Thursday, January 5, 2012

I am Sorry...!

Its a famous saying, if you have enemies in life, it means you've stood up for something in life. In all honesty at first glance the statement sounds very appealing. In most cases it may also sound true with its nature trying to generate an innate form of sympathy and a feeling of self-righteousness. But nobody tells you what to do when this enemy is your own conscience. At this moment a huge tower comes crumbling down on you and you lay in a shambles with a state of mental palsy. In this heightened state of no gray cell support you do end up taking the wrong way.

People say goodbyes are pathetic, I do agree with them. Its the only time when sympathy also finds itself in that pool of unemployment. But another motion that finds itself in the same league is sorry. Perception can be a two faced bitch and they do not necessarily agree with each other even after a comprehensive and rational analysis of both sides.

Everybody makes mistakes. Perception can be very crucial here. One may think the damage is already done, there's not a lot he can do to alter the collision course. Another may believe if a mistake is made, someone has to assume responsibility and that someone has to take subsequent counter-measures and make do for the error.

Now both the cases have their own black and white. The first case is good enough to generate a super massive negative conscience that can actually crumble a person and make him his own slave. The second case defeats the definition of impartiality and causes all kinds predicaments in the way of person who holds himself accountable. I strongly believe in equality and I have to agree logically the second case does make a lot of sense to me. Its also the mature thing to do. Now at this exact point comes a cross-road where your cerebrum refuses its office. Now that you've made the decision of being culpable, what next. How do you really make it up? In some cases the solution is pretty crystal clear, and if you're still in the sphere of trust, it shouldn't be much of a hassle. The crunch time is when you're not even close to the shadow of trust. Even a Mark Antony speech at this time wont save you from the line of fire, how much ever fickle minded your Roman audience is. The firing squad is all set with the scopes pointing at you. One wrong move and you're out of the game already. At this point when you return to the fork, you might have realized that even after assuming responsibility taking the other way out was the better option.

People may look at it as you've taken the easier way out. But even if you have some compassion left in you, realization dawns upon you. The human inside you is still alive even after a stone cold decision. Yes that human in you will prompt you at all times that you've left the other person in a box of despair and killed all kinds of hope. From the Dark Knight, "Sometimes truth isn't good enough, sometimes people deserve more.."

In all certainty, the battle with one's conscience is the most difficult and perilous. Its a herculean task and most people succumb to its wrath. For a simpleton, its called forgetting everything and moving on. For the ones who are still on battlefield, just have to do enough good that someday you can step up to your conscience and say, I'm sorry for everything. Only at this point are you purged of all the mistakes that have been committed. As for the person who got the raw deal, they have their own conscience crusade, don't be disturbed by one horrendous experience, keep faith! The world is still full of good people! :)

Saturday, October 8, 2011

Day at a Chicago Expo

Academia at UIC was a novel experience for me. It failed my head why homework was given so much of preference. Ultimately I did realize the gravity of the allotted job and was dawned with a happy realization that students around took it seriously! However I did feel the urgency to expand my sphere of intelligence. I had already joined the Formula Student team and I remember the Automation Expo I had attended back in Mumbai. Out of all the expos, this one was my favorite. The product base was so vast, we could virtually make the whole car at the expo. No one was sponsoring is another heart-rending story all-together!

So I read about a similar expo happening at McCormick Place. That was downtown, I was dying to do downtown for eons! I registered for the event via FSAE. However I was smart enough to put my company as University of Illinois at Chicago. I thought it would help for networking if someone had to look me up!

So after a regular day at class, I was off to McCormick Place. I was already conscious of what I was wearing. A T-Shirt, jeans and a pair of converse didnt seem very conducive for the event. However I took a 2nd opinion to make myself feel at peace and the Team Captain said you need to look like a student! Well I wasnt looking like a beggar, so its cool!

McCormick Place was bigger than what I expected. It looked so posh with the over the road building transfer section, I was instantly drooling! It was an indoor expo. My sister being in Exhibition Display and Design, I had 1% of her gray matter and experience implanted in me too and I wondered, how the hell did they get the machines in! Then the light shone bright, who cares, just go watch! I knew this was going to be another virtually make the car in an instant, what I didnt know was it was bigger than what I imagined it to be!

