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Year 2010

2010-12-29T22:45:00.002-08:00

...has been really eventful year for me. I changed teams at work, which I was very paranoid about, but turned out to be one of the best decisions I took this year. Works great, was busy Mar-Nov with a 60hour week every month, and was so burned out that every long weekend I made some memorable trips, attended some amazing concerts and really great parties.

Another great thing this year was my Seattle to Portland 200mile bike ride. I always wanted to do it and was training last year for it.

Intersting change that happened this year is that with my work schedule I didnt get chance to update my blog, my RSS feed reading trends have tumbled to a life time low (~8000 skimmed articles a month to ~700 a month) , havent read a lot of books this year, havent spoken to family and friends as often as I would like to, been a leach at review sites by not leaving my opinons on places I visited or electronics I bought or books I read, and have got a beer belly.

Well, thats the dynamics of life... Looking forward to what 2011 has to offer.

World is Flat - Thomas Friedman

2010-11-14T14:19:00.000-08:00

This had been on the list of "wish to read" for a while, finally I got a chance to lay hands on it. Its a very well written book explaining the globalization of the 21st century with a thought provoking idea; "The World is Flat" if not, tending towards being flat. I am glad to pick up the updated version of the book, and the times this book speaks of are the ones, I can relate to as the events happened while I was a part of this flattener.

I must say the books perspective can be related to the economy's of the developing countries along with the main cause of flattener "the entrepreneur attitude of people in US". Theres a clear difference in the entrepreneurship of North America and Asia. NAmerican entrepreneurship is about innovation, new products, innovative business models (supply chain, cost cutting, facilitation ) while the entrepreneurs in Asia contribute to the above by providing services/ opportunities to facilitate above.

One must note that the ideas and theories discussed in the work might not relate to all economies globally, but hold true in the major continents of the society. I wouldn't go over the 10 flatteners from the author as I don't understand all in detail and I might not doing justice to what the author meant. Secondly I am not knowledgeable enough to speak about economics and its a topic I recently started reading about. But I would like to discuss briefly the factors that do make sense to me and also gave me a new perspective which I being a part of never thought about.

The fall of communism (note: he talks about the communist practices of Russia at the time of Fall of Berlin Wall). This is time when PCs started catching up, allowing people to communicate and express all over the world.
Netscape, the biggest factor for flattener as it defined web for all who had access to a phone and a computer in contrast to "early adopters and geeks".
Offshoring: Idea of moving the manufacturing beyond borders to benefit from lower cost, which helped other economies to grow, and kept the commodity costs low.
Outsourcing, this not only helped people to be productive round the clock but also opened opportunities to people round the globe. The biggest innovation that helped was laying fiber optics across seas, facilitating the communication to be more efficient.
Insourcing: this is a very interesting factor and I was never aware of it. The example that author presents explains it well. UPS, a delivery company that takes cares of your packages. Since this company did study and invested in the supply chain of transportation to reduce the amount of time it takes to deliver a package, it got innovative enough to open the repair centers for companies like HP. Where HPÊ & Toshiba certified engineers repair your computer reducing the turn around time for defective pieces to minimum. Companies like UPS not only provide services to bigger organizations they also provide investment to smaller business and do consulting for them in lowering the operating costs based on their fully established system.
Open Source, Workflow softwares, Search Engines: I club these 3 together as I think of technology as one. Though I would still keep Netscape out of this category as that was a defining factor in the world of web. OpenSource society of geeks who love to contribute like Linux, apache, wikipedia, bloggers. This started a streak of innovation in the world making productivity softwares and new available to people for free. Workflow softwares like webex, smtp (mail protocols) ftp, http enabled people to communicate and work real time in collaboration regardless of geographical location, and ofcourse Yahoo and later Google which made any information available while on the move.

Other than this author explains how the .com boom and bust helped global economies grow. In a way the bust was a blessing in disguise for global economies in India. During this hard phase a lot of skilled workers in US had to go back home, which gave them an opportunity to start their own companies. Note all fiber optics was laid till then helping these new companies to make ties abroad. Not only this now Asok from IBM was in India and IBM had a reliable cheaper contact in a distant land and could help them in being productive. This though a factor of the start of business model for outsourcing turned out to be a blessing for India to step into IT.

The book is a good start for anyone who wants to understand or start on understanding the global economy. It has been written for a layman without throwing in heavy terminology from economics and helps perceiving things with examples from bigger established organizations. Its a work drawn out of a series of interviews of people working a different levels of organizations and then arranging it into place to explain what drives global economic.

Interesting work well written.

Tickles from Seattle - 11

2010-05-09T18:23:00.000-07:00

AgentA: m going to Vancouver to eat
JG : I've been there too... great food specially the desi food. Do you know theres a dhaba o'er there?
AgentA: Is that so...? m going to check it out...
JG: Yeah you must... its brilliant. They serve parathas and the ambiance is like a dhaba in India.

-----------------trip to vancover, couldnt find the dhaba-----------------

AgentA: I couldnt find the place dude.... neither its listed anywhere online...
JG : huh really...?
AgentA: yeah so where is it...? u've been there right?
JG: Actually i haven't been there ever i heard pple talking about it. They must be talking about some other city 'en... i guess

Who’s Whose Bitch…

2010-04-11T19:25:00.001-07:00

Well, its so confusing in the motor world, and its easy to loose track of which company is owned by whom. Car companies in past 5 decades have been played around like the share trading. You have to think twice before vouching for your favorite engine, as you never know whether its still in the hands of Germans or the Italians or the yankees took over it (n now TATAs in the game too).

The dynamics of this industry is always on the move with mergers, models, takeover's etc. Needless to say that then there are other companies which take the engine and remaster it to push it over the limits like Pagani Zonda who love the German V12 from Mercedes-Benz AMG.

Maserati one of the the known names with a glorious past in racing history and a established brand from Italy, did a miracle in 2008 on a Enzo engine establishing the fastest lap time on Nurburgring in 2008 (before DidgeViper 2009 smoked it out) is a classic case. They have made some of the most beautiful and powerful cars for roads and tracks. As an independent company was butchered by French Citroen, followed by the Argentinian De Tomaso which had to partner with Chrysler and then finally after a long wait back in the hands of Italians Fiat, Ferrari, and now Alfa Romeo.

Chilly Hilly 2010

2010-03-17T22:57:00.001-07:00

This organized bike ride marks the start of the season for bike rides in the Pacific Northwest and is one of the biggest organized events in US (~6000+ riders showed up for 2010). Its a 33mile ride looping the Bainbridge Island of WA, organized by Cascade Bicycle Club.

This was my first organized bike ride since I started biking last summer and I must say, I enjoyed it thoroughly. The route has everything to offer from spectacular views of Seattle skyline and Mt. Ranier to quad calf busting hills.

33miles isnt that long a trail for a weekend ride but Chilly Hilly needs some preparation for sure. The total elevation gain is a little shy of 3000ft over several hills, and the weather in the month of Feb makes it more fun.

This year people say that we had the best weather, just the right temp and partly cloudy with no rains.

I saw several riders who struggled along the way because of insufficient preparation or first ride of season. This ride definitely requires some preparation else you might end up with a ice pack for the upcoming days.

Cycling Timelapse & Video (Chilly Hilly 2010) from Garrett Wesley Gibbons on Vimeo.

The ride lives up to its name. Its chilly and its for sure is hilly and at the finish line you get to eat some delicious chilly.

Green Zone

2010-03-14T23:10:00.001-07:00

How about if I open a statement with something like “If you don’t agree to me then you are ignorant”

Well that's exactly how Time(magazine) is promoting the movie Green Zone.

“If you’re not gripped and terrified by the movie, you haven’t been paying attention”

…n i think that’s a lame attempt to make people agree with ones own opinion.

Well to speak for myself I was waiting for this movie, I stepped out of office approximately 2 hrs earlier just to watch the movie on its first week. P. Greengrass impressed me with the last 2 works of his in the name of Bourne and Matt Damon, there's no question about his abilities to act. So you cannot say that I wasn't paying attention if I wasn't “gripped or terrified” by the movie, because I was not.

Time (magazine) states:

Greenzone has fullness of character, a density of detail, a cunning mystery plot and so much stuff blowing up that audiences might not realize they’re seeing an Iraq war film. They’ll be too scared stiff enjoying themselves.

None of it is what I felt. In the name of mystery any dumb ass can figure out that Freddie will kill Al Rawi. The fuck up that happened in Iraq war is no news or surprise to anyone today. At one point the author of article says, that Matt Damon goes Rambo, go and watch Rambo. Matt Damon wasn’t even close to being a one man army.

The story had a great potential but turned out to be a sheer disappointment to me. I gave up on Newsweek last year primarily because of Fareed Zakaria and his stupid opinions and I think I will be giving up on Time soon because of Joe Klein and this kind a promotion of big banner.

Original Article from Time is here.

Piraat

2010-02-13T18:46:00.001-08:00

How many times have you found yourself quoting: “What ? that looks like half a pint of beer and half head”

Well I can assure you if you are ordering Piraat off the tap you are most likely to find yourself with the same statement. And half way through your pint you could be a happiest person around the table.

Belgians have learnt the art of brew over the ages and some of the finest beers in the world are from Belgium. Piraat is my favorite Belgian brew along with St Bernardus Abt12.

Piraat has a very high alcohol percentage (10.5% by vol) and before you finish your second pint the tasting glands go numb. But that first pint is enough to make you realize how good it tastes. It has a sweet citurs aroma and a fruity taste leaving behind a tinge of hoppy bitterness. It tastes better when poured from the tap in an exclusive piraat glass, in that golden color. Beer quantity is 3 quarters of the pint and rest is the head.

If you are one of those who believe in getting hammered to have most fun on a sat night without spending a fortune on drinks in a hefty club… 2 Piraats’ before the party can make it a memorable one.

Livesite Support – Who should do this?

2010-02-03T09:24:00.001-08:00

Customer service is the first line of support for any e-commerce. Traditionally these people have admin rights to the system and written instructions to follow them.

Second line of support when something goes down on live site is to call the developer on pager duty. Workaround for the problem is found and fixed on a ASAP basis and then we tend to stick with the work around forever.

Kayak has this great idea:

Why would you pay an engineer $150,000 to answer phones when you could pay someone in Arizona $8 an hour?" If you make the engineers answer e-mails and phone calls from the customers, the second or third time they get the same question, they'll actually stop what they're doing and fix the code. Then we don't have those questions anymore.

Pager duties are not fun but why Developers should be the only one to be quad-damaged by them. It should be a shared duty of the team. The tester on the team should be equally responsible for it and at the same time the program manager too.

These 2 other disciplines have their own excuses to escape such responsibilities.

QA/PM: I didn’t write the code, I don’t know the fix, how am I supposed to handle it.

You as a part of the project is expected to have a level of debugging skills, or investigation and identifying the cause based on symptoms. May be the code is right and its a network issue or service is down. Could be a false alarm etc, may be something needs to be bounced. If things are beyond your understanding I am sure developers will be more then happy to help you out. Also the ground work on investigation is going to help in getting things fixed earlier.

Its hard to sell this idea to these disciplines but then there are some smart asses who know how to frame and sell it and here’s an example:

This is a great opportunity to be close to our real customers and it will be a good learning experience for everyone to be involved in this highly visible customer service exercise. Remember that as a pager carrier, your only responsibility is to triage the issue and escalate them if necessary. Developers will always be around to help out if there are any questions.

Looking forward to a Wheel-to-Wheel

2010-01-10T19:41:00.001-08:00

There is just something about some men that once they retire and make a later comeback, you don’t doubt them. Once they attend a press conference declaring a comeback you know how great the next season is going to be and you just cant wait to glue back to your fav sports bars’, bar table.

I am talking about Schumi’s come back. Yeah later last year when Schumacher declared a comeback with Benz it was a unanimous hail of happiness all around, regardless of the followers of F1. I wonder how do people like Lewis Hamilton feel in their heart who grew up watching the legend and then get a chance to compete against him. When Schumi declares his come back you don’t have a slightest doubt on his skills. They say victory belongs to the most preserving and what better clutches can it be in other than Schumi.

Some athletes and sportsmen belong to a league of legends who are born for glory, and radiate inspiration. Name to some: Lance Armstrong, Valentino Rossi, Michael Schumacher, Sachin Tendulkar. Roger Federer, Andre Agassi, Tiger Woods, Zinedine Zidane. Whether they stay away from sports or do whatever they want but once they declare that they are back in the game… you know they will be on the Hall of Fame again.

Skill and confidence are an unconquered army
George Herbert

Tickles from Seattle - 10

2010-01-07T16:54:00.001-08:00

AgentA: Woah Woah Woah… that is some deal $87 for complete series of Seinfeld and I have $30 of coupons. I have waited for it so long….

<amazon.com> <click> <login> <cardDetails><checkout>

<waiting><24th Dec phone rings>

AgentA: Hey Di how ya doing…?

Di : I love you so much… u remembered how much I wanted this series. This is the best Xmas gift I’ve ever received. You know you are my favorite brother…

AgentA: huh..

Di : Yeah the Seinfeld that you send me.

AgentA: Ahhh… THE SEINFELD you are welcome.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

lesson learnt: Never get too excited on a deal… always check the shipping address as UPS doesn’t make mistakes… you might make someone real happy but may regret yourself

Biking in Seattle’s Winter

2009-12-26T15:49:00.001-08:00

Biking in winters in one things, while biking in rains another. If both get clubbed together its a whole different pie. It was my first winter season where I attempted biking. I read quiet some blogs and informational articles on ‘how to’ n ‘what not not to’ but nothing was specific to the weather in Seattle.

There are some key things always to consider when you plan to go out for that butt freezing joy ride. Its a careful amalgam of gear, bike maintenance, bike accessories, and caution.

Clothing: One key thing to consider before you start is to that never get overdressed. Gear up, go out, you should still feel a little cold. Overdressing not only restricts your body movement, but also makes you ride heavy.

Must is a waterproof, wind breaker light weight jacket. You don’t need a puff daddy insulate jacket as enough body heat is generated.
Never compromise the dexterity of your fingers. So pick your gloves carefully, which are water n wind proof for biking. Fingertips specially get frozen while biking, so pick the ones with mittens.
Waterproof shoe covers are a must. Water can still seep through so tape it further in addition to the default Velcro with a reflecting tape. Use warm socks.
A waterproof light weight skull cap, which covers your ear. These are thin specially designed for biking in winter. They fit well under the helmet. If your nose gets frozen pick up a Balaklava.
Never wear a cotton base layers. As once moist you feel cooler. Pick synthetic full sleeves and wear a full forearm warmer on top of it.
Water n windproof pants are available, but might get uncomfortable, as they are similar to rain pants. I use full leg warmer pants and wear my regular biking shorts on top for padding comfort.

Bike accessories: Winters come along with shorter days thence lights & reflectors are very important. Your winter jacket and pants should have reflectors at the same time you must use reflective bands at ankle and arms.

Waterproof bag is good if you bike to work, and red flashing lights mounted under bike seat and your bag helps in visibility of you while on the road.
Front white lights are available in LEDs and bulbs which must be flashing.
Fenders… they not only help your shoes to be clean from tangential sprays of mud n water but also keep the person behind you safe.

Bike Maintenance: Water rusts your chain so make sure to lubricate them weekly. Mud n dirt gets stuck to your brake shoes and wheel rim, clean them periodically.

