Web Content I wrote for an Aviation Consultancy firm who didn't like it and therefore I'm posting it here. Anyways they're not going to use it

TECHNICAL ASSET MANAGEMENT SERVICES

We provide a range of Technical Asset Management Services. Feel free to let us know how can we help you out.

• Asset In Service Monitoring and Inspection: We at Flying Machine, ensure that the Assets in our service are monitored and inspected on a timely basis. Not only we ensure that the aircraft logbooks are monitored, our line engineers do an overall check every time an aircraft takes off.
• Lease Monitoring and Returns: We run a valuation of our leased assets every quarter to ensure that the real value of the asset is reckoned with and while doing this we ensure that the regulations, agreements and compliances are duly followed.
• Asset Pre-Purchase/Lease Inspection: Whether it’s a case of Asset Pre-Purchase or Lease Inspection you are interested in, we provide our full support for these processes.
• Asset Technical Records Audit, Risk Surveys and Analysis: During Audit, Surveys etc. our team ensures the data is consistent across different book of records.
• Status of Aircraft Airframe, Engines, APU: When it comes to routine-checking of the status of Aircraft Airframes, Engines and APU, we leave no stone unturned to ensure that logbook entries are maintained properly keeping in mind the high risks involved.
• Aircraft De-registration/ Registration (except UN sanction countries): Aircraft De/Registration sounds complicated? We are there to take care of the hassles involved and make the process seamless to you. Exceptions of embargo laid United Nations on certain countries will imply.
• Maintenance and technical contracts negotiation: Be rest assured that we put all our efforts to have the maintenance and technical contracts negotiated on the best terms.
• Aircraft lease negotiation support: As you are aware that terms and conditions keep changing every year, we keep a track of changes and help you in getting a hassle-free lease.

My Trip to Hyderabad in 2011

It was one of those long weekends in Bangalore in the year 2011 when I decided to take a quick trip to Hyderabad. I was new in Bangalore and it had been some time since I joined my finance job. At that point of time I was wondering whether I should pursue a CFA program and who better to consult than my college super-senior Swami who was in the same domain in Hyderabad. I booked the train tickets quickly and left for the City of Nawabs..

Once I was out of the station of the Twin City, I boarded the bus to land at my friend Sandeep’s place. Now, Hyderabad buses are one of the oldest buses you would have seen in your life. In fact, the speed at which the bus was running could more or less be determined by the noise caused inside the bus because of loose parts. That said, the bus fare was considerably lower than that in Bangalore. I just hope the status of buses would have got upgraded by now.

Swami had asked me to meet at NTR Marg. We reached the place well in advance and were strolling on the road. The date was 09-Sept-2011 and Ganesh Pooja had just ended. The process of ‘Murti Visarjan’ was in full swing and therefore a bit of road was blocked as well . In ‘Murti Visarjan’ the idols prepared in festivals are supposed to be immersed in water bodies once the festival gets over. Now, I have been seeing this immersion happening in my hometown Gorakhpur since my childhood and I used to be surprised as I didn’t like the way they took the the idols to the bank of Rapti river and push it to the water. I somehow, found it little disrespectful towards Gods.

On querying elders, I got to know that the idols are supposed to be carried on the boat to the centre of the water body and it should be gently left to immerse over there. Probably, what forced the people to immerse idols just like that is the number of idols outnumbering the boats to a great extent, Worse, following the immersion, the local swimmers would dive in the water and snatch whatever jewellery they can from the gods. Yes, those jewellery are artificial ones but even they fetch the swimmers some value. Here in Hyderabad, fortunately the immersion was happening with the help of a crane (Fig 1.0). Another fact is that idols were supposed to be made of clay and with the help of natural colors and therefore once immersed in water will not deteriorate the quality of water. Now-days, the idols are made of plaster of paris and along with it, the artificial colors make the water toxic which is an unhealthy practice.

