Conscience

Today, has been the second case of chain snatching in my street. The neighbourhood is otherwise not so unlawful. I have memories from days when the street was dangerous only because it was very deserted and days when people liked the peaceful quiet of the place. Recently however, a case of theft, break in or something or the other comes up almost every few weeks. The street still looks perfectly peaceful (and green from above). In fact, these days with lot of people realizing it bridges important areas, it is almost always abuzz with activity. Why, once I found two foreigners representing a Church who tried to convert me in the middle of the road! But to think someone would snatch a chain in broad daylight, in this street, sends quite a shiver. That was months ago. Well planned and a chosen target. 4 bikes, 6 people. I guess they even have a name for this formation. I heard only the story about this one. Today morning was different.

I was still in bed reading the morning paper when I heard screams from the street. I'd usually have run outside to check what was up (the hero that we all are). But the voice sounded like a little girl's so I assumed it was probably a stray dog chasing her or something. Besides there was no other noise of a bike or screech of tyres. But the scream continued for a good ten seconds or so.

By the time I was outside, the girl (probably 15) was sobbing hard and 2 people were consoling her. It still looked like a dog had chased her. As it turns out, it was a chain snatch. A guy on his cycle. Supposedly one of the newspaper delivery boys. Seems like he'd tried snatching her chain first, when she put up a fight, hit her head twice and escaped with his prize. A friend once said conscience is what hurts when every other part feels good. Not always. Mine still hurts that I didn't run outside when I heard the screams. It would've taken all of 3 seconds. If not bash him up like some hero, atleast I'd have scared him off and abandoned his attempts.

To tell the truth I am still shaken by what happened. Imagine, 7 AM in the morning! 'Snatch' makes it sound quite harmless. And only ended up banging my fists on the wall in the shower. What's the point?

If only I hadn't been lazy in the morning. Bloody conscience.
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Status Update!

To be honest, I had nothing else to blog about. I'm [temporarily] tired of posting my life on Facebook and Twitter. Although, this post is bound to go as another update in both places. Ironic? So, what have I been upto? Nothing much really. I've been trying to, what is that..ah juggle too many balls at once. (Watching movies, reading novels inclusive). And if that wasn't enough, I had to add another object to balance - as a favour. Of course, am not going to divulge any of that here.

But there is some news for you. Sad for me. My IndiBlogger rank has come down around 30 points in 4 months. Around November last, it was 76 - my highest till date. Even my academics weren't as good. And now its just fail - 43! What with IndiBlogger Chennai meet coming up this weekend that really worries me. Imagine:
"Hi!"
"Nice to meet you"
"let me take your blog address"
"sure its...what's yours?"
"misplaced-soul.blogspot.com"
"am ranked 86 btw, what about you?"
"er..i gotta go"

Hope IndiBlogger is reading this and temporarily tweak their settings and raise my rank (Just for this weekend, please!). But while I type this, I realized I can really chatter away. I'm come thus far without really having had an idea on what to write. Oh yes, my posts are usually intentional, directed at a particular topic. Do have a look around, won't you? Yes, so..as I was saying..I realized I can start typing all the random stuff that runs in my mind, in order of appearance. Its almost like writing an examination. Only am not worried about the "rank" anymore. Hope I can post something every now and then to up my rank.

I also found my laptop [Dell Vostro 1510, more than a year old] is quite a work horse. I let it run for a few hours virtualizing two different OSes both running something heavy AND using my system myself at the same time. Good good.

A friend though recently bought a Sony Vaio at a staggering price, but loads more a workhorse than mine - a workaholic workhorse if you will. Ha! I've always wanted to use that phrase in my blog sometime - 'if you will' and I think it fits in quite well here. I digress. (that's another I've been wanting to use since long) But then he's got Windows 7 and flicked a copy of PC Quest from his work to read 'everything you needed to know about Windows 7'. Think about paying for something you didn't want and trying to learn about it. That again sounds like school. Hmmmm.

I don't know why but I really feel like I should fit a PJ in here. My colleague and I have 'discovered' a new tea shop where we like to take our evening breaks. I say tea shop because coffee shop somehow sounds hi-fi. And the tea (or coffee for me) acts like some kind of PJ inducer to us. You should hear us babble after we've had a sip. Of course, they're all time-bound jokes and would make no sense here making you go "poor joke indeed".

