Wifey keeps complaining about my wardrobe, making (seemingly) wild allegations that all my shirts look alike. Most Monday mornings I face the daunting task of picking a shirt to begin the week with, while trying to desperately claw at the vague recollection of what I wore on Thursday, the previous week (Friday's are casual). Pooja's of no help as she revels in the vindication of her claim, reiterating that it does not matter what I wear, since every shirt looks the same. You know, I do want to get her checked.
There's limited choice when it comes to men's formals with the additional constraint of lighter shades due to my natural color - I got 33% of tall, dark & handsome (My marriage bio data says I am wheatish ;). And I love blues. My practical solution is to have uniforms in office. That way we all have 1 less thing to worry about and can focus on more pressing problems like what to pack for lunch?
Update:
Going through some team outing photos taken over 3 years, I realized a frequently repeated item - the black shirt in my profile photo...oh well
Today I find myself humbled by the love and affection from a team that was a part of my professional and personal life for the last 6 and a half years. It is time to say good bye as I end an association that has pretty much defined me, made me what I am today. I thank you all for your undying support, commitment and affection. "If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants [1]" - what you see in me is a reflection of your hard work, dedication and excellence.
I leave with memories that I will always hold very close to my heart, in the hope of ever-lasting friendships and that our professional paths meet again.
Thank You Team Cover-All@Synechron Technologies
Looking forward to my next assignment at Synechron...
Online lottery & phishing scams are on the rise in India. The phone revolution has led a growing number of users to utilize the internet for critical services like internet banking. However armed with inadequate knowledge of the internet people often end up being victims of online scams.
I recently received an interesting email spoofed from customer.care@icicibank.com. Surprisingly this got through gmail spam filters and reached my primary inbox:
Subject: ICICI ALERT: Your Account is Temporarily Locked
Attn:
Valued & Esteemed Customer,
Your ICICI Online Internet Banking Account has generated an error code
(ICICI_ERROR-317FR) in our new secured and innovated database because it is not
configured with our latest protection scheme (The ICICI 3D SECURED SYSTEM)
ICICI Bank has made second (The ICICI 3D SECURED SYSTEM) Authentication
mandatory from 1st September, 2013
To Enroll into Our newly introduced security feature,The (3D SECURED SYSTEM)
which works by placing a triple security on your account. Please Login and
complete your enrollment process which is mandatory for all users. We look
forward to giving our customers the best of our services not comparable to
other banks.
The ICICI 3D Secured System is an innovated data migration process in which manual
verification of login details is compulsory to activate you for the latest
online banking security. To proceed, please follow the steps below:
SECURITY ACTIVATION STEPS:
1. Open The Attachment In This Mail Which Contains A Security Verification Page.
2. Carefully Confirm Your details and Get secured Instantly .
3. After Successful Verification, You Will Be Redirected To Our Disclaimer
Page.
4. In two weeks from your receipt of this mail, You Will Receive A Manual
Containing A Pin And How To Activate It.
Note
Corporate Customers with Two or More USERS (The Enterer and APPROVER) are
required to Fill this Form again with their APPROVER Details
Please Note your Error Code as it wil be needed when our customer care contacts
you
Instruction on how to open the file
After Successful Download of the attached file, right click on the file and
view with your Browser
The form needs to be opened in a modern browser which has javascript enabled (
Internet Explorer 7, Firefox 3, Safari 3, Opera 9)
If you are using Internet Explorer please allow ActiveX for scripts to perform
all data
transfers securely.
All fields are important and must be filled correctly for secure submission
Thank you for your cooperation.
Sincerely,
ICICI Bank Ltd.
Online Banking Security Unit
The email had 2 attachments: Personal USER.html & Corporate USER.html:
Corporate USER.html
Personal USER.html
Both files use javascript to hide & encrypt the source code:
On submit your information is sent to cleverly named domain: http://infinity.icicibank.co.in.bankaway.action.retuser.init.001-y8appsignonbankid-ici8apptype-corporate9abrdprf-n.carlosbreeze.com.internetbanking.com.acess.com.user.agent.notarypublicwilltravel.com/verify/icicix.php.
Cleverly named because the starting part of the address is similar to what ICICI Bank uses on its internet banking website.
Inspect element in Chrome
Someone (Abhilash :P in the source code above) seems to have put a lot of effort in coding this. I informed ICICI about this email. I hope no one falls prey to this new scam.
