23 Dec 2009

UAC Virtualization (Part 2)

As expressed in my earlier part about User Account Control in Windows Vista; when a standard user is logged into a Windows based computer, there are certain activities and actions that need to be protected. This is essential to protect the overall stability and security of the operating system. Windows Vista provides an excellent solution to help protect these key system areas. Vista uses User Account Control and Virtualization to accomplish the security and protection.

The Program Files directory (typically located at C:\Program Files and referred to as %ProgramFiles%) is where most applications store the executable files. The settings for the application are stored under the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software key in the Registry in most cases. Both of these locations are protected by the operating system by only allowing the system and administrators write access, where users have read and execute access only.

The application data locations are created on user basis and are protected such that only that user has access to the data that is written by default.

However, many applications are not designed to work this way. Instead, they are designed to store user specific data under %ProgramFiles% and HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software. Unfortunately standard users do not have access to write to these locations, which has caused many companies to add standard users to the local Administrators group in order to run these applications.

Since the applications are not easily changed and users must still run these applications, Vista takes a different approach to fix the problem. Within Vista, UAC lends a helping hand by virtualizing the file system and Registry namespace. UAC will virtualize legacy applications, allowing standard users to remain a “standard user”, but still run the application. The definition of legacy in this case includes processes that are 32-bit, not running with administrative privileges, and does not include a Windows Vista manifest file. If a process or operation does not meet these criteria it is not virtualized.

UAC Virtualization
In Vista, you can see the UAC virtualization option in Task manager where you can see the various processes running in process tab. Right click on any one of the process which you wish to virtualize and you can click the UAC Virtulaization option.

When an action is virtualized, the resulting content is stored within the users’ profile as mentioned above. Depending on which content has been virtualized, there will be some indicators within the different interfaces to help you see the virtualization.

The first indicator will be within the Windows Explorer GUI. Depending on which folder and files have been virtualized, you will see additional menu options within Windows Explorer. Figure below illustrates what Windows Explorer shows when you have Virtualized files under the C:\Windows folder. (Compatibility Files)

The “Compatibility Files” menu addition to Windows Explorer only appears when there are files that have been virtualized. The new menu option appears only for those folders which have virtualized files or folders.

When the Compatibility Files menu option is selected, it will direct the Windows Explorer window to the virtualized files and the containing folder. Figure below illustrates what the contents of this virtualization of files and folders looks like.

UAC Virtualization (Part 2)

As expressed in my earlier part about User Account Control in Windows Vista; when a standard user is logged into a Windows based computer, there are certain activities and actions that need to be protected. This is essential to protect the overall stability and security of the operating system. Windows Vista provides an excellent solution to help protect these key system areas. Vista uses User Account Control and Virtualization to accomplish the security and protection.

The Program Files directory (typically located at C:\Program Files and referred to as %ProgramFiles%) is where most applications store the executable files. The settings for the application are stored under the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software key in the Registry in most cases. Both of these locations are protected by the operating system by only allowing the system and administrators write access, where users have read and execute access only.

The application data locations are created on user basis and are protected such that only that user has access to the data that is written by default.

However, many applications are not designed to work this way. Instead, they are designed to store user specific data under %ProgramFiles% and HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software. Unfortunately standard users do not have access to write to these locations, which has caused many companies to add standard users to the local Administrators group in order to run these applications.

Since the applications are not easily changed and users must still run these applications, Vista takes a different approach to fix the problem. Within Vista, UAC lends a helping hand by virtualizing the file system and Registry namespace. UAC will virtualize legacy applications, allowing standard users to remain a “standard user”, but still run the application. The definition of legacy in this case includes processes that are 32-bit, not running with administrative privileges, and does not include a Windows Vista manifest file. If a process or operation does not meet these criteria it is not virtualized.

UAC Virtualization
In Vista, you can see the UAC virtualization option in Task manager where you can see the various processes running in process tab. Right click on any one of the process which you wish to virtualize and you can click the UAC Virtulaization option.

When an action is virtualized, the resulting content is stored within the users’ profile as mentioned above. Depending on which content has been virtualized, there will be some indicators within the different interfaces to help you see the virtualization.

The first indicator will be within the Windows Explorer GUI. Depending on which folder and files have been virtualized, you will see additional menu options within Windows Explorer. Figure below illustrates what Windows Explorer shows when you have Virtualized files under the C:\Windows folder. (Compatibility Files)

The “Compatibility Files” menu addition to Windows Explorer only appears when there are files that have been virtualized. The new menu option appears only for those folders which have virtualized files or folders.

When the Compatibility Files menu option is selected, it will direct the Windows Explorer window to the virtualized files and the containing folder. Figure below illustrates what the contents of this virtualization of files and folders looks like.

Understanding User Account Control in Windows Vista (Part 1)

When Microsoft Windows® XP is initially installed, the Windows XP Setup Wizard creates all user accounts as local administrators. This account type enables users to install, update, and run software since an administrator account has system-wide access. When a user is added to the local administrators group, that user is automatically granted every Windows privilege. These privileges are collected and maintained in a user’s access token. Every Windows resource has an Access Control List (ACL), which is a list that records which users and services have permission to access the resource and what level of permission they have. Windows' authorization model uses the data contained within a user's access token to determine what access the user is permitted/denied in a resource's ACL.
Administrative users automatically have:
* Read/Write/Execute permissions to all resources
* All Windows privileges

In Windows Vista, there are two types of user accounts: standard user accounts and administrator accounts. Standard users have limited administrative privileges and user rights—they cannot install or uninstall applications that install into %systemroot%, change system settings, or perform other administrative tasks. However, standard users can perform these tasks if they are able to provide valid administrative credentials when prompted. With UAC enabled, members of the local Administrators group run with the same access token as standard users. Only when a member of the local Administrators group gives approval can a process use the administrator’s full access token. This process is the basis of the principle of Admin Approval Mode.

UAC Architeccture:
Each application that requires the administrator’s access token must prompt the administrator for consent. The one exception is the relationship that exists between parent and child processes. Child processes will inherit the user’s access token from their parents. Both the parent and child processes, however, must have the same integrity level.

Windows Vista protects processes by marking them with integrity levels. Integrity levels are measurements of trust. A “high” integrity application is one that performs tasks that modify system data, such as a disk partitioning application, while a “low” integrity application is one that performs tasks that could potentially compromise the operating system, such as a Web browser. Windows Vista prevents applications with lower integrity levels from modifying data in applications with higher integrity levels.

When a standard user attempts to run an application that requires an administrator access token, UAC requires that the user provide valid administrator credentials. The "UAC User Experience" section in this document details this process.

Virtualization
Windows Vista includes file and registry virtualization technology for applications that are not UAC compliant and that have historically required an administrator's access token to run correctly. Virtualization ensures that even applications that are not UAC compliant will be compatible with Windows Vista. When a non-UAC-compliant administrative application attempts to write to a protected directory, such as Program Files, UAC gives the application its own virtualized view of the resource it is attempting to change, using a copy-on-write strategy. The virtualized copy is maintained under the user's profile. As a result, a separate copy of the virtualized file is created for each user that runs the non-compliant application.

The virtualization technology ensures that non-compliant applications will not silently fail to run or fail in a non-deterministic way. UAC also provides file and registry virtualization and logging by default for pre-Windows Vista applications that write to protected areas.

Courtesy:
Microsoft official site

Understanding User Account Control in Windows Vista (Part 1)

When Microsoft Windows® XP is initially installed, the Windows XP Setup Wizard creates all user accounts as local administrators. This account type enables users to install, update, and run software since an administrator account has system-wide access. When a user is added to the local administrators group, that user is automatically granted every Windows privilege. These privileges are collected and maintained in a user’s access token. Every Windows resource has an Access Control List (ACL), which is a list that records which users and services have permission to access the resource and what level of permission they have. Windows' authorization model uses the data contained within a user's access token to determine what access the user is permitted/denied in a resource's ACL.
Administrative users automatically have:
* Read/Write/Execute permissions to all resources
* All Windows privileges

In Windows Vista, there are two types of user accounts: standard user accounts and administrator accounts. Standard users have limited administrative privileges and user rights—they cannot install or uninstall applications that install into %systemroot%, change system settings, or perform other administrative tasks. However, standard users can perform these tasks if they are able to provide valid administrative credentials when prompted. With UAC enabled, members of the local Administrators group run with the same access token as standard users. Only when a member of the local Administrators group gives approval can a process use the administrator’s full access token. This process is the basis of the principle of Admin Approval Mode.

UAC Architeccture:
Each application that requires the administrator’s access token must prompt the administrator for consent. The one exception is the relationship that exists between parent and child processes. Child processes will inherit the user’s access token from their parents. Both the parent and child processes, however, must have the same integrity level.

