Review of Sony MDR NC-13, the budget Active Noise Cancellation option

Aah... the charm of a Active Noise Cancelling (ANC) earphone is something different!

I first experienced active noise cancellation in 2007 on a 179 EUR Sony digital music player NW-S706F. It was a mind blowing experience. Especially since I was in Germany, where the ambient noise is quite low, even the rumble of the local train or bus was cut off completely. Suddenly there was silence like in Ramakrishna Ashrama. Imagine listening to music in good quality speakers in such an ambiance.

Only problem was that the noise cancellation algorithm was in the player and therefore, the earphones with mic + mp3 player was needed to experience the noise cancellation. Never the less, I was very excited about the prospect of using it in India. Long commute to office was finally going to be easy on the ear drums without blarring volume levels in the traffic. Alas, I was disappointed. The ANC couldn't remove the high level noise of Bangalore traffic. Although in office it could immerse you in pure awesome music, on the run it was quite useless.

Now, in 2014, I started using company transport to commute to office. A thought came to my mind about utilizing the 2-3 hours spent everyday for watching movies\listening to music. However, with traffic noise, I can't come to terms to burden my ears with high volume, which seems to be the only solution. Then, I thought why not try ANC, especially since these days we get earphones with a built-in ANC unit with a convenient toggle switch. Plus, since I had upgraded to a Nexus 5, I liked the idea of watching videos on it. Hence, RnD started on available pocket friendly ANC options.

I hit this page:

http://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-noise-cancelling-in-ear-headphones-so-far/

I was impressed with the frequency response vs noise dB level analysis of earphones. Of course I couldn't afford a Bose. So, I decided to try out Sony, my trusted partner with noise cancellation. Ebay.com found me a seller from Hong Kong charging 55 USD and free shipping and voila, the MDR NC 13 was in my hands!

Before I go on to tell my verdict on the earphones, I would like to show a couple of graphs taken from an app RTA analyser which is a tiny (79kb) app that gives frequency vs dB level plot!

Fairly silent room:

Fairly Silent Room

Cab (Tempo Traveler) running on the Whitefield-ITPL road in Bangalore:

Noise Cab

If you see the Noise cancellation frequency response of the Sony from the article on thewirecutter.com, you would notice that the Sony would be able to reduce roughly 15-20 dB avg. The difference between a silent room and a noisy cab is around 35 dB (I'm not sure why the RTA app uses a -ve scale, but for my explanation, it really doesn't matter, assuming there aren't any strings attached with the scale.).

Hence, it was quite encouraging to buy it. Note that the higher frequencies (3kHz to 6kHz) are attenuated more than the average. Although the cab noise is more in the lower frequency range (60Hz to 1kHz) which would mean I would need a Bose quite comfort, I went ahead with the Sony purchase.

Results time...

I must admit I'm not blown away by the earphone. The noise cancellation is as expected, about 'half' the noise is removed. The main effect is evident because of the fit of the earphones itself. The noise isolation is very effective, plus excess noise is removed by the ANC. Overall, I'm able to set the volume dial a bit lower, although it is still higher than a silent room. But, as Murphy's laws would have it, the cab driver changed, on the day I got the Sony and this new guy likes to listen to Radio while driving. Damn! More noise to handle and I'm almost never using the Sony until Radio is switched off!

Sound quality verdict:

My previous earphones was (now my bro has it :P) the brilliant VSonic GR02 Bass Edition. As the name says, it was a mini sub woofer in the ear. The Sony MDR NC 13 has a more balanced output. Not that the earphones aren't capable of extreme Bass, but just out of the box, they behave more balanced. So, god bless Android, I downloaded the PowerAmp, which has a splendid 10 band Equalizer among other dials to pump up the Bass and boy now, my smile returns!

ANC verdict:

I haven't listened to the Bose, or any other active noise cancellation earphones for that matter, except the Sony I mentioned in the beginning. In the MDR NC 13, the noise cancellation isn't very evident at first. Especially since there is a few seconds fade-in before it kicks in fully. Plus, since the noise isolation is damn decent, you are left wondering if it cancels any noise at all. But, once in the cab, I was able to make out the difference. Although not pin drop silence, it is decent. Only recurring expense would be for an AAA battery, which Sony claim will last 50 hrs. So, it seems like a fair trade-off.

When I moved from an iPhone 4 to a Nexus 5

I have been using the Nexus 5, Google's Flagship made by LG for 2 weeks now.

I wonder why Google is sticking with LG for the Nexus 5 when they have Motorola! Never-the-less, I bought it, a white, 32GB Nexus 5. And, this is my first venture into Android. Having come over from iOS, my demands are quite high! The iPhone 4 that I used for almost 3 years has indeed set a high standards.

The only reason for leaving Apple was cost. iPhone 5S was(is) almost double the cost of the Nexus 5! Plus, to have all advantages Apple has to offer, I need a Mac, which will again put me back by a year, financially speaking. And, the new iOS 7 started making the iPhone 4 slow! Many small bugs kept bothering me and pushed me for an upgrade. And the Nexus 5 happened.

What most astonished me was the weight (or lack of it!) of the Nexus 5! It is so light! I never felt it in my pocket (but for its size!). I can't quite say ok for the build quality... I'm not sure the phone can take a few accidental drops. And, the plastic body with a glass front looks too flimsy to me, having used the iPhone with metal + glass body. And, I happened to see a drop test of the Nexus 5 where the screen gets shattered! Phew, I promptly ordered a Cruzerlite Hybrid 2 layer case to protect my new phone! Although this makes the phone look bulky, I feel it is a tad bit more protected.

I was pleasantly happy about the screen. 4.95" of 440+ ppi brilliance! I think its time the iPhones get larger screens. If there would've been a 5" Retina display iPhone, chances are I would've bought an iPhone, in-spite of their cost! Frankly I was tired of using the small screen. Although, I do not use the device for watching movies\videos too often, its still good to have a large high quality display to view websites, photos et all.,

The Android KitKat interface on Nexus 5 is super responsive, thanks to the quad core processor. I think it gives an almost iOS kind of response. I'm slowly figuring out my way in the Android world. It is somewhat difficult for an iPhone user to get used to so many settings. It took me a couple of days to figure out how to disable vibration on typing although I had 'vibrate on touch' off! On an iPhone, it would be a single switch. I don't understand the concept of having many home screens with widgets and app 'shortcuts' and having a separate app drawer where the actual apps are present. But, maybe the iPhone has to be blamed for making me used to fake "home" screen!

