Una Vida Extraña

2009-01-19T20:40:00.002+05:30

I finally have my Flickr account up and running, although it's been quite a while.

You can view some of my pics here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ramitsingal/

More later, I promise.

Cheers, and happy new year (I know it's late, but 11 months still remain :P)!

2008-10-08T13:17:00.007+05:30

Kashmir. Assam. Raj Thackeray. Gujarat. Kandhamal. Terrorism.

*Sigh*

Secular. Really? Than again, how many of us care enough to actually speak out against these violators of human rights who act with alarming frequency within the borders of our country? Let's face it, not too many.

I, for one, believe that I have, to a certain degree, become immune to all such stuff. Which is unfortunate.

Nevertheless, on a lighter note, all that doesn't stop Rick Jay from being the best card thrower out there :-)

Later!

PS. The mandatory photo :-P

Shot this very friendly Red-rumped Swallow in Mukteshwar, late July. It builds it's nest using mud pellets and is in the process of collecting some material here.

A Longer Post...

2008-09-24T18:39:00.002+05:30

...right after this one. And I promise it would be soon :-)

Cheers!

*Sorry*

2008-07-01T09:15:00.001+05:30

Don't you just love this guy?

Squeaky Bum Time!

2008-05-10T18:58:00.015+05:30

Okay, I have been busy. Busy studying. And busy trying to make the best of whatever free time I have. Unfortunately, blogging isn't high on that list and hence the late post. My exams are... well... not exactly panning out the way they were supposed to. You know, in Feb and March - how you get all pumped up and start feeling confident about yourself and how you'll go about stuff - well that was the plan! Unfortunately, it wasn't that ideal. So far, the only good exam I have had has been JEE, in which I gave a performance that might fetch me something around 5000, which still leaves me nowhere.

AIEEE, on the other hand, was bloody easy, except my luck just seemed to have run out at the wrong time. A series of uncontrollably unfortunate events, including my invigilator coming into the examination hall 25 minutes late and the student in front of me turning out to be a fraud case, pretty much assured that I won't be able to complete the paper in time. So, it ended with an argument with the teacher, and almost 25 questions being left absolutely unattempted.

On the bright side though, I'm pretty much through a couple of not-so-important colleges, and I still have BITSAT(12th May) and DCE's CEE to give(31st May). So there's still hope of me making to some reputed institute. There are a few problems though - one being that I'm tired of studying day in and day out all the time. It's irritating doing the same formulae and questions over and over again and I really need some serious motivation in order to sit down on that study table and study seriously. Most of the times, I find myself opening a book and realise I'm drooling all over it when I wake up a couple of hours later! Or there's somenovel or travel brochure on top of the Physics book I am "supposedly" studying. Oh well, good thing is, it's the same with all my friends - so I'm not too disheartened.

I still have been going birding these days. And it's been good with all the birds coming out to breed, building nests and feeding their young ones You guys, specifically the ones in Delhi, really should visit Okhla Bird Park if you have vacations going on or even 3-4 hours of free time in hand. The butterflies abound the flowers(which are in bloom) and the place is filled with lovely birds chirping aloud, in breeding plumages and collecting nesting material etc. In fact, yesterday, I sat down with dad and discussed 'plan B' - incase I do not get into the college of my choice. I've listed down photography, and English hons. as the courses I'm most probably gonna pursue. If that also fails - there's always a plan C. I'm gonna drop an year, spend most of my time teaching in some NGO school and trekking. Then I'm gonna apply for English in the US. I really hope, however, it doesn't come down to that. Or maybe I do, because I would love to do it!

I've never really understood why I wanted to be an Engineer. In fact, come to think of it, I never wanted to be an engineer. I just want to earn enough money by the time I am thirty that I can afford to leave my job and do more interesting stuff like hiking and cycling across the world and look at birds! Pity I did not think properly when I was chosing my stream in class eleven. Followed the bloody crowd and my other deluded peers, and here I am. *Sigh* Anyway, things always work out, and I guess life has it's way of making everyone fall into their places utimately. We all land up where we belong. Guess all you can do is work hard, do your job, and wait for things to take care of themselves.

Recently, I have been getting in touch with many of my Aussie mates from the good ol' days in Sydney, and it's always nice to hear from people of different lands. Since they all have graduated (as the session in Australia ends in January), it's fun to hear about what all they keep doing, where their lives are headed and further, I often dream about what could have been had I not come back ;-) I've also read a few novels of late. Finished off the Bourne trilogy FINALLY, and most of the works by Michael Crichton. but most of all, I've fallen in love with Roald Dahl all over again. He was a brilliant author, and I've always believed that apart from perhaps some of Enid Blyton's works, his are the most evergreen. I'm pretty sure I'll be reading them even 20, maybe 30, years down the line.

Yesterday, I had this talk with my sister about malnutrition and stuff in some African countries. Ruddy hell, I mean this stuff is for real. Almost makes me feel guilty about being born into a good, financially well off family, you know. It's almost depressing to know that while all our minds are focussed on this rat race the world throws us into, there are those still there who are having to hunt down ants(in Darfur, Sudan - to be precise) because they have nothing else to eat. I really don't know whom to blame, or what the solution to this problem should be. Perhaps their corrupt(?) governments can decide about that. But even then, this is not something I'm finding easy to get out of my mind. It's not the kind of problem which you can simply shrug off or justify by saying, "It's not mine", since it's about humanity and it's pathetic state in some nations. Certainly something that mankind cannot move in the forward direction with. Click here to get an idea of what I'm talking about. BUT only if you have the strength in your hearts to do so, because the images are pretty darn disturbing.

Oh well, time to be off now :-) I hope I'll be back soon. I'll be leaving you guys with a photo taken some days back of a Brahminy Starling. Some trivia: this Starling is so called because of it's Brahmin-like hair!

Cheers!

Life's like that

2008-04-08T09:36:00.007+05:30

*Sigh*

But, of course, there's more: *Okay, more=birds :P*

Laughing Dove. Very common, you must be seeing them around your house all day.

Ahh well, back to the books now :|

Cheers!(?)

But it rained...

2008-04-01T09:20:00.008+05:30

So, I was pretty upbeat throughout yesterday- mostly because my boards came to an end. Also, went out with a few mates to a couple of Noida malls, and had lots of fun there too. And just when I thought that this period of time couldn't possibly get better, it RAINED! I'm as happy as happy can be right now. Confident, healthy, sort of wealthy, studying well... and I slept with the knowledge that I'll probably get a hundred in Computer Science.

My boards went well, and I am expecting >90 percent this time around. This wouldn't have been the case had I performed well in what was supposedly my strongest subject - Maths, but it can't all go your way, can it? Ahh well, now I guess it's time to move on to IIT. It just doesn't fit sometimes. How two years of hard work and sacrifice of school life can culminate into how you perform in a single day on a given set of questions. Such is life :(

Oh, and I guess I've never mentioned tennis on this blog either. Probably because it is the past. Anyway, there used to be a time when I was 14, and ranked by AITA as 315 in the U-15 category. I'd to give up tennis though. Not because of studies, but because of multiple wrist fractures and swelling in the nerves around the wrist area. Nevertheless, I decided to rekindle the love for the game a couple of days ago, and I haven't completely lost my touch, but the effing swellings are back. So, I guess I can never play some hardcore tennis in my life again if the stupid injury keeps coming back then and again.

Apart from football and tennis, I also played Table Tennis for my school, although it's not a game I particularly enjoy. Rather forced into it by mum, who used to represent Haryana in the national games in her heydays. I also enjoy Aussie Rules, Rugby and can watch a little bit of cricket if India is playing :| I like watching hockey though, but I guess it's just not fun enough as I switch the channel every now and then. Squash is another game I always wanted to play. So, finally when I did, and the realization that the Squash ball is not something bouncy, soft and crazy ball-like dawned upon me, I didn't want to play it anymore :P

***

Now. In celebration of the boards getting over with, I am posting the pic which I consider to be the BEST photo I have EVER clicked. Yet. Normally, I crop the image and resize it to small so that in case you want to save the image on your computer or see it's bigger version, you won't have to waste a lot of your download limit(provided you have one). This time, I'm not doing so and I request you to click on it and view it in full size to truly appreciate it. Also, typically I do not put any sort of signature on the image to clarify that it's clicked by me(because I don't care much), but I'll do so on this one, simply because I love it a lot. I hope you understand, and do not mind. And in case you want the original un-signed one, just mail me and I'll be happy to oblige :)

Oh, and the Coppersmith Barbet is my favorite bird. And there's one which is currently nesting on the tree in front of our house.

Cheers!

P.S. Can you handle these two tongue twisters :-
1. Red lorry, yellow lorry (Can't do this one, even if my life depended on it)
2. Unique New York (this one's a little easier, and can be perfected with practice)

Ahh... flamingos!

2008-03-29T09:25:00.003+05:30

Greater Flamingos - Yesterday, during a walk along the Yamuna. This is the best shot I could take since the graceful birds were quite far away.

Of Owls and inspired Sunscapes :-)

2008-03-16T18:24:00.014+05:30

I'd just finished my Math course for the next exam, which is on the 20th, so decided to relax by taking a trip to the Okhla Bird Park today. Turned out to be quite productive as we spotted a large number of species, both expected and unexpected.

I'm posting the pics of the cutest little creature we(me and dad) could spot today - a Spotted owl :-) Was trying to catch sleep, hence those tired looking eyes. Unfortunately for the little cutie though, I couldn't resist the temptation of clicking a few photos and disturbing the fella.

In case you are interested, these are the birds we conclusively identified today in the 2 hours we spent at the sanctuary :

Pied Bushchat (c 5)
Red Whiskered Bulbul (3)
Red Vented Bulbul (c 25)
Indian Myna (c 10)
Pied Myna (c 25)
Bank Myna (3)
Black Drongo (c 10)
House Crow (c 50)
Jungle Crow (1)
Red Munia (c 20)
Spotted Owl (2)
Barn Owl (1)
Striated Babbler (7)
Yellow Eyed Babbler (3)
Grey Breasted Prinia (3)
Yellow Bellied Prinia (2)
Graceful Prinia (3)
Plain Prinia (c 50)
Ashy Prinia (c 10)
Long Tailed Shrike (1)
Citrine Wagtail (2)
Blue Throat (1)
White Breasted Waterhen (4)
Greater Coucal (3)
Indian Robin (2)
Purple Moorhen (c 15)
Common Moorhen (6)
Common Coot (4)
Pariah Kite (c 20)
Rose Ringed Parakeets (x)
Little Green Bee Eaters (c 100)
White Tailed Stonechat (1)
Little Grebe (4)
Northern Shoveller (c 1000)
Northern Pintail (4)
Black Headed Gull (c 100)
Greater Flamingo (20)
Painted Stork (c 40)
Great Egret (3)
Median Egret (1)
Cattle Egret (1)
Grey Heron (2)
Pond Heron (1)
Black Ibis (1)
Spot Bill Ducks (c 10)
Red Wattled Lapwing (c 20)
Common Chiffchaff (6)
Black Winged Stilt (2)
Pied Avocet (5)
Temmink's Stint (2)
Little Cormorant (1)
Barn Swallow (c 10)
Collared Dove (c 20)
Laughing Dove (c 20)
Common Sandpiper (2)
Green Sandpiper (1)

Also saw a couple of mongoose.

Yep. That's about it, although the numbers may increase if we manage to identify a couple more birds which have been baffling our brains so far.

***

Inspired by Kriti, I waited the top of the terrace for the perfect shot that the evening sun could provide me with. After much fiddling about with the camera settings, I finally got something I am quite satisfied with. Hope you enjoy it too.

Cheers!

This is a long one

2008-03-11T11:07:00.009+05:30

*Sigh* There's just so much stuff running in my head right now, I do not know where to start. This probably will be my last proper blogpost for quite along time by the way, as the real exams are now approaching.

I guess I'll begin with getting the burden of Nidhi's tag off of me.

***

1. I love photography. Surely, you guys do know that. I'd previously had no interest in the subject but I guess it started with one of my friends telling me that I could do a lot better with my photos that till then were unable to capture the moods of where I'd been and what I'd done. Soon enough, we got a new camera, I read some good manuals, and the rest is history.

2. Birds. I love birds. Again, something I had no interest in pre-2005. I was always the tiger lover guy. But since there aren't many big cats in Delhi, I started appreciating what Delhi really had - a lot of birds. And now it's proved to be something I want to make a career out of, combining photography and birding.

3. This is something I don't mention often in my posts, or about myself. But if there is something I am more passionate about than photography and birds, then it has to Manchester United. Have been supporting them since 1997, and will do so till I die.

4. If it hadn't been for Connaught Place, Chandni Chowk, my school and the birds, I would have hated the city I now love most.

5. I am an introvert. I hate letting people know a lot about me. That, I believe, kills the romance of figuring someone out.

6. I am NOT a sound sleeper, I used to sleepwalk although the habit has died out now. I get weirdo dreams every night. And I change my sleeping position a lot as well. So much so, keeping in view those problems, my parents had to get me a double bed just so that I had stop falling down and cut down on the wounds and concussions I kept getting.

7. I believe in god. Although in around 9th grade, I first got used to the idea of atheism and believing in only yourself and shit, my belief in god was reinforced during a trek to Chitkul(google it). While I don't quite believe in religions, I find Hinduism fascinating due to it's reverence for nature. And I admit to be quite fond of Islam as well. I have a classmate, who happens to be one of my best friends, from Saudi Arabia, and I've started to find Islam quite interesting, albeit there are certain parts I do not agree with.

8. I would like to think I have had a near death experience. One of my favorite hobbies is Rappelling and Rock Climbing, and in pursuit of both of them, I go to Mukteshwar for at least once every year. In 2006, I was trying out a new cliff head, and hadn't noticed that there was an inward depression on the 250 foot cliff face. I lost my footing at that point and fell for about 70 feet before coming to a stop because the ropes had done their job. If they hadn't I had surely not have survived for there was nothing but a 4 feet wide path for me to land on, and below that rocks and forests.

