Good luck, xash.
(BTW, I picture the “initiation” as what the Dementors do in the Harry Potter books.)
Congratulations and good luck xash.
About two years ago I spent an incredible week in India on a business trip. Delhi, Chennai, and Mumbai. It is interesting to see that you indicate your location as Bombay, the old English name for your city. Habit? Or preference?
Bombay by preference… and by habit.
And then also in a stubborn show of rejection of the new name 
Sorry for this hijack, but this is interesting…
gouda, do you also then still refer to Chennai as Madras? And may I ask, out of curiosity, why the preference for Bombay vs Mumbai?
I was led to believe that those city names were changed back to what they were named prior to the British “occupation”, and that this renaming was a very popular move. From your post, and xash’s location, I conclude something altogether different.
Xash, welcome to The Party! *
What is your average day like? What type of work do you do? Married, single? Do you consider yourself religious? How did you first find The Dope™? Do you think Star Wars or Star Trek is better? What is the square root of negative one? Do these jeans make my ass look big? Why haven’t you returned any of my phone calls?
Pick and choose what you want to answer, either serious or frivolous.
and oh yeah…
[Joel Grey]
Velcome!
[/JG]
- a very good movie by a charming actor, hope I didn’t offend
Well, I refer to it as Madras, purely out of habit. Same goes for Calcutta (new name Kolkotta). I’ve no real affinity for either city. Bombay though is personal, seeing as I was born and grew up there, and love the city…
IMO, the name change in the case of Bombay in particular wasn’t something too many Bombayites were very concerned about. Plenty of people called the city Mumbai (the name in Marathi, the state language) before the name change, and plenty of people called the city Bumbai (hindi corruption of Bombay, I think), and plenty of people called in Bombay - and all those people still call it what they’ve been calling it. Not much has changed on the street. Newspapers with ‘bombay’ in their name still have bombay; restauraunts with ‘bombay’ in their name still have bombay… you get the picture! It’s official, but hasn’t changed anything. I still resent the name change though - I could make a rant out of it, but i doubt it’ll last more than a few posts (mine and xash’s mostly), so it probably wouldn’t be very satisfying
In the case of Madras and Calcutta, I’m given to understand that they were popular moves, wanted by the citizens of each city. But I can’t be sure.
And The Party is one of the funniest movies I’ve ever seen!! And the only Indians who still find that movie offensive are 70+ years old, so don’t worry about it!
Speak for yourself, Monty. I’d rather hear about my favorite Khans (Aamir and ShahRukh). :insert drooling smiley here:
Congrats on your promotion, xash! What’s your favorite sweet or savory, so that we may know better how to bribe you? 
[Muppet Movie]*
Gonzo: I’m on my way to Bombay, India to become a movie star!
Fozzie: You don’t go to Bombay to become a movie star! You go where we’re going: to Hollywood!
Gonzo: Sure, if you want to do it the easy way!
*[/Muppet Movie]
Hey, get crackin, xash, you got a lot of catching up to tdo for your NMPQ*.
(*-Nazi Mod Pit Quotient- the name will stick if it kills me.)
Welcome, and thank you.
Man, am I ever out of the loop… I do spend a lot of time in GQ, and I never noticed xash. I guess he fnord just has one of those names that sort of slips under the radar. All lowercase will do that, you know.
This just cracked my shit up.
Congratulations, xash!
Oh! Computers! That explains it. I’ve been meaning to get a computer for ever.
I freakin’ LIVE in GQ, and you aren’t there. The time zone thing explains it. <sigh>
Very big welcome.
Daddy?
Hey, now that you are the newest member of the Mod Squad, are you more of a Clarence Williams III or Michael Cole type? Or perhaps more of a Peggy Lipton kinda Mod?
G’day Xash. Welcome mate. Do we now have a mod who knows about cricket?
gouda has essentially covered it. I’ve grown up and lived in Bombay most of my life, and I’ve always called it that. The move from Bombay to Mumbai was a political one. This country has an affinity for name changes. They rename airports, highways, streets, bridges, crossings, etc. every once in a while. The original name though usually sticks on in popular use. Every time a party comes to power they want to honour their heroes and their causes.
I’m a computer guy. I develop software for handheld computers and specialize in the domain of wireless networks and network security. I also run the Indian Palm User Group. My work is mostly play.
Married, single?
Single.
Do you consider yourself religious?
I was agnostic, now I tend towards atheist.
How did you first find The Dope™?
Good question. I found it through a link on bored.com.
Initially, I just read Cecil’s columns and found them fascinating. It wasn’t until a Weird Earl got me hooked that I discovered the joy that is these boards and the people that live it.
Do you think Star Wars or Star Trek is better?
Yes 
What is the square root of negative one?
This should be in GQ. I’ll move it for you
i am the square root of negative one. No, wait, that should be i is. It is also known, in engineering terms, as the j operator.
Do these jeans make my ass look big?
Those are jeans ? :eek:
Why haven’t you returned any of my phone calls?
You want me to wake you up at 3 a.m.?
p.s. Has anyone ever used one of each available smiley meaningfully in a single post ?
Start asking your local sweet mart to stock up on gulab jamuns and rossogullas.
Incidentally, Shahrukh Khan lives a few buildings away from my house. You might want to send me more of each.
Well, you once locked down my thread. I remember you
Thank you, and welcome
Don’t I get a handicap ? I mean they’ve had at least a 1 year lead.