Caution: Winter comes along in Seattle with black ice on the road. Leaves mixed with water n dirt, and any metallic rails or manhole covers may be icy and slippery. Ride slow and careful. Try to use familiar routes, and while going downhill lean a little backwards to balance better. If possible use thinker tires on your road bike for traction. Going too steep uphill in rains can be dangerous. If in doubt dismount and walk.

Post Biking Measures: Walk slowly in small steps. Its important as your toes might be a little numb. Do a little stretching to ease out. Get adapted to the room temperature before you step in the hot shower.

Happy biking….

Reads for the Yr 2009

2009-12-25T15:50:00.001-08:00

2009 was wonderful for me (knock the wood) and hope for an even wonderful 2010. The year was full of wonderful beer and I am happy to say that I finally know what I love the most (Belgian Ales' and IPAs'). At the same time the year had a lot of great movies to offer, Inglorious Basterds, Defiance, Avatar, State of Play, GI Joes, Wolverine, Public Enemies are just some to name...

I am glad that I was able to steal time to read this year and today while arranging my bookshelf I recall the reads for 2009, along with the ratings in my opinion. I could have added the comments for each of 'em but that would be too much work and its already time to watch Cavs at Lakers ...!!!!

PS: Books hyperlinked to Amazon just in case... u need text review!!!

Title	Author	Rating
In light of India	Octavio Paz
The Search: How Google and Its Rivals Rewrote the Rules of Business and Transformed Our Culture	John Battelle
Secure Programming with Static Analysis	Brian Chess
Will Work for Drugs	Lydia Lunch
White Fangs	Jack London
Call of the wild	Jack London
Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster	Jon Krakauer
To Live or to Perish Forever: Two Tumultuous Years in Pakistan	Nicholas Schmidle
Nisha Nimantran	Harivansh R Bachchan
The Selected Short Stories	O’ Henry
Best Kept secrets of peer code review	Jason Cohen
Rashmirathi	Raam Dhari Singh ‘Dinkar’
The Emperor's New Clothes: Exposing the Truth from Watergate to 9/11	Richard Ben Veniste
Strokes of Genius: Federer, Nadal, and the Greatest Match Ever Played	L Jon Werthiem
The Road to Woodstock	Michael Lang
Siddhartha	Hermen Hesse
JBoss in Action: Configuring the JBoss Application Server	Javid Jamae, Peter Johnson
White Tiger	Aravind Adiga
Winter in Kandahar	Steven E. Wilson
The Teeth May Smile but the Heart Does Not Forget: Murder and Memory in Uganda	Andrew Rice

are you 21…?

2009-12-13T23:43:00.001-08:00

Age verification pages on websites ridicule me. Not because they are an extra step to reach the content, instead its a moronic attempt to keep underage kids away. The only analogy i can present here is a 4 ft fat belly 70 yr old bouncer guarding the door of a strip club who doesn’t realize that he is has been just slapped by a 17 yr old. I am not sure but I think since every brewery & distillery has this verification script on their portal its some govt law or regulation… so they are definitely not at fault but I cant resist myself from cursing the authorities who make it mandatory.

Who are they trying to shoo away with this…? People who live in constant fear that some legal org is monitoring their surfing habits or the underage? If later… yes these are the same kids who know how to bypass the childlocks on your DVR and who know how to check their fathers browsing history.

ahh c’mon Century Council you are nothing else but another illogical org like PETA… at least on this ground for sure.

Tickles from Seattle - 9

2009-11-24T15:18:00.000-08:00

Discussion on ethics of making money. The plan presented is a well crafted business model based out of auction, inspired from a study from the class of political lobbying.

MG : So how about if we start auctioning deals, where you pay to place a bid and the highest bidder in the end wins the deal.

JL: Thats unethically shrewed and mean, and is clearly a strategy to fool a naive user.

AA: I dont agree to this. Anything with in the limits of law and presented with a well crafted fine print that can lead me to that extra buck in my pocket is absolutely ethical. So whats the plan and when are we doing it?

PS: The inspiring lecture under discussion:

The Road To Woodstock…

2009-11-23T22:57:00.001-08:00

3 days of peace, love and music, 600,000 people, more than 30 bands/performers, a rainy weather, no govt support yet 0 crimes reported and one vision, Woodstock '69 is the name of the era.

For a certain point onward there
is no longer any turning back.
That is the point that must be reached
-Kafka

"Its 10AM, Monday August 18, 1969: Jimi Hendirx is playing to a crowd of forty thousand. Another half million or so have left during the night."

I read the above lines and I knew what I will be doing for next week... diving back into the '60s music and reading the account of events from the era which I always wanted to live. Michael Lang, the organizer, the visionary, the master mind of this epical music fest, tells us the story through interviews of people involved in the venture and through a number of performers at the event. The books chapters have been laid out in a smart fashion in chronological order.

Michael a kid from Brooklyn, NY is into jazz since his early days. He is a smart ass who convinces his folks as a teen that marijuana does no harm. His life was centered all around music marijuana n lsd yet he was never a wasted kid. At the age of 24 what he pulled off (regardless of a million $$ loss to investors) is a classic management study well illustrated through this book. Reading through his accounts you realize that nothing is felling in his favor and yet the inner feeling that "it will work out" is what kept Mike from turning back. The city union is against a festival for hippies, the council wouldn't allow any security or traffic support for a crowd of estimated 300,000 hippies. The locals filing law suites, the last minute change in venue, the weather, the investors opinions, the artists managers everything seems to be working against his plans... and yet that inner drive keeps the boy n his team going and here this pull off a miracle of managing more than 600,000 (more n more people turned in which was beyond estimates and the concert had to be made free) people doped n high just enjoying 3 days of "peace, love and music".

The rains came pouring, bad acid under circulation, shortage of food and then locals stepping in to feed the doped kids. Peace n harmony kept floating in the air, music was the only language that people communicated with. All of a sudden the things kept felling into its place, and its the culture (hippies) that just made this phenomenon immortal. Along with Mike's vision, determination and faith. Needless to say it was never possible without the wonderful team of willing young men n womenhe had. People who attended the festival can never forget the moment they lived for 3 days and people who were not born will just miss the days they couldn't witness.

Michael in this book also presents the black n white pictures of various events towards the road to Woodstock which just makes me nostalgic and wants me to live the 60s n 70s. The Epilogue and Where they are Now? chapters of the book leaves me with mixed emotions. The chapter describes the aftermath of the event and a current whereabouts of all people mentioned in the book. A lots been documented in all forms of celluloid and magnetic media forms, yet this book is one wonderful attempt to make one wonder; How Woodstock changed the life of who witnessed it and who still believe in it.

Michael Shrieve, Santana Drummer: "The size of the crowd so big, it was like standing in the beach and looking at the ocean, and you see the water and the horizon and sky. It was a sea of people as far as you could see. We were like a little street gag there making music together and hoping that it went over. But when I look at the drum solo I took, it drives me crazy because of some choices that I made in terms of stopping the groove and going really soft. but for the audience it worked. It was very tribal."

Going to the Sun

2009-11-18T18:16:00.000-08:00

Glacier National Park, Montana is worlds first international peace park whose boundary extends into Canada and it becomes Waterton Lakes National Park. This park has everything to offer that a travelers musing crave for. Its a haven for wild life ranging from Grizzly bears to mountain goats, trouts to beavers. It offers you immaculate forests, rugged mountains, emerald lakes, beautiful meadows and what not. They call it a hikers paradise and it stands to honor the title. If I have to say where is the paradise in North America... I wont think twice to answer it as Whistler and Glacier NP. Euphoria is the only language that people communicate in this land of wonders enjoying the colorfully carved landscape that is formed with the glacial activities.

I am one of those lucky fellows who got a chance to bike across the parks engineering marvel the Going to the Sun road. It travels drawing a line in the heart of the park through the rocky mountains via the Logan Pass. Logan pass is the highest point on the road overlooking the hidden lake vista point standing somewhere at 6700 ft. The oxbow twists of the road start with a gradual ascent but don't get dishearten if your spirits radiate for a challenge. The road has enough to offer in its climb of 6700ft and it has enough rewards to offer you in its breath taking vista points. Be prepared to share the same road with wildlife (though i was not lucky enough). The solitude that I was seeking was in my lap and i enjoyed every moment of it.

I started from the west entrance of the park while my companions drove off to the hike they had settled on. Its a 18mile ride from west entrance to Logan Pass. Ride started from a creek that flowed into the Lake Mc Donald and passed through all the terrain that the park had to offer. I was the lone rider on the trail and somewhere along the mid way a van stops and a family steps out.

car: "Dude you are nuts"
bike: but isnt it worth being nuts on this trail
car: can I n family have a picture with you
bike: pleasures all mine
car: you need some water
bike I am quenched thanks for the offer

I was well equipped from first aid to energy bars and water. Towards the last 5 miles of the ride the road was under construction and it was dark started raining. I reached the parking of Logan Pass in 4.5 hrs and couldn't help myself from screeching yuhooo while going round n round in joy. In 15 mins or so JG, SB n family arrived Logan Pass and we drove to the east side of the park to our campsite.

The dinner was a delicious trout served on a rice bed and hot chocolate and a huckleberry brewed beer. The next day was full of fun where we all hiked to the Grinell Glacier a 9 mile roundtrip. Though I don't enjoy hikes so much yet I must say that I will never think twice hiking the same trail, I did in Glacier. Standing on the glacier and feeling that ice cold glacial lake was a divine experience for me. The Labor day weekend of September '09 is something that I will never forget. I am so much more in love with nature.

As much as I was delighted to feel the nature the mountains, the lakes, the ice, the woods so was the pristine nature delighted in offering me pleasure. How can I not visit this place again.

Where is the Melody?

2009-08-26T21:17:00.000-07:00

As quoted from wikipedia

Ganesha Chaturthi is a Hindu festival of Ganesha, the son of Shiva and Parvati, is believed to bestow his presence on earth for all his devotees. It is also known as Vinayaka Chaturthi. it is the birthday of Lord Ganesha.
Before 1893, Ganesh Chaturthi used to be an important public festival during the Peshwa rule in Maharashtra, but that year, Indian freedom fighter and social reformer Lokmanya Tilak transformed the annual festival into a large, well-organized public event.

The most elaborated celebration is in the state of Maharastra. The energy and happiness of the festival can be read on the faces. Since in States I have been attending it almost every year, though I never celebrated it in India. The festivals and their celebrations are different all over India from the (devotional songs) to the rituals.

For past 2 years a lot of us gather together and then just to show our devotion some of us sing at the highest note from the bottom of our lungs all out of sync as if thousands of hen just laid eggs and they all cracked at the same time. It no more is music to ears, hymns have lost their flavor. Some make sure that they are last to give that Alaap... for whatever reason. May be thinking that Ganesha will get irritated enough to appear before them and grant all their wishes.

The most irksome is that some want to sing just one more Aarti that no one else has ever heard of. A sudden calm of chorus and single vocals, while others flipping pages of the Aarti booklet. I dont know about the rituals in Maharashtra but from where I come there are some sacred numbers (11,21,51..) that we try to stick to. As a family, the eldest in family or the host of the event leads the ceremony. Ahh needless to say all those giggles during the prayer make me wonder, is this a rehearsal of a prayer performance to be held tomorrow?

Its not to offend any devotees feeling, neither is to declare myself as an atheist. My point is humans don't bray, when they pray.

Hemp Fest 2009 - Seattle

2009-08-16T22:01:00.000-07:00

Me being pro-marijuana had to go to the annual Hemp Fest at Seattle.
It is the largest annual rally/gettogether for the legalization of hemp/marijuana. Speakers from sectors of community present their views and advocate the idea to legalize this natural product. They invite anti marijuana figures to debate.

The place is worth visiting at its water front venue Myrtle Edwards Park on a beautiful 3rd weekend of Aug. There were vendors selling some really interesting hand blown glass pipes and bongs. The slogans and graffiti were witty and interesting and the bands playing at the fest were a treat to head bangers. As newspapers quote the year had a gathering of 100000+ people.

Sharing some of the pictures from the event with the biggest bong in the slide show made with gatorade bottles, Lusty Lady as usual had its own style of supporting the cause with their witty, hilarious, to the point statement, and the snack bar called the "Happy Hooker" and "lollypipe"

....today is the tomorrow I worried about yesterday ...

2009-08-13T22:07:00.000-07:00

Reading about an interesting theory that time could be vector and not scalar since the direction 'forward' is associated with it (past to future passing the present), lead to a casual conversation over the lunch at work. Needless to say that several projects are now at a days risk and the lesson learned is never initiate a thought provoking question among geeks specially in a cafeteria.

Several theories were presented based on physics, quantum mechanics, theory of relativity, laws of thermodynamics, etc. But still the question remains unanswered : "How the time came to existence?". Physics answers several questions and explains what time is. But living beings are aware of it probably since their first night on earth given the life spawned for them during the day. Its just relativity of the events that bring this thought of light fading into dark and darkness into light. Time can be circular based on the events like day n night winters and summers, and time is also uni directional like that apple that ripes on the tree and the glass that flower that just bloomed, and the action is irreversible.

When I speak of yesterday you think of past. Time carved the great canyons of Arizona, and its time that actually made birds chirp in the valley of volcano Mt Ranier.

Its a convenient convention for us to just compare events and quantify them based on past present and future. We made time complex and garnished it with units and equations just to provide definition to itself in terms of speed and acceleration, to make our conversations better measurable. Else time is just past, present and future.

But why banging heads in philosophy when... when Floyd's already did it for us. Quoting it again:

......
....
Tired of lying in the sunshine staying home to watch the rain
You are young and life is long and there is time to kill today
And then one day you find ten years have got behind you
No one told you when to run, you missed the starting gun

And you run and you run to catch up with the sun, but its sinking
And racing around to come up behind you again
The sun is the same in the relative way, but youre older
Shorter of breath and one day closer to death
....
.......

Time will exists till the earth exists and those galaxies twinkle, and this leaves me with a question "What defines the existence of universe"

Tuesday rambilng...!!!

2009-07-28T22:20:00.000-07:00

I think as soon as someone utters the following...

shoal, swarm, bevy, flock, anthology

i know the context they are referring to. But still for some reason when in speech I always tend to state just the way Mrs Sinha taught me in Kindergarten.

This is never going to change for me and my sentences will always be like:
"a shoal of fish", "a swarm of bees", "a bevy of ladies", "an anthology of poems" , "a flock of birds"

I agree that there is an anthology of stories and also a bevy of alcoholics... but how often are these referred in speech.

To calculate the answer of 3 times 13 the only way is to mumble three thirteen za silently in your head.

Isn't it true for animal habitats too? I remember clearly that the farm house had a "horse stable", with a "rabbit burrow" right at the entrance.

May be its the use of metaphors in English that makes me explicitly state what I mean... or may be its just not my tongue.

Not every man follows what he preaches:
Proof: couldn't help using silently with mumble and tongue for language

Ride to the destination - 300 miles done

2009-07-06T22:20:00.000-07:00

Finally I think I can write about this new passion as I touched my first 300miles on my bike yesterday. After experimenting for past 2 months, I think I can say that I enjoy it and will continue it (knock d wood).

It was later in the afternoon after brunching on a goat cheese chicken sandwich and an Americano I and MP decided on our weekly ride. Caught 545 to Redmond and got off at King County Library.
No the picture wasn't rough... the map all noted down in a notepad file and well uploaded to the cellphone. Air pressure checked, bike computer mounted. Bottle filled with Accelerade, and the ride begins now. By the end of the ride we were dehydrated by the brutal 84F but the pleasure of the thought of my first 300miles rejuvenated my spirits. So far my best rides have been Camano Island Loop, Chilly Hilly, Fallcity Carnation loop. These have been really challenging and scenic rides and needless to say that the following Sunday every time was beer drenched rewarding my own guts.