***

*Phew* Yay! My first tag that I actually fulfilled. Ok, I have two blogs now in the pipeline. One is made for me to document my journeys upon, and the other is supposed to document my birding trips and excursions. The aim of the latter is to actually encourage people who read it to get into birding. My trips do not take me to far off exotic places, but places like CP, Crossriver Mall etc. And I will merely be aiming to spread some sort of awareness so that people realize and notice the heritage they own in their own backyards. Hopefully, with enough enthusiasm shown from your side, and of course mine, this shall be a success.

***

I saw Black and White yesterday. And this was the first movie I had seen since Chak De! so you can imagine I've been pretty out of touch with stuff. Nevertheless, Black and White is an amazing movie and if either Anil Kapoor or Anurag Sinha(who by the way, will make it big I am sure) made way for someone like SRK or Aamir, this could have been the biggest movie of the year simply because more people would watch it then.

***

I wish it rains soon. It would do Delhi a lot of good. I am tired of seeing the dusty trees, the unwashed roads, the absence of pakora smells etc etc. Rain gods, are you listening?

Oh and have a look at my examination dates. I cannot wait for the boards to get over and the entrance season to begin. I relish the adrenaline rush, the importance every exam holds and the pressure to do well.

20th March, 31st March - Maths and Computer Science respectively
13th April - JEE
16th April - Nanyang Maths and English
17th April - Nanyang Physics
19th April - VITEEE
27th April - AIEEE
2nd May - Manipal
12th May - BITSAT
25th May - IP
31st May - CEE(DCE and NSIT)

I cannot wait.

***

I'll leave you guys with an overhead photo of the grass-less park behind my apartments. The park is a part of the Karkardooma village, and it's full of job-less fun loving people all the time ;-)

Cheers!

Spring Is In The Air

2008-02-20T12:38:00.003+05:30

Life's pretty dull these days. It's all sleep - study - take a break - fill an examination form ;) - study - take a break - sleep. So anyway, whenever I take a break, I now spend it watching birds in the park outside of our flat. Spring has brought many flowers into bloom and February and March are the best months to see garden birds. And it helps that Delhi has the second highest number of bird species in the world for any capital city(apart from Nairobi, Kenya). So here are a few photographs I took of the birds I saw today:

Oriental White Eye - This are common birds(10cm) and are found almost anywhere where there are trees and some peace. Nevertheless, they camouflage really well and do not keep still for more than a second, making them really hard to spot and shoot.

Hehe. I love this shot although i had rather not talk about it's sharpness. This is a Common
Tailorbird(10-12cm) and, again, is found anywhere where there are trees. This one was just jumping from one branch to another. These birds hate flying to get around in a tree, and prefer hopping about.

The catch of the day for me - The Lesser Whitethroat. It's a common bird in winters(Yes, it's migratory), but I had never spotted it before for more than 2 - 3 seconds at a stretch. This one, however, obliged and gave me enough time to photograph it properly before skulking away.

The Shikra - Was too far away sitting on the antenna of some house, hence the poor shot. Although it's a predatory bird and looks fierce, it's size is a couple of centimeters smaller than that of a pigeon. This is also a common bird and can be seen sitting on lamp posts often, provided you can differentiate it from a pigeon or a dove ;)

Coppersmith Barbet - A common yet difficult to spot bird. Doesn't move a leaf as it flits around and hence, never lets you be aware of it's presence. Excuse me for the poor quality.

Pariah Kite/Black Kite - Very very very common, although it still is majestic.

White Throated Kingfisher - Again, quite common, although people tend to overlook it a lot. It is quite big too - almost the size of a pigeon at 27 cm. This one caught a squirrel in front of me before taking off ...

A Red Vented Bulbul - Very noisy and common birds.

Purple Sunbirds - A beautiful little bird which hardly keeps still. It's common enough, but the dark purple plumage only comes during the breeding season.

Haha! Yet another poser :-P

* * *

I start my Chemistry course today.

Cheers!

What's the hurry mate?

2008-02-17T15:48:00.003+05:30

A pigeon, which I photographed accidentally from the terrace. But I like this photo, and the pigeon's pose(?) ...

Cheers!

Rays of hope ...

2008-02-13T20:34:00.003+05:30

As the boards and entrances close in on me, that's exactly what I am looking for.

This pic was taken a couple of days back from the terrace, and if you enlarge it and look closely you can also see a Pariah Kite :)

Cheers!

R.I.P. The Busby Babes

2008-02-06T13:34:00.000+05:30

Today marks the 50th anniversary of the eight players and three officials who passed away on 6th Feb 1958 in the Munich Air Disaster, the greatest tragedy to hit Manchester United, if not the beautiful game as a whole.

I take this opportunity to pay my tributes to the greatest football team that Britain, and probably the world, has ever produced - The Flowers of Manchester, The Busby Babes. May God bless their souls.

Geoff Bent, Roger Byrne, Eddie Colman, Duncan Edwards, Mark Jones, David Pegg, Tommy Taylor and Billy Whelan are the Busby Babes who lost their lives that night in Munich. They were the future of football, not only in Manchester, but in England, and arguably, the World over.

Lest We Forget.

PS. Also killed in the crash were eight journalists, and four others. God bless them.

Bleh.

2008-01-30T06:13:00.000+05:30

You know what I love about living in a metropolis?It is very hard for one to get bored. Even a five minute walk down the road can prove to be tremendously entertaining and fun. It can get you thinking in no time as you shall always be assured of seeing a number of people(both queer and normal) on the streets, at any time of the day.

So anyway, since I have to be cooped up in the house for the major part of the daydue to my hectic study(?) schedule(no comments on this please, I've been having heaps of epiphanies about JEE nowadays) and because I've to watch my football shows, matches and of course, Jay Leno as well, a short walk to the local shops to buy groceries and stuff can prove to be a welcome break.

Not only do I get my daily dose of fresh air(?) and exercise, I also get to watch and observe the environment and people around me. Okay, so I am like this terribly patient person when it comes to shopping and standing in a line. I do not mind aunties, uncles, teens, and smaller kids cutting the line to pay off their money first. I love watching the habits of various customers. So here is my view of what I have observed over the years of going to get the milk and bread at the local shop.

First off, there are two types of customers : the ones who order their maids/servants or the shop boys to get their stuff off of the shelves for them, and those who do so themselves. These can each be further divided into the types who fight for each penny even if the shopkeeper is out of change and those who are satisfied with the use of the substitution system. The substitution system is the one I use, that is, I get one eclair or two mango bites for each rupee that the shopkeeper cannot give back ;)

Then there these unclejis who get into long chats with the shopkeeper about when it's the best time to buy and sell off shares without giving a damn about the fact that there are ten or so people waiting in the queue behind them. Such conversations normally stop as soon as an attractive girl comes up to the counter to inquire about the rates of Fair and Lovely or something like that :P I have also noticed that it is these girls who never have to fight for a penny or ask for candy because the shopkeeper always has change reserved for them. And who can forget those auntyjis who don't pay the full money if the weight of the paneer shows 249g instead of 250g yet never give a single paisa extra if the machine shows 251g ;)

***

I went to Okhla Bird Park on Saturday(26-1-08) morning for the much delayed birding trip. That place is really flourishing as of now. Our 3 and a half hour stay yielded 46 species which we were able to identify, and around 10 which we were not able to identify.

The highlights being the White Tailed Stonechat, Striated Babbler(my first) Caspian Gulls, Great White Pelicans, Purple Heron, Lesser Flamingoes, Temminck's Stint, Red Throated Flycatcher and one Citrine Wagtail(my first). Ashy Prinias, Northern Shovellers, Greater Cormorants, Common Tailorbirds, Pied Mynas, Greater Coucal, White Breasted Waterhen, Common Teals, Greylag Geese, Purple Swamphen, and Little Grebes were all present in plenty.

I am posting a habitat shot of the Yamuna River from the NOIDA side (Sorry for the quality, The focus and ISO in the camera settings was not right, my bad) :

One can spot Common Teals, Northern Shovellers, Greater Cormorants, and a lone Barn Swallow in this pic :)

PS. This place is more or less a part of Delhi and anyone who loves birding should pay a visit at least once a month. It is hard to believe that the dirty Yamuna can still support so much life.

***

I have my farewell on the 31st of January. That reminds me that I have not posted an account, nor photos of my conti(Ministry of sound, Vasant Kunj - 21 Dec 07) or the last day(Pre-boards result, 28-1-08) of school. Hence, I am taking the oppurtunity to post one picture each now :

From L to R: Vipul, Jaskaran, Ankit, Me, Kunal

From L to R: Me, Kanika, Raghav, Dheer

***

I guess that is all for now. I have updated my blogroll.

Cheers!

A Post Before The Break

2008-01-23T09:53:00.000+05:30

Through the window

Lord Hanuman.

Chirpy staring out the window ...

Chirpy and Custard showing some love :P

Sunset at Lansdowne

I have no clue what species this is, but it's easily the most beautiful bug to have ever landed on my hand.

I will be off blogging now, maybe for a couple of months. Apart from maybe posting some good pics, if I click any ...

Cheers!

Reflections

2008-01-18T20:07:00.001+05:30

Don't we all reflect on stuff? At night, after the lights have been switched off, I always spend the last minutes before I doze off reflecting on stuff I have done over the day or over the past week, or reflecting on things I dream about, my principles, duties, what's right or wrong and things like that. The practice never fails to invoke deep thoughts, and at least with me, I connect everything around me with nature and how things we all do and our behaviour is ultimately connected to the world around us and the basic elements. How a human being will always, to some extent, display the same thoughts as that of a monkey from which he has descended. How, ultimately, nature has it's way with us. How our mind and goals ultimately lead us to the basic elements of life - security, society and the need for more.

Of course, there are things which make us human. The reason why we are different. We have been gifted with the power of curiosity. The thirst for knowledge is what has kept our race moving on. We have been gifted with the power of dream. The reason we move ahead is to achieve our dreams. It is our fuel and the knowledge is our medium. And finally, we have been gifted with the power of love. It is after all, love that keeps us going. Love of our dreams. Love for our lives. Love for the lives of those around us. Love of this planet. Love of knowledge. Love of Power. If you look at it in fact, love is the center of our universe.

***

I have developed a weird sort of short term memory loss. I often find that when I am studying with a book in front of me, that I am missing a note book to take down the important stuff. So i get up and take the note book and then I realize that I do not have a pen (of course), so I move on to get the pen. And when I get the pen. I look down at the register and forget why I got the register in the first place. So I leave it all there and get back in front of the book. All of a sudden there is a need to take down notes, and off I go start the whole process again. Even today, I was looking for this book in my drawer and as I shuffled through books, looking at their titles, I forgot which book I had set out to find in the first place. Hmm.

***

So, yeah, speaking of reflections. I am posting a pic of a container with water in it, that I took yesterday morning. I love the sun's reflection coming through the windows into the otherwise dark, shadowy room.

Cheers!

P.S. Going through my post, I just thought of something. What is more important, and powerful? The power of love, or the love of power?

Wakhan

2008-01-15T10:16:00.000+05:30

Afghanistan may be war ravaged. Afghanistan may still preach radical Islam (or atleast as far as the Taliban rule it), not that I have a problem with it, but I do have a problem with the fact that it is ENFORCED on EVERYONE. It may be the most unsafe country for a tourist to go to. But then again, not for nothing is my dream destination the Wakhan Corridor in Afghanistan. I still remember how I first got to know of the place in class VIII while surfing the net. The beauty of the place and the people was astounding, unbelievable almost. The untouched treeless mountains permanently covered in snow in this desert are something you can look at forever. The people there are still friendly and unknown to the Taliban ruled mainland. So, anyway, if anyone is interested in doing this trip this summer (probably July) do contact me :)

Since my exams are going on, and I cannot go out for birding every now and then, I have been trying photography with inanimate object about the house a lot. These are a couple of shots I took this morning :

The kitchen. I love the reflections on the graphite shelf.

The plastic flower in the living room.

Cheers!

P.S. You thought you had a problem with relationships? Read this :

http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe/01/11/twins.married/index.html

No words needed.

2008-01-13T18:11:00.000+05:30

Period.

Physics exam tomorrow, got to go back to the books :(

Excuses Excuses!

2008-01-12T11:22:00.000+05:30

I got late for school a few weeks ago and missed my bus. The geyser just plain refused to warm the water fast enough and that resulted in me taking a late bath. Had to take an auto. Cost me Rs 70 for no good reason. And I blamed it all on the geyser.

It wasn't until yesterday that I had my epiphany : it hadn't been the geyser's fault, I was the one who got up late and switched on the stupid thing too late. All this time I had been blaming an inanimate object for my own carelessness. I thought of all the times I had been late and blamed something else rather than saying, "I should have been quicker and woken up earlier". I realized that I'd been going through life blaming everything and everyone but myself. And I knew I wasn't alone. I've never known anyone to arrive late for some event without explaining how the delay was not their fault.

And I have begun to notice just how pervasive blame shifting is, I realize that it is woven rather firmly into the fabric of society: Drunks aren't just drunks; they suffer from alcoholism. Criminals aren't creeps; they are the casualties of society. Losers are underdogs who are somehow programmed to fail. In politics, it's always the other guy's fault. It seems that these days no one's to blame for anything at all. It is always someone else.

Then there are those kids who take drugs, become gangsters etc - they say "These kids deal with serious things like a dysfunctional family, an alcoholic father, parents who always fight, divorce, and things like that." But isn't it true that many from the same kind of backgrounds do not mess up. They blossom socially and academically and do not see it as an excuse to not do well. Many of those who don't, use their condition as a crutch rather than moving on.

I guess it just comes down to accepting and owning up personal responsibility, and not seeing oneself as a victim. Just this morning, I was walking around wearing socks and I slipped and grazed my knee against the bed. It took all of my willpower to stop my self from saying "My stupid sock slipped" and instead simply admitting to being clumsy and not wearing the right footwear.

