the same guy ( supposedly the manager) and told him that there is no drop-box at that ATM. He smiled uncomfortably and told me that there will be a branch coming soon near my place and that should solve all these problems. Another lie. One on another. No signs of any branch here yet. (I think this guy should become a politician)

I think these people have sales targets and they just want to achieve that - by hook or crook.

I had also signed the application form without reading all the contents. Definitely these people must have ticked mobile alerts ON. 

Lesson learnt: Never sign any application form without reading it fully. 

 

 

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e-Stamp charges in India - ridiculous

I had to renew my rental agreement and so went in search of getting an e-stamp paper.  I had to fill in an application form and gave 50/- : the value of the e-stamp. The guy told that there is a service charge of 10/-. Now thats 20%. Isn't this too high? The e-stamp that they give is just 1 printout on an ordinary sheet of paper. No pre-printed stuff. Definitely the govt is making a lot of money here. Amazing.

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Car service and hospitals - They just sell things which are not required to you

I left my car for a service today. I was very irritated by the way in which they tried to add unnecessary things-to-do to the service and increase the bill. I think, in the end, the guy was pretty sad that he did not reach the  target bill. 

I declined to get the following things done:

- Emission test - I already had it till Dec 2010

- Door rattling test - He said that he will check/fix if the doors will rattle and it costs money. (I will get it done if the doors rattle and not now)

- Wheel alignment/balancing - This is a usual thing that they do at every service. If there is any problem with the wheel alignment, you will immediately notice it, as the car will wobble at high speeds. (I will get this done when my car wobbles and not now)

These guys, I tell you, are not doing service. They just sell things which are not required to you. I even wonder whether you need a service for every 5000 Kms. 

 

One of friends' dad was admitted to a hospital for a particular illness. He was telling me the way in which the hospital people will add unnecessary tests daily, to send the bill sky-rocketing. If you have insurance cover, they will make sure that they will squeeze all of that within the shortest time possible.

They just sell things which are not required to you.

 

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They just punch holes and ask you for money

Car Mechanic:

One of the tyres of my car went flat this morning. I put a spare tyre on the car and went to a nearby mechanic shop to get it fixed. The mechanic took out the tyre and pulled the tube out. One of them was checking the tyre and showing me a screw which had pierced the tyre and caused the damage. The other went inside the shop with the tube and came after 1-2 minutes. He put some air into the tube and showed me 6-7 holes in the tube. He said that its of no use patching the tube and its better to go for a new tube. I haggled a little bit on the price and was not happy in the end. I just took the tyre and went in search of another shop.

This was the second time I was coming to this shop. It was very surprising that in the first instance also, the mechanic had persuaded me to go for a new tube rather than patching it up. I sat thinking on this for a while and then it struck me that he must have actually punched couple of holes on the tube when he had gone inside (Most probably). How stupid I am to have let this happen in front of me. I was so furious. I could have have gone back and shouted at this guy. But I had no proof that he had done this. I would have got a shout back. So, in a cowardly way I decided to cool myself and vowed never go to this guy again.

People will take you for a ride when they see that they can.

ICICI Bank:

I have a current account with ICICI bank and they were charging around Rs.50/- every month. 25 for hard copy statements and 25 for for mobile alerts + taxes extra. I was getting email statements and decided that hard copies were not necessary and told them to stop them (save some trees). They stopped these and the fees for this vanished. 

I also decided that mobile alerts were not necessary. I checked internet banking to see if there was any way to stop these mobile alerts online. None. I called them up to find out a way to do this. They said that the only way to do this is to go to the branch and submit an application, signed. This is ridiculous. They just make it harder for you to stop these mobile alerts. So, I went to the branch and submitted this application - 2 months back. I am still getting mobile alerts and I am still getting charged. The person in the branch said that she will look into this and raise a query. I don't think she has done anything. I dont know what to do now.

Now, I dont see any differnce between the mechanic and these ICICI people. They just punch holes and ask you for money.

Airtel:

 

I was at the airtel shop to cancel my postpaid internet connection. I was fed up with the connection as it was very very slow. It was an unlimited plan, but whats the use? I overheard a conversation between another guy who was there to cancel his mobile phone connection:

Guy - I would like to know how much the outstanding amoutn payble is, if I close the connection?