I find the locations of power button and volume button to be disturbing for a single hand operation. Every-time I try to wake the device with one hand, I invariable press the volume keys along with the power button since they are located on opposite ends. The thumb is on the power button when my forefinger is on the volume up button (using right hand to unlock device). So, when I press the power button, due to Newton's third law of motion, the volume up key gets pressed! I haven't yet found a way to over come this problem other than use two hands!

The last bad thing has to be the hands free earphones that accompany the device. Being a flagship phone, I expect good quality earphones, if not the best! Just like HTC and Sony have quality earphones accompanying their flagship devices, maybe Google should do something too! The stock earphones are very average. The bass booster setting along with equalizer in the music player does increase the bass. However, the overall balance of sound is not good. Glad that my Sony XB 300 and VSonic GR-02 are with me!

Shifting data iOS to Android has been quite easy! Importing contacts to Gmail was a breeze. I even found that there are methods to easily (and without cost) move all the messages from an iPhone to an Android. However, it requires both phones to be connected. Unfortunately, I had already sold off my iPhone. Hence, couldn't get a copy of my messages. Btw, I'm not sure how to transfer my the game progress from iOS to Android.

Play Store is as straight forward as Apple's app store. However, the flexibility to root and install virtually any apk available gives Android an edge. However, things do get complicated for a user like me, used to a non jailbroken iPhone since iOS 6. I do not have the enthu to sit and search for ways to work around apps and their limitations these days. But, for a geeky feel, Android is probably the best. Anyway, the non-rooted device itself is a handful when it comes to apps available for tweaking. My only grumble is that Android is not so efficient as the iOS. And, the attention to detail is not as astounding as on an iPhone or iPad.

Hope there is someway for Android to not suck away so much power! The battery on the Nexus 5 is a concern since it seems to be getting over too soon. Maybe that's because I'm new to Android and fiddle much more than necessary.

Also, I must mention the auto correct. I have some problem with the way the keyboard responds and gets more errors than in my iPhone. Maybe the iOS is better, or I do not have the right typing app on my Nexus yet.

To summarize, I would definitely say Yes to a Nexus 5 although I think they should've built it to be more strong, like an iPhone. Today's flagship Androids are very close to the iPhones in almost every aspect. The ONLY advantage of using an iPhone is that you can just take it out of the box and use it, without googling for tips on how to change some settings or the other. Maybe I can fiddle around with Android for a few years and when I'm tired of the overwhelming ways to customize it, I can shift back to an iPhone.

5 minutes

Do you agree that the future of a country depends on its youth and children?
Thus, it is our duty to educate them, to lead them, to inspire them to do great things. To invent new things & to innovate.

Given our present state of affairs, do you think we are doing justice to them?

If you think of brand names from India, the first things that may come to a normal engineer's minds are software giants Infy and Wipro. However, we fail to acknowledge the fact that the pioneer of engineering and aviation and industry in India were the Tatas. Back then, under the British rule, the Tatas created a platform helping today's youth to lead a comfortable life and we don't even know that!
Tatas have not only created jobs for engineers and clerks alike, they have also opened premiere educational institutions like IISc, TIFR etc to help the youth get a chance to be exposed to world class education.
It is the Tatas and Birlas that have made India what it is today.

We openly criticised Ratan Tata for coming up with a 1-lakh car as we feared it would increase traffic as cars would become affordable for even 'normal' people! But, we had no problem with VW opening a big factory in Pune. We have no problem with VW selling the Beetle in India for 20+ Lakhs, when it is sold in Germany for about 6-7 lakhs!
We fail to recognise the intent Mr. Tata had in making the 1-lakh car. He couldn't stand a normal Indian family of 3 or 4 riding on a scooter in the rain, tribbles n fourbles as we call it. Think of the safety of this family! Tata simply wanted to give them a chance to travel safely, at the least cost possible. This is innovation. We simply fail to recognise this intent.
We are worried that our cities will get clogged with more cars. Well thats true. Just take a moment to look at the types of vehicles in any traffic signal. More than 60% will be private cars owned by software professionals, and the worst part is that they would be driving alone. And it is this very "professional" who complaints about the unruly traffic forgetting the fact that he is occupying half the road with his newly bought Innova, Scorpio, Fiesta, SX4 etc., which he bought simply because he could afford the luxury.

Outrageous.

India produces almost 5 lakh engineers every year as compared to Europe's 1lakh and a similar small number in America.

And the best jobs we can offer these fresh and probably brilliant minds is in Infosys n Wipro where they are made to provide cheap labour to mainly foreign clients.
Our focus has to move from services to product development. we can of course provide services, but that shouldn't be our main stay, the so called "core competency".

And it is upto us to give direction to our youth.

- write up for my 5 minute talk tomo to get feedback on effective presentation skills.

Silver Jubilee and der Zukunft

What am I going to do in the Future? Is it only me or does this thought occur to everyone?

I'm almost 25 now, just 2 days short of it and when I get this question, I'm unable to find a satisfying answer! Life is such a biach! It makes us struggle from the time we've got our senses and I'm not sure if there is an end to this.

In school, we struggled to get into a good college, where we struggled to get into a good university, where we struggled to get into a good job\ post-grad school, where we are still struggling to make 'something' happen. But I'm not sure why and am equally unsure where this is leading us! And the only thing I'm sure of is that we are all going to grow old and die one day of some disease, including myocardial infraction.

I'll consider my case first... Job... I don't know what I'm doing, nor am I the best at it, but I continue to do something to keep my job. Everyday is almost the same. I get some salary at the end of every month and I seem to spend it almost instantaneously. But I'm not sure if I want to continue this for the rest of my life. I mean, where is the end to this? Is it when I would get loads of cash? or a big promotion? after that, will I be able to sit at home and watch a movie that I want on my Bose lifestyle system, with my buddies? Is this what I want? I'm not sure. But I'm pretty damn sure I want to do many other things... like play the guitar... like sit on top of Chembara peak in the rain with the boys... like learn physics and calculus... etc etc etc, the list is endless. Now I know why Swami Vivekananda said "desire is the cause for all miseries". Now I can understand why prince Sidhartha left his royal life in search of "Truth".

