Workplace Discrimination

It’s been exactly one and a half years for me at my first job. Over the course of that time, I saw a lot of things that should have been on my blog a long time ago. But, like how they say… “Better Late Than Never”.

Workplace Discrimination is such a big word. However, I’m fairly certain that there is no straight definition to it. I’ll leave that to that. These days majority of organizations treat their employees equal. There are no “Bosses”, there are no “Sirs” and there are no “Ma’ams”. But there are those certain few who wish to be superior than others... and this is where Workplace Discrimination starts.

Newcomers do get pushed around a lot. This is mostly done not by the “Big big guys” but rather from the “Middle big guys”. Am I speaking from experience? Maybe, maybe not.

Employees at some point may have met elsewhere before…. may it be at school, institute or university As academic as they may be, that life is a personal life. One of the problems creating Workplace Discrimination is mixing up this personal life with the work life. This put in danger both the people associated and project itself.

I’m a QA Engineer. And yes, we do get less of a salary than the developers and have less of a technical knowledge than the developers. But this doesn’t say by any means that the developers can take QA people for granted. Same principle applies to any two (or more) positions such as this. A job is a job no matter what it is.

There is much more to say but I’ll stop now. You can agree with me on the points or not… it’s up to you. But remember one thing everybody… “Respect; you have to earn it!”

Image Courtesy: http://www.haberlawoffices.com

The Amazing Spider-Man Movie Review (No Spoilers)

Just enjoyed The Amazing Spider-Man thanks to Dialog’s The Amazing Tweet Up and thought to write bit of a review on it since Spider-Man is and always will be my favorite Marvel Super Hero. I have mixed reactions on it (Don’t get me wrong here, I enjoyed the new movie).

Plot

It is evident from start to the end credit scene (if you stick around to watch it) that this movie is the first of a potential Trilogy. I say this because there seems to be a story arc going on and therefore I will have to reserve my judgment till I see all three. Unlike the previous Spider-Man movies (yes, it is mandatory to compare the both) The Amazing Spider-Man story is sticking (pun intended) more close to the original Comic Book series. This greatly explained why Hasbro issued a toy line based on the comic book series under the flag of the new movie. Overall, the plot is not a huge improvement over any other “pop-corn flick”.

Action

Now this, I have to praise. We can’t compare The Amazing Spider-Man action to more recent action movies like The Avengers or even Transformers: Dark of the Moon, but there was definitely good stuff going on. Having said that, the new movie got more action than any previous Spider-Man movies and that’s a plus point. However the credit of this must go to the visual brilliance which we will talk in few moments. Good action choreography but wish we had more from it. Here’s hoping for the next movie.

Visuals

In terms of visuals, The Amazing Spider-Man easily surpasses the previous trilogy. The audience is immersed in all sorts of web swinging acrobatics that had nothing to do with the 3D gimmick; which is a good thing. The visuals can be enjoyed even without the use of 3D. There was nod to a certain scene from all 3 previous movies and it was done right and better than the predecessors. One of the reasons the action of the new movie looked great is partly because of the visuals.

Music and Audio

This is again mixed. On the original trilogy, the theme music was catchy. In fact, lot of critics and fans alike praised the opening credit sequence of the 1st Sam Raimi movie. This however, fails to deliver when it comes to the music aspect. Other than couple of background music and one particular song (Till Kingdom Come - Coldplay), the rest is forgotten on The Amazing Spider-Man. But the surround sound effects immerse the audience on the scene. It is good on that note.

Continuity

What I like about Marvel movies is that they tug on the heart-strings of fans with various little nods. This movie ranks high in that category. These are the little things only the true fans would know and with it they respect the fandom. I won’t spoil you guys on them, but if you are a “True Believer Of Spider-Man”, this is the time to test your faith. Again, this looks like a potential trilogy and a tie-into The Avengers 2.

