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Christmas 2010

2010-12-31T06:50:00.000-08:00

It's been a week since Christmas now, and I finally put my mind together to write about it. It was an average start, as I lumbered out of bed and remembered to head off to Hosur, which has become something of a routine now. I headed to majestic bus station,and got on a bus to yashwantpur. There were about 8 of us on the bus from the start to the finish as the driver was replaced midway. I bought a 10 buck ticket, and waited at platform number 1. The wait was uneventful, except that a heard a thud which was a railway employee falling to the platform floor, in what appeared to me to be a fit of epilepsy. He got himself together though, with a bit of help from the passengers, and surprisingly, no medical assistance was called for. I asked people around me where I would be able to board the Yashwantpur-Hosur Special, and was swiftly instructed to go to Platform 6.
I went there and waited as a long distance train was getting cleaned and washed thoroughly. Then I saw a train pulling into platform 6. The engine detached from one end, and another came at the other end, which was attached to the rest of the coaches. I got onto it, and sat in the first compartment behind the newly fitted diesel electric engine. I sat on seat number 7 of the first coach. The train started rolling away at 3:03 PM, and lumbered ahead on the tracks before picking up speed. I opened up my Ayn Rand novel,"Atlas Shrugged", and started reading from where I had left off. I noticed a family coming into the bogey I was in, and settled down. The train then banked right, and the sun started coming in through the expansive window, and Incidentally, the first chapter was about train track making; the one about REARDEN METAL.
We stopped at a tiny train station, and I realized that I needed to call up and wish a Merry Christmas to a few people. I called up Mr.Ekramulla, and he was very surprised when he picked up the call. It was nice to hear his voice after so long. he had retired and just taught tuition classes at home, and at a certain private institute. Then after a few more pages, and a few more stations later I called Titli, again, after a very long time, to know how she was. We spoke for 5 mins or so, and then I let my thoughts chugg along with the train. The vast expanses outsite the window were breathtaking, with the landscape fast changing from cultivation, to wild bushes. The Sun was getting a bit too strong, as I shifted to the other side. Few got off at those small, desolate stations, and even fewer got on. Two boys got on, who looked like "chaiwallas", and started their ramble and exchanged a few punches as well. They seemed to be regulars, and I presumed that they did not have a ticket on them. They sat opposite each other, and got into small duels, which involved running up and down the entire length of the compartment. This was a new route, that I had not journeyed on before, and was the shorter one. My father called, and asked to know where I was, and at that very instant I saw "HOSUR" written on the station signboard. I quickly picked up my stuff, and went towards the exit. The two boys got off the train as well.
I got to my father's house, and after a bit of chitter chatter, and searching for that weak WiFi signal went out to do some grocery shopping. As 8 O'Clock ticked in, we went out for special dinner, and it was after a long long time, that I had dinner with my father at a restaurant, and felt quite nice, not to pay for dinner for a change. After a dinner which comprised of muttonn do piyaza, and butter naan, we headed out of the place, and started walking towards out home. it was fantastic. It was after a long long time, that me and my father were walking together, and the hilly country road and the cool breeze made things just splendid. We saw a CSI church, and my father wanted to enter it. He loved it, he said, and it happened to be his first time. We put something in the donation box, as we headed out of church, which was, by the way, decorated beautifully. A short walk away from the church, and on the opposite side of the road, we saw a ganapati trmple, and, we went in there as well. I asked my father,"are we on a teerth yatra?". We reached home in a few minutes, and I continued watching "A Beautiful Mind", fro where I had left it off. It was quite an eventful day, and that's why I decided to turn it into prose, for remembrance.

Dec 23..

2010-12-22T20:30:00.000-08:00

Hm, no thoughts in my mind, and nothing much has happened to write about. I read in the newspaper that the LCA Tejas will finally be commissioned bu the IAF on Jan 20,after 3 decades of developments. Thats good news actually, as I hope to see huge reductions in the defense purchase budget, that which is allocated to maintaining the old Mig 27s,and Mig 21s.

Hosur Visit

2010-12-19T23:08:00.000-08:00

I headed to Hosur on sunday morning, and after much confusion, reached there just before lunchtime. It's a tiny place, and not many people live there, and it was good to be somewhere away from Bangalore for a change. It had been over a year. Me and my father had simple lunch, and did some paltry shopping at the local "Megamart", and talked about a lot of things. It's a really tiny place, and a quiet one as well, and my father's new home, is bang opposite the local railway station. Evening set in, and we went to the station, and sat around for a bit. Nothing much happened, and I was quite bored by the end of the day because of a weak internet connection, that kept going off.
The new bed that was ordered came in, and after much tossing and turning I finally fell asleep.
I woke up today, Monday, at 5 AM, made breakfast after a long long time, and went to the station to beard the train the Bangalore Central. It was an awesome journey, I must mention, and it was pretty refreshing with the cold breeze and the rural scenery flashing by. And oh, I had my new jacket on, and was feeling snug and warm. It took about one and a half hours to reach Bangalore, as there was a traffic jam on the tracks! But it was a lovely journey, and one I will remember for a long long time.

Some winter rain

2010-12-15T23:42:00.000-08:00

I went off to my daily tour today, and although the thoughts were drudging, the weather was awesome. I got onto the packed bus and headed off and just as I got off the bus, it started drizzling. And it was beautiful. Very beautiful. It looked almost like a fine curtain of water coming down, as the cold wind swept past. Really breathtaking.
My new found world of football went into a tizzy, or I must say stayed in it. According to the punters, the club is going straight to hell, and everything is lost.. All eyes on the West Ham game on Saturday, and I hope we win it, as it may quell a few distraught minds. I think that the new owners are going to do whatever Kentaro advises them to do till the beginning of next season. I guess they are going to put a few Kentaro affiliated players as well, and may spend a lot in the Jan window. After that, it will be upto the new manager to do whatever he wants with the new team, while the owners decide on the transfers. Well, I'm just guessing....

