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If you get this error in Odin while trying to flash Samsung firmware, there is a simple fix - unzip the ZIP file that you downloaded (probably from sammobile.com).

You need to use TAR file inside the ZIP to flash via ODIN.

The ZIP file can be flashed via recovery menu.

:)

Bucket Ride - Begins here...

Kiran is traveling from Mumbai Chatrapati Shivaji international airport to Los Angeles international airport...

I could have done this FB check-in 15-20 times since last year and half. It indeed was busiest time for flying with multiple trips to Bengaluru, Kochi, Hyderabad, Delhi, Chennai, Abu Dhabi, Jakarta and even USA. I am once again at the airport for 39th flight (I counted!!).

Its said that, "If you want to have something that you never had, be prepared to do something that you never did". There can't be any other sentence that can describe what I am into right now.

The anxiety cannot be described in few words, the fear of unknown cannot be contained in few lines and excitement cannot be penned down even in few paragraphs now.

This is a teaser of time ahead and looking forward to an exciting, ecstatic euphoria that lies ahead. Last time I felt this was when Momo arrived...but this even bigger (Oh Momo, I will miss you).

I am all set to take "the" journey which I had been daydreaming for years. I am not known best as a planner, nor as the guy who can get things right the first time. This journey however requires commitment and planning. I have been quite secretly working on getting this kickstarted. This is not something that can be done time and again. There is no second chance, "this is 2016" and its now or never.

I am about to board a flight of imagination, dreams and madness. This flight changes everything: money, mind, experience and life will not be same where it is. I might come back broke, or might come back a new me.

There are just few things now between that sense of accomplishment or failure...however there will always be a comfort of trying that can overcome everything. These efforts and pains are needed to keep us alive, afterall, "Failing to try is failure and not the failure itself".

So I am going to take that first step to knock of some items from my bucket list.

I will be riding into the USA and Canada over next two months. Starting from west coast, i will be riding towards east and crossing into Mexican/Canadian border when possible. This is too big a country to see in this short time yet I will try to make most of the time available.

This once in a lifetime RIDE is named "Bucket Ride"!' It's a solo ride but there is truly no solo achievement in life. Everyone around you helps you shape your life in some way. Somewhat like the movie "Slumdog Millionaire". I will need lots of wishes and prayers to make this possible. Please do ☺

The ride updates/report will be available on
Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/bucket.ride (warning: too many check-ins ahead)
Instagram - @globe_treader
Blogger - http://blog.kiranghag.com

Subscribe/like/follow the page as I follow my dream on this Bucket Ride!

Coke studio, travel and friendship day

When I listen to each mesmerizing new song on coke studio and drown into songasm...

When I imagine how Indo-Pak-Afghan via Khyber could have been a "must do before you die" like "getting leh'd" for tourers...

When I imagine the picturesque mountains to keep clicking endlessly...

When I imagine that rich colourful culture of cloths and carpets that could be witnessed...

When I crave for tasty, spicy food that could be had on the way...

When I drool at those beautiful babes in the region...

When I realize that world that we have today owed a lot to travel in this part of world...

Wish people treated religion as underwear - wear, don't show and don't care what others have...

I really wish that we could have a friendship day at higher level...world could be even more beautiful place to live in...



 

Tips for Canada Tourist VISA (TRV) online application from Mumbai, India

I recently applied for Canada Tourist VISA. This is the first time I applied any VISA on my own so mostly relied on internet.

I applied to consulate directly and did not go through VFS or any agent. While the detailed procedure can be found on http://www.cic.gc.ca and other websites, I would like to mention some tips here which might help you.

Note that these steps were followed by me and they do not represent steps required by you. Each case is different and refer to the official website for current information. This is not legal information.

• Apply online on http://www.cic.gc.ca. This will save fees on agencies like VFS
• The process is smooth if you have USA B1/B2 VISA. The form will ask you if you have one. If you don't have, you may be asked for more documentation
• When you answer questionnaire to determine eligibility, you will be given a reference number. Save that
• Have your scanned copy of passport ready.
• Use lower resolution while scanning the passport, however the passport must be clearly readable on a computer screen. You can skip blank passport pages from scan
• If you have expired passports, scan them together
• Use PDF format to scan so that all pages are in one document. If the PDF file resolution is not supported, the website will reject your upload. In this case, use Microsoft Word DOC format. You can paste all scans in DOC file and upload it.
• You need a valid VISA photo as per specifications. Scan this with higher resolution.
• Create an account on CIC website. I chose "Continue to GCKey" sign on option.
• Use the reference number saved earlier and create new application for VISA request
• You need to download two forms in PDF format IMM5257E and IMM5707E. These files do not open well in browser. Save them to your computer and open with Acrobat Reader application.
• Save changes to the files and make sure you click on "Validate" button in file at the end. Without validation the file wont be uploaded
• I had trouble at uploading these files again. So used DOC format here too.
• Upload passport again for travel history
• Submit application and pay online. You don't need to submit any physical document or passport yet.
• Be prepared to wait! After this, there is no response from website except to let you know that VISA application has been accepted. There is no "helpful" helpline. A nested menu choice and voice prompt will merely redirect you to website.
• The website has a selection to find out what is current wait period. This is pretty accurate. When I applied, the expected wait time was 22 calendar days. However it soon increased to 31 days. I was notified about next step exactly on 30th calendar day!
• If there are no issues with the application, you would receive notification asking you to submit your passport.
• You don't need to obtain an appointment.
• VFS is their partner and you will be asked to go and submit your passport to nearest VFS collection center.
• You need to carry the intimation letter, passport and money. VFS is merely an collection center. VFS will collect passport and provide you a payment receipt.
• This receipt is important to collect your passport back.
• At VFS, you have choice between collecting passport yourself or have it delivered to your home. If your house is under Blue Dart delivery network, choose to be delivered at home.
• If you choose to pickup from VFS office, there could be delay in getting notified, going there and pickup. This can delay more if there is a weekend in between.
• Now again wait! The passport is sent to Bengaluru and you would be asked to wait for 5-7 "working" days to get it back.
• Even though the intimation letter says, "we have made a decision", no one would confirm that VISA is granted till it is stamped. All this while, the online account will tell you that interview or additional documentation may be required
• The VISA will be stamped and delivered to your house. In my case I submitted on Thursday and it got delivered on next Wednesday.
• The receipt has a tracking number which you can use to track your application on "VFS" website. However, this tracking is not fully in sync with your actual status. It might tell you that application has been accepted and passport submitted to embassy. In my case, the passport got delivered first and then updates started flowing my mail after 2 days of delivery!