I started riding late April on a borrowed mountain bike and experimented my way on a borrowed road bike (2" larger in size), ended up with a back ache and finally I have my own a "2008 K2 mod 4 point O" Sram Rival parts with carbon fiber damping weighing just 18lbs and I am loving it.

During the weekdays I ride to work 2-3 times. Its a 11 mile one way ride. This ride needs its own description as it offers you the views of emerald Lake Washington, majestic mount Ranier, engineering marvel floating bridge, beautiful parks, mysterious wall paintings and a tunnel that reminds me of hope because of the light I can see at the far end of it.

In the month of Jun I logged Total Distance:240 miles Calories:7,844 (kcal). Weekend rides have been great for me.

Melancholy is incompatible with bicycling. ~James E. Starrs

PETA: "People Eating Tasty Animals"

2009-07-01T22:01:00.000-07:00

...or "People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals"

whatever Obama's killing a fly bothered PETA so much that the losers run loose out of their den and they decided on sending him a bug catcher to save the fly. Well what makes me furious is them dicking around on useless matter.

I am a animal lover n my love for them has once gone to a extent that my mom had to tell me either I can live in the house or the 5 dogs that I once had at home (needless to say I stayed and they had to be moved to the farm). But this doesn't mean that I refrain from eating them. My choices rage from all sorts of seafood to the bizarre and rare alligator, bison, frog legs, moose, deer.

Pike place market is one of the most exciting and dynamic tourist spot in Seattle. Piroshky, Starbucks, Kells, Michou are just some places but the famous tourist attraction is those missile like flying fish artfully torpedoed from one set of skillful fingers to another. "Hali-BUT! Hali-BUT! Heyyyeee... Goin' right home! Goin' right home!" several men screech at the highest note... and the receiver neatly catches the fish between head n tail and wraps it in a sheet. People simply loved the activity so much that there actually are experts for it which give demonstration at various public gatherings.

Last week PETA came up with the most dumb argument they could present "did anyone ever think of the fish...?" apparently some people think that tossing a corpse is just on ethical and disrespect to the dead. OK but then there are 100 other things that we shouldn't be doing which we do. When asked for further reason to stop it they come up with their scientific studies of the pain a fish under goes after fulling out of water n blaah... If got balls go to a communist meat lovers nation and try to sympathies till you become their food.

As an old Poslish saying goes : Fish, to taste right, must swim three times - in water, in butter and in wine, and I am buying my next batch from pike place

Tickles from Seattle - 8

2009-06-16T09:54:00.000-07:00

Shipped a project 30mins back. Longboard Island Lager crowns are flying in the cubicles. A sigh of relief can be heard among all conversations... n no one has that game face full of frustration....

Dino-s : I had decided to wear my new NB shoes only after shipping this project n here I am. Look at the the color scheme looks so nice on me.

RA: huh yellow n yellow... u call it a color scheme?

Tiger: <pops open a new bottle with a belch> Dino-s, In these shoes u look like an astronaut from a fashion deprived nation. And your shoe model should be called banana astro. Pass me the chips.

Rating: 0/5

2009-06-02T22:38:00.001-07:00

I never thought that the disappointment is at the shore... one of the most awaited movie for me this year, turned out to be a disaster. Never been so disappointed.

"Terminator" it is supposed to be amazing... It has been one of those names that has survived all forms of media storage and served me from VHS to BlueRay. All I now want to do is wag my fist in the face of McG (Father of Charlie’s Angles) and give him a 3 punch combo.

The delivery of adrenalin mixed emotions as a result of statement "I am here to protect you" was missing from the T-Salvation... "If you hear this then you are the Resistance, This is John Connor" what bullshit? Naah I cannot agree Marcus's giving up “ITs” life was salvation. I think McG brutally slaughtered an emotionally attached franchise in the name of Salvation... which ain’t no justice to a fan like me.

I just didn’t had that virtual tear in my eyes that devoid me of sleep after watching the legendry T-Judgement Day when The Terminator is lowered in the molten vat. I rather had a smirk of relief when John Connor was stabbed. I wish it had happened to the director and story writer.

How can the producers and directors expect that WOW factor from the audience when your robots seem to be technologically handicapped as compared to 1984 terminator and there appearance is a copy from Transformers. When your plot has 1000 holes. What has happened to Skynet.. It was an organization where funding bills were passed. It drafted brilliant plots... produced best and most lethal robots and to give that similar touch all you could come up with was a totally predictable plot from skynet which had least to do with brilliance. If skynet knew Kyle Reese why didn’t they kill him at the first encounter rather hand picked him in skynet Hq.

I request McG to not to make Charlie's Angel-3 as there can never be another Cameroon Diaz, Drew Barrymore or Lucy Liu. May there be T5 to make this fan smile. A heart broken furiously disappointed fans' rage...!!!! <SCREECH>

Vedanta or Thomist..?

2009-05-22T23:51:00.000-07:00

Both have a significant impact on my perception. Belonging to a family of strong Hindu beliefs and studied in a Catholic Missionary.
(Well thats a different question of hypocrisy m glad that I studied in a missionary)

Vedanta states: The world is, was n will be always the same. There was no beginning to it and there is no end to it. change in centuries doesnt change the world, it is what it was and it will be what it is. We are from the world but the world is not from us. Its one lone entity, a necessary and self sufficient.

Thomism' belief: fiat lux. Worlds an accident. Its just like any other living n non living things. It has a begining and will have an end. Spirituality is simple in its essence. yet twofold, a essence with being, and that originating from accidents.

Be it what ever logical/illogical, rational/irrational, science/belief some questions are unanswered and thence every answer is as true as the other regardless of who states it.

I think Vedanta is as true as Thomist and Darwin wasnt wrong either. There must exist one self-sufficient, efficient cause, that has an answer to it. I doubt if either has an answer : Ram/Jesus/Muhammad.

A lil vent on a happy Fri

2009-05-22T15:58:00.000-07:00

Started writing here with an intention to vent... with an intention to discover the creativity inside and with an intention to know the ability to play with a group of words, and several group of sentences. Never thought of how this blogger will change the perspective on how I think and how magically it will present new perspectives on all topics and help me in making a reasonable opinion. This place is where i dump all junk in my head.

...m tired of above line... "This is no food for thought" n now don't tell me that move on n find some better blog... similar posts have created such an inspirational mess of mesh that its never before the 11th strange blog that I find a good read.

how about a post that starts from the end... now since I have a conclusion that helps me in determining my title, n since i have a title I want to miss lead the reader in his ride towards the conclusion just to make it interesting. These are usually my fav reads... i love such read. But when the writer looses the track and fails to have that slightest mandatory connection between the head, the chest n the tail... its a shear waste of 600secs that leads me to an anger venting smoke break and another 600secs towards my death bed.

The more explicit and commonly used style that draws my attention is to-d-point from Title to tail. The expectation is well set at the title and I know what follows next. Naah that blissful feelin isnt that close ever... 'coz you are now slammed with an unreasonable quiver of hatred arrows... n that is another 600secs closer to death bed with a stinky stale smoke smelling breath n finger tips.

cannot deny that d best of most stories start with clear memoirs in middle and well ornamented at their start n end... but thats an art, one is born with and an attempt to achieve this leads to that comprehension that was scored 20/20 in English-I with an additional +5 for neatness n resulting in a log of wood completely wasted in the paper you used and finally adding carbon to the nature on a cold winter while roasting the sweet potato.

Anyways the good news is I graduated last weekend. Met some old friends. Its Friday. Its the payday. There is sun in Seattle. I had a great lunch. Tomorrow starts the long weekend. I am watching 'Tyson' tonight and 'Terminator' tomorrow. And my google reader has 5 starred great reads shared with me.

…and AgentA knew theres’ an engineer inside him

2009-04-22T15:16:00.001-07:00

Somewhere around 9th grade. The clock was ticking and it was 5 mins to submission. Final lab exam of computer science and had to write a program to generate first 10 prime number.

The urge to get in 90s was so strong that Agent A had to attempt this last question, and submit the exe in share.

Sol:

int void main()
{
      int i=0;
      cout<< "Enter 1 for prime numbers and 2 to exit:";
      cin>>i;
      if(i==1)
      {
          cout<<"2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19, 23, 29";
      }
      else
      {
          cout<<Exiting;
      }
      return 0;
}

Rest is History.

Is it time to Legalize it

2009-04-14T23:33:00.001-07:00

100s of arguments are being presented lately and yet no conclusion, or may be i should state that the conclusion is NO.

Is that high minded society that defines the path of righteousness there yet. I think its a side effect of a real high minded society that things are reasoned to an extent that things are left the way they are today. How right is it for the leaders of a nation to act reactively with reflexes rather than reasonably, when it comes to taking decisions.

Marijuana is under discussion here, and in society. The argument against legalizing marijuana is are you ready to take a risk that the upcoming generation has access to drugs, or how right is it for an employee to crack on a joint and return to his desk. If it is smoked can you avoid smoking and driving under influence. Legalizing it has a darker side on leaving a lot of countrymen unhappy, and you don’t know the implications of it. Can a stoned person has the ability to think and fight against adverse.

Arguments in favor just cant be denied either, as the first statement scientifically proved is; marijuana is less addictive than alcohol or tobacco. Just like govt. decides the age for alcohol so it can be devised for marijuana too. Some school kids n college teens will always have access to it and cannot be denied just like they have access to alcohol today. same or higher penalties on driving under influence. No argument in favor is complete without talking in terms of money. So, annual expenditure on correction and managing charges on people who are charged of possession or consumption of marijuana today in States go in 3 digit billion dollars. Making it legal not only saves this but a 10% tax on sales might generates another 3 digit billion dollars towards the economy. Investment in agriculture of the plant contributes to several K jobs and another huge revenue.

States has seen it legal in several states, but laws are strict (only medical marijuana). I think States is yet not at a stage of legalizing it and its because a voice in favor is considered stoned. Darker side, or a grey area is always scary. Its just like India is yet not ready for a spring break with wet T-shirt girls competition as the darker side effect in society/culture is scary, yet marijuana in India is legalized and govt. subsidized and today most of us not event realize it, as its just a part of our society now.

No, i am not stoned. I have never met someone who has tried and said they didn’t like it. I myself appreciate that numbness from the bottom of my heart, without being spiritual or a jerk.

just my 2 cents without being judgmental….. btw bhang is marijuana.

Let it all out…

2009-04-08T22:23:00.001-07:00

No I am not venting here… I am just too much in this track lately. Been a die hard fan of alternative metal… i cant deny my fall for Disturbed.

The voice of David Michael Draiman has this energy in itself that I just cant resist those tapping feet and flowing adrenalin in me. They lack that turbulent or caustic of Thrash and heavy metal yet they are heavy enough with a melody in that meaningful lyrics.

My all time favorite is 2000 album The Sickness… along with the famous track Numb. Well “numb” is one of those words whose depth just cannot be measured. A band I think is incomplete without that track defining Numb in their own version. The track m talking about here is Shout 2000.

The track has a depth radiating a lot of energy with some serious meaningful lyrics…. the lyrics that you just cant deny and they seem to fit so well for every coolie out there struggling to leave their memorable mark on the ground.

Here it goes :

In violent times...
You shouldn't have to sell your soul
In black and white...
They really really ought to know
(just don't know)
Those one-trick minds...
Who took you for a working whore
Kiss them goodbye...
You shouldn't have to jump for joy
(jump jump jump jump jump)

(shout shout)
Let it all out
These are the things I can do without
(come on)
I'm talking to you
(so come on)

Daddy is Awesome…

2009-04-08T22:07:00.001-07:00

So I have finally made up my mind to visit home. Its been a while and I am planning to visit home to celebrate Diwali, and my birthday with family.

Anyways I don’t remember when was the last time that I took a vacation with family at least not in last 7 yrs. So I laid a plan to take my folks to backwaters during my visit and stay in a boat n beaches for a 5-6 days, talk share n relax. Narrated my plan to dad and now, I am no more excited about this vacation.

Dad: Thats awesome. I thought last time you told me to take a stop over in Europe but I think it will be better if we could spend time together.

Agent A: Ohh yes, I thought so too.

Dad: So I will work on the itin and the miniature version is. Backwaters, Tirupati, Meenakshi Temple Madurai, Vivekanand temple Kanyakumari, and then back home.

Agent A: aaa ohh.

So leisure is no more in vacation, its just traveling and standing in queues. No No dont even think of telling me to suggest my plan to dad… the plans been laid as always the last words are from Dad :)

When grown up boys talk….

2009-04-05T21:51:00.001-07:00

HighSchool, party was samosa, thumbs up/goldspot/limca. Intermediate, party was choley bhaturey, Burger/PavBhaji, coke/thumbs up/Leher Pepsi.

College, party was bagpiper, 8 pm, ganja, kabab rolls, boiled eggs, vinegar dipped onions, paneer tikka (point to be notes here is ur class and the affordable money drops exponentially as you step in colg as liquor take over all preferences. soft drink n beer were not affordable n kabab most of the times was buffalo meat Rs1.5)

As Professionals, parties are expensive, a lil classy, well dressed including liquor, beer, chips, beverages, pizza.

Well watever it be the interesting point here is the type n topic of discussions that go on during ‘em. I am intrigued to write this ‘coz m still in yesternites hangover, cracking on RedBull n coffee… n shuffling through my drawers to find an antacid.

So girls are no more a topic of discussion. Love life, affairs, gossip, bragging are so high school. So yesterday was a bachelors party. Which means stripers liquor, noise, and you have the right to get that reckless bastard out of you, which hasn’t seen daylight in a while, keeping aside all ur guilt and let that guilty pleasure override as annotations.

Party begins at nite with a countless train of shots of tequila, vodka, rum... n before we decided to step out to a strip club the bachelor passed, and the roundtable begun. The discussion started comparing the traits of Mumbaites and Delhites, and dunno how it moved on to a comparison of Socialism, Capitalism, Aristocracy. Without a pause or a break in conversation, and without realizing that we drifted the next moment we were talking about cloning, with some questions on how right it is and how justified is it to kill a clone to use its body parts, and then the hot topic was abortion. Is it a right thing? If yeah which stage what month. Should contraceptives be used after unsafe sex specially when you are not married, and finally the last topic were 2 conclusive statements as “ The end of communication innovation is Telepathy and the end of physical existence is teleportation”

A bizarre and a very memorable bachelors party I think. Good Luck to the bachelor…

…they talk anything.

A Journey : 46 to 64

2009-03-21T18:07:00.001-07:00

Well not exactly, should have been titled as 48 to 64 but 46 sounded well so I merrily picked it up.

2005 was a mark of the era when things were about to change drastically and the dude was absolutely unaware of it. Too excited to be done with his Engineering and too excited to get an acceptance from a university in States. All of his nearo n dearo had job offers in hand he himself had an acceptance from University of Texas, Arlington.

Twas time to binge n dance n he did. Next 2 months were all about Imperial Blue, Old Monk (status had shot up after all) and looked down upon 8 pm and Contessa which were best buddies through out undergrad. Family was loving him more… those dumb serious drunk discussions on long drives with friends were a everyday thing. Cannot forget the 3 cassettes from the car playing round n round Number 1 (Michael Jackson) The Wall (Pink Floyd) and the 3 songs from Bombay Boys (Lemon Tree, Tu hai tabla n the legend Hasne ka Gaane ka).

