The Unmetalled Highway

The answer isn't 42

2010-12-31T21:15:00.005+05:30

Those who believe that the earth is "mostly harmless" may be quite offended by the title of this blog post. However, even they will agree, that 42 isn't the answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe and everything. Funny thing is, most don't even know what the ultimate question of life is.

Inevitably though, it crosses everyone's mind. Or rather, for the lack of a better description, engulfs the mind with an intensity that would make a raging wildfire green with jealousy. It, of-course being the question that shakes the very essence of existence of even the strongest people out there.

In the words of the inimitable Dr. Sheldon Cooper, Ph.D., the question can be phrased as "To what end?". Upon most of us though, as we tread wearily through the brobdingnagian monotony that is life, it slowly dawns as a realisation that we don't really know what we want from it.

Given that this question, at least for a lucky few amongst us, results in the forging of a path that they follow for the rest of their natural born life, we may safely assume that this, in fact, is the the ultimate question of life, the universe and everything.

For most of us though, this realisation transcends the feeling of falling down an endless pit, with the damn thing not even possessing the common courtesy of having a bottom (Remember, its not the fall that kills you, its the sudden stop at the bottom that does!). Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that the feeling of not knowing the answer makes one suicidal, its just that the metaphorical bottom to that pit might be a jolt enough to make one sit up, take stock of life, think, ponder, contemplate. In other words, the metaphorical bottom is the epiphany all of us are waiting to have.

Sadly, so far, any epiphany to the purpose of life has eluded me with the same gusto as the Road Runner evading Wile E Coyote.

Why then all of a sudden, in the dying hours of the year, am I rambling about my (so far) wasted life. I guess it is because despite trying to, I cannot answer the question "What do you do?" with "I'm living my dream", which undoubtedly is the best response that could ever be garnered for this question. Or maybe it is just because despite enough attempts to do otherwise, I am going to spend the new year's eve in the exact same manner I did last year; Asleep before the new year dawns (per IST).

Whatever the reason be, 2011 does not seem to be bringing any breakthroughs. So if any of you out there, who chance upon this rant, have but even a sliver of insight into how to figure out what I want, lemee know.

PS: The crux of the matter however is that even after going through whatever trials and trepidations that lie in the path of getting to know what I want, what I really want, or rather, what I need may be something else entirely. But that perhaps is a topic for another day.

Custom Message v3.0

2009-05-23T07:12:00.002+05:30

It has been a really really long time since I last posted here my compilation of status messages that I find below friends' names in the various messengers that I use. More than two and a half years actually (damn, that IS long). Since then, countless status messages have been displayed in my messenger friend lists, and some that catch my eye are saved to a raggedy text file somewhere in the depths of my hard disk. But it is now time.

I'll start with something which, while having flashed across my gtalk window ages ago, sorta perfect fits the current situation that the world is in.
"Due to recent cutbacks and until further notice, the light at the end of the tunnel has been turned off." This one was from Jay Mody/Drumster.

Related to the same subject is the next one from fundoome:
"There are 10^11 stars in the galaxy. That used to be a huge number. But it's only a hundred billion. It's less than the national deficit! We used to call them astronomical numbers. Now we should call them economical numbers."

Given that the state of the world is not so good, few people do have their doubts about the future. And thus Babboo said:
"The problem with future is that though it is supposed to be better it keeps turning into present."

And on similar lines, Cyrix says:
"A man once told me, "Cheer up, things cud b worse." So I cheered up, and sure enuf, things got worse."

Hmmm, given that the above few post a very depressing picture of the world, lets move on to slightly lighter stuff....

Lets start with another one from Cyrix:
"I hated going to weddings. All the grandmas would poke me saying "You're next". They stopped that when I started doing it to them at funerals."

This post wouldn't be complete without the trademark geeky status message, so here it is, courtesy Anikh Thakur:
"I would love to change the world, but they won't give me the source code."

Last time around, there were a few engineers pissed at Newton and gravitation. We have one more. This one's from Indranil, a fellow engineer and IITian.
"sometimes as an engineer i wish that Newton had decided to sit under a coconut tree ;)"

Talking of IITs, they are magical places, and as usual, the examination time brings out some of the finest status messages to come out of there. The following two deal with the dilemma that the students face towards the end of their stints at IIT.
"xam time realisation : gettin into iit is tough but getting out is tougher :((" - Indranil
"You think getting into IIT is difficult? Try getting out, b***h......" - Rajeev

Some of us believe in getting through these exams and all. Others however differ, as aptly put forward by Abhishek Gupta:
"padh likh kar kya karna hai, ek din sabko marna hai, markar bhi janam liye to nursery se hi to padhna hai!!"

Everyday, countless scientific discoveries are being made. The next statement is from Issac Asimov, but for all purposes, for me, it simply was Vivek Malewar/Matterlogic's status message.
"The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new discoveries, isn't 'Eureka!' but rather 'hmm....that's funny'."

And also, often what the scientists and physicists feel while working hard for these discoveries is also aptly put forward by another Matterlogic status message:
"I feel like i'm diagonally parked in a parallel universe!!!"

A lot many people like eagles for being the majestic creatures that they are. Little do they know that "Eagles may soar, but weasels never get sucked into jet engines." I forgot whose status message this was.

It is human nature to make jokes at the expense of our friends. The next one was the status message of Siva Krishna, making fun of Abhishek Chaudhary a.k.a Chow
Chow (verb.), Lacking hope. example: "After failing to impress women, Abhishek felt chowed"

Talking about friends, Anshul Singhal said:
"I don't like to commit myself about heaven and hell - you see, I have friends going to both the places :)"

Of late, I have been interested in photography and camera equipment (okay, I'll admit, I have been obsessing about it for over a year now). The following two were not status messages but forum signatures picked up when hanging around the www.dpreview.com forums
"I don't believe in fate, but I do believe in f8" - Mr. Ken Phillips

You gotta know a wee bit about photography to understand the one above, and you for the one below, you need to know about Nikon's DSLR lineup when the D700 was launched (Mid-2008-ish). This would also please the Chuck Norris fans amongst those who understand it.
"Chuck Norris round-house kicked Ken Rockwell's D3, and now we have the D700. Contrary to slanderous claims that the D3 slept with the D300 ~9 months ago!"

Last time around, after I posted the custom message post, I was requested to include a few of my own status messages. Unfortunately, I never remember mine after changing them on the messenger window. Things like twitter now help. This is what I came up during a recent week long spring break from office:
"an idle mind is truly the devil's workshop. But worse than that, it gives you way too much time to think over your own thoughts....."

Fortunately, Rishi Doshi (RiDo) has a solution:
"I like the music loud. So that I can't hear my thoughts."

In life, we are always in the pursuit of happyness, but sometimes, this is what you should have in mind when heading that way:
"If you want a happy ending, that depends, of course, on where you stop your story....." - Siddarth Khastgir

We also make a lot of mistakes in life, but I guess you'd never learn without making them.
"Here's the thing about mistakes. Sometimes, even when you know something's a mistake, you gotta make it anyway... Even really, really dumb mistakes." - Ted Mosby, Architect, from one of my fav. TV series, How I Met Your Mother.
"Everybody makes mistakes, that's why they put erasers on pencils" - I picked this one up from a blog post, don't remember whose.

For making mistakes, we often criticize a lot of people. This should help you get a little more out of that process:
"Before you criticize people, you should walk a mile in their shoes. That way, when you criticize them, you're a mile away. And you have their shoes." - saw this as Debjeet Sen's status message.

Talking some more about mistakes, one of my friends has caught upon a mistake countless men make. Manuj Nagpal was enlightened with this knowledge:
"Many a man who falls in love with a dimple make the mistake of marrying the whole girl."

If however you do make the mistake, the following are words of wisdom.
"Do u know why a gun is better than a wife? Because u can put a silencer on it." - TKB
"if ur wife wants to learn driving, u shudn't get in her way" - I forget whose status message this was.

We dream a lot about what we want to do and what we want to be, but be very careful, as this quote from one of my favorite game warns:
"Dreams have a nasty habit of going bad when you're not looking." - Max Payne

We all know that English is a very very strange language, with the same word having many meanings, thus leading to funny sounding phrases, strange grammar rules, and on top of that more exceptions than rules. This leads to the following observations:
"More than 1 mouse is mice; more than 1 spouse is spice." - from Bhavesh/Voice

"A famous painter met his death because he could not draw his breath." - Sonali/sonik

There's another one from Sonik, about a cold truth of life.
"If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he'll not bite you. This is the principle difference between a dog and a man."

And as long as we are back to discussing about life, I now present to you(and also close my post with) the status message that got me back into the game, and inspired me to dig out that text file and post the collection of status messages once more. I saw this as a status message a few days ago under Arijit Pal's name on my messenger window.
Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming "Wow! What a Ride!"

The Laziest Person On the Planet

2009-03-22T21:20:00.001+05:30

It's Official now (atleast as per the life and happenings research department of Psycho McCrazy). I am the Laziest person on the entire planet.

I have been lazy almost my entire life, and if you ask, my parents and my aunts and uncles would vouch for that in a jiffy. I would always be totally unenthusiastic to do anything that did not interest me the least bit. Would more often that not get me into more trouble that I had bargained for, but that was my thing. It was what I did. I was lazy.

As the time progressed, I slowly joined the rank of elite procrastinators, laying off all tasks till the latest possible minute, and had even without knowing that it even existed, started following the "Theory of Round Figures". While the exact definition of this theory is something that the original theorizer only can comprehend, it generally means that the most urgent task at hand can wait till the next hour, or the half hour strike before it has to be begun.

But now, my laziness has gone to levels that the even I wasn't prepared to encounter. I mean earlier it was only the things that I disliked or did not interest me, but now even my hobbies and the things that I used to do when lazying off other real tasks have become victim of the unprecedented levels of laziness that I am displaying.

I like photography, but for the last four or so months, I have not taken out my camera and gone out of the room. I was conveniently blaming it on the cold weather, but now that the last few days have been beautifully sunny without the crazy wind blowing, (except for today, damn rain), I still cannot make myself get off my arse and take a walk outside.

I like to blog, and was pretty darn regular in college when I thought that my laziness was at its peak, with all the bunked classes, the endless hours of doing absolutely nothing, and not giving a damn about it. But now, even though there are a thousand things to choose from to write, I cannot make myself to sit in front of my monitor and type some. (Only I know how I have battled the monster of laziness to come up with this post).

I also am an crazy avid videogamer, but now a days, sometimes I am so lazy that I prefer to stay lying in bed rather than getting up, walk three steps to my chair and play on for few hours. This when I used to laze around about zillions of other things just to play for some time longer.

I mean for god's sake, have I become so pathetic, that my laziness is now getting to swallow up the things that I actually liked to do. Anyway, so far this laziness has not gotten to the point where it causes me some real damage, because as yet it has not caused me to miss work or something like that, but given the levels that it has gotten to, I'm not really sure about how long it will be before that happens. Damn, I gotta do something before it gets me!!!

That Last Maggi!! Postcard from Japan v2.04

2009-02-21T08:26:00.002+05:30

There are both benefits and disadvantages to spending sometime in a foreign country like Japan, away from home. The advantages, while not limited to, include the five day work week, dust free environment, the infrastructures of an developed country, going to the Tokyo Game Show and ogling at the booth babes, and the good traffic sense that allows you to ride a bicycle and keep moderately fit. Also, for those who are into experimentation about their food, a great part is that there are so many new dishes to be tried that they can spend a great amount of time on that.

The fact however remains that almost all of the items are non-vegetarian and thus to a lot of people from India that poses a great issue because of their vegetarian dietary restrictions. For someone like me however, who lies in neither categories mentioned above, while survival in Japan is pretty easy as I can eat the stuff that is available easily in the office and hostel canteens, the McDonalds and Mos Burgers at the crossroads and grab the sandwiches from the 24 hour convenience stores and eat whenever.

But, there comes a time when on the days off, the canteens are closed, one's had way too much bread and milk, and the lazy me is in no mood to go out because of the windchill, Maggi comes to the rescue. Simple enough that someone like me with practically ZERO cooking expertise can prepare it in a jiffy, and then eat it steaming hot.

Maggi has been the mainstay of bachelor sustenance for as long as I can remember, as in my elder cousins taking bucketloads of it to college, me also depending a lot on Maggi at the hostel canteen for all late night snacks, and then carrying mass quantity packets of it to both my trips to the Land of the Rising Sun. Maggi without doubt is one of the god's greatest gift to bachelor-kind, nay, mankind.

However, as I now look at the one remaining packet of Maggi remaining with me, I an wishing for the news of anyone coming here from India on any short term trip so that they can carry some and I can stock up on the supply for another few months.

Windchill!!! Postcard from Japan v2.03

2008-12-20T20:00:00.000+05:30

Wikipedia describes windchill as follows:

Wind chill is the apparent temperature felt on exposed skin, which is a function of the air temperature and wind speed. The wind chill temperature (often popularly called the wind chill factor) is always lower than the air temperature, except at higher temperatures where wind chill is considered less important.

Now given that Japan is a cold country, these "higher temperatures" are nowhere to be seen except for a short duration of summer. And given it is winter (at least for us people of the northern hemisphere - those down under are perhaps enjoying their beaches right now), windchill is looming larger than life these days.

In the morning, with the air temperature perched somewhere around the lower reaches of the thermometer, and with the wind increasing in strength, windchill becomes the prime reason of dreading the workday, displacing work from its high throne. I mean who in the right state of their minds would ever want to go out to get to office - on a bicycle no less - when the outside conditions are sure to freeze your limbs, give you frostbite and even cause a serious case of brain freeze more often than not.

