John Matthew's Ryze Business Networking Page

Sometimes we do incredibly stupid things. Something like that happened to me. I had to get some of my dad's shares transferred in my name. I went to the central stamp office at Town Hall. Imagine the crowd there... there wasn't an inch of space unoccupied by the creations of god and man... the place was bustling... the building was old and unmaintained... and everybody was sweating by the bucketfull.

There is this clerk who will only frank 100 rupees worth of stamps... funny... I asked why not a fraction... like 65 rupees for that was what I wanted... he said no... some funny government rule that says you can only frank there in multiples of 100 rupess... I was so mad I yelled at him and took his name... to complain about him to the Chief Vigilance Commission (CVC)... but then what is the use.... There was this othere queue for fraction of stamps that I wanted and I stood in the long and winding queue... "Long and winding road"... anyone heard that song? It was just like that....

Then this guy... a seedy kind... with enough tics on his face to cover his entire face... says... psstt... I have got stamps... I will give at same price... no problem... trust me... have no worries... the same things con guys always say... and I believed and trusted him....

He took me to a seedy restaurant bought me a cup of tea... the restaurant owner had an expression like he had seen better days... and was now in the evening of his uneventful life... I watched the seedy character before me as he stuck the stamps on my share transfer forms... and I paid him... trusting the guy with the tics all over his face... and there was this waiter who had a face like... like... a stove had exploded in his face or something... and in such macabre setting... I had this shady guy stick stamps on my precious share transfer forms... paid him the money... and came out....

On the way home... I just opened the transfer forms... just to see what it looked like in the light of day... as it was very dark in the restaurant... and I saw... immediately... shockingly... that the stamps were as fake and seedy as the vendor himself... it was the job of some out of work printing press... with sub-standard equiment... the sort of fakes... that circulates easily in India....

The lesson... don't take decisions when you are not in the proper frame of mind... I was mad at the stamp vendor and in a haste... made a decision to trust this shady character... and paid for it....

Also makes me wonder... how much of the things we buy are genuine... Abdul Karim Telgi could manipulate enough to buy a government press... print stamp papers... stamp papers... imagine... the very paper on which legal documents are executed in this country... and could sell it without being caught... then what about share transfer stamps... I have decided not to use the share stamps... and go through the process all over again....

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There is this news item on rediff.com that caught my eye.

"Delhi kids set world record in dancing continuously for 55 hours."

Great achievement, indeed.

But for what? You can set a record of anything... walking... smiling... kissing... dancing... intercourse... but what's the point?

There was this program on AXN that showed decent people eating worms for a few dollars! That too crinkling their nose and almost vomiting. Again what is the point they want to make?

All this is happening when the world is being heated up like never before in ambient carbon dioxide and el ninos are lashing and destroying lives.

I guess people would do anything for a little publicity... eating worms included... they think they will be celebrities... famous... the works!

But who the hell cares for someone who did a shameful and ugly manipulation to get into the records?

I wonder... I wonder....

John Matthew's Ryze Business Networking Page

The budget blues... don't know why people are scared of the budget... because they will be paying more for all things they buy... but that is inevitable... and what is inevitable should be accepted....

The market showed a brief upturn for the good... it has been down for some time now... the rains are here... so it's back to umbrellas and an old jacket I bought when I was in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

My short story "E-slaves" got a good reception from readers of Sulekha.com. I was ranked tenth in their "Hall of Fame"... guess I have to celebrate that... maybe when I get some money....

What is this thing about governments levying 2 per cent cess on all items for education... sounds like madness to me... Education is the most corrupt sector in India and they want to pour money down the drain! Can't believe this is happening!

Parents have to pay through their nose to get their children an education... now they want to spoil things further....

Saw some weary... way out... wacko people on my afternoon walk in the tech park where I work... all of them had pasty complexions and funny hair... wonder what they would do for the future of our nation... by being such software "coolies."

Guess our management policies need some rethinking!

John Matthew's Ryze Business Networking Page

Guess Ryzing is good for health... the way it keeps me occupied... 300 hits... is not so bad... got to get people to visit my Sulekha Page. If they read and leave a message... I would consider my work... well done....

John Matthew's Big Blasting Blogger!!!!!!

So congress wins elections... Sonia Gandhi declines to become prime minister... a whole lot of shady characters become ministers in a coalition ministry... the media goes into overdrive... a fawning kind of overdrive... obseqious is the word... also crass... the interenet is full of shady forwarding of the Gandhi clan... wonder if what they all say is true....

I believe, India is a country that doesn't have an intellectual elite... or a class of gentlemen... who should set examples... for the youth to follow... that great hero of my childhood turns out to be a murderer and a philanderer... that great heroine of my childhood turns out to be — well — similar... I guess that is the end of youthful enthusiasm!

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John Matthew's Big Blasting Blogger!!!!!!

Curious thing happended today. I was on the way to work and shared a rickshaw with two girls. One of them worked in my locality and the other was new and nervous — probably attending an interview.

The new girl was going to a company I knew. She only had a Rs 500 on her. She asked the other girl and then me for change to pay the rickshaw. I didn't have any.

The fare would amount to Rs 10. I gave her Rs 10 as I knew that at the company she was going there would not be any shops around to give her change. She refused my offer. I tried to convince her that it would be difficult for her and she might miss her interview. But she still refused.

Guess she didn't trust me enough to accept Rs 10 I had given her. I have helped people in such circumstances. But I guess there is deep distrust of strangers in women. Especially when there are stories of atrocities circulating amongst them!

What could I do to convince her that my offer was genuine and with no riders attached!

Friendship Poems & Inspirational Quotes - Love Poems And Quotes

Love poem : Odd how things work

Analyst Corner - What Do Content Site Users Want? - Analyst Corner - CIO
good article about writing content for websites