It took almost 40 days for entire process after form submission. But without interview and biometric or any additional documentation the VISA was granted.

Lets see how the actual travel goes. All the best for your application!

How to achieve songasm?

Songasm (n): When a song is so good, you feel waves going through your body and soul. Basically a portmanteau of words - Songs and Orgasm.

Have you experienced songasm? Do you know how you can achieve songasm?
If not, then keep reading.

First of all, choose the right song...there is not one fit for all here really, just choose a song that you can relate to, choose a song that you understand. Oh wait! understanding a song is optional too (even though its like a one night stand after party with a guy from different country :D )
But yes, choose a song that you can understand.

Be in a right place. While a song can hit you anywhere, having less distractions helps. Go away from anything that can break the rhythm - phone, emails, people or whatever/whoever that can distract.

Every song has a background to it, think about that as you hit play button...Someone has just fallen in love before that song, feel the love. Someone might have lost all his life, empathize with that situation. Someone has just given up the shackles of life, smell that freedom. Consider that as foreplay!

Every song leads you somewhere, follow that song as the song plays, this is where the lyrics play a role...read the song and read between the lines...a song may take you from desperation to being hopeful, follow that journey as if it is your own.

Appreciate the elements that make music. Have you ever focused on a particular instrument in the orchestra...just choose one and isolate that track in mind...you can choose a different instrument every time or just jump from one to another...but connect with that one and let it reverberate in the mind...you would realize the even though we don't realize explicitly , that each instrument is integral part of the song, its not possible to let that song be same without it. However the player has to standby and wait for its turn to come, sometime halfway into the song. Player would play a bit and then again wait.
Some songs have those delicate interludes which you can simply miss unless you are paying attention. But once hooked onto those, they can reach deep inside. The ups and downs can convey the mood without words.

Appreciate the people behind the music, real and characters. A lot of efforts are put by people to make that song happen. Don't we feel a hart-break, Don't we feel bit lost? We do but we perhaps cannot create something beautiful like a song out of it...we need to appreciate that someone is gifted to pen down those feelings in words that we can understand and relate with. Someone is gifted to create fictional character that can enact and present those for you. Someone is gifted to act those characters out of you. Someone is gifted to shoot the video beautifully as you see it. There would be someone just shaking "ghungaru" in the orchestra, while someone playing a distinct prelude that identifies the song with masses...all these make up the song.

Be Youself. Like all these, you are also a critical part of that music...without your readiness to connect with the song, the song cannot exist in isolation. IF your heart if full of grief, you would hardly like a party song. That grief can instantly connect with a sad song.

So choose what you are and you will find a song that takes you towards that finest experience. Close eyes and get immersed in the song.

It may take a while but suddenly you will resonate with the music and it will stir you from within. You can feel goose bumps and forget everything else for the moment. If you are emotional, perhaps tears will roll down your eyes. Its a maddening experience and  can teleport you in the song instantly. As the name suggests, this is exactly like an explosive orgasm as the name says.

Congratulations, you have perhaps achieved your first Songasm!!!

Here is my current top favorite

Random Birthday Memoirs

Birthday still brings up a secret excitement and anticipation for an miracle. What kind of miracle? pretty much unknown, a miracle that was deeply wished for once upon a time, one that changes something irreversibly in a good way.
 

Why just the birthday? Maybe because you don't want to get disappointed everyday!

I know plight of school kids who have/had their birthday in May. Well, they got deprived of wearing casual colorful attire instead of uniform and distribute sweets/candies to everyone. God forbid if you opt for engineering, you need to spend the day either burning for exam prep or exam itself. Poor fellas! Yes, been there!

Celebrating birthdays was never part of tradition Marathi family in the 90s. I got wished by parents and maybe a sweet dish was cooked. However my most memorable childhood birthday was spent in our village. I think that was first and last road trip done in konkan with beloved baba (grandfather). We visited nearby villages where he spent his childhood and also where aai (granny) belonged. Once we were back in our village, my favorite aunt had come to stay. It was a typical warm day in May and in the evening I witnessed hailstorm and full rainbow on the mountain. To top it off, I got treated by a home made cake...Those were very simple and happy days.

Remember the teenage days in college when you would be interested in birthday of your crush? I think universally, birthday of a girl in college is chosen to propose her. Did you do that?