Blackburn Rovers sacks Sam Allardyce..

2010-12-14T21:55:00.000-08:00

I had just signed up for google email alerts on the 13th of Dec, and when the first email alert came to me for Dec 14, boy! was it some news.. Venky's , had sacked Blackburn's manager, just because they thought that he did not "fit in" to their vision. Thats quite a rash and abrasive move coming from a company that had acquired the team for brand publicity, and had absolutely no knowledge of Premier league football. Steve Kean was put in charge as the caretaker coach, and what seemed to be more diabolical was that he may continue as the permanent manager if he "performs" well in the present season. The question is, Does Venky's want to go cheap by firing a manager, appointing his first coach, and taking up the transfer decisions themselves with the advice of Kentaro? Did they think Big Sam was too "hands on" for their own good?
I for once think that this is quite stupid, and does no good to a man who had brought up a team from relegation and placed it in the middle of the premiership table on a shoestring budget. No wonder Big Sam said "I am very shocked and disappointed to be leaving Blackburn Rovers".
What? Maradona? Hah!

Winter is here!

2010-12-11T23:49:00.000-08:00

Winter has finally set in after much dilly dally....And I'm blogging here, in Bangalore, as I nurse a cold, that has made me quite weak, after a few days of running around in the sun. I have been very impatient in the past week. My father moved to Hosur, in Tamil Nadu, where he will be working.
I logged into my blog account after 3 months or so, and it's good to see that people from as far as Bahrain and Russia have visited my blog. For a guy who's been stuck for over a year now, its quite refreshing, in ways that only I know...I've taken to listening to piano music of late, and have looked into various piano maker's sites, to look at how much one really costs. Listening to piano music really brought back a million memories of my school days; of sitting around the grand piano, and singing carols and hymns, and also the time spent during legally bunking maths classes, when I would just sit back and listen to Hamish play "Ode to Joy".
It's winter, and it alone brings back splendid memories of my childhood in Calcutta, and the winter holidays, and the trips that I went on with my family. I really miss Calcutta sometimes, and want to go back as soon as possible, although I don't really know when I will get to go back.
Today my lunch comprised of pongal, tea, a paneer puff, and a bubblegum :) and I'm cooped up in my little apartment, listening to the cars going past in the road below, and thinking of how the next week may be. So long for now!

I'd like to post a video of Canon in C, which has been running on my mind all this week. This is a video of someone playing Pachelbel's famous composition. I do not own the rights to this video, and I declare that I have downloaded it from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYLnGzvVF6o. Enjoy

Navratri 2010

2010-10-18T03:13:00.000-07:00

It had been almost a year without any contact with anyone from my past life. Nachiketa's in Bangalore for his Mtech in IISC, and felt a desperate need for a laptop. So after much deliberations on the phone, we headed to Barton Centre, where the prices did not attract us. Went all the way to staples in Garuda, and chose a Dell standard config lap. But the salesman tried to fleece us by offering to sell a lap that was already on display. Our better conscience prevailed, and we opted to get a packaged one from the retailer. After much due delays, which spanned over 3 hours, the lap finally came, and we spent all the while Mall hopping and window shopping. Though my feet hurt, It was nice to be with someone from "the Past life".
I used BMTC's services to the fullest and did not lay my hind on any auto. Hopped onto a 34 from Shivaji nagar to Nirmala Store, and reached home at about 9 30. Was good to see the staircase lights on, and I hade a peace meal Navaratri for myself, although I had to dine on biscuits for dinner. Some good news trickled in as one of my aunts gave birth to a baby daughter the day before. Hope she has a happy life ahead..

a quote that I liked...

2010-10-09T08:12:00.000-07:00

Sapne vo nahin hote, jo sone ke baad atein hain.. Sapne vo hote hain, jo aapko sone nahi dete- Akhil Kumar(Boxer) after winning a bout at CWG 2010.

Sept 30...

2010-09-30T22:33:00.000-07:00

I'm back... and that's because I have some storytelling to do. Yesterday, Sept 30th was a very eventful day for me, and the rest of the country as well. I woke up to a power cut, the only thing, that It wasn't a power cut. The place that I live in, has no earthing, maybe because the brahmin chose to save money, rather than save himself from electric shocks. Due to the lack of earthing, and the enormous load that the lines had on them, the copper plate melted in the fuse box, and that resulted in power loss for 2 flats. I, was at my irritating best, running down almost every 10 minutes to check if the electrician had arrived or not. The power was back by 5:30 in the evening, and it's still here. All the voltage fluctuation, has had one casualty, that being my desktop's UPS, which has been going "tick""tick", all the time, trying to adjust the supply voltage. It's now connected to the mains, trying to revive it's batteries.
The evening went by , waiting for the Ayodhya verdict, which came out after a few delays, bringing the curtains down on India's longest running case, something that's been going on since 1932-33. In my opinion, it was a fair judgement, where everyone gets to break up the teeny weeny 2 acre plot of land. The court declared that Ram was born there.. and thanks to that there was no violence reported. Both sides will go to the SC again, claiming that the whole 2 acre plot belongs to them, and should not be divided. So, There We Go Again.... A few more years before the final judgement.
Late in the evening, I got a few movies transferred to my pen drive from the dvd s and watched Behind enemy lines again, still enjoying the joys of having electricity. Then watched the shaytards video, and went off to bed. Thats all that was there to write about. Byes for now........

Go Vegan Challenge -------- DONE!

