Apple after-sales Service: Still a myth in India

I bought an Apple MacBook in the first week of November. Yes, I had timed it so that it’s after Leopard is launched. I had timed it so that I could get the new X3100 on the laptop. However, Apple India (and according to Apple India, so does Apple Asia) magically lacks behind its <insert country here> counterparts.

India (and Asia) had not updated to the latest revisions (despite showcasing it in their website). The machines didn’t come with Leopard. I had inquired regarding the same, and I was promised @ the Apple store that I will receive my Leopard update DVD immediately after the 15th of November.

It’s been a month since and I still have not received my Leopard update DVD! Frustrated of talking to the store, I contacted Apple directly to be notified that the Leopard update division in India work only from 11am to 2pm and that I should contact them tomorrow.

I dunno what’s going on, but I am not too happy being in the Apple family all of a sudden!! =(!

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Drive Bangalore Drive…

bangalore-1.pngToday, Bangalore is synonymous with a) IT boom in India and b) deplorable traffic situation. Even as early as the late 90s the traffic situation was not so bad. Yes, there has been a prolific influx of IT workforce into Bangalore. Yes, Bangalore infrastructure has not maintained the same step with this influx. However, it shocks me when people say that the infrastructure is the cause for the dreadful traffic situation, and still not maintain lane discipline, hurry as if their life depended on it.

After riding in Bangalore for the 4 months, and commuting over the past two years, I perceive that people in Bangalore are always in a quasi haste. Everyone wants the space that the person in front is traveling on. Furthermore, they are willing to go to any lengths to obtain that space and then fight for the next one. Riders criss cross the perennially clogged backbone roads connecting the IT corridors of Bangalore. The heart of the city is a clamor of honking horns of various sounds covered by a shroud of slurs by frustrated commuters. The result is a polluted Bangalore, not only of black grime and smoke, but also of mental pollution.

Frustration creeps on every single person caught in this jam. In spite of the power of affirmations, I end up in some form of verbal conflict on road. It made me realize that the infrastructure cannot be blamed unless we, the people who form the traffic religiously follow the rules. This is not a war, where everything is fair. If we do not curb our inherent (sadly) need to get one up on the person in front of us and break every rule there is in a traffic rule book, we are going to have the same despicable situation even if we have 3 layers of roads to prevent the jams.

Let me rewind to today morning. I stay in Bellandur, and very close to a major junction in one of the backbone roads of Bangalore – the Outer Ring Road. It’s flanked by two service roads. Like any other day, people bypass the main road to rid themselves of the traffic. Nobody in the service road realized the situation they brought upon themselves. Worse, the traffic policemen have no say in this. Trying to maneuver the bike through this congested traffic, I wanted to maintain left, but to no avail. It was terrible when people coming in the opposite direction actually were trying to overtake each other in such a narrow road, nearly colliding with me.

I even stopped and asked a moron, who was riding on the right (wrong) side of the road, which side was left. And yup, he knew which side was left. Phew!!

bangalore-2.pngWhat appalls me is how a city containing such a high percentage of educated, qualified people can be so juvenile when it comes to traffic!!

 

 

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Yup! Germany has struck again and for no fault of mine, my telecom provider, TOnline, decided to cut off my broadband DSL line and now will re-enable it ONLY if I go for a full year’s contract.

Injustice – ?? Hehe, just one of the many few I have had the experience of here… =)!

Anyhoo, getting me to appreciate the availability of net and getting used to the condition back home anyway… =)! Life’s strange…

So, IOW, </@> End of NET!

And yeah, I have been asking myself that question – Why me?? ;-) !

The most comfortable place to sit and read…

One of the most comfortable places to sit and read, at least for me – is the loo! I can just sit on the pot and give complete concentration to what I am reading. I usually even manage to solve complex solutions inside the place…

Anybody else have one of those places, where u are completely at peace with urself?? ;-) !

List of different types of shit

*WARNING* This might be gross to some. Hilarious to some… :-D !! Read at your own risk. But, boy o boy this is one comprehensive list. Kudos to the people who came up with it.. I got it as an email forward today ;-) !!

THE LIST OF DIFFERENT TYPE OF SHIT [Tatti]

Ghost shit
The kind where you feel the shit come out, but there is no shit in the toilet.

Clean shit
The kind where you shit it out, see it in the toilet, but there is nothing on the toilet paper.

Wet shit
The kind where you wipe your butt 50 times and it still feels unwiped, so you have to put some toilet paper between your butt and underwear so you won’t ruin them with a stain.