Other side - ........

Guy - Ok, so its 1092. But there is a deposit of 500 that you took earlier. So it should be 592. 

Other side - ........

Guy - What, whats this new charge? (They told him that there is something else)

Other side - ........

Guy - (fed up) where do you keep all the money!!?

 

Exactly... Where do these guys keep all the money?? 

That was the end of the conversation and the guy walked off. I cancelled my connection and asked if they will take the USB modem back. It had cost me 3500. It is as good as new. I understand that its used and they cannot probably give it to other customers. But is there no way!? Its not like a mobile phone which you can sell. I will probably try to sell it somewhere else!

Anyways, they told me that I will not be charged from today and that I will get my deposit - 1000 back within 60 days. 60 days?? Why cant you give me cash now?? I had paid in cash. Are they so poor that they cant give it now? I think they will just sit on my cash and earn interest. 

Now, I dont see any differnce between the mechanic, the ICICI people and these Airtel people. They just punch holes and ask you for money.

 

I have opted for a Tata Photon+ USB modem now. I did test it before chosing it. And its 100 times fast and for the same money. I hope the TATAs will not punch any holes!

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China Passes Japan as Second-Largest Economy : http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/16/business/global/16yuan.html?_r=1&hp

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Man gets beaten by politician and fined by police bcoz he overtakes his car. How dare he?

Man gets beaten by politician and fined by police bcoz he overtakes his car. How dare he overtake a politician in any respect?

Nobody overtakes a politician. Only other politician can. They practice zero tolerance in this regard. Otherwise they would not have become politicians. They would have been 'us'. 

The roads are built by the politicians for the politicians. They have exclusive and supreme right to be in the front always. This is a free country. The politicians are free beat to whoever overtakes them.

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A post for Independence day

My memory is quite vague. I think I was in the 10th or 11th grade. I
was attending this function to honor a freedom fighter.

He actually looked like one. He was old. Probably into his late 70s.
He had his white dhothi and kurtha with a Gandhi cap - you know what
that is.

He started his speech by telling how they sacrificed their lives to
fight for the freedom of the country and for their own. The way they
spent time in jails for years on, leaving their families behind. The
way they took the beatings by the British.

Then he said: 'I dont think it was worth it. We dedicated our life
thinking that we would be better off after freedom. I never thought
that India would be like what it is now. Our freedom struggle has gone
waste' and he started crying on the stage.

Nobody expected this drama on the stage and the organizers quickly
made him sit in his chair. They however honored him by putting a
garland and a shawl around him (I dont know why of all the things -
Shawl?? )

I still cant forget that day. The pain was evident. The pain of
wasting one's life. The pain of shattered dreams. The pain of lost
loved ones. The pain of living in independent India.

The India was not the India that this freedom fighter expected. I
think Post-Independence era was a total disappointment to these
people.

They had a dream of 'Independent' India, in vain.

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Upliftment of the downtrodden!

Near our house there is this little 'ashram'. These are places where
people practice celibacy and god and such stuff away from all the
scantily clad women that you find in the cities so that there is
absolutely no distraction. It is situated right next to a huge sewage
line which is one of the lines that carry the waste from each home in
Bangalore and out of the city. Traditionally such ashrams are known to
be at the banks of rivers where they can take a dip daily and clean
their arse.

I hear that a landlord had donated a part of his land for this ashram
so that he could get rid of the sins he has committed on earth and get
a first class ticket to heaven. Or probably no one wanted to buy that
land as it was right next to the gutter. Anyways, all this while the
ashram was a quite place in some remote place of Bangalore.

I think that the ashram people noticed that no one was peeping inside
their lives and seek blessings, listen to their preachings, kiss their
feet and wash their sins away. How can the lives of these saints go
wasted when there is so much moral corruption to be cleaned up in this
silicon city of india?

So, they have to attract people and one way was to be loud in what
they do. Atleast somebody will listen. They installed a loud-speaker
on the roof and started playing bhajans – devotional songs at specific
times each day. I must say that this is noise pollution. It has
disturbed my sleep during mornings these days. They start the bhajans
at 5.45 am (thats pretty early for me) and play for 45 mins and repeat
the same at regular intervals. It looks like they have picked up some
good classical music. Its good, but not when you are sleeping and not
when its so loud.

