Melbourne…!!!

/ Paddy / 2 Comments

Melbourne‘s Fantastic …!!! Been here for almost 2 months, and am constantly learning a lot about the Ausie way of life and i am kinda amazed. This country has a great deal to offer and has very strong individualistic values.
Australia is completely about beautiful landscapes..Its simply wonderful.. systematic transportation networks by Connex. I cant imagine if India will have it some day. The rate at which our population is exploding, i think its only gonna be a distant dream. Melbourne is divided into two main regions.. the main city center (CBD and Inner suburbs) and the outer suburbs.

The moment you get out to the CBD ( Central Business District ) area, The first feel anyone would get is, God handpicked a few people from each country in the world and dropped them in Melbourne.. Its a mixture of people from all over the world. Everyone’s too busy to get pokey into others business.

The city is wonderful and unique in its own way… a few things i just cant seem to take my mind of would definitely be the night sky on the banks of the Yarra river. Its quite amazing..a visit to the local beach and St.Kilda Pier… Had my first night out at a Gentlemens club ( Though i couldn’t afford a lap dance ) and also attended the Apollo Bay Music festival on the Great Ocean Road while on our way to see the Twelve Apostles. The apostles are truly breathtaking.. drove to Port Campbell for Dinner and The food was finger lickin good.. i had Seafood Saganaki.. it had shrimp, prawns, scallops, mussels, oyster sauce and lots of feta cheese served with toast bread.  We retired for the night some place close to the Twelve apostles.. It was The Twelve Apostles Motel and Country Retreat.. wonderful ambiance.. loads of farm animals nearby.. and a wonderful hostess. 🙂

CBD n Federation square

CBD n Federation square

CBD Night Sky

CBD Night Sky

CBD North Bank

CBD North Bank

Flinders Street Station

Flinders Street Station

Melbourne Trams

Melbourne Trams

St. Kilda Beach

St. Kilda Beach

St. Kilda Pier

St. Kilda Pier

Great Ocean Road

Great Ocean Road

Apollo Bay Music Festival

Apollo Bay Music Festival

Apollo Bay1

Apollo Bay1

Apollo Bay2

Apollo Bay2

Apollo Bay3

Apollo Bay3

Indian Coffee Shop

Indian Coffee Shop.. Do you read .. Holy Cow

Apollo Bay5

Apollo Bay Play along area

Check out the name of the outlet :)

Check out the name of the outlet 🙂

Apollo Bay7

Apollo Bay Hotel

Apollo Bay8

Apollo Bay Music Stand

Seafood Saganaki

Seafood Saganaki

Twelve Apostles Entry

Twelve Apostles Entry

Twelve Apostles Helipad

Twelve Apostles Helipad

Twelve Apostles view1

Twelve Apostles Ariel view1

Twelve Apostles view1

Twelve Apostles Ariel view 2

Twelve Apostles view1

Twelve Apostles Ariel view 3

Twelve Apostles view4

Twelve Apostles Ariel view 4

Twelve Apostles 1

Twelve Apostles 1

Twelve Apostles 2

Twelve Apostles 2

Twelve Apostles 3

Twelve Apostles 3

Twelve Apostles 4

Twelve Apostles 4

I also did something unimaginable.. buying a porno magazine for my friend  as a surprise.. well that’s actually not so unimaginable but buying it for my friend while his wife is standing next to me and suggesting which one to buy. Didn’t think i would ever do that.

Anyways.. the job hunt is still on.. Recession has killed quite a lot many jobs in the city.. Just hoping that i don’t hit into the wall of insanity anytime soon.

I also happened to visit the MCG and Rod Laver Arena.. will upload ’em the next time… Stay Tuned.

Cheers.

Americans – not Stupid

/ Paddy / 2 Comments

Finally something that i thought was really funny. I dont think so Indians are really smart as well but we are definitely smart enuf to answer most of their questions. This video definitely doesnt imply that all Americans are dumass but atleast most of the ones featured in this video are 🙂

Cheers n Mera Bharat Mahan 🙂

What would happen ??

/ Paddy / Leave a comment

Have been slightly busy lately.. learning SAS , trying to be a chauffer 😉 and also learn to drive.. i have definitely excelled at how not to kill passersby on Bangalore roads and also learnt what would happen if u suddenly apply brakes in a busy road when vehicles move at snails pace.. woah.. u definitely dont wanna try that.  Its been quite an experience. Sheer Suicidal.. !.

Hey.. Suicidal reminded me of an email i received a few days ago.. Interestingly it had Garfield sharing a message.!!! 😉

Garfield

Garfield sez ..!!!