Two years back, when I drove on the Autobahn, I felt I'd accomplished something. Today, when I do it again, its no big deal!

I'll now consider the second case... post grad... Lots of boys and gals I know are 'sweating' it out abroad in kick ass universities. Many are getting internships under big names. Many are turning out pretty successful. But, where is all this leading? Are they going to come back, ever? And for how long? Will be able to spend time with them like the good old days? I'm not sure. I'm not even sure if I'm doing the right thing by staying back in India, where apparently there is a lack of opportunities. It is known that it is better to try and fail than to not try at all! But, when does one try? How does one measure success? Is it making loads of bucks? is it being able to go to a chaat gaadi and have masala puri without worrying about an infection? is it being able to sit in an old temple and enjoy its ambiance? or, is it being able to simply be oblivious to the fact that there is a lot of scheiße going one around!?

I feel we are all living in an artificial world. We are made to feel insecure so that we continuously do something - attend interviews, buy insurance, get degrees, buy stocks, buy property etc etc...

Globalisation they say! Why do we need Globalisation? India, as I know it, never needed Globalisation! Indian climate and location is such that we can easily get what we need most - Food! That is why the boys from Indus Valley civilisation were the first to cultivate food when their counterparts in Rome were hunting and being kaad papas eating flesh, raw. We were the ones who started making Bronze statues for time pass. The guys from the northern hemisphere had no way of cultivating crops and there were made to work hard to find a way to get things moving. That is why they started exploring the unknown. They had to fight for a living. Necessity is the mother of all inventions. If Edison had not invented the light bulb, we'd have probably slept at 7PM and woke up at 5AM instead of sitting out late nights working or studying.
With advent of medicine, the average life expectancy is supposed to increase! But in large cities, 30 year old professionals are losing hair, taking pills, running on tread mills. Is this what technology has to offer? Is this really an improvement?? We go on inventing things and later bring in laws to stop people from using the invention. We just don't know. Some day, we will realise that we should start living like the guys on Cameroon's Avatar.
Why do you think our population is so high? It is because our atmosphere is conducive to life unlike most places in the world. We have a more or less constant climate and almost same day-night. I often wondered why should one "make hay while the sun shines". Once in Europe I realised why! People here are deprived of sun light. Everything we are, we owe to Soorya deva. He is the life giver. He brings warmth, water and food. And, in Europe, most often, he gives only light and no heat, that too for a short time! I don't know if I should pity the guys here. They may be driving around in Veyrons and Porsches, wearing Armani suits listening to their Senheisser head sets. But they always crave for the sun's warmth. Come summer, they run to beaches in bikinis to get a tan, and we here turn black under the sun! Like I said, life is a biach. What fun there is if one gets what ever he pleases?

India doesn't need Globalisation. We don't need jobs from the tech savvy nations. We could have as well stayed as farmers. But no... the world wants to "improve". Do you call it improvement if you buy packed food, frozen meat and vegetables, bottled juice from a fancy super market and eat with forks and knives from a plate at 7AM and 8PM everyday, on the dot?
No Sir. Life is not about knowing what you would do tomorrow! Life is about facing the unknown. Life is about missing that bus, being late to work, soiling your hands or forks with chilly sauce, or mayonnaise if you don't eat 'spicy food', getting pissed off at traffic jams, sneaking home late and getting caught, enjoying a day out in the country side, waiting in a queue to get some forms filled. Life is so rich, we simply fail to recognise it. We are privileged to be born in a place that was so rich that over the years many people haven't hesitated to rob us! We all need to "Get a Life".

Give a thought to a 25 year old's reaction of Wanted's last line - "What the fuck have you done lately?"

Sachin, the best of the best of the best.

My god. He is the best batsman EVER.

Date: 5th November 2009

Venue: Hyderabad

No one will ever surpass this Little Master. No Richies, no Sunils, no one.

I am truly privileged to have seen him play, from the time I understood cricket, as a child. He was an inspiration to go out on the streets and hit that tennis ball as far away as possible! And today, he blew our minds off with his Blitzkreig. I would've loved to hear Ponting say, "We din't lose to India. We lost to Sachin, again."

It is really amazing, how the Little master went on batting like he did 10 years ago. The moment I saw him play, I knew that Sachin would be the only reason for India to get close to the total. And it truly happened so. When wickets kept falling at regular intervals, it became certain that it was only Sachin who could take control. What more can I say?

The master never let the required run-rate cross 8 even once while chasing 350 runs. What makes today's innings mind-blasting is the fact that as a 36 year old, after standing in the field for 50 overs, he made chasing 350 look easy and batted for 47 overs. That is 97 overs of standing and running around! If I were Dhoni, or even a part of the Indian contigent, I'd have fallen at his feet. Sachin is God.

People compare Sachin to Don Bradman and I find that absurd. With all due respect to Sir Donald Bradman, batting avg of 99.6 requires a bow, Sachin and Don are opposite faces of a coin and hence not comparable. I say this because both have played at very different times and under very different circumstances. For starters, the Don has never played a limited over match! Of-course he was devastating as a Test Batsman, but, considering the overall conditions at which Sachin has played and is playing, I would rate him a tad higher than the Don.

First of all, Sachin has borne pressure from a billion people and has single handedly won matches for India, over and over again.

Besides, the Don played mostly only against England. But, the master has played against all test playing nations, both tests and ODIs.

Enough, I won't compare anymore. Sachin rules.

India has produced many brilliant cricketers, the likes of Gavaskar, The Haryana Hurricane, Kumble, Dravid and so on. But the most outstanding cricketer has to be Sachin.

Next is Kapil. I take pride in mentioning a few of his achievements here. As a bowler, he has been the highest test wicket taker in the world for 5 years, highest ODI wicket taker for 6 years. As a batsman, he has scored over 4000 test runs including about 8 centuries. Who can forget his 138 ball 175* against Zimbabwe in '83, where he rocketed 6 maximums and added 129 for the 9th wicket, the highest partnership even today? This paved way for India's World cup winning finals against the fearsome Windies. And, who can forget that super fantastic brilliant catch he took to get rid of Viv? That turned the match and paved the way for India's only WC victory.