Windows Vista protects processes by marking them with integrity levels. Integrity levels are measurements of trust. A “high” integrity application is one that performs tasks that modify system data, such as a disk partitioning application, while a “low” integrity application is one that performs tasks that could potentially compromise the operating system, such as a Web browser. Windows Vista prevents applications with lower integrity levels from modifying data in applications with higher integrity levels.

When a standard user attempts to run an application that requires an administrator access token, UAC requires that the user provide valid administrator credentials. The "UAC User Experience" section in this document details this process.

Virtualization
Windows Vista includes file and registry virtualization technology for applications that are not UAC compliant and that have historically required an administrator's access token to run correctly. Virtualization ensures that even applications that are not UAC compliant will be compatible with Windows Vista. When a non-UAC-compliant administrative application attempts to write to a protected directory, such as Program Files, UAC gives the application its own virtualized view of the resource it is attempting to change, using a copy-on-write strategy. The virtualized copy is maintained under the user's profile. As a result, a separate copy of the virtualized file is created for each user that runs the non-compliant application.

The virtualization technology ensures that non-compliant applications will not silently fail to run or fail in a non-deterministic way. UAC also provides file and registry virtualization and logging by default for pre-Windows Vista applications that write to protected areas.

Courtesy:
Microsoft official site

19 Dec 2009

Handling error page efficiently in Firefox

I could not have imagined my anger and frustration when a URL to load due to congestion in network, peak performance, load on server or maybe due to low bandwidth of the internet connection. Until i found a solution for my anger management.. a simple add on in Firefox that lets you handle the error page efficiently and easily. Let me arrive to the tool later on, while i briefly explain the technology behind.

Coral Content Distribution Network
Coral is a free peer-to-peer content distribution network, comprised of a world-wide network of web proxies and nameservers. It allows a user to run a web site by offering the service through some of its participating web servers where the content has been already replicated instead of pointing at the original server which may be overloaded at that time, thereby increasing the performance and meeting its volumious demand.

To use the service, one needs to first publish the site through CoralCDN. It is as simple as appending a short string to the hostname of objects' URLs. A peer-to-peer DNS layer transparently redirects browsers to participating caching proxies, which in turn cooperate to minimize load on the source web server. Sites that run Coral automatically replicate content as a side effect of users accessing it, improving its availability. Heres a snapshot of how a coralized site looks like.. notice the URL?



Using modern peer-to-peer indexing techniques, CoralCDN will efficiently find a cached object if it exists anywhere in the network, requiring that it use the origin server only to initially fetch the object once.

One of Coral's key goals is to avoid ever creating hot spots in its infrastructure.(Hot spot here means a region of a computer program where a high proportion of executed instructions occur or where most time is spent during the program's execution.) It achieves this through a novel indexing abstraction called distributed sloppy hash table (DSHT), used in peer-to-peer networking protocol like Torrentz. (Hash table is a data structure that uses a hash function to efficiently map certain identifiers or keys to its associated values.) It creates self-organizing clusters of nodes that fetch information from each other to avoid communicating with more distant or heavily-loaded servers.

Wayback
Almost everything is archived on the internet, in form of snapshots, caches, thumbnails etc.
Wayback is a technology used to see those archived version of the site, which people believe to be of use for future generations. It not only archives live URLs but also dead sites. One of such sites that offer wayback service is Archive-It.

Archive-It allows institutions to build and preserve their own web archive of born digital content, through a user friendly web application, without requiring any technical expertise or hosting facilities. Subscribers can harvest, catalog, and archive their collections, and then search and browse the collections when complete. Collections are hosted at the Internet Archive data center, and accessible to the public with full text search.

This is a snapshot of how Google site looked on 17th January 1997.


Going to the main stream; you can find the add-on here

Technology never cease to excite me the way i am now, handling error functions are more interesting than making a bug free code. I am enjoying the privilege that i am being offered.
I can see opportunity in the errors now and not a sad face, don't you agree?
I have left programming a long time ago, yet Hope Mozilla guys are listening to me?

13 Dec 2009

Memory resource fix for Firefox

I am not sure if I have already written and mentioned this in my earlier Firefox hacks post. But i am writing this in the enlightenment of those people who might have been facing high utilization of memory resources while using Mozilla Firefox. Firefox being an open source project, unlike other browsers can be optimized according to users requirements. In this post, i am going to show you how the high utilization of memory resource in Mozilla can be fixed. The tools used to demonstrate this are available freely on internet and not licensed versions.

One thing you may like about Mozilla is that these settings can be saved and restored or reused on other machines if you like... say your workplace. You may save the boookmarks, links, tweak settings etc in it and send it via mail or transfer it into another machine and restore or use those settings to have the same look and feel as you are at your home.

Heres a snapshot of my memory utilization of Firefox on my machine.

Step 1: To start with, the back end source code of Mozilla can be accessed by typing "about:config" on one of the tabs. Click "OK" or "I'll be careful, I promise" depending on the version of Mozilla you use.
Step 2: Download "Mozilla Optimizer 1.6.3" from Computer Base
or you can go ahead with the optimzations yourself to save the download time from the source codes. If you want to explore using the source codes, here they are

Preference name Value/ Boolean
nglayout.initialpaint.delay 100
content.notify.ontimer true
content.notify.interval 100000
content.notify.backoffcount 5
network.http.pipelining true
network.http.proxy.pipelining true
network.http.pipelining.maxrequests 8
network.http.max-connections 32
network.http.max-connections-per-server 8
network.http.max-persistent-connections-per-proxy 4
network.http.max-persistent-connections-per-server 2

To find the mentioned preference name, use the filter on top of the table and change the boolean or value as mentioned above. To save all these, you can can download the mentioned tool above and just install it once.

Now lets take a look at the performance of Firefox, attached is the snapshot below.


Step 3: (Optional) In case you are still not happy with the result, you can use one more tool to minimize that. But you should remember that this tool needs to be invoked each time you require to minimize the utilization and isn't one time activity unlike the above, which was code injected. Ensure that this tool is always when you open Firefoz, unless you wish to run it.
Search for "Firefox Ultimate Optimizer" in Google and you will find it. After running it, here is the memory utilization snapshot.


See, how easy it is. Happy hacking around.


Disclaimer: Use these tools and hacks at your own risks. I wont beheld responsible for any issues or concerns raised using these freely available tools.

7 Dec 2009

Adobe Acrobat 9: First look

When i saw the tutorial video of Adobe Acrobat 9, it was like.. woooooowwww!!
I mean, i never had imagined that a PDF would have Videos, interactive Flash files or any other external files to be embedded in it! I mean, what the heck man! Its like an OS without any compatibility issues to any known software or hardware.

I am still to get the software and lay my hands on it. Maybe i can tune in MS Office 2010 and save it as PDF. I did not know, all these could be so much fun! Now i can make interactive resumes .. with videos and snapshots of what i want to show the employer.

Let me get back to you soon with my copy. Watch this space for review on the same.
For more information check here.

A breif review on Microsoft Office 2010, Beta version

For those who wants to work on beer, MS Office 2010 maybe the right choice. Its still in Beta phase and yet to be released but available for use on Microsoft site. You will be provided a license key for the product to be used for some time until its official launch soon.
I would say, i was very impressed with the much much lighter version of MS Office. Whereas it would have taken me minutes to load a 1 lac row Excel, it took me few seconds for Office 2010 to load the same. There are a few additional features wrt formulaes and intefaces more smoother.

Heres a brief based on my review:
Interface: 7/10
Ease of use: 8/10
Performance: 9/10
Additional features: 4/10
Recoverability: 8/10

I guess very less features remain to be explored in Excel. I havent tried other office suites extensively, but i assure you that you will be happy with the interface. Happy exploring

Life needs a change!

I have been in my blues, not 'coz someone said shit about my performance but because of the shit package i have been beginning to develop to worry about. Initially, maybe because there was less liabilities, it went fine for me. But with each passing day, i do realize that i do not make half the money my credit card bills me! Am i supposed to ward the credit cards off and stay aloof in my apartment watching some fabulous places like Dubai or States; or earn enough to bear the costs?
I do believe that while the former seems rational with the existing condition i am in, it wont run long way as a solution. So now i am looking for a change in my career, for growth - yes, definitely maybe for more credit cards to fill in the pockets !

Inability to sustain in life could not be more frustrating! I needed some change. So finally, this sunday i decided, if not my life.. at least my lifestyle.

Finally i revamped the looks of my farm at Farmville in Facebook.
Well i guess, i got some satisfaction for some time.

A breif review on Microsoft Office 2010, Beta version

For those who wants to work on beer, MS Office 2010 maybe the right choice. Its still in Beta phase and yet to be released but available for use on Microsoft site. You will be provided a license key for the product to be used for some time until its official launch soon.
I would say, i was very impressed with the much much lighter version of MS Office. Whereas it would have taken me minutes to load a 1 lac row Excel, it took me few seconds for Office 2010 to load the same. There are a few additional features wrt formulaes and intefaces more smoother.