Cut to present...birthdays have become routine...facebook pops up message; people frantically start posting on wall or inbox a HBD message. Then there are people who just don't bother to read those....(I usually remove people from my list when I see last message I sent them was HBD last year :D )Your whatsapp groups would probably notice and someone would wish you there. Invariably all active members start posting, perhaps the group title is updated to wish you. Oh yes, those automated bots for all forums you registered, those have been pretty loving to me as they wish me birthday before anyone else :) :)

Sometimes I dig up those greeting cards received during college...Used to spend a lot time selecting cards for other's birthdays back then...As I scan through mine, I just wonder whether those are still being preserved somewhere or they got thrown in the trash long back!

Don't you have friends who proudly forget your birthday? I have one too...we essentially wish each other on her birthday :D :D

Since long I have removed my birthday from facebook :) It feels good to see being remembered without facebook, call me old school or call me snob :p

This year only family and bots made it!

Journey...

"If my younger self had met me today, I would have punched myself in the face..."

 

We always wish for the butterfly effect to go back and fix something. But we cant. Life is like this, everything that we do today has potential to make or break our future. We can only look back at past and decide to do something, again with the same potential risk. We can succeed, fail or both. We are going to be judged irrespective.
Look ahead and choose what you want to do now and DO IT, NOW. At least love and believe in yourself as much that you would not want to punch your past self tomorrow, hopefully. When everything else fails, only you would be there for yourself.
Keep going with knowledge that the butterfly effect is a myth and future is a mirage. Never know when the mirage turns out to be real Oasis. The journey should never stop.

 

 

(Image taken from: http://m.atchuup.com/bankers-realizations/)

"Living with Ninja Experiences" - 50,000 KMs!

3 years and 4 months and just completed 50,000KMs on Kawasaki Ninja 650R 2011 today!

Some boring stats below Words cant do justice to how beautiful this machine is, so if you have specific questions, I would be happy to answer.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
ODO Reading - 55011 KMs
Consumables -
4th Set of tyres
- Stock Bridgestone Battalax (16,000 KMs)
- Metzzler Sportec M5 (6,000 KMs)
- Metzzler Sportec M5 (8,000 KMs)
- Dunlop Roadsmart (16,000 KMs)
Chain sprocket set
- Stock set (28,000 KMs)
- RK X Ring + Sunstar Sprockets (49,000 KMs)
Clutch Plates - (48,000 KMs)
Fork seals (42,000 KMs)
Spark plugs (42,000 KMs)
Battery
- Stock died at (47,000 KMs)
- Replaced with Motobatt AGM with warranty (cheaper than stock and better technology, dealer in Mumbai!)
Brake pads, Air filter, Oil/Oil filter and Chain lubes etc at regular intervals

Cost Per KM - INR 18
Fuel Average - 21 KMpL
Total Fuel - 2358 Litres
Total Fuel Cost - INR 174314
Average Fill up - between 12-13 Liters
Typical Range between fills - 250-270 KMs

DIYaFIX Sunday...broken grab rail bolt removed

broken grab rail bolt removed using ancestral hand dril, hammer, center punch, bolt remover and trusted WD40.
- Spray WD40
- Use center punch to mark point on broken bolt
- Drill using small drill bit
- Lock thread remover with light tap of hammer and reverse the bolt out using hand drill
- Clean the debris
- Pat yourself for good job done

 

Unboxing - Xiaomi MI3 - India

Finally got the Xiaomi MI3 after wait for nail biting lottery of FlipKart 2nd lot and adrenaline rush of frantic clicks/retries...

got it delivered one day before promised date as usual

typical Flipkart - box in box

 In Box - phone, manual, charger, data cable, no headphones

Its pretty lightweight and sleek, display is sharp and really feels like a premium phone

"Living with Ninja Experiences" - Platina

Conversation yesterday with someone at Mahalakshmi...

Me: let me leave before rush hour starts
He: where do you stay
Me: Thane
He: Thats far. How will you go
Me: Bike
He: Shit! thats far. Which bike do you have
Me: Kawasaki
He: Platina? No wait platina was not kawasaki.
Me: 650
He: 650???? I dont know such kawasaki. What is 650
Me: 650cc engine
He: Wtf!

Conversation with Internet scammers selling Superbike for cheap

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/25-duped-by-online-ads-for-superbikes-at-throwaway-prices-3-of-gang-arrested/articleshow/35623821.cms?intenttarget=no



Here is the conversation I had with one such gang earlier...Remember: If its too good to be true, its fake :)


On 21 Nov 2013 21:27, "Benjamin Bazin" <benjaminbazin@msn.com> wrote:

Hi ,

The bike is in perfect condition . It rides and runs perfect . No scratches , no dents and it has never been down . All the services have been done professionally and i only used original oil and parts . I am for the moment in UK ( England ) but the bike has Indian documents . The price is 170 000 Rupee ( 1,7 laks ) + 35 000 Transport to your house 205 000 total ( 2,05 laks ) . There will be no custom or import tax because this is an Indian bike so it's just like buying a local bike . I am selling because i have been in a car accident 3 month ago and i lost 80% of my hearing and also the hospital bills are very high . Also if i would register the bike here it will take a lot of time and it will also be expensive so i will like to sell it back in India where i purchased the bike in the first place . We will use a 3'rd party company ( ESCROW ) this way we will both be safe and you will get to test and see the bike before i will get any money . Also i will be covered . Please let me know if you are interested and i will send you more pictures and details .

Thank you for your interest .