2010-07-30T09:52:00.000-07:00

It gives me great pleasure telling you, whoever is reading this, that The 1 month Go Vegan Challenge is over and done with...Yay.

25 days...nearly there!

2010-07-24T23:29:00.000-07:00

Yes, its the 25th day today, and I'm still VEGAN!

Yup, still going strong....

2010-07-19T15:44:00.000-07:00

Its been 21 days now, and I am still vegetarian. Its quite unbelievable. Dont trust the time stub above as it runs on US time. It's Tuesday July 20, 4 17 AM now. See you at the end!

I'm still running on Vegan!

2010-07-03T00:52:00.000-07:00

Its July 3, and I am still a vegetarian. Simple updates, nothing else. Someone was telling me that this is absurd and i cant pull it off. Well lets see.

Go Vegan Challenge --------> 1 month.

2010-07-01T01:11:00.000-07:00

I have recently become very interested in the Internet challenges, and decided to have one of my own. I've been having a few tummy problems recently, and have been piling on weight as well, because of the frequent visits to restros.
Hence I present the GO VEGAN CHALLENGE,WHERE i shall have only veg food for an entire month. I have already started this challenge unknowingly on the 29th of June, so its been two days already. I hope to make it all the way, and will report back if I finish it successfully or fall back. So here goes!

I hot a new Cell Phone!

2010-04-28T09:49:00.000-07:00

After months of cussing at the Nokia 1203 which I had for about a year, I finally bought a new mobile. I searched the internet to come up with the cheapest options available in the market today. So what was the phone I got finally?

A LAVA ARC 02. It's worth a whopping Rs.1650 !, and its got almost everything, like a radio, music player, and guess what, it plays POLYPHONIC tones! YAY! and above all, its got a colour display as well! wow! So much for so little! It's pretty good looking, with a red polished border.

Anyways, the Lucis Lynx comes out tomorrow... I've got the Linux Power, Go get it!

Ubuntu Kernel goes Missing...

2010-04-26T14:38:00.000-07:00

I switched on the computer as usual on the 25th, and did not really feel that it would be any different from any other day. You press the start button, select the Ubuntu OS and press Enter. That's what I did, only to find, that the Ubuntu Kernel had gone missing. In lay man's terms, the whole Friggin Ubuntu O.S was gone. Without me doing anything to it. I guess Microsoft finally bamboo-ed Ubuntu out of the PC. Although the kernel is there no more, the disk space is still being utilized by the Ubuntu partition. God alone knows how I can fix it.
So I decided that I will not be installing Ubuntu again on this piece of junk. I've been using the bugging XP again after about 6 months, and hell, is it slow! The Lucid Lynx is coming out of the forests in a few days, and I will install it on the new Laptop,(when I get one), dual booting it with the Windows 7.
I saw a very good movie, amidst all this hub bub. "The Color Purple". To be honest with you, I never knew Whoopy Goldberg was an actress. She turned out to be a very good actress at that. One of the better movies that I have seen lately. That's it, and that's that for now. Ah yes, I've been taking a bit of interest in looking into foreign relations of India, especially with the bastardish neighbour. Pretty interesting.

Get the Lynx!

2010-04-10T09:49:00.001-07:00

A lot to write about...

2010-03-05T00:03:00.000-08:00

Here's me again, after quite some time. I've been quite busy lately, not with anything serious, but with living life in general. And after a big lull in going out and enjoying myself, I was back at it this week. Incidentally, I happened to watch three movies, My Name is Khan, Invictus, and Up in the Air, in the course of this week, and went to places like Garuda and Forum in Koramangala, after a long long time.
Let me have a jab at writing movie reviews today, and here goes nothing.

1. My Name is Khan- Is a film that I went to watch with no expectations from it. That's because its a Karan Johar film. It turns out, Johar has masterd the art of copying themes from famous English movies, and the plot and settings, are directly taken from them. The parts where he fills in himself, are drab and lackluster, with stupid sentiments and cheesy lines, that can only be from bollywood. In this movie, SRK made an attempt to copy Dustin Hoffman's character from Rain Man, that of the Senior Babbot. Although the name of the condition that SRK portrayed was quite different from that of Hoffman's, there was no such change in the acting part of it. The plot however, was truthful, and uncanny of the present situation of muslims in the west, but the settings of certain key parts of the movie, were badly done. Really badly done. The ending wasn't that good either, and it happened quite suddenly.

My metrosexual friend, gave the plot and timing of the incidents a "comprehensive" look, and after quite some time, did not find any pitfalls in the movie, and found it very original. I had to ad this part.

2. Invictus- I completely adore this film, and I never knew how great Nelson Mandela was, until I saw the film. The movie starred Morgan Freeman(GOD), and Matt Daemon in leading roles. The spotlight is on the early 1980's and the end of apartheid. It shows the prodigal change of not only the government, but the great social change it brought about in the whole spectrum of society. I adore the film, as it potrays the changing values, and opinions, of common people, and the final acceptance of the consensus. Clint Eastwood, the theatrical genius, vividly portrays the changing sentiments and the change in the direction of thought amongst the black people and the whites, in contemporary South Africa. What makes the move special, is that the generation in question still exists and that makes it a very contemporary film. I was so impressed with the poem Invictus, that I looked it up and read it through a couple of times. I even had Mandela's Picture as my wallpaper for a few days.

3. Up in the Air- I found this very entertaining, even when I left the movie with a big headache( I sat 3 seats away from the screen, and didn't eat at all throughout the day) I'd never seen a George Clooney movie apart from the ocean's movies. I did not take away anything from the moie, but enjoyed it thoroughly.

