Laptop Woes

Being a road warrior, I have been using a Dell D620 Laptop for the last year and few months. Though this laptop has had its share of glitches, all it needed was a little help "here and there" by Dell Support to iron them out. It is (was) working fine and I have been shooting all these blogs from the hip using this very laptop.

Off late, the lid - LCD display had become loose and could not defy gravity. A small jerk is all it took to get the LCD to lie flat on mother earth. So i decided to call my friendly Dell Support again. As usual, the response was quick and reassuring - standard, taken for granted, expected out of Dell.

NBD, the Dell engineer [outsourced to TVSE] showed up at my office with the spare lid and tools to rectify the issue. After a couple of hours our man decided to call in some additional help! And that was a first time I have seen a Dell guy call - "Reinforcement" Huh?? Woaky, Woaky... I decided to let them take their sweet time, since I have my official issue to carry out my work. After wrestling with the laptop for nearly 5+ hours, my laptop was ready!!!! and the engineers took to their heels after that.

Original Issue: The laptop lid is loose, shakes a lot.

List of Issues now!!!!

1. LCD back cover is damaged – brute force has been used to pry it open during the previous attempt to replace the back cover
2. LCD front bezel right side top 2nd screw head is milled smooth & nice due to use of brute force and wrong tool
3. Hinge cover [the strip with the power switch etc.,] is broken and again brute force was used to put it back during the previous attempt
4. Bottom cover screw has been milled smooth & nice, thread on the chassis is gone due to wrong thread; again brute force used to fix
5. LCD connectors to the motherboard left loose and not fixed properly, which probably explains the flicker on the LCD
6. Keyboard not fixed properly & keys are damaged. The keys actually looks like an oncoming wave on the beaches of GOA!!!!
7. + The Original Issue

Phew!!!!

Now, this list has been compiled based on an FIR carried out by a different TVSE engineer today morning. The engineers yesterday had opened up the complete laptop and while they were putting it back I do not know what else has been messed up / screwed - when I was looking away!!!

MOTS: About two guys who came to this gunfight

1. Ill equipped - Guy takes a knife to a gunfight
2. Ill trained - Guy got trained on using a machet

Hey, this is not fair, somebody please give these guys, GUNS!!!!
Satish: Here, take mine...

3. Ill Experienced - Managed to get a gun, but pointed it on self and pulled the trigger.... BOOOOM!!!!!!!

Bottom line 1: My laptop has become a guinea pig for these engineers to wet their hands on.

Now, I am waiting for Dell to collect my wounded laptop and submit an SIR [Second Information Report, for those who did not get it]

......and what will follow - "I DUNNO"

Bottom line 2: No more shooting of the hip [Read: blogging] till my laptop regains its lost ammunition.

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B R A V O !!! B R A V O !!!

The ongoing presidential election is turning out to be a farce for sure. H.E.Dr.APJK is THE best president India has ever had [with due respect to all other’s who have graced Rastrapathi Bhavan]. On one side we have a non-political, simple, unassuming technocrat who with his vision and perseverance not only made the whole world stand up and give India its due but also bought them to the discussion table. And on the other side we have 100’s and 1000’s of politicians who could not achieve anything after five decades either on their own or with the help of others. Now the same bunch of incorrigibles is bitching about his suitability for the President’s post.

And mind you, these are the same politicians we elected and sent them to the parliament to rule us. Yes, it goes without saying that by all means H.E. is very popular with the masses. A good number of polls have reinforced this fact and enough has been written about it. But then, our politicians do not like anyone stealing the thunder from them, more so - a President elected by them. By now, they must be kicking their back side for getting him there in the first place.

On numerous occasions in the past, H.E. has spoken open hearted about the problems that plague our society and system, in doing so - stirring a hornet's nest. His opinion a couple of months ago that India should move into a two party system to give the required stability and political will power to take this country to the next level, to be on par with the super powers must have given our politicos sleepless nights. Given a free hand here is a President who can initiate a change as radical as that. This must be the very reason that made the same people who bought him in, to drop him like a hot potato.