Once we had a brief view of Ganesh Visarjan, we went to explore T Anjaiah Lumbini Park. The park was sufficiently big and colorful for the children to play around. There are much bigger parks in Bangalore but there was something different in this park; be it the number of swings, the waterfall (to click photos), the laser show or the boat trip to Gautam Buddha Statue in the middle of Hussain Sagar, one of the largest man-made lakes. There was a long revolving tower on which we took a ride. It went to the maximum height. The three dots kind-of things in the photo (Fig 1.1) were the baskets we sat in and therefore the height of these towers can be assumed. The ride was quite unique an experience!

We met Swami in the NTR Gardens which was at a walking distance from this park and was similar and bigger to Lumbini park. The evening was spent in the market around the world famous Charminar. This was very similar to the old market of any city and you can get a good deal if you negotiate. I bought an informal belt which is used till date. The language you come across in Hyderabad apart from Telugu is a unique dialect of Urdu called Hyderabadi Urdu. Hindi and Urdu (spoken in India) don’t have much difference apart from their vocabulary and generally one who speaks one can understand the other. I found it funny (no offence intended) the way they speak Urdu over there. For example, ‘Why’ is ‘Kyon’ in Hindi while in Hyderabadi Urdu it is ‘Kayku’ but the drag with which it is spoken seems funny.

While the majority is a Hindu population, the Muslim population is a huge minority and therefore is the prevalence of Urdu in language and Nonveg in food. I was a vegetarian (with my friend Sandeep who is a permanent vegetarian) those days and we went to a Chinese restaurant. We didn’t taste Biryani over there. Yes! You read that write. Neither did we taste Biryani nor we dealt in pearls. Hyderabad is so much more beyond Biryani and pearls. By the way, one plate biryani has so much quantity in Hyderabad that it is generally sufficient for two people.

Next day, Sandeep had already booked a Qualis to visit the Nagarjuna Sagar Dam. We started at 0700 hours and there were nine people (excluding the driver). Now ten people in a Qualis is quite a crowd but that was its own kind of fun. The seating arrangement was 3 people each on front and middle seats, and 4 people on the dual seats in the third row facing each other. The dam was some 140 kms away from our location and I was calculating in my mind that it would take 4-5 hours (including breaks) to go there. After spending around 2 hours over there we would be back in 5 hours. Having started at 0700 hours we would be easily back in the evening and I could catch my scheduled trains at 2100 hours. But destiny had something else in its mind. Having crossed some 120 kms in 4 hours we faced a massive traffic jam. We were not much sure of the reason behind the jam but Ganesh-Visarjan could have been one of the reasons.

Jam, jam and traffic jam. Fortunately, ours was a Qualis where the back door can be opened upwards (unlike Tata Sumo). It was around 12 noon and was pretty hot. Qualis was crawling like a snail and by keeping the back door open we were getting fresh air and the following auto-rickshaw was getting a shade (of the back door) as well. That was the longest period of time I had ever experienced a traffic jam. So, to cover the initial 120 kms we took 4 hours and to cover the rest of the 20 kms we took another 2 hours. My train scheduled at 2100 hours, was hardly leaving my mind running thoughts of different probabilities.

It was a strange arid road with no food-stalls, drinking water etc. We took a sigh of relief on reaching the Natural fountain (We had left the artificial dam at the place where the jam started). Extremely hungry and thirsty we had the exorbitant, tasteless egg-biryani over the only food counter over there. The fountain was ok. Since I was the only person who had to be in the city before 2100 hours, after spending around one hour over there I prodded Sandeep to ask everybody else to come back for the return journey. Somehow, I had the feeling that jam would be less on the way back.

I don’t know why carrying water didn’t come in anybody’s mind while starting from the Natural fountain. We again got stuck in the traffic and there was nothing except the omnipresent Airtel network and vehicles. All of us became thirsty and we desperately needed water. We asked the driver to come on his own and started walking on the road. We walked some 3-4 kms until we came across a hand-pump. I don’t know how much water I drank at that point of time. By now it was already 2000 hours and I understood that I will miss my train. We had a good view of the dam in the evening and had some food nearby. I asked the driver to drop me at the Bus Stand since since it was already 0000 hours and I knew that there were no train / private bus at that point of time.