Apart from the movies, I had a quiet and surprising revelation about myself yesterday. I went out for dinner after quite sometime, and I happened to dislike Chicken! I could not eat it, and ate very less. Am I turning vegetarian? That's a good thing, but why ME? Apart from that, I happened to fall of(slide off) a few marbled stairs yesterday, and it did hurt. It still hurts. Me and my friend had to walk back two kilometres, as the Autowallah feigned that he had some problems with the gears. Fucking places have fucked up people living in them, and you just can't help it, apart from going with the flow.

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZz....

2010-02-19T07:18:00.000-08:00

Today was a good day, and by that I mean, the electricity was there, and so was the broadband. It was so unusual, that I could not figure out what to do.. Lollz!.... I had lots of chocolate, and breaking off from the eating less regimen, I actually ate a lot at the chinese place. Good cheap food. My tongue was on fire, and I sweat like a pig.

Back after a small hiatus

2010-02-18T13:59:00.000-08:00

The last two days were pretty uneventful, and I finally did some fruitful work in months. The Internet seems to be getting back on its feet now, as I type. However, I don't know if it will be as good as it is later in the day. I'm finally trying out Opera in ubuntu, and it works perfectly. This is the first application that I am using from outside the repositories. I've really surprised myself in these two days, at the small amount of food that I'm surviving on.
Bindiya doesn't seem to be such an idiot after all, as she came up with something great. I wonder why she has the notion that I sleep in front of my computer all day. Hmph. I really don't.
I was about to go to sleep early today, but the phone call lasted nearly 3 hours. So I watched the CTFxC channel, and I'm writing this short blog now, before I go to bed finally. Byes for now.

A very passable day...

2010-02-15T07:19:00.000-08:00

As I continue to write in this blog of mine, posts are getting more and more agonizing. I was cursing an uncle of mine, who "helped" me buy an assembled desktop computer during my first days in Bangalore. It wasn't till a year that I realized how the assembler guy, had cheated me. I went out to buy a video/graphics card today, so that ubuntu would not look as bulky as it does now. I spent 1300 bucks in buying something that simply does not fit into the allocations. I can proudly announce that I use an antique computer. The hardware is absolutely outdated, considering that it was the height of sophistication in 2004, when it was actually assembled. It was in 2006 that they were relieved to sell it to me. The amount that I have spent on it till date, replacing parts, and optimizing it, so that it can work, has totalled up to almost double of what I paid back them. I could have got myself a darn good lappy even back then at this price.
BESCOM cut off lines for 4 hours today, at a stretch, and half of bangalore, including your's truly,, was sweltering in the heat, with nothing to do. The internet too was dangling onto a few KBs of bandwidth. It just got into reasonable shape now, which allows to blog all about it. Whatever, that's all there is about today.. byes!

Valentine's day... Not such a good one for microsoft comps..

2010-02-14T07:49:00.000-08:00

V day went wushhing past... there was nothing in it for me, however. I am quite saddened to hear about the death of my friend's grandmother, whom I knew from a very young age.May she rest in peace.
Yesterday, wasn't a good day for PC s, as an anonymous bug struck at about 10 30 pm Indian Standard time, that caused PC s to shut off. My friend's Vista was affected very badly, and the last time I saw, he was manually checking the disk. I installed Ubuntu Hardy on his system, and which he much appreciated, and thats the only way that his lap is running at the moment. I I were to use his words, I'd say that his lap is now running on life support. Lollz!
I read the ubuntu wiki a lot and also the open forums, where people who are sick of Microsoft often come up and flay it publicly, There are so many comments on the wiki and the forum, and I just remember one, that caught my attention, and I still remember it. It went like this. " FAILURE ISN'T AN OPTION WITH MICROSOFT. IT COMES PRE-INSTALLED"
That's what the truth is folks. Surely, you wouldn't expect some product which you pay licensing fees for, to be brought down by a virus. That really should not happen. But allow me to be very sarcastic about this, but thanks to this virus glitch, I got to see how wonderful Ubuntu really looks on a system with a graphics card. It surely looks very beautiful. In my system, all application windows look very bulky (I use Ubuntu without a graphics card). I realized that Ubuntu really looks as good as it functions. And my skeptical friend agrees with me on this. Open Source is something that will be around for a long long time. Contrary to common opinions, Open source soft software isn't cheap software. It is software that have been reviewed by many many people and that makes it more sound to use. Functionality is what you should look for in a program, and not the cost. Corporations have instilled the exact opposite into the brains of
consumers. If you are a developer out there, I urge you to write a few scrips and programs and send it to the developers like openoffice.org, Ubuntu, Debian, Mozilla, and Fedora. There are many more out there doing credible work. Please support them.
There was a bomb blast in a Bakery in Pune yesterday, in which many were killed. My condolences go out to the bereaved families, who have lost their loved ones. Pakistan is definitely back to doing what it does best. No further comments about those bastards in this post.
BSNL still continues to surprise me with a consistent bad service quality. They sent me a text that gave a number and an sms code, in case there are any broadband issues. Darn good timing I must say. I guess the "anna s " will fortunately come to work tomorrow and bestow upon us a great favour, that of fixing the bloody lines.
So as you can see, I am pissed off at BSNL, Microsoft and Pakistan all at the same time.... "curse" "curse" "curse". I don't use profane language here. Ahem.

Valentine's day ubuntu distro frenzy!