Date: Thu, 21 Nov 2013 23:11:31 +0530
Subject: RE: You have received a reply to your Ad "2009 BMW F-Series F650 GS Twin (800cc)" (Ad Id:134877763) on Quikr
From: ...
To: benjaminbazin@msn.com

Please send more pictures







On 21 Nov 2013 23:13, "Benjamin Bazin" <benjaminbazin@msn.com> wrote: Hi ,

The bike is here with me in London . It is in perfect condition and it has all the documents . It's last registration is in Delhi .. I worked with Samsung in Delhi for a year and i used this bike to get to work and back . The reg number is DL 12 AA 8871
We will use a Company that acts as a 3'rd agent between us :
Let me explain step by step :
1 All you have to do is send me your full name and address and i will make all the arrangements .
2 I will take the bike at them and it will be prepared for transport and all the legal documents will be made ( sales contract . warranty , insurance for transport , etc )
3 They will give us a tracking number that can be verified on the website of the company www.hepspedition.com
4 The company will contact you with details on what to do next ( payment , ETA ) .
5 They will hold the bike and you will have to send them the money .
6 You will receive the bike in max 10 working days and you will have 5 days to test it and verify all the documents .
7 If by any reason you don't like it all you have to do is give it back to the guys at the shipping company and you will get an 100% refund . If you like it all you have to do is give your ok and i will get the money .
This is very simple so if you are interested just go ahead and send me your full name and address .
Here are some extra pictures .
Thanks




Date: Thu, 21 Nov 2013 23:24:06 +0530
Subject: RE: You have received a reply to your Ad "2009 BMW F-Series F650 GS Twin (800cc)" (Ad Id:134877763) on Quikr
From: ...
To: benjaminbazin@msn.com

Wow, thats a neat kept bike.

Can you share its current registration number in uk?
Also I would need a pic from under the front fender, this may seem like a weird request but I usually like to inspect under the hood, just want to see how its kept overall

Sice this is an international purchase, I would like to know more before actually buying it, hope you understand




On 21 Nov 2013 23:27, "Benjamin Bazin" <benjaminbazin@msn.com> wrote:

It is not registered in UK .
It is still under Indian registration so this is why i prefer to sell in India .
Also i have sent you all the pics i have .
There will be a 5 day testing period and you can verify everything then .





On 21 Nov 2013 23:37, "Kiran Ghag" <...> wrote:

I just spoke to my wife and she is ready to give me money in three days, can you wait till then

Btw, I have a friend in uk, he has a shipping business, he is ready to ship it to me for free, can you tell me where you are located, he has branches all over uk so needs to know which one would be near him for arranging the pick up, this would save me more money and I can add some of that saving into your sale price

Does this work for you




Date: Fri, 22 Nov 2013 01:58:28 +0530 Subject: RE: You have received a reply to your Ad "2009 BMW F-Series F650 GS Twin (800cc)" (Ad Id:134877763) on Quikr
From: ...
T: benjaminbazin@msn.com





Please let me know, if you wish to use your courier also its ok, I can't wait for it

But I need to wait for 2 3 days for money.

Also in the excitement, I forgot to ask for any negotiation that we can do on the offer price Can you lower the price a bit










On Fri, Nov 22, 2013 at 6:16 AM, Benjamin Bazin <benjaminbazin@msn.com> wrote: sorry the price is not negotiable .









Date: Fri, 22 Nov 2013 15:56:40 +0530
Subject: Re: You have received a reply to your Ad "2009 BMW F-Series F650 GS Twin (800cc)" (Ad Id:134877763) on Quikr

From: ...
To: benjaminbazin@msn.com

What is your address and phone number








On Fri, Nov 22, 2013 at 6:09 PM, Benjamin Bazin <benjaminbazin@msn.com> wrote: I already told you i lost my hearing in the accident . I can not use a phone .
I live in London on 21 Stamford Road .
Let me know what you decide .









On Sat, Nov 23, 2013 at 12:18 PM, Kiran Ghag <...> wrote:

is that enough to find your house? please pardon me, i am not good at london addresses, we here have bigger address including house number, building name, pin code etc

my friend will come over to your place once you give me details

how will he be able to speak to you if you are deaf?




Date: Mon, Nov 25, 2013 at 9:23 AM
Subject: Re: You have received a reply to your Ad "2009 BMW F-Series F650 GS Twin (800cc)" (Ad Id:134877763) on Quikr
To: Benjamin Bazin


hi,

was waiting for your reply. since you didnt give complete address, my friend didnt come. he will come on next weekend now.

i will be getting money this week and once my friend gets to see it i will initiate money transfer.
can you tell me how to send the money to you?



:)

Fraudulent behaviour of Vicky.in

A recent bad experience on Vicky Shopping...

Ordered for 3M chain lube and cleaner and they called me back saying cleaner is not in stock. they shipped lube however didnt update me about cleaner. after continuous attempts to reach out to them via mail/phone, they refunded partial cost of lube without any explanation till date. from the complaints on net by others and my experience, i can confirm the following

- the "in stock" stuff on the website is not really guaranteed to be in stock. they try to find from vendors after you place the order

- even if they ship partial items, the website status shows "shipped" status against all.

- they offer you any other replacement, which usually costs higher than the item you order (they send you link and stress on QUICK payment, the quickness doesnt reflect in their service)

- in case you decline, they refund you less than the cost advertised. atleast one person was told that its how their bank works. you get less even if they havent shipped your product at all.