Heres a brief based on my review:
Interface: 7/10
Ease of use: 8/10
Performance: 9/10
Additional features: 4/10
Recoverability: 8/10

I guess very less features remain to be explored in Excel. I havent tried other office suites extensively, but i assure you that you will be happy with the interface. Happy exploring

7 Aug 2009

Some lessons from work life

The more i spend my days at work, the more do i begin to ponder on the thought process of others.  There were many things which i have learnt from the work life...some of the few things/mistakes which i realized and learnt are as follows...

1)Expecting more than you deserve
I was extracting data for making report, when i realized at some point that, if i had the absolute power and control over the data; i can manage to provide the same at ease. At one point of time, i expressed my desire to have total control of the data..to which a senior smiled and said... "i like the way you think but..its not possible..its how the process is meant to be." Later i realized what i was demanding. Its been just more than a year now, and i am demanding total control of something which i do not deserve yet. I have to earn it myself instead of demanding. Thats the way how life is

2) Think different from others
The printer cartridge had run out of toner ink a few days back, to which none of the hundreds of employees in my floor have raised a question or try to address the issue; nor anyone have raised the stationary requirement for the toner. I had to get some printouts and hence i sent a copy of the file to my senior and went to his place for the printout. He denied saying, "why haven't you addressed the issue or brought the issue to the Admins notice?". I replied back saying, there are some 700 employees in my floor who need to print on daily basis, and yet they haven't address the same yet.. so why should i? And even if i do, the next time..people will expect me to do the same again and again. My senior said, "you don't have a right to raise that question because you have never tried to resolve the issue. If you had raised the issue even once to the admin, you can say that i had taken up the issue last time; why don't you guys do anything?" It was a lesson learnt in a happy way, i guess.

3) Never point out others mistake, even if you know hes wrong
There are challenges everywhere in day to-day work life. Nones perfect and many of them are not knowledgeable as much as some are. There are times when you know that the other person is wrong, not in terms of his actions but in terms of his knowledge and understanding. No matter how much you try, some are hard to crack. Once i had a heated argument with a person from another team and there was escalations happening at higher level. And then my senior came to my desk to ask what the matter was. I explained to him, as he listened calmly..and he replied.. "do not point out mistakes in others even though u know he is. Listen to what he says, try to understand how he interprets the issue. Once you know how he thinks, explain to him in his own words..and he will surely understand." Well, you know what..he called up the guy and talked to him for a few minutes and the issue was resolved in minutes.

4) Never think that others will understand the way you do
I was preparing MIS report once again, and i was providing it in Excel with the original data in a format, derived data in another format etc..sort of mixed. I sent it to my senior for finalizing the report. He asked me some points like.. what is this data.. what is that data.. whys is this.. why is that and all...i replied him all.. He wanted me to change the data be consistent to make sure that there is no confusion. He said, "do you think seniors have enough time to see all these 100+ odd rows ?"; and asked me to consolidate the data to have a simple dashboard highlighting special areas of interest. The data interpretation part was more time consuming than the data extraction part, but believe me.. i was rather contented with myself at the end. Because at the EOD, if someone send me a data in a dashboard without all the details which are not required at extent, i would be much pleased and happy.

I hope more points will come up.. as i interact closely with the management each passing day.

2 Aug 2009

Why Mumbai is a place for everyone!

Besides few reasons why i hate Mumbai, there are millions of reason why i like Mumbai.
One of the most important reason is that people here are CIVILIZED. If the definition of civilized people differs from yours, you better redefine yours. One best example would be one which was told to me by my friend in Bangalore. His friend got a call on his number one night and the caller said that his other friend is drunk and lying on the roadside.. and gave the proper address so that he can take him home. When his friends ask him who he was, he said he is a thief and taking away his mobile and wallet. Dont take me wrong, there is a thief in everyone of us. But this thief was polite enough to let his friend know that his friend needs help, besides helping himself with the money and mobile.

People follow rules here. If you see a board which says Queue, people form a queue. People stop at traffic lights, even when there is no vehicles from the opposite end. People know their rights and stand up to fight for the same, they stop by to ask if we are lost when we are...the auto walas will take us to anywhere in Mumbai taking the Best possible route and not try to cheat... Impressive enough!!

21 Jun 2009

Drizzle of memories

When i first set out for a shopping mall just for a change to the boring sunday afternoon, little did i realize how wonderful the evening was going to be! When we set out from from, a Nokia guy called me up for N97 demo, so i asked him to reach at the mall itself.. There was mist in the air and a slight drizzle happening..as we drove to the mall. When we reached the mall (R City), there was not much rush as it usually does on sundays. There was buy one get one free offer, and as i came to look for a formal shoe, i began looking for a sports shoe and bought it..along with it came the formal shoe for free. Then we explored the mall a bit and at the time of coming out, there was slight drizzle again. As it was not time for the monsoon and i knew it would not rain harder, we just drove the bike and reached the Levis showroom where we tried out some jeans. We both one each and one undergarment boz was free with it (i wonder which one is more costly )

As the alteration of the pant would take half an hour, we made our way to the nearby Chinese restaurant and helped ourselves with two plates of Chicken steam Momo (10 pieces in one plate) and then ordered a Momo soup and then finally a Pork ribs with burnt chilly sauce. We had a great time exploring in the rain, i guess. We came home a bit drenched and after a hot water bath..here i am as fresh as the desert rose after the first shower. I wish such sundays come every weekend...ok maybe every fortnight... oh ok maybe once in a month. Maybe.. there will be such more sundays this weekend but before the Monsoon. Lets hope the monsoon this time does not spoil the mood

Sleepless in Mumbai

Like anyone else would do and think of, i am not an exception to that! I have spent some 3 or 4 sleepless nights recently..thinking and rethinking ...searching for the perfect solution to all my woes. Like anyone else would be worried about a home, salary, a good life.. i am too worried about the same. Not that what i am getting is well enough for me, but being a human i yearn for more and more. Like everyone else, i like the best for myself and my family. There were many thought of few proposals in mind..and i was just thinking on how to go about it!!

A latest addition to my woe was buying a home in Mumbai. Many people have their own say to it. After looking at my boss and colleague, who are spending almost half of their salary in home loan EMIs, i begin to fear the every word of home loans! And maybe thats why i am scared to sleep over the matter. I would say that ...its been more than a week now and i am not able to come up with a best solution,. Coz the way i think, i overthing the next moment and say..hey if i invest a little more money in it i get a better deal!! And the same greed makes me sleepless in Mumbai ( city of dreams, as it is rightly called)

Whatever be the plan, what i have decided for now is to invest what i have in hand as cash and not take a loan as of now. If i run out of money, i will have to eventually take loan, but i will try to cash in as much as possible. Hope i will be able to stick to my thoughts and not spend one more night sleepless. God!! I hate it....

Colors of life

Bogged down with my usual work life, harnessing all vital essential proteins and energy from within, i dwell in the burning lights of daylight at office. In order to be capable of having a good future for me and my family, i glare at the monitor for hours..as if all answers lie within the corners of the monitor! With a new office setup in a nearby place yesterday, everybody got a new place in a stranger place. Come to think of it, my organization will scrap all other branches after having found this new office of our own..with some 800+ employees in one floor , 4 levels of parking space, and some 9 floors in total for all employees. I took a quite corner near the glass screens, with a beautiful view of the train station and the civilization outside,i am quite happy about it. I was quite busy making hard cash out of the dummy box.

Far away from the civilization, some people are sweating out in the heaps of mud, reaching out to those villagers who havent seen the outside world. Dripping in the thick rain, taking shelter in a shag and warming themselves up with burning logs at night, with thick mosquitoes on the run. No electricity, no safe drinking water, no built roads, no sign of civilization till thousands of miles...what a life it must be! Yet people are happy being there....being their hometown, at least they have something to hold on to! Our guys are enjoying their time reaching out to the poorest of the poor families ..to support some children for education, as a part of a voluntary and no-for-profit organization of ours. What a contrasting life, isnt it?

Some people are just worried about the money they make from the dummy box. Somewhere people are worried that rains will ruin whatever they have for their survival. What a difference in thought, what s difference in perspective, what a difference in LIFE!! I begin to ponder, what it must be life at the other end...which we cannot even think of..as long as we are a part of the civilization?

14 Jun 2009

How risks can get you a home!

Life is a risky business, but when business itself becomes risky - what becomes of life? However, if there were no risk, there would be no fun in life at all. I have made some plans which ought to work, with calculated risks in it. I love the beauty of the synchronization in the plan, hope they do work and dont collapse on me! There were multiple options for the same plan, i will mention one simple plan to make you realize its risky yet simplicity.

