Rover6064

Currently sitting in a presentation where my business colleague ( he is a phd in chemistry …)is busy explaining the a software developed for molecular modeling..This presentation is technical , but the audience is varied….there are guys from IT, Biz development, actual scientists etc..
Hmmm…I am pretending to take note of the meeting

5 minutes into it….My colleague is still going strong…and people are still attentive…There have been a couple of questions also..
And I am not understanding anything …some molecules being characterized…alignment being defined..10s of tabular data being generated…

10 minutes and a chap has vanished, he was from Biz dev ..:-) I wonder why he was here..may be because his boss told him to….lets see when he gets back…
Another query and another person increases in the room, a scientist …
Lipensky’s filter and and prediction based on QASR analysis…well that makes sense….!!??
But people are interested….good for us….

15 minutes and Biz dev guy is still not back…One guy knows what he wants….my colleague tries to sell the software based a feature which he feels in very important….”but not needed at this time”…is the response…anyways there are other features also..
This is what I have observed even earlier…things which we find very interesting and important is not what people actually want….

20 min and the IT dev guy has started dozing…well at least his eyes are drooping…
I sympathise with him…I am sure he didn’t understand a word of it…
We get into the actual demo…it’s a pretty good one with 3d structure for molecule and compounds…and is very appealing and also very useful for analysis

25 minutes---out the 8..1 has left..1 is dozing…and another guys from patent dept..has started ….I think drawing in his diary…I am sure he is not taking notes…but the rest seem very interested…The presentation is coming to an end and one has started looking at his watch…he has done that 8-9 time since the last 5 minutes…

30min…And the phrase…” any questions”.. has woken up the IT guys…..
Another guy has a meeting so he has left…well don’t want to see as an excuse as he had asked a lot of questions…
There is a query…and we get into demonstrating other features….good work….
There is one lady…who hasn’t slept off …but hasn’t asked anything…but the way she paying attention..she seems to be interested in the presentation….

35min and people are still trying out different features of the product….so that’s a good show I guess….we have extended the time available by 5minutes…but that’s fine as long as people are interested…Now we got a suggestion for addition for another feature ….

40minutes…are at discussing what things are useful in which part of the company…
But there are some guys who are just to rigid and opinionated….I hate people who make an opinion even before they hear what the other person has to say....and want to even try and change the way they work…

42 minutes and the presentation is over…..I would call it a success …
By the way the Biz dev guy never came back….

The two blogs i have posted today..were written yesterday night...but due to some net connectivity issues wasnt able to post them....

Changing definitions…in India

Just saw a news clip about The world’s first floating ATM center…on a ferry boat in Kochi….
Just got me thinking…technology has changed the definitions of so many things in the recent past…And I am not even talking about baap-dada ka jamana…just the last 5-10 years…

Banking for one…..ATMs have become so common ..that one doesn’t have to go to the bank for months….right from getting cheque books delivered to drafts being issued…
Now I won’t go into whether its good or no….but mostly people have the impression that its very useful……
---But Money is still money which everyone is running for….

Movie theaters….now there was a time when going meant deciding between a 3-6,6-9 and 9-12 show…and look at how things have changed today ….any time of the day and there is some show running on some screen on some multiplex in the city….But the irony is that many a times one still cant find a decent movie to see…cause its houseful…
---But the fans are as crazy as ever….

Communication…..Letters are long gone…..emails were the next wave…and then came sms…if you look at college kids today…it’s all about sms today…how ru….wassup….
Even jokes being sent across….news flashes...cricket scores….even weather reports..
---But friends still keep in touch…

Food….with the markets opening up…courtesy Mr. Manmohan Singh..and foreign players coming in…the whole concept of eating has changed…Pizza’s …Take aways…Burgers…are the new things….
---But people still flock the Irani restaurant for bun maska and chai… and Vada pav, idli dosa, biryani…are still favs…

Shopping…..One stop shops…shopping malls and arcades….Just one place and one finds everything from eggs to diamonds….Even the concept of the grocery store is changing….with malls like FoodWorld etc coming up…today’s working class prefer these .…
---But still housewives love to go to the vegetable market and haggle…

Cars…10 years back if anyone owned a Maruti…its was really something..as compared to fiats and ambis…which had ruled the roads for so many years ….And now you have Merc, GMs, Fords, Honda standing in every other garage…and new cars coming out every couple of months….
---But the liking for vintages continue...and the charm of long rides continues…

Now that I wonder the reason why these things have happened …Easy Money availability….Suddenly people have got a lot of money to play with ….and as a results the market has become very customer focused…

For the past couple of days I have been working on a project in a non software environment. Basically doing some requirement capture and feasibility study for manufacturing company. Not really shop floor but in one of the R&D divisions..but still the culture is same.
By the end of two days with these chemicals (it’s a chemical industry )I feel my olfactory system has stopped responding to any kind of odour.:-)

Interacting with people work who have so varied impression ..of the word Computers and Software to them..
There are a few managers who feel that Comps are not good as they will take away the freedom / authority that they command today. There are others who feel that Comps are they best..with everything taken care off by these systems they can sit back and relax..