It is sad that Sachin was never a part of a WC winning squad. But still, he is the highest run getter in WCs till date, not to mention in all forms of the game barring T20. And at 20 years into Indian cricket he still stands tall amidst ruins. No wonder he is the recepient of Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna. I can't believe Dhoni too has the same award. Thats like Obama havnig the Nobel Peace prize, which Mother Teresa also has!

Sachin, I pray for thee, I pray to thee. May you continue inspiring people and showing them you are matchless.

The kuduremukha adventure

Its complete! a trek to kuduremukha i mean... what a trek!! Some would say that it was too much to do in just one day... but what happened happened!! :)
now that i'm sitting at home with swollen ankles due to 33.3 kms of trek in 14 hours, i though i'd do something kinda constructive... so, i wrote a story based on our trek.

its my first attempt at writing something - anything that big! so, please have a look and give some . Maybe it'll inspire me to write something hi-fi... will may later become a movie and earn me millions ;) That day, i wont forget you :)

I've uploaded a pdf version on rapidshare... click on the link below to download it. its only 192kb!
http://rapidshare.com/files/177618945/kmukha.pdf

Comments awaited!

Kat-ass-trop aka Malcom Effect

"Malcom effect implies catastrophic changes."

"But... all systems are working perfectly!"

"Thats when it happens."

We really think we are doing something big... or, at least we dream to do something big. Little we realise how stupid and incapable we are.
We think being an engineer or scientist or something on those lines is a real big thing and that we will contribute to the welfare of the world. Do you think so too?

"Scientists are actually preoccupied with accomplishment. So they are focused on whether they can do something. They never stop to ask if they should do something. They conveniently define such considerations as pointless. if they don't do it, someone else will. Discovery, they believe, is inevitable. So they just try to do it first. That's the game in science. Even pure scientific discovery is an aggressive, penetrative act. It takes big equipment, and it literally changes the world afterward. Particle accelerators scar the land, and leave radioactive byproducts. Astronauts leave trash on the moon. There is always some proof that scientists were there, making their discoveries. Discovery is always a rape of the natural world. Always."

"So what's the answer?"

"Get rid of them. Take them out of power."

"Then we'll lose all the advances."

"What advances? The number of hours women devote to housework has not changed since 1930, despite all the advances. All the vacuum cleaners, washer-dryers, trash compactors, garbage disposals, wash-and-wear fabrics... Why does it still take as long to clean the house as it did in 1930? Because there haven't been any advances. Not really. Thirty thousand years ago, when men were doing cave paintings, they worked twenty hours a week to provide themselves with food and shelter and clothing. The rest of the time, they could play, or sleep, or do whatever they wanted. And they lived in a natural world, with clean air, clean water, beautiful trees and sunsets. Think about it. We've had four hundred years of modern science, and we ought to know by now what it's good for, and what it's not good for. It's time for a change."

"Before we destroy the planet?"

"You think you can destroy this planet? You can't even come close."

"Most people believe this planet is in jeopardy."

"Well, its not."

"All the experts agree that our planet is in trouble."

"Let me tell you about our planet. Our planet is four and half billion years old. There has been life on this planet for nearly that long. Three point eight billion years. The first bacteria. And later, the first multicellular animals, then the first complex creatures, in the sea, on the land. Then the great sweeping ages of animals - the amphibians, the dinosaurs, the mammals, each lasting millions upon millions of years. Great dynasty of creatures arising, flourishing, dying away. All this happening against a background of continuous and violent upheaval, mountain ranges thrust up and eroded away, cometary impacts, volcanic eruptions rising and falling, whole continents moving... Endless constant and violent change... Even today, the greatest geographical feature on the planet comes from two great continents colliding, buckling to make the Himalayan mountain range over millions of years. The planet has survived everything, in its time. It will certainly survive us."

As said by Ian Malcom, the chaos theorist, one of Crichton's brilliant characters in his infamous book, Jurassic Park. These are excerpts directly taken from there.

If you haven't read the book, you are missing something! If you have seen the movie, but haven't read the book, you only know Jurassic Park as a Dinosaur movie! Go read that book! and then watch the movie again! You will feel the difference!

Those days...

ಆ ದಿನಗಳು

Lights... Camera... Action!
A movie par excellence, and with no major budget as well!
I think its movies like these that are keeping our Kannada Film Industry afloat. Once upon a time, Kannada film Industry aka Sandalwood, had a golden age, with some really awesome movies, heros like ನಮ್ಮ ಅಣ್ಣಾವ್ರು, ಸಾಹಸ ಸಿಂಹ, extremely talented directors, one of my all time favourites - ಪುಟ್ಟಣ್ಣ ಕಣಗಾಲ್ etc! But in recent times, nothing much has come out!

And aa dinagalu is one extremely well directed movie! It has about two songs and not much background score as well! It really makes you think... do we really need a big star cast, major budget. This movie showcases the pure talent of a director. Really! Hats off to director Chaitanya and the 'those days' crew for a job well done!

Its a known fact that movies can create magic. But its really nice to see a simple movie give that delicate touch of finesse. Simple costumes, simple dialogues, simple background scores, simple cast, simple set up and simply brilliant!
This movie reminds me of a tamizh movie called "Velli Tirai" which translates to 'Silver Screen'. Its about how an upcoming director fights for a place in the hoplessly complicated and unfair film industry! The movie stars veteran Prakash Rai. This too was a simple movie. The last 20 odd minutes were simply brilliant! The movie as a whole may not be as captivating as this one, but it shows how simple movies can also be made.

I also remember a song from Superstar's Kuselan... It's titled 'Cinema Cinema'. A line in that song goes "Kadaval yaar enru yaar paartaar adai kannil kaatum inda cinema thaan" meaning "Who knows what God looks like, but its only cinema that shows you how he looks"!

Very True!

You've got mail!

Emails! they have simply changed the way we communicate! I still wonder, how the post offices are still able to live!! :)

Have you written any letter? I remember writing letters to Uncle Pai of Tinkle, long ago! But after that, it just stopped!
Until a few months back. When I sent a Post card to a friend in Denmark, when I was in Germany. I had to literally search for where a post office is, how it'd look and find out what one must ask for!

I started writing snail mails! It obviously gives a personal touch! It feels really great to receive a letter, postcard, something from a person far far away! A person you haven't met, maybe haven't talked as well!