1) Buying a home
With multiple research results of my friends who already decided on buying a home, i base my plans on that foundation, with some risk that it work out as they have anticipated. I am thinking of buying a home in Thane now, like my friends. House are of two types - one with ready possession and another with later possession

Ready possession (tentative figures*)
1 BHK - 650 sq ft with carpet area of 516 sq ft @ Rs 3000 per sq ft available at 24 lacs
2 BHK- 950 sq f with carpet area 780 sq ft @ Rs 3000 per sq ft available at 30 lacs

Possession by year end or two (tentative figures*)
1 BHK - 550 sq ft with carpet area of 450 sq ft @ Rs 2400-2500 per sq ft available at 17 lacs
2 BHK- 800 sq ft with carpet area of 616 sq ft @ Rs 2400-2500 per sq ft avaliable at 22 lacs

2) Financing the home with Home loan
With all loans taken into consideration (home loan, personal loan etc) the EMI will come to around 15-18k per* month for 20 years (or maybe 20 years**)

Now comes the risky and fun part. Since i would not like to have a major impact on my salary, i have come up with a little adjustment. I need to invest in short term investment plans which can relive me of my EMI. To be able to do that, i have thought of investing in land or real estates whose project is going on. I cannot provide the exact details of the investment, but the returns will pay off the EMI without affecting the salary. Without mentioning about the investment, let me elaborate more on the financing of home loan EMI

3) Financing the home loan with another investment
With adequate returns on the other investment, i am going to create a diversion. Here is a small diagram to make it understand better


Step 1: Accumulate 1/3rd of salary for an optimal amount of time to enable investment that will yield return more than EMI amount
Step 2: Invest in some plan that provides returns for 5 years
Step 3: Give the EMI from the returns for the next 5 years
Step 4: Till the time EMI is taken care for the next 5 years, you can come down from 1/3 of the salary to say 10% of the salary amount and accumulate it for 4 years
Step 5: Invest the accumulated amount in the said investment which gve years returns
Step 6: Enjoy EMI free life for the next 5 years

This will go on until the EMI is over. And for all the risks you have taken so far, the return is even more pleasing - a home in your own name.

Don't go by the looks, think of it. Don't go by the title of the post, read it correctly.
Now i bet, you might have got the idea how all the three ingredients are necessary . Do expect your comments and opinions

Notes:
* The figures provided on land area, rates and place may differ from actual figures
* Calculations and information on home rates are research results of my friends and not mine
* You need to calculate your risk taking capability first
** Loan term for 20 years will have lower EMI but end up paying more

8 Jun 2009

Redefining thought process

So many things in mind..so many thoughts to implement...so many memories to make...in such a short and fragile manner!! I have had my last thoughts on some investment plans...which eventually gave a new twist when my frens asked me to reconsider the amount i am going to invest since it may affect my growth and career..with quotes like...riches do not come in a day...i am bound to think of it..until my colleague siting just opposite to me broke down his experience to me saying he had invested in some small co. and after 6 months the co was no more there.

I am still reconsidering the favor i am going to do to the company i was planning to invest in.I am rather worried about the reaps rather than the initial hard work and homework i needed to do. If he yield is going to be ripe and successful, i guess i dont have issue with catering to the amount which i had fixed earlier. Keeping my options open, i would be talking to other investors of the company and find out what their experience has been all these months/years now! Hope they will consider my request ..not to bounce my cheques at least for the stipulated amount of time thehy have promised. Lets find it out soon. Read my next post when i finnaly decide to invest and what hardhsip i had to face in it! I guess that will be a part of lifes experience.

7 Jun 2009

Need a break

I know what i have been missing these days recently. I was running behind others in the same rat race, watching others back and running towards the finish line. Now i know, i wish to take a break away from the race and have some time for myself.. some time far away from the glare of the computer screen and the blink of the cursor as if time is running out for me.

I wish to take a break, far away from the blinks and glares of the computer. But i guess i will manage for some days without the computer, maybe i guess...but maybe not for long. Like a glutton who keep yearning for food, i guess, i too have become one of that king ! For some time, i will be out of the race and try to look life from a different perspective...without any inferences and strings attached. I would like to travel a lot, but could not get time off from the office work.

Recently i have been googling and recycling news on the web for hangouts and places to travel. Event the thought of traveling makes me fresh..as i scroll down the middle button of the mouse to reveal the greeneries and beauty of new places which i had thought of. As decided earlier when i started to work, i have already prepared a list to travel each year..bit by bit. Now i guess i have changed the rule a bit... i will be taking at least 4-5 days off every 3 or 4 months and cover the places in the list instead of once every year.. howzzat!!

The list goes like this (tentatively and not in order of travel)
1) Lakshwadeep
2) Andamans
3) Pondicherry
4) Himachal/Shimlaa/ Dharamsala
5) Manali/Kullu
6) Goa (maybe for the 6th time now)
7) Kanyakumari
8) Alleppey/Munnar (Kerala)
9) Srinagar/ J&K
10) Ladakh/ Leh
11) Tibet/ Lasha

This is the tentative list as of now..the list will go on adding as suggestions keep pouring..
Hope my post next month will feature a travellogue of one of the places mentioned above, you can bet on it for sure..

5 Jun 2009

Let me the one you know, not what i wish for!!

The moment i wrote two posts on investing in a home in Mumbai, many people have been making faces at me, staring me with those microscopic and rudimentary eyes as if i have evolved just now! People make sneers and talk about me in the back..."hes going to buy a house in Mumbai".. and people would somehow react in a casual manner in the professional field. Though this thought is quite customary, i wish to rephrase my words again.. i said, i am thinking about it. I dint say i am buying a home. Well i guess that's the true value of land here in Mumbai.. like people making their mark in the New World after Columbus discovered America!


Like the saying in an old hindi film (translated), which goes like this... land sells at the price of gold, gold sells at the price of mud (land).  (बिकता है मिटटी सोने की बोल, बिकता है सोने मिटटी के बोल )True to its worth, land rates today have risen to such a height that if i decide to buy a few months later, i would have to shell out more money for the same land. In the end, let me take the honor to be known as the poor old guy, who would keep begging for money each month from everyone..rather than raise a false alarm with the very thought of buying a home.

2 Jun 2009

Difference between Investment and insurance in real estate

I have been thinking...for a long time now.. i have dropped the very idea.. i began to think of it recently...dropped the idea...and now rethinking over my decision...which way should i go?
I am thinking of the options in hand..available money...how much cash i will need... and especially.. what do i need? Is buying a home only the product of my whole career? Initially i was thinking of taking a rented place somewhere in some cheaper place but eventually...when the monthly rental crossed a little over my HRA i began to think WTF!!! Why should i be paying more money for such a room at such a place? Then i began to slow down my thoughts and made some research..took suggestion and advise from my friends and seniors... now i am wrapping all up and trying to align all those thoughts to effectively give an action..

Since i am working in a bank and have been provided serious drop in interest rates for housing loans (but with a limit) i am reconsidering again and again on how to go about it, if i have to and supposed to cross the bridge!! I can avail housing loan, vehicle loan and personal loan to buy the house, and take up rest of the amount as employee loans from the bank itelsef a slightly higher interest rate. Now all these LURING options are making me delirious and tempting me much more.

Despite this investment in home, i have invested in rea estate for short term finance (everyone knows of it). Here i wish to emphasize that such short term investments are investments whereas investment in Home is Insurnace. And financially speacking (being an MBA student) i have to decide between Insurance and Investment.. i have already invested a huge amount in the scheme, now i have to relive that yield into insurance in a smooth acquisition...insurnace over investment. Since it takes a lot of calculation and i am not much far behind in such investment calculations, which my friends are quite aware of...i am still sleeping with my RIM mobile in calculaor mode :)

Eventually, its all a matter of choice and not chance...like Matrix. Take the blue pill and you will wake up forgetting everything, take the red pill and you will wake up in reality with the vision to see the matrix. Unfortunately for such investment problems in life, there is no Red or blue pill nor there are any books on finance that can suffice the needs pratically. Hence that leaves me and my plain simple logical mind, which has not been able to come up with a simple logic with what i need. If i dont have the requirement, why take the long route and worry for what is not needed and can be afforded , maybe with a little extra money !! It will lead me to the same event of happiness, in the scafold of life. Whatever be the reason i wrote this blog for, i bet , the one who has been following it has got the reason and idea why!

Oh by the way, i am planning a trip to either of the following destinations. Lakshwadeep, Pondicherry or Dwarka in Goa. If you guys know anything or have ben there before....please please please... advise me for a convenient stay and wonderful time. See you around guys

Difference between Investment and insurance in real estate

I have been thinking...for a long time now.. i have dropped the very idea.. i began to think of it recently...dropped the idea...and now rethinking over my decision...which way should i go?
I am thinking of the options in hand..available money...how much cash i will need... and especially.. what do i need? Is buying a home only the product of my whole career?

