There was a time, far back in the past, when Nikhil and I used to dream about the kind of PCs we'd like to have if we had unlimited resources. Our idea was to get rich, and then go shopping for parts and assemble the most fundoo PC we could then think of. This was in 1998 (I think). The PC in my house in Oakland beats everything other than the HDTV we wanted instead of a monitor :).
Time has come to dream up of a new dream PC. Check out Rahul Sood's blog and VooDoo PC's official website. Drool :).
Nikhil are you listening?
Wednesday, November 09, 2005
Tuesday, November 08, 2005
Top 10 working out bloopers
Vrigo had the bright idea yesterday that I should do something more constructive with my blog... like write about something I know instead of meandering in the deep ravines of philosophy. This was one of the topics he suggested. He wanted me to write about 'gymming'. So here I am.
Even though I haven't worked out a lot (all of 1 year... almost), I used to be a vey active person. I've done loads of running, cycling, basketball, swimming and I have worked out at the gym. The sad things I've seen people say or do in each of these arenas are different and widespread. I'll go over the top 10 mistakes/myths about working out. I should point out beforehand that these are just guidelines. Please take the advice of your trainer in times where you have any questions or doubts.
1. Working out makes you all bulging. This is undoubtedly the reason why so many women don't visit gyms, or confine themselves to the cardiovascular section. This is also the the reason why many a man I've met has joined a gym and expected instant results. Weight training is for muscle development. Another phrase for weight training is resistance training. It means that you are going to work your muscles against resistance (usually offered by gravity, but also by spring, friction etc.). So in my opinion, all excercises, even free hand ones, are resistance training. How they are configured determines the results they'll have on your body. Muscle consists of muscle strands. The rule of thumb is that the more weight your muscles will become stronger by adding more strands, i.e. becoming bigger. If you maintain higher repetitions of each exercise, your individual strands become stronger. The result is the same in both cases. Your muscles become stronger.
2. If it pains, that means its working. This is the biggest single cause of sports injuries. All pains are the way your body uses to warn you that something's wrong. A good guideline is, the sharper or more pulsing the pain is, the worse it is. Even the pain in the first few days should not occur. Your workout should be designed for no pain. "No pain no gain" is for the action movies only. Distinguish between fatigue and pain. Fatigue means when you can't lift that dumbell one last time. There is no pain. There is just lack of strength. Cramps mean enough. That crick you felt while lifting the dumbell off the rack is serious. Pay heed to pain. That is the only way to avoid serious injury.
On a side line, I also advocate the use of restraints and belts where needed. Your warm up every day should include lower back exercises. As your lower back gets stronger, start doing it weights, dead lifts are very good for this when done properly. All upper body exercises strain the lower back. It should be your strongest upper body muscle.
3. There are two kinds of muscle: pushing and pulling. This myth leads to a lot of the wrong technique. This also leads to why a lot of people are not able to invent safe exercises. There is only one kind of muscle... pulling. All muscle works by contracting. There are no 'extending' muscles. You have to get this into your head. The triceps work by pulling your forearm away from your upper arm. Therefore there is no bicep development when you do shoulder exercises. There is however some tricep development. Understand this. There are only pulling muscles. The exercises however are both pushing and pulling. The pushing exercises are for the chest, triceps, shoulders, upper thighs, and calfs. The pulling exercises are for the biceps, upper back, wings, forearms, hamstrings, lower back and abs. Muscles are also different in their length. There are long and short muscles. Legs and upper arms have long muscles. The chest, shoulders, back, abdomen and forearms have short muscles. Pulling and pushing exercises can be planned the same day. Short and long muscles can be planned on the same day. This is why a likely 3 day cycle is chest-back, shoulders-biceps, and triceps-legs. Abs and forearms are too small to be fit in such a routine. They have to be worked out every day.
4. The more I work out, the better the results are. The body can take only so much punishment. Unless you're training competetively, your workout should not last longer than one hour, one hour ten minutes if you have a 20 min warm up and 5 min cool down. Similarly, it doesn't pay to exercise every day of the week. Mass gain exercises should be done only 6 days a week (maximum). Anything more than 3 days a week is god. Also if you intend to put on muscle weight, you should design your workout properly. Consider any muscle group. Biceps lets say. Initially (first 2-3 weeks) you can exercise them every day, let say 8 reps a set, 3 sets an exercise, 1-2 exercises a group. As you near the end of this period, you'll find that your strength is not increasing. You cannot lift more weight every day. When this happens you need to change your work out to exercise every muscle group 3 times a week instead of 6 times. You can increase the number of exercises that you do each session, instead of 1-2, 3-4. Continue the same until you reach your next stagnation ( around 3-4 months later). Then shift to twice a week (for around another 6 months). After that for continued in muscle mass, you have to shift to a 4 day training cycle involving arms, chest, shoulders, legs-and-back, one on each day.
You have to set a limit as well. At the time when you become comfortable with the way you look, stop increasing the weights you lift, and instead start doing more reps. Every time you hit around 25 reps a set, add 2.5 kilos.
5. If I'm very thin and want to put on muscle, I should eat more fat. Wrong. The body needs some basic level of fat for its upkeep. That is all you should have. 4 lightly buttered slices of toast a day give more than enough fat for your needs. Muscle is all protien and water. It contains no fat. Infact, to increase muscle weight, your diet should consist mainly of protiens (for the content of muscle), carbohydrates (for the energy needed in a workout) and fibre (to have a healthy digestive system). Fat is not what makes muscle, protien does.
6. Cardiovascular is for sissies. Cardiovascular exercises like jogging, running, swimming, cycling and aerobics are very good for muscle definition and endurance. Without these, you will quickly lose steam halfway through your workout. Plan for at least 15 minutes of cycling in your daily workout.
7. To lose weight you just need to hit the treadmill. Wrong again. An important part of losing weight is gaining strength. Just hitting the treadmill will do good and absolutely no harm, but combining cardiovascular exercises like the treadmill or the stepper with weight training will allow you to increase your strength so that you can run faster on the treadmill, and thus start burning more calories earlier.
8. You shouldn't eat after/during a workout. Again this depends on what you intend to achieve from your workout. If what you want is to gain muscle weight, then there's nothing better than a high protien milkshake or soya drink right after your cool down. Also, on your way home from the gym, grab that chicken sandwich. It'll do you more good than harm. The reason is that immediately after your workout, your muscles start healing. While they are doing this, they need extra protien. Giving it to them will give you faster results. And don't worry about your stomach. As long as you're not going on a binge, your stomach will do just fine. That favorite energy bar halfway through the workout does wonders in reducing fatigue.
On the other hand, if you're trying to lose weight, replenishing salt and water is important, so you should be drinking a few sips of water every 5 mins. Also, after your workout, try to catch a glass of fresh fruit juice. It doesn't contain enough calories to prevent weight loss, and on the other hand, it will help in preventing that drained out feeling.
9. If you quit the gym you'll grow fat. Okay, I should say yes to this so that you guys stay in gym, but I can't. A lot of people I know berate weight training saying that you'll grow fat when you leave it. This is simply not true. Remember, fat and protiens cannot be converted into each other. So fat doesn't convert to muscle when you work out, and conversely, muscle doesn't convert to fat when you stop going to the gym. What really happens is that working out gives a person a very healthy appetite. This is a good thing while working out. But once you stop working out, you have to cut down on the food. All those excess calories make you fat (that includes the beer). If you cut the diet, you'll keep your sexy shape for at least 3-4 months.
10. Supplements are bad. Yes most of them are. But some protien supplements like Spirulina (R) are very good. They are an excellent alternative to you veggies out there. Soya and spirulina are your two best friends. Mix 30% soya flour in your atta for making chapatis. You cannot get all your protiens from milk and pulses. A couple of capsules of spirulina, one in the morning and one after the workout, can do wonders (even for the non veggies). But, know that excessive protien can cause kidney damage. So don't overdo it. Make protien a part of your daily diet. Creatine is also not bad if taken properly. All excess is excreted anyways so you're wasting your money if you take more than a tablespoon a day. Steroids are a big nono. They cause excessive hormonal problems, and are known to cause cancer in extreme cases.