Life turned upside down as soon as he stepped into the new world so did the life of all other jerks. Training at work for all friends was like pursuing engineering again and everything that was taught in University was rocket science for the Dude. This is one thing, the fun ride actually began when twas time to hunt meals. They all found themselves Into The Wild.

Everyday meal in states was choley chawal n rajma chawal; reason : available canned and boiled, easy n quick to cook n affordable with a $4.57/hr with a max of 20hrs/week pay. Alas choley chawal n rajma chawal betrayed him. Every attempt done to cook resulted in one piece rice (in the shape of vessel) and 3 layered curry (oil, water, choley). Money was scarce n a shortage of time with 4 hrs of job, 4 hrs of classes 4 hrs of research, 4 hrs of self study. What happened next was the 1$ Mac Chicken( chicken was a blend of cartilage bones n some kinda disgusting white meat) a 750 ml of coke 2 times a day. Till day the thought of McDonalds brings so much respect in his eyes along with a shiver that he just cannot step in McDs any more.

And the result over a span of 3 yrs (‘05 –‘08) “hold your breath” accompanied with cheddar cheese, 1.5l of daily coke, skinned chicken, mayo, 2 buns of white bread is:

A Journey: 46kgs to 64kgs

Felony to Ignore Beer

2009-02-22T11:19:00.001-08:00

If you believe in life after Oktoberfest... life beyond Ireland, Scotland and Amsterdam... 'en this ur place brother. Its the Beer Mecca where you worship beer and scotch at any hour at any season. I must admit that m in love with this place. After Kells if I loved some brewery in Seattle then it is Brouwer's. It was just like on of those clicks from a '70s flick that you lay eyes on that beautiful gal in white plucking flowers in her garden and all your heart says is: "She is the one". Crap its getting too cheesy now.

The drink menu at Brouwers is a like a bible at your hands... where each name looks like a holy verse enchanting itself and calling you to feel it engrave it as a epitaph of your tombstone. They seem to have a beer scotch exchange program from all over the world. I've never in my life seen such a remarkable outstanding splendid lineup of beers handpicked and nicely selected. They are pricy but I must say they are worth it. Each beer from the tap is served in a different type of a glass which has the name of the brewing company printed. The ambience of the brewery is darkwood finish, brown leather couches and simple teak chairs.

As soon as the beer'o clock starts this place is full of young university crowd and finding a chair is a treasure hunt... people love to stand n drink and eat, and everyone seems to enjoy it love it and seem like a regular. For some reason the place is not known to everyone and is located in the art district of Seattle viz Freemont. What makes this place special is that food is great too.. from appetizers to Entree and also the desert. I am not a desert kind of a person but the Dark Belgian chocolate pie that I had the other day is still lingering somewhere in my taste glands.

Last weekends pick for me was walloping St. Bernardus Abt 12, a 10.5% alcohol brew. Its quiet some knock out stout with a great taste. The price is hefty, but I must say a single sip will make you forget about your wallet. Given its strength, you'll hardly need more than one but the love for stout will ask for more. Among others I have had a Leffe, another Belgian golden beauty, and a very well known Piraat which can bring Hercules on his knees still offering a lip smack flavor.

Closing statement to all travelers and beer worshipers: A trip to Seattle is incomplete without Brouwers. This is the place for all Beer snobs

PS: beer ‘o clock is 1930hrs precisely every Friday

Tickles from Seattle - 7

2009-02-15T22:46:00.000-08:00

St Bernardus and Piraat were being gulped down... some heavy thrash was being played... all Goths and Punks were at Brouwers... needless to say all 3 were hammered enough

JG (..at the highest note from his throat): I am getting engaged.. I am getting engaged yayyy..!!!!
MP : shut up u r not the only Adam that u need to sing about ur Eve
Tiger: re-revise ur definition assehole... engagement is a formality n u r still free... one is engaged only when married and committed only when u have kids... u r still a free man
MP : I agree... hey JG check out that chick, she's been eyeing u for some time now
JG : Nooo she is fat
Tiger: C'mon dude u r drunk so u can..!!!

Judge yourself

2009-02-11T21:09:00.000-08:00

I was always of the opinion during the presidential war in States that if given choices among McCain n Obama I would any time pick the later, and wish I had a better choice. Reason: He is definitely a better candidate than McCain but then I never agreed to his ideas either.

Celebration all round the globe for his win... and people celebrating his victory have not even listened to one full speech of their favorite Mr Obama. Flowing with the wind and making opinions n being judgmental is questionable.

Anyways I love "The Daily Show - Jon Stewart" on comedy central and troughout the campaign John and Mr Colbert (Colbert Report) have enlightened me about the daily proceedings with their humor almost every evening. Ironically they were biased too towards Mr Obama but todays show actually reveals a lot other things. Fun begins after 2:30mins on this ~7min video. This is the satirical review of the The Stimulus Package speech from Obama.

Do you remember the famous lines from Jerry Maguire: " You had me at Hello"

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

Clusterf#@k to the Poor House - The Stimulus Package

Daily Show Full Episodes
Important Things With Demetri Martin

Funny Political News
Joke of the Day

"You had me at We are Fugged" ...

... how important it is in life not necessarily to be strong...

2009-02-01T21:36:00.001-08:00

….but to feel strong.

That is a quote from Christopher McCandless played by Emile Hirsch in “Into The Wild”. Another master piece from Sean Penn as expected. I watched it in ‘07 and this is one of those that left an impact on me. Not that I got some ideas got some inspiration, rather I kind of not agreed to the character and considered him an escapist, yet it left a positive impact on me, and have watched it several times since then. Its a true story with not so happy ending.

Chris is running away from society, not aimlessly but in search of something, something that is left beautifully by Sean Penn on viewers judgment. He hobo’s his way to Alaska abandoning all worldly comfort which life had to offer to him. He is idealistic, headstrong and all his beliefs go around the philosophers as Tolstoy, London, and Thoreau. He was a athlete, a Harvard graduate, had a family great career ahead, rather he picks up to hobo his way to Alaska in the wilds discovering himself while hitchhiking and meeting all kinds of strangers. Penn has done a great job in which the pace of the work is constantly moving yet static as a pendulum swinging between the climax of the journey and the events leading up to it.

Chris wants to live off the land, alone, abandoning all society. But he doesn’t hate people either. As I already mentioned, me being in society, twas hard to agree with him, but contradicting the former I was also drawn to him. I still wonder what he was looking for, but all the way and everytime I watch the flick I want him to find his answers. It may be peace, or freedom, nature,God, life, or may be simply nothing. Whatever it is, it's something bigger than himself, and unfortunately when he decides to go back after 2 yrs of living in an abandoned Bus in the wilderness of Alaska he dies..

I will not go deep into the story…as all colleagues and friends are already tired of catching me with the OST and talking about it for past 2 yrs. Something that I really would like to state here is Eddie Vedder.

Been a die hard fan of his lyrics and voice, he did gain more respect and praise in my books. The sound tracks from the flick Hard Sun and Society, say it all.

and the problem is solved...

2009-01-24T17:34:00.000-08:00

I have instance of Windows Live Writer on my box and seems to make my life easier.
The only warning that I would like state along with it is that it will ask you to install the whole suite which includes:
Mail, Photo gallery, toolbar, family saftey, MS outlook, MS Office Live Add-in, SilverLight and Writer.
Make a wise choice and select only what you want. Secondly it is going to update your windows live messenger to v9 which definitely has a problem in signing in if you are behind a firewall (and you should be behind a firewall). So if you use messenger be ready to uninstall the v9 of messenger and then downgrade to messenger8.1
Talking with the development team they had solution [e-mail conversation]

The error message indicates the following

MSGR_E_INVALID_AUTH_PACKAGES 8100030F IDS_INVALID_AUTH_PACKAGES_FORMAT

Here is what is happening: The upgraded messenger (Wave 3) uses MSNP 18 as the protocol to connect to services. There could be some firewall/proxy which does not understand MSNP 18. The previous version of messenger shipped with MSNP16.

What you need to do is to either shut down firewall or open up the appropriate ports. A list of ports used by Wave 3 messenger is at http://support.microsoft.com/kb/960820

Ignore the link article above as it is not a great solution and the ports they want you to open are default ports already open on all machines. Another hack is available if you are desperate to use v9 messenger add:

Just browse to "c:\windows\system32\drivers\etc\", open the file "hosts" with Notepad and add this string to fix the error:
65.54.239.80 messenger.hotmail.com

Anyways coming back to the point:

Writer actually asks your credentials the first time to your blogger and once provided it downloads the template settings and gives you a feel as if you are editing at the blogger page rather than the editor.

Advantage 2 is that you no more need to play around with the monotonous html rather you can just drag drop tables, media, video, pictures, maps and resizing and alignment are just one click away.

Thirdly no need for a preview as it is just like blogging on the blogger page itself where you post.

Fourthly you can write all posts save as drafts and can also assign dates for auto publishing. Nothing new but yet another good feature.

Download here

Happy bloggin to you all

Testing Windows Live Writer

2009-01-22T16:06:00.001-08:00

If this goes good… i would share it with you all. So far it seems to be a cool experiment and I am not hating blogger editor anymore.

Why not I try adding a video and a slide show along and see how can i resize and move it around…!!!

Lenovo Add

i can even add the aerial view of my apt building… sweet

huh… thts awesome… resizing was just a click away… i think I will advertise this with my next post…

You, your wife n Me

2009-01-20T20:44:00.000-08:00

..sick..? Ok pardon me probably this will make more sense.

What will that "extra person" do on a honeymoon trip... looking at this UI the horses of my thoughts started galloping from pastures to meadows, from marshes to prairies wondering "can I be that extra person"

...r u asking me what m i doing looking for honeymoon packages, u better neck rein your horses n stop whipping them, I told ya i browse all never lands on this web <:D)

Open Question...

2009-01-08T18:58:00.000-08:00

The million $$ open question to sucess: "Fundatmental of product right" or is it proportional to the "What's new you have to offer"

well most of us would say a right combination of 2 but that doesnt hold true always. Its kinda baffling naa i think its bizzare in some sense that the answer to these basic questions change with the line of business and products.

Me considering myself as a consumer thinks that the quality of the product delivered to me can be compromised as compared to the quality of product delivered to an enterprise. Rather than beating around the shrubs; Live has quiet some better things to offer than the counterpart but than the basic purpose is yet not served viz the relevance of search results.Tips & Tricks of searching... hmmm well how many of us have actually read this doc or this its us we dont refer to usage guides... they are monotonous isnt it... experience is the best teacher.

Than another improtant thing to notice in the view source of live.com and google is the similarity of font sizes colors layout. Microsoft cannot afford to give away that because we the end users are very typecasted. We consumers are a bit of a pain in butt and some changes are just not acceptable to us. We dont want a new way to search therefore the basic idea of tabs cannot of altered.. but then how did Google defined a new page in contrast to Yahoo. I am not going in those details here but they did.

What should microsoft exactly do to make live popular. Give more relevant search results or offer more and better innovation more marketing (several millions are already spend) or a mix of all which they are already doing.

Live is capable of solving any mathematical equation and i think its pretty cool but than is that feature going to pull in more users? Live's Health Vault is superb source of concise info. Live image search and those search options for images are unquestinable better than what the counterpart has to offer. But then the relevance is the factor that I dont use it
Experiment(click): Live , Google

I think in some sense the innovation that actually is bagged by the right fundamental is the key to success. Example Google integrated the face recognition in its search and is indexing even the scanned documents over the web as relevant results is what is going to add towards my loyalty to them when it comes to search rather than arranging the number of pictures on a page grid style offered by live.

Another point to notice here is with the sinking Yahoo and a monoploly of Google, Live with its limited # of users is still not a loss to microsoft as they still capture that single digit market share on search giving Google a threat and Google on the other hand has not even a single successful product other than search. Stats of Gmail, Gtalk, Gdesktop, etc state it.( not accounting the acquired orgs youtube, blogger, etc).

I think its a tough deal to evaluate the key to success else noone would have been a looser...
who knows that kick ass college drop out kid is somewhere working in his dad's basement to wipe the giants out.

Tickles from Seattle - 6

2008-12-30T17:18:00.000-08:00

Last of the year...

MS, MP n Tiger

MS : Dude u kiddin me last week you disagreed to this n today ur statement is in favor
MP : Did I
Tiger: Yeah u did asshole
MP: Alright Alright so what... in future take my words just like a holy religious book and interpret it as you feel like... don't "quote" me

Happy New Year to all...

Had a wonderful '08.. will have a better '09

2008-12-29T16:22:00.000-08:00

With the end of '08 I would like to present my gratitude to lord and would thank him for such a positively eventful year...

Thanks that I had a wonderful job and was able to accomplish my commitments
Thanks that I recovered my knee from accident
Thanks for making me financially capable of buying a new car
Thanks for the wonderful trips that I was able to do this year
Thanks for all the good grades and managing my studies along with work
Thanks for all the good friends I made this year and thanks for making me keep in touch with old friends
Thanks for taking care of my folks and Siddharth who are distance away from me
Thanks for the new wonderful place I am dwelling in
Thanks for helping me sustain in this economy
Thanks for keeping people around me so that I am not lonely and being loved

I know the lines following this statement are usually quoted around ThanksGivin and is a copy paste but then... forget it

I am thankful for weariness and aching muscles at the end of the day, because it means I have been capable of working hard.
I am thankful for the taxes that I pay, because it means that I am employed.
I am thankful for the clothes that a fit a little too snag, because it means I have enough to eat.
I am thankful for a floor that needs mopping and windows that need cleaning, because it means I have a home.
I am thankful for the parking spot I find at the far end of the parking lot, because it means I am capable of walking and that I have been blessed with transportation
I am thankful for the pile of laundry and ironing, because it means I have clothes to wear.
I am thankful for being sick once in a while, because it reminds me that I am healthy most of the time

Thanks for all the other things that I am missing here and you showered on me....

Music n Study - Like Poles

2008-12-22T17:55:00.000-08:00

We tend to get influenced by other people style that we sometimes forget the essentials of evaluating it or whether it is for ones ownself or not... walking around those corridors in school n university its highly probabilistic that 70+% students with headphones shoved in their ears and eyes concentrating in a book, feet taping at the beats and a pen fumbling in the fingers. It seems as though music is an ingredient of life...
Talking to them seems like they can study better along with music and it helps them keep focus... while some consider it as a distraction.

Now what is going to follow might sound like bashing but is a personal opinion... n since i consider myself an oracle "My view cannot be questioned"

Study and music are two like poles they repel and both deserve complete respect and individual dedicated attention. People who study with music might remember something but what my observation says is that they always get a couple of questions in exam out of sylabus while the person writing the same exam who studied without music doesnt feel so. Crystal statement former cant implement in real life or a twist of concepts they studied while later has a better depth and variation perception.

Another thing that disappoints me is people with headphones in their ears think that all guitar and drums mean is rock and evrything with flute and voilon is classical... usage of electrical instruments lead to pop and every fast musical tone with high bps is electronica... well well well there is something that exists as generes and even the vocals and study of lyrics define them.. just like every edible grease is not oil but every edible grease has cholestrol similarly every tune is music but every music is not same and cant be classified as such high level names. Dont define that your love of music leads you to concentrate better thats just a myth... if you tap your feet while studying then probably you are missing the solution to so called out of sylabus question.