It's time we blame shifters resolved to begin more sentences with "I did the stupidest thing just now ...". Only then, maybe, we would start to learn from our mistakes. Maybe we'd even grow up.

***

I'll be leaving you guys with a picture I took in Lansdowne of the moon peeking through between the clouds. And with one I took yesterday of my living room (the image has been tweaked up a bit).

Cheers!

The ten movies that ALWAYS reduce me to tears

2008-01-07T09:57:00.000+05:30

Alright, long title. Was getting bored, so compiled a list of movies that set me crying each time I watch then. I am an extremely emotional person, by the way ... especially when it comes to movies. So, here goes :

10. Johnny Got His Gun

The most under-rated movie ever. This movie is probably the most emotionally moving experience a movie goer may have. This is a movie about a man, Joe, who has lost his limbs, ability to speak, hear and smell after getting wounded in a landmine. And it is amazing how a movie with the cast of one such man begging to be killed and freed from a life of pain, a nurse and twelve others all set in a single room can keep you engrossed throughout. It is a work of art and a must watch for all those who can take the horrors of war and the most horrible of injuries. I couldn't, and I broke down about 5 times during the whole movie.

9. Shrek

Do NOT start laughing just as yet. Never have I been so attached to an animated character in a movie as I have been to Shrek. The intensity and emotions generated when Fiona and Shrek are separated from each other and that song 'Hallelujah' is played is amazing. You have got to be made of stone if your tears fail to come out at that point :P Nevertheless, it is that five minute stretch of the movie which gives it a place at number nine.

8. Million Dollar Baby

I really I hope I don't need to tell you guys why this movie is such a mixture of emotions. You cheer, you cry, and you experience the joys and pains in life and death. The best Hillary Swank has under her belt, and a constant reminder why Clint Eastwood is just as good a movie maker as he is an actor, and why Morgan Freeman deserves more recognition than what he has.

7. Border

Alright, the first Bollywood movie in the list. A must watch for anyone out there who considers himself to be patriotic and wants to see a classic Indian war epic. One of the few movies in the 1990 which was a hit despite not having SRK's mushy this mushy that dramas. A brilliant cast and solid character sketches provide a great foundation to another movie which tells you how gruesome war is. And I hope I wouldn't have to tell you why I cried in this movie. The song "Sandesein aate hain" alone, still moves me to tears. Ofcourse, you have to remember that this is no Saving Private Ryan, it is beyond the personal tragedies of war. It is about patriotism.

6. Forrest Gump

The letter he reads out to Jenny at her grave is probably the most moving letter in the history of cinema. No further comments.

5. Fahrenheit 9/11

Hats off to Michael Moore for this documentary. An absolute eye opener, my eyes won't stop leaking at the moment when the screen went black to give you the sounds of the planes hitting the towers on that dreadful day. You are left with no visuals and only audio as you hear the screams and shouts of those trapped in the building, jumping out to their deaths in order to save themselves. Lila Lipscombe can't help but move you to tears and neither can that woman in Iraq screaming for Allah in despair.

4. Dil Chahta Hai

The best ever movie made in Bollywood has emotions oozing out of it, although I have to admit that most of the tears that were shed during this movie were tears of joy rather than anything else :) By the way, if you have never seen a Bollywood movie, then this is the best place to start.

3. Passion Of The Christ

The word 'Passion' has it's roots in Latin, and is derived from the word 'Passio' meaning suffering. A very powerful movie in which the depiction of violence is unlike that in any other Hollywood movie - it is uncomfortably personal. The scenes are so believable, the violence so real, that the scenes appear to take place in your very presence. Imagine before you a man being torn to bloody shreds, and you're helpless to do anything, you're a spectator - utterly horrific.

2. Saving Private Ryan

If watching a mother falling to her feet on receiving the news that her three sons have died in action can't get tears out of eyes, nothing can. This is, in my opinion, the best war movie. Ever.

1. Philadelphia

Philadelphia is a guttingly emotional and tragic story of how a lawyer fired for having AIDS attempts to vindicate himself in court. Tom Hanks gives perhaps the most powerful performance of his career as Andrew Beckett, the afflicted lawyer. The emotional strain of the film is immense and in the later stages of the film it is almost impossible to watch because of that. The make-up which gives the impression that Hanks really does have the terrible disease is perfect and the simple yet striking direction make this utterly compelling viewing although it is darn uncomfortable. I watched this movie with friends, and it's an absolute cry fest.

Note : Ron Vawter, who played one of the lawyers in the firm from which Hanks was fired, was himself suffering from AIDS at the time of filming, and he eventually succumbed to it a few years later. His appearance in the film encapsulates the reality of the AIDS epidemic, in that it often touched our lives in unexpected places.

If you have any suggestions, you are welcome :)

Cheers!

P.S. I am starting a song of the day column at the side of the blog.

Happy New Year ... 2008 ... whatever.

2008-01-04T20:00:00.000+05:30

Alright so I am in 2008 now. THE year that will be either my best ever or my worst ever. This will not, in all probabilities, be a so-so year. It cannot be.

My new year celebrations were rather subdued, I wished my friends and relatives, and I studied. It's been long since i have written down anything. So, now I am going to reflect back on what 2007 has done to me. It's been easily the quickest most happening year of my life. I have changed like hell since the same time last year. I have matured more (or so I believe), I have made new friends and lost touch with many. I have been in and out of stressful situations and smoked them away. I have also had some of the happiest moments of my life this year. Noticeably the prizes I have won at quizzing at various competitions. I am particularly proud of that because this was my first year in computer quizzing, and I did really well. Missing TCS by a tie beaker and coming 7th is still perhaps the biggest disappointment.

Then again, I have become a better birder, a better photographer, I have been on some lovely treks, I have learned more about people, I have learned more about myself. There have been several moments of self realization this year. I have learned to be more temperamental, patient and I think I am a better judge of people now. I have also taken up Hinduism with new vigor and I have realized what a beautiful religion it is. I have loved India in a whole new way, and i have mapped out my life this year. For the first time ever, my aims and objectives are clear and i know what I truly want.

All in all, 2007 was a nice year for me. I feel I studied enough, got better results too. And I would be happy if it continued into the new year. I have started studying even harder now, and i am surprising myself each day by studying for almost 10 to 11 hours each day.

***

So, now, I was in Lansdowne, Uttrakhand from 22nd December till 26th December. It is a very pretty, quaint and peaceful little Army hill station with lots of trekking routes and birds :) I am posting a few pictures of the trek and the place in general. Enjoy.

I experimented a lot with sun shots.

The Town Center. Notice how clean, and well managed it all is.

One of those sun-shots. Came out well.

Loved the ranges.

The Church (St. Mary's if I remember correctly)

Another sun shot, at sunset.

The ranges, again.

That's as close as I got to snow this christmas.

That's all for now, dear readers. Have a merry 2008!

Cheers!

As the mind wanders back and regrets ...

2007-12-14T21:00:00.000+05:30

Our last working day at school was on 30th November 2007. I wish I had enjoyed school more. I miss it now.

And the regrets come flooding back. Why didn't I do this? Why didn't I do that? It happened so quickly, I have almost started wondering what would have happened if I hadn't missed (or bunked) so many classes. If I had been more attached to my classmates, as compared to my WarP mates. Ahh well. It really struck me today for some reason as I was coming home after giving my Physics examination(Pre-pre-board). What if I had tried to please my teachers a little. Instead, i am sure they'll be more than happy to see the back of me. Darn.

Nevertheless, we had our scribblers day. And ofcourse the long photographic sessions and frenzies on the last days. I took a moment of course to photograph what I believe is the most beautiful school in Delhi, at least :P Again, these pictures given below were taken in the last period (Physics) which I had bunked.

The hostel wings. And the basketball courts.

The school PT Ground, along with the senior buliding and the Oberoi hotel in the background. My favorite picture of the lot :)

The view from my bench in the classroom. The boarding house, the basketball courts and the the-god-knows-what-the-name-is tomb at the back. If you watch closely, there is a pariah kite sitting at the topmost point of the boarding house.

***

The traffic in Delhi has become horrible. I swear to god I will never drive on the roads of this city. The fact that no one has ever died in front of me despite people walking and running and driving like crazy in all directions is a sure indication of the fact that God really exists. There is too much pollution and it makes things worse when coupled with fog. I badly, oh so badly, want to get out and go somewhere cleaner and take a break from this madness. I hate the current phase I am going through. The constant studying, with exams and entrances looming large, and the growing desire to do something different.

Apart from all that, life's good. Looking forward to seeing United ~~thrash~~ defeat the scouse bastards at Anfield this Sunday.

Cheers!

P.S. I look forward to posting more regularly.

Songs to listen to till I post next : "Kashmir" - Led Zeppelin, "Break on through" - The Doors, "The nobodies" - Marilyn Manson.

...

2007-11-12T16:47:00.001+05:30

OK. So this newspaper ad came about a week ago in Hindustan Times. The government cannot set an example by taking out this grammatical disaster, and neither can the editors of the concerned ENGLISH(I may add) newspaper. Read, and laugh.

And just in case your eyes are weak and you are unable to read the ad, do click on the image to enlarge it.

***

Hmm. A very late Happy Diwali to all the readers. I hope you all enjoyed it, and hopefully refrained from burning crackers and showing off those fireworks. I have been trying to study really hard nowadays as a result of renewed motivation to get into IIT. Bleh.

Till next time then, cheers!

Ektara

2007-10-20T20:13:00.000+05:30

This is a video of this dude playing the Ektara which is an Indian home-made instrument that consists of only one string. By the way, this was during the trek down from Vaishno Devi and the musician is a shopkeeper at a Pepsi stall ... Now enjoy the absolutely amazing and extraordinary tune played by him, considering that the instrument has only one string.

Cheers!

My post/analysis of WarP 2007

2007-10-12T23:02:00.000+05:30

http://warpsquad.blogspot.com/2007/10/warp-2007-analysis.html

More on that later. Another post is in the works and it will be published tomorrow.

I am back, almost ...

First budgie video :)

2007-09-14T18:26:00.000+05:30

Forgive my voice :P It gets that way whenever I talk to pets or babies ;)

Cheers!

A New Era

2007-09-13T20:55:00.000+05:30

Yes folks, behold the power of our new 10.1 megapixel professional camera - the Canon EOS 400D, better known as the Rebel XTi.

*smiles widely*

Here are a couple of pictures showcasing it's power:

At night note : [click on image to make it larger (1.15 mb)]

The butterfly effect ;)

***

Exams have been OK. Not great. Also, I am thinking of changing the name of the blog to 'Halcyon'.

Cheers

Apple strikes back

2007-09-06T14:39:00.000+05:30

Woohoo! One should seriously check out the new iPod range.

Here's a quick showdown :

iPod shuffle : Same old, same old. New colors though.

iPod nano : Whoa! Looks hot. Gets wider, but also slimmer. Supports video playback as well. It's effing HOT! Available in 4GB and 8GB models. Same price as the previous model :D

iPod classic: The same thing as the outgoing iPod video. Has 160 GB of storage though, for the same price!

iPod touch : Apple iPhone minus the phone ;) This is an absolute killer. I know what I am going to buy once school's over :D Looks gorgeous, and best of all, has wi-fi technology/internet connectivity :) Available in 8GB and 16GB models worth $299 and $399 respectively.

Just when I had started favoring the Zune and the rest of the competition, Apple comes up with this ... I almost feel sorry for Microsoft now ...

By the way, for all those who care, the price of the iPhone has been dropped to $399 :)

This is why I hate technology. It keeps updating itself. My one year old nano has already been effing replaced by two new models :'(

***

Must get back to C++ now :( Exams begin on Saturday.

20LEGEND

2007-08-29T12:04:00.000+05:30

A very sad day. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, one of the greatest favourites of the contemporary United fan and the scorer of our most favourite goal. A model professional to top that. The winning goal against the scouse in the FA Cup in the treble season, the winning goal of the treble season, the comeback goal against Fulham, you've brought us so many tears of joy and you are leaving us with tears again. We will love you forever.

May the legend of Solskjaer live on and on and on.

P.S.

RIP Puerta

Go Sania!

Phase test coming up this Sunday and exams begin the next. I'll be back.

The Singhsons

2007-08-17T14:08:00.000+05:30

The Singhsons.

Parody on the Simpsons. If they were outsourced to India ;)

Cheers

Happy Independence Day

2007-08-15T10:50:00.000+05:30

It's been 60 years. There's still a lot more to be done. Yes, we have taken leaps in several fields (women empowerment, reduction of poverty, economy, transportation, modernisation, sports, education to some extent, etc) but we have also fallen backwards on some (failures in the form of relationships with our neighbours, our politicians, failure to keep up with the hum do hamare do policy, the destruction of the environment etc). Hopefully, that will be fixed in the upcoming era :) Meanwhile, cheers to India and her future!

Jai Hind!

P.S. I have been busy, hopefully I'll be regular in the next few weeks.

The pigeon

2007-08-04T10:15:00.000+05:30

Was sitting at the towel hanging place. Quite mysterious creatures, pigeons ...

In fact, the biggest problems with birds is that, unlike other animals (specifically mammals), their emotions are pretty much incomprehensible.

It's been a hectic few weeks for me. A week that has seen me fracturing my little finger on the right hand. Giving a 6 hour long absolutely pathetic FIITJEE paper. Securing 3rd positions at two computer symposiums in senior quizzes. Missing 80% of my classes at school. Loving Metallica all over again. And loving Calvin and Hobbes all over again :)

Meanwhile, for all those who also love Calvin and Hobbes and don't mind going through every single comic strip, here's a complete archive of all the strips to have ever come out.

I am going to be watching The Simpsons Movie today. Cannot wait. I have already tagged it to be the biggest flick of the year. D'oh. I hope I wouldn't be disappointed.