So there. I'm done. Thanks Vrigo, I enjoyed writing this. Hope you people enjoy reading it.
G'night.
Even though I haven't worked out a lot (all of 1 year... almost), I used to be a vey active person. I've done loads of running, cycling, basketball, swimming and I have worked out at the gym. The sad things I've seen people say or do in each of these arenas are different and widespread. I'll go over the top 10 mistakes/myths about working out. I should point out beforehand that these are just guidelines. Please take the advice of your trainer in times where you have any questions or doubts.
1. Working out makes you all bulging. This is undoubtedly the reason why so many women don't visit gyms, or confine themselves to the cardiovascular section. This is also the the reason why many a man I've met has joined a gym and expected instant results. Weight training is for muscle development. Another phrase for weight training is resistance training. It means that you are going to work your muscles against resistance (usually offered by gravity, but also by spring, friction etc.). So in my opinion, all excercises, even free hand ones, are resistance training. How they are configured determines the results they'll have on your body. Muscle consists of muscle strands. The rule of thumb is that the more weight your muscles will become stronger by adding more strands, i.e. becoming bigger. If you maintain higher repetitions of each exercise, your individual strands become stronger. The result is the same in both cases. Your muscles become stronger.
2. If it pains, that means its working. This is the biggest single cause of sports injuries. All pains are the way your body uses to warn you that something's wrong. A good guideline is, the sharper or more pulsing the pain is, the worse it is. Even the pain in the first few days should not occur. Your workout should be designed for no pain. "No pain no gain" is for the action movies only. Distinguish between fatigue and pain. Fatigue means when you can't lift that dumbell one last time. There is no pain. There is just lack of strength. Cramps mean enough. That crick you felt while lifting the dumbell off the rack is serious. Pay heed to pain. That is the only way to avoid serious injury.
On a side line, I also advocate the use of restraints and belts where needed. Your warm up every day should include lower back exercises. As your lower back gets stronger, start doing it weights, dead lifts are very good for this when done properly. All upper body exercises strain the lower back. It should be your strongest upper body muscle.
3. There are two kinds of muscle: pushing and pulling. This myth leads to a lot of the wrong technique. This also leads to why a lot of people are not able to invent safe exercises. There is only one kind of muscle... pulling. All muscle works by contracting. There are no 'extending' muscles. You have to get this into your head. The triceps work by pulling your forearm away from your upper arm. Therefore there is no bicep development when you do shoulder exercises. There is however some tricep development. Understand this. There are only pulling muscles. The exercises however are both pushing and pulling. The pushing exercises are for the chest, triceps, shoulders, upper thighs, and calfs. The pulling exercises are for the biceps, upper back, wings, forearms, hamstrings, lower back and abs. Muscles are also different in their length. There are long and short muscles. Legs and upper arms have long muscles. The chest, shoulders, back, abdomen and forearms have short muscles. Pulling and pushing exercises can be planned the same day. Short and long muscles can be planned on the same day. This is why a likely 3 day cycle is chest-back, shoulders-biceps, and triceps-legs. Abs and forearms are too small to be fit in such a routine. They have to be worked out every day.
4. The more I work out, the better the results are. The body can take only so much punishment. Unless you're training competetively, your workout should not last longer than one hour, one hour ten minutes if you have a 20 min warm up and 5 min cool down. Similarly, it doesn't pay to exercise every day of the week. Mass gain exercises should be done only 6 days a week (maximum). Anything more than 3 days a week is god. Also if you intend to put on muscle weight, you should design your workout properly. Consider any muscle group. Biceps lets say. Initially (first 2-3 weeks) you can exercise them every day, let say 8 reps a set, 3 sets an exercise, 1-2 exercises a group. As you near the end of this period, you'll find that your strength is not increasing. You cannot lift more weight every day. When this happens you need to change your work out to exercise every muscle group 3 times a week instead of 6 times. You can increase the number of exercises that you do each session, instead of 1-2, 3-4. Continue the same until you reach your next stagnation ( around 3-4 months later). Then shift to twice a week (for around another 6 months). After that for continued in muscle mass, you have to shift to a 4 day training cycle involving arms, chest, shoulders, legs-and-back, one on each day.
You have to set a limit as well. At the time when you become comfortable with the way you look, stop increasing the weights you lift, and instead start doing more reps. Every time you hit around 25 reps a set, add 2.5 kilos.
5. If I'm very thin and want to put on muscle, I should eat more fat. Wrong. The body needs some basic level of fat for its upkeep. That is all you should have. 4 lightly buttered slices of toast a day give more than enough fat for your needs. Muscle is all protien and water. It contains no fat. Infact, to increase muscle weight, your diet should consist mainly of protiens (for the content of muscle), carbohydrates (for the energy needed in a workout) and fibre (to have a healthy digestive system). Fat is not what makes muscle, protien does.
6. Cardiovascular is for sissies. Cardiovascular exercises like jogging, running, swimming, cycling and aerobics are very good for muscle definition and endurance. Without these, you will quickly lose steam halfway through your workout. Plan for at least 15 minutes of cycling in your daily workout.
7. To lose weight you just need to hit the treadmill. Wrong again. An important part of losing weight is gaining strength. Just hitting the treadmill will do good and absolutely no harm, but combining cardiovascular exercises like the treadmill or the stepper with weight training will allow you to increase your strength so that you can run faster on the treadmill, and thus start burning more calories earlier.
8. You shouldn't eat after/during a workout. Again this depends on what you intend to achieve from your workout. If what you want is to gain muscle weight, then there's nothing better than a high protien milkshake or soya drink right after your cool down. Also, on your way home from the gym, grab that chicken sandwich. It'll do you more good than harm. The reason is that immediately after your workout, your muscles start healing. While they are doing this, they need extra protien. Giving it to them will give you faster results. And don't worry about your stomach. As long as you're not going on a binge, your stomach will do just fine. That favorite energy bar halfway through the workout does wonders in reducing fatigue.
On the other hand, if you're trying to lose weight, replenishing salt and water is important, so you should be drinking a few sips of water every 5 mins. Also, after your workout, try to catch a glass of fresh fruit juice. It doesn't contain enough calories to prevent weight loss, and on the other hand, it will help in preventing that drained out feeling.
9. If you quit the gym you'll grow fat. Okay, I should say yes to this so that you guys stay in gym, but I can't. A lot of people I know berate weight training saying that you'll grow fat when you leave it. This is simply not true. Remember, fat and protiens cannot be converted into each other. So fat doesn't convert to muscle when you work out, and conversely, muscle doesn't convert to fat when you stop going to the gym. What really happens is that working out gives a person a very healthy appetite. This is a good thing while working out. But once you stop working out, you have to cut down on the food. All those excess calories make you fat (that includes the beer). If you cut the diet, you'll keep your sexy shape for at least 3-4 months.
10. Supplements are bad. Yes most of them are. But some protien supplements like Spirulina (R) are very good. They are an excellent alternative to you veggies out there. Soya and spirulina are your two best friends. Mix 30% soya flour in your atta for making chapatis. You cannot get all your protiens from milk and pulses. A couple of capsules of spirulina, one in the morning and one after the workout, can do wonders (even for the non veggies). But, know that excessive protien can cause kidney damage. So don't overdo it. Make protien a part of your daily diet. Creatine is also not bad if taken properly. All excess is excreted anyways so you're wasting your money if you take more than a tablespoon a day. Steroids are a big nono. They cause excessive hormonal problems, and are known to cause cancer in extreme cases.
So there. I'm done. Thanks Vrigo, I enjoyed writing this. Hope you people enjoy reading it.
G'night.
Monday, November 07, 2005
Did hemlock make Socrates famous?
Okay, before I start receiving death threats, seeing lynching mobs round the corner of my street, and generaly start feeling like an endangered species, let me make one thing clear. I'm not trying to take away any of the glory that Socrates already has. He very well deserves it. I really admire him for being the first thinker in the western civilization. What I'm going to discuss here is why he had to drink hemlock.
Let me first start by noting Socrates' contributions to philosophy
One of Socrates' greatest gift to mankind was the lesson that one has to question beliefs. He became famous for his questioning of the, then current, ideas about virtue and the belief of the people that virtue is defined by the gods. He also attacked the notion of piety and what being pious means. This one is really very intersting:
Is the pious loved by the gods because it is pious, or is it pious because it is loved by the gods?