Scribbled above just out of the love and respect towards music... I am not a best/ideal student... but I cant "study" in music.

...and the legend follows as:

2008-12-18T23:23:00.000-08:00

So subway dropped its regular footlong to $5 and Quiznos had to follow the trend. Yup great for consumers... Wendys and McD's launched there dollar menu and so did many other.

Yeah the truth is this that the love for sat n trans fat kept growing and was cheaper out there.... Burger King (Dumb King) actually launched a fragrance today ( I am disgusted at the thought and would not use it to kill bugs while camping).

Alright if Kate Winslet, Paris Hilton, Antonio Branderas and Amit Ji can have their fragrances why not BK. But the thought that really ridiculed me was the advertising line (do click on it to feel d heat n keep sprayin):

“The Whopper sandwich is America’s favorite burger. Flame by BK captures the essence of that love and gives it to you. Behold the scent of seduction, with a hint of flame-broiled meat.”

I was not disgusted with bacon chocolates, fish egg sushi, icecream sausage or ox tail... but BK did.

FYI: As far as I know nothing can beat the popularity of a double cheese burger.. and i question BK's statement as Whopper sandwich A's fav burger. Burger King sucks

...So close no matter how far...

2008-12-15T17:08:00.000-08:00

........Couldn't be much more from the heart !!!!
Forever trusting who we are...
No nothing else matters..

Two Hours... a band of 4 and the legend of :

That Was Just Your Life
The End of the Line
Creeping Death
Harvester of Sorrow
One
Broken, Beaten & Scarred
Sad But True
Sanitarium
Wherever I Roam
The Day That Never Comes
Master of Puppets
Blackened
Nothing Else Matters
Enter Sandman
Die Die Die My Darling
Motorbreath
Seek and Destroy

A life time experience... simply in awe of the GODs of Thrash Metal, with all reverence.. (I wish I had a chance of witnessing Jimmy Paige and Pink Floyds at the peak and I would have quoted the same)... METALLICA is back on top and I can't pen the great feeling I had when M. S. mailed me 3 mnths back that he managed the tickets to the show and the ticks to Dec 1 took forever.

My Idea of a successful memorable concert is either a chaotic punk party all on crack or in an arena where you can feel the riffs of base the beats of drums n the echo of vocalist... and yup we had this concert in the KeyArena (officail court of Seattle Sonics). Secondly when the Lamb of God played before Metallica it was like a free treat to a fan... couldnt have asked for more.

Waiting for a performer you love and admire is a very different kind of a wait and I had never realized this before in any concert that I attended(other then Usha Utthup). Its a very delicious wait. Those false alarms those equipment techies testing the guitars n drums those out of the blue shrieks from audiences and all fans geared up with their lighters to welcome the Metal players... its simply superb.

The show was a glorious combination of laser lights and coffins (symbol of the new release Deth Magnet). I was mesmerized and so was everyone else. Me being a NBA fan and been to key Arena several times before.... had a whole perspective changed for the venue... it was loud and stutteringly awesome. James Hetfield and his vocals tuned the soul and I couldnt manage to sleep all night as his voice kept singing in my ears... Bassist Robert Trujillo has always been a god of base for me and his unique style of bending down and playing at ground level levaes me speechless... him playing the riffs solo came really late and I was getting impatient to hear him... Hats off to Kirk Hammett who froze everyone and proved to be a legend again. He rules the stage and his attire is as unique as his skill... and none other then the know drummer Lars Ulrich known for his reckless style and a shower of spit in the air... was at his best sitting in the middle of the stage on a revolving disc made that head banging more cheerful n painless for everyone.

Long Way to Go... \m/

Where was I...?

2008-12-12T18:18:00.000-08:00

In a dark dungeon...

I started twitting to send live feeds on the fly... irony is; haven't got time to think of it in fast 20 days. Twas a fun ride...

Actually I think I'll be busy catching up with missed calls n voice mails as someone reported in an e-mail that my voicemail box is full... inbox have some ~20 e-mails flagged as a follow up gotta do some serious catching... laundry's been stinikin in a corner for some time... yup havent ironed a shirt in weeks. But I still manage to take showers.. machines havent been on sleep for a week or so.

what happened... where was I ? In chair.. in- front of my machine... a pencil in mouth a notepad at lap... glasses on nose and swearing on tongue. Can’t remember when I slept for +4 hrs in 15 days...

20 days -- just reminded me my days from Texas.

* 4 homeworks (school)
* 3 projects (school)
* 1 release
* 1 project kick off
* 2 days on-call on pager
* 3 quizzes’ (school)
* 2 comprehensive exams (school)
* 1 certification
* 4 classes
* 2 re-orgs
* 55 layoffs
* nonetheless a life time experience... Live Metallica Concert Whoot Whoot Whoot

The thought of Dec 12th when I'll be done with the semester... the certification... etc etc had such a sweet aroma in itself that I cant stop smiling... i just dont want to sleep... i just dont want to go home... i am loving it... its Dec 12

...which boat are you sailing in?

2008-11-23T01:34:00.000-08:00

...every new day its either in NEWS, blogs, conversation or work place, some one's got the pink slip. Yup bad times... scary times. Each day seems to be getting worse. I am experiencing a 52 week low for my orgs stock price (35 to 6), loosing a 3B market cap to 1.xxB. Some say its the buyers market as its going to bounce back... i say hold on to your penny you never know when you need it. Irony is more than half of the companies listed in S&P500 index don't even qualify the bars today.

Its getting worse... painful aspect its gone global ---it’s the people who were already in a bad shape will have to suffer more.. but who is in the worst shape is a big question.

A founder... who is watching his baby, life time dream sinking... (eg Yahoo)

A retired professional who was counting on his pension for 60 yrs and his employer is bankrupt (eg employees of GM)

A professional who is about to retire and watching all his investments siniking

A student who is about to graduate n has no job.

A daily wage laborer who is not been hired anymore

An employee who steps out of office every evening with a sigh... Thank God it wasnt me.

I started my career not too long ago... the current situation scares me but the thot of having another 30 yrs in my pocket is my Tylenol... I am lucky not to be in my retirement stages watching all 50 yrs down the drain...

...if you cant keep a promise

2008-11-18T18:39:00.000-08:00

shoot the person you promised....

Myth Buster

2008-11-07T19:10:00.000-08:00

Today the growth and the most respected sector for my country's progress is software, but then the question that keeps dingin in my head is do we really have that software sector existing in India.

As i see India, she doesn't has a software sector existing. It should now realize the misconception, the economical boom for the country is not software. How many companies back home are making a software that they can package and that is in use worldwide. The giants none other then infosys, tcs, wipro, satyam, hcl etc etc are solution providers. I blame them completely for infecting the new engineers. We, from our very first job's lack the training to do something different, innovative. We think from the perspective of accomplishing a project based on the customer siting there across the sea and fullfiling their needs. Why do we not have a twitter, facebook, Operating system, a desktop office, a messenger, desktop wiki or say a small web browser developed by a group of frenz.

Though the software industry(so called) has been growing very rapidly. Many multinationals are approcahing us. But as I see the industry has already hit the bed rock in its path to glory. Why does the software market crash when US economy is blown... its just because they drive our business. If we had our own cloud computing or say our own add center which the world used we might have not been affected so much.

This kind of a business line up which is business driven rather than technology is always at risk. Yeah we have IBM, microsoft, yahoo or any other giant in india too but they dont belong to us... Adobe is good example I'd say... being oversea company releases most of its products from indian development center and thence I can put my job at stake for the quality engineer from Adobe.

India at the same time should realize the threat from China... they have labor cheaper then us and at the same time they are attracting more n more business lately. Indian solution providers have always lacked in providing a quality soltuion to any company in States that actually develops its own software. This is the reason that when microsoft gives its project to Wipro they give them the mundane task of running regression. As a result the engineer back home dreams for an onsite opportunity to earn some quick money. What is the end result for this engineer. As i see it is he is deterioriating his own skill set by being held up in "You need to do this" environment. Does he get a chance to think out of the box... does he really get a feeling of that his organiztion is by him. Indian solution providers are actually generating revenue from non IT industry like financial institues (AIG, BofA, WaMu, etc) or some stores like Walgreens. We have been generating revenue from support of the product that we provided them 10 yrs ago.... isnt that what is deteroriating our own generations thinking abilities. Support is Fun trust me, especially for a product that I didnt write. Why do or companies have a bench period which is usually indefinite.

I think that the myth needs to burst now. Industry itself should groom it in a different way. They should take a pick of funding and developing universities rather than a Laala making a private engineering college where his aim is to generate revenue and hire non-skilled jobless professionals to teach.

Today, an organization that wants an engineer has no option other then to provide an in-house training to his new college hire. These programs are not cheap its an investment of several Ks' to train one. And then they trainee hops a job. They day this hopping culture is busted.. they day industry will take a new turn at home. If the industry had invested in the college to train this dude and hand picked him from there things would have been different.

Well thats just my opinion... I am not an analyst but my respect to this profession and love for country makes me one. Needless to say we are all Cyber Coolies' and this should change

...there will never be "no more coasting"

2008-11-06T05:22:00.000-08:00

Will not go too far in past... just start from where you stepped out of school. You had those bright eyes. You saw or heard about that man who is almost twice your age and now your role model. You see him siting in that halway with 4 computers and a laptop in front of him. He also has that leather coated briefcase and shiny oxford shoes. He is an important man, he has a b'ful assistant and his phone rings every 30 mins. That dude enjoys the privlage of choosing whom he wants to talk to...

"Yes I am going to be him one day" and here you are, probably better then him. You stood strong... overcome all the blows of fate's bastion.

What next.. yes some 10 floors above you is a bald eagle. His call you cannot ignore and what every 30 mins the call you are receiving is his...huh. This call makes you put on your jacket and makes you quick groom yourself. You step in there... and he his assistant is more b'ful then yours. His chair indeed is more comfortable then yours... he asks you to step out as the big dude has to discuss the confidential economy plans of the company and here you think again... "Yes I am going to be him one day". He was twice your age too.

The wheel is rolling... life is coasting and you being the lucky one is there. that corner window office in the high rise of the city, that computer which you chose yourself... hand picked furniture in your office, with a set of shiny golf clubs and a decanter of the finest scotch in town.

What next yet another dream... another goal...

We coast n coast n coast... and we will coast n coast n coast... there always is somthing that pulls us towards itself, that drives our daily lifes... that tweaks are thought processes...

Life's a mosh pit and keep dreaming till you have that ranch, with all the cattle you can manage. Work till you can afford that smuggled cuban cigar and that local precious casked wine.

Tickles from Seattle - 5

2008-11-02T21:05:00.000-08:00

...this place is all about subtle satire, the billboard at the door says it all.

All I know about this place is that always some creepy dudes n dudettes go in n out n all well dressed tourists love to get a picture of the billboard.

I was always tempted to take pictures as the humor that goes on the board is about some recent event, incident, news, movie etc etc... and its just awesome.

All i know about this place is from my dearo fren Yelp (click here to learn more).

Heard of Chronicles of Narnia, Indiana Jones, Electoral College, Temple of Doom, Spring Break, Thanks Giving, New Year, Sleepless in Seattle :)

here i am sharing a different perspective of all that as another tickle from Seattle....

..an attempt to define the abstract

2008-10-21T00:11:00.000-07:00

Not much's been written about it... but then web's a huge sea. Needless to say that my search strings over the web r kind of weired and times; i think its the strive for findin the fluff n ignoring the stuff.

Some months back i stumbled on to this website when i made a typo in the spelling of "retriever"(i typed: retrievr), found it really cool bookmarked it and forgot about it... http://labs.systemone.at/retrievr/

In short:

Retrievr provides u a very basic, light wait, paint brush type of a flash based, sketch pad. U draw using 4 dot sizes pick up the custom color and it runs a query in Flickr to find really cool pictures.

Flickr (mark the spelling) is an online album mgnt portal, where you can upload and maintain you pictures. btw: Flickr's awesome

Its fun to draw something really abstract and see what results it provides you. M posting my example and my expectation was a blue sky and green water. Its not always tht you will get good results. Actually the indexing is not based on images its more as a pattern of colors that the algorithm is percieving. There is nothing image/text recogniton kind of a thing with this project. You draw the abstract and you get sometimes really stunning results. At one instance I drew a black horizontal line on top and a grey vertical line in middle and the results were several monochrome image with a man standing and black clouds hovering o'er him...

Play around its awesome :

Just in case you forget the link type retrievr in google and the first link is to the project.

...booted suited stick in hand...

2008-10-13T17:27:00.000-07:00

...dog behind are called Gentlemen

Just like your pick of shoes, neck wear reflects your taste too. Well i think proposing this axiom is not justice lets take it as my opinion.

I find girls more appealing in a smartly knotted woolen or satin scarf... scarfs look smart, cravats look sexy. But when it comes to men it is indeed one of a very challenging picks, from color to pattern to knot to fabric. Picking up a neckwear is not easy for men... i have always spend more time finding that tie, cravat/ascot then my formal jacket. Yeah when it comes to spice it a bit I prefer an ascot or cravat and ofcourse now n then this deviance is necessary, not to mention how well it goes with a 3 piece.

Alas havent got a chance to wear a cravat in a while... but my love for them has never deteroriated. I am one of those proud men(call me lad) who find pleasure in giving pleates to cravat. Unfortunately they are not in fashion among Yankees and I love Brits for this. My perfect non casual evening in Downing street goes with a shirt, cravat, v-kneck sweater, blue jeans and casual shoes.

Dad taught me about cravat and it suits him. I still value the used silk that he gave me off his collar and taught me to carry it. Will never forget the words "feel its class before you pleat it... its not a costume son"

My temptation to step over the board and wear that smooth dark outlandish silky cravat is never going away and will wear it again some time.

..Not d Same old Bastard

2008-10-10T16:31:00.000-07:00

.. and today contradicting his friends view Bastard declares that he has changed. With a stern denial of the statement "Same old Bastard" he accepts he is not the same... the question remains open ended change for the better or for the worse. Well thats a drift may be a change for his own survival in society.

Today bastard is embarassed to hug an old fren of same sex who he meets after ages... and today bastard is embarassed if a man winks at him asking him to act like an ignorant... where did the feeling of brotherhood and once own country's success go. Outsourcing that was also justfied for him is no more justified. It scares him n he curses the system and doesnt mind his own brothers deprived of jobs as far as his own ass is secured.

Is an answer; things change so do people... is the answer charity begins at home enough to justify him or is it a sign of his own identity being retarded...!!!

Rightly said: Change is inevitable, except from vending machines.

and I am not frightened of dying....

2008-10-07T01:51:00.000-07:00

.....any time will do, i
Dont mind. why should I be frightened of dying?
Theres no reason for it, youve gotta go sometime.
i never said I was frightened of dying....

A hymn like track none other then 1973 “The Great Gig in the Sky” yeah the solo song composer n writer the legendry keyboard player of Pink Floyd none other then Richard Wright passed last month(Sept 15^that 65). In David Gilmour’s words: “In the welter of arguments about who or what was Pink Floyd, Rick’s enormous input was frequently forgotten. He was gentle, unassuming and private but his soulful voice and playing were vital, magical components of our most recognized Pink Floyd sound.”

Rains pouring down for past 48 hrs, this fuming mug of coffee is like a smoke machine on a live Floyd’s show and Division Bell playin at its best left me gloomy in the remembrance of RickWright. 2 yrs back Syd Barret(another founder of Floyd) died and this yr its Rick. The core of PinkFloyd’s is now a history with David Gilmour still givin a ray to happiness n peace with his style along with Nick Mason.