Chippy and Chirpy are doing great, I suppose. They have become excellent at flying. Both of them readily come onto our hands as well, provided we offer them food of course. Here is another picture of both of them striking a lovely pose

***

I hate this time of year, by the way. It's about to start getting busy and hectic now. Exams are never too far away. And it's raining a lot too, effectively cancelling out any plans for football that I make. :(

Cheers

Of HP7 and budgies :)

2007-07-22T12:15:00.000+05:30

I just got finished with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. It is an amazing book. Perfect finale to a great series and I pity those who do not chose to read Harry Potters. I will not give out any details though.

Anyway, our budgerigars Chippy and Chirpy have become slightly volatile. We are guessing it is due to the mating season ... so we have for now, moved them to separate cages. Meanwhile, they have also become very comfortable with us around and frequently come out of their cage and fly and run about. Under our supervision of course. I take this opportunity to post their pictures, grooming/kissing each other :

The green one's Chippy (male) and the Blue one is Chirpy (female).

Hmm. Life has been monotonous lately. We secured 3rd place in Senior Quiz at MJKPS, by the way. I am quite satisfied ...

Cheers!

PS. My 50th post. Not as interesting as I would have liked it to be though ... hmm

Harry Potter and The Order of The Phoenix - The review

2007-07-14T09:02:00.000+05:30

*Warning : Spoilers ahead, long post*

DO NOT READ THE POST UNLESS YOU HAVE ALREADY READ THE BOOK OR SEEN THE MOVIE

OK. I feel cheated. I really do. There's just too much omitted this time. And I have resigned to the fact that the no movie can adapt any book better than the Lord of The Rings trilogy.

I would also like to point it out to you that I am not the one to appreciate a movie which deviates from the book regardless of whether the storyline still makes sense or not.

First of all. There is no show of the frustration in Harry which is there in the beginning of the book. No scampering about for news, no indication that he's feeling lonely and dejected. In fact, the movie starts off directly from the park where he meets Dudley and gang and they have the encounter with the dementors.

Now, another problem. For heaven's sake, they end up meeting the dementors inside some sewer tunnel or something! For all I remember, wasn't it some alley next to Magnolia Crescent, Little Whinging? Anyway, such details can be neglected. The dementors themselves were pathetic. For one, they were not wearing a stupid cloak!! They are hooded faceless things for heaven's sake! Not walking skeletons. OK, so anyway, they come on the two fellows and Harry actually pokes one in the eye to get him away before producing the patronus ... :'(

Now, Figg comes over, and there is absolutely no mention of Mungdungus Fletcher who was the one supposed to be on guard in the book! Furthermore, when Harry and Dudley are in the house, the ministry letter for expulsion does come, however, no word from Arthur Weasley or Black arrives telling Harry to be cautious and all. And so come the order of the phoenix (as the Dursleys go off to take Dudley to hospital (WTF!?!) ) and take Harry away to Grimmauld's place where the house doesn't appear like it is supposed to :-(

There is absolutely no portrait of Sirius's mom and lots of things are again going missing. Shackelbolt wears a weird Arabic costume with jewels and all. The part where Ron and Hermione become prefects is missing. In fact, they do not become prefects at all. They go to King's Cross where Harry sees Voldemort in muggle clothing (weird!! and pathetic).

Once in school, Yates completely lost the plot. And really ruined the atmosphere about the movie. There is absolutely no freakin' mention of quidditch for god's sake. How about Firenze taking over Divination, showing that it is not a lost art and course? How about knowing the names of the escaped convicts, was it going to cost too much to PRINT 10 names of the villains who are in the finale on the Prophet? The DA lessons weren't much fun either. OK, some bits were amusing, but nothing laughable. But there were a few debatable points. How about the Patronus charm being "very advanced magic"? Yet, every character was able to produce one!

They completely skipped the visit to St. Mungo's. I was expecting meeting Lockhart again would be funny. It also seemed like the Weasley brothers' grand exit was stolen from them. The fireworks were cool, but there was none of the flair, there was no speech, and there was (yet again) no Peeves. Sad times. And then, despite all these omissions, they find time to have a scene of everyone from the DA in detention writing lines with blood-ink quills, which never even happens in the book. Booo.

Even Grawp was pathetic. I mean, whoever decided that Grawp should look like a 20 something middle-aged man with Down's Syndrome should be tortured for the rest of their life. Not only did Grawp look slow, but behaved, moved, and got the audience's sympathy NOT how the book describes him at all. There were no classes where Hagrid introduced the kids to the Thestrals, in fact, Lovegood (who was a no show till then) introduced Harry to them in a scene not there in the book either. Whats more, Hagrid did not even narrate the tale of the giant land to Harry, Ron and Hermione. I really think this will have an impact as the giants will make an appearance in the next book.

And whats more? They completely missed the OWLs!! No mention of the fight between Umbridge, Hagrid, McGonnagal either ...

However, through all this, there was one glimmer of hope: The fight in the Ministry. "The battle at the Ministry will make it all better," I said to myself. Not so! I mean, sure, it was good looking, but the entire Hall of Prophecy collapsing? Surely the shelves in that kind of room are sturdier than that. The distinct lack of almost ALL of the Department of Mysteries? Where was the brain room? Where was the hummingbird in the hourglass? And most importantly, where was the prophecy?! We get a snippet of it, but it comes out before the thing even breaks. And now we come to the saddest part: Sirius's death. (I told you, you shouldn't be reading if you haven't seen/read it already.) It was definitely as sad as it should have been, but it wasn't nearly as abrupt and intense as it was in the book. It's shocking because of its suddenness. It becomes more real that way; it shocks the reader as much as it does Harry. It just didn't seem jarring enough. Also, the young wizards were casting nonverbally, which will (presumably) create confusion in the Half-Blood Prince. Oh, and the Priori Incantatum thing with Voldemort and Dumbledore? Wasn't there. In fact the whole duel between the two, although cool, was not how it was supposed to happen!

I must say, however, that all the cast did a great job of things. Umbridge and Bellatrix were suited to their roles brilliantly. Special effects were, as expected, awesome. The thestrals looked really cool. The chemistry between Cho and Harry, however, was lacking. The acting, on the whole, was all extremely well done, the content just left a lot to be desired. There was no mention of Regulus either and Kreacher got like 2 scenes ... 10 seconds each :-(

On a whole, it was a crappy movie, at least for those who have read the book.

I will give it a 1/5.

Can't wait for the Simpsons now :-)

***

Meanwhile, our budgies flew today for the first time ever. Not sure if they were scared or not, but they came back into their cage willingly enough.

***

Computer symposiums are back. St. Xaviers on 17 July, and MJKPS on 20th July.

Cheers!

India Habitat Centre

2007-07-07T11:20:00.000+05:30

The most beautiful building in Delhi? Maybe. But definitely a lovely place to be in with billions of photographic opportunities. These photos were taken at night and that is why the building ones aren't looking too good. But the lotus pics are perfect :)

***

Meanwhile, school is still pathetic. Quite boring. Budgies are doing great. I will take their photos as soon as they are much more comfortable with us around ...

A break

2007-07-03T22:05:00.000+05:30

Hey folks :) I will be less regular in blogging from now on. Probably once a week, on a Sunday. My new schedule doesn't allow me to sit on the net for long periods, and whatever time I do get, I would like to spend it with my budgies :)

In the meantime, you might like these quotes :

"My computer beat me at chess, but I sure beat it at kickboxing."

"I'm tired of people calling me a devil worshipper. It's kind of pointless you know. Because if the Devil did exist, he'd be worshipping me, because I'm more successful than he is."
Marilyn Manson

Cheers!

School from tomorrow

2007-07-01T14:33:00.000+05:30

:'(

I am depressed. I hate school. I didn't get to know till yesterday night that we had homework :( although meeting my pals again would be fun :)

By the way, we got new pets today :) Budgerigars. They are very cute. It's a pair, one male (Chip) and one female (Chirpy). They seem very healthy and happy although they are quite calm at the moment. Possibly trying to get accustomed, but are now beginning to chirp often :)

Life's good. I have uninstalled Safari :P

Cheers!

Song of the day - "In Bloom" by Nirvana

The Safari experience. So far.

2007-06-30T13:02:00.000+05:30

So we all know that Safari was released on Windows mid-June. I had made up my mind that I wouldn't use it until it got out of it's beta stage. However, feeling bored, I couldn't resist the urge to download it and install it. And now, after an hour of usage, here is my view about Safari :

1. Stability

I have read other reviews concerning stability issues and all, but I personally haven't found out any problem with the browser as of yet. It is smooth, quite fast (after the first 5 minutes of usage) and hogs as much memory as firefox, which is good.

On the other hand, if Safari does go down (I tried to get my computer to crash by simply switching off the UPS) it doesn't allow you to restore your session unlike Firefox.

2. Security

The one thing Apple raves about. Safari for windows was supposed to be "secure from day one". Although I, of course, haven't found a single bug so far. Some guys, you can check them out from here and here, have found many ways to crash the browser into nothingness and have found serious security issues as well.

3. Changes for a Windows user

Apple have tried to hard to bring the experience of a mac to windows. Hence, the Safari looks to be absolutely identical to the one on Mac. What's wrong with that though? Well, for one, the shortcut keys are not standard. The features, design aspects of the Apple interface are not standard. And believe me, that makes browsing around a very frustrating task for a Windows user.

Secondly, the font. Windows uses cleartype. Safari uses the standard-mac Anti aliasing font. Now, it looks great and different in the beginning, but I think in the end, it becomes quite fuzzy, blurry. However, it does offer you 3 levels of "font smoothing" - light, medium and strong. While this does help a bit, it's still nowhere near as crisp as cleartype.

Font readability issues aren't limited to the page content. The text on the menu bar, toolbar, status bar, and tabs is rendered to look as though it is etched into metal, which is pretty but difficult to read.

This screenshot further explains what I mean :) :

Other than all this, Safari is actually quite neat. The pop up windows, bookmark features, RSS and other functions are quite impressive.

However, on a whole, is Safari good enough to replace the likes of IE and firefox on Windows? I do not think so. Even on the mac, I find that Camino is a much better browser than Safari.

It is good if you want a change in your browsing style, but I think I will stick to Firefox for now :)

UPDATE : MY SAFARI JUST CRASHED. (5 hours after writing this review!!) Basically, it just hung up. I opened it a couple of times again, but kept hanging within 2 minutes of use. Now however, although it's OK, it runs fine with no tabs on. Tomorrow, I'll uninstall this thing :@!!!

A greener Delhi

2007-06-29T09:57:00.000+05:30

Lutyen's Delhi. Easily my favorite section of the capital, apart from Connaught Place.

The reason that this part of Delhi is my favorite is because it is greener than any other place and has beautiful architecture.

I uncovered this older photo taken by me from the Le Meridien rooftop. I would love to go again and take better pictures sometime.

I am not sure of what is there in the photo, but, it is absolutely beautiful, green and unseen by many :)

Embracing vegetarianism

2007-06-28T12:44:00.000+05:30

" If a slaughterhouse's walls were to be made of glass, the whole world would convert to vegetarianism. "

26 June 2007 will be remembered as the day when Ramit Singal, a hardcore non-vegetarian for 16 years, 6 months and 14 days, decided to turn vegetarian.

There are a number of reasons why I decided to do so :

I saw a slaughterhouse video and the process. *Puked*

I read TOXIN by Robin Cook.

I stood against the breeding of tigers, and other exotic animals in China for the purpose of killing.

Now, the first two points are quite understandable. However, it was the 3rd point which really made up my mind.

One of the main excuses people give for killing dairy animals is that they are bred separately and are not endangered anyway.

Umm, well, tigers were being bred separately. But everyone protested against their killing.

And on a much more controversial issue, the Nazi gas chambers. Aren't they human equivalents of slaughterhouses? Aren't the animals made to enter the kill area in much the same way as the jews were lured into the gas chambers?

Another argument is that humans were meant to be omnivores as well. I guess then it is fair to say that bigger predators were also meant to kill and eat humans, right? So, why do we create a ruckus if a man-eater gets it's hands on a few humans? Isn't that the way of nature?

We have agriculture, and an alternate food source now. Why don't we feed ourselves using it and show some mercy on the poor animals?

In the end, however, I am the only one in my family who has taken the initiative. I am not forcing anyone else to and it is solely my decision.

Cheers!

P.S. I bought new football shoes yesterday :) Nike Noventa.

The Owl

2007-06-27T09:15:00.000+05:30

Well, on the 5th floor of my building, there resides a Barn Owl with her chicks. Hard to spot since it comes out only after 8 PM and it gets quite dark considering she sits in the corner watching over her children.

Yesterday, I managed to take some good pictures of the owl. Excuse me for the inaccuracy of the photos as they were taken blindly and I had to guess the position of the owl.

***

Cheers!

Delhi ... from a rooftop

2007-06-26T12:18:00.000+05:30

Took some pictures of the Delhi surrounding my apartment from the rooftop yesterday during sunset.

***

That skyline is Connaught Place. Just so you should know, Connaught Place is 13 km from my house :) And despite Delhi's levels of pollution, it's quite visible :)

***

The irony of things. Right behind my building, we have the poor old Karkardooma village. And right behind the village, we have the posh Kaushambi apartments and the Pacific mall (all lit up and quite modern) which also has the only IMAX screen in Delhi.

***

When the lights are on. At dusk. The building you see here is the dreaded CBSE headquarters :(

***

Possibly the best I took all evening. This is the actual view with realtime distances you get from the roof. At the bottom of the pic, the terrace can be seen. Also, the sunset in this one looks good :)

***

I have a few more photographs to put up. I have been clicking a lot of good ones over the past week.

Cheers!

...

2007-06-24T16:56:00.000+05:30

Some funny stuff from NEXT by Michael Crichton, which is, by the way, a good book. Could do with less characters though and a more straightforward storyline. But, nonetheless, like all Crichton books, it is very informative and makes you think. I recommend it to all.

Man A : You remind me of a man.