So its really difficult to try and extract out the actual requirement that they have.
One lots hides information from you, so that tomorrow, they still have things under their control and the other bombards with you with every nitty gritty detail of his job, that one starts to wonder if the software should also make tea from him.

Indian companies came very late into the whole IT space...but slowly they have realized the need to get involved…However what I really think is that what these companies really require in changes and improvements to the current processes. IT education can only come once they have set in the processes right.
But at the same time, putting in place these new IT system actually help them to get the processes straight.
However some companies really go after the buzz words, ERP, E-security, Knowledge management etc . But what really happens is the software is in place and it is of high quality, but people really don’t know how to get the best out of it or even don’t know how these can really help.

Mostly the people who really benefit in the management and financial departments, cause they have their dashboards and work flows in place. So all the figures are there for them to see and they are not really concerned what happens on the actual shop floor level.

The other part of the Industry is that the whole working atmosphere. Right from the stench of chemicals and the handling of corrosive chemicals and heavy machinery (Well a Hard disc crash could be equally horrifying 
) to the supervisors screaming to reduce the downtimes

These big manufacturing setups are huge with the kind of infrastructure they support. Huge campus, with its own school, shopping complex, housing colonies etc
The huge Fog horn blows when the shift ends….

Well this is place is not too bad at least they have an internet setup..and I can post this…

Chai garam chai….Sandwich bolo sandwich….
You guessed it right…
Railways…the life of India…well I don’t know really…it’s a choice between the truck network and the railways…well anyways…that’s not the point today…

In the last couple of years…my traveling has been extremes…either I bike my way to the destination…or take a flight (for traveling out of India for work and also for maximizing the days I get to stay at home on a holiday)….
When this thought came to my mind..it was quite a surprise, as till now, through out my life I have used trains to travel..Whenever we would come to my home town for summer vacations…or in college when I used to go home to visit my parents…

After ages I got a chance to travel by train ..when work took me to Vadodara…

But the experience was the same…..chai garam chai….cold drink thanda cold drink..…
…1234 down….xyz express…platform number 1 par aa rahi hai….
And what is more important is the style and tone in which one says this… 
The journey was not too long ....just an overnight one….But it was enough to bring back the old memories …..

I personally love to travel by train….off course second only to my biking sojourns…. 
There no better way to see the true India, than to travel by train….
With all the kind of people you meet and interact during the journey…one gets to learn a lot….
You see total strangers helping out each other with their luggage….on the other side you will see people squabbling over some petty issue…as if to pass their time during the journey.. ….Some ..like me who like to make friends…just get chatting and within no time are discussing things as if we knew each other for a long time…

And those small things ….like getting off a station early in the morning ..and having the nice hot chai in the kullad…( very common in UP)…hang out the door during monsoons when the train is gong through mountains…
and also….those cold winter nights when the window you were so happy to get when you boarded the train…refuses to close…and the cold air freezes you…
The kind of experience a train journey can give you..i really doubt anything else can be so enriching….

The other day I was seeing a serial on some TV channel ..it was about the Indian Railways…and how it has had an effect on the development of India as a country and also on millions of people who travel using these daily….
Millions who take trains to work…people who travel from remote villages to the cities in search of a better life….all the faujis who are traveling to meet their families on a well deserved and rare holiday….
And for those who rely on railways for their daily bread….The engine drivers and conductors….the numerous railway crossing gatekeepers….the station masters …..the chai valas and magazine valas….the vendors who sell anything from peanuts…to ..video games ….

