Well, laptops are good to have, but after using them for over an year now, realized that laptops are bad for my eyes. Not if you use it on a proper desk, but the thing with laptop is, its too easy & convenient to use it when you are on the bed, and some how, in my case, I ended up placing the laptop too close to my eyes.
Well, I have been wearing eye glasses for the past 2.5 yrs now, and recently did a routine eye test. Obviously, my power had slightly increased and I think it can be attributed to the improper use of laptops!
So, this week, bought myself a 22″ widescreen LCD monitor (V7 Series). I have never heard about this name before, but found it via a deal site on staples.com. It had very good reviews, and it was well priced. Got it for around $238 (including taxes+shipping).
Its a pretty decent monitor, has regular VGA input, built-in stereo speakers, dvi inputs (no cables though - you need to buy them). Love it so far!…….No problems what so ever. See Updates below…
Also got Logitech Cordless Navigator Duo. So, now I have a full fledged ergonomic workplace at home.
Hopefully, that should help my eyes and my body! :)
Update 1 (9-Nov, 9 AM CST): After using the monitor for a few days, noticed that there was a low hissing noise, which used to start and stop randomly. Asked staples for an exchange - to which they readily agreed. Waiting for a replacement unit today. Will update how the new unit performs.
Update 2 (9-Nov, 7 PM CST): Staples folks screwed up. They are telling me that they have some logistic issues, and the monitor that I was supposed to get is missing from their warehouse. So, its only possible for them to deliver on Monday (12-Nov). Will update once I get the replacement unit!
Update 3 (14-Nov, 8 PM CST): Staples delivered the monitor on Monday (12-Nov), and also offered a $35 coupon to compensate me for the trouble. Haven’t yet got the coupons, but i think they should be here in a few days. The replacement monitor is OK so far!. No hissing noise for 2 days now. Will have to keep an watch for few days. Will update in a weeks time.
Well, after waiting for years, the new Infosys Mangalore development center is ready for business. Its named Nethra after the river Nethravathi which is the lifeline of mangalore (and its pretty close to the river too!!) .
Unofficially, the center started operations on 15th October, with 83 people on-board!
When phase 1 is fully ready - it would accommodate upto 3200 people. And since its in the Special Economic Zone (SEZ), it means that certain percent of the people working there must be freshly recruited! Which is a great news to the entire Dakshina Kannada region. Phase 2 and 3 would bring in more growth!
This has been a much awaited project. Have been hearing about it even before I joined Infosys in 2002!
Kudos to everyone involved. An official inauguration ceremony is planned sometime in the coming months!
Will try to post more pictures as soon as I get them!
Yesterday, me and my friend had been to the local Walmart, and we found that there were around 6 to 7 people camping outside to get their hands on the PS3 console. Inside, we could see the PS3 console at display, with a notice above it directing people to the queue outside for it! There were only 10 Units for sale.
BTW, its getting very cold these days, and yesterday it was really windy! I have never experienced such winds before !!… Cold+Wind is terrible. Can’t imagine the enthusiasm of the people waiting in queue for the console!
Oh yes. I am very much alive :) but almost buried in work….. haven’t done much in Houston yet. But I think now I am quite familiar with the places around, and the important roads in Houston.
Last Sunday (24-Sep), we had a Infosys hosted party at a private Ranch called Buck Horn Ranch. It was fun. The Ranch itself was pretty scenic, and it had a pretty huge lake within. There was a toy train too, which took us around the lake. And then there were other fun stuff. The HR folks organized some games tooo. So, it was kind of fun and a good break from the hectic work.
On the work front, lot of things piled up. The month or so has been very very hectic. But things are taking shape slowly. But its definitely taking more time than I expected it to! Oh…and I am learning lot of lessons too.. and I guess, that’s what gaining experience is all about ! :)
Yes, it has been a long time since I posted. I think more the two weeks! I think I have never blogged soo infrequently !!. And the reason for the same is ………… yes, you guessed it right……. work.
The past three weeks have been very very hectic. Kind of in meetings all day long. There have been days were I was in meeting for the entire day with a 45 mins lunch break. And then, during non office hours, I need to catch up with my mails, do some documentation stuff, co-ordinate with the team back in India and…. setup my home. We did have a long weekend in between(Sep 3-5), but we were at home, setting up things. Bought quite a lot of stuff for our house, and it took quite a lot of time and effort to assemble and setup things.
Well, Houston as such is a much bigger place compared to Kingsport. Lot of places to go around, but so far, I haven’t got a chance to do much of exploring around, except for Walmarts and Targets around :).
The weather at Houston is pretty decent. Its not as hot as I expected. Or, may be I am lucky to totally avoid the Houston summer. The weather is comparable to the weather at Mangalore, my home town. And…………..no hurricanes too so far! (touch-wood!!)
Extremely sorry to all the people who have left comments on other posts. I was just not able to reply. Will try to catch up with it soon.
Well, I am not an Impulse buyer, but sometimes, some deals and offers are too hard to resists. So, ended up buying some electronics stuff in the last few days, which I kind of wanted to buy at the back of my mind.
Got a 1 GB RS-MMC card with MMC Adapter - from meritline.com - got it for around $29 including shipping. I can use this card with my Nokia 6600 and also the Canon A610 digital camera.
Mobile Bluetooth Headset - Got Logitech Mobile Freedom Bluetooth Headset from amazon.com for $27.50 - which is pretty good price. The actual cost advertised by logitech is around $59.99 - Also the reviews on this product is pretty good.
Got a PNY 1 GB Mini Attaché USB 2.0 Flash Drive for around $20 (no rebates etc) from dell.com. This one yet yet to ship from dell.com.
Bought a Mobile USB travel charger for iPod - No more PC/Laptop required to charge the Nano! - got this one for around $6!
I dont say that these would be the best ever prices that I would ever get these item. But its always best to buy when good deals are available. The catch is, these deals dont last long!. Good deals expire with a blink of the eye!!!! …….. ….there is always another time, but you need to keep an close eye on the deals available.
Mangalore, my home town has been featured in Time Magazine! Came to know about this from Harsha’s blog a couple of days back.
Hampankatta. Mangalore - Photo Credit: Bharat Sikka for Time Magazine
The article talks about the recent growth-wave that’s hit Mangalore. Sure enough, Mangalore has changed a lot in the last 5 to 10 years, and I am sure that by the time I am back at Mangalore, it would look totally different!