And all this when we are just halfway into December, they say that the worst is yet to come. And people used to say that Dilli ki sardi was the last nail in their coffins. I challenge them to come here, and face windchill, and just pray that the day does not send their way another dreaded demon of the north - Cold December Rain.

LANPARTY!!!! Postcard from Japan v2.02

2008-11-08T08:54:00.002+05:30

I'm back in the game babay, the game of playing computer games on the LAN with buddies.

One desktop machine (sadly not mine)
Three (or possibly even four lappies)
One 5 port Ethernet Hub
An assortment of multiplayer co-operative, team and every man for himself games.
Four Gamers, three backseat gamers and a hell lot of shouting

The above are the perfect ingredients for a small Lan-Party, and that's what it was last night, though being my first one, the machine was not so well prepared for the gaming. Things will be definitely much better next time though I guess, with me having settled up my lappie for all gaming.

As for yesterday, I was able to hold my own in Age of Empires 2, and Quake 3. And that was without any practice beforehand. This LAN-Party scene is gonna be FUN!!!!!!

I guess it will be a standard Friday night fixture from now on, and maybe Saturday nights too :D

TGS 2008: Postcard from Japan v2.01

2008-11-08T08:52:00.001+05:30

I guess I should be honestly thanking Nuke for this. About a month back, one fine Thursday, we was chatting about random things when he happened to send me a link of some photographs from a videogame exhibition. Me did a little more digging, and found out that it was the Tokyo Game Show 2008, it was not over - as in the open-to-public days were the coming Saturday and Sunday, and much more importantly, it was hardly a 15 minutes walk from my current at that time location - the OVTA Training Center.

And thus that weekend came to be known as the weekend of the TGS2008.

Games, were there in plenty, but, also were present what actually draws the crowds to any exhibition related to games and the like. The boothbabes. They were in good numbers at every stand, and nerds were there in greater numbers to get a glimpse and snap photographs. Honest to god, I never ever saw a larger collection of people with cameras hanging around their necks, not even at the Auto Expo 2008. Of-course, how could I get left behind? My camera shutter opened and closed over four hundred times that day - and I was frankly surprised by the fact that my camera battery lasted that long.

At the end of the day, with my legs broken from standing and walking around all day, I thought that even though nothing significant had been accomplished except filling two memory cards, I can atleast tease all my friends with "being there, done that" :P.

Postcard from Japan v2.0

2008-10-05T11:36:00.003+05:30

Reading through my blog, you might observe that there are a lot of posts with their titles same as some older ones, with just v2.0 or v3.0 appended. While some might think that this is pure stupidity, to me this comes naturally. You see, growing up the geek way, in earlier days, when software were not released yearly to make all the moolah, the major releases were numbered by increment to the next full whole number, and minor releases and bug fixes were numbered within that whole numbers as decimals. We had DOS 6, Windows 3.11, NT4. Heck I still prefer to refer windows XP as NT5.1.

Anyway, coming back to the titles, the V2.0 here stands for the fact that this is my second long term trip to Japan, and in the first time I am writing on this trip.

This time around, I am here for eleven months in total, compared to the two and a half long duration of the trip last summer. And more importantly, month and a half of these eleven are to be spent in a language training institute, which in my case is OVTA, some twenty miles from the capital city of Tokyo. Too bad that there are time limitations to the time that we can stay out till each night, else a night out in Tokyo wouldabeen fun.

Anyhoo, so far the 25 odd days have been real fun. We've been to Tokyo Disneyland and watched an overdose of parades, what with Tokyo Disneyland celebrating its 25th Anniversary, and the Halloween season hanging around. Have also spent a great day roaming around the streets of Akihabara, and hanging out at the camera floor of Yodobashi Akiba, the bloody biggest electrical and electronics goods store in the world perhaps.

The actual work for which I am here is also going on pretty decently. The 5 days a week seven hours a day language classes have given me a slight understanding of the language and the ability to carry out basic conversations. Better fluency in communication will come over time, but as of now I guess I am pretty OK on the language front.

So far so good. Lets see what how the rest of the trip goes. Worry not, I still have lots of minor releases within the v2 of this postcard series to work on.

hey, I knew that

2008-08-12T23:03:00.000+05:30

I sometimes sit back and think about the past twenty or so years of my life that I can recollect at some level or the other.

Of these, the earliest are no more than wisps of memories from Lansdowne, the start of schooling, the cold winters having the longer of the two school breaks, and things like that.

Etched slightly deeper in the back of my mind are the days that I spent after moving to Delhi, continuing schooling, the correct holidays being longer in duration, the friends I used to play with and annoy or a strikingly regular basis.

Next in line are the Rohtak days, with the memories being clearer than the previous two locations, thus including a larger spectrum of things that come to mind. Schooling (again), friends, my first time driving a jeep or riding a motorbike, my first time crashing a car into a pole, my first time falling in love with computers, and thousands of other events that haven't yet faded into oblivion.

Next come the five golden years of my life that are written in ink, but are now slowly beginning to show signs of fading. The KGP days. In theory, these days are supposed to teach you the skills needed to get through your career. Well, don't know about that happening, but I am pretty sure that college does teach something more important than that. It teaches you the skills that help you get through life. And then a lot more. The friendships you forge there last longest, even if the friends are spread across the face of the globe. The things you learn, unlearn and relearn last through life and of-course, you enjoy this period more than any other in life. There are a million things from this time, that if I ever gather the courage to list them down, I would perhaps kill the keyboard by typing too much. Computers, html, c, cars, bikes, formula 1, gaming, one or two academic courses, the hostel, the wing, the wingoos, the sf, the summer training, the job interviews, the bunked lectures, the night-outs, the Cal-trips, and so much more, some of which is already recorded in these pages.

The two years since then seem to have passed in a blinding flash of light, but that does not mean that they are not remembered. The Job, the first few months of no work, the following period of work increasing by the day, Japan, Agra by bike, cameras, computers some more, gaming, and some more job-things.

The one another thing that become clear is when I am lost in these memories is that over the years, I have learnt and known a lot of stuff about a lot of varied subjects. The good part is that I can often recall a lot of it. The sad part is that as I get deeper and deeper engrossed in the things that are happening now, and as they eat up some of the disk space at the top floor, some older things slip away. I used to be proud one to be able to recite the complete specifications of some computer part just off the top of my head that some friend had come across somewhere. Today, it is difficult for me to do that.

And inevitably, more and more things will slip away. I do not want to let that happen. Even if all these things sink deeper and deeper into the folds of grey matter in my head, I want to have some way to get back to them and say, "hey, I knew that".

If I tell you the real reason of why I am writing this new blog, you'd perhaps infer that the Psycho has really gone crazy, so I will stick with the one stated above :P

Revertigo

2008-08-03T22:17:00.004+05:30

I wanted to title this post "Associative Regression". However I did not. The reasons for that are two-fold.

1. Someone already has a blog post by the same title. (and it also deals with the same subject)

2. The term is as much made up as the current title of the blog is. And of the two made up terms, "Revertigo" is catchier.

So anyway, with the name of the post finalized, I should at least explain the origin of the terms.

Made popular by the hit TV show How I Met Your Mother, the term Revertigo was coined by a character on the show describing how his wife reverts to her high-school self when around her friend from that time. And the term "Associative Regression" was mentioned by that friend, who is supposed to be some sort of behavioral psych scholar....

Anyhoo, whatever be the roots of these terms, "revertigo" is now quite popular, having multiple entries at the Urban Dictionary. Associative Regression, having many more syllables, hasn't been that lucky.

So after a pretty long prologue, now I come to the actual content of this blog post.

As of today, if I am to sit down and think for a while, mine is a typical bourgeois existence, six days pulling twelve hour or longer days at the office, and then one in front of the idiot box of the twenty-first century - the personal computer (sometimes the twentieth century idiot box also features - usually for formula 1 races - man that was one slick move Massa pulled off today on the McLarens, they could never have seen it coming - too bad his engine blew 3 laps from the finish when he was leading). And thus this bourgeois existence gives you moments when you want to be what you earlier were. Perhaps even from half your life or more ago. And you do get a change of it when you are around someone you knew from that time and are meeting after long. And sometimes not even when really around, the modern means of communication are wonderful triggers of revertigo.

I used to be a big-time blue blooded geek in my college days. Computer hardware was my favorite haunt, especially the x86 and related extended architectures. There was a time when there was not one piece of computer hardware of the aforementioned affiliation that I did not know about.

And in addition to this, I was, since before college, an automobile enthusiast, and a tifosi. Thus, the favored vehicles were the scarlet Ferraris of both track and road kind. Add to those a lot more four wheeled vehicles of varying lineage, and then the two wheeled kind with engines of varied sizes slung in between, and you might be able to paint a picture that would for sure out-stretch any piece of canvas you can get your hands on.

However, being what I am now, there really isn't much time to be a devout follower of the religion of silicon, or that of gasoline - or even diesel - so bloody brilliant diesel engines they make these days that the Le Mans 24 Hours organizers are trying to amend the rules to try and give a chance to the gasoline powered vehicles. Gasoline in your veins is a phrase that perhaps needs replacing lest the spark plug people do something, and do it quick.

However much I claim to be a geek and a auto-afficiando, the bitter truth is that today the amount of knowledge I have about computers and cars is much less than what it used to be at a point in history.

And this is where revertigo, in all its forms, comes into play.

For those few hours when talking with old friends (and even some new ones) about the latest cars and bikes, or even minutes when discussing online the virtues and vices of the newest thing nVidia, Intel, ATi, AMD, Canon or Nikon, I go back. Knowing (or atleast pretending) a lot about computers, cars, bikes, and more recently Digital SLR cameras and lenses is a wonderful feeling that reminds you of simpler times without painfully long working hours and being worried sick about the next vehicle build trials and drawing release dates. Hell I have perhaps gone revertigo twice or thrice in this blog post already.

The good part is, that whenever I am in revertigo, the world feels to be a nicer place to be in. The stress, the worries, the drawing release dates simply fade away. What remain are the things that seemed to matter the most to you back then.

The bad part however is that when you snap out of it, all those bourgeois things are still there, more menacing than ever before, drawing closer and closer.

As of now, I have not been able to decide whether revertigo is a good thing or a bad one. Perhaps your experiences about the same would help me reach there. What I do know for a fact is that revertigo is here to stay with me, perhaps forever. And that I miss the TV show that coined this term, and that they should hasten its return to the old idiot box, so that we can also get it on the newer one. Or, that I should go into a hibernative revertigo and ask someone to pay heed to the Green Day song that goes "Wake me up when September ends.........

Reboot V2.0 + Upgrade Path

2008-07-26T19:14:00.002+05:30

Okay, its been another reaaaaaaaaaaaaaallly long break between posts.....

So here I am, back on the blogosphere, raving and ranting about computers as usual....

There's one thing you gotta both love and hate about computers. They are upgradable...

The love part is that when building one personally, you can leave upgrade paths open by making a few decisions that will help ya go places later..

The hate part is that given the speed of development of all these new computer components, as soon as you leave an upgrade path, it begs to be followed...

And thus we reach the crux of the matter being discussed in this post.

Today, I upgraded my machine.

From a lowly 1.8GHz single core processor and a basic mainboard, to components that in their heyday were the best there were - The ASUS A8N SLi Mainboard, and the Opteron 165 Dual Core processor. While the stock clock speed of the processor is the same as my older one, its got twice the L2 cache per core, quadrupling it. AND, given that the A8N SLI was a top board, it is extremely suited to overclocking, thereby allowing me to get a lot more outta the opty 165 that I now have.

As of now, it is just a 20% processor overclock, that I later intend to take to close to 40% - will hafta adjust the RAM speeds some more. But I will get there someday - when the weather is cold enough :D.

of Holidays and Non-Working Days v2, and The Long Long Wait

2008-03-22T21:07:00.002+05:30

ACT I : of Holidays and Non-Working Days v2

About a year and a half ago, I wrote about Holidays & Non-Working Days. My idea those days was of being so immersed in work, that you didn't get much time to let your brain wander.

As Sudu says, be very careful about what you wish for, I actually got so much of work to do recently, that there actually was no time to think about anything. Really.

Which is why, this v2 post. A two day break after a long long time, is really welcome. Especially when you've been working even 7 days a week sometimes, putting in 12 ~ 14 hours a day regularly at office and the fact that a colleague from my department went off to get married leaving me to take care of the issued that he usually handles. Boss's words: "take care of his work too. Will be a bit of overloading but that happens". Amen.

Anyway, he's back now, and this two day break came along and then there are a few more 2 day breaks coming along, life's going to be a bit easier.

So lets get to the next part.

ACT II: The Long Long Wait

A long time ago, in a galaxy far far away, a psycho once went to Japan. And then he came back. He wished to go back, and thus he took upon himself to endure the AOTS training. Little did he know that he'd have to endure another thing. A Long Long wait.

The Human Resources Development Department of our company is not a very commendable one, and that's like saying that a cold blooded murderer is not the kindest person I know. Anyway, what I mean to say is that the HR department being the HR department, it has delayed our forms so much that there is now a declared delay of three months. What the time duration actually is, nobody knows. That after the psycho has been waiting for almost six months already.

There is no respite from the continuous amount of overwork being done. There is no hope of getting out of the monotonies of daily work. There is a horrifying long wait ahead of you before things will begin to look up.
What do you do? Go...

509 Not Out

2008-02-03T20:30:00.000+05:30

No this isn't mine or someone's personal best in the game with 22 players chasing a red ball with two sticks. And even though the phrase is stolen from that game, it isn't even remotely related.

What this is related to, in fact, reinforces the fact that sometimes the best things happen pretty much unplanned, rather than after planning for hours on end. What I had been planning was a road trip to somewhere, but after about a fortnight of fits and starts of planning, it never materialized. Then one fine day, a friend sends me a message and then off we went to Agra on new year's day. And came back. On a motorbike. In fact, we visited three places in total, covered 509 km (that's the score), snapped a few pics as souvenirs and came back.