It is particularly pointed when thought of in this way:
Does the College forbid this activity because it is wrong, or is it wrong because the College forbids it?
His other repetetive demand was that people try to understand, 'get', themselves, probably a precursor to the "know thyself" in the Matrix (even though that one is in latin not greek). Know the reason why you're doing what you're doing. Analyse, criticise, think!!!
But having said all that, why did he have to drink hemlock? No, I'm not going to give the reasons he gave and the reasons that his associates gave him while they were trying to persuade him to run away. It's done very well and briefly here. Instead I'm going to try and analyse whether Socrates would have been more famous than, say, Plato or Aristotle, or even at par with these comics, if he hadn't made that critical, ethical decision.
That one thing that he did, did really make him immortal. It showed that this fellow really did practice what he preached. He was the real thing... what he did was so very absurd, and unprogrammed, in the psyche of all (except that miniscule exception that we call fundamentalists), that he made his beliefs a legend. Ask anyone who Socrates was and for all the people who answer "That dude who drank poison to prove that he was right", or some similar misappropriation, ask who Plato or Aristotle was.
Get my point? Though is teachings were great, and laudable, they didn't make him famous... they just made him more famous. What really takes the cake is that if he'd run away and continued preaching somewhere else, he'd probably have been as famous as Aristotle or Plato. Or worse, these two wouldn't have been famous at all, because their teacher (hierarchically) wasn't famous.
So, did hemlock make Socrates famous? Yes.
Did Socrates make hemlock famous? Yes!
Let me first start by noting Socrates' contributions to philosophy
One of Socrates' greatest gift to mankind was the lesson that one has to question beliefs. He became famous for his questioning of the, then current, ideas about virtue and the belief of the people that virtue is defined by the gods. He also attacked the notion of piety and what being pious means. This one is really very intersting:
Is the pious loved by the gods because it is pious, or is it pious because it is loved by the gods?
It is particularly pointed when thought of in this way:
Does the College forbid this activity because it is wrong, or is it wrong because the College forbids it?
His other repetetive demand was that people try to understand, 'get', themselves, probably a precursor to the "know thyself" in the Matrix (even though that one is in latin not greek). Know the reason why you're doing what you're doing. Analyse, criticise, think!!!
But having said all that, why did he have to drink hemlock? No, I'm not going to give the reasons he gave and the reasons that his associates gave him while they were trying to persuade him to run away. It's done very well and briefly here. Instead I'm going to try and analyse whether Socrates would have been more famous than, say, Plato or Aristotle, or even at par with these comics, if he hadn't made that critical, ethical decision.
That one thing that he did, did really make him immortal. It showed that this fellow really did practice what he preached. He was the real thing... what he did was so very absurd, and unprogrammed, in the psyche of all (except that miniscule exception that we call fundamentalists), that he made his beliefs a legend. Ask anyone who Socrates was and for all the people who answer "That dude who drank poison to prove that he was right", or some similar misappropriation, ask who Plato or Aristotle was.
Get my point? Though is teachings were great, and laudable, they didn't make him famous... they just made him more famous. What really takes the cake is that if he'd run away and continued preaching somewhere else, he'd probably have been as famous as Aristotle or Plato. Or worse, these two wouldn't have been famous at all, because their teacher (hierarchically) wasn't famous.
So, did hemlock make Socrates famous? Yes.
Did Socrates make hemlock famous? Yes!
Sunday, November 06, 2005
Philosophy or something like it
It pays to have a wife who did a philosophy major. One get a wonderful insight into problems that trouble almost everyone. It pays to have somewhat empirical knowledge about difficult to grasp things like ethics, fidelity, God, mind, matter, self and aesthetics (there are more, and I can't remember them right now :) ). These are some of the favorite subjects that we've talked over all through nights, boozing away like a couple of fish reared on firewhisky.
Those doubting thomases out there, take my word for it. There is absolutely no way one can actually ever think these topics out. There'll always something more to be said about them, and when you're all thunk out on Friday night, well there's more left over for Saturday. And many many weekends to follow.
Here I'll be analysing some insights that I've got into some of these topics.
Tonight... Ethics:
I and Tum always bicker about this one topic. I admit, no assert, that I'm not a guy driven by ethics. I basically do what's right because it's the easiest thing to do. I've had many a lengthy discussions about this. In the beginning there were the basics: good, bad, evil, right, wrong, intentions, consequence, the whole works. She's very good at this. She wanted me to read some books as well, but I don't argue very well with books :).
I'm going to be mixing some of these things here, so kindly adjust ;). There was Socrates who said: "He who knows right cannot do wrong." I'm baffled at this, but apparently the keyword here is knows. It takes the question of what is right and wrong out of the hands of the person(s) concerned and puts it into society. But then, how do you decide that society is right (it just as often isn't, look at our government)? Or maybe into the realm of the 10 commandments (those are pretty straightforward). But then some other religions aren't so "right", are they? How do you know yours is?
I'm going to differ. I've always tread this path: There's the law and there's the Law. The law can be bent. Its preferable not to do so, since there's that idiot called consequence around the corner, and you have to run from it... but there it is. The Law cannot be bent, or broken. You cannot commit murder... there's no bending that Law... But maybe I'm being too stratospheric in my thoughts. Ethics apply to everyday thing:
Do I throw the cigarette on the ground? Only when I'm in India.
Do I follow traffic rules? Most of the time (unless very inconvenient).
Do I do a good job in the work I do? Always (I believe so).
Do I steal? I've done some hacking in my earlier days, cracked ISP accounts, and this was before cyberlaws prevented it in India. It was the idiot who owned the account ;) who didn't change passwords long enough, didn't have decent AV protection :-s
I'm just trying to prove that I don't think ethics carry much weight (and I'm very likely wrong here). I know some people who are highly ethical in some things in life and very unethical in others. The law and the Law. I don't know a single completely ethical person. I don't think such a thing exists.
My explanation is simple. Pure ethics is self-contradictory, or at the very least impractical. It can offer two opposing paths to the same problem, which can't both be ethical.
The intention of this discourse is this: When you can't decide which way to go, ethics is a good compass, but it doesn't always point N. You have to know inside yourself what you want to do. You should know.
Tomorrow... Did hemlock make Socrates famous?
Those doubting thomases out there, take my word for it. There is absolutely no way one can actually ever think these topics out. There'll always something more to be said about them, and when you're all thunk out on Friday night, well there's more left over for Saturday. And many many weekends to follow.
Here I'll be analysing some insights that I've got into some of these topics.
Tonight... Ethics:
I and Tum always bicker about this one topic. I admit, no assert, that I'm not a guy driven by ethics. I basically do what's right because it's the easiest thing to do. I've had many a lengthy discussions about this. In the beginning there were the basics: good, bad, evil, right, wrong, intentions, consequence, the whole works. She's very good at this. She wanted me to read some books as well, but I don't argue very well with books :).
I'm going to be mixing some of these things here, so kindly adjust ;). There was Socrates who said: "He who knows right cannot do wrong." I'm baffled at this, but apparently the keyword here is knows. It takes the question of what is right and wrong out of the hands of the person(s) concerned and puts it into society. But then, how do you decide that society is right (it just as often isn't, look at our government)? Or maybe into the realm of the 10 commandments (those are pretty straightforward). But then some other religions aren't so "right", are they? How do you know yours is?
I'm going to differ. I've always tread this path: There's the law and there's the Law. The law can be bent. Its preferable not to do so, since there's that idiot called consequence around the corner, and you have to run from it... but there it is. The Law cannot be bent, or broken. You cannot commit murder... there's no bending that Law... But maybe I'm being too stratospheric in my thoughts. Ethics apply to everyday thing:
Do I throw the cigarette on the ground? Only when I'm in India.
Do I follow traffic rules? Most of the time (unless very inconvenient).
Do I do a good job in the work I do? Always (I believe so).