Man B : What man?

Man A : The man with the power.

Man B : What power?

Man A : The power of hoodoo.

Man B : Hoodoo?

Man A : You do.

Man B : Do what?

Man A : Remind me of a man ...

...

I cannot think of anything to write. Sorry.

A few essential free software for Windows

2007-06-20T21:57:00.000+05:30

Yesterday, a friend of mine had basically upgraded his computer and part of it was to update his windows (XP). And hence began the search for new softwares which are most essential if you are to use your PC. Already out of money and not wanting to resort to pirated products, here is a list of softwares we used to keep the PC running, for now or forever.

1. Firefox (Instead of IE)

If you haven't switched already, do it NOW! Can do anything that IE can and stops all pop-ups and has amazing plug-ins which make net surfing a far better experience than IE.

Get it HERE

2. Thunderbird (Instead of MS Outlook)

Thunderbird is an email client that has a few big things going for it: it’s free, it’s full featured, it’s lightweight and runs quick, it has an exceptional spam filter, and it protects you from those ridiculous phishing attacks by clearly indicating which emails send you to a bogus website.

Get it HERE

3. Abiword (Instead of MS Word)

Want a good word processor but find Microsoft Word too expensive? Then AbiWord is the replacement for Word. It’s lightweight (meaning it runs quickly) and includes pretty much every feature that Word has.

Get it HERE

4. OpenOffice (Instead of MS Powerpoint and MS Excel)

If you want to replace the rest of the Office suite, your best bet is OpenOffice. Personally, I think that their excel and powerpoint are better than the MS's.

Get it HERE

5. ClamWin (Instead of Norton Antivirus or McAfee or any other paid for antivirus)

This slick anti-virus program is easy to manage and unobtrusive and does a good job of keeping your system free of viruses. That is pretty much what I want from a package, so why pay extra for something like Norton which keeps bugging you all the time?

Get it HERE

6. Meebo (Instead of other messengers)

Easy to use online messenger for practically all messengers. For stand alone messengers, you could try GAIM and Trillian. Both are stable, and simple to use.

www.meebo.com

7. BitTorrent (Instead of P2Ps and stuff)

Ever since I discovered torrents, it was clear that they were the better option compared to your P2Ps and all.

Get it HERE

8. GIMPShop (Instead of Adobe Photoshop)

This free package does a solid job of imitating Photoshop. It is feature rich and runs well. Also, a regular photoshop user will find it easy to get used to it. In fact, I see no reason to go back to Photoshop even if it were made free...

Get it HERE

9. VLC Media player (Instead of any other media player)

If you get tired of having tons of media players on your computer, get this package that runs pretty much every media type you’ll run across without breaking a sweat.

Get it HERE

10. Notepad2 (Instead of Notepad)

Notepad2 is a replacement for the Windows Notepad that just adds a few sweet little features: multiple documents, line, word, and character counts, and some highlighting of tags.

Get it HERE

11. PDF Creator (Instead of Adobe Acrobat)

PDFCreator creates a virtual printer on your computer that, if you print a document to it from any program, creates a PDF of that document that can be read on any computer with Acrobat Reader on it. After installing PDFCreator, all you have to do is print like normal and out comes a PDF!

Get it HERE

12. True Crypt (Instead of nothing, but it's neat)

TrueCrypt enables you to convert a memory stick into a strongly encrypted data storage device, meaning that you can store personal data on it without worrying about losing it and having personal information get out and about.

Get it HERE

13. Health Monitor (Again, it's unique but required)

HealthMonitor enables you to keep an eye on the health of your computer. It identifies slowdowns and other system issues quickly and lets you know (for example, it gives a popup if your system memory gets to a certain percentage of fullness, or if your hard drive has only 10 GB free). This can keep you out of trouble and also give you clues to problems your machine might be having.

Get it HERE

14. KeePass (Unique but required)

KeePass is a program that securely stores and manages the abundance of passwords we all use on a daily basis. Many have have literally hundreds of usernames and passwords spread out all over the place; KeePass keeps them and keeps them safe.

Get it HERE

15. X-Chat 2 (Instead of mIRC)

X-Chat is a free IRC client. For those unfamiliar with IRC, it’s a place for technical people to meet and discuss topics in an open environment. I often find it very useful when discussing football or the school homework :P.

Get it HERE

16. Google Earth (I love it)

It is utterly incredible for viewing three-dimensional landscapes of any place on earth, and unlike NASA's world wind, it is capable of creating maps too.

Get it HERE

17. CommandBurner (Instead of Nero)

Very light, too light in fact and very efficient at burning your CDs or DVDs. However, unless you do not burn anything more than files or folders, do not use it. It is not really feature list and lacks two essentials -- Video discs and Audio discs (although it can burn mp3 files, duh!) Keep in mind that it is of only 1.33 MB!!

Get it HERE

***

If you have any free essential softwares on your list, please notify me :)

Raindrops keep falling on my head ...

2007-06-16T11:47:00.000+05:30

Yes! Finally some respite from the stifling heat! It rained for quite long and quite steadily yesterday in Delhi. So, while all the trees looked greener, the roads cleaner, and the future a little bit brighter, I had to spend my afternoon + evening sitting at Fiitjee! @^&%@& IIT coaching!!

Anyway, the rain does have a bad things to it's name. The number one thing being the stupid mud. It is the last thing you need when you are waiting for a bus which doesn't seem to be arriving anyway. Secondly, the mosquitoes the stagnating puddles bring with them. I got to see them after almost 2 weeks in my room. Thank god for All Out and Air Conditioners :P And finally, my Tata Sky signal kept on going on and off.

On a whole, though, the days are looking better. Go monsoon!

***

Are you afraid of dying? I am not sure whether I am or not. Although it's a part of life, I fear death for a few reasons:

I am not sure of what will come after death.
I fear for those who will miss me.
I fear that no one will miss me.
I do not want to wave goodbye to the world without seeing even half of it.

However, on the same topic the following quotes do often raise your moods :

"Praise allah, for he created death at the end of life, and not at the beginning of it."
-- Old Arabian saying

"Be cheerful in living and in knowing that death captures every man, be it now or be it tomorrow."
-- Old Norse saying

***

Song of the day : 'Raindrops keep falling on my head' by BJ Thomas

Of thoughts and some more thoughts ...

2007-06-15T12:11:00.000+05:30

You know how most people say that they are perfect in both American English and British English? I find it mighty irritating. The question lingers on. Are they really that different? I do not think it really matters unless you are living in Britain (where the British version is still spoken with consistency) or from the USA (where everything is spoken, to tell you the truth). In most other parts of the world, the people have adapted to a certain mixture of the two.

The basic grammar remains vitally the same. And, the words are now taken up at random as synonyms. So, what is the main difference between the two apart from the few selected words?

Well, for all I can understand, American English is not so devilishly polite as it's British counterpart. Now, while the British version sounds sophisticated, polite and soothing to the years, let's face it, it's the American English which has vitality and guts, with all the slangs and everything, and one has the freedom to bend and play around with the language.

Moreover, all British English words seem to be incorrect in spelling according to google. Yet again, the Americans are leading the way.

***

I found this interesting bit of reading on some site :

"Some people are determined to be recognized as great. When they realize that the world will not acknowledge them as the giants they claim to be, they will insist upon passing as the largest dwarfs on earth."

***

Whatever has happened to the gaming world? For the past few months, not a single memorable game has been released. The wait for Halo 3 seems never ending and the excitement seems to be fading out soon. Same for Crysis. A really ground breaking game has yet to come out. PS3 hasn't had great games.

In fact, apart from Gears of War or the Lost Planet, both on the X360, not a single game has lived up to the next gen hype. All PC games have requirements which go through the roof every single month. Although hardware prices ARE falling, fact is, it's only because those pieces of hardware can no longer support the latest games with even half the eye candy turned on.

When it's not worth upgrading your PC for every new game and the consoles haven't dished out anything worthy of notice yet, it's not surprising to see the interest of gaming fading away gradually.

To further disintegrate the industry, where are the ideas people. Why are all these games the same shoot mindlessly while traveling through dark corridors, or on some tropical island types? Ahhh! We want new stuff mates!

Meanwhile, I am still loyal to my quake, CoD and championship manager :-P

***

Finally, I am getting back to my roots now. Metallica is GOD all over again. I had almost forgotten how much I loved the band. Although, it's still the previous 80's Metallica which charms me :-)

Slipknot, too, is back on my radar :-)

Oh, and you guys should watch the courtroom thriller --> Suspect. Awesome movie.

Cheers!

A trip to the zoo :)

2007-06-13T13:29:00.000+05:30

Yeah. So I finally went there. Had been thinking of doing so for more than a month. This is the season when all the animals get out of their cozy homes and into their water tanks in front of the public. And we did get to see most of the wildlife.

The temperature was 44 degrees or something and I have to admit, I was dripping in sweat by the time I got out of the place.

Anyway, got to see some good/rare sights. Feeding of giraffes, a white tiger playing in the pond and an awesome fight between two sloth bears of which I am posting the video as well.

So, let's begin with a few pictures :

To tell you the truth, this one's quite sad actually. I had to wait to take this shot.

" I want to break free(?) "

I really like this one. Came out quite good. Lazy Hippo.

Now, while we took several tiger pics, I believe that this one taken by my sister did turn out to be the best.

Probably the best one I took all day. Shot of the fight between the two sloth bears. The one on the top got chased up there, and got the advantage as he kept hitting the other one on the face. However, the one on the top did not come down for the next 30 minutes while the other patrolled the bottom of the tree.

The video of the fight :

***

Hmm. Seems like Microsoft's browsers are really losing their way. According to google analytics, 78% of those visiting this blog use Firefox :) Yay! And, 4% use Safari while the rest still use Internet Explorer.

Cheers!

Global Warming, eh? -- Part 2

2007-06-10T21:34:00.000+05:30

OK now. For those who are still not convinced about my views. (because most have told me they aren't :-P) Don't believe me, just think about what I have written.

First, I will present to you some more graphs.

In Greenland, the arctic region that is supposedly warming at the fastest rate.

http://data.giss.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/gistemp/gistemp_station.py?id=431043200000&data_set=1&num_neighbors=1

Come on now, that should prove that all reports are total tabloid trash. If for any reason the arctic is melting, it is only due to natural causes other than global warming, because (for all that the graph can show) THERE IS NO WARMING THERE!!!

And now, another sensitive area, the Antarctic :

http://data.giss.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/gistemp/gistemp_station.py?id=700897990009&data_set=1&num_neighbors=1

http://data.giss.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/gistemp/gistemp_station.py?id=700891080009&data_set=1&num_neighbors=1

Now, this data SHOWS that if anything, there's been global cooling going on in most places!

And I have gone through all station and this is the closest I have come to anything showing the slightest hint of any sort of warming whatsoever :

http://data.giss.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/gistemp/gistemp_station.py?id=700890090008&data_set=1&num_neighbors=1

But is it really consistent warming or weather fluctuations? I think the latter is definitely the correct option :-P

***

Now, for all those who believe that we have to do something as the warming might kill us( as a species)

Umm. OK. I, personally, am not too worried about it destroying us (or, as you say, even the earth).

Throughout time's history, there have been several cases where climate change has been the reason behind the wiping out of entire species. From the earlier times, when the gaseous constituents were constantly changing, to the Ice Age.

Also worthy of note is the fact that all these changes were actually quite sudden when seen in relativity.

Maybe, if we try to keep the climate constant as we are doing now, we are not letting nature be.

It is not our job to keep a check on how nature changes the earth. It has been this way since ever. We, when seen in time's prospect, are worth no more than a second.

Again, as far as consequences of the next few years are concerned, I do not think there is any need of getting over tensed. If you have read my previous post, you will know that these changes were ever-present. The only reason that the effects of 'Global Warming' have been magnified is due to the fact that most people have woken up to the danger only now.

***

However, do not get me wrong here. The earth is heating up, there is no doubt it, and I do feel that at the current rate we'll not accelerate the warming up of the planet. But, it also doesn't mean that we become careless and stupid and take out our cars and burn lots and lots of fossil fuels ;)

Yes, caution must be exercised to ensure that we do not speed up the process. But, all the hype that this theory has received is unnecessary.

***

Went to the zoo today. Will write about it. Took good pics :)

Cheers!

Global Warming, eh? -- Part 1

2007-06-08T13:11:00.000+05:30

Hi. So, with all the recent hullabaloo we are getting about the climate change and how the temperatures are going up drastically, I decided to do a little bit of research myself.

The reason for my finding out about how the situation really is was that the claims of Global Warming only mentioned stuff like --> "In the past 25 years" or "in the next 25 years" and blah blah blah without stating sources, or facts.

Now, before I continue, I hope all of the readers here find NASA to be a reliable source :) Which, I am sure, is.

Also, I would like to make clear my beliefs. The earth is warming up. However, I do not think it is due to the over-industrialization by mankind. I think it is because climate is constantly changing. And that weather will never be constant. We, as a race, do not have a part to play in this global change.

Now, mean annual temperatures in Delhi have supposedly risen by a dramatic 1 degree celcius or so in the past 25 years. I am claiming this from an article in the Hindustan Times a week ago. Here's the deal :

Temperatures have hardly changed over the past 80 years or so. In fact, the highest mean temperature was recorded in 1940. Is that too say that industrialization in this city was at it's peak before independence? That there were more cars then? And more electrical appliances to make the carbon dioxide levels go higher? Definitely not.

OK, now, proof 2 :

Srinagar. Supposedly one of the worst affected areas in the Himalayan region. Temperatures rising drastically and glaciers around it melting rapidly. Or, is it so?

OK. So, here, we do see a slight bit of warming up. But, really, the highest mean temperatures over the past decade were visible even during the 1940's and 1960's. In fact, 1995 seems to be as cool as 1900. Why? Did the number of cars decrease in that year? Or did the factories jam up? Hmmm.