Though recently there have been numerous incidents on train leaving the tracks and accidents but…I guess if people realize how important the train network is to a huge country like India..they will know the importance to keeping it up to date and efficient…

“Bolo sahib….coolie …coolie…”
I guess the station has come and I have to get down……
They say…. one learns more by traveling a mile than by reading 100 books…and what better way to do it…than by train…
I just hope the trains improve…but the experience remains as enriching as ever…

Well have been busy for a few days...so havent blogged for a few days...
Also busy wrapping a project i was working on for the last eight months..now due to management decision it has been shelved..:-(.....But one can alwys see the brighther picture....as that means some thing different to do...
Well today sitting in remote place in Gujrat...amid ammonia fumes and distillation towers...actually on work for a project....rest is confidential...:-)

Did some work in my Blog yesterday...with links to Netstatbasic...and Puting the commemts page from Haloscan....
Well saw the stats today... and the blog has got 20 hits ...not bad...

Friday is here...hmmm....and my head has gone blank suddenly...i cant find anything to write...:-)
Plan to go go on a small ride this weekend..should be good.....

i think i will stop here...

Rover..well the name is more of a call-sign...than the name of my bike...but i will refer to my bike with that name here on...
Named her that because of what Rover means (Wanderer, Traveller, Vagabond)....)and also inspired by one of the All terrain vehicle i had seen...
Getting into the details...She is a Royal Enfield Deluxe 350cc motorcycle...."Bullet" for the aam junta........make-year 2000.....Chrome and Black colour combination.....Now sporting disc brakes (which are a recent addition)....

Well its one of the last bikes of the passing era...when Royal Enfield did little R&D into improving the quality of the machines, engines, gear boxes , etc etc....In around 2001 the management changed and was taken over by the younger generation at Eicher......
Now Royal Enfield has started doing a lot new imprvement...coming out with new improved models....

Coming back to my soulmate....actually she is my alterego.....she just knows what mood i am in...and rides that way....:-)I think i will not go into the metaphysical aspects as yet....

So Rover like all the Royal Enfields on the road today...is based on the ancient "Push Rod" based engine...the only bike in India which runs on this technology....
There is absolutely nothing "digital" about her.....its like operating an SLR camera.....totaly mechanical and manual...Right from the Valve timing and Ignition timing, to Decompression etc etc....
Setting the timing and carbeurettor are the keys to her performance....just tighten a nut half a thread more and either the mileage will drop or the power will drop.....
Also its surely not a "Fill it, Shut it , Forget it " bike.....she is a monster when it comes to guzzling fuel....but she delivers...and thats what is important for me......
The max rpm on mine would be 3500-3800....so its not really a Yam or a KB...

But what I.... or most of the Enfield riders like about the bike is its "Thump" ....the characteristic beat of the engine and the kind of stability it offers on the Highways..around tight corners....
I really haven't modified the bike, except for the discs and I do keep changing the saddle.....

That was something about the machine I ride....but there is more to Rover than just the pistons , crankshafts and bearings.......
She has a character of her own.....very moody... for one....she is riding well....no problem..and then she decides she has had enough....so she starts giving you signals that she needs a break....and if you dont stop....she takes over the controls....the engine dies....then you realise what has happened...wait for 5 min in the shade...let her head cool off...and then she fires up like nothing had gone wrong....
Now there is a mechanical reason why this happens ...i really don't wont to believe it...:-)

very trustworthy....actually i realy trust her with my life....The way i ride on the ghats i really have her to bank upon...she gives me the confidence to take to tight corners at those speeds with my foot pegs touching the tarmac.....

very comforting......she is like your dog....not matter haw bad your mood is...she is capable of cheering you up.....Also when you are happy and want to celebrate....she goes out of her way to please you....

At times I have really streched her beyond her limits....but she has never complained....
Thats doesnt mean that i don't take care of her....She is cleaned, serviced and attended to very regularly...
after all...i too have a commitment towards her .....

I can go on writing about her...but i think i will stop here....
She is my first love......and i hope i can take care of her for the whole of my lifetime and hers.....
Miles to go together and to the grave with her....

Well surprised to see no blog frm my friend Brij today..i wonder what kept him so busy ...

yesterday was a day full of arguments....phew...i wonder how i manage to get myself into this...
More than work and anything else...i feel things like these drain you the most...cause there is no logical solution to most of the issues...or even if there is, its not mutually agreeable....
So , one (at least I ) tends to spend some time over the matter...which is actually a waste sometimes...Anyways...

Today i plan to write something about my bike...but after a break...

Am not writing much today...
Had a pretty sad day today...with me getting into arguments right from the morning...:-(
so thats that for today....

today is the day....i think i have turned a corner.....There was something which had bothered me for quite some time...
I don't know if i have got the real answer...or given up on the hope of getting the true answer....
But for me .....I think ....i have finally found the answer...:-)
Its played on my brain and daily life so much in the last year or so ....that i really feel really relieved today....