So I saved myself a $55 entrance fee since I was registered online and they gave me my ID Card. It had a lot of stuff written on it, along with my University. Now in the Indian system, I understood designation as Mr. or Miss or Mrs. or something. It also came before my name when I was filling the form. And then I realized I was supposed to write Mechanical Engineering! Hmph, STRIKE 1! Anyway, it was now time to step into the expo! I was trying very hard to forget my mistake! There was a huge bag rack with bags on it. I picked one thinking I'll collect brochures from everywhere!

So let's face it, it was bigger than the Indian expo for sure. I could already see that. I started walking in the first aisle. The stalls were not as grand as the one in the Indian expo. They seemed more focus on the product and its applications rather than the layout of the stall. Obviously the big wigs had bigger space, but I guess my sister will be bankrupt if she opens a company subsidiary here. So everyone greeted very nicely asking how I was, how my day was and stuff. They didnt differentiate me as a student and tried to get rid of me. Someone almost thought I represented the University of Illinois at Chicago! Hmph! In Converse?

I soon realized the MR. on my card was pretty misleading for people. So I cancelled it and wrote Mechanical Engineering Student. Now I felt much better about everything! So people were also looking for students. The expo was divided so beautifully that all the manufacturers were together, all surgical equipment guys were together, the precision movement companies were paired together. In India you would have had the bearing guys scattered all over the place! There were other superb innovations that blew my mind away. Rapid prototyped metal, wow! How the hell did they do that? Or 3-D Scanning, the opposite of Rapid Prototyping! I was amazed out of my head!

Another thing was when I was at the 3M exhibit. We were talking and he wanted my contact details. In this position I would usually pull out my Orion Racing India visiting cards! But I was no longer a part of ORI. So when I thought of writing it down, this guy came with a barcode scanner, scanned the barcode on my badge and voila! He now knew where I stayed. I was hoping he'd pass it on to his colleague and she would make good use of it! Even an e-mail would be convincing! :P

Ultimately the expo ended at at 4. People started leaving. I left too with memories of my first expo which had already left me spellbound! I hope to be back soon! :)

Friday, August 12, 2011

Dell Customer "CARE"

Well a few months back I had an unusual experience. Probably something totally out of the blue and you wouldnt really expect something like that to happen to you at 11 in the morning! But anyway it was a memorable one! I had been ignoring my precious DVD drive in my laptop and it was now time to call Dell Customer Care since I had a warranty! Woohoo! :P

So I get their number from the website and dial it from the phone! After some jazzy music a nice voice picked up on the other side! Now the voice didnt really give me the feeling that today's gonna be a nice day but yea surely I had different thoughts after the call! Anyway here's back to fixing my laptop? (Or was it just the reason?)

DCC - Hello this is ____________. How may I help you today? (I dont remember her name!)

Me - Good morning! I own a Dell Inspiron 15R and I have some problems with my DVD drive! Its not reading DVD's!

DCC - Surely sir, I will sort your problem out! Can I have your service tag please?

Before I could respond, Its at the back of your laptop right below the barcode on the left! I had never heard such detailed instructions over the phone before! Anyway I wasnt really into the phone call at the start!

Me - Its _______________.

DCC - Okay great! She plugs in the number and types stuff for a while! Okay sir, I see your laptop is in warranty but I see that your warranty is about expire.

Me - I know. Exactly why I called! :P

DCC - Sir we have some new plans that we could help you out with! There are monthly, one yearly and three yearly plans! The costs are ______________.

Me - Okay! I'll be shifting to another country in some time so I guess they wont be applicable then!

DCC - Where are you going?

Me - United States of America.

DCC - Oh! We have plans for that as well! She looks up stuff on her laptop for 30 secs and is like we have this plan, that plan! Goes on blabbering for 2 minutes! I guess her voice sounded good so I didnt say anything? :P

Are you interested sir?