Second Wave shit
This happens when you’re done shit-ing and you’ve pulled up your pants to your knees, and you realize that you have to shit some more.

Pop-A-Vein-In-Your-Forehead-shit
The kind where you strain so much to get it out, you practically have a stroke.

Gassy shit
It’s so noisy, everyone within earshot is laughing.

Drinker shit
The kind of shit you have the morning after a long night of drinking. Its most noticeable trait is the skid marks on the bottom of the toilet.

Lincoln Log shit
The kind of shit that is so huge you\\\’re afraid to flush without first breaking it into little pieces with the toilet brush.

Corn shit
Self-explanatory.

Gee-I-Wish-I-Could-shit shit
The kind where you want to shit but all you do is sit on the toilet and fart a few times.

Spinal Tap shit
That’s where it hurts so badly coming out, you would swear it was leaving you sideways.

Wet Cheeks shit (The Power Dump)
The kind that comes out of your butt so fast, your butt gets splashed with water.

Liquid shit
The kind where yellowish-brown liquid shoots out your butt and splashes all over the toilet bowl.

Mexican shit
It smells so bad your nose burns.

The Surprise shit
You’re not even at the toilet because you are sure you’re about to fart, but oops…….a shit!!!

The Dangling shit
This shit refuses to drop into the toilet even though you know you are done shit-ing it. You just pray that a shake or two will cut it loose.

ROFLMAO!!

The Day My God Died…

The day My God Died...

The Day my God Died...

I was talking over with one of my friends the other day, getting bored in the bus. I realised how much at a loss I was to what was happening outside the miniscule circle of my life. I have been so preoccupied with my own world of electronic gadgets, software and money that I have completely forgotten that a world existed out there – a world where people still strive hard to make their ends meet, a world where poverty still reigns supreme, a world where in people are not always "connected" to the net, a world where in people are being exploited haywire.

It is at these moments that one really thinks of the luxury that one lives in and thanks people around them for the love, warmth and affection that they have granted to us! My friend was talking to me as to why I should take up a bit more interest in what is going on out there. For e.g. I was at a loss as to what was really happening in the Jessica Lal case, although I had heard about it here and there. I had no clue as to the second rape case. When I replied with a single "sick", she asked me if I had heard or read about "The Day My God Died…" I went NO!

She proceeded to explain to me the gruesome details of the Mumbai sex slave trade! Mind you, not of grown women, or consenting adults, but of CHILDREN!! The scene was so hard to imagine, I kinda shut myself off the very news. But, today as I was reading through some article, I was reminded of that line "The Day My God Died…" I just googled it out and voila, there is a site on the documentary. However, the picture is not rosy, not a single bit.

Forget the surprise of the director when he learnt that India and Nepal – the epitomes of culture, spirituality, religion, and all other blah – have a sex slave trade of children, I was flustered. Over and above confusion, I think that I was enraged that people could be so cruel, heartless and unforgiving, and for what – money?

Is money so important that people are ready to sell innocence, to rape childhood, to bury and burn life? How can be people so flinty that they can't understand the pleas of children, for god's sakes!!

I was in the middle of Kamati Pura, the largest red light district in the world and I didn’t even know it. Camera in hand, girlfriend (now wife) at my side, assaulted by smells and snapping away. Later I learned that every vile desire a man could dream of was for sale and child virgins were the region’s most noted delicacies.

 

I would urge everyone to visit this link – The Day My God Died to at least be aware of what is happening in our country. There are thousands of children caught in this sinful web of sex trade! Apparently 300,000 children are employed as sex slaves in India alone.

India and Nepal are NOT the only countries that have the problem of sex trade of children. It's a global problem. I think we should all try and fight against this! Please notify as many people as possible of this problem that is facing the world. People cannot be heartless to molest children. If they are, they lack the basic necessity of being human!!! They become heartless creatures.

Some really disgusting information present in the site that shook me head to toe!!

Children are kept inside cages, where they are beaten up if they don't comply with the brothel's wishes. They aren't fed, clothed, or medically attended to. They are kept in cages like poultry about to be butchered. [In many cases, isn't that the case? Stony clients literally raping innocence (disgusting)]

At points, children are beaten and asked to serve up to 20 clients a day.

80% of the children are already infected and are worried to be HIV positive.

The director says that the movie is an awareness documentary as people are unaware of the problems plaguing the world today! I completely agree with him there. And I think it's our duty as a human to spread the word and help these people in need!

For helping out more, please visit the The Day My God Died–What I can do page. There are listed many organizations and forums where in you can lend your support financially and morally against this butchery of human life!