Rick had that style of playing those monumental hymns from his keyboard those somber tunes from his fingers. He had his own musical abstract presence on the stage where he not only contributed with keyboard n vocals but also his unique eerie effect. Astronomy Domine, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn will always be remembered n played endlessly by all the fans round the globe.

I will never forget when I watched the recordings Live 8 Reunion London concert where the original Floyd’s reunited in 2005 and shared that unforgettable moment n hug in 24 years… I wish I could have attended that I wish I was a part of it….

May your soul rest in peace… u’ll always be remembered and loved as a Floyd...

well-wishers of Mr Johnson...

2008-09-30T15:46:00.000-07:00

Only if i had responded to 1% of the junk e-mails I receive Mr Johnny would be atleast a couple of feet long by now. Viagra, Cialis, extenz, enzyte, hyrdrocodone, vicodin, phenterminetc etc, etc

WTF I just happen to click on the spam folder which reads some 700 unread undeleted e-mails n all they have to read is that they are my best well wishers.

Minimize your expences on enhancing and get the best result ever
How to get out of a bad condition and failures each night
You will need this for a good pounding
Get directions to their hearts when they see the size of your equipment

I am glad that the spam filters work.

Tickles from Seattle - 4

2008-09-27T23:59:00.001-07:00

Tirin day... Fun evening...

...gulpin Vodka ...sippin RUM

discussin indusrtry... bitchin policies...

...pitch high ...flippin birds

J.G. : Stop it, will discuss when am in sane n not insane

NEWSPaper with No-Paper

2008-09-27T17:35:00.001-07:00

...took off really great in the form of e-NEWS from various sources but the question is how far will it go. Personal preference I use internet to catch a glimpse of the day when it comes to news or I use it to browse, as browsing gets a pain with a physical resource at hand. I use internet to read the abstract but when it comes to a complete content I prefer library/bookstore over the web.

Amazon introduced 'Kindle' a electronic reading device but 1 year being in production its still not popular yet. I dont know the reason for it being on back order at the store but to be true I really dont know a single person who is a buyer of it.

Kindle could be I should rather say is a great product, a blissful feeling from no IM pings or e-mail notifications or virus alerts, irritating popups advertisements, etc etc. but how far will it go ?

A birds eye view; Kindle (Amazon) offers ~24 newspaper on Kindle at a monthly subscription of ~$5 - ~$14 and the issue arrives wirelessly and synced to you device. This means no more walk to the drive way with coffee in hand in adverse weather condition, no worries about recycling the newspaper every month, and having a feeling of going green. Now the problem is Kindle doesn’t offer colors on the reads no advs and browsing might get cumbersome at times. The reason being mobile device is comfortable as far as you read linearly but is a pain as soon as you have to scroll left or right. (Tip: for notepad turn on the word wrap).

Kindle somehow couldn’t pick that swing, I am sure most of my readers might not even be aware of it as they were of the i-Phone before its release. Its again some advertising stunts that it lacked. Do you plan to buy a Fiat? Do you knw Fiat owns Ferrari, does this change your opinion? Second reason I can think of, is its price and being monochrome till date.

I am still skeptical about Kindle catching the market. Reason my pocket currently has a PDA, cigarette pack, light, wallet, carabiner for keys, Zune and a bag at hands with a laptop, charger, some disks, notebook and am I ready to carry Kindle when I can grab a glimpse of world on a paper newspaper in cafe or my Newspapers website.

Someone said the other day that e-media and replacement of paper junk is the next big thing and Kindle is a huge step. I question it loudly as my opinion is, its never happening. I think the next big thing is still replacing the moving parts from your electronics to minimize the dissipated heat and reliability and the core tech on the other hand will be more concerned about the performance algorithms concentrating more towards a better seek time of response on any application under use.

btw: its hard to type Kindle, my reflexes made me type Kindly several times

She never comes in time...

2008-09-23T10:16:00.000-07:00

....n always leave before she is supposed to. Given no option I have to step out of the bed at times... look for my flip flops in dark. What else can I do; helpless. Wishing I had a joint/bong at hands at this hour. I lit the same old cigarette and rummage through the contents of my fridge to find something to drink... alas the inventory ditch me too. I stand there in the patio shivering n cracking on that beer which I never kept in the fridge with rage n random thoughts flowing in the narrow alleys of my head. Do I need another jacket, how about shaving my head off, anyways I am never going to eat at the Chinese place again? I light up another cigarette and NewsWeek has Sarah Palin's coverage again in the third consecutive print.

Still waiting tapping feet... Ahh here you come sweet SLEEP... i really craved for you. GoodNyte all

A webmaster Most Wanted...

2008-09-20T23:48:00.000-07:00

REWARD: $20 for the person who'd slap the webmaster of Staples 20 times and a reward of another $40 for the person who will kick the hiring manager of this webmaster 40 times.

Proof required. Accepted formats mpg n avi. Reward can be pro-rated after evaluation.

Now if you are wondering why I am super pissed... I think I just analysed the error message too closely. Almost every line has a flaw in it.

IE4 is no more shipped and Microsoft has already released IE8 ages back ("before chrome"). The argument from the webmaster is that "...this is due to the advanced features used in the product customization process". Bastard I very well understand your advanced features that you need the most cutting edge technology available out there called IE (in the era of firefox, opera, chrome) and your backward compatibility is as remarkable as Intel(still supporting 8086).

I hope to commit my transaction with you using Windows95 with IE4. With all due respect; another reason for me storming is the 'if else' condition provided by the webmaster for the reason I see this page "....if using IE4 or higher and still...... there may have been an error. Please inform webmaster"

P.S.: Staples is a popular online retailer for office/desk related supplies.

A Pain in the Butt... finally resolved

2008-09-18T23:36:00.000-07:00

Security on internet has always been a concern since day one. Remebering passwords is another pain. I used several password managers but was always insecure about the security of my privacy, banking, e-mails, profiles, etc etc. Verisign is a very trusted resource and I am glad that they finally came up with PIP (Personal Identity Portal). Any online retailer or banking istitution if verisign certified is convincing to me.

Just like google became a synonym for search over the web so did verisign for security n trust.

PIP is a single signin solution supporting the OpenId and direct sign to supported urls. Well atleast for me it was of great use as all the vendors, retailers, and banking institutions I visit are supported by them. For site not suporting open id username n pwd fields are auto populated.

Have you heard of bookmarklet (differs from bookmarks). GChrome, googles new browser uses it and signing into them is supported by PIP too.

I am in a habit of using my cellphone a lot on the fly for transactions but neither Windows Mobile6 nor the i-Phone (may come soon in future) support is available till date. But then thats not a necessity thts just luxury i can demand for.

So far I have been loving it and I am very convinced with the product.

DarkerSide: What if the PIP password is compromised :) alls gone. Well my solution is I use omni pass a finger print reader to auto populate verisign for me. And my finger print reader saves 2 different prints and I can use either bird to scan incase of injury.

...a Seattlelite drizzels's

2008-09-15T23:25:00.000-07:00

yeah its true that I have not jazzed up for an evening in a while... no more formal pants, ironed shirts, polished shoes, gel glued wet look hair, wrist watch for me.

The joke pretty much is true in Seattle; To know that a Seattlite is pimped up for an evenin is casual shoes, northface fleece.

I think I am loving the NW. Its so casual n simple that I land up in my favourite pubs at times in shorts n sneakers tht too right after the gym without being an odd one out. The max I do at times is to put on my corduroy blazer, a non-wash look jeans and a casual cotton shirt and the same old casual shoes.

It’s a well-observed fact that Seattlites love to dress casually. My frenz visiting me from east coast have been amused to see this and I proudly call it the NW Looks. Seattle is pretty infamous for rains (it rains everyday for 9 mnths) but the answer to the question "why Seattle?" is always the ocean and the mountains. People here simply love outdoor activities and never mind rains. They sail, they hike, they camp, they surf... they do anything that an athlete would do. Not only Seattle is the rain city, but it also is the bike capitol of NW. Seattlites love to cycle.

The work culture here is different from anywhere else. The unbelievable part is that I keep liqor at my desk and can drink any time I feel like. The 'F' word is loved in the meetings to refer to crap under discussion. Fridays 3pm means beer and Xbox times. Dress code, yeah there sure is one: today I was at work in flipflops and gymshorts. All this doesnt mean that people dont work here :). Some small flagship HQ's here are Microsoft, Amazon, T-Mobile, Expedia, REI, Starbucks, Zillow. Yup the second silicon valley if exists it exists in Seattle.

....leaving my old jalopy, by the railroad track

I'll get a hip, double dip, americano and will drive the TC down the track... honk honk whistle whistle

btw I hated d ~2 yrs spend in Tx

"White Collar... defining Idiot"

2008-09-14T18:41:00.001-07:00

I simply love to see how people’s views may float or differ on small things and a naïve discussion can grow into an exponential argument and a volley of views.

Anyways so the other day someone posts on an e-mail alias that :

'Idiot' is a grossly misused word and an oversimplified epithet, if one goes by the Supreme Court's (India) brand new definition of the term.

...

To be legally accepted as an 'idiot', one has to be so dumb as to be unable to count till 20, list the days of the week, or fail to remember the names of one's parents, the Court said on Friday.

...

"An idiot is one who is of non-sane memory from his birth, by a perpetual infirmity, without lucid intervals: and those are said to be idiots who cannot count 20, or tell the days of the week or who do not know their fathers or mothers or the like," said the judgement by Justices Arijit Pasayat and M K Sharma.” - Source

……..and this kindled a pen of many people and the discussion goes as…..

View-1

Interesting,

Is it clear that there is an "OR" between all the three conditions ?

I still feel its a flawed definition.

1. If you cant count till 20, you are poor in mathematics and not idiot.

2. If you cannot list the days in a week, you have weak memory and not necessary an idiot.

3. Fail to remember parents name - Again memory, or maybe no parents or maybe parents left in childhood. So what if the person genuinely doesnt know his/her parents name .. not idiot isnt it.

" I would say an idiot is someone who can count till 20, but cannot count from 100 to 120 as simple as that. " (said by me - i am not a judge though)

The offensiveness of idiot calling is something that needs to be defined. Like if my parents call me idiot, its ok, but if some outsider calls me idiot i will be offended by it, since my parents know me well to call me that :) I mean its really good for "idiot" to have been grossly misused, now an idiot could be someone who doesnt know who an idiot is.

View-2

I think:

An idiot is someone who keeps on making same or similar mistakes again and again and doesn’t learn. A common voter is known to fit this definition more often than not :)

View-3

Good, but the problem there is defining "Common Voter".

A few more defintions , "idiocracy" is the process of being an idiot. I think the problem is that idocracy is considered relative in our society, so if a bigger idiot calls be idiot i get angry. So to resolve all this we should have a common "non elected" body that scales idiots (possibly via a sort of Idiotness Aptitude Test) and there should be a sort of CGPA kind of thing, there. So along with our merit scores we should have idiocracy scores too. That would reduce confusion. After all a good mix of genious and idiotness is necessary for sucess as the idiot in you makes you take risks. :)

Now i am feeling stupid and i cant define that.

View-4

Actually, idiocracy is a stupid/funny movie.

My say: I love the company of white collar... they have an argument, a logic for everything and love to discuss...but I cant even deny Jimi Hendrix's say either “White collar conservative flashin down the street, pointing that plastic finger at me, they all assume my kind will drop and die, but I'm gonna wave my freak flag high.”

Round Meat & Rectangular Bread

2008-09-04T14:55:00.001-07:00

Yesterday evening I decided to grab a deli sandwich from WholeFoods while going home and bummed into a person who seemed really baffled in making his pick for the sandwich.

AgentA: Wass goin on... lots of choices leaving u confused
Stranger: No my problem is m trying to figure out why the bread is rectangular and meat is round.
AgentA: Its a curse... which we have to serve for Adam Eve's sin
Stranger: huh..
AgentA: For their sin God cursed mankind that from now on "whenever you make a sandwich you will get few bites of nothing but bread on the corners; Bread shalt be rectangular and Meat shalt be round."
Have a wonderful dinner... bye

Just a thought...

2008-09-02T14:37:00.001-07:00

... why is it never an engaged (busy) tone when I dial a wrong number...!!! it always rings and its always answered.

Anyways...

2008-08-28T18:18:00.000-07:00

Yes Yes Yes I am grumpy...

Anyways, woke up; its rainin... gettin ready; out of shavin cream... kitchen cabinet; out of coffee... lookin for socks; all in laundry bag... at door steps; couldn't find my cigarettes... checked the cellphone; out of battery as I forgot to charge it(charger at work) and Wifi, bluetooth was on all night...

Anyways, I am out now and I hit the road... WTF the first signal on my way is red and this means all others throughout my way are goin to be red (they are timed)... half way through; roadblock... Damn this my Zune is out of sync all music expired

Anyways, forget it am at work now... inbox damn this; 7 unread e-mails all end with a question mark... trying to reply and this piece of shit is poping up restart now restart later... BASTARDS why do you have to send me windows updates every fuckin day... (dnt tell me to turn them off it takes 5 clicks)

Anyways, I step out for a coffee and I never imagined that someone could screw up my regular Americano and this new chef did... n i hate sorry when it comes with that innocent smile; DAMN her.

Anyways, back at my desk; machine restarted... coffee trashed... trying to work and here comes the meeting reminder... conference hall siting and waitin and the ofshore representative is late... S-of-a-B

Anyways, lunch hour I decide to work instead of eat and wat comes next... karmalab is down cant build anythin tappin my feet and i continue replyin e-mails

Anyways, evening... status updates... NEWS? change in schedule, resource crunch, feature request... BullShit I aint no ass gimme a break

Anyways, EOD gatherin my stuff walked to the car and drove to the gym.... gym garage what a moron I am forgot to carry my gym bag; time to go and eat somehwere...

Anyways, stopped at J J Mahoney's (my fav place, n i want to have a light moment). Grilled Salmon; "Sorry We r out of it sir"; Walnut green salad; " We r out of walnuts sir"; can I get a Guinness and french fries; "Sure u can"...... fuggers y dnt u freakin keep ur inventory up n runnin

Home sweet home... Fuck Fuck Fuck forgot to buy cigarettes, coffee n damn I left the phone charger at work.

Yes I am Grumpy n I have a Fugged up mood.

Tickles from Seattle - 3

2008-08-27T10:19:00.000-07:00

Udupi Palace the worst of all restaurants one can land to. Highly Non-recommended

Again the answer to the Question; Where shall we go to dinner is "There" and the driver is supposed to stop the car at Udupi for this absurd redundant answer. Anyways so we land up in Udupi once in a while.

Waiter: Are you ready?
since we are here lets order something and will go somwhere else this place is hopeless
Waiter: Tapping his feet... Are u ready sir?
lets order Pav Bhaji its funny they serve it with hot dog buns...its hilarious
Waiter: expression changes gives Agent A with a cold look
Agent A: Am I wrong, you always serve it with Hot Dog buns
Waiter: Yes Sir, we do
Agent A: I knew it lets order one pav bhaji n will go somwhere else

PS: Its bizarre to serve this dish with HotDog buns... it should be served with Hamburger buns

VIBGYOR -- Do Re Me Fa

2008-08-27T00:05:00.000-07:00

Colors, music and fragrances are three elements that influence me a lot; to the extent that I can say that they drive me at times. Nostalgia is another such element but I believe that it exists somewhere in parallel to a lot of other things or rather is intertwined with most of the things and hence detailed dwelling into nostalgia needs a separate discussions altogether.