2010-02-13T07:35:00.000-08:00

It's nice to see that people do visit this blog. Now that I have a tracker installed, I can see their locations. Its nice to connect with people whom I do not know at all, when they pay me a visit here. The day was quite listless,and adding to that was my slow internet connection. I tried downloading Openoffice.org 3.1.2, but it seemed to be never-ending. Finally the connection went off completely, and the 3 hours spent in downloading a potion of it, went to waste. Tomorrow's valentine's. i hear everybody's planning ahead, and making a big fuss about it. I did come across a blog, that listed out the top 10 anti valentine's day cards. And were they hilarious..
This being Karnataka, and Bangalore, Muhtalik, the frustrated man again warned against v day celebrations. I wonder why he's so pissed out. People sure have their own ways of getting their way in politics. I applaud the man who painted his face black with some good old shoe polish. Loved watching the video.
I'm back to the old regimen of having tw meals a day. Not that I'm out of cash. I actually wanted to have chocolate buns for lunch. Yea, I've completely lost it. I went to the good old Andhra restro for Mils. Turns out the guy cant even fry up an omlette without the cook. Sickening.
Today, I went into a free distro frenzy, after I learnt that they were giving out the ubuntus without any hassle. It's sure going to be a mad rush once this LTS comes out. Then it will surely take 3 month for the free distros to reach me. As I was saying, I created 3 new launchpad accounts. Thats about all the thoughts that are coming to my mind at the moment. Tataz for laters!

P.S- If you've been reading this, and you happen to have a gmail id, please write a comment below. I promise you, you'll automatically become my best friend :)

Free distro CD s!

2010-02-12T07:08:00.000-08:00

Today was just another day, yet again, and I was happy to see a comment on my last post. I started the day at 10 am, as a lot happened at night that kept me from sleeping. It was surely some madness going on then. I had Chinese food for lunch and for dinner, as I had a bit of money to spare today, moreover, my usual restro was shut.
I finally found out that the free Ubuntu cd s have already reached my house, and it did so last week. This was by far the fastest dispatch that I have received from canonical.Well, its just because no one's ordering a 9.10 nowadays, as the LTS is just 2 months away. I'm watching Oliver Twist, after a long long time, and it's definitely reminding me about school. My Name is Khan, is making headlines not because its a good movie, but just because it has been released. I read that tickets for the movie sold for 1000 Euros in Germany, at an auction. I wonder what they find special in SRK. Whatever.

A very sleepy day...

2010-02-11T10:13:00.000-08:00

Its been a very sleepy day for me today. I woke up thrice today, as funny as it may seem. Once at 4 o clock, the next at 8 40, and then finally at 10 30. Having breakfast and lunch together has become mainstay for me nowadays. I had been having a bit of a tummy problem, so carefully chose to have a veg puff, rather than its eggy cousin.
I don't really know what is bloody wrong with the electrical supply guys in Bangalore, who call themselves BESCOM.There was power outage four times today, each for an hour. Adding to that, the internet was down as well, due to power failure at one of their control centres or whatever they call them. Bloody city this, Bengalooru.
Ended the day with a big Andhra Mils,("Mils" is what they call them, and they think that's how you pronounce meal, or they'll serve you fish instead). I just watched Quantum of Solace for I guess the tenth time, and I'm getting ready for bed. Oh wait! I forgot to add this in... I slept again from 2 30 to 4 45 pm... so sleep will definitely elude me for many hours.... I think i'll finish reading " A bend in the road", which I've been trying to finish since a long time. Well, it's not an interesting book like the previous ones, but is worth a read.
I must also add that i read a very nice blog today. It was something about a highway from USA to Alaska, which was built during WW2. And the writer was planning on a bicycle ride through the entire stretch. A few days back, I found out, actually realized why Alaska is a part of USA and not Canada. I also watched a few vids of Dylan Moran on youtube. This Irishman has really got some humour packed in him. I added an application on this blog that tracks my visitors, and their locations. I'm hoping to see a few visitors except for me...
Anyways, Ciao!

Figments of Nothingness

2010-02-09T23:34:00.000-08:00

I just remembered I have this blog, and decided to scribble in something. It's the first time that I'm blogging, using Ubuntu. I've finally got this absolutely great OS under control, and you know what, I can even run those "sudo" scrips. It's a really neat system to work on. Everything "just works". I've been quite cheeky to set up those extra launchpad accounts and kept on ordering those free distros of 9.10, even when they rejected it. I guess a total of 3 cd s are coming my way in around a month's time. I've aquired this habit of watching ctxc everyday. Though it's not as interesting as it once was, its worth the sneak peak into someone's life.
I just finished watching CInderella Man, which was long due. I got a pretty well seded torrent, and downloaded it for a day..(256kibs only). The movie was just awesome, and i was excited enough to blow a few empty punches into the air myself. There's something new coming into Bangalore at this moment. No it's not the festive sales and discounts. Its the sudden arrival of the "Phuchka walas". Being a Northie, I usually get a few extras thrown in, apart from getting them made-to-order.. ;) . as the mercury begins to climb again, its time for the sweaty necks to return. Winter was well spent for me, and besides a corny jacket, i needed nothing. Im off to see the ctfxc channel now, hoping its been fully buffered and ready.
Byes to whoever was reading this, and thanks for being so kind. Lollz!

need help with cooking?

2009-12-29T01:35:00.000-08:00

try these..

www.yumyum.com/student

www.studentrecipies.com

hope it helps!

Living in History..

2009-11-09T07:14:00.000-08:00

As I glance over my shoulder,

looking back at all things unkempt,

I'm faced with a dilemma,

of not setting them straight back then.

It's been a long time,

since I've looked myself in the mirror.

Would've been nice to realize the romantic in me,

as I find out new truths when the memories come flashing back.

All of it was not my fault, you know,

but I can never stop looking back.

I guess I'm living in history now,

looking around with a torchlight...