31 May 2009

Rules of surviving in Mumbai

Life is not hard everywhere, all it takes is just some time to adjust to the changes.
The more faster you adjust to it, the better for you.

In Mumbai, it doesn't matter where you stay.. everywhere is far and everywhere is near. It depends on your perception. A place staying 5 kms away might take the same 1 hour to reach as some places 100 kms away, depending on the way of convenience. All you have to decide is how you travel to that place. Now that my office is going to be shifted i a month or so, i am rethinking of my options available. If i stay in this current place, i will have to face the traffic, which i have not been abel to adjust yet. And if shift to a new place, i will have to cash out more money on the rent and try to adjust to the changes all over again fom zero.

The rule is that..no matter where you stay, make sure that there are maximum availibility of conveyances possible..train, auto, bus... Train is the lifeline of Mumbai and transort almost 35% of the population everyday from one place to another. So i am still open to my options... i will have to first see if i amopen to accepting the changes ..either in place or traffic! Some people spend some 35-40% of their daily time in just travelling.

I am fortunate that it wont be that much for me, hope so! Keeping the option is the only option i am left with ,it seems. So see ya guys.. will let you know soon

A question for Finance experts

I am not sure i know about Tax Deduction at Source in Indian Income Tax system!
If i did, i would not have arrived at this juncture and get stucked.

My question is simple,
does Tax Deduction at Source depend on the type and source of income?

The question arise from the fact that i am planning to invest some money on real estate projects which will definitely attract taxes. And to show that my investments are genuine and not illegal, they will provide me TDS certificates too.

I am worried if providing TDS of my savings account (not my salary account) will raise eyebrows or not? Whether organizationons allow a second source of income?
Please rush me your answers ASAP

A question for Finance experts

I am not sure i know about Tax Deduction at Source in Indian Income Tax system!
If i did, i would not have arrived at this juncture and get stucked.

My question is simple,
does Tax Deduction at Source depend on the type and source of income?

The question arise from the fact that i am planning to invest some money on real estate projects which will definitely attract taxes. And to show that my investments are genuine and not illegal, they will provide me TDS certificates too.

I am worried if providing TDS of my savings account (not my salary account) will raise eyebrows or not? Whether organizationons allow a second source of income?
Please rush me your answers ASAP

3 May 2009

Homecoming thoughts


I am delirious nowadays, keep seeing people from the past off and then. Seems like my time has come, to pay respects to the aged folks. Every night, i woke up in exasperation, unable to complete the incomplete dream. Maybe the souls are calling me, maybe its about time...i visit my hometown after a year!

I can feel the freshness bloom of the flower, cutting through the thick humidity of Mumbai. I am excited, happy and tensed at the same time..as if i am going to shed my image and start a new life. I burned my pockets a few days ago, to decorate my home there in hometown..yet i am not so sure if it will be worth the size of the pocket! I had spent my childhood days by the banks of the river, laying idly on the soft green grasses watching the blue yonder, played on the heaps of straws of the recent harvests, cycled all my way to school enjoying the view whatever comes its way, wore gumboots in the scorching heat filled with water... and yet i am feeling awake!


An image suddenly appeared on the right corner of the brain and behind the eyes, where all my thoughts and dreams disappear with the far faded away bluish green mountain "Baruni". I have a special relationship with that mountain. I believe she will keep all my secrets which i have told, gazing at her, lost in some thoughts, mostly when i was lonely and alone. I now know, she will not tell anyone about my secrets coz its me who had left her, its me who had forgotten her and not vice versa. When i am down and lonely here, all i see is dusky smoke with skyscrapers and noise everywhere, cant even lament in peace!
Now that i am coming home, let me retrospect and bring the memories alive. How can i forget that place! No matter what is happening there, lawlessness one may say, but they are human beings too and not animals! How can someone be so hard enough to stay order rules applicable to animals? Everytime i went home, i felt better, and thought maybe next time when i come - it will be better; but seems like time is running faster than i anticipated! Whatever be the reason, i am coming home now, i cannot bear the delirious nights anymore, i cannot bear the pain alone.
Manipur, my sweet small hometown, here i come.


Image courtesy:
Manipur Skyscrapercity
Baruni Rakeshbanta
Armies Sinlung

30 Apr 2009

Holidays are no fun anymore

As a child, we all make fuss to get holidays and do what we like - idle away, run around, play , roam, swim in the nearby river, go trekking, flirt school girls .... We used to make funny excuses just to miss the class, just to sit all day at home and have fun all day. There is a 2 day holiday in a stretch with a Saturday in between and i am already losing patience.... I have been refreshing my gmail, yahoo and orkut accounts every 2 minutes now but no mails at all. I was in fact, bust deleting spams ...

What a sheer waste of holidays! Wish such holidays were there in childhood days.
Holidays are no fun anymore.... unless they are, of course paid ones.. and casul leaves, not national /state holidays

I do have plans for a list of destinations to be visited on a half yearly basis...
Some of them are.. Pondicherry, Jammu, Lakshwadeep, Sikkim, Ladakh etc.
The list will go on after each destination gets checked out...

Salary- a workaholic's version

Many of you might have been under the impression that i have been writing a lot about Mumbai these days. The last time i asked a barber where he was from, at the time MNS activity was in full swing and with the Shiv Sena office near my home, he replied "jo number Mumbai ka, woh Mumbai ka" (He , whose mobile number if of Mumbai, is of Mumbai). He was however from Rajasthan and have been staying in Mumbai for the past few years. I guess i have been talking with all groups of the society nowadays.. barbers, pan wala, waiters, auto drivers etc and why not.. people are treated as people here.

In this hectic work culture of Mumbai, (thanks i got the idea what workaholic means) everyone tried to prove hiw own worth in his own field and within his capacity. I do not consider myself a workahlic at this moment but looking at the past, from what i was, i guessed Mumbai has made me a changed man. Everyone tries to make the best out of his time in work and hence the expectation in salary, despite the recession and job insecurities. It seems like people are ready to put in their career in their line of work to risk, to evaluate and to make worth every moment he spends in office in the form of salary! People in general must be having that thought, but as far as i know myself, i know wha i deserve.

Some friends of mine have just got their confirmation letter a few days a go with some noticable amount of hike in their gross salary. I do hope that like them, who have put life into work and made things seems impossibly possible, a hike in my salary. Well thats worth it, only if the organization have seen the efforts i have put in the line of work i am in. And i di believe that, they will. I will update soon with the good news. As of now, m on a holiday for two days with a saurday in between.

26 Apr 2009

Home in Mumbai

I have been keeping it off now and then, sometimes taking it seriously and sometimes just for fun. With the changes in land prices in Mumbai, people are buying homes while some are still planning for the right moment, like me. Until recently when a colleague of mine bought a 1 BHK in Thane, i was on the other side of the belief, still thinking about bank balances. However i realized again that its the best investment one can do in Mumbai. In Mumbai, it does matter a lot where home is located, most people prefer homes near bus or railway stations, the lifeline of Mumbai. With all things kept into mind, i have thought, dreamt and overlooked into the very idea of buying a home.

The search is not on yet, i am still keeping my options open for the moment. Even if i have to take home loans, i still need to chip in at least 10-15% of the remaining amount. Morever, just buying a home isn't enough, i need to have money for setting up things. I do not want to buy just a house, but a home, without haing much impact on my pockets. So i guess no more frequent parties and late nights for me, unless someone offers me without expecting the same from me LOL.

I guess i will have to plan from now onwards, draft it and follow it strictly. I need to raise at least 10 lacs i guess before i apply for a home loan! Thats a hefty amount i guess! I need to streamline my thoughts, emotions; think about my parents back at home, discuss with them and all. After all, it should be worth the money, for which i need to make a list of i have to make and ask myself if i am ready for it!! Engaging a broker or looking for a home right now will be stupid as it will take time for me to raise that amount of money, say 3-4 years!! Now that it has got into my mind, i need to prepare myself with the thoughts and be ready to abide the same, time and beyond. I am excited at the moment and confused maybe, shifting one foot to another; biting nails, mapping my needs and priorities against those of others who depend directly or indirectly on me. But yes, i guess i am ready for the moment, to accept the challenge and go ahead to buy a home.

I need to first come out of the dream, make myself understand what i need in life and what i really wanna do. Committing or 20-25 years on a home loan is a big thing, besides recession and job insecurities. I guess it come with the age..i mean commitment. So no great news from my side at the moment other than this thought of mine.All i can say, right at the moment is, lets watch and see... and wish me luck!

