– Spoils of War

Last updated on: December 1, 2005 at 12:47 am By Desh Kapoor

Sorry Rohit.. but I have taken your stats in full! They are worth looking at.. at least once! Spoils of War Former CIA director, George Tenet 4 million dollar book deal. Paul "comb in mouth" Wolfowitz 300,000 tax free salary at the WorldBank, mortgage allowance, and a golf club membership. Ret. General Tommy Franks 5 million dollar book deal for his memoirs, on the board of Outback Streakhouse, and now a highly paid speaker (he was paid 75,000 to speak here) Paul Bremer 40,000 dollars per speech, and 100,000 plus dollars for a book about his year in the White house Read more

– Oh those were the days!

Last updated on: November 30, 2005 at 8:04 pm By Desh Kapoor

I am not generally a person who would feel nostalgic of something.. but this is an interesting poem - it hits on most things that were fun.. Remembering my classmates, after few years, My eyes were filled with tears, Everyone now is busy a lot, No one escaped destiny's plot. Saw the girl whom once I thought as my best friend, Oops ! Today she is somebody else's girl friend, After months, remembered about her for a little while, Heard she is happy, that made me smile. Project reviews to campus interviews, Nicknames to last bench games, Cultural rehearsals to love proposals, Read more

– Helping crooks in "Money Transfer"

Last updated on: November 30, 2005 at 7:04 pm By Desh Kapoor

Anybody up for 30% of USD 14 million? Here is an email I got this afternoon... these Nigerian crooks just dont get tired .. do they? GREETINGS, MY NAME IS MICHAEL LARSON, THE MANAGING DIRECTOR OF TRIDENT OIL, A MULTI-NATIONAL CORPORATION OPERATING IN LONDON, ENGLAND. I AM SEEKING YOUR ASSISTANCE TO RETREIVE THE SUM OF FOURTEEN MILLION FOUR HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS CONSISTING OF TWO CONSIGNMENT BOXES. THIS MONEY WAS ACQUIRED FROM THE COMPANY AND IT WAS ACCOMPANIED BY A DIPLOMAT TO USA WHERE IT IS PRESENTLY, MY REASON FOR THIS IS BECAUSE I HAVE BEEN CHEATED OUT OF MY ENTITLEMENTS BY THE COMPANY FOR FAR TOO LONG, SIMPLY BECAUSE I AM NOT A BRITISH. THE CONTACT DETAILS OF THE DIPLOMAT WILL BE GIVEN TO YOU IF YOU INDICATE YOUR INTEREST TO HELP ME. EACH OF THE BOXES CONTAINS $7.2M AND FOR YOUR HELP I AM READY TO RELEASE 30% TO YOU. FOR SECURITY REASONS THE CONSIGNMENT WAS REGISTERED TO BE CONFIDENTIAL DIPLOMATIC DOCUMENTS WHICH I WILL EXPLAIN TO YOU WHY. BEAR IN MIND THAT THE DIPLOMAT IS NOT AWARE OF THE CONTENT OF THE CONSIGNMENTS, IT HAS BEEN THERE FOR THE PAST 1 MONTH WHERE I'M LOOKING FOR A RELIABLE PARTNER. Read more

– Room no. 302

Last updated on: November 30, 2005 at 6:35 pm By Desh Kapoor

I know not all blogs have jokes - but this one had me in splits.. have fun! ******** A woman called a local hospital. "Hello. Could you connect me to the person who gives information about patients. I'd like to find out if a patient is getting better, doing as expected, or getting worse." The voice on the other end said, "What is the patient's name and room number?" "Sarah Finkel, room 302." "I'll connect you with the nursing station." "3-A Nursing Station. How can I help You?" "I'd like to know the condition of Sarah Finkel in room 302." "Just a moment. Let me look at her records. Mrs. Finkel is doing very Read more