For sure, a rubber stamp President wouldn't dare to do so.

Surprise!! Surprise!! while everyone had written off that our politician are all of the same flock, and they don't need a President who “calls a spade, A SPADE”, there seems to be a section of politicos who think otherwise and care for this country, at least.

BRAVO!!! Cutting across party lines, this bunch of politicos have come out openly in support of H.E. For once we have a commendable stand from our elected members. Three Cheers!!!

Yes, for once we see light at the end of the tunnel

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But, only time will tell if it is the incoming, steam rolling, TRAIN!!!

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PS: btb, who is this Pratibha Patil?

The Magical Spell of Bangalore

You can take a person out of Bangalore, but you can never take Bangalore out of him. Here is my friend "Dums" somewhere out there in Bushland going to the extent of taking a license plate "BENGLUR" just to remind him of his roots every time he takes the car out!!!

Can anyone beat this love for Bangalore, and how we yearn to get back every time you go out of this lovely city
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An Announcement

The countdown has begun for an announcement....

24 Days to go.....

23 Days to go.....

22 Days to go.....

21 Days to go.....

20 Days to go.....

19 Days to go.....

18 Days to go.....

17 Days to go.....

16 Days to go....

15 Days to go....

14 Days to go....

13 Days to go....

12 Days to go....

Updated 19/06/2007 : FF >> to Day "0"

Now that my decision has been made public, no point in keeping this under wraps any longer. So after 13+ years in my current organization, i have decided to look at an opportunity outside, July 4th is my last working day here. It was not a easy decision to take when the organization is a part of you and in your blood. But then you got to do what you have to!! After a lot of deliberation, I have put in my papers and here I am serving the notice period. I dunno how I will react on the last day, having come so far, I guess I will cross the bridge when I come across it....

Updated 02/07/2007:

I am leaving this place with a heavy heart and lots of sweet memories. I still cannot come to terms that I am marching ahead, leaving behind a real long association with a couple of people whom I have known since day one way back in Dec, 1994.

And it's payback time - I owe everything that I am today to this organization, which has given me so much. I dunno what I would have been otherwise.

Thank you every one for being part of my success and touching my life.

adiós and asta la vista until next time!!!

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Fire in the sky...

A beautiful sunset.. from a distance the sky looks as if its on fire!!

Holiday sans friends & tripod

My better half has been ranting and whining about all our holidays for the last couple of years - you know where... if not, then see my earlier post labeled jungles, wildlife etc. Not that these holidays were bad, I did enjoy them, she did not. Whose loss????

Now, having decided to make some amends I planned a holiday to a place which would be more to her liking then mine. After some research on the web and help from fellow bloggers, I zeroed on a homestay in a coffee estate near Hanbal 20 odd kms from Sakleshpur. Being a "social animal" [best read bold & underlined] I have always gone on holidays in a group of 5 people at the minimum and couple of hours to start time, Vids and Suds backed out making it difficult for me to digest a holiday already without the prospect of jungles, animals and now friends. The prospect of just the three of us going on the holiday was not making it interesting to me. My wife coaxed, cajoled and finally put it out as a dare and did I bite it??? BTB, she doesn't drive and the thought of me behind the wheels for the entire trip, on god knows what kind of roads was already giving me creeps. With no excuses up my sleeve to call it off, I took the dare - I owe it to her lah!!!

We started early next morning to beat the morning traffic en route. The NH to Mangalore is real nice and delight to drive, it was. 2 kms after Sakleshpur I need to take the right fork and proceed towards Hanbal. I was surprised to see smooth table top kind of road all the way till Hanbal. Me thinking - okay! this is turning out pretty good for starters...but soon I was jolted out of my dreams with the road from Hanbal to Coffee Valley bringing out all the wrong notes from our car.