Do I steal? I've done some hacking in my earlier days, cracked ISP accounts, and this was before cyberlaws prevented it in India. It was the idiot who owned the account ;) who didn't change passwords long enough, didn't have decent AV protection :-s
I'm just trying to prove that I don't think ethics carry much weight (and I'm very likely wrong here). I know some people who are highly ethical in some things in life and very unethical in others. The law and the Law. I don't know a single completely ethical person. I don't think such a thing exists.
My explanation is simple. Pure ethics is self-contradictory, or at the very least impractical. It can offer two opposing paths to the same problem, which can't both be ethical.
The intention of this discourse is this: When you can't decide which way to go, ethics is a good compass, but it doesn't always point N. You have to know inside yourself what you want to do. You should know.
Tomorrow... Did hemlock make Socrates famous?
Saturday, November 05, 2005
Crap!
I was once taught a very valuable lesson in the first year of my BCS. My very good friend Sumit, finally told me something that everyone else probably wanted to tell me... all the time. I guess it was my one very annoying personality trait. It was this:
If I severly disliked something, I called it crap.... ok not crap, CRAP!
Though Sumit and others (Nikhil notably) thought that I proferred this title on everything I didn't like, my feelings were more precise. I reserved this post only for stuff that I severly disliked. Mostly in the realm of music (though I would also associate it with certain foods, and still do).
The lesson that Sumit taught me was that when I take something that someone else possibly likes and call it crap, I'm making that person feel hurt. I actually expounded upon this (almost immediately) and came up with:
When I take something that someone else likes and call it crap, I'm:
1. Causing hurt,
2. Causing anguish to the person because I've already guarded my opinion with rearguard action that renders it impeachable, while the person tries to find ways to get through (I am highly intelligent), and
3. Wasting my time, because I'm not changing any minds.
Okay let me explain this properly. I love rock. All forms of it, to various degrees (from passable pop rock to the guitar gods like Satriani, Vai, Hendrix, Slash and others). I admire complexity. For me, the term "its got a nice tune" is a term more suitable for ad-jingles than to something classified as music. I consequently viewed all other kinds of music (esp. pop, boy bands, girlie groups, rap, r&b, techno (esp techno) and trance etc.) as being substandard... attaining the title of "music" without really deserving it. With much disdain, I hated such stuff, and consequently called it crap.
And before the hulabaloo about complexity starts, let me make clear that I regarded (and still regard) blues, jazz, hindustani classical, western classical, vocals (when done by one person, well not opera... it hurts my ears) and some bands like Enigma as music as well. On the other hand I don't really like very heavy or death metal. That's just noise.
When Sumit explained this particular problem to me, it caused me a certain anguish. I pride myself in being a know-it-all. I generally don't lie. I am highly independent. I don't take crap! But this was different. I decided to go along with it. But it took me a very looooong time to actually start believing it. That maybe I'm singular in my taste, but my taste need not reflect on others.
I think what clinched it was, "I'm not here to teach the world, let me enjoy myself. If the rest of them want to listen to crap, that's their problem'. I still don't like most of the stuff that I didn't like earlier, with the exception of some rap artists (like Eminem and Coolio, they can seriously sing). I can enjoy some hardcore trance occasionally (though I still think any ass can churn that shit out ;) pun not intended).
So now, when I want to say that the song that someone else is praising is crap, I say, "In my opinion, the song is crap". That way people can continue thinking that the song is good and my opinion is crap :).
And I actually think that it is just my opinion.
But the best part is what I don't feel the need to tell them... That their opinion is...
Thursday, November 03, 2005
The HP Pavilion ZV6000 review
So okay. I'm going to do it anyways... and if anyone so much as dares to say I told you so...
The HP Pavilion ZV6000. The piece that I'm going to evaluate has the following configuration:
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS:
1. Processor: An AMD Athlon64 2.0GHz processor
2. RAM: 1GB DDR SDRAM
3. Hard disk: 80GB HDD (professed, only 72GB, 1GB by me = 1024*1024*1024 bytes, not 1000000000 bytes).
4. Graphics: 128MB ATI Radeon XPRESS with 128MB VRAM
5. DVD burner.
6. Ports and communication: 6-1 media slot, 4 USB ports, PCI slot, firewire port, monitor out, svideo out
7. A 15.4" TFT screen.
8. An 8 cell battery
LOOK & FEEL:
Okay, it will be a misnomer to call this brute a laptop. Its more like a portable desktop. It's big, and heavy and by the standards of my last laptop, this is a hulk.
It is pretty well designed. it has nice curves, and the two tone color finish is good. The bright blue LEDs all over the place are not eye shattering. The screen is bright enough for reading, even with the power off. The keyboard is large and I don't go around pressing the wrong keys all the time, like I did in my Dell Latitude. The overall interface design is thoughtful. The lights for the lock-keys (caps and scroll) are right next to the keys themselves. The touchpad has a nifty button that can turn it off, so that you don't accidentally click all around the place while typing (very useful, believe me). There are visible icons around the keyboard to indicate where each slot is. In fact the only place that I can fault the interface design is in the location of the volume control. That is right in the front, so that it is difficult to reach at best. Other than that this is a thoughtful design for a user interface. But then so are the well placed, large speakers. You _can_ listen to music on it ;).
On the downside, this laptop is heavy. Definitely not a 'lap'top for the gentle. I'm a big guy and I could only hold it on my laps for around half an hour without getting seriously uncomfortable.
4.5STARS.
POWERTRAIN:
Like I said before, this is a portable desktop. That statement is not necessarily derisive. There is a wholesome amount of power in this brute. Think of it as a laptop on steroids. It's processor incorporates some kind of speedstep technology so that it can adjust its processor speed according to requirement, thereby using less power. I have yet to see its declared processor speed rise above 1GHz (with Outlook checking mails, a download on the browser, a JAVA IDE running, a directory copy taking place and a number of applications in the system tray). A lot might be said about the 1GB RAM though. That might be helping.
The hard disk fitted in the brute is a 80GB 5400 rpm. Quite fast at loading applications. My usual suite of Eclipse, MS Office applications, browser windows, Windows Media Player and a 3D FPS game all opened quickly and without fretting. Lots of quickly accessible space is what every person needs.
The graphics performance is great. The game I tried playing on this were rather slightly old. I however did notice good performance on Medal of Honor Spearhead and Breakthrough, NFSU2, and Rise of nations (:p).
I am however going to cut half a point for the CDROM performance. It is a tad slow (probably comes from it being a DVD writer).
Rating: 4.5stars.
SOFTWARE:
The machine I bought came with XPpro. It does, however, come with XPhome as well. The Office suite is more of an advertisement. You can't use it unless you buy the software separately (it asks for the key you don't have). A nice internet dial-up bundle, and a DVD movie player brings on the rear. There is a decent collection of software that one _can_ buy, at an extra cost. I'm going to give this point a 3.5.
Rating: 3.5stars
So that about sums up my purchase. I like the laptop. I was kind of horrified when I first saw it... "What a hulk!!!"... but it grows on you ;).
So over-all a 4star laptop.
That's it from my humble side. Next review will be for the Creative MuVo. Goodbye and Goodnight.
The HP Pavilion ZV6000. The piece that I'm going to evaluate has the following configuration:
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS:
1. Processor: An AMD Athlon64 2.0GHz processor
2. RAM: 1GB DDR SDRAM
3. Hard disk: 80GB HDD (professed, only 72GB, 1GB by me = 1024*1024*1024 bytes, not 1000000000 bytes).
4. Graphics: 128MB ATI Radeon XPRESS with 128MB VRAM
5. DVD burner.
6. Ports and communication: 6-1 media slot, 4 USB ports, PCI slot, firewire port, monitor out, svideo out
7. A 15.4" TFT screen.
8. An 8 cell battery
LOOK & FEEL:
Okay, it will be a misnomer to call this brute a laptop. Its more like a portable desktop. It's big, and heavy and by the standards of my last laptop, this is a hulk.
It is pretty well designed. it has nice curves, and the two tone color finish is good. The bright blue LEDs all over the place are not eye shattering. The screen is bright enough for reading, even with the power off. The keyboard is large and I don't go around pressing the wrong keys all the time, like I did in my Dell Latitude. The overall interface design is thoughtful. The lights for the lock-keys (caps and scroll) are right next to the keys themselves. The touchpad has a nifty button that can turn it off, so that you don't accidentally click all around the place while typing (very useful, believe me). There are visible icons around the keyboard to indicate where each slot is. In fact the only place that I can fault the interface design is in the location of the volume control. That is right in the front, so that it is difficult to reach at best. Other than that this is a thoughtful design for a user interface. But then so are the well placed, large speakers. You _can_ listen to music on it ;).