So there I was, at 5:30 in the morning, riding to Faridabad through the twisties at 80 kmph. Little did I know that next day, I'd be reading that the temperature was about 2.6 degrees centigrade, and the windchill made it well below freezing. Reached there and waited for another biker to join us, and then set off towards Agra.

Next stop was an toll-booth, where we decided that to begin a new year on a good note, we should go to the Lord Krishna temple in Vrindavan. So, it was a detour off Mathura, and after a short darshan and 15 minutes of shivering, we were back on the road.

The fact that Fatehpur Sikri was also on our agenda, we took a by-road, rode alone on half-maintained roads and speeds unheard of in those areas, and somehow reached our second destination. We spent maybe an hour there, got bugged to hell by self made guides, snapped a few pics in the bright sunshine, and then started off towards our next destination. The Taj.

However, two kilometers out my friend had a little collision with a lorry that braked suddenly. Luckily, he was unhurt, and except for broken headlamp glass and a bent mudguard. Spent about an hour fixing his bike, rode on to Agra, fixed an electrical bug on the third person's bike, and then got on to our third and final destination for the day - The Taj.

There was a loooooooooooong entry line there, and when we finally got to the entry-gate, the buggers there didn't allow me to wear my armored riding jacket while going inside. Luckily, the sun was bright so the t-shirt sufficed. Anyway, we spent sometime there, snapped a few pics again and then started back.

Some 15 kilometers later, we stopped at a dhaba and had a solid late lunch, for I hadn't eaten anything since that bread omlette at 5:00 AM. Then we started back for home, and rode almost non-stop till Faridabad. One thing that I realized was that the headlamp on my bike was shot and had to ride in perfect syncro with my friend to be able to see anything on the road.

On reaching Faridabad, we bid goodbye to the friend who had joined us there in the morning, and then started back towards the twistied to get back home, Gurgaon. We reached back at around 10:30 PM.

Some people later said that I did not achieve anything that day, just touching the footstones of those wonderful tourist destinations and not staying there. But for me, it was not about spending time at the destination. It was about the journey, seated in the saddle of my iron horse. That night, I had the widest grin ever on my face when I went to bed.

Political Correctness and the Recycle Bin

2007-11-12T23:12:00.000+05:30

Well there's this one thing I have been wondering about for a while.

When you are a person like me who loves computers, you sure get to use a lot of different operating systems. I have had the experience of using many flavors of Linux, Mac OS X and of course the one that we all hate but use all the same, Windows.

Now as it turns out, different operating systems (or OS's for short) have different names for the same things. For example, what is known in windows as the command prompt, is known as the terminal in Linux and Unix based systems. (I know this comment of mine can start a holy war, but come-on, most of my patrons are not so geeky, and thus this would be a completely sensible comparison to them). The "All Programs" part of the (Start) Menu is the "Applications", and so on. One good thing though is that Firefox is Firefox wherever it exists.

There is one thing however that is differently named, and the way it is named makes me thing whether one big software company is trying to please the powers that be in a very subtle way.

With the advent of the gooey (GUI) operating systems, a feature that soon found its way into our lives was the ability to delete files, but not really pipe them to null. They were simply "moved" to another place, safe until explicitly deleted, or in some cases, found to be useful and moved back to the original place.

And this safe haven where the unwanted files find some solace is called the "Trash Can" by some and "Recycle Bin" by others. Now I am not trying to be some environmentalist or something, but these days, "Trash Can" is a bad word, especially with everyone shouting about the dying environment and the lost forest cover each year and what not. These days, it simply does not cut it.

And this is what some genius with enough foresight at that big software company figured out. He called his trash can the "Recycle Bin". Absolutely politically correct in today's world where for all I know, I might have committed a felony worthy of a few days in the cooler when I tossed that polythene bag in the "Burnable Rubbish" can instead of the "Recycle" one.

Guess this can give us some food for thought, but also, is this why all those open-source people can't get big governments to switch to their operating systems????

Return of the Thermal Shock

2007-10-15T00:45:00.000+05:30

Well, its been quite some time since the incidents I am about to write about here, but I believe that these do deserve a mention.

A query on Answers.com using the search term "Shock" (yes, an internet search, do you really expect this lazy-bum-wired-into-the-www fellow to ever look up a term in a hardback dictionary?) gives various results, and from them I will list the ones that most closely match the context of this post.

Shock¹ (shŏk)

1. Something that jars the mind or emotions as if with a violent unexpected blow.
2. The disturbance of function, equilibrium, or mental faculties caused by such a blow; violent agitation.

The most common kind of shock that we always seem to be discussing about is Electric Shock, especially with the "Shock laga laga laga Shock laga" adverts doing the rounds.

However, the thing that I am about to discuss here is, as you must have guessed by the title, to heat. (thermal, thermodynamics, heat - all related things)

Now, keeping in line with the meaning, a thermal shock would be something that causes a blow by means of heat. Lets delve into the relevant details to better understand the situation and its implications.

As a part of my job description, I have to take part in Full Vehicle A/C performance testing. This activity is done on a vehicle chassis dynamo-meter in a closed climate controlled chamber. Now, to do this test, the chamber is kept at a temperature of 45^o Celsius, gotta match the actual temperature conditions of the Indian summer after all. And compared to the control room, which has three heavy duty split air conditioners that can bring the room down below 20^o, the chamber becomes something of an oven, capable of serving fresh baked psycho. Especially when the test is underway, the vehicle is doing 100kmph on the dynamo-meter and the engine cooling fan is more than keeping up.

So in the month of May, I was taking part in this A/C performance testing activity, and often had to go from the control room to the chamber during the test. From a cold 20^o room to a 45^o oven with 100kmph air blast had become the thermal shock I took on an hourly basis, sometimes more often.

And as if that was not enough, the same thing returned in September, where for two days I was re-involved in testing, and thus back into the realm of thermal shock. Hence the nomenclature of the post.

However, the best moment of thermal shock did not come in its return. It had come on a particularly hot May Day of testing.

We had to change some engine room components on the vehicle after completing a test cycle, and having run in that heated chamber for two hours, the engine was pretty much boiling. To cool it down quickly we decided to bring down the chamber to 15^o and also manually turn on the engine cooling fan of the chamber to create an airflow of 50kmph. And this is the moment when out boss decided to walk in on the chamber from the afternoon heat of that day. Expecting a similar environ inside the chamber, he walked into a Himalayan storm. The look on his face while gesturing to us in the control room to cut out the chamber fan through the observation window will be the signature "thermal shock" image imprinted on our minds. For a long time to come.

Postcard From Japan

2007-06-17T19:00:00.000+05:30

Okay, it has been a pretty long time now since I last posted. On second thoughts, it hasn't just been a "pretty long time", it has been a truckload of time to the power of infinity, it has been three frigging months for crying out loud....

Anyway, whatever's happened has happened so now's high time to post a post.

So, where was I. Yeah, in Gurgaon on some 16th floor of a slick building last time around. But now, I am on the 4th floor (or rather 5th floor in the traditional Japanese way, and also the Indian way, the "paanchwi manzil") of an multi-apartment building, sitting infront of a lappie (yes a lappie, this gaming rig afficiando has been reduced to a lappie user), typing out this post to my blog after ages...

But why am I sounding so negative, heck its been a great time these last three months. Had done a lotta testing work back home at Maruti, enjoyed it thoroughly, got a great chance to come here to SMC, Japan and so here I am, in Hamamatsu City, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan.

So, I arrived here in Japan on 27th May, 2007, rode the Shinkansen (bullet train for the totally Japanignorant) to Hamamatsu, and will be here for a total of two and a half months. The town's a nice peaceful place, and although it is on the seashore, you can't really feel the humidity, perhaps because of the low ambient temperatures (ever heard of someone wearing jackets in the month of June).

Now before you people start bombarding me with questions like "Is Japan as crazy as the movies show us?", I will dispel all the rumors by stating that Japan (well, atleast Hamamatsu) is as normal as a place can be. Dunno about Tokyo as yet, might get a chance to tell ya all about that place if I take a trip there in July.

As far as other things are concerned, the trains here are awesome. No, they are Legen-wait for it-dary. I mean you can set your watches by their departures from the stations, and that is why travelling by train to office is such an easy job. Outta apartment at about 7:50AM, take a return ticket from the machine at 8:01AM, board the 8:09 train, get outta the train at the first stop, and u're in office before 8:30. Perfect.

Some of the superstores here are HUGE, and by HUGE, I mean so severely oversized that it took the three of us almost a whole day to buy two pairs of shoes and a pair of floaters. Did a lot of random roaming around that day too, and it was fun. That was the first day of the last weekend, and on Sunday, we went to the Hamana Lake that is in Hamamatsu. Well not it is not technically a lake being joined to the sea after an earthquake, but still it is a B-E-A-utiful place. And yesterday, just roaming around the town on streets that we had not used before, we stumbled upon Hamamatsu Castle, or what remains of it, a small Castle Tower. Passed by a wedding at a Church too, while roaming around before arriving at the Castle.

Hadta clean up my room today but spent almost the entire day in bed, watching a movie, and gotta admit it, that is for sure the better way to spend the lazy Sunday after a late bar night Saturday.

Hmm, that seems to be enough material to write on a postcard. Heck, I'd have to hire professionals to write in tiny letters if I ever want to put so much text on a normal paper postcard, thank the internet and google and blogger and a keyboard that we can put so much of crap online for potentially everyone to read.

Enough of my rambling for now, cya laters.

The Dilemma of Dressing Up

2007-03-16T07:16:00.000+05:30

Well, you'd have one too if you go to office daily in a uniform and suddenly you are supposed to go to work NOT in a uniform but in regular clothes. That too for ten days straight. You're in big trouble. You have no idea what is the usual dress style at work these days. You cannot decide on what to wear from the few normal clothes you have tucked away in some corner of the wardrobe. And sometimes you have no idea where that corner of the wardrobe is.

Life on the 16th floor was one such period. Ten days of work away from office. Well, at least its over for me now. But now the same dilemma haunts my roomie. Its his turn now on the 16h floor, and he's as confused as me. All I can say to him is "Suit Up".

Life on the 16th floor

2007-03-10T20:07:00.000+05:30

So i have been outta the office for about a week now. NO, I am not AWOL. I am on an official CAD software training, and the training location is the slick corporate office of the company that provides the software to my company. Now this office happens to be on the 16th floor of one of those newfangled Gurgaon buildings, and oh my, its a sight to behold looking out from the windows of the training room.

Here are a few of the pics i took minutes after reaching that place (thank you camera phone :D). The parked cars and bikes, the road a hundred meters away, and the flat expanse of Gurgaon and Delhi in the distance. It looks AWESOME. Click on the images to see full sized versions.

PS. This is also the 50th post in my blog. Glad that I could bring it to this milestone. Gotta try and make it go a much longer distance.

Changing Lanes

2007-03-05T12:28:00.000+05:30

Sometime, going along the unmetalled highway of life, you stick to a lane, following something elusive so intently that you sort of miss out on what else is there around you.

Maybe you realize what has been happening, and suddenly you are jerked out of your trance. Or, it takes a friend to put you back on track. But sooner or later, it happens. You change lanes on the highway. With the hope that you don't fall back into the trance anymore.

Two wheels and an engine

2007-02-18T18:51:00.000+05:30

The motorcycle has changed a lot in its century old existence. There have been hundreds and thousands of technological advances, countless changes in design philosophies, lots of ups and downs in the motorcycle industry, but the essence has remained the same - Two Wheels and an Engine.

Among all the various automobiles the motorcycle is the most expressive. In a car or something similar, you are enclosed in a claustrophobic cabin, way too isolated from the elements. On a motorbike you are free. You can be as close to nature as you want to be. They say that only a biker knows why a dog sticks it head outta the car window. The wind in the hair feeling is more than awesome. (The full face helmets take away most of this feeling, but safety is also a prime concern.. right).

I read in a book that the first bike race happened when two bikers met on the street somewhere. That is the spirit of biking. Today, bike racing is a huge sport, spread across various categories. And there is nothing like the sound of a high revving bike engine on an idle Sunday afternoon.

There are various types of bikes available on the market, the lean mean sports bikes with screaming engines, the muscular big engined bikes, and the cruisers with seats like couches and engines throbbing away in a chorus of rumble. Choose whatever suits you, it will be pure fun. Go on a brisk uphill drive on a winding road or let a bike stretch its legs on a long open highway, it will be pure exhilaration.

As I write this post, newer and more powerful bikes are being launched in India, with a lot more hope for the future. Some day, I hope to be able to ride a three-quarters engined bike here, and it might be sooner rather than later given how things are progressing.

This post was a tribute to motorbiking by the author, who returned to two wheels after more than a month of imprisonment inside four wheeled automobiles.

Chandigarh Times

2007-02-11T17:55:00.000+05:30

This post recollects some of the memories of the month long Sales and Service "Training" trip to the Chandigarh regional office. Trying to put this one in a new style...

Gurgaon to Chandigarh
Sunday, November 26, 2006. 1100 Hrs.
Dump all the luggage in the car, pick up Rockstar from his place. Drive from Gurgaon to Chandigarh with a lunch stopover at Karna Lake. Reach at about 1800 Hrs and settle into that hole of a PG accommodation.

One hour @ Sec.17
Friday, December 01, 2006. 1700 Hrs
Go to the Sector 17 market in Chandigarh, see a Subway and enter. Eat to your heart's content. Go out and buy two novels at a bookstore, roam around for sometime and then go back "home". One hour, seven hundred bucks. Good time.