Postcards!! Now-a-days, I have a new hobby. Exchanging postcards. Yes, it may take upto a month for a post card to go to Canada from here (its the longest, normally it takes 10-15 days), but, the personal touch goes along with it! It feels really great to reading different handwritings! Different emotions, different things!

You will feel really nice when you get a, say, two-page letter from a friend! Handwritten! I mean, to think of it, that person must actually make some time for you! Out of their busy schedule, they must sit and write a letter, put it in an envelope, paste stamps and actually post it! It shows the human-ness! An e-mail, which just goes in a jiffy cant really have this kind of a feeling!
And then the wait!! :) Heard of the song kabutar ja ja ja? :)

Everyday I wait to get back home and hope to find a letter from someone out there!

I've got mail!

You can find pics of the cards I've received till now.
http://picasaweb.google.com/lambdaplus/PostCards


Thanks a ton to everyone snail-mailing me!
And a big thank-you to the Postal Department the world over! You people are really doing a great job!

Outkast

Assume you own something, anything, take, for example, a book, a bike, a bicycle, a car, anything! Would you like seeing it get destroyed? or stolen? or man-handled? right in front of your eyes? No!!

Why isn't the same concern shown towards many other things, greater things, truly invaluable things, that truly-madly-deeply belongs to us!

India is a huge country with loadsa people... and many many cultures and traditions...
but... the problem is that we are slowly losing most of our traditions and rituals!
sad... real sad... don't you think? too much westernization :) Yes yes! I'm back to square one isn't it?

Not exactly! (Phew!)

We have different people following different traditions and practices. These people pass on the knowledge to their children, and they to their children and thus the practices go on for generations.

But as civilization advanced, man started going places and learning newer things. He thus started spending more time elsewhere than at home, learning these practices. And so, slowly and steadily the knowledge became extinct! There are so many things that we don't know why we follow, but we still follow! Some of the "high IQ" lot condemn practicing of these as they are "superstitious", as their intelligent brain couldn't find a "suitable" explanation for why it has to be done! Thus we lose these practices as well. We are adopting newer ways of life and letting go of our actual practices, which actually identify us! We are losing our identity!!

The only way to save our stolen identity is to be us! To be with people who follow our traditions... who... (to be completed when I'm in mood for it)

Step aside! The Dark Knight is here!!

Vo mai gyaad!!

This is it! the bestest movie that has been made! the deadliest superhero movie ever made!
All those people who got their kids to show them batman would be thoroughly disappointed! The movie made us see what a superhero really is... and what a super villain can do!

Behold the Joker... the mad man who is as brilliant as batman himself!!

When you watch movies, you generally have one or two occasions where you go "madar of gawd! what the?!!" this movie was almost fully like that!!
We didn't realize there was an interval! and we looked at our watches and "dude! there is another half of the movie still left!!"

I'm gonna watch this movie again!

This movie opened at #4 on Imdb... moved to #3 on the night i'd seen it and next morning its #1!!

I simply cant imagine how there can be such a movie... abslutely mindblowing!

This aint not fair...

Football… Football…Foot… ball… my Foot... your ball…

I was watching ManU vs. Liverpool the other day. It was a decent match, I’m not a big football person… so, I don’t care too much bout the players and all!

But anyway, something crept into my mind and it’s not good :) (as always!)

These guys playing in the EPL and other leagues are paid in millions!! And that too for doing something they simply loooovvvee! And I work my arse away for 9.5 hours a day sitting in front of a dumb comp, screwing up my health, and I won’t make even half of their money, even if I work for 10 years!! And I can never say I looovvveee what I do!

How unfair… but they play awesome football, which I can’t do!

So, I started thinking about the things that I could do… the list isn’t big… but it’s better than – kick balls around big time Period.

Ok, maybe some of these guys can do other things as well, but come on! I don’t think they can do anything that is lifesaving! (Not that anything I do saves life, but it doesn’t waste others’ lives!)

Look at these multi millionaires… they have changed the way things happen in the world! People come just to watch them play! Woohoo! Good job… but wtf! Paying them atrocious amounts of money for doing nothing?? That sucks! It’s ridiculous that the whole world is doing such stupid things! Why pay millions to some 'extremely' good player, when you can find reasonably good players for 10% that cost?! Off course the rookie may not be as good as Ronaldo or Gubaldo whoever… but at 10% the cost he’s more worthy… He would become as good as Ronaldo in a couple of months of proper training!

The various companies like Siemens, Samsung must stop sponsoring these people and pay people like us, who do the dirty coding and bug fixes, in millions! Without us, these companies won’t be able to cough up such huge sums of money, just for advertising!!

There’s one person who comes into my mind thinking about all this…

Dr. Devi Shetty. Every Single day this cardiac surgeon saves tens of lives! And he charges only those people who can pay! For the poorer ones needing medical attention, he waivers the surgery charges, arranges for monetary support and all, and he aint no millionaire! Don’t you think he should be paid in millions for the kind of job he is doing? Siemens, Vodafone, Samsung and all there ‘good for nothing’ companies must sponsor such people to do what they are doing! These are the ones who have sacrificed their lives for the betterment of humanity and society!

If you don’t know about an Open Heart Surgery, please do a Google search and read up! It’s really a big challenge to open up the ribs, expose the heart, use a machine instead of the heart and re-route all blood through this machine (which pumps blood when the heart is being operated) and then do the actual surgery, with utmost care, and then put back what ever was opened, and not forget any forceps inside! One hell of a procedure! And he does it again, and again, and again, and again…

Doctors are the ones who must be paid in millions… not footballers and other sportsmen!

And off course the techchies like me n u ;)

And… what good is football or other sport? Cricket? NBA? And Golf! Stupid stupid game! I don’t see any excitement in trying to hit a ball into holes in the least number of strokes! Whoever came up with that sport! And whoever called it a sport! There’s no running, no jumping, no kicking, no throwing, no excitement… the slightest “rush”, if u may say so, is when u hit a ball into a hole – LOSER! And these dudes are also earning more than they can spend! What a waste! So freaking unfair! Check out what wiki said about golf.

To hit the ball, the club is swung at the motionless ball wherever it has come to rest from a side stance. Many golf shots make the ball travel through the air (carry) and roll out for some more distance (roll).