Me - No thank you. I'd just like the DVD player fixed!

DCC - Surely sir I can help you out with that as well! (Wasnt that the thing I called up for?) Do you have the Dell CD's and DVD's with you?

Me - What? You'll sent stuff with the laptop? I have no idea!

DCC - Yes sir! Please check your packet! I'm sure its there inside!

I raced to the other room to look for the packet! Meanwhile as I was carefully taking the packet out,

DCC - This is the second time today! Even one of the previous customers had no idea that we had sent some CD's and DVD's with the laptop! I asked him to look for it and he couldnt do it! He had no idea where he'd kept the box! I'm glad that you found the package! (Probably there's an issue with the box guys! Do better visible packaging next time onwards!)

Me - Okay I have the pack with the discs in it!

DCC - Oh that's awesome news! Now we can be done with it very easily! Just take the Drivers and Utilities DVD and put it in the tray after pressing the button! (DUH!)

Me - Its not reading! (That's the problem you BITCH!!)

DCC - Oh okay! Can you please restart your laptop with the DVD on it and hit F8 when you see the start screen!

Me - Okay!

DCC - The start screen is the Dell logo with a progress bar below it! Please do it really fast so that we can use the DVD to boot up.

Me - Okay! I pressed F8 but nothing happened! Normal Windows just began all over again! I guess I missed it and I'll have to restart again!

DCC - Dont worry Mehul! I'm sure you'll get it in the next attempt. Its very easy!

Shocked! Okay that's too much for encouragement now! :P Anyway the laptop restarted and I pressed FN+F8 this time and voila! It worked! Okay I got the boot-up screen!

DCC - Wow! Thats good work! I knew you'd get it the next time! Please select the DVD-Drive now!

I pressed and Windows just started normally all over again! What a pain!

Me - Its Windows again!

DCC - No problem sir! I think your DVD drive is not working! (Precise what I have been telling you right?) Please try and insert another CD into the tray.

While I was doing this...

DCC - So where in the US?

Me - Shocked! Chicago!

DCC - Why?

Me - To pursue my Masters!

DCC - Masters in?

Me - Mechanical Engineering!

DCC - Oh that's great! Which university?

Me - University of Illinois at Chicago!

DCC - Oh that sounds so good!

Me - Do you know the University?

DCC - No! *facepalm*!

Me - Are you an Engineer?

DCC - Yes. Computer Engineering!

Me - From where?

DCC - MHSSC! Saboo? Fuck! *turn off*!

Me - Okay great!

DCC - Yes! Its from Mumbai University! (Like I didnt fucking know!)
Which college have you done your Graduate study from?

Me - K. J. Somaiya College of Engineering!

DCC - Where is it?

Me - Vidyavihar!

DCC - And where do you stay? (Dont you already have my address and phone number on the screen?)

Me - Ghatkopar.

DCC - Oh that seems pretty close to your college! Nice choice!

Me - So you're based in Hyderabad or Bangalore?

DCC - No, the call centre is in Mumbai itself!

Me - Okay!

DCC - Yea! We have a lot of centres all over India but all the traffic is usually diverted here!

Me - Okay! Good!

Finally my laptop loaded with the CD! Okay the CD seems to be working! The DVD isnt!

DCC - Okay sir we will give you a free replacement of your DVD drive.

For the next one minute she just typed in stuff, confirmed my address and scheduled an appointment to get my drive changed! So finally it was time to bid goodbye now!

Me - Okay! Thanks a lot for your help! Appreciate it!

DCC - You're welcome sir! It was a pleasure talking to you! I wish you luck with your life ahead in Chicago! I hope you have a successful life ahead! I hope I have solved all your problems with the laptop! If there is anything more, please dont hesitate to call us back and I will be there to help you! Thank you! Bbye!

Me - Thank you! Bbye! Have a nice day ahead!

DCC - You too have a great day ahead! Nice talking to you!