Wheelspin / Slipping Clutch
Saturday, December 02, 2006. 2300Hrs.
Front row at a traffic intersection. Slot the transmission into 1st gear, bring the clutch to the biting point. As the light turns green, drop the hammer on the gas pedal (accelerator for the uninitiated) and release the clutch. Wheelspin off the mark and scare the living daylights outta the rear seat passenger. Bliss :D.

Lazy Dayz
Wednesday/Thursday, December 06-07, 2006.
AWOL from office for two straight days, lying down on the bed all day, reading those novels bought earlier. Sort of reliving some of the time spent likewise during college days. Lazy is fun :).

Three Crazy Days
Saturday - Monday, December 09-11, 2006.
Start from Chandigarh at 0615 Hrs for Rohtak, drive in the fog for around quarter of an hour at an ant's pace, and then floor it for a breakneck speed drive at upto 140kmph, making it a total of 240km in four hours. Spend the day at Rohtak, stay up late partying, drive to Delhi and then to Gurgaon, pack up stuff for moving, go back to Delhi to attend a wedding, stay up all night, drive back to Gurgaon. Sleep for four hours before another long drive to Chandigarh. 3 Days, close to 800kms, with a total of ten hours' sleep in between. That's a good pace to live life at.

A novel a day keeps the office away
Friday, December 15, 2006. 2200 Hrs.
Continuing the tradition of the Lazy Dayz, read one more novel in a day being AWOL from office. Perhaps for the last time ever.

Wrapping Up
Saturday, December 23, 2006. 1430 Hrs.
Get a lucky early relief from office on the last working day. Rush to the PG and haphazardly dump all luggage in the car, and pick up some more from Rockstar's place. Drive non stop from there to Delhi to end the month long tryst.

O, B, T and I

2007-02-01T18:52:00.000+05:30

OBT here stands for Out-Bound Training. They say that it is an important part of the training we undergo as fresh engineers but all we care about are the three days of endless fun at the riverbank.

We had our outbound training from 20th November to 23rd November. (Sorry for such a late blog-post). It all began at the factory premises where we all boarded a bus for the overnight journey to Rishikesh and then on to Shivpuri Camp. There were about twenty-five of us and we crossed the river to get to the campsite in rafts, riding on the current of the last rapids, after the bus driver had brought us down to the accessible bank by driving along a precariously inclined path. The view around us was wallpaper material so we all snapped a few pictures.

And then the training began. We had a few sessions of trust building exercises, but this was the dull part of the game. Later in the evening we had artificial rock-wall climbing and grappling, in which yours truly lost his nerves after reaching the midway point. (note to self: reduce weight + gain some more strength).

We then returned to the camp to a bonfire party before dinner. Acoustic guitar and hoarse voices jammed on some of the favorite bonfire tunes, and it was a time to enjoy.

Next day we had some more adventure sports, Burma-bridge crossing, valley crossing (suspended upside down - military style), and the best part of the trip - the raft building and test drive. Using bamboo poles, two large plastic containers, three inflated tire tubes and rope, we made rafts that braved the river. Funny thing was that we thought that each team had to take only one test ride, so we selected all those who knew how to swim for the job. Later, we found that there had to be two test rides and on the second one four of us who did not know swimming at all got to take out the raft. Was awesome :D.

Later that evening, after dusk, we went into the woods for a "night-navigation", where we got thoroughly lost and reached to the camp pretty late. Where it was time for another Bonfire Party. This one was much more enjoyable than the previous day's (primarily because I had about twice the amount of alcohol inside me compared to last evening).

Stayed up that whole night with friends, and then the next day we had another team building and co-ordination exercise. Rolling Basketballs. Had lunch and then we set off back for Gurgaon. Exhausted, almost everyone slept off in the beginning of the journey, but later we all woke up and sang ourselves hoarse(i.e. with whatever was left of our voices after two days of singing at bonfires). We also shot a interview movie with what everyone had to say about the OBT Trip.

At the end of it, these three days seems too less a time, the OBT seemed to get over all too quickly. Kya karein, yeh dil maange more.

Looking back at that time now, it wasn't just an endless sequence of adventures and exercises, it was rather more about strengthening friendships, starting new ones and having one hell of a blast, which for me was after a long long time.

Reboot

2007-01-31T19:42:00.000+05:30

Been outta the loop for too long. Time to reboot the blog and we do it now. Lotta things to write about the last 2 months, so a few posts coming up quick. Hope you(whoever reads this blog by mistake) enjoy 'em.

The Party that wasn't and the Party that was!!!!

2006-11-07T21:51:00.000+05:30

We joined the company on June 1st, 2006. Around a hundred odd of us fresh graduates. And we wanted a freshers' party. It seemed as if this wasn't to be, but one fine day, we received word that we will have a "party" at a five star hotel. It was titled "Ice Breaking and Team Building Program". All of the partyheaded people just concentrated on the "ice breaking" in the name and forgot to look beyond the title into the itinerary for the day which clearly indicated a full day of "fun".

Something fishy, don't you think. An all-day-long party. Now that's not gonna happen, is it. So anyhoo, we reached the designated place, and "surprise", there was no party. It was in-fact just another day of the programs that all HR divisions in companies speak of with unprecedented glee, some kinda motivational talk/lecture that was to continue for all the day. Some party.

Then again, we are all a bunch of hotheaded newcomers into the corporate world of treachery and backstabbing. We agitated against the wrongs that had been done to us, or rather "protested" (as my dad would like us to call it - protest is a positive word compared to agitation). Surprisingly, our protests did not go to waste. We got a mail that we will be having a “Poolside” dinner with the HR Big Boss and our “buddies” who have been recently appointed to guide us during our training and accompany us on the outbound. Word spread around of the party, and some more digging around brought to light the facts the there will be a DJ, and most importantly (for a majority, not everyone) booze.

And a party it was. I got to drive the car to the venue, a privilege level that I have only recently achieved. Picked up a few friends on the way, and reached there really late, thanks to the Delhi-Gurgaon traffic jam. At first, it seemed that the digging around hadn’t given the correct information, but soon all that was promised was delivered.

The DJ, the dance floor and the rest of the stuff. Almost two hours of almost non-stop dancing (and in my case, jumping around on the dance floor) to the beats. Flashes of cameras capturing the moments. Shouts of excited people. The smiles on the faces of the “grown-ups” who preferred to sit and watch. And it was also a good day for one of us whose birthday coincided with the party.

The food was brilliant, with a wide selection of tasty items. The cake and the ice cream as a part of the dessert were nice. The three hours spent there were real great. My numb and “still in pain” legs are a testament to the party mood. (Trust me, I don’t usually jump around on dance floors). It really was a lot of fun. It was what parties are supposed to be :)

the Unmetalled Highway of Life

2006-10-24T18:30:00.000+05:30

The Unmetalled Highway of life is a tough road to ride upon. There are twists and turns. There are bumps and potholes. You ride over some smaller obstacles, you swerve through some larger ones, but then the inevitable happens.

You have a fall. You get hurt but the bruises do not appear on your skin. You are in pain but have nothing to show for the fall you just had.

And then when you look ahead, the highway streches on ahead of you for millions of miles. You try to shrug off the fall, shake the dust off yourself, get back on your ride and try to carry on. With the hope that perhaps next time you will be able to maneuver past the bumps and prevent another fall.

of Holidays and Non-Working Days

2006-10-21T19:04:00.000+05:30

"What about holidays and non-working days?" a voice asks.

I simply reply, "They should not exist."

"And why so?" the voice speaks again.

"You've nothing to do. Your mind wanders. You think about things. You get sad. And then your parents walk into your room and ask 'why are you looking so sad and sleepy?' And you cannot even reply to their query." I respond. "Holidays and Non-Working days are a really bad idea."

Custom Message v2.0

2006-09-30T19:37:00.000+05:30

It has been quite some time since I last wrote about the custom status messages that have been gracing messenger windows, both mine and also some friends’. This time around, apart from status messages, there will also be some one-liners that I have at times used as forum signatures.

Well the status messages are usually for expressing yourself at that time, but if one does not feel like it, there’s a way as HellFragger aptly displayed
“I don’t have a status right now.”

Then there always are status messages that show you the philosophical side of life. Koba let me know that “Life is what happens when you’re busy making plans for the future.”

More about life from the self proclaimed undead Vampire A.k.a PJ
“Life’s not what they think it is, but it’s also not what you think it is.”

Manuj adds that “the only way to get rid of temptation is to yield to it.” Not too bad a solution I guess.

Then there are people who still hate Newton for getting pissed at the apple that fell on his head centuries ago. They say gravity makes everything fall, but these people prefer to differ.
“There’s no such thing as Gravity. Actually the Earth sucks.” – RiDo
“Gravitation doesn’t make people fall in love.” – Nilanjan

Then there are those who use cryptic methods of self expression through these status messages. De-abbreviated messages are one method.
SIERRA TANGO FOXTROT UNIFORM – Arvind
FOXTROT UNIFORM BRAVO ALPHA ROMEO – Sudu
These messages were seen at the same time, and are sort of complementary. You are likely to say the first when in the second state.

Some creative people can put things we see daily into something really striking, and this is what Sonik has done
“Black stars in a white sky…….. Spiders on the roof”
“I am so self centered that I carry my own photo in my wallet.”

The post would not be complete without a geeky message, and Ravemz’s message fit the bill perfectly
“You know it’s Love when you memorize her IP address to skip DNS overhead”

Work-pressure can drive you to the limits, and then the mind comes up with explanations
“If you think your boss is stupid, remember you wouldn’t have a job if he were any smarter” – Bhavesh

UPDATE: Something about life from Bhavesh: "Life is like quotations. Sometimes, it makes you laugh. Sometimes, it makes you cry. Most of the time, you don't get it." /UPDATE

Work also makes one realize the truth, as in the case of Mallu uncle.
“There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about.”
“The world has ended, you’re just in denial”

Exam time is always a good time to look out for freaky status messages. This one was contributed by a friend.
“A rose would smell the same, whether I know the f***ing structure of geraniol or not”
(Geraniol is an alcohol with fragrance like that of a rose. Maybe it is found in rose petals, only the biotech professor who set the examination paper would know about this for sure.)

Then there are some quotes in movies and stuff that are worth a lot more than the few seconds they linger on screen.
“The Hell I send him to will feel like heaven after what I’ve done to him”, quote from the cult movie Sin City and also Drummie’s status message.
“It’s not the fall that kills you. It’s the sudden stop at the bottom that does.” From the game Chronicles of Riddick
“If your head hurts, it’s your brain trying to comprehend its own stupidity”, Red’s wisdom from That 70’s show.
The last two have been my signatures at the forums that I haunt.

I solemnly swear that I am completely apolitical, but this message here deserves a mention. Was Recca chan’s.
“If cons are the opposite of pros, then congress is the opposite of progress.”

New Template and dual monitor

2006-09-30T16:26:00.000+05:30

So I recently saw anshul's blog. with this newfangled dynamic template that scrolled up and down, and I hadta do something about my blog template as well. Went to his template provider's site and found one that was suitable. Also, having that background image was necessary, so modifying the available one was inevitable.

Well, here's the result, hope you like it.

And oh yeah, this modification process was made really easy by having a dual monitor setup handy, helps in comparing codes and watching previews while the main workspace always remains maximised. The clutter of wires and power cables running around the room matters not.

Status Quo

2006-09-24T14:44:00.000+05:30

As I listen to High Hopes by Pink Floyd for the umpteenth time in my permanent “repeat” Winamp play-list, I realize that my life has also become the same. A repeating play-list of sorts. A constant state of deja-vu prevails, with each day so similar to the last one that the only thing that differentiates them is the date display on my watch.

The days, and even weeks are so similar and monotonous that an onlooker would be able to set his watch by my actions. Up early, leave for office at 0800, in punch at 0820, lunch at 1300, out punch at 1731, and back home. Stare at the computer monitor for a few hours, take dinner and bed. Rinse and repeat this every working day of the week. Then comes Sunday which goes flashing by at a hundred miles an hour. The only thing that changes with each passing week is the list of “to-do things” that grows longer and longer.

Things like rearranging the bookshelf to remove all the papers I dump there, properly file those and put them away at some safe place, rebuilding that old computer to working condition, completing the tag that some other blogger has tagged me with, finishing that videogame I have played till midway, hanging the world map that fell off the wall because of a broken string, going on that bike ride I have been thinking of for ages, starting photography as a hobby, recoding the blog template.....
The list goes on and on, always increasing in length. They say Sundays are for doing these of things. I say Sunday is for taking some rest because come Monday and it will be another long and tiring week at the office. The gloomy repeat play-list haunts me again with the same songs. Dad says I need to do some exercise to lift my spirits. I say I am tired enough already.

As the play-list takes me to Hurt by Johnny Cash, I realize that the purpose I started writing this post was not to rant about how there is an endless list of things to do, but to try and find an outlet for troubles and worries and fears and thoughts that have been burdening me as much as Atlas would be burdened if the planet he carried were Saturn or Jupiter. Turns out they are so deep rooted and I am so f***ing afraid that I won’t even be able to write them down on a private diary, let alone this blog that is theoretically accessible to billions. Turns out I am not strong enough to face them. Turns out they need to be kept buried in the folds of the grey matter filled inside my head. Turns out I need to stick to this monotony called life. Turns out that I need to live this gloomy deja-vu to the end of time.

the Red Baron says goodbye

2006-09-10T21:36:00.000+05:30

Today kinda marked the end of an era in the world of motorsports. Formula 1 to be precise. Today was the day when the greatest F1 driver of all times, Michael Schumacher announced his retirement after winning the Italian Formula 1 Grand Prix with relative ease.

