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Tuesday, May 09, 2006

Snooker times 

We have a Snooker table in the office premises and of-late most post-lunch pre-mandatory-email-check time is spent potting reds and snooking the white or at least in the attempts to do so. Its' not everyday that my colleague and I find an empty table the moment we enter. This calls for a forbearing stance in the room overlooking the proceedings on the table. Every missed shot will be met with absolutely no emotion from the overlookers which rings as volumes of abuse heaped on the one who goofed the shot. The more aggressive ones will stand right up at the table pretending to observe the opposite wall. Gentle tactics to get people to play fast and leave the premises asap. Over time you get an idea of which tactic works on what set of people. Like the freshers who monopolise the pool table can be rounded off if one of their mentors happens to walk in OR if you call up the mentor on the phone for a casual name-dropped converstation :) Or the UPA (read hyderabadi; internal joke) bunch who can be packed off with sniggers and eye-rolling. Very subtly, of course.

Playing on the same table with a small selection of people allows you to formulate tactics for each one of them. One interesting criteria is the favourite pocket of each player. This can be observed from the number of balls in each pocket at the end of a game. Place a yellow or green in the vicinity of said pocket and their game takes a hit. :D
The cue-stick is another formidable weapon. Knowing the characteristics (cue-tip wobbles during spin-shots on some sticks, two are warped and needs adjustment for a straight shot) etc. make it a more intersting game than just gaining the most points.

My level of expertise? : I've hit the Uncanny Valley meaning my skills are going downhill, I'm getting cross-eyed, my back aches, and I suspect one of my arms is getting longer than the other :D

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Wednesday, May 03, 2006

Time and Place 

Took out my trusty old ride last Sunday after nearly a year. The interlude was not quite intentional but after buying a car, I just never got around to taking the bike out. My watchman was quite insistent on the virtues of keeping the engine in running condition by riding it at least once a month. Didn't happen.

Well, Sunday was just one of those days... Went down expecting to pay for my negligence with sore muscles from kicking the Bullet to life. 6 kicks. 6 well timed kicks. That's all it took for the bike to roar to life. Added a can of oil, filled up petrol and filled in air at a station about 2 kms off and the bike was back in its element. And so was I. Could'nt believe that I traded this excitement for the closed-in ride of a car. Zen and the Motor... came back in flashes. Wow! was I a fool or what!

20 mins later, sense prevailed. I was out at noon, the dust was everywhere and, while the ride was exciting, the roads and the rest of the traffic was not. Realised (not for the first time) the meaning of Time and Place.

A Time for everything and everything in its Time.
Ditto Place.

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Inactivity 

Sitting in office doing nothing...this is new.

Just finished a major release last night and don't have anything to do right now. Seriously, I'm not used to this kind of inactivity. Which is really saying something considering what a lazy bum I am.

Fiddled with the layout and colors on this blogsite. Am actually answering calls today...even the ones I have put on my "ignore without prejudice" list (a feature on the M1000 but that's a blog for another day.)

This is irritating.

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