Anyways....
The weekend was great...parents are here...ate home cooked food after ages.....ummm.....
Went on a small ride with Dad early sunday morning....through the ghats...gave him a feel how it is riding with me...and warned him not to tell Mom :-)
Also got a lot of lectures on healthy eating....daily routine..etc etc...but that was kinda expected....:-)

Well Valentine's Day was with my first love.....

Also shifted the Company office to a new location...office looks good....

well lets see how the day and week goes....

Friday the 13th....Hmmmm...As if it matters...
The newspapers are full of articles about ..what does it mean and what significance it is.....
With all due respect....For me its just another day.....

Yesterday had gone karting with a few friends...Nice fun...just let my self loose....Trying get the best line out of the corners...bilkul F1 ishtyle...:-)

Drove a KB RTZ yesterday.....what a difference after riding a bullet....the high revs of the engine..i can't even dream of doing that on my bull.....I am trying to keep the rpms low and my friend is telling...let is rise..it hast reached its peak....7000rpm it seems....

a lot of things lined up today....and for the weekend....
Parents are coming today.....the house has been transformed from a bach acco to a decent habitable place...:-)

Second post of the day.....The meeting went well....
Going for Go karting in the evening....get my hands on some racing....
try some stunts that i have learnt by watching WRC...;-)

Got some real feedbacks today regarding my work etc...so need to start working on them.....

So like was saying in the morning...the important in appreaciating the sights you see day in and day out is your state of mind....well i will end it today......

Parents coming on leave tomorrow...so got a lot of cleaning up to do at home....:-)

Well....A great morning today...An important meeting sheduled today...so really looking forward to it...
Early morning got a call from a dear friend Dhananjay...he has got placed after his MBA from IIM B so really happy for him....Basically thats what got me in an upbeat mood .....

Got out of the house and she stood there gleaming in the early morning rays...the sight was the icing on the cake....
Its so surprising that the same sight you see everyday can give such a different appeal when you are in happy state of mind.....

An amazing little piece on Brijesh's blog today...really got me thinking...
He has really started inspiring me for doing a lot of things....and i am wondering if thats good or bad...:-)
just kidding....;-)

Count your blessing was what really he wanted to say....and how true is that...
All a along we are like mice running in a wheel in a one of those lab experiments.... "an endless marathon" ...is how he puts it....

It really helps if you once in a while take a step back and wonder ...what does one really want to be happy....
some thing which my bike rides really help in doing...Whenever i am on my bike...i am in my world....thoughts come and go...some stay for longer time than others....
You feel you are the king of the road...but then you see and old lady trying to cross the road...and you stop for her to cross....and the others seeing you ...stop too.....
Its small things like these make my day....not winning big lotteries and and getting great pay rises...

Hmmm....i think i should stop...and get back to some work....

Nothing much to write today....
Been a pretty ordinary day...looking forward to the bullet club met today evening...:-)..

Did nothing much apart from browsing the web ....not just for passtime ...but also for some work related stuff...but no coding today....:-)..

read brijesh's blog today...he talks about how the real problem with software deadline not meeting is at the start ...duriing the requirement claryfication stage.....an i kind of agree with him...

need to change the layout of the blogspot...to get in new links and comments...let see when i get the time for that....

thats all for the day i guess....

Finally...took her to the Doc..my bike i.e.....
So again left early in the morning...

Got a bad news today..one of friends met with an accident...Luckily he is fine...but the bike's front end is kaput...
spent some time today..visit www.wrc.com....."world rally championship "...got some insight into the whole rallying scene...realy interesting..some of the photos are really amazing.....

Have started reading The Heart of India by Mark Tully....Travels through UP and writes about the life in the villages...its a nice insight to the ways of life in the true "India".....

Hopefully my bike should be fighting fit ....EO (the work) D....

The weekend was good...Bought some new books ...
Had not made visits to any of the book shops for quite some time....
Wanted to start reading something different....
After speaking to some of my UK clients...i realised that, some of them knew more about India than i did...
Also few of my friends had been refering to some authors and their books about India....that they had read...
So picked up one each by Shashi Tharoor, Mark Tully and Ruskin Bond...
Some of the guys who have seen and written lot about India....

Spent some time with by Bike ...but not satisfied ..i think she needs to pay a visit to the Doc...:-(
Sadly, didnt manage to pen down any write ups i intended to...

All in all a relaxed weekend.....geared up for this week....