PS  Disclaimer : I am NOT Anti-Paki. I am a Global Citizen 🙂 So dont hold me accountable.

Cheers

SAS and Advanced Analytics

/ Paddy / 11 Comments

Oh Boy… Backing up data is phew…  tiring stuff..!!  whole 220 GB of stuff.. The Transcend did a pretty seemless job and i am happy bout the purchase.. I am yet to reformat the XPS and reload .. the necessary stuff back from the Transcend. Been quite busy lately.. Have joined this institue called G&K Analytics Training Institute (ATI) in Jayanagar, Bangalore. Its a small yet cozy place for learning. The trainings offered range widely on SAS ( Statistical Analysis ) , Advanced Analytics and Advanced Excel which includes concepts on VBA.  This were exactly the kind of courses that i was hoping to enroll for. The good things i like about the institue is that its were apt for learning, the training labs are open round the clock so you can walk in and practice on the modules. The instructors are industry experienced with  combines experience of over 20yrs in analytics.  The institute was founded by Gautam Munshi and Pavan Bhat.  The have worked extensively in the fields of Business Intelligence and Analytics in organtizations such as HSBC,Genpact,Marketics,etc. Currently they run their own consultany firm called Redwood Associates. They do hire interns from ATI.

Well i am not trying to advertise for the institute however this is definitely a one of a place that has been setup considering the industry needs in mind. Kudos to them who understand the needs and requirements of “Wannabe Analysts”.

Well, am sure the next question would be on certifications. Well ATI would conduct their own tests on the modules conducted and will give you a certificate. However this is not enough to prove that you are a SAS certified professional. There is a dearth for SAS certified professionals in the KPO industry and it is a good thing to b certified. So how does one get certified ?? Well you would need to take the certification at one  of the prometric test centers. Check all the details here.  The SAS institute has its own training partners for instance SIBA (in Bangalore) and LAXAI (in Hyderabad). But i believe they are a tad too expensive. But i prefered the ATI coz at the end of it all, the certification needs to be taken from the SAS Training  institute itself.

Will keep ya all posted bout the progress and give you a sneak peek at the Inside Stuff of SAS 🙂

Cheers.

Bought a Transcend Storejet today

/ Paddy / Leave a comment

Well,  always found a small limitation in the hard drive size on my Dell XPS1330. The laptop works like a fab except for the hard drive size. Dell could have done something to include a larger hard drive or given an option to buy external storage at point of sale for a reduced price. Nevertheless the XPS puchase was a steal deal.. Thanks to the Employee Purchase Program 😉  . Well that reminds me its almost time i upgraded my warranty aswell.

Well to reduce the woes of storage i bought myself a Transcend’s StoreJet 25 . This was also a steal deal until i came across the Breaking News* . Anyways, Its got  neat features.. for instance.. its look is quite elegant.. got an Orange body with a Brownish Silicone covering.. Gives a good grip and doesnt give you the “handle with care”  feel.. Then there is a marketing  tag line or something for real.. ” Its passed the US military drop test “ . well i am not sure of the specifications of the drop test or the height from which it is dropped but am sure the silicone covering would do a fine job.  The One Touch data backup feature is pretty simple and user friendly. It offers Intelligent back up features as well through the Storejet Elite software included in the bundle.

transcend storejet 25 - 320gb

Transcend storejet 25 - 320gb

They come in different sizes ranging from 160 gb, 250 gb and the 320 gb. I wanted one with the maximum size and something which could be connected to a single USB port..  The USB ports are also one of the other things i didnt like in my XPS.. there are only two USB ports and each placed on either side of the notebook.  So most external drives need two USB ports for providing additional power however the Storejet seems to do just fine with a single USB port. ( Interestingly they do offer a Y -USB cable incase anyone wants to provide additonal power to the drive ). The data transfer speed is pretty good.. however i would have expected it to be a bit faster.

There was another surprising twist to the purchase..  I checked the price in three different places… Staples ( Rs. 5499 ) , Croma ( Rs.4599 ) and then finally a small store in Jayanagar ( Rs. 4160 ) .. Well am sure you would be smart enough to guess where i finally managed to pick it from.. another peeve i have  is that the guy at the store tried to charge me an additonal 2% coz i used my Visa for payment. Well negotiated and got it down to 1% 😉

Overall am quite happy with the product and would give it a 8 on 10. Its value for money and the design is definitely eye-candy.

*** BREAKING NEWS ***

This product is priced on eBay for Rs.400 less. 😦