On the downside, this laptop is heavy. Definitely not a 'lap'top for the gentle. I'm a big guy and I could only hold it on my laps for around half an hour without getting seriously uncomfortable.
4.5STARS.
POWERTRAIN:
Like I said before, this is a portable desktop. That statement is not necessarily derisive. There is a wholesome amount of power in this brute. Think of it as a laptop on steroids. It's processor incorporates some kind of speedstep technology so that it can adjust its processor speed according to requirement, thereby using less power. I have yet to see its declared processor speed rise above 1GHz (with Outlook checking mails, a download on the browser, a JAVA IDE running, a directory copy taking place and a number of applications in the system tray). A lot might be said about the 1GB RAM though. That might be helping.
The hard disk fitted in the brute is a 80GB 5400 rpm. Quite fast at loading applications. My usual suite of Eclipse, MS Office applications, browser windows, Windows Media Player and a 3D FPS game all opened quickly and without fretting. Lots of quickly accessible space is what every person needs.
The graphics performance is great. The game I tried playing on this were rather slightly old. I however did notice good performance on Medal of Honor Spearhead and Breakthrough, NFSU2, and Rise of nations (:p).
I am however going to cut half a point for the CDROM performance. It is a tad slow (probably comes from it being a DVD writer).
Rating: 4.5stars.
SOFTWARE:
The machine I bought came with XPpro. It does, however, come with XPhome as well. The Office suite is more of an advertisement. You can't use it unless you buy the software separately (it asks for the key you don't have). A nice internet dial-up bundle, and a DVD movie player brings on the rear. There is a decent collection of software that one _can_ buy, at an extra cost. I'm going to give this point a 3.5.
Rating: 3.5stars
So that about sums up my purchase. I like the laptop. I was kind of horrified when I first saw it... "What a hulk!!!"... but it grows on you ;).
So over-all a 4star laptop.
That's it from my humble side. Next review will be for the Creative MuVo. Goodbye and Goodnight.
Wednesday, November 02, 2005
Strangers
Happy Diwali Everyone!!!
Let the light of a thousand suns shine bright on your house and make you all wealthy... Or maybe leave out the thousand suns :) (maybe I'm not too good at blessings... comes from being a sci-fi enthusiast).
Todays theme... do strangers ever get together? How long does it normally take someone to become a part of a group? I'm not talking of colleges where you go and make friends... that's your only real purpose out there... I'm talking about the places where you meet the same person everyday... for a month for 5 minute intervals... every hour or so... 5 days a week... would you become friends? At least get to know each other... each other's names? Not me...
And this is my point of intrigue today... Why the shyness? Why can't I go and say to that fellow standing by the ashtray, "Hi, we seem to be bumping into each other on and off for the last month or so... So which one of these buildings do you work in?"?
I'm not too comfortable with strangers... I make stupid jokes, or become excessively knowledgeable... "Oh so you're having a problem with your car steering..." and there I'd go... I'm not saying it won't work... I'm saying I feel self concious before the fact. The fact that I don't see anyone talking to anyone else either points to the fact that no one else is comfortable either... So we all smoke in silence... Which is good... If I have company, I smoke more...
So my crooked wisdom of the day... Staying strangers keeps you from getting lung cancer :).
Let the light of a thousand suns shine bright on your house and make you all wealthy... Or maybe leave out the thousand suns :) (maybe I'm not too good at blessings... comes from being a sci-fi enthusiast).
Todays theme... do strangers ever get together? How long does it normally take someone to become a part of a group? I'm not talking of colleges where you go and make friends... that's your only real purpose out there... I'm talking about the places where you meet the same person everyday... for a month for 5 minute intervals... every hour or so... 5 days a week... would you become friends? At least get to know each other... each other's names? Not me...
And this is my point of intrigue today... Why the shyness? Why can't I go and say to that fellow standing by the ashtray, "Hi, we seem to be bumping into each other on and off for the last month or so... So which one of these buildings do you work in?"?
I'm not too comfortable with strangers... I make stupid jokes, or become excessively knowledgeable... "Oh so you're having a problem with your car steering..." and there I'd go... I'm not saying it won't work... I'm saying I feel self concious before the fact. The fact that I don't see anyone talking to anyone else either points to the fact that no one else is comfortable either... So we all smoke in silence... Which is good... If I have company, I smoke more...
So my crooked wisdom of the day... Staying strangers keeps you from getting lung cancer :).
Tuesday, November 01, 2005
Google AdSense
I've seen enough get rich quick ads on tv now that if I'd subscribed to 5 of them for around $100, I'd be sitting in a pile of money... apparently... special marketing techniques, second selling, smart selling on ebay, the list is endless...
The thing that tempted me most was Google AdSense. Just register my blog on their site, and I'd get payments for the number of clicks on the textual ads displayed on my blog. I was so tempted. Nothing much to do, Google will do all the work, and I get money for making entries in my blog. Whoa! so cool. There has to be a catch somewhere.
I did some research. I found out that one of the first things that I'd have to do is write content that would attract people to my blog. That means that I'll have to write stuff that doesn't really fit in with what I originally wanted to write my blog for. Oh I can go on and on about REM bullets, or start placing reviews about every single thing I buy. But for now the effort doesn't seem worth it... Maybe some day I'll feel otherwise, and find interesting stuff for filling my blog with... I can review the laptop that I've bought, the camera that I'm going to buy, or that mp3 player... I can put up stuff about my car, or the nice places to eat in Oakland... come to think of it I can write stuff like that, which will be genuinely useful to other people...
Come to think of it the idea does sound interesting... and I might start doing just that, but right now I don't want to earn money from it... maybe I don't want to raise my expectations and be disappointed with the results later... I might start doing it once I see how many people visit my blog... I wish I had some way of doing that.
For now at least Google AdSense is a nono...
The thing that tempted me most was Google AdSense. Just register my blog on their site, and I'd get payments for the number of clicks on the textual ads displayed on my blog. I was so tempted. Nothing much to do, Google will do all the work, and I get money for making entries in my blog. Whoa! so cool. There has to be a catch somewhere.
I did some research. I found out that one of the first things that I'd have to do is write content that would attract people to my blog. That means that I'll have to write stuff that doesn't really fit in with what I originally wanted to write my blog for. Oh I can go on and on about REM bullets, or start placing reviews about every single thing I buy. But for now the effort doesn't seem worth it... Maybe some day I'll feel otherwise, and find interesting stuff for filling my blog with... I can review the laptop that I've bought, the camera that I'm going to buy, or that mp3 player... I can put up stuff about my car, or the nice places to eat in Oakland... come to think of it I can write stuff like that, which will be genuinely useful to other people...
Come to think of it the idea does sound interesting... and I might start doing just that, but right now I don't want to earn money from it... maybe I don't want to raise my expectations and be disappointed with the results later... I might start doing it once I see how many people visit my blog... I wish I had some way of doing that.
For now at least Google AdSense is a nono...
Monday, October 31, 2005
The Philanthropist
It's a really nice ad... the one for the new Volkswagen Passat... There's this bicycle rider going down a ghat road, and his headlamp goes bust... then comes the Passat from behind him... He signals for the car to overtake him, but as he sees that the car is staying put, stuck by his butt, he ups his pace and in new confidence, owed to him by the right to sight, he quickly gets through the treacherous ghats while the well meaning car, with its turn actuated headlights follow his fateful path. At the end of the ad, the rider nods his thanks to the driver at a traffic signal, conveying his thanks, while the voice in the background reminds you that the turn-following headlights are one of the not so standard features in the new Passat.
So when was it when that you performed a philanthropic duty? My question is not meant for you Darshana, but it _is_ meant for almost everyone else... when was the last time you got over your fear of robbers to help a hitch-hiker needing to reach his/her destination, on a city road. Or was it that stranded car that drew your pity but you had somewhere more urgent to reach. Or maybe that fellow by the side of the road really did need a trip to his exams, rather than to his friend's place, as you thought...