So I was saying that the music and colors are basically frequencies of sound and light. Now I recall all those media players’ visualizations showing music on spectrum in different colors. It naturally comes to us red being intense high base high treble white yellow feeble, n lower tones.

I wonder if the two things can be integrated i.e. you see a spectrum and think of the tune (that is how the optical fiber communication takes place, more of less) or rather more interestingly think of colors when you listen to a piece of music. High pitch means violet and high bass for red… wow! And I am not talking about those visualizations again; use your imagination if you can.

Moving on to the fragrances, I wonder if we can extend the above phenomenon to it. And more I think about it, more I feel puzzled, confused, startled and puzzled again. I don’t know anything about the science of fragrances or olfactics (“study of sense of smell” as they call it) but I doubt that smell can be classified like colors and music. Can smell have the frequencies?

Notes to sound and colors to light... just clicked me configurin my equalizers color settings.
Now wondering why smilies are yellow

Tickles from Seattle - 2

2008-08-19T22:30:00.000-07:00

This is part 2 of some basic rules among a bunch of nerds.

Any thing you say starting with
- may be
- i think
- in my opinion

is subjected to be overruled. Give AXIOMS and no one will question regardless of its authenticity.

"You can now buy land underwater... and shrimps are endangered species"
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Anyone asks you direction; never say left or right, straight or reverse. There are just two ways

"this way and that way"

Let the driver figure out him/herself

...wake up

2008-08-19T00:41:00.000-07:00

Blogspots editing sucks...!!!!

I can code html... infact i really dnt need to when there are 100's of opensource available out there. I have my own parser of xml and a tool writing widgets and my team has together developed a plugin for eclipse to write html code.

All above solutions are hackday projects n then whats the idea... invest effort today, save effort tomorrow.

When blogger has this compose tab and some very basic features of drag drop and frame alignments sucks then i think its simply useless. Wordpress anytime is better then blogger, but with this google tag they have been minting.

I thought of reporting some small bugs to google groups as these are very active forums and google watches them closely but then m just too lazy and i have the soltuion.

Anyways, some markers:

Preview sucks.. its not the same as actual
Blockquote sucks it just spoils the font size of following text
Picture add n then realignment can be anytime better
Sharing the toolbar of google documents with blogger will help your own team (reusablity)
who cares for your spell check when browser has its own feature
We all know IE sucks but webdev is not successful if a post gets fucked up in ie just because of html editing
taking over startups with great ideas doesn't mean that you are awesome...!!!

...and another one (might) bites the dust

2008-08-19T00:13:00.000-07:00

Pandora a place where 99% of its employees at some or the other time worked as musician, a place where atleast 50 musicians listen to new songs everyday... who observe every note,tone, tempo of the track along with the artists voice... a place where meticulous work is put in for a passion today gives a statement stating

...that they’d likely shut down rather than continue to pay exorbitant fees to play music to listeners of its massively popular service.

M blown out...

It was this Saturday that Jamin had this brilliant idea, of sharing user profiles from pandora with Zune MarketPlace and itunes so that they can have recommendations for subscribers to download or buy similar playlists...

I don't know, the industry's been really volatile n unpredictable lately.

Tickles from Seattle - 1

2008-08-19T00:00:00.000-07:00

I am starting this as there a lot of small things which I want to remember, look back and laugh my ass out...

Stepping out after dinner from Kanishka, some other customer of the restaurant stops my friend:

Guest: Are you open..?
Samir: Sorry we are closed

Guests turns back and leaves and we laughed for hours....

...Meatlovers Paradise

2008-08-14T19:02:00.000-07:00

The Lunchbox Laboratory

My love for trying all meats in the world took me to LunchBox Laboratory. Before you go to this place you have to keep in mind some To Do's and some Not To Do's

Do's
Do skip a meal before you visit this place
Make sure you have got all your work Done
Be in a casual mood
Do tag a friend along to witness
Do keep an antacid in your pocket.

Don't s
DO NOT think of working after this
Do not plan a formal dinner or expect sophistication
Do not go in formal attire...
Aha... DONT even think of Calories... you might have a heart stroke
DON'T you think of this place if you aren't a meat lover... chicken/turkey is hard to find.

Hope you dnt mind red meat. Now before I start... the place looks wacky, but its wacky because the owner wanted it to be. The neighborhood isn't great, but the food is exceptional. You will be greeted by a lady with some great tattoos, a BBW calling you Hun and warning u:

"HUN...hope u not expecting your burger in 10mins its a lab it takes time."

So anyways, they have a list of daily experiment burgers and then you have an option to experiment yourself, with some great seasoning and great dressings. They call them wacky dressing and wacky seasoning as they sound like that. My picks were: bacon sea salt n pepper seasoning and jalapeño redwine ranch as dressing. Ain't it wacky, i could have never imagined bacon in seasoning and jalapeño in dressing... but they taste awesome. Their menu n meat changes everyday... beef, buffalo, DORK(pork+duck), Elk, WildBoar, Pork, LAMB, GOAT, MOOSE. Yeah some of the wackiest meat is experimented in LunchBox Lab., you might be lucky some times to find some traditional fish at times... but again its completely dependent on the mood of the chef experimenting in Lab for the meats of the day.

I had DORK n Wild Boar (half each with my friend) burger with some skiny potato fries with wacky seasoning and a Nutella(choc+hazel nut) shake. $20 meal done for the day...

My mistake I came back to work, my productivity -100%. Reason: 1). m too full to work 2). I told story about the place to everyone and didn't let others work either. You cant step out of that place without trying their shakes... forget about your appetite/diet just sip it once and you are going to finish it.

.....7 hrs since lunch.. Belch Belch

...a brand new online radio

2008-08-11T20:36:00.001-07:00

How great it would be if there existed a website which had the ability of adaptive learning and could play the music you like, the genere you enjoy, the artists you admire and you don't even have to create a playlist. The good NEWS is PANDORA exists and the bad NEWS is its available only for the traffic coming to it from US.

Pandora is the outcome of the research project called the Music Genome Project. If given a chance I'd rank it as the best research project of the mellenium. Pandora is an online radio or an automated music player. The reserachers of this project say they wanted to "capture the essence of music at the fundamental level". They don't have a dynamic algorithm that samples music and attaches musical attributes to it. Instead, what they have done is gone through millions of songs and analyzed the musical qualities of each song and bucketed them based on their musical attributes - these attributes were assembled by the folks at MGP and number in the hundreds including attributes that relate to melody, harmony, rhythm, instrumentation, orchestration, arrangment, lyrics and vocals. This way, they are able to categorize individual songs and not just artists.

The idea is you create a station based on the artist or a song or a genere of your choice. There is no guarantee that the track will be the same the you asked for but based on the above attributes they will parse it and play the song. Its probablitic that you might not like it 'en you can mark it as thumbsdown and the track will be skipped. If you like the track thumbs up to it. Gradually in a day or two create new stations keep thumbsup n thumbdowning them and a the 3rd day Pandora plays magically the tracks you like. Another advantage is that you learn technically wat kind of music you like and you are intorduced to new artists too. You are just a click far away from knowing why Pandora played the current track.

So now I am more learned and i know what i like.
As per pandora it says
"...we're playin this track because it features art rock roots, a subtle use f vocal harmony, electric guitar wall-o-sound, extensive vamping, repetitive melodic phrasing and demanding instrumental part writing.."

My current station line up is a QuickMix of: Stairway to Heaven, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Night Crawler, 3 doors down, AC/DC, Jimi Hendrix, Soldier of Fortune, Jim Morrison, Metallica, Led Zeppelin, Deep purple, Braking Benjamin

My Bot plays wat i love ...

Idea stolen...

2008-08-04T22:28:00.000-07:00

This is what I call innovation in Web. Damn it they stole my idea (though I never shared it). You all might have used Wikipedia now and then and I rate it as the best resource to gather info. An online biggest encyclopedia which grows everyday. Infact today the most relevant source link provided for your search string is usually Wikipedia..

Naah this wasn't my idea. My idea was an inspiration from Wikipedia and someone already implemented it. :( Chickipedia. Yup this is the most informative website to know about hot girls. I am really impressed by this website. I will give you small navigational map of this website here but you have to visit it to taste the flavor of innovation.

So Chickipedia categorize the girls as TV Film Music Sports Fashion Politics Business Misc. Their DB is pretty small but I think it will grow eventually just like Wikipedia, as it allows users to add chicks to it. The data provided for these chicks is pretty accurate too.

When you search for a chick you find her picture along with her bio data (ofcourse figure inclusive). They provide you the data like: Chicks she's worked with, Dude's she has worked with, Stuff she's done(movies, album's etc), her photo's videos, buzz(NEWS) about her, etc etc.

My favorite feature for this website is the feature to find similar chicks. So on the right is chicks biodata. They have a girls sketch, basically representing her figure. You can click there and find similar chicks.

Visit it for more info and fun. And I bet you will appreciate this website. Don't forget to contribute about any chick you know. I will be doing it soon.

My favorite click here.

I found mine...

2008-07-25T00:06:00.000-07:00

I was never a cocktail/mocktail fan... n always restrained myself from trying one. My analogy till date is asking for ketchup with a gourmet food is offending the chef and mixing a juice to your drink is mocking your drink. McCormick n Shimmicks was the best dinner in past couple of months I had. Great seafood and an amazing drink. The Old fashioned Whiskey Cocktail that I had was a very unique and authentic just my kind.
Jager is out n Patron is in
Meyers is out n Captian is in
Vox is out n Bourbon is in
Bottle is out n Decanter is in
Stem is out n crystal is in

Old Fashioned Whiskey Cocktail - Elixir in Crystal

"You don't need to add any soda for my sake, I'd find it perfectly fine as it is". my most amiable n naive statement when it comes to respect towards my drink. I need sweet i'll drink juice... i need alcohol I'll drink liquor. But Old Fashioned was something different. When they say old yeah its old 1895. I read a couple of articles on this and found that today this legendary drink is fatally flawed by every modern bartender. Apparently the modern popular variation amounts to a whiskey spritzer, just about equal parts liquor and soda, and by the accounts on those pages is pretty awful. The Old Fashioned is rocks bourbon whiskey(Gentleman's Jack), sweetened, and a twist. I am a great fan of simple drinks I love them on the rocks. That natural flavor and a fragrance of ethanol well aged and mixed with caramel n sweetened aroma right out of the cask... the Old Fashioned is exactly that kind of simple, classic, and as unadulterated as possible drink and yet a cocktail. One word Awesome.

* 1/2 orange slice
* 1 cube sugar
* 2 dashes Angostura bitters
* 2 ounces rye or bourbon whiskey

Fill your crystal with ice stir till sugar disolves... pour it in n garnish with an orange slice... stick in a stirer lit a cigar put on your hat... let the FLOYD's role take a sip

Chronological...

2008-07-23T20:21:00.000-07:00

A fantastic video of people from age 1-100

Who's cool....!!!!

2008-07-16T21:59:00.000-07:00

God knows when can Redmond answer the Silicon Valley in innovation and class. Yes I am talking about the Microsoft and Apple. MS is solution to most of the things but Apple is a solution with cool and stable factor.

OSx and Windows is an endless discussion …”yeah VISTA’s UI was INSPIRED (copied) from OSx.” but then this is not what I want to jot down. My question is if you launch something after “inspiration” and that too after being inspired for 4 years and then you produce a buggy, less cool piece of brick then you need to fire someone. By the time Zune was launched in reply to iPod it still had a moving HDD when the world had already moved to flash memory. Hilarious.

Poor J Alard the coolest dude at MS who brought the original Xbox to us is no match to Steve Jobs when it comes to iPod. Sales of Zune is less then 3% the sales of iPod… n then MS has this new “revamped” zune which couldn’t do anything better either. Apple has always been a step ahead of MS…

1^st gen apple iPod cool but bulky(2001)… n the 1^st gen Zune(2005) bulkier n ugly.. 4 years to produce a ugly piece…. And now when iPod has all these sexy iTouch, flash memory, iPhone, nano, at this time you launch another piece of revamped shit. I have to give MS for the cool UI that they gave in Zune but dude u missed the revolving scroller… and the cool factor.

One thing I really like about Zune is the Zune Market Place. iTunes suck at it. Marketplace is the best place to download unlimited music on a monthly basis for a nominal charge and iTunes is no where close to it. I love sharing my playlists and downloading other peoples playlists. It’s a cool social networking for music lovers without spamming. A score for MS. The wireless syncing with your computer is awesome and the DRM-free music… yeah I bought a Zune for all this.

But as in one of my previous article I said “Microsoft’s proves again” …. They proved themselves once more. They put the DRM in “DRM-free” music. If you share music with someone else the other person can still only play them three times. Thanks to Allard for getting rid of Zune brown… yup that color sucked…!!!!

C's of my life...

2008-07-12T01:22:00.001-07:00

Life wouldn't be so fun without these C's

Its time...

2008-07-08T17:55:00.000-07:00

Its Beckham’s favorite… Betty n Veronica’s favorite… my favorite… I bet its your favorite too. We all love that one pair of Jeans in our closet which we never want to retire and we never want to get rid off. You tend to slip into a new pair only when its time for laundry or retirement. Its time…

It takes time to find that “just the right pair of jeans” for oneself. Its always just out of the blue that you find it. You buy several but u end up with that one pair with which you fell in love with. For me atleast I now know the fit that fits me best. It’s the 567 loose boot cut Levis or a low rise boot cut from Fossils or a Hutch Men’s boot cut from Earnest Sewn.

Retirement of Jeans doesn’t come alone… it comes along with the retirement of atleast a pair of shoes and couple of shirts/T-shirts. Damn it… they rip me off. This time its time to bid my Fossil a farewell. It has been with me for more then a year and a half… and I have a feeling that it might die any time leaving me embarrassed.

Thank god I am not it trouble yet as I have a Earnest Sewn still in my closet waiting for its turn. But if it wasn’t I knew that I’d have been on a treasure hunt as I am not flying to Chicago in near future and they don’t have Bloomingdale’s in Seattle n finding a Earnest Sewn is like finding a pin in hay. Macy’s my friend but they have disappointed me twice in past for a 567…

Will see ya all in a new pair from tomorrow…

"...and she's buying the stairway to heaven" - Zeppelin's zepped it

2008-07-01T22:24:00.000-07:00

Jimmy Page plucking those strings... John Bonham with that incredible energy on those parchments... John Paul that amazing repertoire of instruments at bass n keyboard... Robert Plant with those vocals... and together they ZEPPED it as LED ZEPPELIN's

"Yes, there are two paths you can go by, but in the long run
There's still time to change the road you're on"
"Stairway to Heaven"

"Got not time for spreading roots, the time has come to be gone. And though our health we drank a thousand times, it's time to ramble on."
"Ramble On"

"If my wings should fail me, Lord, please meet me with another pair."
"In My Time of Dying"

"Oh, whatever that your days may bring, no use hiding in a corner, cause that won't change a thing."
"In the Evening"

"The sky is filled with good and bad that mortals never know."
"The Battle of Evermore"

"Some people cry and some people die by the wicked ways of love.But I'll just keep on rollin' along with the grace of the Lord above"
"Heartbreaker"

"Everybody I know thinks they know me well, but they're never gonna know, cause I move like hell."
"What is and What Should Never Be"

"Flip the Switch..."