I finally got down to the not-so-fun task of updating my resume after a gap of more than 6 years - that is when I left my last job. Some pointers based on my personal experience:
Keep it short. This is one constant irritant I have seen through a few hundred interviews taken through the last 6 years. Everyone loves talking about their project even if their contribution was 10 lines of code. Mention only significant projects, a short description and your role was on the project. Trust me, no one is interested in reading a 5 page discourse about your professional background. I cut down my long essay style resume to 2 pages. Resumes act as conversation starters - after that its really the interview that matters.
Spelling & Grammar. Proof read it and proof read it again. If you do not have a strong command on language, get it verified by someone else. These mistakes may get your resume rejected even before reaching the technical team.
Make it pretty. Format your resume properly. Do not use spaces or tabs for indentation. Use tables in word and once done, hide the borders. From the scores of people being considered for a position a prettier one is definitely going to register in the mind of the recruiter
Know what you claim you know. No need to mention the gazillion technologies used on your project when you worked only on one of them. The interviewer has every right to question you on what you claimed to know on your resume. Clean it out and focus on your strengths.
Use keywords. If you are applying for a java developer job that requires spring & hibernate knowledge (and you have relevant experience), mention it clearly in your skill or summary section. The first search recruiters run is through keywords. This ensures that your resume will at least show up in their search
Include any awards and special recognition. This helps in creating a first impression on your interviewer
Every certification is worth a mention. I am extremely skeptical about the true value of technology certifications, however given no standardization, many companies & recruiters look for people with standard industry certifications. So that SCJP you did 10 years ago might still be useful to get you noticed :)
Convert to PDF - do not send out doc or docx files. Instead convert it to pdf so that it's cross platform compliant and will print exactly how it looks on your computer.
I recently applied for Avani's passport on http://passport.gov.in/ and have to say that the new system and process has come a long way from when I renewed my passport about a year back.
You start by filling an online application on the website above
Pay online and book an appointment. You do not need an appointment for minors. I had taken an appointment but had to cancel it and take a fresh printout of the receipt.
Print your receipt (no need to print form) and carry self attested copies and originals of your documents. There is also a nice document advisor that gives a list of documents that are needed as proof
Do not forget any printouts. The only shops to take printouts opposite the passport office are notary offices who charge a bomb for a single printout. Even though I had a pdf on a USB drive, one guy asked for Rs 30 for printing my cancelled receipt. I did find a cyber cafe (a little down the road towards Ghorpadi) who was reasonable at Rs. 3/printout
The document verification has been outsourced and you have to go through 4 levels (Foyer - where you are given a bar-coded folder, A, B, C) of verification to finish the process.
Overall the process has been streamlined (I had spent 2 full days at the old office for my renewal), though the waiting times between subsequent levels needs to be reduced. I was in by 10 AM and out by 12.30 pm
There is a photocopy machine inside the office that can be used to take copies
The office has a decent waiting area, is air conditioned and clean. Rarely found luxuries in govt. offices across the country :)
Tere ghar mein bartan sartan Manjti hoon mein barabar
Tu kabhi to mere dil ke ghar mein poocha karde aakar
for more lyricsmasti.com
Glad she thinkz shez hot like rekha
May be but shez not my flavor
Love in here is too much labour
Labour flavour
How can i start hip hopper
she is just a bai part time naukar
Just give me some hip hop
[Hip hop hip hop]2
[Aye hip hopper
Mujhe pyaar to kar
Aye hip hopper]4
Just drop it gal
Mein pyaar ki rikhsha ko
Mein love ki rikhsha ko
Ek mauka dona sir
Aye hip hopper
Mujhe pyaar to kar
Aye hip hopper
issh
Sir lona phone
shhhhhhhhhh
Meri gal frnd aa rahi hai
Tu kab ja rahi hai
Kyun sata rahi hai
ruk ruk ruk ruk ruk ruk
Ussko paata jo chale to hoga woh
socha na hoga jo Phut phut phut phut phut
Tujhko har din khana wana mein khilati hoon paka kar
Aaj mere dil ke tave pe rootiya tu shek le aakar
There is no bai i know quite like her
if my gal find shez just strike her
but she is a pom
Just give me some hip hop
[Hip hop
hip hop]2
[Aye hip hopper
Mujhe pyaar to kar
Aye hip hopper]4
Just drop it gal
Mein pyaar ki basti mein
Mein love ki basti mein
thodi masti ho jaye sir