I want to get my conscience clear... I usually don't refuse lifts on the bike... in my car I've never refused a lift that I've been asked for either, because I've had only one, from 2 students. Simple reason... At some time in my past, I've given (to me) miraculous lifts... Two occasions stand out in my mind:
1. I was going towards Deccan from Aundh rd., a relatively busy stretch, by anyone's imagination, in the day... I was about to join the new concrete Aundh road from Bhau Patil Rd. Basically, for the uninitiated, I was going to get on to a better road from a country road... on my bike... when I saw this van stranded by the roadside. I was riding my bike wih Tum, when I'd almost passed them... The husband was sitting by steering expecting the van to move in some miraculous fashion, while the wife and he 11 year old kid were trying to push it into life...
They weren't even moving it... Out comes the superhero, the saviour of the meek, I basically...:) I stopped my bike behind their van, and against the better judgment proffered by my scared wife, I offered my services. One silent shove is all it took. The van came alive and I got bestowed a thousand blessings and the hope that someone else would do the same for me (they'd already done it, I was merely passing on the favour).
2. A drunk gets highlighted in my headlight and I stopped. This was much before I had even bought my bullet. I was on my scooter, and I kinda stopped. Then I really stopped. Because the poor soul was meandering across the road, leaving his battered M80 by the roadside, in search of something, I have no idea what, on the other side of the road, calling out for her.... or it.... I stopped. I got off, I walked up to him and told him he had to go home and sleep (he seemed to agree with me). Then I escorted him behind his battered vehicle to Katraj (some 20 kms off my way) so that he'd be safe.
I'm glad I'm done with my beating-of-the-drums... blowing-my-own-trumpet... etc... I was doing a favour onto someone in the latter, whereas merely passing it on in the former. I cannot really forget the help from the truckdriver the day I'd broken my leg in the Khambatki Ghat...
That aside, when was the last time when _you_ helped a fellow road-farer. Don't take my words without the caution with which I impart them... Don't give lifts if you are uncomfortable giving them. Don't risk your lives... But do help out. I'd like to believe that help begets help... so the chain will continue...
So when was it when that you performed a philanthropic duty? My question is not meant for you Darshana, but it _is_ meant for almost everyone else... when was the last time you got over your fear of robbers to help a hitch-hiker needing to reach his/her destination, on a city road. Or was it that stranded car that drew your pity but you had somewhere more urgent to reach. Or maybe that fellow by the side of the road really did need a trip to his exams, rather than to his friend's place, as you thought...
I want to get my conscience clear... I usually don't refuse lifts on the bike... in my car I've never refused a lift that I've been asked for either, because I've had only one, from 2 students. Simple reason... At some time in my past, I've given (to me) miraculous lifts... Two occasions stand out in my mind:
1. I was going towards Deccan from Aundh rd., a relatively busy stretch, by anyone's imagination, in the day... I was about to join the new concrete Aundh road from Bhau Patil Rd. Basically, for the uninitiated, I was going to get on to a better road from a country road... on my bike... when I saw this van stranded by the roadside. I was riding my bike wih Tum, when I'd almost passed them... The husband was sitting by steering expecting the van to move in some miraculous fashion, while the wife and he 11 year old kid were trying to push it into life...
They weren't even moving it... Out comes the superhero, the saviour of the meek, I basically...:) I stopped my bike behind their van, and against the better judgment proffered by my scared wife, I offered my services. One silent shove is all it took. The van came alive and I got bestowed a thousand blessings and the hope that someone else would do the same for me (they'd already done it, I was merely passing on the favour).
2. A drunk gets highlighted in my headlight and I stopped. This was much before I had even bought my bullet. I was on my scooter, and I kinda stopped. Then I really stopped. Because the poor soul was meandering across the road, leaving his battered M80 by the roadside, in search of something, I have no idea what, on the other side of the road, calling out for her.... or it.... I stopped. I got off, I walked up to him and told him he had to go home and sleep (he seemed to agree with me). Then I escorted him behind his battered vehicle to Katraj (some 20 kms off my way) so that he'd be safe.
I'm glad I'm done with my beating-of-the-drums... blowing-my-own-trumpet... etc... I was doing a favour onto someone in the latter, whereas merely passing it on in the former. I cannot really forget the help from the truckdriver the day I'd broken my leg in the Khambatki Ghat...
That aside, when was the last time when _you_ helped a fellow road-farer. Don't take my words without the caution with which I impart them... Don't give lifts if you are uncomfortable giving them. Don't risk your lives... But do help out. I'd like to believe that help begets help... so the chain will continue...
Sunday, October 30, 2005
Happy days :)
Yay!!! I've got my first laptop :). Its big, but its powerful, lots of RAM, lots of processing power, lots of graphics memory, lots of hard disk space, and a big wide screen :) Bliss... Now I can blog sitting in my bed... And I can sit back and type instead of hunching over the keyboard... Life is good...
Any guy would understand this feeling... at least most guys (and some girls) would... The feeling of having a new gadget in your hands... the chance to set it up just the way you like it... It can be a new TV (setting all the channels, exploring the menus, checking out how loud it can get), a new mp3 player... hell it even extends to software for me... I love finding out all the things that the software I install can do for me... I've spent the whole day today just configuring my laptop... the wireless setup to the wallpaper :D... and now its all working fine, I can roam around the house and listen to the radio on yahoo! music... yahoo!!!
I even went all around this rented house I'm living in and made a video using my webcam so that I could send it out (and get to use Windows Movie Maker properly for the first time).
Hey this is a weird feeling... I have nothing gothic to talk about... as I'm wont to do at this time of the night... I'm loving it..
Any guy would understand this feeling... at least most guys (and some girls) would... The feeling of having a new gadget in your hands... the chance to set it up just the way you like it... It can be a new TV (setting all the channels, exploring the menus, checking out how loud it can get), a new mp3 player... hell it even extends to software for me... I love finding out all the things that the software I install can do for me... I've spent the whole day today just configuring my laptop... the wireless setup to the wallpaper :D... and now its all working fine, I can roam around the house and listen to the radio on yahoo! music... yahoo!!!
I even went all around this rented house I'm living in and made a video using my webcam so that I could send it out (and get to use Windows Movie Maker properly for the first time).
Hey this is a weird feeling... I have nothing gothic to talk about... as I'm wont to do at this time of the night... I'm loving it..
Saturday, October 29, 2005
Lyrics and Poems
What really is the difference between a lyric and a poem. When I started to make this entry two hours ago, I'd written 2 paragraphs of derisive stuff against poetry before I remembered "Mr. Tamborine Man" and the Dylan vs. Dylan contest in "Dangerous Minds". Bob Dylan wrote poems... That's as concrete an example as you'll ever get of a poet-in-a-song-writer's-skin as you'll ever get... That made me think... I'll get back to what it made me think, but first some examples of lyrics that should have been in poems:
(in 'Brother' by Alice in Chains)
Roses in a vase of white
Bloodied by the thorns beside the leaves
That fall because my hand is
Pulling them hard as I can...
(in ‘Mr. Tamborine Man’ by Bob Dylan)
Though I know that evenin's empire has returned into sand,
Vanished from my hand,
Left me blindly here to stand but still not sleeping.
My weariness amazes me, I'm grounded on my feet,
I have no one to meet
And the ancient empty street's too dead for dreaming.
(in ‘Wish you were here’ by Pink Flyod)
And did they get you to trade
Your heros for ghosts?
Hot ashes for trees?
Hot air for a cool breeze?
Cold comfort for change?
And did you exchange
A walk on part in the war
For a lead role in a cage?
If you know those songs, can you avoid singing them in a tune? I’m not well versed enough in poetry to comment about the converse being true for poems. That little fact showed me that maybe I should shower my wisdom from elsewhere, namely:
http://www.musesmuse.com/poem-vs-lyric.html :)
Here’s what some people have to say:
---
The major difference is that the writer calls poems "poems" and song lyrics "song lyrics". In other words, when you write you decide what it's going to be.
Songs are spritual. Poems are intellectual.