Every shot is a compromise between length and precision, and long shots are often less precise than short ones. A longer shot may result in a better score if it helps reduce the total number of strokes for a given hole, but the benefit may be more than outweighed by additional strokes or penalties if a ball is lost, out of bounds, or comes to rest on difficult ground. Therefore, a skilled golfer must assess the quality of his or her shots in a particular situation in order to judge whether the possible benefits of aggressive play are worth the risks.

What crap! This doesn’t count as a sport… It’s stupid!

The only sport I would recommend is F1 :)

Why you will ask! And I do have answers...

First of all, all the cars that you people happily drive around are the way they are because of motor sports. Much of the improvements in your car, be it performance oriented or safety oriented, are due to motor sports. It’s this sport that truly is pushing technology to the limits… and being a F1 driver is no joke… its not like playing golf… anyone can play golf… but not anyone can become a F1 driver…

An F1 driver needs to be super fit… He loses 3-4 liters of water during a single race! And, he has to take split second decisions driving at average speeds of 220kmph. It’s not a joke!

As opposed to a golfer… stupid game – golf.

And the driver must know how the car works… so that he is able to give decent feedback to his race engineers. All F1 drivers must at least be given honorary bachelor degrees in automotive engineering! Again, its not justified these drivers are paid in millions… coz people like me are ready to drive everyday, just if these companies agree to fill our tummies and nothing else! So, for much lesser cost, they can do all the testing, albeit in two/three tries! Which is good enough coz with experience; we can become Michael Schumacher like. Oh and FYI Schumi donated 10 million US$ for Asian tsunami victims.

Bottom line – what I’m trying to say here is, people like us, are ruining our health by sitting in front of a computer and working our arses away to god knows where, for meager amounts of money. And sport “stars” are paid to have a fitness regime, wear Nike, drink coke, and play!! Ridiculous! We have to kiss arse with the managers to get out of work on time so that we can do a little bit of jogging, which will maintain out health and help the company in turn… - No one cares!

Damn.

FYI - Christiano Ronaldo, one of the super well known footballers owns a couple of cars costing 100,000 bucks Plus... I bet he cant say whats head or tail of it... He just knows to drive.
I also bet not all sports persons can tell why a computer suddenly switched off... Is it the hardware? Is it the software? I bet loads of YOU won't know that either!

I'm not saying everyone must know everything... But, a mere footballer earns in millions, but a person like u n me, who statistically knows more than that sportler is earning around 500$ for a month of slogging-the-arse off

Todays games

People who know me even a little would know that i'm a major game freak...
i may not be the Ult1mat3 Nem3sYs or Fatal1ty or g0D in gaming, but, i had my days as a good gamer in college...
Under the aliases of kab4al, uk, kat-ass-trop, dark horse and so on, i've created fear in many a hearts with my skillful fragging... want proof? have a look here...

chk eetz the frags by the kabals... oh... and here is quake...

so... i'm a good gamer... and i play a loads of games... well... at least i used to!!

I read an article by Mr.Maddox and i started thinking! Seriously! there is a point! whats the point in playing games with super duper graphics?! i mean come on! one needs to work hard to actually win in these!! i can give you loads of examples of such games! where you have to search for shit, or fight with 'villians' and the hi definition graphics makes this suck!
i'll show u an example... have a look here...


















i'm actually driving a car... and can barely see whats ahead! actually the picture is just one frame... so you can see stuff pretty clearly here... but, imagine at a frame rate of 40+... you can barely see a thing! and it becomes ridiculously tough to actually drive the car!

i started playing the game to have a good time! not a tough time trying to find where the freakin spikes are!!

now a days the concept of a good game has undergone so much change! i still remember those days when i used to love dave! and not to say the TV video games! awesome fun!! Hell yes! Contra!! and also kung fu... mario... road rage etc etc etc! i would be so thrilled to play those games!! every single time! but i don't see that happening now a days!

why is there such a change!! games are not only about extreme graphics and reality! its about the fun factor! which i would say most of today's games are missing or... its better put as being short lived...

may of you have heard of Grand Theft Auto... what an absolute kick ass game it is! i started playing GTA 2... which is a very low graphics game compared to its successors... as a result, the controls were damn easy... and the handling was awesome! but with GTA 3, vice city and others coming, the game became a first person type... and damn! was it tough!! and San Andreas! i think i played it only for 2 days... and got bugged of it... every time i enter a car, i have to set my camera to behave the way i want... but it refused! its so frustrating!! the whole purpose of gaming is defeated! where is the fun?!!

I hope the game developers go back and see what we really need!

there have been absolute kick ass games... like CS 1.6, HL, Quake, UT2000, Serious Sam, NFS PU, AOE, AOM, Max Payne etc... i hope i can keep playing these again and again and again!!

da fundas de life - 1NE

Eminem once sang

Lose yourself in the music
the moments u own it
u better never let it go
u only get one shot do not miss your chance blow
cause opportunity comes once in a lifetime!

and its pretty damn true!!
we dont realise how precisious and cool our lives are! and we bitch about small insignificant shit!

so I, the noble guy that I am, will give you fundas... so that you will appreciate ur life and thus other's lives too... so the whole world would become a cooler place to live in!

bring on the comments on whats bothering u... n i'll show the easy door...

to start with,

problem 1ne - traffic
well, almost all the ones living in major cities working for IT or otherwise find the city's traffic too ridiculous! u get pissed off to ride ur bike/drive ur car... coz theres just no place... and the agonizing traffic lights... damn! i need a break!

solution - u need a cell phone... and an opposite sex person to sms to...
how will this help? - well... once u start sending n receiving sms, trust me, u will forget about traffic! u will want the traffic jams to be bigger... so that you will get time to message back!
and every time ur phone vibrates in ur pocket, you would be eager to stop ur vehicle at the next signal! so the traffic signals dont bother you no more! :)

see... simple funda...

The sculptors.... aka architects!

This is, leddiez and gentulmans, ein tribute to the ones who are responsible for what i am now!
they are the ones with whom i went to school/college/tution/wherever!
they are the ones who have influenced me in more than one way... good or bad...
they are the ones who have sculpted this fine sculpture that is me... which you already know ;)
they are the architects...
if u are pissed off with me, just imagine what more off a kat-ass-trop i'd have been if these sculptors werent there!

so... the list begins... and theres no end to it... and also, there will/can be additions!

