This year, the police have decided not to force shut the pubs at the usual 11:30 PM.

Anyways, don’t drink and drive. Take a teetotaler with you ;-)

Happy new year to all!

This blog is on the little stickers that can be found within BMTC buses. I’m sure many of you would have taken notice of them. Some of them are in Kannada and some in English (well, almost).

These are mostly deceiving and promise of untold riches for a Class X qualified person. They come in different forms and sizes. They say that you can start your own business, work from home, do a part time and make a whole lot of money doing that.

I got very curious and called up one such guy some time ago…

He asked me to pay up Rs.5000 for which he would be give starter-kit for growing mushrooms at home and within 2 weeks I can sell it off to 5 star hotels for Rs. 25000. Hmmm…

The next guy I called wanted me to do the so called “network marketing” and sell soaps and hair care products…

One such ad clicked on my mobile phone for your viewing pleasure!

Have you noticed any such ads?

Do they survive on the fact that middle class people always want a shortcut to become rich?

I see that this form of advertising is thriving – direct marketing to the target audience, uh?

I’m very curious to validate the authenticity of these claims…

The “so-called” facts about Bangalore:

1. Bangalore has highest number of pubs in Asia.
2. Bangalore is the only city in the world to have commercial and defense airport operating from the same strip. (What about Pune???)
3. Bangalore has highest number of public sectors and government Organizations in India.
4. Bangalore has the highest density of traffic in India.
5. Bangalore has produced the maximum international sportsmen in India for all sports ahead of even Mumbai & Delhi.
6. Bangalore has produced the maximum number of scientists considered for Nobel Prize nominations.

What say you?

But, only in Bangalore, we have a traffic signal and criss-crossing traffic atop a flyover.

Where is it?

Emirates will soon open direct connections to Dubai. I couldn’t locate this in the mainstream media, but it was confirmed to me when I got my return tickets confirmed back from New York directly to Bangalore via Dubai instead of the usual Chennai connection.

Air Deccan introduces a direct connection to Madurai from this month end.

Will the infrastructure take this additional load? That’s a different question altogether.

But for now: Go on, fly more!

The trees on one side of the road in Electronics City (Ph. 2) were cut down.

What remains is only the bottom portion of the trunks :-(

I couldn’t understand the rationale behind such a move.

What are we doing to this city? Who is really worried about the environment?

Any ideas to stop such things in the future?

Indian Railways is seriously contemplating a bullet train between Bangalore and Chennai. This is great news for folks like me who spend every other weekend in Chennai.

The time that gets wasted in night trains and the very idea that you need to book those tickets 2 weeks in advance makes me frustrated. The wait time in airports for security & other formalities and frequent delays and cancellations also make air travel irritating, at times :-(

Bullet Trains will be an ideal way to travel – the speed of air travel with no hassles.

With “Namma Metro” work in full(?) swing and bullet train in the pipe, “Life in Bangalore” is set to change for ever.

Shinkansens will soon be here. How do you feel?

I understand that Bangalore not only ships tons of software for technology but also ships “soft”ware for art. It is home for a lot creative folks who help in creating the magic on Hollywood movies.

So, if you are “games and animation” freak this is the place to be.

Celebs like Subhash Ghai & Mohandas Pai are expected to be present at the event.

More here.

I love animation and collect DVDs from Animatrix to Ice Age, Toy Story to Shrek. My mom keeps reminding me that I’m not a kid :-)

Do you love animation? Are you a “kid at heart”?

I’m one and I’m planning to be there…

We were discussing of several options like mobile phones, laptops, broadband connectivity, WiMax, etc. One may think that these things are applicable only for techies.

But, in the long run when everything becomes computerized, I would not be surprised if our government clerks process their files sitting at home or a banker sanctions your home loan from his home :-)

Quick technology adoption coupled with policy changes needs to be done to promote mobile workforce. This is important in a city like Bangalore, where traffic is a major pain. The following few years, when the city plans to upgrade its infrastructure, a lot of pain is in store for its citizens during the transition. So, the move has to be real quick! At least, let us start with the techies as e-governance is still at its early stages.

My office encourages work from home by providing a laptop, paying the internet connectivity charges and providing a mobile phone from which you can access your office mails. But still, we have to be physically present in office for five days a week.

When will this policy change, so that you can report to be “on duty” even from home?

How mobile ready is your office? How will such a move affect the work-life balance?

(Diplomatic way of saying I was “scared-shit” – after Mumbai bombs, the London nightmare and all those warnings from US to India!)

But hey, does it make sense for someone to attack when the opponent expects it? I can’t think from a terrorist’s shoe ;-)

I spent the entire day watching TV and never ventured out. Our PM’s speech (behind the bullet-proof glass!) was inspirational.

I came to know from my friends that the city was full of policemen and MG Road had a big flag march.

Did you go out into the city? What was your experience?

Was there any harassment (read searching cars & baggage) by the police?