19 Apr 2009

Mumbai - city of joy!

Amchi Mumbai!! No matter how many times i would complain about the way things are here in Mumbai, at the end of the day...all i can remember is good memories . Good times, bad times ..life goes on making trails. This week, i have had three parties in two consecutive days. First was given by my boss himself along with a colleague. Immediately after that i had to rush to another place where party was already going on for my MBA frens. I rushed to the place no matter how far it was, coz in Mumbai we all hardly get time to meet one another and this was one of the most convenient and good way of reunion. I returned home around 2:30 AM in the morning and slept with a contented smile, with good memories in mind. The next day, office was half day due to saturday. After office and having lunch, i was lying down resting when another rendezvous was fixed for another party/reunion of Engg friends who came down from Delhi. Its not the party i am referring to good times here, the fact is that these parties/reunions were a small part of the memory making moments. When i met my old frens at the reunion, i told him to shift in Mumbai, as he was given a chance anyway to shift here.

Can you imagine me suggesting someone to shift over here in Mumbai? It was me only who was fretting over staying in Mumbai and worried how i would cope up and all. But with time, i have adjusted to the system here. I am so adjusted that if i shift or move out to another place, i definitely will miss Mumbai. Even if i were to shift to New York or Japan, which are considered to be one of the best destinations of work culture and professionalism, i know i will definitley miss Mumbai. Theres something special here in Mumbai, that seems and makes people comfotable in no time and make him say "Amchi Mumbai" (My Mumbai) There definitely is something here in Mumbai, that fulfills everyones dreams - city of dreams!

I think that because people have the previlege to let out their feelings/ emotions or get some mental peace when they want anytime of the day in a nearby bar. It may sound funny, but i think its an important factor in ones behaviour and work culture. Unless one let out his frustration or take rest, he cannot run longer in this race of life. This may be the other view which i have in mind, but there are lot many reasons why people come here chasing dreams. I talk to all kinds of people here, from restaurant waiters to auto drivers.. i have never seen anyone who is not happy with what and where he is. He may be complaining of his salary or place but he is happy being here in Mumbai.

Everything is systematic here, everyone follows the rules and fear to break them alike, people are good hearted and not deceiving. Most importantly people dont have time for any bullshit business, all are serous about how they make the most of their time. And they also see to it that each second invested benefits him in one way or other. People really do not have time to waste, professionalism reflects is them. The good part in my life is that there are people who undertands the suffering and pain i am undergoing through, living far away from home , tyring to earn a living, seprated from family for months.Jai ho!! Amchi Mumbai.

14 Apr 2009

Google translator and Advanced search added

As i see more visitors of my blog from various parts of the world, i have added Google Translator to translate it to a convenient language rather than reading it in English.
I also have added Google Search engine to avoid hassle free search beyond the knowledge this blog holds. Keep checking and enjoy

Manipuris - species of a different kind

Being one of those having peculiar mongoloid face with flat nose and small eyes, i have known and known how it feels to look different from the crowd. But being a Manipuri, apart from all those mongoloid looking people is a vast difference, for which i am proud of. I am not talking about culture or religion here, stop those fights in the name of religion for God's sake..

We Manipuris are really different from other people; ok even from those Nepali looking people (happy? i knew you wanted to say it). We are peace loving, kind, impulsive, patient and talk very less. Like the wind and the water, we Manipuris believe in right to freedom and would fight for it.

These are some of the things that make Manipur and peope living here different from others
1) We believe in Love marriage (>90%). We have a custom of eloping with the girl we want to marry to let others know about the same.
2) Girls/women during their menstruation period are not allowed to enter the kitchen to cook food. It is such times that male member of the family cooks the food. Most of the Manipuri (particularly Meitei*) males know how to cook
3) We treat kitchen as a sacred place, where the source of life is. We have to take a bath and wash our hands before entering the kitchen.
4) We take out food thought enough for consumption, and store the rest of the food inside the utensil in which it was cooked. However there are times when you need more food, but again you have to wash you mouth and hands before entering the sacred kitchen
5) Most of the people do not go to market to buy vegetables. Shocked!! Many of us (the numbers are decreasing day by day now though) have their own vegetable garden no matter how small i may be. So we just pluck them, wash them and cook it.
6) There is no beggar in Manipur (maybe 2% may exist). I haven't seen someone begging in the streets in Manipur till now (swear)
7) People in Manipur tend to have a rock culture, especially the youths. We love rock music, worship Bryan Adams, wear fancy stuffs etc etc.
8) Most of the people (>60 i guess) in Manipur have an agricultural land, which yield grain for consumption of the family or maybe for business. Many of us there do not care much about physiological needs and hence look for other needs.
9) Girls and boys woo each other. Though this is not a part of the culture, this has been developed with time in the youths.There are a lot of chances to meet the fatal attraction..its a small place you know!
10) Anyone will know someone through some links. Whenever i would meet some Meiteis outside Manipur, we would always have someone who is a common friend or relative or something like that where there is a link. But i think, being a Manipuri is the greatest link of all.
11) Did you know Polo was born in Manipur? Yeah! When British came to Manipur, they gave it the name Polo. In local language it is called "sagol kangjei#"
12) (Oh i almost forgot) Every Meitei family have a small area in the front porch for worshipping "Tulsi" and a small area inside the house to worship the local Gods.Every morning and evening, the female elder of the family has to pray there and the local Gods.
13) Perhaps the only floating inhabitants on this planet is in Manipur. There are floating restaurant, floating homes etc on the Loktak lake - once the largest Fresh water Lake in India.
These homes, restaurants are built on a partiular type of grass that floats on water.
14) There are countable number of public mandirs. Most people prefer to make a small mandir at home and pray. But even then there is no restrictions on religion -I prefer my School church to pray, though i have to hear the bhajans during holi time at home. Its a mixture of all religions

We Manipuris like personal space a lot and we constantly fight for it, like the caged tiger who roams to and fro inside the cage. Every now and then there was fight like any brother and sister would do at home. But personally, i had life taking fights with my own brother and sister when we were young. Once i banged up my little brother so hard, he could not breathe and was gasping for a minute. Everyday there was something or the other to fight about and beat each other - not a typical kinda fight you would see in movies (LOL). But when i realised its value when my sister went for further studies and then when i went for my own studies, things were different. I would call up my brother and sister and ask about them, care for them etc. Back in those days, love was in fighting !

Well i guess thats sizeable number of points i have provided, which will single me out i guess.


* Meitei is a tribe that follows Hinduism/Vaisnavism whereas Manipuris refer to all the people living in Manipur, irrespective of caste and religion
# sagol - horse ; kangjei - stick

N.B. These are my personal thoughts and feelings. The points given out here may not represent the whole people of

12 Apr 2009

Amchi Mumbai - no time for own

It has been quite some time now since i have had given myself some personal space. I have been seeing some nice dreams and enjoying good memories of life, yet could not get time to write the blog. Every time i thought of writing it down on a piece of paper, less i forget to write later on the blog.. i put it away in an awe thinking..i will remember. However, each morning that seems foggy due to the dreamy and wet eyes, i end up getting myself busy with my own work and forget all about it at the end of the day.

I believe that if i write down my dreams everyday here on the blog, i would be able to support myself without working anywhere! With Google Adsense and all those new breakthrough innovations, i guess i can do it! I could give myself some time myself to do what i like best.. Googling (a term which most people refer to as searching on Google) that comes in mind, trying to unravel all the questions that comes in mind. For example, right at the moment, how Blu ray disk works , how to make bootable discs etc etc. Besides googling, i like Stumbling with the Stumble Upon bar on my Firefox.And sometimes i like to read quality Blogs and try to write up some of my own (sigh!)

But these days, i hardly get time on my own to write up some good stuffs.
Even this post took me 4 days to complete, due to lack of time and personal space. So i am really wondering if my idea would work!!

7 Apr 2009

Candle light vigil


The past pupils of Don Bosco, Imphal had arranged a Candle Light Vigil on 5th April 2009 at 7:30 PM local time. It was arranged in connection with a paying respects to he muders of a past Civil Services Boscinian officer, who was killed by Millitants in Manipur for disagreering to part the funds meant for a small village in Manipur. All concerned members came in time and we had a good time, we shared that common thing in us. Apart from Mumbai, what makes it histroy is the CVL being done at various loctions across the world.

