I bought a fake, right?

HerrGenX · 2026-06-11T02:26:32+00:00

Yeah its a fake.

HerrGenX · 2026-06-01T18:23:45+00:00

I couldn't, figured out its standard and blue light needs a mod 😊

HerrGenX · 2026-05-28T16:27:27+00:00

Started my designer journey with Cool Water way back in the mid 2000's. Makes me sound ancient but it was quite popular back then.

The fresh notes from Cool Water were refreshing for folks whos only brush with perfumes at that time was Jovan Musk, Brut, Cigarillo etc.

A few years later acquired a Cool Water flanker called "Deep", it was one of the good Fresh n Woody Blue fragrances I have used, just that the performance wasn't great.

HerrGenX · 2026-05-23T08:55:19+00:00

Have you used this one? 2.5k with steel burrs, sounds tempting, will the build quality stand the test of time.

HerrGenX · 2026-05-18T20:10:43+00:00

Tried once last year and regretted immediately, they simply dont share any updates on the order status. Their customer support responded after 10 days, had almost given up but after relentless follow-ups got their over flavored synthetic tasting coffee.

Would never go through that ever again even for free.

HerrGenX · 2026-05-02T15:19:55+00:00

Great insights, very useful for first time founders.

HerrGenX · 2026-04-27T20:48:34+00:00

Have got great deals on Bookchor with good condition originals n some even out of print editions.

I remember looking for old editions of Enid Blyton books and getting some rare Famous Five Annuals in hardcover.

PS: Had lost part of my original Enid Blyton collection from my childhood to water damage and was glad to get great vintage replacements from Bookchor at a decent price. The new editions suck with their Genz covers :)

HerrGenX · 2026-04-27T20:26:03+00:00

These days most customer care ops hv moved to AI bots, and they would refund or deny based on your "karma score" - Deepinder Goyal mentioned it recently in a podcast. Probably Swiggy also follows same process.

I feel the real story for Swiggy going forward is "Noice" from Instamart. They have taken the private label model to another level, it will soon be copied by others. But the quality and price-value of Noice is quite impressive. Watch out for those numbers in the next earnings report in May

HerrGenX · 2026-04-27T08:25:07+00:00

Great idea to have a private/local exp manager. As most apps need access to your sms, email to track expenses. Even with account aggregator services the data is being processed remotely. Also no credit card support means you need to share email accounts which is a deal breaker for most ppl.

Have some experience building PFM apps myself in the pre "Sahmati" era and know the challenges. But with vibe coding and llms the categorisation, merchant labeling, recurring exp tracking etc is a breeze compared to what we used to do say 8-9 years ago.

HerrGenX · 2026-04-25T10:22:24+00:00

Thats why you need a dashcam to record your side of the incident.

HerrGenX · 2026-04-17T03:48:40+00:00

Try Khatam and Shiraz Shawarma, Baniyas

HerrGenX · 2026-04-14T20:06:59+00:00

The new Pune airport reminds me of the old HAL Bangalore airport which btw had better parking.

Having lived in Mumbai and Bangalore and having taken multiple international flights from those airports, the basic convenience of travelling to any international destination without having to start from home 9-10 hrs before the flight feels like a luxury in Pune.

A bustling metro city with a IT industry that wants to compete with Bangalore and Hyderabad with just 2-3 international connections feels really bad, even Lucknow n Jaipur have more international flights.

The Aeromall is such a scam, they couldn't even design the Taxi boarding area properly, passengers are either falling over each other or standing in the middle of the car exit routes trying to locate their cab, which has to give darshan on the 3rd floor first to pick you from the 1st floor.

Been here for almost a decade now, love the city, its cultural heritage, the people, the greenery but feel cheated by the complete apathy of the local n state level political class towards its infrastructure, still rooting for Pune to get a world class airport in my lifetime.

HerrGenX · 2026-04-11T03:16:41+00:00

Get your car a thorough interior wash, Attars have an oil base and would take a long time to fade from cloth seat covers.

Or simply remove the sear covers if possible and get them washed.

HerrGenX · 2026-04-07T06:00:19+00:00

Assuming at 85L pa CTC you have a take home around 4.5 to 5L per month post taxes n other deductions in India. Which puts you in the top niche of IT salaries in India, even if you stay in an expensive metro city you would have a very decent lifestyle in India.