Deepavali 2009

2009-10-17T08:40:00.000-07:00

I really can not fulfill promises of blogging everyday. Never.My life is simply not interesting, and I can not help it. Before I start sounding like the quintessential loser, I would like to wish everyone a Very Happy Deepavali, and a very prosperous year ahead.
This year has had a lot in it for me, the chicken pox, final year of college, and those qualifying examinations, and hence I believe that I have progressed intellectually, without sounding corny. I am sitting at home now, listening to all the bursting crackers all around me. as far as my celebrations go, I am semi broke, considering it is the Diwali time, and I spent a lot till yesterday, eating out at some of Bangalore's better restraunts. I dont really have much to write about now, as it is most of the times, and hope to write a good article next time.
Shubh Deepavali ....

Antiviruses!

2009-08-19T13:47:00.000-07:00

I have suddenly become a self proclaimed expert reviewer of antiviruses, after my licence for Kaspersky expired. Since yesterday, all I have been doing is downloading and installing all free editions. I have also found my way around getting cracks for a few of them, but soon realized that all the actiation codes were already taken up by people just like me. I turned to a site that I knew provided serial keygens, but saw that it had been taken out of the web, as if it never existed at all. Hence I was in the dilemma of not getting updates which I had grown so used to over the last two years, during my stint with Kaspersky.

My first choice of trying a free version was the age old AVG. It did not fail to impress me. It had gone through a complete makeover, since I had last seen it in the 90's. Then I turned to PANDA. Something I had heard from my friend. It has grown onto me very fast. I downloaded a free 1 month trial version of the highest suite, and in its 45 minute long full system scan, it detected 6 viruses and threats combined. This is after I had used Kaspersky and AVG, in the same day. The clear user interface is a treat to the user, and it allows all processes to run without any lag whatsoever; earning the name "Nippy". I am very impressed with the ease at which it was installed, and the consequent full system scan. A free version has proved that the other licensed versions are somewhat worthless. This was completely unexpected.

I am in search of The Best AV for my laptop, and I have compared prices of 3 AV s. I am looking at purchasing licences for an Internet security pack for a 2 year period, for a single computer.

PANDA = $101

BITDEFENDER = $69.95

AVG = $53.59

Going by the Indian mindset, I shall take the averagely priced BitDefender after I have tried on the free version.

I will definately come back and tell you which one I finally got.

Happy Independence Day,India

2009-08-15T01:30:00.000-07:00

Here's wishing every Indian a Happy Independence Day. Though its just a holiday for some, I appreciate the effort that went into freeing this country and maintaining the freedom all though the 62 years. I thank all who have been responsible.

My new OS, the OS of the future..linux

2009-08-13T20:38:00.000-07:00

I had these ubuntu(linux distro) cds lying around for months. I kept ordering them as and when a new version came out.Never installed them, however. I mustered up my courage finally, after being fully confident that it will not harm my "original" windows xp. I flicked the ubuntu 9.04 "jaunty jakalope" into the drive and installed it within windows. That was just the start of things.
I was amazed at the simplicity with which it installed whithout a glitch.(i consider my desktop a pretty old one) When it turned on, it was sheer pleasure customizing it to look like an Apple osx leopard. It has a few problems, like its unable to play dvds without being programmed manually. Programming ubuntu just involves running a unix scrip..and you are done. I am now running my comp on ubuntu 24X7. I simply love it.
I did some pending research in these days, to choose the distro i may use in the near future. Thus, I downloaded Debian 5.0.2,"Lenny", which I shall use later for a desktop I plan to assemple myself.
Ububtu rocks. It is simply too easy. Easy for those who dont know what those microsoft errors really seem to mean, which are generally resolved with "cancel". There are no major problems like files becoming corrupt or programmes "hanging". the errors, which are a rarity, are very descriptive, and have instant fixes and bug reporting. I think I will never buy another "original" windows programme. Debian/linux has everything down to the very detail, which makes everyday computing a real pleasure. I would like everyone to try it out once.

Monsoon's normal this time too!

2009-07-11T13:55:00.000-07:00

I'm definitely back to blogging.This being my second post today. I was surfing around now when I came across an article on a news website, saying that the monsoons are going to be 95% normal this time. The five percent shortage hardly matters, as the government had gone into panic mode, suspecting a 45-50% rainfall this year. Its a great relief. It will definitely save a lot of lives...the lives of those who work on the fields..those who had written to the President to end their lives.

Rains matter a lot to an agrarian economy like India's. With everything hung upon the fields, it would have been a calamity, as many were suspecting, if the rains would have been anything short of normal. Its funny however. The Government declared Madhya Pradesh as Drought Hit just a day ago. I'm waiting to see what they will do now, or rather say.

Random

2009-07-10T23:21:00.000-07:00

I have been pretty busy this week, with the application process underway. I have this diploma exam which I have no idea about yet. Amongst the newer things, I have just got my way around using the internet on my cellphone(Im not that technologically sound..yeikes!) My counselor and my editor have been my best friends this week. I have spoken to them more than I have with anyone else, and with all my friends resting in the comfort of their homes, I the one am still living life of the penny counter, which sometimes gets on my nerves.
I have nothing better to write about now, as I seek excuses to crawl back into bed again, this being Saturday and anyways I have nothing better to do.
So till next time, Adios to me! as I guess no one reads my blog..No one does. I know this as a fact..no hard feelings..or maybe I should advertise it in the paper tomorrow...hm.... Sleep! is a much better option. Yes.

The Bangalore Chapter comes to an end...

2009-06-06T22:30:00.000-07:00

I'm happy.
My final semester examinations are going on, and in a few days, its going to be all over. 13th June marks the end of the final examinations, and the end of the BSc course for me. I'm done with it finally. I'm done with Bangalore, the city I don't give much about. Not anymore.
Though I will have to stay on, for a few more weeks, to get my Diploma in Immunology, which was delayed by the bout of Chicken Pox, I don't mind it at all. I'm going back to what they call the City of Joy. Im very eager to go back this time. I would say that my three year long rondezvous with Bendakaadulu (City of black grams, quite literally!) has been quite productive, or it may not have been. I dont really give a thing. I'm outta here!