– Obnoxious Indians when we deal with our own

Last updated on: November 30, 2005 at 4:12 pm By Desh Kapoor

Working with or being interviewed by a fellow-desi (Indian) is one of the worst experience that any Indian can go through on the career front. Recently, a friend was being interviewed by this guy for a senior role in India (he wants to move from US to India after 7-8 years of working here). The Interviewer on the other side - within the first few minutes moves down the educational credentials to ask him the college where he did his undergrad at!!! The role is a SENIOR MANAGEMENT ROLE!! Another friend was being interviewed for an applications role at an electronics company somewhere in NE USA. The desi who happened to be a contractor to the company (since they really didnt have many permanent employees in that area) goes down the educational list and starts grilling on which year did the guy go to IIT (he was an IIT-ian)... and which majors he had and the GPA!!! Then he asks him - "Why do you want to move to industry from consulting" .. "Because I want to settle down and get off the road" .... and then comes the most surprising counter question "Then why not go back to India?".. HELLO!!!!??? My friend did not want to get angry in the interview so retorted back "I am a US citizen". Read more

– Whats so thankful about Thanksgiving?

Last updated on: November 30, 2005 at 3:32 am By Desh Kapoor

The Thanksgiving passed of recently in the US... Here are a few pieces from the blog "Counterpunch" - which give a historical perspective to it... and after this its kind of hard to actually call it "Thanksgiving" anymore! One vehicle for taming history is various patriotic holidays, with Thanksgiving at the heart of U.S. myth-building. From an early age, we Americans hear a story about the hearty Pilgrims, whose search for freedom took them from England to Massachusetts. There, aided by the friendly Wampanoag Indians, they survived in a new and harsh environment, leading to a harvest feast in 1621 following the Pilgrims first winter. Read more

– New Colors for the site..

Last updated on: November 30, 2005 at 2:50 am By Desh Kapoor

Hi readers.. You will notice the new colors on this site. I just changed it tonight... was alone after a rather hectic weekend... and had gotten rather bored by the same old white. I thought that just white and black gave a feeling of too much content... and one generally got lost somewhere.. by separating the sections - between main and the side bars... it seems better organized. Thats my take, anyways! Let me know your comments... Read more

– Design Matters!

Last updated on: November 30, 2005 at 2:06 am By Desh Kapoor

Interesting post from Seth Godin! 12,000 people have taken a blind taste test. You do a search you're familiar with, it shows you the results from Google, MSN and Yahoo. Which is the most relevant, it asks? Almost 60% of those tested said that Yahoo or MSN was the most relevant. Which reinforces my point that Google isn't "better" for most people if "better" means more relevant or deeper. Google is better because it feels better and quicker and leaner and easier to use. The story we tell ourselves about Google is very different, and we use it differently as a result. Think about that the next time you insist you need a "better" formula or a faster server or a stronger first baseman. Read more

– RUBY: the new powerful s/w language from Japan

Last updated on: November 30, 2005 at 1:56 am By Desh Kapoor

Ruby is the latest sensation it seems! here is a low-down on its features as described on its main site. Have a go Geeks! Ruby is the interpreted scripting language for quick and easy object-oriented programming. It has many features to process text files and to do system management tasks (as in Perl). It is simple, straight-forward, extensible, and portable. Oh, I need to mention, it's totally free, which means not only free of charge, but also freedom to use, copy, modify, and distribute it. Features of Ruby * Ruby has simple syntax, partially inspired by Eiffel and Ada. Read more

– Bush Cheney Bumper Stickers

Last updated on: November 30, 2005 at 1:28 am By Desh Kapoor

Here are some Bush-Cheney bumper-sticker slogans I got from somewhere today.. hillarious! 1. Bush/Cheney '04: Four More Wars! 2. BU_ _SH_ _! 3. Bush/Cheney '04: Because the truth just isn't good enough. 4. Bush/Cheney '04: Compassionate Colonialism 5. Bush/Cheney '04: Deja-voodoo all over again! 6. Bush/Cheney '04: Leave no billionaire behind 7. Bush/Cheney '04: Less CIA -- More CYA 8. Bush/Cheney '04: Lies and videotape but no sex! 9. Bush/Cheney '04: Making the world a better place, one country at a time. 10. Bush/Cheney '04: Putting the "con" in conservatism Read more