Apart from Mumbai, CLV was held at the following Locations :

1. Europe:
* Rome (Italy)
* Seville, (Spain)
* Madrid, (Spain)
* Paris, (France)
* Milan, (Italy)
* Bilbao, (Spain)
* Valencia (Spain)
* Brussels, (Belgium)
* Moscow, (Russia)
* Munich (Germany)
* Lisbon (Portugal)
* Dublin (Ireland)
* Prague (Czech)

2. South America
* Brasilia (Brazil)
* Buenos Aeris (Argentina)
* Bogota (Colombia)
* Caracas (Venezuela)

3. Asia
* Manila (Phillipines)
* Colombo (Sri Lanka)
* Tokyo (Japan)
* Hong Kong (China)
* Mauritius
* Seoul (S Korea)
* Macau (China)

4. Africa
* Johannesburg (South Africa)
* Nairobi (Kenya)
* Harare (Zimbabwe)
* Cairo (Egypt)
* Cameroon

5. Americas
* New York (US)
* San Francisco (US)
* Quebec (Canada)
* Vancouver (Canada)

6. India
* DB Park Circus (West Bengal), including the Alumni Association of DB Park Circus
* DB Academy Patna (Bihar)
* DB Matunga (Maharastra)
* DB Malbassey (Sikkim)
* DB Chennai
* DB Hyderabad
* DB Chennai
* DB Bangalore
* DB Trichy

Past Pupils of DBS, Imphal will also have the Candle Light Vigil done at:
1. Uripok(cremation site), Imphal.
2. Tamenglong, Manipur
3. Arambam, Imphal
4. Dimapur, Nagaland
5. Itanagar, Arunachal Pradesh
6. Bangalore
7. Chennai
8. Kolkata
9. Mumbai
10. New York
11. Cannada
12. Sohar, The Sultanate of Oman
13. Dubai
14. Singapore
15. London
16. Malmo, Sweden
17. Delhi


This is the first time other DBS schools came up for a common cause, recognizing the enthusiasm of being a true Bosconian. We all are proud to be a Boaconian, we will make it happen.

3 Apr 2009

Long term Savings plan

Apart from all those investment plans i had posted earlier, all i mentioned was about investments with just speculations of what the yield will be. In this post, the yield is perfect and do not depend on market conditions whatever.However I would like to point out the fact that, this is a savings plan for your future needs and not for meeting short term needs and would depend heavily on the HR or Finance dept.

The plan is simple. Every organization has Employee Provident Funds( EPF) which is 12% of basic salary and gets deducted every month. The organization will chip in another 12% for you in the EPF and thats how it works. First inquire the HR or Finance department about the terms and conditions of the EPF. If there is an option provided, raise the amount you invest every month for EPF to say 15-20% of your basic salary. The organization should agree to invest the same amount in your EPF fund. That way, your tax is taken care of to some amount and your savings gets increased manifold without even worrying about it.

The advantage of EPF is that its tax free. ie you will get the full amount.But there may be some HR policies which state a minimum amount of time to be kept before its tax free (maybe min 3 years). You will be able to utilize this fund when you change the organization or when you retire from that organization. You do not have to go anywhere for your tax savings, if long term saving is what you have in your mind.

Long term Savings plan

Apart from all those investment plans i had posted earlier, all i mentioned was about investments with just speculations of what the yield will be. In this post, the yield is perfect and do not depend on market conditions whatever.However I would like to point out the fact that, this is a savings plan for your future needs and not for meeting short term needs and would depend heavily on the HR or Finance dept.

22 Mar 2009

My appraisal meeting

Interestingly, i have thought of a permutation- combination (mutually exclusive) in the ratings just for fun and not necessarily true.Imagine three persons in a team, given the rating system of 1-2 only and not in hierarchical order of work, the following things may happen

1 11 Start a new Business
121 Someone is not working
122 Someone is either not working or under rated
222 Processes can be improved

The worst can, in a rating system of 1-4, be
444 Close down business :)

Geez.... i never thought appraisals can be fun!!


Note: Previous post/ text removed from this post. Need to confirm on the things i can write about work-life from office. Have saved a draft copy. Will republish if required, after confirmation

15 Mar 2009

Life can be like that!!

Its been days since i have been sleeping too well; well enough to forget what i dream in the short night. But a day or two before, i am not able to dream at all nor forget what what i was thinking the whole night. Life can be so different, i never had thought about it.

Back there in my hometown, there is still curfew after 6 PM till 6AM in the morning; the daily bread earners are working hard to feed their family, and I, here in my bed in Mumbai... sleepless.. thinking of the work i have in hand! The poor people back there at home are dying to earn for the day to feed their family, and I, here, am looking a way to squander away my earnings on material possessions.... I would not brag about it, but I also thought on converting my credit card biils on EMI for pay -off!! I mean, WTF !!!! Am i being selfish to think about myself...my money...my possessions....my this and that??

Should i be proud of what i possess and what i intend to buy in the coming months/years? Am i a rat too, in this so called rat race? Trying to compare myself..with what i have.. how much i earn...how happy i am... how contented i am with my work etc. with other people around me and being jealous or proud, whatever humans call it!! I suddenly realized that i am like one of those millions who like to be happy, but at the cost of what? I mean, i am wasting my time worrying about things which will fade away with time...and which are yet to come with time.

Life in fact can be like that!! Its so strange; sometimes i feel like i am just like one of those puppets and sometimes..... i feel so alive. Drifted and torn apart between thoughts and choices in life. I am, in the end, happier remembering the prose by Dr Christian Barnard, "In celebration of being alive"; where he had mentioned about life, sufferings, happiness.... Eventually I am happy to feel alive; seems like i have woken up from a deep sleep. I am happy to realize that today is Sunday and have to make the best of it coz i have office from tomorrow. So lets thow up our worries and rather enjoy the time of life we have at the moment. Lets celebrate for coming back to Life again.

11 Mar 2009

Indian Mentality

Indians are everywhere. Yet they will remain as Indians, wherever they go. Here are some of the things that Indians think and do...

1) Men expects their wife to be a virgin at the time of marriage.
Isn't it a contrary, coz when God made men and women, He made sure that each one seduces another! A man, it is said, dreams of his girlfriend in bed. Yet Indians want their wife, to whom he marries to be a virgin.

2) Even before one buys a thing, he is concerned about the resale value.
Be it a scooter or a car, a flat or a computer; when one buys a product he calculates the resale value of the product 4/5 years down the line. People used to buy Bajaj Chetak instead of motorcycles because Chetak was seling like hot buns.

3) There is no thought of giveaway. Even though his things might rot in the cellar, we will sell it at a lower price or throw it away in a dustbin.
People in the West, whenever they move homes either giveaway their things which would o onger be needed or sell it at a low price sale. They are not concerned about how much he will earn back from the resale, he is concerned about the problems in transporting them. In India, you will find few people who donate or give away things like that. Even if one donates things, he will make it big, to let others know about it - kind show off.

4) They ensure that they get maximum of anything
Any customer would want to get the maximum benefit of his money. However Indians are one more step ahead, they bargain for the lowest price for the best product also.

5) If there is a FREE tag, they are reluctant to buy that thing than another without the tag
The word FREE or Discounts attracts Indian customers to maximum. Indians wait for a particular time/season to come to buy things at Discounted price rather than buy it when the product is hot. This however is changing with time, but still the mentality remains.


6) There is no idea of pooling. Most of them are willing to show it off that he owns it rather than share.
Indians like to show off of what he posses, be it a mobile, a laptop, car or anything. People like to leave an impression when they pass by. Just for the sake of the show off, people buy things.

7) Indians compare all the time
We people like to compare things all the time. His son is this and that, he has a benz, i have this and that etc. Apart rom comparisons, people just like to brag.

8) Jaanta hai mera baap kaun hai?
This is a very common word in India. People like to bring our the commons, their relationship or connections with high raking people in the society to feel the importance in the society.

9) Going by the looks
A majority of the Indians are uneducated, and do not possess the knowledge to decide. Most of them go by the looks of the other person. A person if dressed in his best dresses will be entertained, though he may be a crak in the head and broke. None likes a person who would come in dull coloured clothes and do not mingle. even though he may be someone in the society.

10) The costliest product ought to be the best
This is the most common thought of an Indian. No matter if the price tag falls in his range or not, he will try to get it.


Note: The comments made above does not apply to any particluar person and made in general.

10 Mar 2009

Time - another season in life

When was the last time you enthusiastically waited to break your piggy bank to spend it on colours and new dresses for holi? When was the last time I waited for it to come? I guess its been more than 10 years now since i have celebrated holi at home. There was something in the air, you just come to know that its around the corner....children buying chunnis and new dresses for the festival, parents smiling, everyone seeming so colourful and the bazaars vibrant in different colours.

But i do not have the same enthusiasm left as it was years ago. I just know what is coming up and then i guess it just get me time for myself. Be it any festival, i have no enthusiasm left for anything...maybe coz its not the time to receive but give away things in life. Life indeed can be strange at times. I could not believe to remember those days where i used to fret and cry over buying a dress of my choice, a new toy to play with, a new bit of this and a new bit of that.
Maybe festivals are for the younger ones to celebrate and the elders to give away. And now that i am getting older day by day, i begin to realize that i am at the giving end and not receiving end now.