Around coffee valley, there are a lot of good places almost for everyone - If you want to trek, this is heaven, if you want to do a pilgrimage - Horanadu, Dharmasthala, Kateel, Kalasa are just about an hours drive away. There is also a peak close to Devaladakere village which offers an excellent view of the horizon and beautiful sunset - so said our host. So, we spent two evenings waiting for that "picture post card perfect sunset" but then lord Surya had different plans for the evening. BTB, you can either trek or take a 4WD to this place. Don't try it on a bike or a FWD only car. You might not get back your bike or car in working condition!!! and don't tell me i didn't warn, ok!!!

Having spent day 1 & 2 recharging our city tired soul and body, we decided to drive out to nearby place on day 3 & 4. Bababudan Giri was a damp squib, my wife had never seen this place and having heard a lot about this place from the saffron brigade, she wanted to see it. Having decided to go ahead and do a holiday as per her wishes, I mutely drove her to the place and having seen it she was disappointed very much. Though we were supposed to start back to Bangalore next day, on the last minute we decided to visit Horanadu and make up for the dull previous day. The drive to Horanadu was back breaking and I was worried about the another 300 odd kms back. On our way back, we stopped at a coffee shop for refreshments and owner offered us suggestions which turned out to be a gem of an advice. The road from Kalasa to Kottigehara, via Maagundi, Balupet was just what the doctor ordered. The road is nice with thick forest on either side and absolutely no traffic - Only ONE bus crossed us from the opposite direction in 40 kms - GREAT!!!! However, one word of caution - this road should NOT be attempted at night not because of the thick forest and no traffic [no help, in case of a problem] but also because of the presence of the Red Brigade in this area.

During this holiday, everything turned out to be good and more then what i expected except that I had left my SLR & tripod back home and had only a digital to shoot - I already have plan on paper to make amends soon.....This place offers nice, clean cottages to stay and added to that our hosts were really nice and took good care of us esp. tigress, towards the end of the trip she wanted to stay back for a couple of more days. Not that i would mind but then she is too small to stay at place like this all by herself. A couple of years from now may be.....

And how can any holiday be complete with out seeing at least one elephant - tigress's all time favourite? In between Hanbal and Sakleshpur we caught this tusker with 4 people giving him a bath??? Luxury at its best...can you beat it?? No Spa gives four masseurs for one!!! hah hah hah

PS: Anita thanks for writing about this place on your blog, otherwise I wouldn't have found it.

Cricket First...

At last the dust has settled and as predicted by one too many Indian cricket team got the battering they deserved. All the hype and hoopla before they marched to the world cup event was a mere bubble burst effortlessly by cricketing minnows - Bangladesh. While every other cricket team has innovated and come out with new techniques and tactics for the world cup, Indian cricket team had gone in with false and bloated egos thinking they were invincible, boy!! were they wrong?

The biiiiggggeest problem with our cricket team is very simple and only ONE - they play a lot more outside the field then inside. How can anyone expect Indian cricket team to work hard, sweat it out and win matches while they are making easy money with their multi brand, multi million, multi year endorsements???? They practice delivering punch lines and posing for the camera while they actually should be playing cricket and honing their skills. Post Sri Lanka match, Kapil Dev's analysis of our team performance is absolutely on the mark. Our cricketers have become bigger then cricket and that is the problem

And, if you notice ads at all the world cup venues, they are - for INDIA, from INDIA. Even the umpires are not spared, the logo on their shirts is from an Indian construction co. Now that India is out of the world cup, it will be intersting to see how the corporate world which has pumped in millions in hope of grabbing a few million eyeballs and mindshare will respond....

All that back and forth justifications by various talent management cos that ads dont affect a players on field performance is just blah blah blah... gimme one good reason what difference does it make as long as each players is raking it up!!!!

I hope and pray that in the same way a leading telecom service provider dropped Sachin from its ads, a few others too will take the cue and drop all these guys from the high throne that they think they deserve and are untouchable

The RIP note written on Indian team will stay that way for a long time to come if some dramatic and drastic measures are not put in place

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