- the website has a form to return an item you bought. there you need to specify "reason to return". however there is no text box/drop down against that. ultimately you cannot return anything. even if you can, they would deduct cost of shipping plus some cost out of the product

- their support numbers keep ringing no matter how many times you try

- emails go unanswered if they do not wish to answer these are not one off experiences and many other such on the net.

hope you are aware of these before you buy from them. i would never buy from these frauds again

कैसी तेरी खुदगर्जी?

"कैसी तेरी खुदगर्जी, ना धूप चुने ना छांव
कैसी तेरी खुदगर्जी,कैसे ठोर टिकेना पांव

बन लिया अपना पैगंबर, 
तर लिया तू सात समंदर
फिर भी सूखा मन के अंदर...

रे कबिरा मान जा, 
रे फ़किरा मान जा....
आजा तुझको पुकारे तेरी परछाईया..."

मोजक्या शब्दात एक मोठी कहाणी एक गाणंच सांगू शकतं. अशा बोलक्या ओळींना सुरांची साथ मिळाली की कधी कधी एक अस्सल मिश्रण तयार होतं अगदी या गाण्यासारखं.

"ये जवानी है दिवानी" चं गाणं आज पहिल्यांदा व्यवस्थित ऐकलं आणि पुन्हा पुन्हा ऐकल्याशिवाय नाही राहवलं. गाण्याच्या ओळींत एक विषण्ण व्यथा जाणवते. व्यथा एका भटक्या चंचल मनाची जे सगळं मनासारखं करत राहतं तरीपण असंतुष्ट, अपुरं राहतं. कुठून येतो हा अपूरेपणा, प्रत्येक वेळेला हवा तो मार्ग निवडून पण? असं तर नाही ना की हे अपुरेपण कुठेतरी मनातल्या आत लपलेल्या अपूर्ण ईच्छेने येतं?

आपण कितीही प्रयत्न केला अलिप्त राहून सुखी राहण्याचा मुखवटा चढवण्याचा तरी आपल्या आतल्या आवाजापासून आपण नाही अलिप्त राहता येत ना?

"Wake up Sid" चा इकतारा पण असाच मनाला भिडतो.  कबिरा ऐकताना पटकन इकतारा समांतर येतो आणि एक connection होतं. अमिताभ भट्टाचार्य आणि तोची रैना यामागे आहेत म्हणजे ते connection पक्कं आहे.

त्यातल्या एकट्या रात्रीचं वर्णन आणि त्या एकट्या रात्रीला जवळ घेउन जागणाय्रा मनाचा विखार कल्पनेनं नाही अनुभवता येत. तो मनापासून जाणवावा लागतो. तो  कळला की आपोआपच कळतो हा चंचलपणा मनात कुठून येतो आणि कशाने मन का परिंदा कायमचा बंजारा होतो ते :)

 कैसी तेरी खुदगर्जी चं उत्तर  शेवटी बंजारा परिंदा देउन जातो...

Whatsapp/Viber and their stalkers/telemarketing friendly behaviour

Whatsapp and Viber are next generation of messengers. Who uses Yahoo, Gtalk or MSN messenger anymore? I guess not much of the population. Get a phone, enable data connection, install app and bang, you are connected to all of your friends in your phone. No hassles of finding who is on which messenger, mail id or anything like that. Just a phone number is all you need...Whatsapp seems to be replacing group medium like forums and mailgroups too. Make a group and gather online. Easy and near-online way to chatter, syncup and share things. Once live voice and video conferencing comes in, that could be another step.

With Whatsapp and Viber, I generically refer to similar family of messaging applications that are cropping up on various app stores. Whatsapp is used by me and many others that I know. So focus of this post remains on Whatsapp. Feel free to replace word Whatsapp with app of similar behaviour.

I have never been a fan of modern programming techniques, used by majority of Android and iOS clan. Call it generation gap and I would not mind too. Compare features on any old messengers and you would probably realise how half baked current software is. 

What Whatsapp and others dont tell you is the way it can affect you in a negative manner. Here's how...

These apps upload your contact list to their server. If your contact is on their records, its a match and you are connected. You can see that person online on your list and you can send a message right away. This is a convenience for stalkers/.

• All they need is the number of other person, add it and shoot messages, till they block.
• As long as the stalker doesnt send a message, he/she can see your display picture and status message. Depending on how much enthusiastic you are about your profile, you can give out good clues to them, about your name, gender, location and current activity.
• They can see it without you even knowing them. You wouldnt know who has added you on their list. There is no way you can find it out.
• You cannot prevent others from contacting you, you can block numbers but a determined person can use new numbers.
• An idle person doesnt need to know your number too, they can add any random number to their contact list and voilla, they can start.
• Telemarketers (in India atleast) can be banned from SMSing or calling you. Whatsapp broadcast storm is probably not under scope of DnD. Sooner or later telemarketers would start adding you on their contact list and spam with messages.

How can you save yourself?

Nothing much you can do beyond blocking people who approach, but...

• Change your display picture to a generic picture, use your favorite celebrity, cat, dog, motorcycle, car, building, road or whatever. This will attract less contact mining stalkers who randomly add you.
• Avoid putting detailed status messages, better yet, do not put one at all.

How the developers can help you?

• Build user's contact list on mutual existance i.e. only if two people have each other's number saved on phone. So unless you know each other, you cannot see each other online, till both want to be seen.
• By default block people who are not on your contact list. This will prevent random people from seeing you or contacting you or following you
  OR
• Allow people to send out invitation request in old fashioned way
• Allow users to choose if they wish to be contacted by people not on their list. If they select not to be, people can't send invitations.