Festivals- like another season in life comes and go. You can tell a season from the change around you, the people, the places, the trees, a sniff of the changing wind....ah life can be so dramatic! Seasons change, so does time and people around. I hope people do remember those moments of changes and not just change for the sake of it. The transformation is in fact the interesting part, only if you get time to reminisce it! For some people who do not have time to celebrate this transformation, maybe either remembering them or not finding time to do either of them. I guess i am glad to be at that stage where i can distinguish if i am enthusiastic to celebrate or busy remembering the past, rather than not getting time to do either.

I guess i am not making sense. But i know that someday when i read this very blog, i will remember this day. Just like another season that comes, i will remember this time, this moment, a always.

10 Feb 2009

Gifts exempt TAX,so start Gifting

Gift of any amount received is exempt from TAX if received

1. From Relatives or ,

2. On the occasion of marriage or,

3. Under a WILL or,

4. By way of inheritance or,

5.In contemplation of Death.

6.From any local authority 7

7.From any fund or foundation or university or other educational institution or hospital or other medical institution or any trust or institution referred to in clause (23C) of section 10; or

8. from any trust or institution registered under section 12AA.

In all other cases, gift above Rs 25000 received from any person other than list of persons given above is taxable. However, from Asst Year 2007-08 ,it has been provided that receipt of gift exceeding Rs 50,000 in aggregate is taxable.Meaning thereby , a person can receive maximum Rs 50000 from one unrelated person and total receipt of gift in a year from all person can not exceed Rs 50,000.

Whether Rs 50,000 will be deducted while computing taxable income out of gift?

No, even if the gift amount in aggregate exceeds by Rs one , the whole of amount becomes taxable and not Rs one.For example if Mr X receive RS 25000 each from Mr A , Mr B and Mr C . The total amount is Rs 75,000. Therefore from Asst Year 2007-08, tax free gift is only upto Rs 50,000 in aggregate . Mr X has to add in his taxable income Rs 75000 (75000- 50000)


So who are Relatives ?

1. Your spouse
2. Your brother or sister
3. Your spouse's brother or sister
4. Your parents' brother or sister
5. Your lineal ascendants or descendants
6. Your spouse's ascendants or descendants
7. Spouse of persons named in 2 to 6 above.

Follow these principal before accepting gifts ?

Remember, law is well settled that the donee has to prove Identification,genuineness of transaction and capacity of the donor

1. Always take gift by cheque or draft .

2.Get a gift deed mentioning the relationship.Its always better to mention PAN number of the Donor in the gift deed.

3.Its better if the donors' return , P &L account and balance sheet , if available , should also be kept ready .In case required , it should be submitted to A.O.

If you do that, gift can be enjoyed without any botheration in future.

Courtesy:
http://www.taxworry.com/

Gifts exempt TAX,so start Gifting

Gift of any amount received is exempt from TAX if received

1. From Relatives or ,

2. On the occasion of marriage or,

3. Under a WILL or,

4. By way of inheritance or,

5.In contemplation of Death.

6.From any local authority 7

7.From any fund or foundation or university or other educational institution or hospital or other medical institution or any trust or institution referred to in clause (23C) of section 10; or

8. from any trust or institution registered under section 12AA.

In all other cases, gift above Rs 25000 received from any person other than list of persons given above is taxable. However, from Asst Year 2007-08 ,it has been provided that receipt of gift exceeding Rs 50,000 in aggregate is taxable.Meaning thereby , a person can receive maximum Rs 50000 from one unrelated person and total receipt of gift in a year from all person can not exceed Rs 50,000.

Whether Rs 50,000 will be deducted while computing taxable income out of gift?

No, even if the gift amount in aggregate exceeds by Rs one , the whole of amount becomes taxable and not Rs one.For example if Mr X receive RS 25000 each from Mr A , Mr B and Mr C . The total amount is Rs 75,000. Therefore from Asst Year 2007-08, tax free gift is only upto Rs 50,000 in aggregate . Mr X has to add in his taxable income Rs 75000 (75000- 50000)


So who are Relatives ?

1. Your spouse
2. Your brother or sister
3. Your spouse's brother or sister
4. Your parents' brother or sister
5. Your lineal ascendants or descendants
6. Your spouse's ascendants or descendants
7. Spouse of persons named in 2 to 6 above.

Follow these principal before accepting gifts ?

Remember, law is well settled that the donee has to prove Identification,genuineness of transaction and capacity of the donor

1. Always take gift by cheque or draft .

2.Get a gift deed mentioning the relationship.Its always better to mention PAN number of the Donor in the gift deed.

3.Its better if the donors' return , P &L account and balance sheet , if available , should also be kept ready .In case required , it should be submitted to A.O.

If you do that, gift can be enjoyed without any botheration in future.

Courtesy:
http://www.taxworry.com/

25 Jan 2009

Windows and me- an enduring relationship

Ever since i was a child, i have been dismantling things that seem nice due to my curious nature.There was not a single mechanical toy or watch that has not stopped working due to that. My love for computers started that time when in the early 80's i heard stories from elders , who refer it as "magic box" that have answers to everything! Being from a corner on India, where there is lack of everything - from human rights to water, life has not been easy for me to pursue my dream of my relationship with computers. With my education, i had learnt GWBASIC(BASIC - Beginners All purpose Symbolic Instruction Code) and we used to run on DOS with large floppy disks. It looked like building blocks on the screen with line numbers.

GWBASIC - command line interpreter

What is an interpreter?
- Well an interpreter in simple language is nothing but is program (midleman) that interprets commans given by humans into their own understandbale language called machine language. A command line interpreter is nothing but an interpreter that reads the human instruction line by line and not all at a once.Are you wondering if computers talk to each other in their own language? They do; in a network... well but at least they do not conspire to hurt a human!! Remember Matrix movie? (Thanks Anand for reminding about the GWBASIC).


BBC Computer

Imagine everything in GREY coloured text, mostly because of th Black and white screen we had at that time. Colored monitors were not even heard of, forget seeing it! The Black BBC computer was like a God that time.

I still miss the sound of the Computer whining as it reads the system files while booting from the floppy disks. All the computers that time did not have the idea of hard disk as we call today for storing the System files needed to boot,everything was hard coded in a large 5.25' Floppy disk with a large hole in the middle. 5.25' Floppy Disk

Floppy drive (with a dropping head)

After inserting the floppy disk, we have to turn down the tab on the floppy drive for the overhead head to read the contents of the floppy disk. Imagine 512 KBs only on the whole 5.25' floppy disk, as compared to today's mini USB drives!! If the floppy do not work, the computer cannot be started up!! And we had to run all commands line by line and not like as todays compiler does in a go, no GUI interface that time.Soon when Microsoft Windows came,life became easier.
Early Windows with GUI

As i did not have any PC of my own that time, i use to frequently visit my rich friends home to have a view of Windows and lay my hands on it. I wondered how Microsoft people managed to put all those thousands of codes away,we use to type while booting a PC as we used to do in DOS? PC whine lesser than it did when we ran DOS, and the most beautiful part was that it had DOS in it in the form of CMD. After computers, i fell in live with some girl...dragged on for few months..life felt like hell.

Still my relationship with Windows and PC (a term which came much later on, earlier we refered it as Computers only) ligered on. From DOS to Windows, from X286 to X386 then X486 machines and now..multi core machines.The transformation from the first version of Windows to Windows 98 was tremendous one, which till this date i feel indebted to Microsoft. Windows 98 is an amazing OS till now,with all customizations as per your wish. In fact, when i had bought the first PC in my life in Engineering days, with loan from my Junior, it was Windows 98 that i installed and kept fidgeting about. Thanks to that, i know the OS well now(though not inside out but to a manageable extent). When Windows launched Server and Enterprise Editions, i wished i could lay my hands on that to check out the OS inside out.At that time of my life, Server was a lingo ..some HI-FI stuff.

Then Windows Millennium came, yet i still preferred Windows 98.
That was a time when all people were running for the latest version of Windows and i was still hanging on with my old version, out of love and respect for the time i spent fidgeting and dismantling it all over!Over the times,many OS came yet the hands on experience that Windows provided at such a time when there was no GUI was un comparable with others.Many people have different views and reviews about Windows various versions,no matter what reviews they give - users can tell the difference. The version is an unending story, Windows XP, Vista and now Windows 9... the era will go on, the version will keep on changing. However the experience that i have shared with Windows is worth treasuring

Image courtesy:
Windows 3.0 www.intelliadmin.com
BBC Computer www.rakewell.com
Floppy drive http://technabob.com
GWBASIC http://g.virbcdn.com
Windows http://www.granneman.com/
Floppy disk www.blogitude.com


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