His career statistics are perhaps the best that will ever be seen in Formula 1. Perhaps no driver would ever be able to match what he has achieved in the 16 years that he has been in the sport. As of today (10th September 2006, after the 2006 Italian Grand prix) from 247 Formula 1 races, he has 90 wins, 68 pole positions, 153 podium finishes, a total tally of 1354 points scored, 7 world championships (with his sights set on an 8th), and a whole flurry of other records that can be seen here. With three more races to go before he hangs up his gloves, these stats can only get better. (Will update the stats at the end of the season).

Having been given nicknames like "the rainmaster" for his prowess in the wet track conditions, "red baron" for his dominating track presence in Ferrari's trademark red color, and even "cannibal" for his dominance of formula 1 and record breaking style, his has been a career with both ups and downs. Seven world championships and zillions of other records on one hand, and another zillion controversies on the other. His was an era of Formula 1 that will never be matched again.

When we see the last of Schumacher on a F1 track at the Brazilian Grand Prix on October 22nd, it will be a sad day. It will be the day when the best ever Formula 1 driver waves goodbye. Whether or not he wins or loses the 2006 Formula 1 drivers' championship, that'll be a day when his fans will have tears in their eyes, yours truly perhaps among them.

Tag 25

2006-08-16T19:10:00.000+05:30

No, this isn't the 25th tag I am doing, this is the third. I name 'em on the basis of the number of questions or something similar. The previous two (se7en and ei8ht) were quite nerve-wracking, but this one is quite different and pleasant.

So without further ado, let's start with it.

1. Grab the book nearest to you, turn to page 18 and find line 4.
"... dominated the heavens." from Arthur C Clarke's Sci-Fi novel "Rama 2".

2. Stretch your left arm out as far as you can.
The Wall of my room, the string to pull the curtain across the window. A foot lower is a huge voltage stabilizer.

3. What is the last thing you watched on the TV?
The Hungarian Formula 1 Grand Prix on Sunday, 6th August 2006. If watching TV series on computer counts, then episode after episode of That '70s Show. Hello Wisconsin!!!

4. Without looking, guess what time it is?
1330 Hrs.

5. Now look at the clock, what is the actual time?
1229 Hrs. Niceeeeeeee.

6. With the exception of the computer, what can you hear?
The ceiling fan.

7. When did you last step outside? What were you doing?
Day before yesterday. Went to the market and visited some relatives next to next town.

8. Before you started this survey, what did you look at?
Messenger windows.

9. What are you wearing?
Shirt and pajamas with the right leg folded above the knee level. Stupid bruised knee.

10. Did you dream last night?
Nopes, I hardly ever do. Or rather, I hardly ever remember the dreams that I have.

11. When did you last laugh?
Guess it was last night before goin' to bed, during the marathon run of That '70s Show.

12. What is on the walls of the room you are in?
Some old photos of mine, a National Geographic World Map, a storage place above the door, and one wall is kinda replaced by a huge window.

13. Seen anything weird lately?
Guess not.

14. What do you think of this quiz (tag)?
Is way better than the last two.

15. What is the last film you saw?
Omkara.

16. If you became a multimillionaire overnight, what would you buy?
Dunno for sure, but a lot of computer stuff for sure. Can never have enough of it. :D

17. Tell me something about you that I dunno.
What you don't know about me I could just about fit into the grand canyon. For starters, you should know that I made a fully working car during the summer vacations after 8th class.

18. If you could change one thing about the world, regardless of guilt or politics, what would you do?
Stop the USA from acting like it owns the whole world.

19. Do you like to dance?
Hell NO!!!

20. George Bush...
...has perhaps had more brickbats hurled towards him than all former US Presidents put together. Poor chap.

21. Imagine your first child is a girl, what do you name her?
Not decided yet.

22. Imagine your first child is a boy, what do you name him?
Not decided yet. Maybe Karan, after my best friend.

23. Would you ever consider living abroad?
Yes and No. Yes in case it is a temporary thing. No because your home country is your home country after all.

24. What do you want GOD to say to you when you reach the pearly gates?
Umm, we are facing some problems in the central server computer. Could you take a look at it?

25. People tagged further.
Vivek Malewar, post a blog entry this time or I'll come down to Chennai to kick ya.
Saurabh Kumar, been long since you posted anything.
Vaninder Singh, You too, get back to blogging.
Vishal Anand

My Precioussss.............

2006-07-25T18:34:00.000+05:30

More than a year of pre-planning.....
More than six months of planning to buy it.....
About three months of delibrating in deciding upon it.....
About a month and a half of purchase planning.....
About a fortnight of the after purchase wait.....

And then on 15th July, 2006, I finally got it, My Precioussss.....

The Gainward Bliss 7900GTX, based on the nVidia G71 7th Generation GPU, all 278 million transistors of 90nm silicon goodness at 650MHz core speed, all 512 Megabytes of GDDR3 memory at 1600MHz effective speed. I'm Lovin it :D.

Paycheck

2006-06-30T19:47:00.000+05:30

No, I'm not talking about the Ben Affleck movie (decent movie though, worth a watch if you haven't already). Here, I am talking about me getting my first ever paycheck. Well, not exactly a paycheck but rather a transfer of my first ever salary to my bank account. Anyhoo, paycheck sounds a good word and that's what I will use.

Feels damn good today, after a month (well not exactly a month, there was a full shutdown week), of toiling (:P), I finally get the dough.

What do I plan to do with it, well, I seriously dunno. Gotta get some gifts for my parents first. After that it will just lie in the bank for the time being. Will see later what to do. Maybe another computer upgrade :D.

A (computer) geek's life in numbers

2006-06-27T21:01:00.000+05:30

There are a lot of numbers in a (computer)geek's life, and below is a collection of those that I could recall from the top of my head.

0 : Zero, NULL, NADA, nothing, yet half of everything in the world of computers.

1 : Zero's complement, and with it the basis of all there is.

7 : socket seven, the home of processors for long, and at a time when the PC was spreading like wildfire in households.

8 : bits in a byte.

168 : The number of contact pins on a SDRAM DIMM.

184 : The number of contact pins on a DDR SDRAM DIMM.

240 : The number of contact pins on a DDR2 SDRAM DIMM.

370 : The socket of the venerable Pentium 3 processor.

462 : The number of pins in the home of the Athlon and Duron processors for long.

478 : The socket of the good part of the life of the Pentium 4 Processor.

754 : The socket of the original Athlon64 processor and later for value class semprons.

775 : The socket of the bad part of the life of the Pentium 4 Processor. And that of the promising "Core 2" conroe processors.

939 : The socket of choice for enthusiast grade Athlon64 processors for about two years, now replaced by the socket AM2.

1024 : The one grand for geeks.

7900 : (nVidia GeForce, GTX)As of now, one of the most powerful graphics cards on the market, and one will soon be inside my machine :D.

9800 : (ATi Radeon, pro/XT)The card that was last the clearcut winner of the performance race. Not so clear competetive offerings since then.

This post is just an attempt to reaffirm my geekdom, as I have been doing some pretty ungeeky stuff for the last few days. :~|

(kick)Starting Maruti

2006-06-11T15:48:00.000+05:30

While one does not usually kickstart a car (it is either cranked or self-started), I still would use the word "kickstart" here, not because I am actually going to kick a car, but because it is the kickstart of my professional career, with Maruti Udyog Limited.

Maruti Udyog Limited had a very early joining date for its Graduate Engineer Trainees, and this meant that I did not get much time to relax ("maarofy peace" as some would say). It was practically college to factory.

The joining process on Thursday, June 1st, 2006, was a mellow affair. A final medical checkup followed by filing of pre-filled forms, and filling and filing of some new one, and getting that green uniform. After that, it was just lounging around in a huge seminar room till 5:30 in the evening when we could finally go back.

The second day was worse still, with identity card formalities completed quickly in the morning, we were left to get bored to death in the same seminar hall again. Lucky that crosswords, sudokus, jumbles and stuff in various newspapers came to our rescue.

Things finally got into overdrive on the third day, with addresses to the GET's by the MD, the Joint MD's and the HR head. Thus began the week-long orientation program, comprised of interaction sessions with various senior executives of the company telling about the various divisions and departments of the company.

The plant visits were held on the two penultimate days of the orientation programme, and they were good. Seeing a car being made on a 66 stage assembly line is a bliss for a car geek. However, the last day of the orientation process was as bad as the second day on the job, maybe even worse. Just one interaction session was planned, and that too at 4 in the afternoon. This meant another day of lounging around, and to top it, the seminar hall was also not free for three hours after lunch.

Anyway, after the 4 PM session on Quality Assurance and Inspection, we were finally given our training rotation schedule, and come Monday, 12th June, I will be down on the production line, making(???) cars for real. Lets see how many I break...

Goodbye KGP!

2006-05-17T14:30:00.000+05:30

May 17th, 2006, 1535Hrs.

Goodbye, Graduation and more Goodbyes....

2006-05-12T18:58:00.000+05:30

So it finally began, the process of friends leaving Kharagpur. The first one to leave was a wingoo, who said his goodbyes to this place in the morning of May 11th, 2006.

The next big event wasn't a farewell, but my Masters' Degree Project Evaluation, the final academic engagement I had left in Kharagpur. It went pretty smoothly, and yours truly became a "Master of Technology in Mechanical Engineering, specializing in Thermal, Energy and Environmental Engineering" (provisionally atleast), and now all work that I have left here is the paperwork of clearance and stuff.

The next person to leave was a fellow mutterite, Nitzee. Goodbye to him was something like three hours before he actually left, because I had to sleep and get up early next day to arrange for myself saying goodbye (read booking my train ticket).

The final goodbye (as of now) was another wingoo, who left at the break of dawn of May 12th, 2006. The next wingoo is scheduled to depart tomorrow (13th May) sometime, and after that is my number, on May 17th, 2006, 1535 Hrs. How I end up dealing with it remains to be seen.....

Psycho's Last Day Out

2006-04-30T09:20:00.000+05:30

While I had not expected this, I should have known that one of these "days out" will also become a part of the lasts that I had been vehemently counting in my last semester at KGP. For those keeping count, this was v4.0 and my last because I am gone in twenty odd days.

It seems that somehow, all of KGP knew that I was making one of these Cal trips. For the orders kept pouring in, and I was desperately trying to get more people to accompany me so that the workload would get reduced. These efforts turned out to be futile, because just as one person got added to the list, another dropped out. Finally, it was just a party of four that left for the computer market of Kolkata. The order list, it was HUGE. And there were additions to the list even after we had reached the shop, phonecalls requesting more stuff.

This time around, we had a Cal-Wasi amongst us, so we took a different route to reach Chandni Market, and not the regular "KGP - Howrah - Ferry - Walk - Metro" one. As usual, we were running a bit late, and got on the Steel Express after it had started moving off the platform at KGP station. And instead of making the full journey to Howrah, we got off at Santragachi and took a bus ride to the nearest metro station, Rabindra Sadan. The metro ride to Chandni Chowk was a bit longer than usual but once we reached there, I was back on my turf.

We go straight to the favourite shop and then try to recall all the orders. It turns out that we have to buy eight Hard Disk Drives, a DVD Burner, a hundred and eighty DVD Blanks, five or six trifling computer things, and on top of that half a computer itself. It takes us some time to sort out the order and place it with the shopkeeper, and even at this stage, one item was not what we actually wanted. It wasn't until after we returned from a good lunch (pizzas and uttapams - and a strong coffee to keep me awake) that the shopkeeper pleasantly surprised us by telling that he had somehow arranged the graphics card that we were looking for.

And like this, it was once more off to the ATM machine to get the dough. Multiple cards swiped, a huge amount of cash withdrawn and the line outside quadrupled. I was worried that the ATM might just refuse to give us anything with a "Out of Cash" warning, but luckily that didn't happen. Back to the shop, get the computer assembled, get the invoices made separately for all the orders, pay up and get ready to come back to KGP.

And as usual, this was the part of the day I dread the most. We had missed the express train because it took us an hour to settle the nine separate invoices, and it was again a local train ride back. Luckily, it wasn't nowhere near as bad as the return journey from last time. We actually managed to get seats right in the beginning and also the train wasn't as crowded as last time. Phew. Back home at 9PM.

But the day wasn't over yet! We still had to play some new games on that newly assembled gaming rig, and as soon as we were able to do that, the day was totally worth it.

You've crossed the finish line
Won the race but lost your mind
Was it worth it after all

Hell Yeah!!!

End of Sems

2006-04-28T12:16:00.000+05:30

Sometimes, it really does come abruptly. One moment you are in the middle of the semester, and the next its goodbye to the semester and along with that to semesters themselves. That's what happens when you go out and write your final examination at IIT Kharagpur. The place somehow starts to seem unfriendly. It does not feel like your own turf anymore. Agreed there still are a few more things to do before going away, but the end of the examinations and the fact that there will not be anymore of these is a heavy thing to take. It might be the thing you have been waiting for four (or five) years, but when it comes a little part of you wishes that it didn't. That perhaps is the magic of this place.

The sky oh so blue

2006-04-08T18:34:00.000+05:30

Sometimes I remember
the good old days.
When the times were simpler
and there was no craze.

When I used to live in a small town
under the sky oh so blue.
When the world was a smaller place
and really colourful in its hue.
When I used to go to a school
but never worried about anything.
When I used to play for hours on end
but still completed everything.

Sometimes I wonder
what it would be like to go back to that time.
It makes me realise
that living in today's world is almost like a crime.

Sometimes I still remember
the good old days.
When the times were simpler
and there was no craze.
To return to that place and time
anything I will do.
Where the life was simpler
and the sky was oh so blue.

This piece is dedicated to a small hill-station called Lansdowne, where I lived for six wonderful years.