Feeling Numb...

2009-04-26T10:07:00.000-07:00

Finally I have a lot to write about....

First things first,
College(that darn thing) is finally over and done with. No listening to those hourly tongue lashings from those who call themselves lecturers. Prac records and projects are all that are left to submit.

Secondly, I had the chicken pox thing. Its the highlight of this month,clearly overshadowing my Birthday that came and went on the 22nd. It was a pretty sulky birthday anyways.
With college over, Im pretty much stuck at home for a month or two. And I love that a lot!
Thats ALL that I had to write about anyways, for crying out loud; but I dont hear anyone complaining.

Oye its Saturady !

2009-03-13T21:08:00.000-07:00

The weekend is finally here, and its been a very busy one.Im actually bunking the day,and have a good reason of not being well.Its been a very colourful weel,as we had holi this week.I got dragged into playing holi,by my friends,and,for the first time in my life,had 5 eggs smashed onto my head.(A sight to see I tell you).Im attending classes like a moron everyday,throughout the week, and the attendance percentage is skyrocketing! I really dont have many things to write about now,as not much has happened apart from holi this week.
I'll get back to writing this blog next week,hope to find something interesting then.

The Year That Was..

2008-12-27T06:52:00.000-08:00

As we bid farewell to 2008, and look onto 2009 with new expectations, lets look into the events that have gone by....
The financial crisis, that was born in America, dotted the headlines throughout the year, straight from January to December, and there is no end in sight as companies are busy clamouring for the bailouts.America is in ruins, and the world is in panic.
The port city of Mumbai was attacked by the "islamic folk", yea, in the name of Allah,of course, and that left many many Indians dead,and foreigners too. The outfalls of that pakistan sponsored terrorism are now coming to light, as there is a fresh breakdown in dialogue,trade, and travel between the two countries.War is on the cards, but both sides are very careful,not to spell it out. America, which is supposed to be busy sorting out its own problems, is back to its old duty,of playing Big Brother (no pun intended).
Things have become expensive,and hence the festivals, were all lackluster this year.

I'm not such a big sadist, but I cant stop thinking what I think.

Among the good things though, India won a few medals at the Beiging Games,and we marked our first visit on the moon.And the biggest achievement was the Nuclear Deal with Big Brother.

There is nothing much to write really, about the year that 2008 has been.This year should have ended long back instead of taking up the usual quota of 12 months.Sheesh! what a year its been...

Happy New Year to all, as we hope for better days to come.

2008-11-05T07:52:00.001-08:00

we have a lot of work to do

Winter is an etching, spring a watercolor, summer an oil painting and autumn a mosaic of them all....

2008-11-02T09:57:00.000-08:00

was browsing through pictures, when i found this..

2008-11-02T09:51:00.000-08:00

click

2008-11-01T22:03:00.001-07:00

graduatestudiesinusa.blogspot.com

...Shubh Deepavali...

2008-10-26T18:10:00.000-07:00

Wishing everyone, a happy and prosperous Diwali....

www.wordpress.com

2008-10-25T09:02:00.000-07:00

I liked this blog site very much,and it serves as an excellent escape form Google...Let's admit it, blogspot is a bit too soggy, and the themes cant be played around with as much.Check it out.

The week that was...

2008-10-23T08:54:00.000-07:00

Im bored, im tired, n to sum it all up, ive had enough. All I see myself doing is finishing record work, running around teachears for that one, confounded signature (all students will understand what it implies).Thats how my week's been, hope your's was better..

......

2008-10-17T05:23:00.000-07:00

Be fearful when others are greedy, and be greedy when others are fearful...
someone said this

Durga Puja 2008

2008-10-06T07:55:00.000-07:00

For the whole picture collection, go to www.flickr.com, and type my name in...

Im going home! Yipee!

2008-09-21T00:35:00.000-07:00

Today is the 21st of September,and in nine more days im shifting bast to Calcutta! And oh yeah, I'm Loving It! I'm going to bunking a hell lot of classes, because of this, but a doctor's certificate comes in handy, dosnt it?I plan to stay on for half a month,n be back on the 15th next month..How's that for a break?!

First British sighting of rare black fox captured on film

2008-09-19T19:34:00.000-07:00

According to legend, it brings doom and disaster to anyone who sees it.

But an amateur photographer could hardly believe his luck when he spotted an extremely rare black fox. Kevin Hehir, 48, from Preston, saw it in a Lancashire cemetery.

He said: 'I thought it was the Devil looking at me. Then I thought, "It's a myth, there's no such thing". But I managed to get right up to it and it's definitely a young black fox.

The black fox is in fact an ordinary red fox which has black fur or is going through a phase where the colour of its fur is particulary dark. The phenomenon is normally seen in growing cubs and generally the fox will develop to have a dark chestnut coat.

However a few red foxes will remain black due to a rare genetic flaw dating back hundreds of years. In North America, foxes with black coats are often found with a variable amount of white or white-banded hair in the dark coat.

Centuries-old superstitions are often found attached to black animals, such as black dogs and black cats.

David Dunlop, Lancashire Wildlife Trust conservation officer, said: 'It's a Gaelic tradition, originating from the black dog which was said to bring doom and disaster to those who see it.'
The red fox was introduced to America by the peans and black foxes exist in much greater numbers there because they were not hunted as widely.

In the UK their pelts were highly prized in the fur trade and it is believed the genetic strain became much scarcer.

Mr Dunlop said: 'Only one black fox has been seen and, as far as I know, it's the only one to be seen in this country before.