As per mashable, As of June 20, 2013, WhatsApp has over 250 million active users, and handles 27 billion messages in a single day. There are already security concerns over your contact list lying on various servers and evesdropping poorly written apps that transmit plaintext data. Encryption can solve that to an extent but with every other app reading your contact list, you can't trust all, can you?

Getting lucky on Jet Airways...stupid SkyMart con

"Nothing is free...", they say, and probably right.

While recently travelling on Jet Airways to Mumbai, air hostess handed over a booklet of "made in china" items, marketed by a brand called SkyMart.

I wondered who buys such stuff that too on a flight. (Though once I had seen a guy enthusiastically buying a perl necklace in-flight (facepalm))

A little scratchcard inside caught my attention. I was never lucky with such coupons but gave it a shot. Guess what!!!! I won something!!!

Wow, never happened. "Whats the catch?", I asked myself, "Well, that can't be so easy. Something is wrong!".

It is indeed. You need to pay "nominal" charge to claim your gift....and the cheap prizes seems cost less than the so called nominal charge itself.

Airtel Irritation - example of how morons run Airtel mobile support - Round II

Continued from ...

Here is their mail support

Re: MO - 98........ : INCORRECT BILLING [BALQrc108041313043715553585]
121@in.airtel.com <121 in.airtel.com=""> Mon, Apr 8, 2013 at 6:37 PM

To: kiran@k...g.com

Namaste Kiran Ghag,

You wrote in on 08-04-2013 with a concern regarding activation of Subscription Service without your consent on your airtel mobile 98.........

We completely comprehend your viewpoint and sincerely apologize for any difficulty caused to you by our Customer service department.

We take pride in enhancing our customers with our responsive and friendly approach. It has always been our constant endeavor to ensure, that our customers are delighted by our inimitable approach.

We would like to confirm you that, ASK A DOCTOR service has already been deactivated on 13-02-2013 and currently no Value Added Serviceis active on your airtel mobile 98.........

You can also text STOP to 121 or 155233(toll free) and follow instructions to stop the Value Added Services.

We would also like to confirm that a waiver of Rs. 11.23/- including tax towards Value Added Service has already been posted in your account on 21-03-2013. The credit amount for the same will be reflecting in your forthcoming invoice dated 12-04-2013.

airtel appreciates your business and always welcomes your suggestions/feedback.


Yours Sincerely,
Apsar Ahamad
Customer Care
Bharti Airtel Limited



---------Original Message---------
From: kiran@k...g.com
To: 121@in.airtel.com

Cc:

Sent: 08/04/2013 01:04:42 PM

Subject: Re: MO - 98........: INCORRECT BILLING [BALQrc108041311045915550122]



If service was disabled as per your mail, why I kept recieving messages and why

it stopped today after I sent unsub mesaage?



On Apr 8, 2013 12:57 PM, <121 in.airtel.com=""> wrote:

Namaste Kiran Ghag,

You wrote in on 08-04-2013 with a concern regarding activation of Subscription

Service without your consent on your airtel mobile 98.........

We completely comprehend your viewpoint and sincerely apologize for any

difficulty caused to you by our Customer service department.

We take pride in enhancing our customers with our responsive and friendly

approach. It has always been our constant endeavor to ensure, that our

customers are delighted by our inimitable approach.

We would like to confirm you that, ASK A DOCTOR service has already been

deactivated on 13-02-2013 and currently no Value Added Serviceis active on your

airtel mobile 98.........

You can also text STOP to 121 or 155233(toll free) and follow instructions to

stop the Value Added Services.

We would also like to confirm that a waiver of Rs. 11.23/- including tax

towards Value Added Service has already been posted in your account on

21-03-2013. The credit amount for the same will be reflecting in your

forthcoming invoice dated 12-04-2013.

airtel appreciates your business and always welcomes your suggestions/feedback.



Yours Sincerely,

Shruthi KM

Customer Care

Bharti Airtel Limited



---------Original Message----------

From: kiran@k...g.com
To: 121@in.airtel.com

Cc:

Sent: 08/04/2013 11:47:51 AM

Subject: Re: MO - 98........: INCORRECT BILLING

[BALQrc122031310030215036563]



your customer support on this case has been pathetic. looks like you have

recruited monkeys. reason below...

i had to search on my own and finally found that "ask a doctor" service was

active on my mobile and "STOP" message to 121 does not work. I have to send

UNSUB message to get this nuisance stopped.

your support executives have been useless to assist on this.

please let me know how the service got activated in first place.

Kiran




On Fri, Mar 22, 2013 at 1:12 PM, <121 in.airtel.com=""> wrote:

Namaste Kiran Ghag,

You wrote in on 22-03-2013 expressing concern about subscription service

activated without your consent for your airtel mobile number 98.........

Thank you for your mail to airtel and the opportunity to assist you.

We wish to inform you that we have already deactivated subscription service on

your number with effect from 13-02-2013

If you wish to stop or disable the service related SMS received on your mobile,

we request you to follow the below mentioned path:

Step 1: Go to Menu - Message - Service inbox settings / PUSH SMS - Off status.

(This path may vary depending on the handset)

Step 2: Please switch off and switch on your handset. Further to this process

of turning off the Push SMS, you will not receive any service SMS.

We hope that we have been able to fulfill your query suitably.

Please do write in for any further assista



Re: MO - 98........: INCORRECT BILLING [BALQrc122031310030215036563]

________________________________________

121@in.airtel.com <121 in.airtel.com=""> Fri, Mar 22, 2013 at 1:12 PM

To: kiran@k...g.com

Namaste Kiran Ghag,

You wrote in on 22-03-2013 expressing concern about subscription service activated without your consent for your airtel mobile number 98.........