Of the movies I'd planned to watch, Die Hard 4.0 was the most recent. I must say I really liked the movie - cool with hackers and stuff and of course, Bruce Willis with all that action! What I find mildly surprising was that I got stuck in an elevator at work the very next day of watching the movie. How're they related? Well, there's a scene in the movie where John McClain's daughter is stuck in one. But she was alone. I, however, was with another girl...and two other guys. It was all dark and no one's cell phone screen was bright enough so I closed my eyes and started day dreaming. You know. Rescuing them and stuff..So while I was dreaming and smirking to myself, another guy called up his friend and got help. Smart. I thought to myself "doodh nahi peyega tho aisa hi hoga". But I swear, I drink atleast 2 glasses of milk - with some chocolate flavoured malt!

And after about 20 minutes of typing, I hit the wall. Nothing more to say. To share. I hope to see more updates from my 'sidebar friends' too. They're almost worse than me!

Ciao!

BTW, in other news, I am becoming an 'uncle' pretty soon...\m/ \o/ And yet, my sis-in-law manages to update her blog SO very often. Check it out. And while you're at it, you can check my cousin's too. Who's kind of competing with her. 'Healthy' competition though..

PS: Please turn off all unwanted lights. That includes your screen too. Read more…

HDFC's Insecure Ways and More...

I was using the HDFC Netbanking service the other day and came across a page which could be a serious security hole. If a person gets hold of a valid HDFC Customer ID, they could use it to get the name and account numbers attached to it from this particular page. The worst part is, they don't even have to be logged to get this information. Getting hold customer ID is pretty easy - I have one and changing one or two digits in it yields someone else's. Thankfully though, its not in a series (eg: 12345678 is a valid ID but 12345679 and 12345680 aren't)

I've checked this with IDs of people I know and asked a few others to check on their own - most of the time it worked except in 2 cases (so far). Am not sure how this information can be used to compromise secure access to one's account but I think such information can make Phishing attacks seem more authentic. Here's the link: https://leads.hdfcbank.com/applications/webforms/apply/RDBooking.asp?custid=XYZ&campid=DecRD Just replace the XYZ (in the link) with your HDFC customer ID (or someone else's) and check if your account information is visible through this page. Mine is. And am a bit worried.

In case you aren't able to work it, here's a screenshot to show you how it is. Note that this is not someone I know - just an ID one digit different from mine.

I've already sent HDFC an email about this. Hope they take action.

This is the second time I'm notifying the bank about how an online service of theirs can be compromised. I'll mention the first here just so you know.

If you've used the bank's Net Banking service, you'd have noticed how you have to enter your customer ID first to get an image and text you had previously agreed with the bank. This is to make sure that you are indeed using the HDFC site who is the only other party who is supposed to know the image-text you'd chosen. Right? Well not exactly.

Have a look at the screen on the left. Initially, only the field for ID is available, which when you submit, gets you this screen.

Now you feel sure that you have indeed logging in to the HDFC site. But imagine this. A phisher sends you an email with a link to page designed exactly like the original one - you enter your customer ID, now the phisher can pass the info you entered to the HDFC site, let HDFC show the text and image, fetch that and show it on the phishing site - to you. And you'd think it is the HDFC site!

Hope the bank is listening this time. Here's a tip for folks who are scared of being phished - it doesn't happen if you are not stupid. Just apply common sense whenever you get a mail that claims to be from the bank. Read notices from your Bank. Discuss with your friends when you are in doubt. Bookmark your bank's website, net banking page etc and always use only that.

OK, that's more than a tip. Bye!

Update: Here's another such peek-able link! https://leads.hdfcbank.com/applications/webforms/apply/net_limit.asp?custid=XYZ&campname=Nov-09

This one works for lesser IDs (as far as I've tested) and can set a cap on the limit for online transactions of your credit card.


~LVS

PS: Don't submit this form, you might end up creating an RD account without intending too :P (thanks Barath)
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To do or not to do...

Sometimes I feel I have an ambition deficit. Now that's bad yes. Ambition is probably one of the things that drive a person. I have, often, empty thoughts. Momentary bursts of purpose. This drives me to feel I am going to accomplish something. But for how long?

I am lazy as many have branded me. I've been told I've got "stuff" and I should use it well. There's a kind who don't work hard but work smart. But, I. I must have been just lucky to survive so far. Now I feel an overload of the deficit. I feel am not doing anything special. Something extra.

I have a good paying job (touch wood). There are good prospects ahead. My career seems stable. What else can I ask for, you think. Am not asking for riches. But I desperately need some inspiration. Look at Pranav Mistry. He's about my age. Don't need to look that far - I can look at my friend's circle. Prashanth a friend from college seems to be doing a lot for his age - and he's having a super learning curve I bet. I can name so many more. There are lots of people who've gone great lengths in their early twenties - and continue to grow. That's what I want. That's what I need!