Custom Message

2006-04-05T19:35:00.000+05:30

This post is (mostly) about the status messages of friends that caught my eye on the instant messengers. Quirky, funny and sometimes serious, status messages are a really great way of expressing oneself. So without further ado, lets get into the thick of things.

"I am so pissed that I want to dump my gf... unfortunately I don't have any...!!"
This was Nitzee's status message till a few days back. Awesome message, funny at first glance but it encompasses the life story of a lot of geeks.

"Ab Bas 56"
Sudu's take on the movie Ab Tak 56. This was his status message when we had an estimated 56 days left in KGP.

"Only a biker knows why a dog sticks its head out the car window."
These words of wisdom graced my messenger window a few days back when Arvind was about to get himself a bike. Too bad my full face helmet prevents me from experiencing the bliss hands/face on!
UPDATE:
"Curiosity killed the cat, but for a while I was a suspect."
Another one from Arvind.

"These are the times precisely due to which I tend to believe in GOD (help !!)"
Thesis submissions can make people do anything, and Saurabh Kumar decided to reaffirm his faith.

"Turn your face to the sun and the shadows fall behind you."
And you end up with a sun burnt face :P.
"The BEST thing abt the future is that it comes only one DAY at a TIME"
Hell yeah we'd be in a big jam if it came all at once.
These two were SAm..'s messages.

"Life is not the amount of breaths you take, it's the moments that take your breath away."
Don't remember whose status message it was, saw it a long time ago. Was reminded of it when heard the quote in a movie.

The following two were contributed by a friend with whom I was discussing putting up this post.
"Why do men chase women they don't intend to marry?....... the same reason dogs chase cars they don't intend to drive."

"Another wicket down....... unfortunately I am playing footer."
The first one is a bit philosophical, the second one is plain ironic - representing life as it is.

And while this last one is not a status message, it still struck me as a real quirky piece.
"A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects."
Taken from the "About Me" section of Siva's Orkut Profile.

For Friends

2006-04-04T00:45:00.000+05:30

This post is something like a compilation of short testimonials. I got the idea when I saw Sonik's blog post about her friend. I simply could not pick out any single friend, so this is for the awesome people who have made my five years in KGP a wonderful time.

The Wingoo Junta

AG Sudarshan: This fellow has been my closest friend in the last five years, and a next door neighbour for the last three years. This oversized and lazy chap is an awesome friend to have. Know him since the first week of the first year and in the last five years we have had some wonderful times, flamethrowers and snake watching included. And once more I repeat, "Live Life Sudu Size".

The other wingoos, Apratim, Kanishka, Indrava, Vihang, Sumit, and the four wingoos emeritus, Arvind, Nikhil, Guddu and Mahananda are wonderful people to be with in groups. Have spent some really enjoyable times with them, and am looking forward to enjoying the last month at KGP with them to the max.

The Department Junta

Ajay Tomer: Ajay was my best friend throughout the first year, and he got me through it. The best part is that we'll again be at the same place once I'm outta here. Lookin forward to it. :)

Jai Vohra: Also known as Sardar Jai Singh Vohra Singh, I knew him since first year. In the beginning of second year he got a department change to my dep. and also was allotted LLR hall with me. Nice fellow to be with, always full of jokes and laughter.

Nitin Mohta a.k.a Tintin. I've know him since the beginning of my first year. Always being full of tempo, and giving more than 100% are two of his qualities. My gracious host at Calcutta for the times when I want to escape KGP holi :D. 1st day ITC job crack means he is in for an awesome future.

Now cometh the time for the Mech. Dual Thermal Triad. Saurabh Kumar a.k.a Kone Wala, Sandeep Saha a.k.a Sandy and Vivek Malewar a.k.a Mallu Uncle. Three awesome people to do all your classes with, more so because they pay more attention in them than you. Wonderful study buddies, and great friends. All those nightouts while preparing for various exams were really enjoyable because these guys were around to help and have fun along with.

The muTTer Junta

Being a geek has certain advantages. You get to know some people through forums and stuff that you might never have ever met. So here are the friends that being a geek helped me make.

Karan Rawat a.k.a Nukem. Lord Nuke, our benevolent dictator, the sehenshah of the kingdom of muTTer. Kudos to this guy for providing an awesome platform to meet more like minded people. A total game and anime freak, he got me hooked to Japanime. Thanx Nuke :D

Nitin Dhawan a.k.a Nitzee. Geek and coder par excellence. And a fan of survival horror games, got me hooked. But I can't seem to play alone as effectively as we did in a team.

Abhishek Agarwal a.k.a Recca, the basketballer + gamer. Real cool chap to have as a friend.

Vaninder Singh, the "Vanishing Nerd". Another real cool fella to have as a friend and discuss computer stuff all day long. And he can really match his nickname, vanishes for some long time streches, no reply on phone. gtalk or anything :P.

There are a lot more people whose names I have not been able to include here. They too have been an indispensable part of these years.

All I can say is, THANK YOU for being my friends.

Psycho's Day Out!! Version 3.0

2006-03-26T06:59:00.000+05:30

Why Version 3.0 you may ask, when after the original Day Out, there was no version 2.0. Lets just say that we don't talk about the version 2.0 day.

The Version 1.0 stock of DVD's had been spent, and the HDD was stuffed full to its gills. So it was time to go back. Favourable was the fact that two friends also had business to deal with, and hence we set off for a good day's work. Travel to Howrah is always very similar, a suitably timed express train that is fast enough not to bore you to death before it reaches its destination. Another ferry ride, then the walk to the metro station, a quick metro ride and we are back in business.

First job is to deal with one friend's graphics card. First shop, no luck. Second shop, no luck again. We curse the superfast progress of the computers that has left those with a bit old piece of hardware to have no upgrade options. Even more so if you try to obtain a high end video card in India. Anyway, placing an order for a bulk purchase of DVD's, we move on.

For the second part, we travel a pretty long distance to another part of the city, walk some more, and finally give the goner HDD for replacement (All hail the five year warranty). Then we meet another friend, go to his place and relax for sometime. Then its back to the second shop to pick up the blanks.

A visit to the ATM later, we have with us 400 Blank DVD's and a keyboard. Then the Calcutta-wasi friend takes us for a small treat (wonderful ice creams). After that we take another walk (can't never have enough of these, can we) and then a bus ride back to Howrah station.

Call it the will of the gods or the stupid timing of our actions, we end up in a local train that is stuffed full of daily travelers. While they are used to it, this makes for THE WORST journey back to KGP. At least till halfway where the train finally got empty. Finally got back at about 11PM, took another walk with friends and then crashed on my bed.

Just saying "400 DVD's and a keyboard" might suffice as the explanation of a day well spent, but then the magic is in the details, isn't it.

Quote UnQuote

2006-03-18T00:35:00.000+05:30

"You know the deal with friends, if they love 'em you have to love 'em, wether you like it or not" - Dr Bob Kelso, Scrubs 514, March 14, 2006.

Now this one got me thinking hard. You gotta like the people your friends like, no exceptions. While I have never been in such a situation before, I just hope I have the strength to do this if ever I have to.

"About how pride defines who we are. As far as Bob Kelso goes, I know that sometimes even the good things he does are for the wrong reasons. Still I also know I wouldn't want to have to make any of the decisions that he makes. But when all is said and done, I'd like to think he does care a little. ..Even if he's too proud to show it." - JD, Scrubs 504, January 10, 2006.

Pride is an all too significant part of our lives, and I am sometimes too proud to admit that I might be wrong. Has gotten me into a fair bit of trouble this pride. Guess I will have to learn to swallow it.

One more thing that these quotes taught me is that I have been watching too much of Scrubs. Time to watch something else, or to get some work done for a change.

Tag: Ei8ht

2006-03-11T22:31:00.000+05:30

Tagged! Again! This time by Dipanjan.

The last tag itself was a pretty draining experience, and this one is tougher still. Last time around I was happy that we are playing tag online. Now I think this game is better restricted to the playgrounds. Anyway, here goes nothing.

Da Rules: (Ofcourse copy-pasted from DD's page)

The tagged victim has to come up with 8 different points of their perfect lover.
You have to mention the sex of the target.
Tag 8 victims to join this game and leave a comment on their comments saying they've been tagged.
If tagged the 2nd time, there's no need to post again.

Da Easy Part

I have never seriously thought about my perfect lover, and hence the following eight points are mere guidelines that pulled out from the depths of my (mostly dormant) grey cells. These points are what I think would help a relationship(if I ever get into one that is) go along smoothly. So my perfect girl(or bandi for those more comfortable with KGP lingo) should.....

Da Tough Part

be a treat to talk to. I should be able to talk to her endlessly about anything and everything.
be interested in Computers, gadgets and modern technology.(now this point filters out perhaps 99.999% of the girls out there I guess)
be strong willed and independent.
be cool minded to counter my (sometimes)random mood swings.
have a nice, sweet personality and a positive outlook towards life.
understand my weird passions and liking in life, which we may/may not share.
be attractive as a person.
love me more than anything in this world.

Da Ending Part

Now cometh the time to tag eight more people.
Vivek Malewar(start ur blog yaar), Saurabh Kumar, Abhishek Agarwal, Nitin Dhawan(restart blog posting man), Sonali, Nimesh, Nipun Narang and Amit Joshi.

Template Change

2006-03-05T00:35:00.000+05:30

Switched to a Floating Text on Image template.
Inspired by The Bourgeois Buffoon, original floating text on image template by Blogger templates.

Midsems and Midnight Strolls.

2006-02-23T21:27:00.000+05:30

While in the last few days lots of things have been happening, and some more are to happen in the coming few, I am taking some time to describe the two that I feel are the best to talk about.

So lets take up the midsems first. The last ever midsems... Two of 'em in total. One on a Monday afternoon, the other on the next morning. Pretty easy ones also, so was able to attempt 90% of the first and 100% of the second. Lets see what the endsems hold for me and then I can think about the grades.

Now that we are done talking about midsems and acads and all related boring topics, we can move on to midnight strolls. As summer has decided to descend upon us pretty early this year, the only time when one can go out and wander about is around midnight. And hence, our wing decided to take midnight strolls.

The first of these was a night-time visit to the SBI ATM, and because the one at the bank was shuttered, we went to the tech-market one and found a long queue there. At bloody 11PM. After about half an hour, after dealing with the ATM business, we decided the weather was fine enough to wander around, because all we had to do after coming back to our rooms was sit in front of the monitor. We had a good time and decided to make these a regular feature of our otherwise dull days.

The next day, we took off around midnight, and wandered along a curved road. The road followed such a path that one of us got totally disoriented when we ended up at a main road seemingly in a direction opposite to where we were heading.

The third trip was undoubtedly the best. While going towards the RDC, someone mentioned Vikramshila Top and it was immediately decided that we had to scale it. After about an hour of searching for the stairway to the top, we finally stumbled upon it left of the stage in the under-construction Kaildasa Auditorium. Then it was off to the top, but my slight phobia of heights prevented me from scaling the last ladder. Maybe next time...

Exams and stuff have brought a break into this ritual, but I am looking forward to starting again when the wing gets back to strength. Till then, I am as usual sitting in front of my monitor.

Lousy Day :(

2006-02-03T23:47:00.000+05:30

I don't know why, but today has been a really lousy day. And on top of that, I can't figure out why.

Woke up at 8:30AM on my day off(well, was woken by a phone call). Anyhoo (Dr. Bob Kelso/Scrubs style), I started the rest of the day in my usual fashion, check the websites and forums that I frequent, listen to some music, watch an episode or two of F.R.I.E.N.D.S, have lunch, recheck the forums and websites. The usual. But I started slipping into a lousy mood by mid afternoon.

I don't remember when I nodded off to sleep, but when I was woken up for dinner by wingooz, I was at the rock bottom of the mood chart. Dinner was a decent affair at Billoz, where we made and unmade plans for watching a movie tomorrow(doh!). While we were there, I was supposedly so bummed out that my friends even didn't make a joke about it.

It's been three hours since then, and while my mood has lightened up a bit, it still seems as if something is amiss. Maybe I am trying to get this feeling out by writing this blog. Maybe the movie I am gonna watch next will help. Maybe, and I wish with all I have, that I will be able to sleep this feeling off. But why do we have such days anyway. Wish I knew....

The Lasts

2006-01-27T18:31:00.000+05:30

Now this being the last semester of my stay in KGP, it has finally begun to dawn upon me that in three-and-a-half months I will be getting out of KGP for good. This place has been home for the last four-and-a-half years, and suddenly you're outta here.

While you always know that you will be going away sometime, certain things can rub the reality into your face pretty hard. For me, these things were "The Lasts". Some of them are small enough to be overlooked, but some are pretty huge to escape from.

I have already talked about the "first last", the registration for the last semester (damn it was one crappy day), there have been further events that make you realise that the clock is ticking, and days slipping out of your hands. Be it the last "first mess meal" of the semester or the last "first class" that you attend, you are always dreading the moment when these things will be no more. And then the big one hits you. The Last Spring Fest.

Four days of an endless series of events (OK OK, it stops officially at 11:30PM each day), star nights, competitions, dancing at perpz, eating good pizza(the only time of the year this is possible in KGP), and hanging out with your friends, with the mind free of all worries, atleast for these four days. But for me, this was the last one. Perhaps the last time hanging out with friends like there is no tomorrow. And when you think of something like this, whole of the last five years flash before your eyes, times with friends, having fun, no worries.

Afterwards, you are left with a horribly empty feeling, and I can't make out what it really is. Just plain despair at the thought of having to lose times like these. Maybe ten years hence I will be able to look back and cherish these times and memories, but right now I cannot think of what I will do after 20th May, away from my home of five years.

Anyway, I still have a few "lasts" tucked away, to unfold as the semester passes, and the only way to be happy is to hope that you have your friends around you at these time :).