Okay now this was getting too much! We probably spent more time saying bye, rather she spent more time saying bye than scheduling an appointment for my DVD drive! I unfortunately had to press the red button on her! The whole episode sounded pretty horny to me actually! I've never come across such good Call-Centre employees! I always hoped she'd call me again! (Misuse my number actually!) :P I guess I'll have to wait until I blow another part on my laptop again! This time without warranty, so the expected call is scheduled longer! :P

Until then, that's how you take care, horny care! ;)

P. S. - Next time you're stuck deciding between Dell/HP/Apple/Sony/Lenovo/Acer,etc you know what the appropriate answer is! Cheers!

Monday, June 20, 2011

Mumbai - Exit Strategy

For most of you'll who have passed a premature judgement on my much awaited departure from Mumbai(India), thinking of this as just another dig at the "nothing-to-do" country with all kinds of super scandals, you may as well read the post once!

Now I havent been to 461551331497625761237613267216741 cities to say that Mumbai is not very live-able, but it would be blasphemous if the common eye fails to read that and still blindly follows the over-hyped "Mumbai Spirit", quoting " I <3 Mumbai" and other so called "patriotic" slogans. I totally fail to understand why people are not very conducive to this idea, why do they not accept the truth?

Often I've been criticized as the one who just doesnt have any kind of feelings. A cold heart and guy with a opinion about almost everything. A guy who will point out the problems but will never give the solution. A guy who complains but is just not ready to take essential steps to make the change. A guy who has sense of belonging anywhere, at least not in Mumbai. Well I guess I took their piece of advice a bit too seriously, and am putting down some points for Mumbai, essentially an exit strategy from this breakneck life and clogged atmosphere!

1. Make Mumbai a Union Territory - Yes, it will be more expensive since Mumbai will have its own legislature, but ultimately it only helps to manage the city more efficiently. The smaller the group, the better the management. Most will argue saying we have so many scams and corrupt officials, it wont make a difference. Probably true, but atleast there is an increased chance of hope!

2. Shift the entire Industrial belt to outskirts of Mumbai - Expensive? Yes. Very much so. But in a bid of doing this, it will reduce the amount of trucks running into the interiors of the city, noticeably the southern areas where there guys thrive. An awesome option to decongest the entire city.

3. Shift the airport to outskirts of Mumbai - I guess this one needs no understanding or explanation. For others still stuck, catch a domestic flight to Mumbai sometime! Its a good way to test your luck!

4. I know most Mumbaikars thrive on the local trains. As they're known as the lifeline of Mumbai, running in the heart of Mumbai and all the other phrases that go along with it, most Mumbaikars(blind men) tend to forget that these Railway lines cause the maximum amount of traffic jams. Majority, as a matter of fact, 99% of the stations just have a 2 lane 2 way traffic bridges connected the eastern region of the suburb to the western region. And with the sudden onslaught of cars, this is only going to get worse. Believe it or not, its true!

5. Divert all incoming population to outskirts of Mumbai - Yes CST will lose its charm, bigtime. This will only help to channel the population in a much better and easier way. This will also decongest CST which may just make it easier to keep track of people and probably make better use of those Metal Detectors, which at present do not work!

6. Hike fuel prices to Rs 150/litre and Diesel to Rs 100/litre in the city. Most of you'll will hate me for it but this will reduce the car population and will encourage the use of public transport. Yea, public transport is not all that great, but time is of the essence here rather than comfort.

7. Ban paan.

8. Improve the coast guard - Get them lighthouse support. This is one of the most efficient ways to combat coastal problems, guess Qasab may just not have had it easier!

9. Use waterways - A guy from Dombivali bought a speedboat and reaches work in and around 20 minutes with utmost comfort. Guess that sums it up.

10. Build parking houses - Yes, once we have these with exorbitant parking prices, roads will get cleaner and traffic issues can be handled better with people not parking at places where they block most of the road.

11. Use forks for No Parking - Yes, you can get it broken at Kurla CST for 100 bucks after using a Stephanie, but who has two spare tires and rims at the same time?

I guess if these maybe implemented, we could see Hong Kong rising from the ashes in India! Cheers!

Thursday, December 30, 2010

Reading "DOG" In The "REVERSE" Manner!