Overall

The Amazing Spider-Man failed to step up to the expectations of the awesomeness that is The Avengers; which concluded not too long ago. But it is not for once a total failure at all. I was very skeptical of whether or not ‘Web-Shooters’ concept will work on the big screen but they pulled it off nicely; exceeding my expectations. Overall, The Amazing Spider-Man is a good family movie and I highly recommend for any Spider-Man fan to go and see it. This is indeed a welcoming reboot and a reboot done right. Kudos to everyone who worked on the movie and I am eagerly waiting for more. Excelsior!

A little talk with SLT...

Here is a rough English translation of the conversation I had with SLT ADSL Customer Care regarding the recent Island wide issues with the connection.

Me: Hello, I called regarding a connection issue I’m having with ADSL. I called yesterday too.

SLT: What can I do for you?

Me: It’s regarding an issue I’m having with ADSL.

SLT: I can hear some noises maybe your phone line is faulty.

Me: [Fixing the spiral telephone cable which came loose by me] Sorry about that, my telephone cable came loose, There we go... I fixed it, now can you hear me?

SLT: Yes.

Me: Good. I can’t access most of the usual sites I visit, especially Facebook. Some sites take a lot of time to load while others don’t load at all. I saw that the issue is island-wide. Saw tons of posts at Elakiri and users have tweeted on your SLT Twitter account.

SLT: What is that? I don’t know. About ADSL, are you using the old package?

Me: Yes, why?

SLT: You have used more than the limit.

Me: For the record, mine is unlimited and even if you do have a FUP.. I haven’t exceeded 25GBs.

SLT: It’s 20GB.

Me: Whatever it may be, I barely use 10 or 15GBs a month. I’m not a heavy user. So, what about the issue?

SLT: To fix that you need to switch to a new package.

Me: What? You can’t force people to change packages like that… it’s illegal.

SLT: Hold on. [Goes away. Can hear another lady talking “Just tell him that he exceeded his limit”. Coming back]. You have exceeded 20GBs.

Me: Look, please take a look at your own Twitter feed. This isn’t just my problem. Whoever maintains your official Twitter account acknowledges the issue. Many complains.

SLT: They have exceeded as well.

Me: Listen, trust me I barely exceed 10 GBs, let alone 20 or even 15.

SLT: [Asks for my home and Mobile number. Gives me a number and told me thank you for calling.]

I report, you decide…

The Seven Potters

You can call this story cheesy or whatnot, but one of the most unforgettable days of my life was the day I read the final Harry Potter book. I wanted to share this now because J. K. Rowling announced today her return to the literature world. Happy for you ma’am.

Now that the introduction is all said-and-done, I’ll tell you the story in which most Potter fans can relate themselves to. As a fan I was obsessed with Harry Potter those days. How much our fictional hero is similar to me is quite uncanny. Long story short… It was nearly time for me to read the final Potter book and boy was I nervous.

As the release day grew near and near I couldn’t sleep even. The book was preordered and all, just like every time (I’m not taking a risk by not ordering) and there I was on the day of the release all holed-up inside a tuition class. I had come to an agreement with my mom the previous day; when I return home with the book, No disturbing me till I finish reading. And the class was over, I ran straight to the bookstore (stopped on my way for Thimira to pick up his book too).

I arrived at Gunasena, Kiribathgoda with a huge smile on my face. The sales lady made sure to point that out for me. I knew she understood. I paid the rest of my money, thanked the cashier and went outside. On the doorstep was a poor lady holding a baby. I remember thinking to myself that on this happy day no one should be left sad. Keeping just enough money for a bus ride home, I turned my wallet upside-down and emptied the rest of the money for the poor lady. I didn’t wait for the reaction because I took the next available bus and went home.

There was my mom waiting with a grin on her face. She knew of the promise and I darted upstairs to the shower and into my room.

With a deep breath, I opened the book and that’s all I can remember of any real life event.

I raised my heads just few chapters away from the finale, the clock told me I was reading for 6 hours straight. 11 ‘O’ clock… Nah! Not hungry… and I started reading again.