EDIT: In Koba's words of a year ago, leaving KGP will hurt, It will really hurt like hell.

Potholes on the highway!!!

2006-01-10T23:48:00.000+05:30

Let me come straight to the point. So far, 2006 has not been as good as I wished it to be. Not that any of the following things are of much significance, but they sure add up to put you in a bad mood.

First of all, there is the academic registration, which has quite a few hitches in it. Of the four subjects offered (two to be picked) we have already done two so it is back to the usual, forced electives. And on top of that, the remaining subjects are not the most enjoyable (not that subjects ever are...). Anyway, uttering the word "Whatever" once more, I take these subjects, but not before another even tougher subject (which I wouldn't touch with a fourty foot pole) is wrestled into the options by deliberations with the HOD and letters to the DOAA.

Anyway, elective subjects are not the matter of prime concern these days. Its the (unseasonal) placement season and hence we gotta worry about placements. And while the placements are going well for KGP as a whole, the picture is a bit gloomy for us belonging to the 2001 batch. We are sandwiched between the B.Techs of 2002 batch (Magguz with hoohaa CG's) and the Post Graduates, and things are not as we would like them to be. Anyway, with some more people placed and a wingoo getting a schol, things are getting better now.

All this would have been OK if it wasn't for my bruised knee. Curse the "Under Construction" road that has been all mud and stones for the last seven-eight months, and the useless bicyclist who does not know any road manners. Shoulda run him down into the dust.

Hope that things get better soon. Don't wanna go into SF with such a lousy mood......

A Bonfire and "Patthar Paneer"!!!

2006-01-01T11:09:00.000+05:30

This is what we did at New Year's Eve this time around. :). Let me explain the full story in chronological order.

Planning for the eve
First of all, there was supposed to be a trip to Cal on 31st December, with the New Year's Eve being spent in some party. This plan could not gain wide acceptance. So it was scrapped. The second plan was to go to Chandipur and spend the eve at the beach, but watching the susnset, spending twelve hours on the cold beach and then watching the sunrise was not everyone's cup of tea. So this plan also goes down.

So when Cal and Chandipur were both outta the picture, we decided to stay back home (KGP) and do something. A bonfire was on the table for the Chandipur trip, and its location was shifted about a hundred miles into the C-Ground of LLR Hall of Residence. And then there is always some grub required.

Of "Patthar Paneer" and the like
When the venue was decided to be our backyard, we also decided to prepare our own grub. Thus we went about marinating Paneer(cheese) and boiled potatoes with curd, mint paste, chilli paste and coriander leaf paste. The plan was to roast/bake/fry these on a stone slab heated by charcoal fire. Or something like that.

The Appointed Hour(s)
So finally the appointed hour arrives. We try to burn the charcoal but it turns out to be more or less black mud cakes. Whatever wood burns cracks the stone slab, so it is rearranged to a smaller size and using wood fire, some paneer and potatoes are prepared. They were awesome. The rest of the goods like chocolate cake, chocolate cookies, potato wafer chips and sodas were all right. But nothing like self made hot "Patthar Paneer". :))

At midnight, there was a small gathering of people from the Hall and it was time to exchange new year wishes, and take a GPL. I was perhaps the first KGPian to get a GPL in 2006. Not a very good start to the year eh! Anyway some music and weird steps dancing later, it was time to get to bed, and that's what we did.

The first and last New Year's Eve in KGP was really good. I just wish that I can have times like these in the future also.

:wq 2005.year (sorry Dipanjan, this was too good to resist, the geek inside me is more powerful than ever.)

Another year goes by.....

2005-12-31T15:43:00.000+05:30

So here comes the end of another year. Sometimes it seems that it was just yesterday when we were talking about 2004 going by and 2005 being a few days away. Now in the blink of an eye, it is one year hence. And sometimes, as I look back al all that happened in 2005, it seems as if it has been eons since we celebrated the last new year's eve.

Taking a look back at the year gone by, there were a lot of new things. I started blogging for instance, and amongst KGPians, there was a huge explosion of blog culture. This has helped keep in touch with those who are now scattered across the globe, thus keeping people in the frozen Alberta, in the civilisation, and those still in the village just a click away. Yo Blogging!

Moving to more important things, 2005 was also the year that changed me perhaps more than any previous year, more so in its latter half. Maybe it was the begining of my final year of college or the thought of the future and what it held for me, but it caught me off guard. While I am still trying to figure out some loose ends, 22nd December had laid rest to most of these thoughts.

2005 was also the year when I spent all of my summer vacations in KGP. It was a mixed experience. While there was a lot of free time, the weather was so hostile that it was folly to try to get any significant work done in the day time. And on top of that, the restaurants were of no help. Anyway, that is now behind me now and perhaps was the first and the last time I ever did anything like that.

Thinking of some lighter moments, I often get reminded that it is now almost six years since the world was supposed to end. All that dawn of the new millennia and the doomsday hoopla is more than gone now. Maybe a thousand years hence...

One thing which has always been same all these years is that whenever I sit down to recollect past experiences and events, my mind always blanks out. And it is the same today. 2005 was a year full of wonderful times, sad times and O.K. times, but right now, I cannot remember any of them.

In about eight hours, 2005 will be long gone, and it will be 2006. And a year later, I will be thinking about what 2006 did for me, and perhaps will blank out again. Whatever...

Anyway, here is me wishing that all those who read this piece, and all those who don't that 2005 was really good for them. And also that 2006 be even better.

Psycho's Day Out!!!

2005-12-26T21:03:00.000+05:30

While this is a story of December 8th, 2005, I never got the time to write it before, hence it is being posted after later events.

This particular day, we four people had decided to buy some computer hardware and stuff, so it is off to Kolkata (Calcutta, or Fort William for the nostalgic minded), the only place nearby where it is possible to buy such stuff at half decent prices. Anyway, we take breakfast and then leave for the station. While two of us got a decent rickshaw, the one we got was very slow, thus we were quite late reaching the station. It was sheer luck that we were able to catch the express train, otherwise it would have been a woeful passenger train ride lasting close to three hours.

We reach Howrah station in decent time and then the question was how to reach the next destination, and here one friend suggested that we take the ferry across the river and then the metro. So that's what we did, and the ferry ride was awesome.

After the ferry ride, we asked for the nearest metro station and Esplanade was supposed to be a five minute walking distance, but fifteen later we found out that the five minutes info should be taken with a pinch of salt. Or under a fast walking competetion. Anyway, we did reach the metro station and catch the ride to Park Street, but not before the metro ticket automated gates trying to keep us out of Esplanade platform (or in the Park Street one).

At Park Street, we visit the Oxford bookstore but find only one book of interest, and then we go off to have some lunch. The rolls we had were really great, and also pretty much sufficient for a long day.

Then it was to Chandani Market for the work we had actually come for, computer hardware shopping. There, we surprise the shop attendent who expecting a 40GB HDD customer had to deal with us who wanted two of 250GB HDD's. Because this shop was not able to provide us with what we wanted, it was off to another one, and luckily there we got all the HDD's, the DVD-RW and the blank Disks.

After this, it was another metro ride to the Forum Inox, and the Crossword bookstore a block away. Two good hours spent there, getting books, having coffee, pizza and sodas. Nobody wanted to stay to watch a movie so it was time to get back. A breezy taxi ride and we are back at Howrah station. A light dinner at FoodPlaza and then an empty passenger train ride back to Kharagpur, we finally reached back to the hostel at 1 AM. Long day, but a really good one.

PS. There was another "Psycho's Day Out" Version 2.0 about a fortnight later, we'll see about that later.

Psycho gets a Job :)

2005-12-23T15:49:00.000+05:30

Campus recruitments: The Saga Begins
This year, the powers-that-be decided that campus placements will take place not yearlong as they usually do, but only in the final semester of the year. Apparently, this will result in improved attendence in classes. Little do they know we have more reasons to stay away from classes than just placement interviews. :wink:. Anyhow, I don't think we will ever know that wether this step made attendence any better in the autumn semester, but what I do know is that this did created a lot of panic in our minds about the actual placements. Compressing a yearlong process into a semester is like a little more than we bargained for. But whatever....

So the campus placements began finally on 21st of December.

Day 1
The Indian Tobacco Company Limited, Hindustan Lever Limited and Fair Isaac visit on the first day. Lady luck smiles (ironically) on 13 people, nine go to ITC and four to FI. HLL as always delays its decision till final interviews which will be held at its head office back in Mumbai.

Day 2
Maruti Udyog Limited, Lehman Brothers, and McKinsey are scheduled for the second day.
Lehman Brothers takes 10, after a lot of confusion and resume resubmittals that I will never know about completely. McKinsey creates a fiasco with the senior associates not showing up and delaying the interviews by a day. As for Maruti Udyog Limited, that's where I was, and the story goes on like this....

Maruti Udyog Limited
The Pre Placement Talk takes place in SN Bose auditorium, and after that, it is straight to the interviews. Thirty-two applicants, nervous and dressed up sit in the TnP section waiting for their turns, and somewhere midway is my turn. Interview is taken by a panel of three senior management members of Maruti Udyog Limited, and I come out after the interview with a lot of apprehension. The interview went well but who knows, how many people might have done even better than me...

Then the Oracle calls. Not any seer, but the Oracle Inc. test is scheduled for 4:00PM and it is already quarter past three. So i rush off to the hostel, change and go back for the test. Luckily the test is delyed, and before it can start, the final list of selected candidates is put up infront of the TnP section. And my name is on the list :).

A coffee later, I come back to the hostel to get a good GPL at the "legs" of BFM residents, curse them, it was a really cold day. Anyway, who cares about the GPL when you have a job in the field that you are sure you will enjoy immensely.

End Sems Chale Gaye!!! Registration Aa Gaya!!!

2005-12-01T22:02:00.000+05:30

So the end semester exams finally ended on the 28th. of November. I.C. Engines examination completed at full throttle. Out of the examination hall at 3:20PM and off to Harry's.

Anyway, that was it and then it was two days of relative peace before the registration for the last time ever at IIT Kharagpur. But it was the worst registration ever. The worst managed fees payment counters, only one line for all the dual degree students and that too shared with post grads... and on top of that bank employees having snacks when we are getting frustated of standing in the line for two hours. Thank god this was the last one.

To make things worse, the academic part of the registration was to be done online and the system seems to be broken, so God save us. As my next door neighbour would say, "Whtever....".

Tag: Se7en

2005-11-24T19:47:00.000+05:30

Got tagged. And that too a day after a looong blog. Anyway, three of my four exams are done now and the fourth one is four days away. So here I am, back to my blog.

What is this tagging business anyway? Tag used to be great out in the grounds. Now that we have computers and internet, we are playing tag with blogs. Guess there is a nerd in everyone. Makes me happy :).

Anyway, here goes....

Seven things I want to do in my life:

Do anything and everytihng for my parents.
Fall in love.
Build a holiday retreat at a secluded place.
Make a positive difference to a few lives, in any possible way.
Learn to play any one music instrument well.
Take a country-wide mobike ride.
Build myself an awesome gaming rig.

Seven things I can do:

Assemble Computers.
Watch an endless stream of movies.
Read long books and novels in one sitting.
Listen to all kinda music (including languages I don't understand).
Sleep - all day long and then all night long.
Follow hobbies in an obsessively paranoid manner.
Stay up all night bhaating with friends.

Seven things I say the most:

Mar gaya!
Lunch anyone/Dinner anyone.
Abe kal ki class ke liye utha dena be!!
Hmmmmmm...
Abe mote uth jaa (courtesy Sudu whom I have to wake up all too often :P).
Thanks.
Chal cya...

Seven things I can't do:

Stop being a geek.
Stay away from forums.
Sleep at an earthly hour.
Keep my table uncluttered.
Take a short nap. If I sleep, I'll be down for hours.
Cheat/copy on tests and exams.
Break traffic rules. (I wear a helmet while riding in campus).

Seven things that attract me to the opposite sex:

Looks.
A sense of understanding.
Practicality
A sweet smile.
A fun attitude.
Simplicity.
Respect for others.

Seven celebrity crushes:

Jeon Ji Hyun (My Sassy Girl)
Preity Zinta
Amrita Rao
Avril Lavigne
Meg Ryan
Julia Stiles
Anna Kournikova

Seven people I tag:

Nitin Dhawan (Nitzee), get back to blogging man.
Abhishek Agarwal (Recca Kun)
Arvin Deep
Indrava Roy
Apratim Dhar
Vivek Malewar (MatterLogic), start a blog yaar :)
Gaurav Sahni (Ravemz)

Takes too much thought this thing. Good thing it came in between exams, the mind is perfectly devoid of everything and free to think. :).

End Sems, F.E.A.R., looooong blogging breaks, F.R.I.E.N.D.S, Banks, Winter, FUBAR, Nerdcore, Graphics Cards, Goblets of Fire and the like...

2005-11-23T01:14:00.000+05:30

It has been such a long time since I last wrote something here, that I have to look up font faces and sizes again. This is like the worst thing that could happen. Anyway, should now get back to the point. Been a really long time, almost three months, and in the meanwhile, I have been doing things that range from NULL (simply doing nothing) to actually studying seriously (imagine that!!!). Lets take things one at a time shall we?

So End Sems are upon us KGPians now. I am actually halfway through the penultimate end semester examinations of my undergraduate/graduate (Dual Degree!) life. Two done, two more to go and the toughest one is gone. But, for a change, the toughest one was not so tough. It was actually much better than expected and was in a long long time a technical examination that I attempted completely. I am now actually fearing for the two easier ones, what if they are unexpected!!. BTW, this "tougher" one was the thing that caused me to "study seriously". Worked out well in the end.