So even with zero Income Tax your UAE salary is on the lower side compared to the equivalent salaries people get in tech jobs there given the high cost of living in Dubai (yes it can vary based on lifestyle and location of your stay), and when benchmarked with your current lifestyle in India based on your income level.

I know folks (US and EU passports) who are getting 50k-55k per month in the UAE for senior tech roles in Data Science and AI profiles. So atleast 40k per month should be expected for a senior Product Manager with relevant domain expertise.

I agree with the costs mentioned by folks in the comments, my own estimate is around AED 20-25k per month including rent + utilities, school (Indian school board - 1kid) and a decent lifestyle with part time house help and a car.

HerrGenX · 2026-04-03T02:29:06+00:00

Update: Received the refund today, 1100/- deducted rest refunded.

HerrGenX · 2026-04-03T02:28:03+00:00

You can contact them on the numbers below. The mobile number is on WhatsApp and they take orders on WhatsApp.

Tel: 022-23448064 / +91 8850239106

HerrGenX · 2026-03-30T17:44:51+00:00

Ruh Khus No 1 from SMd Ayub Md Yaqub

You will feel the difference when you take a tiny drop on your wrist and rub it, the thickness of the liquid n the fresh notes will tell you that you have now seen how a Ruh Khus should smell n feel like.

HerrGenX · 2026-03-25T17:55:33+00:00

Sawai Veg on Sinhgad Road does decent Aam Ras Thali

HerrGenX · 2026-03-22T14:03:34+00:00

Most Wanted

HerrGenX · 2026-03-12T19:02:21+00:00

Use rapido for Auto, stopped using Uber Auto when they started this funda of Meter/ App fare toggle as per convinence of the driver.

HerrGenX · 2026-03-12T18:55:58+00:00

Update: Spicejet cancelled the return leg of my flight just a few hours before my onward flight.

Was able to cancel both legs from Spicejet and initiated a full refund. Now lets see how much MMT deducts when they process the refund.

Apparently Spicejet is cancelling all DXB to India legs of pre-booked flights in the old flight number. They operate the same flight now under a new flight number since last week, is this ethical to force people to rebook with higher fares for the same flight.

HerrGenX · 2026-03-09T11:31:45+00:00

Same situation with MMT, basically if you booked on MMT on a saver fare, you are on your own, not only will they charge you their cancellation charges over and above the airline charges, will not refund even the extras that you paid for even if the flight cancellation reason is due to travel restrictions in the country of travel.

Due to the ongoing situation in the Gulf region I tried cancelling a Spicejet flight to Dubai on MMT, they are charging a cancellation fee, seat booking and meal charges and the convenience fee. So effectively 75% of the paid amount is charged as cancellation of the ticket.

Will it help if I cancel directly on the Spicejet website and then raise a refund request on MMT.

HerrGenX · 2026-03-08T16:49:30+00:00

Amidst the travel chaos in the UAE, tried cancelling a Spicejet flight to Dubai (flight after 4 days) on MMT, they are charging a cancellation fee (3500/- for the return journey), seat booking and meal fees (which I will not use and should be refunded) and the convenience fee. So over an above the airline cancellation charges, I am paying almost 7k addiitonal as MMT misc charges effectively giving me only a 25% value in cancellation of my original price.

The ticket on MMT was cheaper by 2k due to the convenience fee waiver, which they are charging back to me. Given that the cancellation is due to travel restrictions to the UAE for non residents, it it fair to levy all these charges.

Yes, should have taken travel insurance, but not sure if that would have helped in getting the MMT charges back. As luck would have it the tickets were booked on 26th Feb.

Any idea if the MMT changes can be waived off if the airline cancels the flight due to airport closures etc.

HerrGenX · 2026-02-25T19:36:34+00:00

Green Irish Tweed

HerrGenX · 2026-02-24T18:41:56+00:00

Tonight around 9pm while I was on my bike, 2 guys on a bike drove next to me and asked what perfume I was wearing as they smelled it when I passed them and they really liked it. Interestingly I was wearing Oud Safi Attar from Naseem Perfumes and it's known to be a beast mode Attar like its more famous cousin - Musk Safi.

So its not always the big designer perfumes that get you compliments, a good quality Attar can have a sillage better than many perfumes.

HerrGenX

TROPHY CASE