I thought my dog deserved more place in my life and starting with a post on her after a long time was definitely a better option. Besides she does nothing apart from eating, sleeping and shitting around!

People hardly believe but I used to shit bricks on seeing a dog when I was a kid. Well it kind of went up to my 10th grade! I had to literally ask Deep to drop me home with those stray canines roaming around on the streets and building complex.

Anyway my tryst with these descendants of wolves started a little later when I was on a trip to Chennai and was at this unknown station watching a coke can with "Coke" written in Tamil on it. Interesting! And my cell rings. It was my sister and she said on the phone,"I've got the puppy home! Dad said not to have her. What do you wanna do?" Now thats a lot of answer for the question I was facing. Besides the coke can seemed more fascinating! I just stammered that I'll decide what to do when I came back.

When I finally got back home, I rung the bell at 5 in the morning. I was home after 7 days and was sort of looking forward to it. My sister opened the door. And this animal in white fur walks from behind her legs. Sleepy like hell, slowly treading towards me wanting to sniff me. She was barely as big as my forearm but her tail was awesome. Yea I have this thing for tails, whiskers and eyes in animals! Very rarely do I every call stuff cute or moments cute. I think this was one of those moments, when you actually feel like shouting out "cuteeeeee" like those melloD girls do and most definitely, it comes from within your heart! I think she had huge ears which really looked good since not a lot of dogs have it. I spent the rest of the time watching her move around the room, getting used to the place.

It had become an everyday struggle with parents. But I had decided that dog would stay. It had already become an integral part of my life. Innocence was defined in a new manner! She was an essence of happiness and vigour and joy. More importantly, she taught me how to spend time alone. Retrospections became a daily part of my life teaching me to concentrate on my strengths. Showing me my capabilities, understanding myself better!

Though my dog is pretty much an epitome of being dumb. I think I started calling her dyslexic after watching Taare Zameen Par. Not that she cannot hold on to stuff and catch stuff easily but somehow my dog just cant sniff. She feels embarrassed in front of my mom, dad and sister since they seem to have a a far better olfactory response. Neither does my dog pick up bags from the main door to the kitchen. And I'm sure she'd be floored by a robber who enters with even 1% compassion! But I dont think she should be subject to such stereotype dogs, I think I got various apt nicknames for her moods.

She walks like a seal when just awake making a lot of effort. Slipping at times. Her fur resembles that of a grizzly bear but then a polar bear fits the bill better. Once her food is served dinosaurs is what takes over her. You can actually spot her canines with intricate details on plaque on them! My dog is a big time fattu, so its more like calling her a pussy, I meant cat! :P When someone comes home, she stands on the sofa hand rest like Lion King just about to roar in happiness! When someone's taking her down, she's like a kangaroo jumping constantly till the doors are opened. The way she opens her legs and hands while sleeping makes her resemble a lizard. Crawls like a croc. I think I pretty much have a zoo at home!

Its fun to have her fluffy blanket body on the bed but it could get it you because she will never sleep with her back towards you. She'll stick her wet nose on your body and exhale at five times the normal speed making your ears feel like a nearby tornado! But she sleeps pretty peacefully. It could get a little jealous when she sleeps for nearly 12-14 hours in a day. At times she stick a little part of her tongue out in deep sleep. I never knew dogs dream! My dog digs when she dreams!

More importantly my dog taught me that having dogs is a better option than having kids in a million ways! I can actually count them! No that doesnt mean I wont have sex either! Thank god for condoms! :P

I think the best part about having a dog comes from the movie Marley and Me. I could figure myself with a striking similarity to John Grogan. But here's how it went,

A dog has no use for fancy cars, big homes, or designer clothes. A water log stick will do just fine. A dog doesn't care if your rich or poor, clever or dull, smart or dumb. Give him your heart and he'll give you his. How many people can you say that about? How many people can make you feel rare and pure and special? How many people can make you feel extraordinary?