The next bus to Hyderabad was at 0630 hours next day and fortunately the bus stand had a dormitory. I got the top bed of the unusually high bunker bed. Once I was flat, the distance between the fan and my body was so less that if I had raised my hand straight, it would have got hit by the fan. Thanks to the tiring day, I had a sound sleep that night. Next morning, I boarded the bus and enjoyed one of the best highways from Hyderabad to Bangalore.

Canon's new cameras: Canon EOS 200D and Canon EOS 6D Mark II.

Canon announced the launch of two new cameras to commemorate the National Camera Day: Canon EOS 200D and Canon EOS 6D Mark II.

EOS 200D is for those who are thinking of their first DSLR camera. It comes with a 24.2 megapixel APS-C size CMOS sensor, capable of getting crisp pictures apart from having the flexibility to crop image with without compromising on the quality. The in-built DIGIC 7 image processor can increase the ISO speed to 25,600 which is helpful in reducing motion blur in low-light conditions and thereby getting good quality pictures. The Dual Pixel CMOS AF technology ensures that the camera focuses really fast and continues tracking the moving subject during Live View and movie shooting modes. It also features a Vari-angle LCD monitor, Wi-Fi, NFC and Bluetooth for your convenience. The Canon Camera Connect app lets you control certain features from your phone.

Canon EOS 6D Mark II may be suitable for people who have photography experience with DSLRs and want to switch to full-frame photography. It is the lightest camera in the segment of EOS full-frame DSLR line and has a 26.2 Megapixel CMOS sensor. This sensor delivers exceptionally clear images even under low light conditions apart from getting you the background blur effect. It also has the Dual Pixel CMOS AF technology for high-performance focus tracking. The DIGIC 7 image processor provides high image quality in dimly lit situations. The camera has a versatile Vari-angle touch panel so that you can use it from different angles. With 45-point all cross-type AF system, you can focus more effectively on different subjects. This camera is equipped with a 7650 pixel RGB+IR metering sensor, a color detection AF, Wi-Fi, NFC, GPS receiver, Bluetooth which will come handy in professional level photography.

How to fix Error code OX80070091

How frustrating it an experience is when you come across an error message on your computer. You might have seen the Error Code OX80070091 when trying to delete a folder. The message further says, “An unexpected error is keeping you from deleting the folder. Error 0x80070091: The directory is not empty”. This sounds creepy to you. If you are the administrator of the computer, why can’t you delete the folders? What’s worse! Because of this error you may not be able to install new apps / app updates and therefore it becomes important to troubleshoot this error asap.

Let’s have a look at some of the probable causes because of which this issue can happen:

·         Check if you have logged in as an administrator. It is important to check this because as a secondary user, you can not delete some files / folders.

·         The hard drive has bad sectors

·         The drivers have become corrupt

·         The temporary folder is flooded with junk files

Below are some methods which will help you in resolving this issue.

·         Method 1: Use your existing antivirus.

o    Login with your administrative access and scan your computer with the existing antivirus / Microsoft Defender. See if the problem still exists.

o    Restart your computer and try deleting the intended file / folder to see if the issue is resolved.