Of course, the initiative has to be mine. Trust me, am trying something these days. But it seems to be an effort not something that makes me jump out of bed as soon as I wake up. If self-motivation were a hormone, I'd like to inject myself some! This post was supposed to be an exploration a search for what I am missing. It hasn't shown itself so far. I often blame our education system for not pushing the students to pursue something. For not inculcating the habit of researching. Why should only IITians (and the like) be the ones to get encouraged and not other 'lower' institutes? Are only such people capable of doing great things? Not always. But the small percentage of people who, are motivated right from the beginning, who are 'destined' to do great things, bring glory to their land have always shown the edge. Right from kindergarten. That sucks for people like me who have had sudden 'illuminations' after they reached college. By the time I took my education seriously, lethargy was well practised. The extra effort didn't bring any excitement or encouragement. And that is like a soft cushion bed to sleep in....so I slept.

I wonder if its part of being a younger sibling where everything is easy, available and ready for you to consume. Back in college, atleast, I thought, "I want to contribute in a big way to open source projects". Open source was something that I romanticized blindly without ever fully realizing its potential or pitfalls. It was almost quixotic. And M$ hatred and the "Send/Don't Send" messages was great fuel.

This post has been long pending in my drafts. And the only things I'd typed were the first 2 lines and the PS!

I think what I need now is focus. I need to understand clearly what I want to do next and vaguely what I aim to do in the future. Focus should help. Now that I say it, I've been trying juggle too many balls at a time and ended up dropping everything.

Ah! Atleast I feel a bit better now. Blogging after so long has helped. Lets out some energy...

So that's it guys. Focus...focus...focus...focus....

PS: This blog is kind of a sequel to A look in the mirror and Gaah
PPS: This is mostly self talk and might seem dry to you. Sorry you weren't warned.
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Misplaced Sole?

How many times has it been that you lost your slippers outside a temple and forced to walk bare footed back home (or the less noble ones, on someone else's shoes)? Did you think it was someone who was lazy to locate his (or her) own slippers that took yours instead? Or was it you indeed who was lazy to look for your own and took someone elses? Ever realized this is a vicious circle? If everyone took someone else's footwear because theirs was missing, who's would the last folks wear? (This is a bit like Agar Roopa ki baniyan pehnoge toh...Roopa kya pehnegi!!)

I've thought much about this and found no answer. However, I woke up to an interesting conversation between my parents. I don't know if its really true but it seems quite probable - what if it weren't humans who (directly) took your slippers?

It seems like its dogs. Dogs which seem stray. What they got to do with slippers you may ask. But do not underestimate the lengths loyalty like a canine's can take you.

These best friends of man are trained - to steal footwear (mostly slippers) that are left unattended. We have a pair of slippers lying in our backyard which we use when we need to go to the garden. We've lost them brand new, twice. I guess its the cobblers who'd benefit most from such acts! So next time you see a stray dog entering your compound, make sure you chase it away before its spots a useful item to grab.

PS: Am not sure if its the dogs at the temple. It could be cats!
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Save Power!

Quick Post! Kunal and myself are trying to run a campaign at Photon to encourage energy saving (at work and elsewhere). Its right now only on Twitter and you can find it here (hey, that rhymes!).

It has just started.. We decided on going to twitter mainly because people can throw ideas from their seats. Do drop by, you might be surprised how a trivial idea can make a lot of difference. You are of course, encouraged to start similar 'movements' at your work place or college or even your home. Please do! We have an anti-patent on this which asks: 'please copy us'!

Thanks for all your suggestions! We do hope we are able to change certain habits of people and certain practices in our company; and we ain't complaining if it leaks out.

For a better tomorrow,
~LVS

PS: If you thought I was going to give ideas on how to save power, am sorry but you can always check the Twitter page above.
PPS: Borrowed from Kunal: People who waste electricity deserve to be electrocuted! :P Read more…

A twitter clone?

Sure, there are lots of twitter like websites and services available on the net. But you surely wouldn't have expected this. I came across an email where someone typo-ed gmail.com as gmail.net - I was laughing at it for sometime. But after a while, inspiration stuck and I thought lets try out http://gmail.net and see what happens. I wouldn't have been surprised if I had got some cheap search engine or 'this domain is for sale'. However, I was expecting a redirection to gmail.com (unlike airtel.in used to redirect to vodafone UK). Surprise. What I got was "What are 'you' doing?" in the header. They've even got versions it seems for says in the page 'Live Comments 3.0.4'
You have a field for name, email (both optional) and a comment field where you can type upto 255 characters. Twitter without accounts? Only am not sure how I can follow someone....Try it! Wonder why Gmail didn't buy it though.

~LVS

PS: A bit more exploring reveals that it is some geeks attempt at trying some AJAX...scroll to the end of the page
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