Seriously, the intention of the writer.
---
There’s therefore no difference between a good lyric and a good poem. The Metallicas can wait for their accolades :).
(in 'Brother' by Alice in Chains)
Roses in a vase of white
Bloodied by the thorns beside the leaves
That fall because my hand is
Pulling them hard as I can...
(in ‘Mr. Tamborine Man’ by Bob Dylan)
Though I know that evenin's empire has returned into sand,
Vanished from my hand,
Left me blindly here to stand but still not sleeping.
My weariness amazes me, I'm grounded on my feet,
I have no one to meet
And the ancient empty street's too dead for dreaming.
(in ‘Wish you were here’ by Pink Flyod)
And did they get you to trade
Your heros for ghosts?
Hot ashes for trees?
Hot air for a cool breeze?
Cold comfort for change?
And did you exchange
A walk on part in the war
For a lead role in a cage?
If you know those songs, can you avoid singing them in a tune? I’m not well versed enough in poetry to comment about the converse being true for poems. That little fact showed me that maybe I should shower my wisdom from elsewhere, namely:
http://www.musesmuse.com/poem-vs-lyric.html :)
Here’s what some people have to say:
---
The major difference is that the writer calls poems "poems" and song lyrics "song lyrics". In other words, when you write you decide what it's going to be.
Songs are spritual. Poems are intellectual.
Seriously, the intention of the writer.
---
There’s therefore no difference between a good lyric and a good poem. The Metallicas can wait for their accolades :).
Friday, October 28, 2005
Philip Larkin
I'm not much into poetry... Infact I'm not much into literature either... I like my reading to be light or scientific (either one of the two). But sometimes, some people write stuff just like I like to read it... short, sweet and to the point... like this one by Philip Larkin. I can't believe he's a poet. Here's a poem by him called "This be the verse" (my apologies Vrigo):
This Be The Verse
This Be The Verse
They fuck you up, your mum and dad.
They may not mean to, but they do.
They fill you with the faults they had
And add some extra, just for you.
But they were fucked up in their turn
By fools in old-style hats and coats,
Who half the time were soppy-stern
And half at one another's throats.
Man hands on misery to man.
It deepens like a coastal shelf.
Get out as early as you can,
And don't have any kids yourself.
and that about summarizes exactly how I feel about kids... or rather my kids... or rather
'never going to have them' kids... I can always spoil other people's ;).
Staring at the sun... Ain't it close?
Isn't this a beautiful snap? Its my desktop wallpaper right now, and I'm proud to say that I clicked it. I'm actually thinking of naming it... How about "Icarus"? Hmm I like that.
Wednesday, October 26, 2005
Excuse Me
Life is a drink… or that photograph on the Goa beaches… or it is feeling the wind in your hair after a fresh hair-cut… Or maybe… just maybe… is it your designer nightmare?
Did life ever give you an alibi? Did it ever let you have any other way out?
Find it!
Live it!
There’s always an alibi…
Did life ever give you an alibi? Did it ever let you have any other way out?
Find it!
Live it!
There’s always an alibi…
Am I a beggar?
I’d once given a beggar-boy ten rupees… He was ecstatic. The most I’ve ever given a beggar is fifty rupees… That old fellow thought I was drunk!!!
In the three weeks that I’ve been in Oakland, I’ve been asked for cigarettes 5 times… In the 9 other years that I’ve been in India, no stranger has ever asked me for cigarettes! The other time this old man asked me for $2 for a bagel (can any of the Indians imagine?) and I opened my wallet and the least change I had was $5. I gave it to him…. It took me a few seconds to realize that I’d just given more money to a beggar just then than I’d ever given before!
What would he have if done I’d given him the equivalent of 2rupees (200/45 =~5cents)? Thrown it back at me? Have you ever had a beggar throw 50p back at you? I’ve had.
I’m debating the scales by which one measures the money one earns… I know lots of people (~5 :D ) who’d be delighted to move to the US for 50K a year… They’d live an Indian life in the US… would it be worth it?
Who am I to complain? If I go to the US I’d go just to earn the money. My wife’s doing an MBA in Finance, but I don’t think I’d understand why it is sooooo much more comfortable living in India than in the US. Somehow buying power doesn’t follow inflation rates… I can always get my RKM (roti kapda makan) cheaper in India than I’d get in the US…
So the question comes down to this… Who _is_ the beggar who asked me for ninety rupees for a bagel? Is he poor? Or is he just handicapped?
Am I a beggar?
In the three weeks that I’ve been in Oakland, I’ve been asked for cigarettes 5 times… In the 9 other years that I’ve been in India, no stranger has ever asked me for cigarettes! The other time this old man asked me for $2 for a bagel (can any of the Indians imagine?) and I opened my wallet and the least change I had was $5. I gave it to him…. It took me a few seconds to realize that I’d just given more money to a beggar just then than I’d ever given before!
What would he have if done I’d given him the equivalent of 2rupees (200/45 =~5cents)? Thrown it back at me? Have you ever had a beggar throw 50p back at you? I’ve had.
I’m debating the scales by which one measures the money one earns… I know lots of people (~5 :D ) who’d be delighted to move to the US for 50K a year… They’d live an Indian life in the US… would it be worth it?
Who am I to complain? If I go to the US I’d go just to earn the money. My wife’s doing an MBA in Finance, but I don’t think I’d understand why it is sooooo much more comfortable living in India than in the US. Somehow buying power doesn’t follow inflation rates… I can always get my RKM (roti kapda makan) cheaper in India than I’d get in the US…
So the question comes down to this… Who _is_ the beggar who asked me for ninety rupees for a bagel? Is he poor? Or is he just handicapped?
Am I a beggar?
Monday, October 24, 2005
Where have all the flowers gone?
And then there was the time when a flower bloomed. Life finally came into spring and the tiny tendrils in the brain were suddenly alive and the synaptic gaps there started firing. Its a very curious feeling... being in love... You want to _be_ there not be there... But I couldn't... And I couldn't... and I couldn't... and yet I should, I wanted to you know... but could my fragile emotional subsystem really sustain another?
If not for anything else, I liked the Matrix for that one quote that the Oracle makes to Neo (and I do like it for a whole lot of other things, I'm quoting this one from memory)... "Being The One is like being in love... you don't think you are... you know you are". The movie goes on to explain how Neo comes to _Know_ that he's The One...
And that kind of puts things into perspective... My fragile emotional subsystem would sustain a thousand more... and it still does... because I _knew_ I loved this woman... and I'll make a thousand changes (not sacrifices) in myself to show that I do... because she _is_.
I think that it was Sartre (and correct me if I'm wrong) who said that loving someone is not about _making_ a commitment... but instead, making it, and then, going through each day of your life, examining it, evaluating it and reinstating that promise... _every_ _single_ _day_ _of_ _your_ _lives_ _together_.
In which case where does love itself stand? The answer is right there... Love doesn't stand... Love simply is... But it needs a lot of support to continue existence... It will dissolve away the moment that you let go of that slim, thin, weak line that feeds it every day... and you have to feed it... all the time
And though it might look like it is not there anymore... you need to keep feeding it... It exists... You have to know it exists... The flowers are still there... _know_ that and the synapses will fire again.
If not for anything else, I liked the Matrix for that one quote that the Oracle makes to Neo (and I do like it for a whole lot of other things, I'm quoting this one from memory)... "Being The One is like being in love... you don't think you are... you know you are". The movie goes on to explain how Neo comes to _Know_ that he's The One...
And that kind of puts things into perspective... My fragile emotional subsystem would sustain a thousand more... and it still does... because I _knew_ I loved this woman... and I'll make a thousand changes (not sacrifices) in myself to show that I do... because she _is_.
I think that it was Sartre (and correct me if I'm wrong) who said that loving someone is not about _making_ a commitment... but instead, making it, and then, going through each day of your life, examining it, evaluating it and reinstating that promise... _every_ _single_ _day_ _of_ _your_ _lives_ _together_.
In which case where does love itself stand? The answer is right there... Love doesn't stand... Love simply is... But it needs a lot of support to continue existence... It will dissolve away the moment that you let go of that slim, thin, weak line that feeds it every day... and you have to feed it... all the time
And though it might look like it is not there anymore... you need to keep feeding it... It exists... You have to know it exists... The flowers are still there... _know_ that and the synapses will fire again.