·         Method 2: You should remove the junk files on a regular basis which doesn’t just occupy unnecessary space in your computer but can also make your system unstable.

o    Hold Win, Press X

o    Click “Command Prompt (Admin)”

o    Click “Yes”

o    Type “cleanmgr” and press Enter

o    Select the drive which you want to check (we recommend doing this for all drives one by one)

o    The process will start and you will be notified the space you can claim on the respective hard disks.

o    Review and Check all the Radio Buttons to remove unnecessary files

o    Click ‘Ok” for the process to start

o    Check if you are still able to delete the intended folder (the Error Code OX80070091 is resolved or not)

·         Method 3: Check the folder’s properties to confirm if you actually have full administrative rights

o    Open Windows Explorer app

o    Open the Parent Directory of the folder with this issue

o    Right click on the folder and click on Properties

o    Click on Security > Advanced > Owner

o    Change the ownership to “New Owner”

o    Select “Replace Owner” in both “Sub-container and Objects”

o    Once the changes have been saved, try deleting the intended file / folder

·         Method 4: You can take help of the File Checker Tool to resolve this.

o    Click Win logo

o    Type cmd

o    Hold Ctrl & Shift simultaneously and press Enter

o    Type chkdsk/f/r and press Enter and press Y

o    The Disk Check will start working once the computer restarts. Give it some time before trying to delete the intended file / folder.

·         Method 5: An alternative way to run the File Checker Tool is below. The difference is, this one focuses more on repairing bad sectors:

o    Hold Win, Press X

o    Click “Command Prompt (Admin)”

o    Click “Yes”

o    Type chkdsk C/f/r/x

o    Press Enter to let it scan your computer. Once this is done, restart your computer and try deleting the intended file / folder.

·         Method 6: Sometimes, the drivers are not updated resulting in Error Code OX80070091 and other errors. You need to update drivers to check if this issue gets resolved.

o    Open the path Control Panel\System and Security\System in Windows Explorer

o    Click Device Manager

o    Expand all the options and check for a yellow exclamation before any device

o    If you find one, right click on it and click on Update Driver Software...

o    Restart your computer and try deleting the intended file / folder to see if the issue is resolved.

·         Method 7: Use System Restore as one of the last options. ‘System Restore’ restores the settings for a specific past date but it doesn’t affect your files. This options comes in handy if you had created a Restore Point at that point of  time when the error was not there

o    Click Win logo, type and click on Settings

o    Click Update & Security

o    Click Recovery

o    Select ‘Go back to an earlier build’

o    Choose the date when this issue was not there

o    Run the tool and restart the computer

o    Either the intended file / folder got deleted or you should be able to delete it manually now.

·         Method 8: If even after using the System Restore option, the file / folder is there / you are unable to delete the file / folder, the last option is to erase everything from the computer and take it back to Factory Settings.

o    Take a backup of your important files offline or online

o    Click Win logo, type and click on Settings

o    Click Update & Security

o    Click Recovery > Reset this PC

o    Click Get Started > Remove Everything

o    Further there will be two options ‘Just remove my files’ and ‘Remove files and clean the drive’. We suggest you to go with the second option.

o    The computer will restart and take a considerable time to go to Factory Settings.

o    This option will start your computer afresh and all the old folders (including the folder with the error) will get deleted resolving your issue.

The last step will make your computer in the state when you bought it. You need to move the old files manually to the computer and install programs / apps from scratch. Your issue should be resolved and you should be able to delete that creepy file / folder using the steps mentioned above.

Bangalore and Non-Veg Food

Bangalore has undoubtedly, one of the best weathers in India which probably is the reason for so many IT companies settling here. In turn, Bangalore attracts people from across the country making it one of the most cosmopolitan cities. The food joints here leave no stone unturned to ensure that one gets non-veg food varying from Lang-sha (North-Eastern States) to Awadhi Biryani (Uttar Pradesh) and different food from other states. Bangalore has not been always like this. I got to know from a news article (link below) that in Malleswaram, the hub of the city it was difficult to get liquor, leave alone non veg food, twenty years back. Being a vegetarian was considered to have a ‘higher social status’ since that was more or less, at par with Brahmins. 

We have a plethora of options for having non veg food now in Bangalore. Ranging from street food stalls to military hotels to 5 star restaurants these food points ensure that one get nearly all kinds of non veg food that fits in her budget. Talking about military hotels, it was difficult to get the origin of the name by searching on internet however, we get a vague idea that these military hotels were set-up to serve military people. Mostly these military hotels are non veg and don’t burn a hole in your pocket. 