That was the serious part of the blog, now lets get to the extreme opposite. Like I was saying, I have also spent time doing ABSOLUTELY nothing. Trust me, it is BLISS. Nothing better than lying down on a lazy couch/bed in moderate weather watching the day(s) go by. Try it sometime, but yeah, don't overdo it. I almost did.

And that is how we reach up to F.R.I.E.N.D.S. The next thing to lying around all day is to put up your headphones and watch episode after episode of some sitcom. In my case, it was the ever-popular show F.R.I.E.N.D.S, and this was a second watching. Often, friends would come up behind me in my room and I wouldn't notice because I was too engrossed and also, because with the headphones on, I couldn't hear them come in.

As long as we are putting full stops between capitalised letters of a word, lets talk about F.E.A.R (First Encounter Assault and Recon). This is supposed to be one of the really good games to have come out in recent times, and perhaps is the best since Half Life 2 stole our hearts. The sad part is that the game is so demanding on graphics hardware, that I don't have the heart to even install it on my computer. (Neither do I have that HDD space).

Talking of HDD's, I gotta get two of 'em soon. And that's where the banks come in. I have to have a savings account at the State Bank of India, IIT Kharagpur branch to receive my stipend, and because I didn't, I haven't received a single dime of it yet. Hopefully tomorrow (or today as it is past midnight), I will give my SBI account number in the Accounts department and get the accumulated amount of the stipend in December. Ahoy HDD's, here I come (soon).

December did I say. That's a winter month. So yeah, winter is here, and this time it descended upon us suddenly. One day all was fine and dandy and the next day it was pretty cold outside. Forced us to wear jackets and what-not. Anyway, what's another winter after 21 already, and that too a KGP winter when I have seen Himalayan ones.

OK, leave the winter aside and lets get back to games, and more importantly, something indispensable while gaming. A good Graphics card. A lot of activity has been going on in the graphics card market for the last six months. First nVidia pulls off an amazing launch day in stores for the 7800 series graphics cards, and ATi pulls off another woefully late paper launch four months later. And then again nVidia pulls of the King Killer move, launch of the 512MB 7800GTX video card, the fastest ever to hit the consumer market. Too bad it costs US$700 minimum and is out of stock at most stores. While the top end of the market has been as hot as a rocket's exhaust, the mainstream has also had reasons to cheer. Cuts in 6xxx series cards' prices, launch on ATi's X800GTO that could be easily made into a x800XT/x850XT, and then the 6800GS that redefined value for money, and now the impending launch of the 7800GS that should make the market more crowded then ever. Too bad that the prices the cards are available at in India are way way more than their market prices in the US. Do you know someone who could get me a good card from the US???

Enough of the Graphics cards and stuff. Lets talk something more geeky. Here comes the NerdCore. It is one of the newer genre of music, and is becoming really popular among nerds and geeks. Combine Gangsta Rap and Geek terms and you get the Holy Grail. Monzy's got a good Drama in the PhD going on. Check it out.

Well, this is about time that I start running out of things to write in this blog (and remember the countless things I missed about an hour later). So here are the last two things that come to mind.

Petrol : Prices have been shooting up like bamboo grows, and looks like I should get back to my bicycle instead of riding my bike.

FUBAR : While I was writing this blog, I noticed the yahoo messenger status message of a wingoo. Upon asking him what it meant, I was enlightened with some World War II lingo, F***ed Up Beyond All Recognition. I'll leave the rest to you all.

Oh! By the way, the new Harry Potter movie "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" is out and it is off to the talkies as soon as eaxms end.

The "Tux"edo

2005-08-25T02:03:00.000+05:30

Linux. This word alone may give some people reason enough to never visit this page ever again. On the other hand, some may visit this page again and again to see when the word is repeated here.

Linux has existed with us for fourteen years now. I have known about it for the last seven perhaps, and tinkered with it on an irregular basis for the last four. It has not become something of a "cannot live without it", but yeah, given the option, I would always like to have the Tux around.

Linux is not for everyone, however much they would like you to believe. It is still tougher to configure compared to the other, more prevalent operating system that I need not name. For the average user, who browses the internet for an hour a day, checks his e-mail and writes a few documents, an introduction to Linux might even seem like a boat ride in stormy seas if the system is not preconfigured, which is really unlikely. Linux does come with a lot of preinstalled applications if one chooses a default workstation installation, but these overwhelming numbers and names sometimes might even scare away the new user.

But for those who know what they are doing, Linux can be a very efficient tool to test and boost skills. Configuration to get everything working takes some time, but not all. It is the endless customization that gives the real joy of using Linux. And if you are not able to customise something to your liking, why not recode the system into submission. This is the absolute power of Open Source Softwares. If you don't like it, recode it.

I do not have the time or the knowledge required to recode the whole operating system, or even any small part of it, but i'll happily live with the fact that some people can and do this. And i'll enjoy the freedom.

The Chronologer

2005-08-05T15:13:00.000+05:30

While this blog is an irregular collection of posts, another, a more regular one can be made. A simple chronology of events. The Psychronology. A psycho's chrolology. No details, no elaborate stories. Just a simple chronology full of comments on the day's happennings.

./announcing with a heavy heart the demise of the Psychronology, because of shortage of time on my part/.

Holy Freeze! A four frame Zeal!!

2005-07-29T20:32:00.000+05:30

To most, the title won't make any sense, but to whom it does, they would be really interested in knowing much more. But my purpose is to bore everyone, so this post will explain the title in detail.

It is related to the game Diablo II: Lord of Destruction Expansion, patch version 1.10. More specifically, to the "Frost Zealot" build of the Paladin. Now before the uninformed ask, I will explain. The Frost Zealot uses the Holy Freeze aura as his primary aura, and Zeal as his main attack. However, I threw in some more interesting things to make the game more enjoyable. To some(who understood the title in the first place), the word "Beast" will suffice. For others, lemee explain. "Beast" is a Runeword that provides an active Fanaticism aura, and this really helps attain the four frame zeal. What, u still didn't understand what a four frame zeal is? Too Bad, looks like I'm cursed to bore you some more. Each attack in the game has multiple speeds, and increased attack speed items help attack faster, i.e. take more weapon swings at enemies in a given time. But, the game being restricted to 25 frames per second, the real benefit comes when an attack speed is increased to such an extent that the number of frames needed to render a particular attack swing is reduced. And a four frame zeal swing is the best that can be achieved.

Other things like Holy Freeze boosted to collosal skill levels and synergised to insane cold damage per attack hit are insignificant details.

For those who are frustated by now, please hit the reset button on your computer. For those, who are interested to know more, I'd suggest you spend some time on The Arreat Summit and the Diablo II Strategy Compendium.

Music to the ears

2005-07-19T21:45:00.000+05:30

"Music. A magic beyond all what we do here" - Prof. Albus Dumbledore

From heavy metal, industrial, alternative, rock, nu-metal, punk, fusion, pop, hip-hop to rhythm, ballads, reggae, soft, classical and certain things that we cannot even classify. Music is a part of everyone's life, however small the part may be. And to some it is everything.

For me, music is not an obsession, but life would not be the same without the music. I do not have any particular preference of a genre, but listen to whatever I like, and it can be anything. Sometimes, the way my playlist goes from heavy rock to boy-band pop is enough to throw others off their tracks. I really wish they never listen to my playlist switch from "Parental Advisory - Explicit Lyrics" hip-hop to Simon and Garfunkel.

I do not play any musical instrument, but sometimes I do try. Have tinkered around with mouth organs, keyboards (not of the computer variety), and even spent a few moments with acoustic guitars. But never could devote enough time to really learn to play one of these even half decently. Maybe someday...

However, till then, let the music play...

Rebooting KGP

2005-07-16T00:07:00.000+05:30

KGP gets into a kind of suspended sleep state in the summer months. The summer vacations to be more precise. However, now the time has come when KGP wakes up from its slumber to its usual hustle and bustle. The Autumn semester is approaching.

Come 19th July and the all the senior KGPians will get back to their usual lives. And on 20th we will welcome the new members of the KGP family. And its back to the classrooms immediately. For most of us atleast. Some of us can wait a few more days before the classes actually begin.

The signs of activity are already trickling. Familiar names are reappearing on muTTer and DC mainchat. The omnipresent demands for CS and AOE servers are ever more persistent. And yeah, people are also returning to their hostel rooms.

Now, lets see what this new year (and my last) at KGP holds for me...

Of Restaurants

2005-07-13T23:07:00.000+05:30

So when you stay the summer in KGP, the first and foremost thing you do is to plan for the restaurants you are going to visit for meals. The "Mess" in the hall of residence is shut down for the summer, the official "Mess" supposed to run for the summer closes before opening. The unofficial "Mess" closes down a fortnight before the end of the summer vacations, and you are at the mercy of the hopeless restaurants.

There are four (and a half) restaurants on-campus, perhaps tolerable for a meal a fortnight. However, when you have to plan for two a day, you seriously run out of options.

Two of them are pretty far away to be a feasible option for daily visits, once a week might be fine. The other two and a half are more accessible, but the "Under Construction" signs on the road force you to take a path to the "half" one about three times longer than usual. And then there are the restaurants themselves.

When you go for meals in a group, there are personal preferences and hate factors. It's pretty hard to come up with a unanimous choice, but you gotta do what you gotta do. So everytime, we do reach somewhere. And this is exactly when the reality hits us. There is simply no choice of what to eat (when attempting to keep the summer budget under check), so you fall back to the same thing you ate last time you visited this particular restaurant. And life goes on...

And yeah, if a waiter tries to slip u an unclean wet plate, and glares at you when u ask him to clean it, glare back. Works for me.

A flood of movies

2005-07-12T23:53:00.000+05:30

Over the last few weeks, I have watched a lot of movies. Some OK, some real good and some beyond comparison. Here is a list of as many as I can remember, with a small description.

Charlie's Angles 2: Full Throttle - Three tough babes battling against someone trying to steal details of the "witness protection program", while the past catches up with one of them.

Garden State - The Directorial debut of the multitalented Zach Braff, more famous as Dr. Jack "JD" Dorian on the TV sitcom Scrubs. Movie inspired by real events of his life. A wonderful Drama.

Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines - Arnold's back. Decent movie with well explained reason of the actual takeover by the machines.

Seven Years in Tibet - An Austrian mountaineer ends up in Lhasa, Tibet after a series of events at the peak of the second world war. There he befriends His Holiness the Dalai Lama, who is a young person at that time, and rediscovers himself.

What Dreams May Come - You gotta see this movie to even begin to comprehend it. Really great movie about how love can even overcome death.

Wild Things 3: Diamonds in the Rough - A typical wild things sequel, with inherited diamonds and all the usual twists and turns. But I seriously didn't see the last one coming.

Pulp Fiction - A Tarantino masterpiece, about two hitmen, their boss, a boxer and some more people. Non-chronological presentation and extreme violence make it a must watch.

Reservoir Dogs - Another Tarantino Masterpiece. A Diamond store robbery gone wrong, an undercover cop, an empty warehouse and tempers running high.

From Dusk to Dawn - Tarantino Screenplay, Rodriguez Direction. George Clooney and Tarantino himself as performers. There is nothing more to say.

Sleepless in Seattle
You've Got Mail
Two romantic comedies, both featuring Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks. Both deal with finding true love and are really watchable. The internet "connections" make the second one more enjoyable for us geeks.

xXx
xXx2: State of the Nation
Two non-stop action movies, the first one featuring Vin Diesel, the second one Ice Cube, as a part of the xXx Extreme Special Agent program.

Elektra - A spinoff from Daredevil, and based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name, the movie shows her fighting a group of supernatural ninjas to save a father and her daughter, whom she was initially ordered to kill.

Strange Days - A futuristic movie set at the turn of the century, with a police ruled LA (or was it NY), where "Playback" is an illegal black market hot commodity and one particular playback can make things go really wrong for others.

K-Pax - A man in a psychiatric institution claims to be an alien for the planet K-Pax. When his psychiatrist tries to counsel him, he shows certain traits which really make the doctor wonder.

Osmosis Jones - A white blood cell and a cold pill take on a deadly virus that has entered Frank's body. Light hearted comedy with a good mix of live action and animation.

The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring Extended Edition
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers Extended Edition
The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King
Need I say anything about these??

Some of these movies deserve much more than the two lines I have written here, and that's what's up next.

Modifying the Template

2005-07-12T14:48:00.000+05:30

As usual, I have to do something or the other to be different. Standard things just don't appeal to me. So i go ahead and try modifying the predefined template of the blog. However, I am only partially successful. The lower part of the page does not render properly. In firefox atleast. So here I am, still trying to figure out a way to clean it up. Perhaps i will change the whole code of the blog, writing it my way and making it easier to modify - but that'll take time. So as of now, trying to tweak it is what i do.

EDIT: Looks like fixed for the time being. As long as the content part is longer than the sidebar, the page is rendered fine. Otherwise, well try to find a page where the content is shorter and u'll know.

EDIT2: Well, seems like in all pages, the content is longer than the sidebar, so I am done for the time being. As for writing my own code, i'll do that if this minor edit doesn't hold well due to some reason or the other.

And so it begins

2005-07-12T06:10:00.000+05:30

And so it begins. This was also the title and begining lines of the previous blog that I had hosted on my own computer on the LAN. Never got to add much to that one, and don't really know how much will I ever add to this one. But even then, a start is a start and an attempt is an attempt. And because i had to manually edit HTML for my previous one, this will be easier to manage. :hails: blogspot.

So now, lets decide on what all am I going to put here. We can start with movie reviews/rants. There can be video/computer game related posts. Computer hardware. Exams, studies and projects. Music. And perhaps most importantly, friends. This kinda sums up my life as I know it.

So, let it begin