And finally, some proof from the south of India as well :

Mumbai :

Again, since 1900, constant temperatures. Gradual increase of 0.3 degrees over a period of 100 years. Drastic increase anyone?

Chennai :

Yes. We can see warming here. But, on close, rational examination, we can also see that the only year during which the mean temperature was high was 1998, officially the hottest year in recorded history. In fact, over the years, we have seen weather fluctuating quite dramatically. One degree low. One degree high. And so on.

Now, temperatures have changed most in the USA. Ummm, yeah, whatever.

(Source : http://data.giss.nasa.gov/gistemp/graphs/)

Drastic change? I don't think so.

***

Sea level changes :

Now. Yes. There has been an increase in the sea level over the past years. But, the thing about global warming is that the increase has to be drastic, dramatic. I do not think that there is a dramatic change here. It is gradual and constant. It is like a straight, uniform line.

Maybe this graph would put it in better context :

Here, we can see that sea level has been ever changing. In fact, in metres. While over the past 100 years, the change has been like, what? 20 centimetres.

So, that would make it a metre every 500 years. Now, according to the above graph with records of over the past 9000 years, that is more or less normal. If not, below normal.

***

For further reading, please try :

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/02/070228-mars-warming.html

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/09/060913-sunspots.html

***

So, that is it for now. End of part 1 [:P] I will try and gather more evidence once I get time.

Hectic week this. Rather boring in fact. Fiitjee's back. And I have started getting the hang of facebook too ;)

Cheers

http://ramitsblog.blogspot.com/2007/06/global-warming-eh-part-2.html">Part Two

Top 3 female leads I admire

2007-05-27T18:22:00.000+05:30

1. Amy Lee

Amy Lynn Lee, the voice behind Evanescence, is a brilliant singer. A very pretty woman and seems slightly Gothic (which, she isn't, I think . . ). She has been to Evanescence what Kurt Cobain was to Nirvana. And her songs range from the extremely slow and emotional 'My Immortal' to the heavy 'Haunted'. Definitely my favorite female lead :)

2. Dolores O'Riordan

Dolores, lead singer of the now split up band, The Cranberries. Again, pretty girl with a very unique voice. Could have carried the Cranberries on her own. Classics include Zombie, Dreams, and No Need to Argue. Recently released her first single album, 'Are you listening?'. Quite good with some very good songs like 'Ordinary Day' and 'In The Garden'.

3. Avril Lavigne

Again, a very pretty girl with a cute, punkish voice. Was brilliant while she was with her band, and I would possibly have rated her higher than Dolores. But, of late, sadly, she has started to be somewhat of a Britney-esque singer, especially with her latest single album 'The best damn ...' whatever :-P. It's a pity to see such a talent go waste. She was a pioneer in female punk. I hope she goes back to what she was an year back. Complicated, Happy ending, and even her Fuel cover are some of her best songs. Yes, one of the best lead singers over the past 5 years :-)

Some other ladies I like listening to are Fergie, Gwen, Dido and Sheryl Crow.

* * *

So, life's good these days. Mum and Dad are in the US. Till June 1st. Had final reshuffling exam today, was just about ok. Results on June 2. I CAN wait. I joined facebook. It is not half as good as Orkut though :-( So, thinking about leaving it. Wasting my vacations. Still addicted to Championship manager. I will leave you guys with another pic.

The greater cormorant, Bharatpur :)

Cheers
Ramit

2007-05-20T22:03:00.000+05:30

Taken in Jim Corbett National Park. Ramganga reservoir. A very calender-ish pic :-)

For all those interested in photography or viewing others' albums, I recommend visiting pbase. Lovely website :-)

Must listen . . .

2007-05-15T21:04:00.000+05:30

Brilliant song. Humble beginnings from youtube and now even aired on VH1.

* * * * *

Meanwhile, I found this. Ramit = Ram it :-P

So, here is my motto --> Don't dodge it, just Ram it :-)

Cheers

Of Spidey 3 and lacking . . .

2007-05-15T11:09:00.000+05:30

. . . in ideas :-(

I really am. It's like the whole creativity power in my brain has gone BOOM. I have lots to write about, lots to think about. But cannot get how to put them into words.

Anyway, went to see Spiderman 3 on Friday. Although aware of the criticism it had received, I actually loved the movie. At the most, it was a bit too stretched for a typical hollywood movie. Acting was good. And, on the whole, it was quite entertaining.

I did not post for almost a week (which might be a new record) as I had to study for my FIITJEE review test 2. Went well in the end. Screwed up the chemistry but made up for it in Physics and Maths.

I am still addicted to Championship Manager. Have to take up rehabilitation or something now. But an amazing game nonetheless.

I have started my new blog - A nomadic life. It's going to have all my reviews and write-ups about the experiences on the various(?) journeys I have previously undertaken.

Still hooked to Pink Floyd. Have started really liking meebo. For those who care about online messengers, they may also use e-buddy.

Meanwhile, my parents have been looking for a good bigger car for quite sometime now. Currently own two hatchbacks. Logan and SX4 look exciting and seem to have created waves.

Talking of cars, here are a few reasons why I have found the Hyundai Santro to be better than the Wagon R:

Better stability at high speeds.
Higher speeds. We averaged 110 on the highway recently while traveling to Kurukshetra.
Better mileage. 17 kph. And that too, on mountain roads. Confirmed this during the trip to Mukteshwar in December.
More comfort, more legspace on the backseat. Although they seem to have compromised on the bootspace.
I find it better looking :-P

Will think of something more to write later. :-)

Cheers

Yet another round up

2007-05-09T10:30:00.000+05:30

Had 9th and 10th class interviews yesterday. Went well. Dug up some real good talent. WarP's future looking much much brighter now :-)

Finished off CS too. Will start off with Half Life 2 and then wrap up this "gaming" phase by finishing off with Episode 1.

Nothing much is going on right now. Studying quite a bit lately. Bought Morrison Boyd yesterday. Its okay. Not at all bad.

Uninstalled all messengers too. Have completely switched to meebo :-)

Result Day . . .

2007-05-07T16:12:00.000+05:30

Stupid title. I know.

Ahh well, so the results are finally out. Nothing great, but nothing unexpected either. Moreover, even if it had been bad, I would still have been happy because of the fact United has won the title. :-) For more on that visit Republic of Mancunia.

Physics --> Okay. Got exactly how many I expected. Slightly below class average. Passed.

English --> A mark or two below expected. Still well above average. Satisfied :-D

Maths --> 4 marks below expected. Personal highest of all five. Still disappointed. Class average.

Computers --> Nothing great. As expected. Satisfactory.

Chemistry --> Pathetic. But still as expected LOL. Passed.

So, as I had expected, class was depressing. So was everyone else. Physical was good. Played football. I had a good game.

You know, I am the kind of guy who, let's say, plays for his own satisfaction. For example, if my team loses but I have played well, then I will be happy. BUT even if my team wins quite convincingly, but I haven't played well, I feel very very unhappy. In fact, I have been known to hit people of my own team even if we win but I play bad.

Mind you though, that is NOT to say that I am not a team player, I would still happily pass the ball to someone who is in more space or has a better chance of scoring.

Cheers

P.S. Read Lionheart by Jesse Martin, amazing book. Very inspiring.
Also, play Championship Manager.

Oh and yeah, we were unable to hold 10th class WarP exam today because we didn't feel like it. Too depressed. The school looked like a graveyard today. More morbid than ever before.

I think I am exaggerating, but you get the picture.

Sunday - the summary

2007-05-06T17:34:00.000+05:30

FIITJEE went well. Enjoyable actually. Did Maths. Maths = good :-)

EPL could be over today. I hope Arsenal thump Chelsea.

Exam results tomorrow. I am nervous.

Cheers.

Republic of Mancunia

2007-05-06T12:17:00.000+05:30

I have started my new blog based solely on Manchester United.

Click here to view it. :-)

10 things . . . . .

2007-05-06T11:33:00.000+05:30

While studying last night, just thought of the 10 things I want to do before I die . . .

And here's what I came up with :

Climb Mt.Everest and attempt K2
Run a marathon
Stay for a week in Las Vegas
Trek to Machu Pichu, Peru
Do cage diving with the Great White Sharks
Witness the Rio Festival
Do the trip to Kailash Parbat from the Indian side
Visit the Angel's falls
Skydive, or at least bunjee jump from the highest place possible on this planet
Reside in Manchester :-) For obvious reasons

Do notify me if I have missed out anything worthwhile.

I have started playing a lot of CS nowadays. Finished it a couple of years back. Now, I am hooked again. Also trying out Championship Manager.

I have uninstalled Windows Vista. Its back to XP now. Not that I hated Vista, but it definitely made my PC a tad bit slower.

Boot up time (with XP) --> 31 seconds
Boot up time (with Vista) --> 1 minute 11 seconds

Plus, my parents were not appreciative of the translucent videos.

I am thinking of starting three new blogs :

On Manchester United only (since that topic is taking up too much space here)
On technology related stuff and gaming :-)
On travelling. Advice and photos from trips and tours I have previously undertaken.

School results out on Monday. Not looking forward to it. But also have class 10th entrance exams tomorrow :-)

Have FIITJEE today. Will attend it. Waste of a Sunday :-(
Back to Maths for now,

Cheers.

AC Milan vs Manchester United, 2nd Leg

2007-05-04T19:55:00.000+05:30

We played shit today, the worst we have all season, or Milan played exceptional. I think it was a combination of both. I was laughing after 20 minutes the way we were playing, in the end I was happy to hear the whistle.Just one of the nights that you can do nothing about except stand up and concede that the deserving side progressed.

Kaka, Seedorf and Gattuso were immense tonight, our defence was shambles. The kind of game where you need a goal from the blue to lift you up. Milan got it early in the 1st half and changed the game, and we are left wondering what might have been had Fletch been on target. We were never in the game from the onset, except for that 10 minute period.

When I saw the formation I knew the game is gone. You can't expect to come away with a 0-0 from San Siro and I hope Fergie finally abolishes 4-5-1. We have been terrible everytime we've played that formation. Make 4-4-2 a thumb rule lol !

We have been ousted, rather harshly, but I think we should be proud of our season. We will mostly get the league, we are in the Cup final and can still do the domestic double, that coupled with a good CL run, does make for a successful season.

Atleast there is one saving grace, Manchester United 11 - 8 Italy :-P

That's why I am not a fan of cup competitions. One bad game and boom, its over. If this was a league competition we'd be somewhere at the top with a superior goal difference :-P The league is a better reflection of your year - round performance.

Still, I am not too disappointed, it has always been the EPL and FA Cup (for the tradition only) before the UCL.

* * * * *

Meanwhile, school was good. Interviews went well. Quite enjoyable actually. Around 15 members from 6th, 7th, 8th have been selected.

P.S. The article is being posted a day late because the server went down yesterday as soon as i saved this post and was about to publish it.

What's on with WarP

2007-05-01T17:08:00.000+05:30

So, as most of you (at least those who have been through the blog at least once or those who know me anyway) must know, I am a member of WarP, the computer club of my school, DPS Mathura Road.

First let me introduce you guys to the club which is possibly the main source of any sort of fun at the otherwise pathetic place which my school is. It is, in fact, the force which keeps me at school and gets me to look forward to certain things (Like symposiums, quizzes, hours at the computer lab, bunking excuses etc etc).

To get to know a bit about our club, visit :

Our Club Site

By the way, the club has never had more than 50 members, hence, the member list is untrue.

We even made an attempt to make a now (in)famous blog.

And more recently, our HOD (Mrs. Monica Sahni) has (in collaboration with Mr. Mukesh Kumar of Exun, DPS RKP) made a new blog.

So, these days, we are responsible for anything that goes on with the club since we are the top batch. I have taken over anything to do with the quizzing department along with my section mate Abhishek Anurag.

So far, all that me and Abhishek have done is hold four (for 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th) entrance examinations for the quizzing department. Or make that five, since the one for 10th is on Monday :-) After the written test, the shortlisted folks have to go through the interview round from where we further cut down to around 3 members per class.

Meanwhile, all is well with the other departments, that is, gaming, web designing, presentations (flash, powerpoint), DJ mixing and movie making.

As of now, I am tired of writing about WarP. More updates later.

School today was boring. Half the class has supposedly failed in Physics. Sir has not mentioned names but I fear I might be on the list. :-( No studies today, just played around, hid bags, threw water and played Quake 3 and Mario in the computer lab :-D.
Also missed three periods for WarP today. Had to get things ready for the interview and announcements had to be done.

Well, have to go for now. Must watch The Simpsons and Football Focus.

Cheers.

Barcelona Video

2007-04-30T19:31:00.000+05:30

So, as I had mentioned earlier in my blog, my dad was in Barcelona from 10th April to 19th April. Hence, here is a video of Barcelona's famous Montjuic Fountains at Placa d'Espanya.

Hope you enjoy it. They are magnificent. Amazingly splendid.

Cheers :-)

P.S. Guess what, my exams got over today. And the dumb school decides to reopen from tomorrow :'(.
Someday or the other, someone will commit suicide thanks to the awful system in the prison [:-P]. But seriously, these people are absolutely insensitive stupid gits.

End of exams . . .

2007-04-30T13:26:00.000+05:30

Yayyy!!!

End of 1st term examinations :-)

I have no idea why, but people do get happy at end of exams. By people, I am referring to those who are like me.

Those who know me would know that I never study CBSE stuff. It is only FIITJEE or nothing at all.

So, exams to me are nothing more than recognized holidays and a lovely excuse to miss FIITJEE. You get pampered by parents, and read novels all day. And to top it all off, they weren't a disaster either :-)

When exams are over, it's back to regular boring school stuff and there is tension in the air as everyone's dreading the results. Rumours of who is failing abound the corridors.