Some streets in bangalore become a paradise for nonveg connoisseurs in the festivals particularly Ramadan. People will be thronging around stalls having non veg delicacies in Shivajinagar on Ramadan evenings. If you’re lucky you get to taste camel’s meat otherwise the normal stuff like mutton samosa (half the size of a regular samosa), chicken burger, beef / mutton kebabs, caramel custard and last but not the least sulemani chai are served. These stalls are temporary ones and hygiene-minded people may hesitate a bit to have food here. Some stalls are open post midnight in Shivajinagar for latecomers. Other places where these stalls can be found are Tilak Nagar, Rahamat Nagar and Frazer Town.

While now-days there’s a lot of debate going on what to eat and what not to eat and some atrocious incidents have also taken place (particularly in North India) for people eating / storing beef, Bangalore is a relatively safe place to have non veg food with the variety, unlikely to get anywhere else.

My new phone - Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (4 GB RAM with 64 GB memory)

I recently bought the Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (4 GB RAM with 64 GB memory) for $210 (13,500 INR). Considering other phones with the same specifications, this was a steal deal. This was my first experience with a Xiaomi device and I must say that there are reasons why the brand is called ‘Apple’ of China.

Let’s quickly have a look at the Pros and Cons of the phone:
Pros: • Once you’re logged in to your MI account, all the messages and call logs will appear on your phone just like you left it with your last Xiaomi device. • The in-built apps like Cleaner, Security Compass, Notes work like a charm. • The battery easily lasts for 1.5 days with mixed usage. • It has great customization options. You can even flip the placements of buttons (multi-tasking on the right and back on the left or vice versa) or turn their lights off • Octa-Core Snapdragon 625 SoC works flawlessly in most of the situations. I had a good experience playing Asphalt 8.
Cons: • It still uses micro USB when the whole world is adopting USB Type C. • It takes a while (around 2.5 hours) to charge the battery from scratch.

Homeschooling - Concept

Since time immemorial, children have been gathering chunks of knowledge by a mentor aka Guru. Format of this education may have changed from ‘Ashrams’ to ‘International Schools’ but the basics remains the same. A Guru disseminates the knowledge and in the end seeks ‘Gurudakshina’ which is paid by the disciple. However, it is not mandatory from the Guru’s side to ask ‘Gurudakshina’.

Let’s come to the modern way of education system. Children still go to a bunch of Gurus who don’t seek any ‘Gurudakshina’ but are on the payrolls of the educational institution. To ensure that these institutions don’t run out of money to pay to their hired Gurus, they keep charging money in different formats from children’s parents. The basic school fee is justified to some extent; what is not justified, are the different charges which they name very innovatively as Development Fee, Infrastructure Fee etc.

Adding on to that, the nexus which the schools have with different uniform-and-book-shops is highly condemnable. The nexus pressurizes school to ask parents to buy books, stationary, uniform and all other not-that-necessary stuff from a particular shop and everybody wins in this deal except the parents.

Some parents have started working on a concept called homeschooling to combat this situation. Here, the children instead of going to school learn at home with the help of parents and if required, a tutor comes into picture. Directly homeschooling helps the parents to get more involved with their children and as a bonus, children don’t get molested by the teachers in the school (we have enough examples of this; Don’t we!).

Theoretically, parents are supposed to prepare a time-table for children which includes her studies, extra-curricular activities and projects. The child stays at home and learn under her parents’ supervision. One of the negative aspect of homeschooling is the child missing out with the social interactions with kids of her age, which she would be getting engaged in her school. Parents have come out with web forums to make an attempt to resolve this situation.

Like-minded parents plan and meet (along with their children) at mutually agreed places so that the child get a hang of social interactions. Getting connected on web means that parents can discuss study related issues with each other and strive for a resolution. We have examples of individuals like Hilary Duff and Williams sisters who were homeschooled and have created a niche for themselves.