'In North America, I think it's about one in five red foxes are black but that's because they were introduced from Europe.'

What a week its been!

2008-09-19T09:13:00.000-07:00

I've finally found time and a topic to write on.And im not quite sure what the topic's about.The week went by,and n its been one of the most tiring ones indeed.College is going on in full swing,leaving little lime for any preoccupations.Internals,project submissions have been the highlight of the week.Scary things have happened around the world this week, making the week, ful of news headlines.The credit crunch showed its final teeth, leading to the fall of all major financial institutions,like Lehman Brotheres,and AIG of late.
Bobms went off in New Delhi, killing around 30 people,and injuring 90 others.The suspected millitants were killed today in a muslim suburb of Delhi.An officer was also killed.Ceasefire violations have been the order of late,and millitancy is rising in kashmir.
As for my life goes, a few millitant viruses infected me and i had prevailing bad health throughout this week.Thank God its now gone.I feel much better.Tomorrow is saturday, and i plan to bunk the physical chemistry practical.
Thats about how my week went.Eventful indeed!

Google Chrome

2008-09-02T05:37:00.000-07:00

Tuseday evening, the world's newest browser is coming into form , and is being distributed as an open source.This is the one single browser thats gonna reshape the face of browsing the net.Normal browsers tend to slow down other tabs, which are runrunning java or other flash applications ,as they are uni sourced.Chrome,the newest addition to the family, is going to be a multiple source application, capable of running multiple tasks, at once without hindering the speed of another application.
For more info, go to google's official blog, google.blogspt.com

BSNL India review

2008-09-01T07:55:00.000-07:00

A month has passed since i took my bsnl internet connection.I would rate this company a 7/10.Now you must be wondering why an average rating..Thats because, i had lots of trouble getting it in the first place.I had to run from one exchange to the other,finally leading to the correct exchange...
BSNL does not contact you at any stage, stating delay reasons,and thats the first boot to their acclaimed customer care.however, it is worthy of mention, that after the location and jurisdiction issues are sorted out, the telephone arrives in 2-3 days time...a bit of bribery comes in at this stage.
With the telephone configured,and a few telephone numbers of the lines men in your pocket, it is the time for the long wait that involves your login id and password to me created.As per my knowledge of POP 3 servers goes, a password and an id creation happens at the millionth of a second! Thats the second setback from the prized 10/10.
Now the third reason comes quick.BSNL does not mention that you have to purchase their modem.They say that any ADSL class 1 modem wil work just fine!. That is absolutely false.The technology and the bandwith that they supply through the phonelines is not readable(that does not mean bad ) by most ADSL class 1 modems. BSNL requires a greater compression factor for the bandwidth supplied.Hence, miscommunication is another drawback.

That makes it a 7/10.

Now comes the phase when the internet connection comes in, and you start using it...
BSNL flouts the TRAI norms of an 80% promised bandwidth, which will take them 20 odd years to rectify.i guess. The connection speed is constant though,with not many fluctuations.

You would ask, that even after such a sad appraisal, why am i still using the connection...The reason lies in the pocket.For an unlimited connection with 256 kbps promised plan, i just shell out 750 a month. Its a bargaain i tell you.And, thats not all.I can make 50 calls per month absolutely free of charge! With call rates dropping and the servise expected to get better in 2 months,I would recommend a BSNL broadband to a budget finecky person like me.

A well meant change...

2008-09-01T07:43:00.000-07:00

Ive been on blogger for about over a year now, and to be quite honest with you, haven't been much on it.So ive decided to overhaul this place up and over,and turn things around a bit.

From now on, im gonna make it my daily diary (i wont get to buy a diary in the month of August!).
Jokes apart, i would like my blog to change with me,and what can be better,than making it my personal diary?

To start things off, i will change the theme, colour,etc etc...and get back to posting from tomorrow....

2007-08-20T01:05:00.000-07:00

Scarlet

An open night,a cool night it is,

the vast expanses show no light.

What light could be there in such sulken cold,

Where the wind batters All men, All night..

No light there is, yet there is light,

The light form the moon, of silver white

The light from the moon, on a scarlet night ;

Which once was scarlet, but now,

Silver white

There is now light,on the scarlet bow,

There is now light, in a silver show ;

There is now light ;where there was none

The light from nowhere,has now come.

Who now says that the night is dark?

Well,

There is no one to say anything,

There is no one to say nothing....

But there is someone, there is me...

I am God. Who are thee?

Suprateek Mitra

31/3/05

2007-08-19T10:40:00.000-07:00

The Times

There are times under the golden sun,

There are times in the rain,

The minstrels flow on, but are never gone;

And life goes on in it’s delicate sway…

Times have gone and times are near,

The woods are thick, and brimming,

Of wild imaginations, that knows no fear,

The times, They sure are changing…

There were times I spent under the sultry sun,

Which gave nothing more than blues,

Of wrongs done, and long shadows cast,

Tears flowed down silently,like the garden dew

Found myself, I have, definitely,

Regardless of any man’s point of view,

The days go on, tirelessly,

As I find myself out, anew

As time goes on, and never ends,

I don’t know when the end is coming,

When the minstrels stop, and the earth opens up,

But the times,

They sure are changing….

Suprateek Mitra

hello world....Ive been waitin for the chance to see your face....

2007-06-03T11:02:00.000-07:00

Hi, im Suprateek, 19 years old, and currently doing my undergraduate studies in Biotechnology.
I believe that life has taught me a lot, especially, in the past one year, since i left school, n started living alone...
I guess, when you are away from one place, you really start realising what it means to you.
Hope to make this blog my kind of place, where i go on writing and publishing interesting happenings of my life...Until the next post, Cheers!