The reality hit me the very moment I finished the book. I closed it slowly and turned it over to take a look at the cover. It was over… it was all over. Years of waiting and it all came down to this. A huge dread swept over me. It was like saying goodbye to a best friend. I thought I’d be happy to finish the series but I was not. The realization of the series coming to an end was incomprehensible.  For the first time in my life, I felt without a purpose. I knew this had nothing to do with the plot of the book where many of my favorite characters are now dead. This was more than that. I went downstairs to see if I can scavenge something to eat, only to be surprise with a plateful of my favorite goodies and a bottle of Coca-Cola waiting on the table. It was my mom. She knew I’d need something to celebrate finishing the book. She knew how I felt about the series. She knew of the emotional attachment. Most importantly, she knew… me.

I ate what was on it, I ate it all. It was a very quiet “dinner”. I went back to my room, picked up the book on the bed and placed it on the last empty space of the cupboard holding the 6 previous Potter books. What a sight to see… all 7 Books united in one straight line. The huge smile returned to my face. With the smile intact, I closed the door… that’s all there is, there isn’t any more.

Tech Tip: How To Solve The Wi-Fi Error In Android Phones

If you have an Android mobile and use WiFi (WLAN) often, you may encounter this. There’s nothing to worry about this WiFi error in Android mobiles and it may seem unsolvable. Samsung’s Galaxy series Android phones encounter this WiFi error in most cases. The reason is that the driver is not installed properly. You will never be able to activate WiFi in your Android when this problem raises. And you cannot use WiFi hotspot feature.

Solution:
It’s a piece of cake, when it comes to solving this problem.
So all that you have to do is,

Open your keypad and type in *#*#526#*#*

And wait for a few seconds till it says that the process was successful.
You won't face any problems hereafter.

IF you face it again, repeat this process.

Some people include this problem in the list of disadvantages of Android mobiles and cause buyers to fear about purchasing an Android phone.
It’s simple, solving this.

So, there’s nothing to worry about the WiFi error in Android mobiles. Share this with your friends.

Thanks to: techxpot

I Didn’t Visit The Colombo Motor Show 2011

Surprise, Surprise!  There is a Convention/Exhibition/Show (call it whatever) here in Sri Lanka which I never missed since its inception; The Colombo Motor Show. This year however I didn’t go… though I had time at hand. Being a Motor Vehicle Enthusiast (call me a “Petrolhead” if you will) this baffled me. Have I lost interest in the enthusiasm? It’s not that… I answered myself. It’s just that the Show is all boring… it’s the same thing each year, every year. No wonder I didn’t went.

The Colombo Motor Show is a great concept. It caters to a minority of Sri Lankans who actually care about cool cars and the culture associated with them. It was a good idea at first and I certainly enjoyed looking at cars which I can’t buy… yet. However, in the recent years, I don’t see them bringing in new cars that add a value to the show. Yes, I know they brought a Porsche Panamera Hybrid S… I see it every morning when I’m going to work and every evening coming back from work… I live near the Porsche Center of Sri Lanka, darn-tootin! But that’s not the point. Why can’t they do something unique for the show? I see my friends posting pics from this year's show… it’s cool that they had fun… but it was evident enough that it’s the same show from last year save a few for one or two new cars.

So, buck-up organizers… I want to see the next year’s exhibition,  I want to see an exhibition fitting enough to the said year, not the previous year’s one.

For, I Can't Help Falling In Love With You...

This song is buzzing in my head suddenly. I might as well get it out…

Wise men say only fools rush in
But I can't help falling in love with you
Shall I stay, would it be a sin
If I can't help falling in love with you

Like a river flows surely to the sea Darling, so it goes
Some things are meant to be
Take my hand, take my whole life too
For I can't help falling in love with you

Like a river flows surely to the sea
Darling, so it goes
Some things are meant to be

Take my hand, take my whole life too
For I can't help falling in love with you
For I can't help falling in love with you