I dont understand the economies of these ashram's or mutts. But I hear
that they run the government in Karnataka. They are supposed to be
very influential and have the power to sway the minds of the voters at
the time of each election. So all the leaders and politicians go and
kiss their feet and what not and donate whole-hearteldy. This money is
used for charity and the general upliftment of the downtrodden
(Remembering from college days – this is the exact function of a bra).

I occasionally saw ashram people playing cricket. They also need some
entertainment in life. I wonder if they have have got cable. I wonder
what else is going on inside this ashram. Recently a guru was caught
on camera with an actress in bed. You never know! But we know that
they are also human beings with the same set of genetic forces acting
upon them.

I also hear that this ashram has got a grant from the government to
build a hostel for students of its own caste. Each ashram has to be
associated with a caste. Invariably only people of that caste will be
following them. A hostel for students is a nice plan. They will have
at their disposal, freshly baked minds to write whatever they want.

Enough said.

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Stunning stats and charts: http://www.ted.com/talks/hans_rosling_shows_the_best_stats_you_ve_ever_seen.html

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Airtel's data plans are ridiculous

Airtel offers only 3 data plans with its USB Modem:

1) 350 - 500 MB free- 5/MB
2) 599 - 1GB free - 3/MB
3) 999 - Unlimited

As a customer I need to have more choices depending on my needs. They
don't have any plans for 2GB, 3 GB or 5 GB with lets say 700/800/900
as the cost. Nowadays 1 GB is nothing for surfing and I am forced to
choose the unlimited plan.

Looks like its their strategy to force the customer to choose the
costlier plan!!

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Some depressing stats on India by Alan Greenspan in 'The age of turbulence'

Below are some of the very depressing facts on India noted by Alan Greenspan in his book 'The age of turbulence'. We, IT people sitting in front of our computers think that the rest of India is also growing like Bangalore. But the picture is not as rosy as we think.

• Owing to costly labor laws that apply to establishments of ten or more employees, more than 40% of employment in all manufacturing takes place in firms employing 5 to 9 workers. This compares with only 4% in Korea. Productivity in these small firms is 20% of large firms
• Half of India's homes have no electricity
• Productivity in farms is only 1/4th of what it is in non-farm areas
• Rice yields are half of what they are in China and a third of what they are in China
• A third of crop is reported to rot en route to market due to bad transport
• Directly and indirectly employment in IT constitutes barely 1% of total employment in India

He notes that only manufacturing-for-export model can liberate the people trapped in villages. I have seen that trend in my village where lot of them have migrated to Bangalore mainly to work in garment industries or other manufacturing industry.

He also quotes Martin Feldstein:

"Cellphone service is widely available in India at low cost because it was regarded as a luxury and therefore left to the market, while electricity is hard to obtain because it has been regarded as a necessity and therefore managed by the government" -- WSJ, 16/2/2006

I have myself seen farmers struggling in my village as they get only around 6 hours 'good' electricity by which they can pump water to the crops. But some elderly people see it in a positive way. They think that with more electricity farmers will drain all the water from the ground (quite a possibility!!)

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Trying #redis - a data structures server : http://code.google.com/p/redis/

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Migrating to Posterous.com for blogging - blogging with all bells and whistles!!

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How to export only data using mysqldump and grep?

I just found a way to export only data using mysqldump:

mysqldump -u root -p --skip-opt --skip-set-charset --skip-quote-names --skip-tz-utc --skip-add-drop-table --skip-add-drop-table --skip-comments --no-create-info --skip-add-locks --skip-triggers databasename table1 table2 > data.sql

Now data.sql will contain only the insert statements but needs a bit of cleanup:

grep -iv '!4' data.sql > final_data.sql

This should have only insert statements and nothing else.

There might be some other better way!! but this works for me :P

Probability simulation

Another simulation of an example from Feynman's lectures on Physics.