Thank you for your mail to airtel and the opportunity to assist you.

We wish to inform you that we have already deactivated subscription service on your number with effect from 13-02-2013

If you wish to stop or disable the service related SMS received on your mobile,

we request you to follow the below mentioned path:

Step 1: Go to Menu - Message - Service inbox settings / PUSH SMS - Off status.

(This path may vary depending on the handset)

Step 2: Please switch off and switch on your handset. Further to this process

of turning off the Push SMS, you will not receive any service SMS.

We hope that we have been able to fulfill your query suitably.

Please do write in for any further assistance.



Yours Sincerely,

Divya. M

Customer Care

Bharti Airtel Limited



---------Original Message----------

From: kiran@k...g.com
To: 121@in.airtel.com

Cc:

Sent: 22/03/2013 10:52:10 AM

Subject: Re: MO - 98........: INCORRECT BILLING [BALQrc121031323031815024283]



Why am I recieving mesaages from ask doctor service if its not active



On Mar 22, 2013 10:50 AM, <121 in.airtel.com=""> wrote:

Namaste!

Ref: Email dated 21-03-2013, expressing concern regarding the activation of

value Added services for your airtel mobile number 98.........

Thank you for your mail to airtel and the opportunity to assist you.

On receipt of your email we verified our records and found that the ASK A

DOCTOR is already deactivated with effect from 13-02-2013.

We request you to clear the billed amount within the due date to avoid late fee

charges and to enjoy uninterrupted services.

We hope that we have been able to assist you suitably.

Please do write in for any further assistance.



Yours Sincerely,

Shrisha P

Customer Care

Bharti Airtel Limited



---------Original Message----------

From: kiran@k...g.com

To: 121@in.airtel.com

Cc:

Sent: 21/03/2013 11:13:45 PM

Subject: Re: MO - 98........: INCORRECT BILLING [BALQrc121031322032915024000]



Hi,

Thanks for the refund.

I have received VAS messages from ask doctor today itself at 14:57. The message

to stop service has not worked. please do it from your end

Kiran



On Thu, Mar 21, 2013 at 11:10 PM, <121 in.airtel.com=""> wrote:

Namaste,

You wrote in on 21-03-2013, with a request to stop ask-Doctor for your airtel

mobile 98.........

As requested, The ask-Doctor service has been stopped on 21-03-2013.

You can also text STOP to 121 (toll free) and follow instructions to stop the

Value Added Services.

We would like to confirm that a waiver of Rs. 10/- towards VAS charges has been

posted in your account on 21-03-2013. The credit amount for the same will be

reflecting in your forthcoming invoice dated 12-04-2013.

Service message:

If you wish to stop or disable the service related SMS received on your mobile,

we request you to follow the below mentioned path:

Step 1: Go to Menu - Message - Service inbox settings / PUSH SMS - Off status.

(This path may vary depending on the handset)

Step 2: Please switch off and switch on your handset. Further to this process

of turning off the Push SMS, you will not receive any service SMS.

We request you to clear the billed amount within the due date to avoid late fee

charges and to enjoy uninterrupted services.

Thank you so much for choosing to continue with airtel. We welcome your

feedback.

Yours Sincerely,

Ranjith HK WCC MO

Customer Care

Bharti Airtel Limited

Airtel Irritation - example of how morons run Airtel mobile support

Out of nowhere, once Airtel decided to activate "Ask-A-Doctor" service on my mobile. I quickly asked their customer service to stop it. I was told that they have "deactivated" the service and I need to wait till the bill to be generated to know if any refunds are needed.

The bill was generated and there was additional charge. After complaining, that was reversed quickly.

However, I still kept getting annoying tips from their service, atleast one message daily.

I kept complaining and they kept telling me that the service has been deactivated and I can send message "STOP" to 121. Sending this message informed me (via message) that there are no value added services active on my number. And their tips kept raining.

Once again I complained and I was told same solution - send STOP message. But this time there was an additional input, they asked me to disable flash messages. Nevertheless, that didnt help.

I tried to post feedback to their case response. There was a link for feedback in the mail communication. However, upon submitting the response, an error is thrown - "User not authorised to access page!". Perhaps its a preset logic to avoid negative responses reaching in their queue!

Upon serching net a bit more, found that they have another keyword "UNSUB" for the "Ask-A-Doctor" service. I sent that and got immediate reply - the service has been deactivated!!!

I still wonder
- How this service got activated on its own?
- Is this a consumer scam/tactics by Airtel to generate additional revenue from users who dont care? (They were quick to reverse the charge. Normally they would fight for one paisa of outstanding bill amount but here since they started it on their own, they quickly tried to cover it up maybe. So people who complain would keep quiet, others would keep paying)
- Why their customer reps keep sending irrelevent replies? They are not even aware that there are two different types of services (facepalm)

Do let me know if you have similar experience with these tactics of Airtel.

Jugaad - Data recovery from old hard disk

My neighbor came to me a day and said, "hey look, I got this old PC laying around and there is some data on it. Can you recover it? The hard disks is crashed. There are some old pics on it which I would like to have back."

"Bring it over", I said.

So he sent it over. I opened the cabinet and took out the disk - Western Digital Caviar 40GB ATA. Quickly connected it to laptop using USB IDE adapter and waited for the disk to be detected.

A minute went by and no sign. I checked power and disk had not spun up. Looked like it was real dead all this time and sleeping peacefully in the ATX coffin :)

However, detailed look at the disk revealed this ...