Mr.Beasty
normally called manju... likes to be called yash...
fokr is in purdue n will become a roket scientist soon... :D
boy is fully talented, purdue, need i say more?!
average build... a proof that knowledge dont need space to be stored in!
encyclopaedia boy he is! panta in kannada, english and many other things!


Mr.Panta

normally called Vivek... likes to eat and sleep and game...
fokr is in mysore aaraamse passing time with no or little or over work @ infy...
panta is his name... and for a reason! every ounce of fat in him has some knowledge... reads hell lotta books, watches umpteen movies, eats like a pig...
my roomie for a year and more...

Mr.Nekro
normally called sudhiranjan... likes ***n...
fokr is in hydbad doing some shit...
Nefarious necro... the gre boy ;) waste body is still in hydbad kiththing what i dont know!
father of age of mythology... my roomie for a year....
(Update - 9/12/08)
maame is on International bench!! TCS 1 yr US onsite made him work for 23hrs a day for first few months... and now... boy is on friggin bench... while onsite! spends most of his time playing the big brain thingy on facebook...


Mr.Don
normally called vinod... marwadi boy... from badhravati village :D
fokr is in aamchi mumbai kiththing with TCS... full practical boy...
likes to sing crawling by linkin park... my roomie for a year or so...
(update - 9/12/08)
Daan... still in mumbai... unmarried marwadi boy... lo... ur demand and dakshine will go down if u continue this way...

Mr.Veejay

normally called vijay... talented singer boy...
fokr is in IISc, offcourse also with his singing! founder member of a band called Blendzzz... boy sings like a girl also!! major Rahman fan... started listenin to english recently :)
(update - 9/12/08)
dude is in Univ of Texas... has braved Mr.Gustav and Ms.Ike... and maybe more!


Mr.Chichi

Normally called Niranjan... pukka shetty...
fokr is in IBM doing something that he doesnt like! coz he aint earning in the 8lakh bracket... always wants kaasu kaasu kaasu... he eats kaasu, breathes kaasu, drinks kaasu, thinks kaasu... does everything with kaasu except spending it!
uncle buddhi... gives advice on everything, if needed...
kollegal boy... so little danger... full links with veerappan...
"kaas michcha maadodu" is his motto... a little chool party also ;)
(update 9/12/08)
Item jumped to havuvei or whatever tht company is... doing loads of kaas michcha...

Mr.Thabdey

normally called Chetan...
fokr is aiming for a green tag with wipro in hydbad...
full genius boy from gangavati... wrote GATE... and lost his admit card... so couldnt go to IISc... ontara waste body! :)
but... full sheer geniusness oozing out in all directions from him...
(update 9/12/08)
Nothing could hold him back from IISc... boy quit job and is back in namma bengaluru preparing for GATE 09... ppl who are gonna write Gate 09... theres no hope for ur percentile when this bugger is around.


Mr.Paapi
normally called rajlaxman...
fokr is in Chennai, TCS, behind some black babes... (boy likes black babes!)
full painting talenty boyge... everywhere he can paint... Everywhere!
full hardworking boy... full determination... never say die attitude boy...
an indefatigable thirst to get as many marks in the exams...
(update 9/12/08)
Annavru is comitted... comitted to "art"... exhibiting his art in Chennai... apart from working with the tatas.




Mr.Bob
normally called prabhu...
fokr in mysore... sitting prolly on infy bench...
boy plays more quake than he breathes! makes a circus our of quake... forgets the fact that its a game of fragging... always strafe jumping, plasma climbing, verticle/horiz verbounce and similar shit... i always beat him at quake ;) gauntleted him many times :)

Mr.Atti
normally called srinidhi...
fokr is in bosch... posted as a hardware engineer... haha... paapa...
full homely boy... in an ideal way... rules are to be followed... and never broken... first bencher in class... every day, every class, all the 4 years of BE!
all assignments are for our good... so must be done...
my roomie in germany... cooks awesome bisi bele baath!




now are the ones without pics! coz i dont have the pics... or havent found them yet...

Mr. Dandra - normally called prasad... a delicate balance between rebel and ideal boy... hard working! full thale... not puttin it to use properly! fokr was in wirpo... jumped to samsung for more moolah!
Mr. Chutan - normally called Chetan... ideal mechie... bindaaas... handsome dude... fokr in IBM... a typical chik magnet... lives life to the fullest... no kirik... no tension...
Mr. Raghavendra - a special mention! normally called Guru! coz he is the one kinda fellas!! fokr is in ITPL... knows hell lotta computers... major programmer... NITK material! one of the deadli boys who pioneered the sculpting of the the sculpture which is writing this!
(update 9/12/08) He is doing what he was meant to be doing! Indian Institute of Science!
Mr.Pramod NDA - normally called Pramod... fokr is in Army! protecting us without our knowledge! much like the van allen belts!! among the pioneers!
Mr. Suraj Jain (Dr) - normally called suraj... marwadi number one! is a doctor now... but full different genre of talents boy has! also a pioneer in the sculpting business!

there are many more such fellas... but time is up... i need to go! so i might have skipped ur names... so... u can catch me and kick my ass for missing u ;)

catch me if u can...

This world is a Matrix...

stop talking about technology...

we dont need no technology... we goddamn OWN technology!

we are in a Matrix... built to make us believe as true what really is false...we must get unplugged...
i can only offer you the truth... i can only lead you to it... believing it is up to u...

ur so called NASA, with all the hi-fi hubble space exploorer and several other similar stuff has declared pluto as a dwarf planet... and they could do it only now!! in the year 2006 AD!!

our Rishis, with no hi-fi equipment had already calculated pluto's eccentric orbit... and that it was a small object... unlike normal planets!

these technologically adcanced countries didnt even know earth was round!! Aryabhatta had proved in his time (500 AD) that earth was round... and it's already stated in the vedas which (i believe) are by far the oldest scripturs available on earth!

even in the 1400s when columbus set out to find a route to India, he was not funded as europeans thought earth was flat and columbus would fall off it trying to find a reverse route!! God!!

so much for NASA... we are ready to believe whatever they say! our Ramayana has told about rama-sethu... and we never believed it... and still many dont believe it! and when NASA released a picture of, what they have called Adam's bridge, which is nothing but the rama sethu, we are like, "oh really!! i didnt know!"

u can read this article about it, if interested...

speed of light...

people in Aristotle's (380 BC) era believed light had infinite speed!! only in 1675 AD was rough estimates made about speed of light...but... in Rigveda, already speed of light was calculated! and accurately! not mere estimates!! see this...

nimishardha is the term used! u can find another article about this in here

and you people say you are looking for technology!!

you want more?

yoga... everyone knows the goods of yoga... and i wont say anything about it! no elaborate and expensive gym equipments and u have a fit body, and a healthy mind to go along!talking about medicine, we all know charaka and sushruta... who have done proper surgeries in their times!! u can search some info about them on wikipedia!

ok... now lets talk about war technologies...

the most deadliest weapon... the nuke... haha! already has been used... no no... i'm talking about before nagasaki and hiroshima...it is said a nuke was used during mahabharatha... the kurukshetra war... where 16 billion people

have said to have been killed in a span of 18 days!! *todays world population is around 6.5 billion*

this is the translation of the description of the episode, translated from Musala Parva of Mahabharatha...

