My ME-ME-ME blog has been temporarily decomissioned ! Its coz i have added finer details of certain competitions :) and as the contest is still on...i was requested to keep things a little hush hush. But there is a small twist. The blog is still availble for viewing but is "hidden" to the eyes of common men ......but all you need a little commonsense to access it :) lets see who can get there !

A lot of people have written to me over email to provide more details of the competition to get an insiders view ........answer: i will but all in good time ....be patient :)

Moving futher with the Microsoft shootout story ............ My tickets have arrived. I will be catching an early morning flight on Thursday and will be back in the night flight on Saturday. A good 3 days will be spent in Microsoft hospitality .....

Lights ...Sound ....Camera....Action !!!!

Ya ! Had my first video shoot yesterday ! The organisers for the
Microsoft Security Shootout gave me my "45 minutes of fame"
at their studios ! They intend to make a video of the
Q&A with the India Top 10. I was asked questions both on
a personal and professional front by the host of the interview.
I wish it was live and not recorded :)

Questions were quite stereotype though: Introduce yourself ? Your
reaction when you go to know you were in the top 10 ? (i told them
i quite expected it ... :) ) Parents reaction ? Best technical challenge
in the contest ? How did you come into this field ? what does security mean
to you ? (i said "to me security is not just about writing safe code ....to me
its way of life ....a life in which every move , every decision is calculated
before hand and well thought of ....being aware of the surroundings , the pitfalls
and the detours ,,,,,,after all this is what security and being secure is.....
and for a person like me who is paranoid about security ....it manifests itself in
all walks of life......." ..
,,clap ..clap. ...and come to think of it ....all this was on the spot ...no thinking
time :) ) What are your thoughts about Microsoft ? their technologies ? What is your
message to the developer community in India ? etc etc ...

To tell you the truth it really felt awesome !
I cannot really articulate in mere words how great it felt to be the
centre of attraction ! All lights, cameras and eyes on me ! Even the smallest
movement i made was important and captured ! People around were asked to "shut up"
and make silence for the "One" to speak his mind.
I have been waiting for this day
since a long time ....to have my presence felt in front of the media ! To be
the centre of attraction ....to be publically recognized and awarded for my
efforts !....it was no doubt a day well deserved.....a title truly due to me .....
Well guys, let me also assure you that this is just the beginning ....
you'll see more of me in the media in the coming days :)
This incident will go down in my history books !

I'll post the telecast timings here or a link to MSDN (wherever they decide to put this) soon.

Btw, guys the main Awards night is on the 23rd of June (this friday). I will be flown down
to Bangalore on the 22nd Morning to meet some biggies and grab my award and then will leave on the 24th.
They promise its gonna be a lotta fun :) and partying ! Lets see how it goes :)