So, why, oh why do we celebrate the end of examinations? Mysterious question since I myself just love the feeling. ( Who cares if there is more doom awaiting me on the other side, it's still some dumb good feeling :-P )

So, anyway, had Chemistry today. Went well. Was very very very very very tough. But I can confidently say that i did not screw up as much as I could have. :-D

I tried to register for the June 2 SAT but couldn't because all centres in Delhi are full. What the heck, in fact, there is just one centre available this time around. That is SAD. When I gave the test in December, they had 3 centres available. Even this centre at Pathways International in Gurgaon is full. It came as sad news. But, gotta wait for autumn now :-(

Well then, Shashank (friend from my apartments) is coming back for a week from his college today, can't wait to meet him. He's at IIT Kanpur by the way. :-) Feels good to know at least one IITian very well.

Will go enjoy now.

Cheers.

Awesome weekend

2007-04-29T15:30:00.000+05:30

" ... How can I win premiership when there's new rule everyday? Sold players from Manchester, they must help their old team. We have nobody in the other team. I am super proud of my players. We fight till end. We fight lots. "

Bitterly,
Moaningo.

Lol. Came up with this one while discussing yesterday's matches and Mourinho specifically.

FIITJEE exam today went quite well. I had studied for it. :-D So, I have all rights to brag about it. Yessss!!! Bring it on baby.

Life is good :-)

Hopefully, Chemistry will be good as well tomorrow. Should be, after all I did get remedials last time lol.

Oh and yes, I rule people. IIT is a joke. :-D

Cheers

P.S. I know I am going to regret this post within a week. IITs will have the last laugh. :-( lol.

EPL, 28 April '07

2007-04-28T20:20:00.000+05:30

Take Me home .. Take me home
To the place I belong..
To Old Trafford .. with United!!
Take me home.. United road!!

2-4 to United :-D (against Everton)

Down 1-0 at half time. 2-0 at 50 minutes.

Came back to win 2-4. Chelsea draw against Bolton at the Bridge. Life could not have been better.

The championship is ours!

Scorers (For United) :
1. John O'Shea
2. Phil Neville (OG) [once a red, always a red :-P]
3. Wayne Rooney
4. Chris Eagles [Kudos to the young lad]

C'mon!!

State of religion...

2007-04-28T10:56:00.000+05:30

" If atheism is a religion, then bald is a hair colour "
-- Some guy.

Well, I would say I am agnostic. While I do not worship any god or higher being, through any religion, I do not mind in believing a certain spiritual existence in this universe. :-)

That is not to say that I believe in a god who controls everything, but there are times and places, where, one does get a certain feeling, that of spiritual contentment (your insides go -"wheeeeeeeeee, I am freeee!!!") and attaining nirvana which makes you believe that it is not just you who is going through the phase but also a spiritual presence alongside you.

I really have no clue what I am saying but it is kind of hard to describe. Just things rushing down my brain and it is tough to communicate through a blog.

It is actually an issue I do not have a very clear stand upon. I am sure I am free of any religious beliefs but I am also quite unsure on the existence of a higher being.

It is human to believe in a super power. And god may be an escapist's or an optimist's resort from reality. Because we need someone there besides us when the chips are down. Possibly, a god is the ideal person inside us. An image of the person we want to be like, of the person you want sitting besides you. The god can be based on a living person (like your parents) or can be a product of your imagination.

But, I do not think religion as a path is a way to go about in an attempt to meet 'god' and attain a spiritually content mind. Every person is different and every person should have the freedom to go about choosing his/her own path to god. Be it a different belief or 'religion' for each and every one of the 6 billion inhabitants on this planet.

Round-up of a few events

2007-04-28T10:11:00.000+05:30

Sorry, haven't been able to write much recently. Exams are going on, and we have a FIITJEE exam scheduled for tomorrow. So, I have been busy :-) As for school exams, only Chemistry (Monday) is left :-D

This is how they went :

a. Physics --> Tough paper. But I screwed up a bit more than other people.

b. English --> Typical. Boring but cannot complain.

c. Maths --> Very easy paper in general. But, I did make a few mistakes, and although I could have gotten 100%, might have to settle for 90. Then again, I hadn't study much. So, I am satisfied :-)

d. Computer Science --> Didn't study at all for Computers, since I decided to prepare for the FIITJEE exam. But it went well nonetheless. Wrote crap in programs but the networking part was good :-)

e. Chemistry --> Yet to happen lol.

Anyway, on the day of the Computer exam ( 27.4.2007 ) we had an entrance exam for WarP(the computer club) for grade 11. I was invigilating the thing. It is lots of fun really, especially when it come to checking the paper. Most people only come to give the exam as it is a good reason to cover up for bunking et al.

So, some kids come up with the funniest of answers. For example, there was this guy who could not identify Steve Wozniak, or should I say he could, because he certainly gave the answer --> Inzamam Ul Haq lol. Answers like, temperature guide when asked to identify the iPhone were common. And oh yeah, there is rampant cheating.

I wish more people from my school were into blogging. :-( But it is amazing that it still hasn't caught up. Those who do have blogs, however, have left them idle for almost 10 or 11 months.

Manchester United play Everton today. I am still on a high since their win against Milan :-D

Anyway, back to Chemistry now. :-)

P.S. I really really have the desire to go north to the Himalayas. Haven't done so since going to Mukteshwar in December. My legs are aching to work around some trekking routes.

Views from Mukteshwar. December, '06. The peaks seen here are Trishul and Nanda Devi.

For all the new ones....

2007-04-20T21:54:00.000+05:30

And those who might be fed up with blogger. There's this awesome new blogging site:

TUMBLR

The URLs are similar to blogspot ones. Example."http://ramitsblog.tumblr.com"(not that it exists lol).

Very simple, very attractive, and very much manageable and efficient. I have tried it out. ( My sister just started her blog on the thing, and I got the chance to play around a bit )

It looks very good and I like it for it's simplicity and user-friendliness.

I will not change soon however, only because I am new here anyway. But I do regret not taking up that one :-(

Cheers

P.S. 1st term Exams start tomorrow. Physics, bring it on , I think....
* Click here for my sister's blog to check tumblr out.

Yet another Wallpaper

2007-04-19T21:16:00.000+05:30

Okay. Here goes another wallpaper.

I must admit, there is absolutely no skill involved here. Just MS Paint. But I find them aesthetically pleasing as they look neat and clean.

For best results, use a uncluttered desktop, preferably without any icons ;-)

Click here for full image :-)

Cheers

P.S. I love this wallpaper, by the way

Points to ponder?

2007-04-19T11:24:00.000+05:30

Before you invest
Always read the prospectus
It's required by laws
Designed to protect us.
Buried somewhere therein
Under mountains of prose
Are all of the risks
To which you are exposed.
Don't know where to start?
Let me give you a hint:
The greater the hazard,
The smaller is the print. ;-)

--- Henry Hill

Nice verse.

You know, I have always loved big words which literally tumble out of your mouth, like, Mississippi, Abracadabra, or Sassafras. Even words which are soft, but big, and instead of tumbling, flow out of your mouth. Kinda like luminous, abeyance and rendezvous.

And then there are words which bloom (so to say), brighten up when you say them, like daffodil, anemone and even hyacinth. Then there are words which disturb, rumble in your mind. Like thunder and lightning.

And all these are words which convey meaning and sound like what they mean. In that context, love is a word which really disappoints me. It is too short, too clipped to show such a big emotion.

But the French have a word that works beautifully for the emotion --> Amour.

Weird post. But I am in a really weird mood. :-)

Cheers

P.S. Electrostatics is fun.

What's been hot?

2007-04-18T18:57:00.000+05:30

Apart from the absolute pathetic weather that has been, here is a list of what has been hot with me over the past few days :

Song I have listened to most --> Comfortably Numb ( Pink Floyd ), Fade to Black ( Metallica )
The artist I have listened to most --> Nirvana
The program I have watched the most --> BBC News on BBC World (Mostly anything related to The Virginia Tech massacre)
The last movie I watched --> Eragon
The movie I would love to watch right now --> Freddy vs Jason
My wish list for now --> Get ~~90%~~ ~~80%~~ ~~70%~~ 40% above in 1st term exams, do well enough in FIITJEE reshuffling exam so as to stay in the top batch. And oh yeah, see Manchester United maul AC Milan :)
Cupid's arrow has hit me. I hope I have some luck. Am not gonna name the girl though :)
Nerdtests --> Dont know why, but whenever I am free, I find myself on this site.

On another note, I received an invitation to attend the World Future Leadership Summit (along with a trip to Stanford University) at Washington and New York chaired by Mr.Bush. However, the letter that reached today, 18 April 2007, must be received by the people at their end by April 20. Yes, things might have been different had the post reached my place earlier. Damn!
I feel like crying now. Anyway, it is over now, and I can't do anything about it, so, that's that.

I cannot wait for the summer vacations. Neither can I wait to give my exams for some reason. I get a feeling, they will be good this time around . . . . . .

Till then, take care.

Cheers

Wallpaper

2007-04-17T10:54:00.000+05:30

I made this wallpaper so as to send a message out to Chel$ea. They better shut up about their quadruple dreams. All they are gonna have to be happy with is the Carling Cup while we take away the treble. Next year however, the Carling Cup along with the treble is definitely ours. :)

Click here for the full image.

Cheers

Stand up, Speak up

2007-04-15T22:15:00.000+05:30

Friday. Sitting in the bus. Boy ( not me ) speaking to another. I couldn't help overhearing their conversation (Apparently an argument over some petty matter). It all seemed fun until Boy no.1 called the other a "Hapshi" (Nigga, Negro, in English terms).

One of the few subjects about which I am really touchy is racism. This is all the more true if the racist in question is an Indian itself. We, in general, are supposedly a very sensitive society. It is amazing how if a couple of foreigners throw somewhat racist comments at a not-so-famous Indian actress, the whole country erupts into rage and it becomes the object of front page news. Alright, so, nothing wrong here. We are absolutely justifying our tag of being fair, sympathetic and overly sensitive.

But, here is the contradiction that the citizens of our country make and the very basis of this article. The very people who would threaten to kill the person who called Ms. Shilpa a Paki, would, at the very next moment if put alongside a person from Bihar, call him a Behari. Let's face it. We, as Indians, are probably one of the most racist societies in the world. We still recognize people from the North-East as "chinkies", people from the South as Kerelaites, Tamils, even kaalas at times. We mark out castes. And, it's not just at fellow citizens. We ourselves call Africans names too objectionable and abusive to mention. We recognize people from the West Indies as "the black, big-nosed ones" (Proof : Advertisements on Neo Sports).

Furthermore, these days, the flooding of advertisements about fairness creams goes to show the obsession we have with our colour. Why cannot we just stay happy with the way we are. Is it just westernization? Does the theory of the "White man's burden" still flourish in our society? Or is it just a legacy left behind by the British rule? Maybe it is just that we are paranoid.

The situation abroad is not half as bad as we make it out to be. We just have a tendency to magnify a few isolated incidents, all the time ignoring our own inability to combat racism within India itself. As our Economy goes forward, our social outlook seems to be going backward at the same pace. They say that Westerners do not communicate with Indians abroad, do not sit with them in a bus even if it is the last seat left. While this statement may be true, let me make it clear, how many people actually make the effort of communicating with a tourist in India? Even the tourists are not accompanied in a bus even if it is the last seat left in a bus.

Fact is, while racism has elevated Shilpa Shetty to new heights, the very reason has taken India as a society to new lows. It is time we clear the mess we have created in our homes before caring about what our neighbours think of us. Let us live up to the tag of secularism we pride ourselves upon.

Cheers

Eragon - My Review

2007-04-15T15:04:00.000+05:30

"When the dragon Saphira gives the only good performance in the entire film, you know there is something wrong . . . ."

I read Christopher Paolini's novel around 3 years back. Now, the movie based on the adventures of Eragon and his dragon Saphira has come to the big screen.

Personally, I have never had any expectations from movies which have been adapted from successful books. However, more recently, with the likes of the Goblet of fire, the LOTR series, Chronicles of Narnia etc, some movies have done justice to their text counterparts. Unfortunately though,after watching the movie this Saturday, I can definitely say that Eragon is nowhere near the league of the movies mentioned above.

I was really looking forward this movie for a couple of weeks, and I have never been more let down by one (for as far as my memory goes).

For those who haven't read the book :
They might actually love the movie. It is not bad at all when you haven't got a clue about what the story is and hence, you are not expecting anything from the movie. It may actually turn about to be a nice popcorn muncher. The story is more of a summary of the actual version, with the details messed around with a bit. But, then again, if you have not read the book already, you should not really care.

For those who have read the book :
It is obvious that you would go into the movie with some sort of expectations and an idea of which scenes you want to see. But tell you what, it is CRAP. The director has basically edited more than half of the book. Flaws :

Saphira grows from being 1 metre in length to 10 metres in a matter of hours (it's supposed to be a month).
Brom doesn't tell the tale of the dragons to Eragon in his hut. In fact, he does not tell it at all.
Brom does not teach Eragon even the elementary magic stuff. Seems as though Eragon knows all of it instinctively.
Okay, now, they skip Teirm. Wow! one of the most important chapter of the book.
No Teirm means no Jeod. Another wow! Wonder how they'll get Roran into the picture with Eldest. They still manage to drag in Angelica(the fortune teller) though. Don't ask how. Its weird.
They do not go to Uru Baen, and hence, Brom is not killed by the Ra'zac(who, by the way, look horrible).
Instead, they go off to find Arya and Brom is killed by Durza although Eragon manages to save Arya. Thankfully.
He meets Murtagh AFTER finding Arya.
There is no sign of a 50 page long chase by the urgals in the Bohr mountains, instead, they head straight into the mountain, where the war begins within the next 10 minutes.
Saphira starts breathing fire at the beginning of the war itself, but in the book, she did so at the end of it.
Eragon is 17 instead of 15 ( I had forgotten about this one. Remembered it courtesy Sahil..psst...read comment ;) )

Thats all the flaws I can remember for now.

War scenes are well done. The cinematography can just about rival that of LOTR. The dragons look impressive.

For those who are not at all aware of the story. Here goes a short summary.