Thursday, December 2, 2010

Social Slur

I live my life by a certain defined set of rules, and I totally hate myself for the massive amount of non-compliance with a simple set! I just keep making exceptions and exceptions and some more exceptions till I know the whole thing just nibbles on me slowly like red ants. Finally it’s a complete ant hill to carry. However there are some exceptions which I really follow. I am a firm believer in "You get what you deserve. You work for what you want!" Now the Bourneville guys were totally inspired from this but this is just more than cocoa. This is definitely some food for thought!

I was on my way back home from the counsellor when I was stuck at the Amar Mahal signal. This little boy, strikingly similar boy from Slumdog came asking for money. Now came in the strong play of my set of rules. I haven’t seen the world, but I've seen enough to pass a judgement here. I never give them money; always turn my face away thinking he needs to earn it. Now for the initial few years, it worked wonders because I was so absorbed in my self-righteousness and I never cared to look beyond my own plate.

Its only when you allow a certain degree of freedom can you cut some slack and have a broader view of things. However it does not encompass thorough solvency of rules, because in that case it would be severely detrimental! Anyway I was thinking, that kid is one third my size, he's not wearing any clothes and is just wandering around with a small bowl in his hand. Initial response was to pound in some change into the bowl, but then experience pinches, they'll all be coming like a pack of wolves and keep haunting till the signal turns green.

My retrospections got me to a certain degree of understanding which I never had before. For God's sake, he's 7 years old, how able is he? He doesn’t know there are 26 alphabets in the English language and I expect him to earn that money! He's been forced into something he isn’t supposed to and I expect him to earn that money! He hardly has the capability to fill his own stomach and I expect him to earn that money! I have to agree that my attitude might be heralded as the perfect way for the future but it was a bit harsh on my part to expect the same thing out of the poor soul. You could be lax once in a while, and it won’t really make your wallet lighter if a few coins could bring a smile on someone’s face but you surely are to think twice at this point. There are various facets that actually rise at this point.

1.The temporary smile on his face is obviously a good deed worth commemorating. It’s coming back to you, that’s karma. However looking at the bigger picture, you’ve encouraged an unnecessary evil prevalent in the society. I’m not trying to blame the kid here; he’s just doing the things he’s being told to do. I’m not even trying to delineate the fact that you need to be a cold hearted animal and just snuff the poor boy away. But as he grows, he will tend to do the same. It’s like an epidemic and needs to be taken care of in the right way.

2.You could do it once in a while. Now that seems to be a good and practical solution out. Not to forget diplomatic as well! Life will look sweeter because it’s only being done once in a while, when you’re in those generous moods and just want to do good to the world. Mumbai’s population is near about 17 million, imagine the number of people who think that way. So if the previous option is out of question, option 2 leads to the same conclusion of the eclipsing obscurity.

3.I’m an honest tax payer and the government should utilise the funds better. Okay let’s play around the first adjective, honest. We should probably leave it to your walls and crevices in your house. Probably a little conventional, but old is gold! But you do have a point there. You’re paying tax, where is the monetary support that these people are bound to receive? Super question. If you’d asked me a few days back, I would have been of the same opinion. Then I had a Buddha moment. The government coffers are usually up to brim but does the general public actually deserve the stuff that comes out of that money? And with the term general, it includes you, me and that boy as well. Okay the boy doesn’t have say over there. Narrowing down on you and me, we don’t deserve the public services, not one bit. We can’t even imagine of maintaining them, staining them with red spit and engraving names. Sure you’d feel like Michelangelo or perhaps you just got your Juliet but you’re nothing more than stupid roadside Romeo/Rascal. So it’s a little harsh on the government every time because you need to refer the commencement of the post and its implications. No we don’t deserve it, so don’t ask for it.

I might be straying from the primary point of the post but it was important to establish a firm view against the generally held perception of “I AM GOD.”
My point here is not to elucidate the fact that charity is something heinous rather than the hackneyed belief of it as a panegyric task, because it is worth the laud. But we fail to see the creeping lassitude which is slowly but surely a parasite and will threatens to grow big.

