Access Whores and Access Hogs

...those are the two types of people in tech companies and of course there are "others", who are caught in between. Access whores want and get access to all the applications including the one to order refrigerator cleaning in break room (if there is any such access). They aren't a nuisance compared to the access hogs. It's the access hogs who would stop by at your desk and request you order "horse tranquilizer" for them as they don't have access. Sometimes they would send an email with seven people in cc requesting you to "punch them in face" since they don't have access and project's success is absolutely contingent on it. Why access hogs don't request access for themselves? Well because they don't want to take superfluous responsibilities of ordering stuff for other people. It might lower their efficiency and they don't require that access that often...so why should they.

Surprise Mom!

I completed my infinity scarf and it seems a bit entwined. I guess it's with the way I joined it. I would prefer making it straight and joining it in the end rather than crocheting circular scarf...no longer seems like a mobius strip :( I like it nonetheless and mom loved it :) She was so pleasantly surprised like I had planned.

It took about 7-8 hours over a period of 29 days. Now I can use it a few times this season.

 

 

Hunky-dory

As sung by Christy's Minstrels.
Air - "Limerick Races"

One of the boys am I,
That always am in clover;
With spirits light and high,
'Tis well I'm known all over.
I am always to be found,
A singing in my glory;
With your smiling faces round,
'Tis then I'm hunkey dorey.

via phrases.org.uk

The page goes on to explain the plight of etymologists.

 

Not long afterward, in October 1866, the US magazine The Galaxy, seemed unclear why the phrase was used, which also indicates that it wasn't very long in the tooth at that date:

"I cannot conceive on any theory of etymology that I ever studied why anything that is 'hunkee doree', or 'hefty' or 'kindy dusty' should be so admirable."

 

Australian parrot

This Australian parrot is know as Rainbow Jungle because you see them only when it's raining and Sun is shining at the back...no silly, it's because they are colorful.

Calvin and Hobbes

Drew this after being fascinated by http://ianbrooks.tumblr.com/post/3087016117

 

PenHolder from phone directory

I made this penholder today using a phone directory. It isn't as neat it could have been with the right tools but fair enough for a yellow pager :) 

Detail instructions here. 

 

Glazed

My neighborhood is no longer safe. I can't go to parking lot without endangering myself. It all started exactly two days ago. I remember. That was the first time I felt ground slipping from under my feet. I couldn't open my car door. I tugged at it but it wouldn't budge. I was surprised.

I tip toed back to my apartment and told my team that I'll work from home. 

We are having a snowstorm with freezing rain! Everything is covered in glazed ice - roads, trees, cars, dumpsters and donuts (well! only if you leave them outdoors ;)

Setting oneself for disappointment

People who you use that expression must either be prescient or pessimistic. How else could they predict the outcome? Even otherwise, I feel that expression is condescending to the person for whom you are setting expectations. It thwarts the morale of people trying to dream big.

I would like it to be changed to "setting oneself for great expectations" and perhaps the world would see more Charles Dickens ;)

About my day

A day of 

jumping with stress.

Meeting people full of agression and despair.

Being defensive and could care less.

Why would some one succumb

and not go to desired land.

Life is ongoing and we lag with every grey hair

laid back, lost and unwilling to make change.

Things that matter more than gold

are only fools who recognize those.

The weekend in pics

I had great time playing scrabble on Saturday. I picked up a new trick of "balancing rack". 

John mentioned how in a tournament two guys played back to back bingos and were done in nine turns. One of the bingo words was "APOSTLE".  Ever since he has been obsessed to try and play it. Jerry then explained that bingos are all about balancing the rack...discarding the words which are not generic suffixes or prefixes. Think ...ING, ...MENT, ...LER, ...MATE etc. 

See and download the full gallery on posterous

And I bet it's hard to believe that I played bingos in both my next games and won! I played RUFFLES and TATTLED.

On Sunday, I went snowboarding and just couldn't do what my instructor told. I fell on my knees many times. By the end of it, they hurt bad I felt I had four knees. I tried but then gave up and came home.

Some one on chairlift asked me how to get off without hurting. I told them to push off using lift's edge and to wear a helmet ;)

I had a lovely dinner at Ps' house to compensate for all my snowboarding woes. They are wonderful host.

Looking forward to this weekend's play.

ForK

a man has dreams to achieve

like a river needs to meet the sea

let them run their course

else dry up in remorse.

The weekend!

I had a fun weekend, went Snowboarding with a couple of new friends and had a good time. But man it was freezing and my jaw almost froze! There was a jaw (of my friends') dropping incident on the way back. The conv went like this:

Me: I haven't washed my car in over a year now.

R: Really? Even then your car is too clean for Columbus.

Me: Yes, I wash my car only in distill water.

S: (in awe) what?

Me: Rain and Snow are the purest form of distill water.

(silence)

On Sunday, we had a meetup planned for old man cave's hiking but I didn't wake up on time. Perhaps later this month. I stayed at home thru out the day and did some logarithmic proofs and lots of limits problem. I had completely forgotten how to solve the latter. What started as a quick refresher took most of my time till I hit bed.

Just found out that to insert an image in my gmail message from another conversation (gmail message) I could open the image in browser and use the url. No need to save it. Cool!

Project: Infinity scarf

I'm gonna surprise my mom with this infinity scarf that I'm crocheting. I again learned the basic stitches from my mom when she was visiting me last year. Infinity or loop or Mobius (for the geeky) scarf is a circular scarf with a twist and it's very IN to wear it OUT.

I found a neat video on youtube and am on my way. Three hours into it and it seems to turn out alright.

Gobi Musallam

So I'm armed with Chef Sanjeev Kapoor's cookbooks and tried this dish - gobi musallam. It's a dish that requires cooking cauliflower in two (major) steps. It turned out pretty well and I liked it more the next day when I was no longer tired of cooking and pre-cooking shopping.

I was fed up of feeding on the simpler gobi recipes which magically work well only for mom. There's something inexplicably good about mom's food that our narcissist self can never deny. I guess it must have to do with getting hooked to it while young. Familiarity breeds fondness?

Here's a picture of while cooking and final dish. 

Notice my failed attempt at tandoori roti using a kadai and electric stove.