2008-06-28T00:16:00.000-07:00

…a tiring day… 3 drinks of Johnny Walker… delicious Tom yum noodle soup… a cuban cigar another Johnny Walker… take a piss

from where the hell do I remember that sophomore year discussing the “light n dark and flip the switch theory”.

All the jerks had control of their reins yet whipping their life visionless, trying to discover the truth and trying to be philosophers. It always ended up with the discussion of existence of God. I played the atheist every time and ended up contradicting myself… some of them were self-professed warlocks and there was this one man who knew every mythology, every sacred read n every ancient story back n forth... yet not convincing.

A lot of people were amused to grasp me that I claimed so loudly and questioned the existence of God… It was hard for some to hear me denouncing the God and then contradicting that there is some power that drives one… several attempts to pin me down were made but then at some point the warlock and the oracle contradicted themselves too.

Whatever you believe in is just right as far as it works for you. It’s like the light switch, it's right in front of us. Light is turned on for us. But where’s the switch, is there a way to discover it and turn it off. Turn off the lights, flip the switch live in darkness (against ur belief)… its good to know the other side… its harmless to live another facet… another dimension. But then some of us are aware of this switch but simply refuse to flip it.

Its not about God its about a lot other questions; tomorrow never dies or tomorrow never comes… opportunity knock once or there's always an opportunity… you screw life or life screws you… its your destiny or you write your own destiny…

Flip the switch live in darkness… Flip the switch live in light

...Whistler a Paradise in b'ful British Columbia

2008-06-22T01:24:00.000-07:00

Thanks Giving weekend Yr 2007... Yup that was my first trip to Whistler and since 'en I feel like spending every other weekend in Whistler Village. There is something that makes me feel like staying there... find a living in that place... keep looking at those mountains... drink beer all day and watch tourists smiling, enjoying, partying... away from all worries. Trust me I am not exaggerating its just something in that place that anyone whom I took there just fell in love with it. Be it any season any day of the year you are going to love it.

Wooppss for all those who don't know Whistler, BC is in Canada and 2010 winter Olympics are going to be there, and I am one of those proud naive skiers who took their first lessons on the mountains of Whistler :). Whistler is just everything that you might have heard about it... Being in Canada even Canadians are tourist to that place, Americans ofcourse are tourists. I think the population is 50% Aussies and another 25% Europeans. Definitely one of the most expensive places (30% more expensive than any other place in Canada). After a couple of trips to the Whistler I have stopped snapping a picture at every opportunity. I just want to watch 'em bare eye all day long.

There is something for everyone in Whistler... Ski, snowboarding, sight seeing, horse riding, mountain biking, zip trekking, Tree trekking, kayaking, snow tubing, clubs, restaurant... u name it its there. Whistler in itself is heaven but you can't describe it without mentioning the road to Whistler. Hwy 99 known as Sea to Sky highway. And I call it Stairway to Heaven (sorry Zeppelins I had to steal it). It’s still not easy doing justice to a description of Sea to Sky hwy's beauty. As the name suggests, takes you from ocean to mountain. Towering rock faces that plunge to the sea. Rivers cascading in bubbly plumes off a sheer cliff. And intense colors that mesmerize even the most jaded travelers. Glittering blue Howe Sound. Brilliant white glacier ice. Jagged black peaks against an azure sky. Alpine meadows freckled with red, yellow and purple wildflowers. Tranquil turquoise lakes. Forests of deep emerald. Each can induce a kind of otherworldly serenity, a blissful calm in the presence of nature’s power and glory.

Paradise....

...do you agree

2008-06-18T11:25:00.001-07:00

...I don't...

Clueless

2008-06-17T21:22:00.000-07:00

Will think of a better title some other time...

Auto Insurance sends a letter of missing documents and raised premium

Health insurance sends a letter stating they are no more supporting the Therapist I was visiting and its out of network now

Auto loan company says that they cannot setup an auto-payment and I need to send a check every month

Citi cards send a letter that I missed payments and my APR has been raised

Car dealer sends a refund check that they couldn’t do the vehicle licensing and I need to do it myself.

Temporary registration expiring in next 3 days.

Celphone bill is $180… did I really consumed overtime on it.. God knows.

Project ship date is after 2 days and fellow colleague is sick.

Bought some stuff and left it at a coffee house and couldn’t find it back

I will be back in some days...

...and the weekend is o'er"

2008-06-09T16:38:00.000-07:00

I wish Monday had a different name which started with a capitol 'F '.
May be if it could swap its name with Friday.
I know it still would have been the first day of the weekdays (though Sunday is the first of week) but the following would have rhymed better....

"Fucking Friday or Fucking F**day"

"There is a way to be good again"

2008-06-07T20:22:00.000-07:00

Twas enormously impressive… a pack of emotional punch… an undoubted justice to an amazingly written book. This is a tight, compelling story, with a great message. I was so captivated with a feeling of admiration and mixed emotions that I couldn’t help watching it again and now the book is on its way from Amz to my place. Khaled Hosseini, wrote what he had to and it naturally is a wonderful captivating tale but Marc Foster did a splendid job. The kids playing two Afghan boyz Amir and Hassan were awesome. I think I can speak for ‘Kite Runner’ just like I speak for ‘Top Gun’…. Forever n forever.

Some of the lines in movie convey a very strong message just as Baba(Amir’s father) once said “There is only one sin, only one. And that is theft. Every other sin is a variation of theft... When you kill a man, you steal a life. You steal his wife's right to a husband, rob his children of a father. When you tell a lie, you steal someone's right to the truth. When you cheat, you steal the right to fairness.”

Wow I never thought of this… and now I believe that all religions and followings can be summarized in the above few lines isn’t it.

Not only this the movie is a strong punch for all of them who preach n preach all the bullshit… in another instance Baba said : "I piss on the beards of all those self-righteous monkeys." There are some really strong words in the movie which made it controversial for the year 2007.

The story of young friends Amir and Hassan and the unknown bond they share into the next generation. The mental state of a kid who wants to hide his own guilt and in his innocence how he hurts and lost his friend. This is a story of honor and courage and loyalty and is an unusual tale. And towards the end how Amir returns as an adult to find Hassan's imprisoned son.

See this film for an outstandingly written and filmed story of hope, integrity, personal character and honor, and how much better life is with these things than without, for anyone

Hassan: I dream that my son will grow up to be a good person, a free person. I dream that someday you will return to revisit the land of our childhood. I dream that flowers will bloom in the streets again... and kites will fly in the skies!

Feminism... Do you know what it is?

2008-06-04T11:39:00.000-07:00

Feminism: an advocacy of social equality for men and women, in opposition to patriarchy and sexism.

Variations:

Liberal feminism accepts the basic organization of society, but seeks the same rights and opportunities for women and men.

Socialist feminism supports the reforms of liberal feminism, but believes its goals can be gained only through the elimination of the capitalist economy.

Radical feminism advocates the elimination of patriarchy altogether by organizing a gender-free society.

Unfortunately most of the females in the world think that they are feminists and should do anything to promote females. C’mon if you think you stand equal with men, you'll get what you desrve but why to promote one’s election campaign stating that we need a female president… lolzz ain’t it hilarious.

Another bunch calls themselves feminist in a conversation when it comes to loyalty… as per them they are feminist because they believe that all men are bastards. Dudette, u gotta know that you are not a feminist, thats just a view and don’t support yourself saying you are a feminist.

Ladies first, Ladies seat, Ladies queue… fuck you. You violate it n they are all up your ass because “they” think they are feminist grgrgrrrrrrr… what happened to equal rights and equal opportunities. Weaker sex my ass… my physical trainer who is supposed to be the weaker sex can kick my butt anytime when it comes to running… n I love the fact that she gets pissed when I call her the weaker sex.

Feminism: I agree to the definition and NOW I know what feminism means… all you lovely ladies out there need to re-iterate it who thinks they are feminists just because they think that men are bastards or a country needs a female leader.

The Basic Feminist Ideas:

The Importance Of Change: Feminist thinking is decidedly political. They think ideas to action. It is critical of a status quo and advocates change toward social equality for women and men.

Expanding Human Choice: Feminists maintain that cultural conceptions of gender divide the full range of human qualities into two opposing and limited spheres: the female world of emotions and cooperation and the male world of rationality and competition. As an alternative, feminists propose a “reintegration of humanity” by which each person develops all human traits (French, 1985).

Eliminating Gender Stratification: Feminism opposes laws and cultural norms thatUnited States or any other State on account of sex.” The ERA, first proposed in Congress in 1923, has support of two-thirds of U.S. adults (NORC, 2001:267). Even so, it has yet to become law, which probably reflects the fact that most of the men who dominate state legislatures oppose the amendment. limit education, income, and job opportunities of women. For this reason, feminists advocate passage of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) to the U.S. Constitution, which states, “Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the

Ending Sexual Violence: Today’s women’s movement seeks to eliminate sexual violence. Feminists argue that patriarchy distorts the relationships between men and women, encouraging violence against women in form of rape, domestic abuse, sexual harassment, and pornography (Millet, 1970; Bernard, 1982, orig. 1973; Dworkin, 1987).

Promoting Sexual Freedom: Feminism supports women’s control over their sexuality and reproduction. They support the free availability of birth control information. Most feminists also support a woman’s right to choose whether to bear a child or terminate a pregnancy, rather than allowing men - as husbands, physicians, and legislators - to control their reproduction. Many feminists also support homosexuals’ efforts to overcome the many barriers they face in predominantly heterosexual culture (Deckard, 1979; Barry, 1983; Jagger, 1983).

"Great Great America...?"

2008-05-17T21:22:00.000-07:00

I read two interesting articles and now I have a question mark on my face. So the first article says Great America. The line that clicked me was "America’s greatness derives from its people and its ideas." and the second article reads No racism in presidential election. This made me realize that people in WV thinks that you are certainly a racist of you don't like Obama.

Thank God I dont have rights to vote else I'd have never known if I did the right thing as Russel Peters once said "Be a man, DO the right thing".

Great Great America...?

Only Fools are Positive...

2008-05-15T13:38:00.000-07:00

THE WORLD WANTS TO BE DECEIVED... THE POINT OF LIVING AND OF BEING AN OPTIMIST IS TO BE FOOLISH ENOUGH TO BELIEVE THAT THE BEST IS YET TO COME – Ustinov

The drive and belief, that the best is yet to come will make one think of what next to do. Moe Howard said once; “only fools are positive” and I could never dig the pith of it until I came across the lines from Ustinov. I think now I know what he meant.

Morning 9am still in bed…

MadamX : Do you still love me?

MisterZ: No I dont think so.

MadamX: Are you sure…

MisterZ: Positive...!!!

MadamX: Only fools are Positive…!!!

MisterZ: Yeah I am a fool and I am positive... I will love you again in the evening and you will be at the same place with me tonight and with the same question tomorrow morning "Kisses"

PS: I dont know who Ustinov is. Just came across the words from him randomly while browsing.

....and the Lizard King said it all :

2008-05-13T16:02:00.000-07:00

There are things known and there are things unknown, and in between are the doors.

Listen, real poetry doesn't say anything; it just ticks off the possibilities. Opens all doors. You can walk through anyone that suits you.

Each generation wants new symbols, new people, new names. They want to divorce themselves from their predecessors

Pain is meant to wake us up. People try to hide their pain. But they're wrong. Pain is something to carry, like a radio.

It's like gambling somehow. You go out for a night of drinking and you don't know where your going to end up the next day. It could work out good or it could be disastrous. It's like the throw of the dice.

................................................................ -JimMorrison

"Whisky aint it a sunshine in a Glass...."

2008-04-30T11:19:00.000-07:00

An attempt to educate the sponges who take pleasure in knowing what they like... who believe in relishing rather than gulping who agree on "Kill all who Crawl..."

I will try to decode a Whiskey/Whisky Bottle Label here… m sure to add taste to your next drink to know the elixir inside them.

Whisky vs Whiskey … Spelling a question?

I will not babble a lot on this issue as both are just right.

If distilled in Scotland, Wales, Canada, Japan you call it whisky and if in Ireland or US it is whiskey. Most US distilleries still use the whiskey though a 1968 BATF directive specifies "whisky" as the official U.S. spelling. They allow labeling as "whiskey".

My idea to remember it, if the country name has an “e” then you call it whiskey (with an “e”) like in America/Ireland else its whisky (missing an “e”) Scotland/Japan/Canada plzz ignore Wales :) . Therefore you spell it Canadian Whisky and Irish Whiskey.

Anyways back to the Label lesson -----:

Single Malt Scotch: What you see is what you drink… I mean for single malts usually the name gives you the name of the distillery like Glenlivet makes Glenlivet and Glenfiddich makes Glenfiddich. Its rare to have a distillery which distills single Malts and the name is different. Single malt whisky is a 100% malted barley whisky from one distillery.

Blended Scotch: Blended Scotch whisky is a mixture of single malt whisky and grain whisky, usually from multiple distilleries. Just like Chivas Regal, Dewars, J&B, etc.

Irish Whiskey: This comes from Ireland :) “ofcourse” (May god bless scots n irish). So the label is pretty easy to decipher as there are only 3 distilleries in Ireland and you know from where you got your drink from. Bushmills, Cooley n Midleton.

Bourbon and Rye: Unlike scotch Bourbon doesn’t use any coloring. Secondly the label on these do not give you an idea of the distillery. These are produced only in United States. Because the labeling system for them is so misleading that there seem to be several existing distilleries but there exists only 15 in States. Some exceptions are Jim Beam, Wild Turkey and Maker’s Mark.

Age: If a whiskey does not list an age, you don't know how old it is, but if it is Scotch, it must be at least three years old. If it is Bourbon, it has no minimum age requirement unless it is labeled Straight or Bottled in Bond. I will tell you one more interesting thing about the age. If a bottle says 12 yrs old this means that the youngest whiskey in the bottle is 12 yrs old and it might be mixed with whiskies older than that. “Even I came to know about it today while researching. If it is Bourbon, it has no minimum age requirement unless it is labeled Straight.

Straight: Straight is used only for American whiskies (Bourbon and Rye) that signifies that the whiskey has been aged for at least two years.

Abv/Proof: Not an interesting topic as most of us are aware of it. But still it’s a part of label and needs some introduction. abv : Alcohol by Volume (percentage of alcohol in whiskey). Usually whiskey is 40% to 60% and proof is just the twice of the abv without any unit. 40%abv or 80 Proof.

Bottled in Bond (BIB): Another American term signifying that it was bottled in America, a minimum of 4 yrs aged and 50%proof(100proof)

Single Cask/Single Barrel: Single Cask is used for scotch from a single cask and Single Barrel is used for Bourbon from a single Barrel.

Natural Coloring: By Law American Bourbon cannot be colored. It has to be natural. Scotch usually has an artificial coloring of caramel but if it says natural coloring this means no color was added to it.

Cask Strength/Barrel Strength: Similarly like Single Cask and Single Barrel this refers to the same Cask Strenth for Scotch and Barrel Strength for Bourbon. This means that the whiskey was not diluted with water prior to bottling. Its abv has not dropped and is same as that in cask/barrel before it was bottled.

Finally As W. C Fields said:
"We frequently hear of people dying from too much drinking. That this happens is a matter of record. But the blame is always placed on whisky. Why this should be I never could understand. You can die from drinking too much of anything — coffee, water, milk, soft drinks and all such stuff as that. And so as long as the presence of death lurks with anyone who goes through the simple act of swallowing. I will make mine whisky."