So, what’s the solution? Well I’ve been looking for one myself. Totally awaiting another Buddha moment. I am not a very big fan of social service but I have deep respect for the people who opt for it. Teach India foundation was one such good cause but we need to delve deeper to get to the roots. We need to elevate the standard of living, not only ours but others around us as well! As responsible citizens we could also try and sponsor education for one of these guys. Imagine how many people could be swept off the streets. I’m talking from experience, and I know it can work wonders. The government could build designated areas in the suburbs to fight congestion in downtown. Have a school for these kids. If I had my way, I’d take the right to produce kids from these guys. I know devilish but we need to CONTROL!

As for the guy at the signal, I could’ve ripped my wallet apart with all the change and make him happy for a day or two. Use the other 100 bucks to have a meal at McDonalds. Or I could go home and have mom’s food and buy a football worth 100 bucks and gift it to the boy. It’d have the same outcome, definitely but I did my bit against fighting the immoral and abject conditions he’s being poised to. Get up, do your bit, let’s make this a better place to live in!

Saturday, October 23, 2010

Manual of Rules and other Horror Stories

It had been lying in my bag since eons and I really regret the absence of a mental acumen to go through such a fantastic publication! Heartfelt thanks to Neekita Singla for passing it over! It might just end up being a life saver! Here are some extracts...

1. There are no rules, only guidelines.

In an industry that values creativity and individual expression above all else, please remember that rules are merely a framework around which the job gets built, not some tenets written in stone that have to be followed to the letter like a fundamentalist religion. The wackis and weirdos make the business interesting, so if you want to bend or break the rules, be my guest: you may end up adding a new rules or two to this document, or losing your job... Be aware of the consequences, but dont be afraid to take risks.

2. According to the calculations of my engineers, based on the laws of physics and the known principles of aerodynamics, the bumblebee cannot fly.

The bumblebee, however, does not know this, and flies
s.


This statement is often made in a distinctly disparaging tone aimed at putting down the know-it-alls who are so smart yet cant manage to understand something that is apparent to everyone else. And the morals drawn are many, including the notion of presisting with a new idea in the face of dogmatic adherence to old standards and maxims. No one ""proved" that bumblebees cant fly, what was shown was that a simple mathematical model wasnt adequate or appropriate to properly describe the flight of the bumblbee. If engineers had accepted this lacunae in their knowledge as the truth, the helicopter would never have been built.

You can never have enough knowledge, you must never stop learning, and knowledge is one of those things that you dont lose if you give some of it away.

3. Knowledge is power.

The more you learn, the more there is to learn: business is as wide as it is deep, and as you understand better what the experts and professionals do for your project, you will get better results...

4. Dont use a cannon to kill a fly. You lose a cannonball, but the fly survives.

... but use more than a flyswatter for a wild bear! Always be armed with the right tools for the job. This means people as well as infrastructure. It takes a certain amount of foresight and planning, but it will save resources for more appropriate situations, and result in a better job every time...

You could cut butter with a hacksaw, but you wouldnt want to; so why try to cut steel with a butter knife?

5. Learn to accept both criticism and compliments with grace.

In a business where compliments are few and far between, and mostly backhanded, accept them with a "thank you" but dont take them seriously, you'll get sowllen-headed for n ogood reason. Everybody is very free with criticism, but its mostly true, so dont take it personally.

I once told a friend who I often meet at a pub,"Stop wearing those padded bras, they look very fake!"(which was true). She got very upset. so the next time I met her I said,"Nice headlights, babe!"(which was untrue). She still got upset...

6. Never let your sense of morals prevent you from doing what is right.

7. Dont be angry. You need to have done something with your life in order to deserve the right to be angry..

Anger does nothing for you, other than possibly increase your own blood pressure.

8. There is more stupidity that Hydrogen in universe, and it has a longer shelf life..

Watch out for your own stupidity. It's like getting pregnant unintentinally: once is ignorance, twice is negligence, thrice is stupidity. Ignorance is an acceptable excuse once. There is nothing more dangerous than a fool who does not know that he is a fool...

9. RTFM

For more details, wikipedia! ;)

Cheers!