Sunday, October 23, 2005
Are they people too?
I still fly :) :D.... As you've no doubt gathered by my earlier blogs... I love my bike... I drive a car but my eyes are for the bike... I wish that California would allow me to ride with 100000kms under my belt rather than let me drive with 20000kms. Bureaucracy zindabad... I'd be a better _Rider_ than the folks here imagine...
That brings me to a very subtle point... why do people in the US stop when they come to a line where you want to cross on foot... it's pleasant but its uncanny and unnatural for someone who's come from the Indegenous...
Not that I'm complaining... The fact is that they're just not in so much of a hurry... The US establishment has taken the fun out of crossing a road... :(... It has given me my safety, but taken away my sense of adventure... think abt this... you can take any vehicle and reasonably expect to drive/ride ( leaving aside the oncoming traffic that'll kill you!)... these guys cannot... they'll have to get through several counselling sessions in order to tell them that it's their KARMA... ;)
I bet that the next time Manish comes around I'll kick his ass in an SUV :D
Love you all,
~Manjit
That brings me to a very subtle point... why do people in the US stop when they come to a line where you want to cross on foot... it's pleasant but its uncanny and unnatural for someone who's come from the Indegenous...
Not that I'm complaining... The fact is that they're just not in so much of a hurry... The US establishment has taken the fun out of crossing a road... :(... It has given me my safety, but taken away my sense of adventure... think abt this... you can take any vehicle and reasonably expect to drive/ride ( leaving aside the oncoming traffic that'll kill you!)... these guys cannot... they'll have to get through several counselling sessions in order to tell them that it's their KARMA... ;)
I bet that the next time Manish comes around I'll kick his ass in an SUV :D
Love you all,
~Manjit
Free Bird
There are times that a song can affect your life... Really affect your life... Enormously...
Let me start at the preamle... ;)
There was a time not too long ago... that I was free and unencumbered... I didn't have physical weaknesses and I didn't have any doubt in my abilities whatsoever...
Then one day, I decided to ride... It didn't matter that I'd already done the trip on a lesser steed... I wanted to do my first long trip on my spirited one... And nothing you could think of would stop me... not even fate... so I thought...
It was just another day... but a decidedly different one... I'd decided, with Tum, to ride to the hills where we'd spent such happy times together not an year earlier.
Wham!!! My fault... Luckily my faithful steed could take a lot of punishment... so could Tum... I'd had a horrific accident... I'd twisted my foot all the way around so that it fractured...and dislocated... and tore my ligaments...
You don't know what that makes an ex-basketball-player feel like... looking at people walk... when you can only dream of it for a couple of months.... I'd slowly heal... but would I ever fly....
I remembered that I'd started jogging before I'd had that accident... I'd jogged every morning to the sounds of "Free Bird"...
Punish Me!
Let me start at the preamle... ;)
There was a time not too long ago... that I was free and unencumbered... I didn't have physical weaknesses and I didn't have any doubt in my abilities whatsoever...
Then one day, I decided to ride... It didn't matter that I'd already done the trip on a lesser steed... I wanted to do my first long trip on my spirited one... And nothing you could think of would stop me... not even fate... so I thought...
It was just another day... but a decidedly different one... I'd decided, with Tum, to ride to the hills where we'd spent such happy times together not an year earlier.
Wham!!! My fault... Luckily my faithful steed could take a lot of punishment... so could Tum... I'd had a horrific accident... I'd twisted my foot all the way around so that it fractured...and dislocated... and tore my ligaments...
You don't know what that makes an ex-basketball-player feel like... looking at people walk... when you can only dream of it for a couple of months.... I'd slowly heal... but would I ever fly....
I remembered that I'd started jogging before I'd had that accident... I'd jogged every morning to the sounds of "Free Bird"...
Punish Me!
The Return
OK... One year later and a lot less hair... a lot has happened. I've switched jobs, I'm in the US for a 2.5 month training session and I'm missing my wife terribly :(. I actually spent Saturday evening cleaning and tidying up the apartment I'm living in. I don't mean to be male chauvinistic but I don't usually care about how my home looks... I only care about how my home looks to my wife... and my guess is that I'm just about fitting that bill.
Nikhil has been awfuly understanding and generous... He send the whole set of our Goa photographs at 1.5 KB/s (Kilo-_Bytes_ per second)... It took him 2 days... I love that guy. As soon as I get back again, I'm going to try and get a few people around me that I can trust to want to do that trip again...
Riding to Goa is a whole different experience from driving there (I'm not even going to acknowledge flying there or arriving there by bus or by train). Especially in a bike like mine. The time that I went, my bike was a 350cc 4 stroke 18.5bhp Royal Enfield Bullet Machismo, or simply called the bullet. My companion had a 220cc 4stroke 17PS Hero Honda Karizma. The bikes were well matched... in the same way a bull elephant is well matched with a... well plain bull... The plain bull is faster, both off the block and at all points in between, but the elephant commands respect. I can still feel that feeling of ~3 years back when Pungi told me that I better ride ahead, and we took on the trucks (travelling at around 80-90 kph) of the Indian highway at a decent 125-135kph consistently and all because I was in the lead. Now, I have to say this because I've a lot of respect for my plastic counterpart... The Karizma is an extremely fast vehicle... quite nimble, and very powerful... BUT IT STILL LOOKS LIKE A BOY'S TOY!!! No self respecting truck driver is going to give it way when it sees it in its rear view mirror...
The only bike to ride on the India highway is the Royal Enfield Bullet!
I have to give credence to Pungi... His bike is an extremely stable well tamed dalmation snake. Quick of the line, but very stable and lots of fun to ride... ITS JUST NOT BIG ENUF... He told me as much on the ride... It would be better if I rode in front of him because the truck driver wouldn't give him any way to overtake... In my wake we'd make our way as effortlessly as my exmanager through my credentials... EVERYONE MAKES WAY FOR A BULLET....
Forgive me if I sound pretentious... But maybe it'd have been different if he'd had a Eliminator... or more likely not... a bullet is a bullet... I wish to go there again... the only way is to go with other bulleteers...
I'll keep this blog updated.
Nikhil has been awfuly understanding and generous... He send the whole set of our Goa photographs at 1.5 KB/s (Kilo-_Bytes_ per second)... It took him 2 days... I love that guy. As soon as I get back again, I'm going to try and get a few people around me that I can trust to want to do that trip again...
Riding to Goa is a whole different experience from driving there (I'm not even going to acknowledge flying there or arriving there by bus or by train). Especially in a bike like mine. The time that I went, my bike was a 350cc 4 stroke 18.5bhp Royal Enfield Bullet Machismo, or simply called the bullet. My companion had a 220cc 4stroke 17PS Hero Honda Karizma. The bikes were well matched... in the same way a bull elephant is well matched with a... well plain bull... The plain bull is faster, both off the block and at all points in between, but the elephant commands respect. I can still feel that feeling of ~3 years back when Pungi told me that I better ride ahead, and we took on the trucks (travelling at around 80-90 kph) of the Indian highway at a decent 125-135kph consistently and all because I was in the lead. Now, I have to say this because I've a lot of respect for my plastic counterpart... The Karizma is an extremely fast vehicle... quite nimble, and very powerful... BUT IT STILL LOOKS LIKE A BOY'S TOY!!! No self respecting truck driver is going to give it way when it sees it in its rear view mirror...
The only bike to ride on the India highway is the Royal Enfield Bullet!
I have to give credence to Pungi... His bike is an extremely stable well tamed dalmation snake. Quick of the line, but very stable and lots of fun to ride... ITS JUST NOT BIG ENUF... He told me as much on the ride... It would be better if I rode in front of him because the truck driver wouldn't give him any way to overtake... In my wake we'd make our way as effortlessly as my exmanager through my credentials... EVERYONE MAKES WAY FOR A BULLET....
Forgive me if I sound pretentious... But maybe it'd have been different if he'd had a Eliminator... or more likely not... a bullet is a bullet... I wish to go there again... the only way is to go with other bulleteers...
I'll keep this blog updated.
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