"Ohh well, lets try to revive it", I said to myself and shoved some aluminum foil in the molex connector, hoping that it would make contact. It didnt work.

Cut a small wire, put in molex and taped it over exposed 5V contact on PCB. Voila! disk spun up and Windows found it in seconds. Resurrection!!!

One problem though, tape wont hold the wire over PCB and disk spun down :( I could press it down and it would stay on but remove the finger and it powered down again. Soldering was other option but I hate to solder these wave soldered contacts.

Solution: keep a laptop power adapter on the contact to keep it pressed :)
It worked. The disk appeared to be very fine and I could retrieve entire data off it without problem :)

Morale: Believe in Jugaad :) :) :) :)

Why I dont dig Smartphones

Computing has come a long way since it started. History has proven that every new thing replaces the older and takes things higher, floppies gave way to hard disks, hard disks to SSD. Monochrome got replaced by color, crt by lcd, CLI moved to GUI and GUI aims to go touch way.

Its time for android and ios to play battle. I am no way an expert on both but having witnessed computing over years, I still feel these smartphones are still phones. They can replace the phone, but not the PCs yet.

Since I surrendered my workhorse thinkpad when I left job recently, I am without a laptop. All I have is this android slate with. I am trying to get things done, which I would normally do on a laptop. Results: few months on, and I am still struggling! Why? Lets see...

Touch
Its easy to type with swype, prediction but I still miss the pure full 3D keyboard

Nagware
Its based on open model, but free is no more free as in free beer. Suddenly every developer wants to blast you with free adware version or buy full version. Makes me think how these guys earned their living before. People used to write freeware and there were so many good ones. Looks like that word and culture is history now.

Behaviour/usability
One thing annoys me is the way wheel is being reinvented. There was a time when critics and fanatics fought over how a particular OS has bad GUI behaviour and how it requires x amount of more clicks to get a job done. Are they sleeping in their graves?

I am writing this post on a tablet, as I have moved beyond one page, simple stuff like formatting one word into bold or italics needs back and forth scrolling in blogger!
I haven't managed easy way in google mail app to select all mails in a click.
There is no standard way to layouts and most developers are creating their own. It can be easy for literates but try teaching a computer illiterate and you will know the difference.

Integration
Convergance is good for hardware but it leads to half baked software. Stuff that looks good on 4inch looks sparse on tablets. Folks its okay if you code specific versions for tablet or handheld. But try to write a one size fits all version and you mess both.
One example of half baked software apart from ones shared above is google maps. Nokia offerred a perfect solution for maps, full with offline maps, turn by turn navigation and route editing. Google maps cannot do offline maps for entire state or multiple countries. I have had tough time while trying to customise route. Then I created custom map on pc and sent link to googl maps on iphone. The app re calculated path and it was not same as its desktop counterpart. Nokia never had such issues and that phone was equally good at rest of the things.
On integration, bill gates was sued for integrating browser into OS. Now its defacto to have everything mixed into OS. There is no OS infact. The browser is os, os is camera and camera has file uploader. Anyone?

One button
Also obsession for one button is beyond me. Many pre android/ios smartphones had multiple buttons for camera, volume, audio controls and. On a newer phone its so frustrating to unlock and navigate just to change song. And with bigger tablets, holding one to click photo, especially self clicks is sure lame. Atleast give full keyboard on screen with shortcut keys or modern equivalent s of ,

Crappy multitasking
No other word, its not true multitasking yet. Its TSR way of multitasking. We are just stretching a phone screen concept to match what we do on a desktop. They blame it on lack of processing power but if today's calculatora can pack prehistoric supercomputers then smartphones can atleast pack a humble pentium, can't they?

Multiuser
First the computer was personal, then it became multiuser and now its back as single user. Couldnt anyone see this as a necessary feature? May not be on a phone, but on a a shared tablet in a family? Its going to be here but why was it lacking in the first place??

Open?
I can no more use one media to setup on different phones. its not what you do everyday but Imagine if you needed different OS media for your dell pentium and you have to wait for Dell to release it for your particular version. Or you are stuck with x version of ubuntu on your desktop since no one has ever written update for your hardware combo? Why a particular app wont run on samsung tab but can run on others flawlessly?
Interoperability was dealbreaker back in earlier days, many superior products died cause they were proprietary. Now no one bothers! Its so easy to switch devices than expect value for money and better programming.

Why can't manufacturer keep software and hardware seperate and focus on one of them. Ultimately there are no PCs and compatibles akin to old days, now there are note 1s, note 2s and blah blah. (I believe apple is bit different here)

Updates
Everyone complained how windows updates were annoying. Now updates keep coming every other day and that seems like a norm. We are no more users, we are beta testers for a product that never enters release.

Cloud
Every app assumes internet connectivity and thats kind of dangerous for your privacy. Someone said rightly, if you want to secure your data, dont connect your PC to the net. Now every bit is on net and you cannot know how many people see it.
You cannot use some basic apps if you do not connect to net and that freaks me out. One crappy software claimed video conversion. it uploaded every video to its server, convert it there and download it later #facepalm
Remember, clouds are in sky (net). Rings a bell?

Disclaimer
I do not make any claim that this is the final word. This is how I see things based on my usage. You are welcome to share your view or let me know how to get things done. Perhaps I am expecting too much from a phone.

PS
During the edits, somehow I can't see any bold formatted text. Unless I publish it, I wont know! And I am not bothered. This is my last post from an android.