A coin is tossed 30 times and the no of times a head appears is counted. This experiment is then repeated 100 times. you can see that the no of heads always hover's around 15. It means that out of 30 tosses, the no of heads will be always around 15. Weird! :)

When the sun comes up, you better start running

Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up.
It knows it must run faster than the fastest lion or it will be killed.
Every morning a lion wakes up.
It knows it must outrun the slowest gazelle or it will starve to death.
It doesn't matter whether you are a lion or a gazelle.
When the sun comes up, you better start running.

(An African proverb mentioned in 'The world is Flat' by Thomas L Friedman)

Flex and Physics

Thought of animating this law of conservation of energy example from 'The Feynman Lectures on physics':

Even after all the movement all the objects remain in the same position. This is of course assuming that there is no loss of energy in between.

Mr Mandela

Today, I finished reading Nelson Mandela's auto-bio – 'A long walk to freedom'. What a man! I felt obligated to purchase this book while I was staying in Johannesburg :)

I wonder what would have happened in South Africa if not for Mandela !! Just imagine India without Gandhi. I think Mandela has gone through more pains than Gandhi did for India. 27 years in jail is no joke. Just a curious observation – both Mandela and Gandhi were lawyers by profession. Lawyers have to fight by profession. They have no other choice. I think in a natural way they extend it outside their profession as well.

I still remember that as a kid, we were watching TV at home and saw a sudden text message on the screen that Mandela has been released after being in jail for 27 years. Dad told that he was a freedom fighter.

While working at Bank of Athens (a Greek Bank) in Johannesburg, There was a Management committee which I had to attend and suddenly an old man in suit entered into the board room. I dont know why, but by reflex I stood up as a matter of showing respect. This old man was George Bizos who served many times as a lawyer to Mandela. I am proud that I could atleast meet Mr. Bizos if not Mr. Mandela :) Mr. Bizos is on the board of Bank of Athens and is a Greek himself.

I think Mr. Mandela is a great negotiator and who had one and only goal - the freedom of South Africa from the shackles of Apartheid. He did acheive it in the end.

The argumentative Indian

Just finished reading 'The argumentative Indian' by Amartya Sen. Its quite an interesting read and the author touches on many subjects such as education, religion, identity, the importance of reasoning, culture, women vs men, use of nuclear power, secularism, calendars, science and technology.

amCharts for Flex

amCharts for Flex has got a nice collection of Adobe Flex charts which can be used in any Flex project. They just add nice features on top of available Flex charting. Have a look if you are already working with Flex. You can use the free version but they will just add a small link to their website on the chart. You can buy the commercial version if you dont like seeing the links!

On Search results

Good to know that www.infocube.co.in is at no.1 spot if you search for 'infoCube technologies'. Few weeks earlier it was down below under. I think all the blogging/tweeting/buzzing has helped along with AdWords. But typing just 'infocube' does not show it at all. Still got lot of work to do I guess

Its hot hot summer. Waiting for that first rain.

The first call

Not bad :) Google AdWords actually generated a call.

infoCube Technologies

By the way my company is at www.infocube.co.in .

Let me know if you think the website can be improved. :)

Reality bites

My bank is creating noise that the Firm registration officials have used whitener on the Certificate and hence a counter-signature is required for that. I will have to give it back to my auditor and get it done. To much pain!

Overall, have got couple of leads - mostly through friends. Nothing concrete yet. I am hoping for a good next week.

Lets see!

Is this is the time for software practitioners?

With n number of software companies around bagging all the big/medium/small software projects, am just wondering who will service small shops for their software needs. Obviously, we cant expect major revenues from a small shop. But,

- can we look at volumes and start servicing them?

- is this already a conquered field?

- will there be people as software practitioners who will service our daily needs in the future? I think the online space has provided a forum for such people. But they cannot reach the man on the street who does not have any exposure.

Some of the firsts

I think I have done a lot of things for the first time in the last few days:

• Registered and bought a domain
• Setup a website
• Registered a company
• Got business cards
• Got a stamp and ink-pad
• Thinking seriously about financials :P

Just waiting for the first work order :) Trust me, Its scary sometimes. I am not sure how long I will be able to be like this. Sometimes the thought of being in a cubicle/office in a company when somebody is paying you a monthly salary does not sound too bad at all.

Its all about pressure. :)