The tale is set in a land called Alagaesia. It was once ruled by the dragon riders. Peace ruled everywhere until one of the riders formed a clan and betrayed the others, killing them all. He was Golbotrix. So, now, Mr.Golbotrix rules the land and he is cruel, evil and hates everyone.
He is the only one in Alagaesia to have a dragon. And, he also has 2 more eggs. The only other egg is in the hands of the elves, who must chose a rider soon so as to overthrow the evil king. So, egg falls in the hand of Eragon who is now a new dragon rider and is given the task of saving the world from the evil dude by going on an adventure and helping the Varden(The rebels), the elves and the dwarves. Since, writing anything more would make it a review of the book, I will now stop here.

I know, my review is shit. But so was the movie.

2/5 for me. and I give it the 1 point because the popcorn and nachos were good and I went with 3 good looking girls. lol. And to rub salt on the wounds, it's a trilogy( Oh no! The horror of watching two more of such movies ). The dialogues suck. The acting was pathetic too. All in all, it is JUST a pale shadow of the book and far too rushed ( only about one hour forty minutes )

If you are still interested in going for the movie, or if you are too rich and want to waste money on a movie, here are some other attempts to stop you from watching it :
User comments from IMDB

Cheers

P.S. Manchester United enter the finals of the FA Cup by beating Watford 4 -1.

A series of ( weird? ) events . . . . .

2007-04-12T18:03:00.000+05:30

Well, I couldn't really think of a better title for now. Hate it in fact. Nonetheless, the others I had thought of were far worse.

So, let's get down to the nitty gritty of things.

11:00 PM, April 10 --> Dad leaves for Barcelona. To come back on Monday.

12:30 AM, April 11 --> Due to absence of parents (Mom had slept), I took this opportunity to see Manchester United's 2nd leg game against Roma at Old Trafford LIVE! Amazing match. United trounced Roma 7-1. All goals scored were some of the best I have seen this year. Special mention to Carrick, Fletcher, O'Shea and Smith, all of whom rose to the occasion exceptionally well. Ofcourse, everyone else, Rooney, Ronaldo, Giggs, Rio et al were brilliant like always.

April 12 --> So, anyway, I took an off from school to study :P I kind of accomplished what I meant to. Studied quite a bit :)

April 13 --> Again. A very S.A.D. day. Studied stuff. Oh of course, we have gotten something like the Baba Ramdev style mass yoga sessions at school from now on. We had the first class today. :( . Pathetic stuff really. Seems the principal wants to do it, because something like this happened at DPS RKP too. So, we have to chuck our older uniforms on yoga days, and instead wear something which resemble track suits. Very very bugging.

Other than that, had a Chemistry test. Went well enough. Managed to sneak in a couple of RAM modules from the school's computer lab :D Feels good. And oh yeah, Abhishek Anurag becomes WarP secretary. So, it's like :
Naman (Prez), Varun (Vice prez) and Abhishek(Sec)

Will write some stuff on Saturday.

Cheers

P.S. Finished Toxin. Good book. Should read. Medical thrillers rock. Manchester United vs AC Milan in Semi finals. Gonna be interesting.

In Computer Science Periods......

2007-04-10T17:19:00.000+05:30

Well, we have been doing step by step programming lessons involving classes, structures etc in computer periods these days.

**Yawn**

Amazingly boring.

However, due to the fact that I'm already lagging behind in the class as far as this subject is concerned, I am trying to concentrate real hard to try and understand what the teacher is saying.

However, the above is definitely not true for my partner, Abdullah Akram Ansari, arguably the best programmer our school has to offer. He tends to find a lot to do during these periods. Today, he came up with a cluster of rather hilarious poems.

WARNING -->Some of them don't exactly make sense. But are funny nonetheless.

Here they are :

*** Death *** ( could be sung to the tune of Master of puppets)

Touch me and death will follow,
Into the deep snake's hole.
Heal me with your marrow,
As I suck your soul.
I will help you die,
I will find the scythe.
Now you are dying,
In the snake's deep hole ;)

*** Love *** ( No idea to which tune this belongs )

Love is slow.
Love makes life glow.
Love is like fluid flow.
IIT, I told you so!
So go kill yourself, ho!
I don't give a damn, no!
Yo!

Note: I know this one is crappy.

*** Chicken *** ( Sung to the tune of Dumb by Nirvana )

I like hens,
But not chickens.
They are tasty,
A bit too pasty.
Cooked with broth,
I will eat, why not?
Except their head,
which taste like lead.
I guess I am dumb,
Maybe just chicken!!
*music from the song dumb plays*
Think I'm just chicken.....

That was it during today's class. There were a couple more, but too explicit to publish lol.

Cheers
Till next time

P.S. School still sucks. Arsenal drew away to Newcastle 0-0. Boring game.

The vista magic :D

2007-04-09T19:47:00.000+05:30

Okay, so I am not a big fan of Microsoft. But here's what I feel about various Operating Systems :

Apple --> My dad has always had an OS X at his clinic. Recently bought a 2007 Mac mini. Alright, so here's the deal. Yes, it's fast. Yes, it's got what almost every typical user needs in his/her PC. In fact, I think it's quite perfect for the usual web-surfing-music-listening PC user. Prices are quite high anyway and hence I'll give it 8/10 :)

Linux --> Redhat is definitely my favourite here, with Ubuntu a close second. Advantage of linux is that it's free, anti-microsoft and very stable. But as far as I am concerned, that is it! I still think Linux has a long way to go before it gets anywhere near replacing the likes of OS X and Windows. It is made out to be more than what it actually is. 4/10 :|

Windows --> Ahhh, everyone's object of anger. Everyone seems to be unhappy with this OS. Personally, I feel that Windows is no doubt the best available at this moment. Fast enough on a good system and has more (maybe too much) than what users ask for. XP proved most people wrong. I would still rate it at 7/10. Now Vista has been released. Yes, the major complaints from the people have been that it's too pricey and if you look deeper, there are not too many changes anyway. But, it is definitely 10 times more stable.
Bottomline : It looks sexy, takes XP to a higher level, has some very new innovative features, and although it may seem to most like copying, has basically copied all the features of the OS X 10.5 onto it's sidebar. So, yes, it is currently the best OS out there :) 9/10 deservedly.

So, why isn't it doing well? Answer --> Anti-microsoftism. Its become a fad. Sadly.

My desktop :D Click on the image or click here for full view :

Cheers

P.S. School sucks. Robin Cook doesn't. Nor does football.

The Simpsons

2007-04-08T18:35:00.000+05:30

Ahhh, well....there are only 4 things I watch regularly on the telly :

Football
Football Talk Shows
Planet Earth (Discovery in general)
The Simpsons :D

I have watched The Simpsons religiously for the past 6 years :) Finished off almost 15 seasons, and I must have downloaded more Simpson episodes than my total music and concert collection combined (I'm speaking more than 20 GB folks! ). However, there could not have been a better thing in this world for me other than a Simpsons movie. And, finally, quite a few trailers have been released :D

Absolutely H.I.L.A.R.I.O.U.S. ( So totally Simpsons )

Short promo :

Trailer 1 :

Trailer 2 :

Trailer 3 :

Lets talk about Cesc baby.....

2007-04-08T16:20:00.000+05:30

Yesterday's round of matches in the EPL were what many would say, a perfect rollercoaster ride, I am assuming that a lot of people would have made large amounts of losses in the betting industry considering the number of upsets.

I'm still terribly disappointed about United's loss to Portsmouth. Though I did want a win, considering the conditions at Fratton Park with the atmosphere and the pressure due to Chelsea's win, I would have been happy with even a point. Then again, its still 6 games and we still have a 3 point lead, so, it still seems like a very happy situation to be in :) Hopefuly we'll get over it and thrash Roma this Wednesday.

Everyone played well, except a couple of errors from Van Der Sar, the absolute invisibility of Richardson and Fletcher and of course the referee was pathetic, the way we played wasn't bad, and credit to Portsmouth too :)

Other than this result, one result which shocked everyone was Arsenal's lost to struggling West Ham at the Emirates. Like always, Arsenal had enough chances to finish off the game within the first 15 minutes itself. Well, whatever, the fact is that the gunners are just not getting it right and are moving backwards, losing is becoming a habit.

So, what about the youngsters and all that were supposed to be dominating the league this year? Okay, so maybe this year they have been hit by a number of injuries to the likes of Henry etc. What does this show of last year's UCL finalists? Was he the only one scoring earlier, are the gunners that dependent on the French striker? If the answer is yes, then there are serious problems at the club. Arsenal doesn't require the likes of Adebayor and Baptista, they need bigger, better and more domineering 20 goals a season strikers. Which is going to be tough, considering, everything big is going to Chelsea and the like.

Their defence looks solid enough and should be better come next season. Another problem is their midfield. Yes, personally, I feel they are definitely one of the best in Europe in that department, but, whats the use of a brilliant midfield if there is no striker to finish things off and the men in the middle cannot score either.

Speaking of midfield, whatever happened to Cesc Fabregas? Potentially the best in the world, he has been reduced to an overworked player. He started the season well, but I think Wenger got it all wrong with the kid. Too much responsibility and no rest makes for a very jaded looking Cesc. Seriously, I love to watch him play, but he has been absolutely crap in the past 2 months. It shows on his face that he is extremely tired and is constantly missing chances, and misplacing his passes. I hope that this phase of his development doesn't spoil his career. He needs someone experienced to play alongside him. He needs someone to finish off the chances he creates. He needs to stop being on the losing side. In short, he really needs confidence. Arsenal don't look like they are enjoying their football right now.

Wenger is making too many excuses, and it has got to stop. I, even though I'm a United supporter, want Arsenal to challenge for the title again. After all, I would want anything to see to it that Chel$ki are thrown out. Arsenal have always been a great team, and it doesn't do justice to their talent, to their history and tradition that such a team be fighting for the 4th position. 3rd looks pretty much out of their reach this season, and Bolton are creeping ever closer from behind. Lets hope they do not become another Leeds United.

So, the United loss capped off an otherwise pleasant day on which I managed to finish off a couple of Physics chapters :)

Cheers

P.S. Have started reading Toxin by Robin Cook

IIT coaching and life

2007-04-06T21:46:00.000+05:30

Hello! Well, so....I'm just back from FIITJEE the coaching institute for JEE that I have been tolerating for almost an year now. Personally, I am still not sure whether I like that place. Yeah, I mean, it's okay but too much of a burden and days can get quite hectic...... I get up at 5:55 and leave for school at 6:45, come back from school at 3:00 and leave for FIITJEE at 3:15 only to reach home at 8:15.

By the time you reach FIITJEE from school, your brain is already messed up enough that one wonders if he could have done better just studying at home after taking a short rest or something. So, in that sense, it's a real waste of time. But then again, if you think about it, there's probably a 10% chance that I'll be putting in any thing more than 30 minutes of study while at home ( maybe even less ) so, yeah, so far, FIITJEE has worked out for me better than for most people :)

On that note, I have a slight problem. I cannot study at all if there are people awake around me ( by people around me, I mean within a radius of 100 metres :P seriously ). Hence, I can only study properly at/after 11:00PM, which is, by the way, the time at which I start getting ready to sleep. So, while this routine works well enough during vacations and all, but on weekdays I absolutely get messed up ( Sometimes studying only for 1 - 2 hours during a whole week apart from FIITJEE classes which, believe me, is far from satisfactory when you are supposed to be preparing for IITs and the like ).

I have gotten addicted to Pink Floyd and KoRn nowadays more than ever before. Very contrasting really, both bands. It all started when I was looking for the covers of Another Brick in the Wall. Awesome song. So, anyway, I am also singing these songs out loud. Parents are threatening to shun me out of the house if I don't shut up :( which, if you think of it, can't be too bad :D

Manchester United are away to Portsmouth today. Should get a very scrappy 2-1 victory.

Marilyn Manson quoted --> " Is adult entertainment killing our children, or is killing our children entertaining our adults? ".
Gives you something to think about :P

Note : Taken from LOTR

2007-04-05T19:54:00.000+05:30

Well, here's a short piece of poetry from The Fellowship of The Ring by JRR Tolkien. Very optimistic, I loved it :)

All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost;

From the ashes a fire shall be woken,
A light from the shadows shall spring;
Renewed shall be blade that was broken,
The crownless shall again be king.

In case you are wondering, Page 241 of the Fellowship of the Ring, Lord of the Rings. I just love the verses, dialogues and poetry by JRR Tolkien in this epic book. They are an absolute joy to go through and read :D

Election day

2007-04-05T17:10:00.000+05:30

Yippeee!! Election day is here. Not that I care really, I am just in the 12th grade and cannot vote for now. To me, this is just a holiday from school. I do not really like the political situation in India. Everything seems to be corrupt. Not that it is, but what I mean to say is, the way it functions isn't exactly ideal.

Anyway, so far the day has been quite boring. I have watched the Roma vs Manchester United game on the TV again and again along with the first half of the Real Madrid - Celta Vigo game (repeated telecast).

Manchester United got beaten 2-1 in this first leg away from home. Personally, I don't think it's a bad result. I do feel that United will get the 1-0 victory at Old Trafford next week. Roma did deserve to win today however. It was an interesting match. Ronaldo, Rooney, and co. were good but Scholes went slightly off the hook (got sent off for 2 absolutely deserved yellows thanks to stupid whacko tackles). If United do not make it to the final 4, I hope he will be dignified enough to take the blame :@

Other than Scholes, my phone's been off the hook a lot lately :D. Getting bored, so have called up about 8 different people since the morning today....

Looking forward to the airing of Planet Earth series on Discovery later tonight at 8:00PM. Today's show is supposed to feature Shallow seas. It has been an amazing 6 or 7 episodes so far. It's given me something to look forward to every Thursday and I have enjoyed every single moment of it.

Will study a little bit of Thermodynamics later in the night but am not too interested in it right now. Alright then, seeya later, am off to play some Sims 2 for now :)