Has been a good day so far...fixed a few bugs and had some good design discussions at office....
inspired my bro to start his own blogspot...

For some reason still very fresh...i guess i should start getting up early in the morning....
wellll...??!!!??? on second thoughts... let me sleep over this issue:-)

weekend is here...plan to spend some time with my beloved....havent being paying attention towards her lately...
also,plan to write a few ride write ups for the roadshakers website...and also a few office related stuff....

Hmmm.....A good morning today...managed to get up early today....so got to office early...
the best part about it is that the roads are empty ..traffic lights havent started working....

hit two beautiful corners on the bike today...

lets see how the day unfolds....

Today, Brijesh showed me his blog page, and thats what inspired me to start off...
Today was a 'ok' day...my bro took my bike to ofice today ..so was riding another machine...not a very happy feeling...:-(

nothing very motivating at office...on contrary some event really set me thinking as where was the world heading to...:-)
end of day today...hope my bro gets back my bike back safely...

Riding comes naturally to some. I would not say that was the case with me, but there was a biker somewhere in me. My graduation to the British Beast was a slow one, starting from an Atlas bicycle during the first year of my college, to a Bajaj Scooter and finally to owning a Bull.

I had long dreamt of owning a Bullet. Coming from an army family, I had grown to the sounds it dispatches, from riders firing up their machines, to the sights of the Dare Devils performing incredible stunts on their Bullets.

Today after more than two years and 25,000 km of association, I see it as one heck of a relationship we have had. She has become my soul mate, in the toughest of times, through the highs and lows. She has been one adjusting partner from moving steadily at speeds of 30 kph when carrying an injured rider or to racing at speeds of 80-90 kph from Mahabaleshwar to Pune, because I had committed to a friend that I will be there.

I still remember the first day when I bought her. I had to push her for a couple of kilometres because the dealer didn’t fill enough petrol. Imagine pushing that 160 kgs bike, especially when you are used to the lightweight Japanese bikes. That's when she conveyed to me in clear terms that she has to be treated well or will become real nasty. As they say "Nai naveli dulhan ke nakhare" (Though I didn’t know then that these ‘nakharas’ would be there for a life time). So I regularly cleaned, serviced and polished her. She was pampered to the core. As time passed, we developed a nice rapport, a true bonding. Since then till date, she has never left me stranded (Touch wood). I had a flat tyre just 100m from a Tyre wala, empty tank when I was just entering my house gate etc.

Tired of riding through the crowded city roads, I slowly gathered the courage of taking her out on the highway. Letting the beast open in the surroundings is what is most comfortable to her. I graduated from what people say "Commuting" to "Riding". Being a Ganapati Bhakt, I decided to take her for the first highway experience to Theur (a holy place near Pune). I laugh my guts out when I think of that ride. It was just 40 km one way on a pleasant winter day and my rear was hurting when I came back. Today, it’s only after 50-60 km that I feel that I am riding and am really out of the city.

The highway bug had bitten me. In the next 3-4 months, I was on the highway almost every other weekend riding to Ashtavinayaks, Konkan, Mahabaleshwar etc. In fact during one of those months, my office mates feasted on fresh strawberries from Mahabaleshwar every monday morning. Most of my journeys used to be solo, just me and my bike. At times, there were pillions but they were not used to being through long rides. Hence, none of them volunteered to join again.

It was around that time when a phenomenon was happening in Pune. ROADSHAKERS as it came out to be, was Pune's very own Royal Enfield Bullet Club. It was started by a bunch of 7-8 mad men :), who were in love with their machines. Today the club has reached new heights and is the best in the country - a true role model for others to follow.

How could I not be a part of it? It’s been more than a year now with these 100 plus mad men and the number is increasing everyday. This was a new experience for both of us. I got to meet so many like-minded people and she too benefited because of the company. This club has given me something to live for; I look forward to the weekly meets like my life depended on them.

I was not new to riding at this stage, but riding with the group was altogether a different ball game, a whole new experience. I don't think I have missed more than a couple of rides, and with rides happening every weekend, that’s a lot of kilometres covered with the group. Our rides have taken both of us through the Shayadris, across beautiful Ghats, to exotic beaches of Goa, through the barren lands of Madhya Pradesh, and also to the Himalayas. Riding with the Roadshakers has been great. I have learnt a lot from the group and all that has helped me treat my bike even better.

That’s the story so far. I’m Looking forward to many more years of biking.

Miles to go before I sleep or should I say… Miles to go before she lets me sleep.