…Gurkha, flying a swift and powerful vimana hurled a single projectile

Charged with all the power of the Universe.

An incandescent column of smoke and flame

As bright as ten thousand Suns

Rose in all its splendor…

…it was an unknown weapon,

An iron thunderbolt,

A gigantic messenger of death,

Which reduced to ashes

The Entiure race of the Vrishnis and the Andhakas.

…the corpses were so burned

As to be unrecognizable.

Their hair and nails fell out;

Pottery broke without apparent cause,

And the birds turned white.

After a few hours

All foodstuffs were infected…

…To escape from this fire

The soldiers threw themselves in streams... (courtesy gurudev's blog)

still u question our oldies?! damn!

i've shown you we are better in Nuclear physics, astronomy, chemistry, Biology... lets talk geology...

i'm tired man... u people seem to be unworthy of the information you are getting! simply click here

even the ramayana... the vanaras mentioned were indeed present! search for neanderthal man and u will see... dating back ramayana, it shows it happened at a time when humans had evolved from monkey-men... and there were also the monkey-men, both co-existed... and some theories say jambhavan was a yeti... the whole world is realising the truth slowly... but we... being Indians are oblivious to these facts!!

we were always living at one level higher than the rest of the world... untill now a days!! in the recent times, when we say history, it is only about British India... and struggle for Independence! which is again a part of the non-Indian system of education!

and we go to hi-fi English medium schools!we talk english, walk english, laugh english! and most of us cant even read and write out own mother tongues!! what are we headed towards?!

go to europe... Germans speak only German... all boards, announcements are in german... same is the case with italy, France, spain, Austria... everywhere in Europe! no one really cares about English! why are we giving it so much improtance?!
i'm not against english or any other language or culture!! the point im trying to make is that we are giving English so much importance that we are neglecting our languages! how many of you non Karnataka people are in bangalore from considerable time? have you given one thought about learning Kannada? no... why? coz everything is available in english... but... for a 4 month deputation to germany, i was in a german course learning the basics of the language... so that i dont get lost one there!i mean, ok... flexibility aside, must we not learn our language with passion? it OUR LANGUAGE! its ours!! if we dont talk about it, who else will?!!

Samskritham, the mother of all languages... none of us knows anything about it! again... untill the westerners talked about it! only when Forbes magazine talked about sanskrit as a perfectly built language, extremely well suited for computer programming did we think about it...

whats with us?! why are we like this?! we nod to everything the "developed" countries say! we are something like slaves! doing what they say... everytime!! :(

it saddens me that people around me question "why must i study sanskrit?"

we learn A B C from kindergarten and even at 10th Std we are skeptical about taking up sanskrit!! its our way of life... our culture... we have to be proud about it!
over these years, we have been so accustomed to the western education that we believe our culture is inferior! we are so ignorant that we condemn it as superstition!! so much hopless our state has become that the word 'purana' has come to mean nonsense!! that so not right!

take any field, we had a role to play... all the number system... advanced mathematics... tigonometry... everything was pioneered by our ancestors in those days... and yet somehow, we dont ackowledge that!
MANY WESTERN SCHOOLS TODAY TEACH VEDIC MATHEMATICS IN THE NAME OF MENTAL MATHEMATICS WITHOUT GIVING THE ANCIENT INDIANS AND THE VEDAS THE DUE CREDIT THEY DESERVE!!

i have heard about some schools in Russia having prayers in Sanskrit! and we, we pray in english! full "hi-fi" that we are!

Indus valley civilization was the most advanced civilization of its time! ask any archaeologist, he will tell u! we were the ones who were cultivating crops (including crop rotation)when the rest of the world were wanderers and nomads living on hunting and eating raw meat. its no wonder the europeans still dont cook their food well... and eat it witout

anything at all... just plain and raw! they are so behind us!!

see the link below for more info about the Indus Civilization...

this is our history! and you want us to FORGET IT?!!
its not some pathetic love failure in my dumb ass life that i can say "that was the past... let me forget it!"
i bet none of ur dumb asses had no goddamn clue how rich our heritage is... damn!

you people want us to catch up with "technologically developed" countries? the ones which are fighting wars for no reason... doing crap in the name of religion? u must be out of ur mind!

if you are thinking i-pods and laptops and hi-fi technology... then u are **** i'm not finding a word... one of u brilliant GRE greats can fill up this blank...

it hurts me to see young kids going around with earphones on listenin to music on their new hi-fi gadgets! they are harming their ear! soon they will be deaf!

why were our great grandfathers and their generation people able to live for 100+ years? coz they we not relying on ur so called "technology"technology is synthetic... and everything synthetic has side effects, which are BAD! even the 'english' medicine u take has side effects! i hear there is a subject for the MBBS ppl which deals with what medicines have what kinds side effects!

we have all the required technology... we only need to see it! only then will we improve... buy going behind the "technologically developed" countries, we will get no where but more inferior in our own eyes!

everything in those places are catchy... everything automated... EVERYTHING! u dont need to ask anyone for directions... u can follow the signs and get anywhere... u dont even need to ask for the location of a street... u will find it... but whats the point?! limited human interaction... our country is great... as put in the opening song in Sivaji - "pakkatu veetukkum seethi samakkira panbu inge valzhum".

and wo... we talk crap about the superstar and his anti newtonian stunts... but we watch Matrix with mouths wide open! "kya sexy scene thi yaar! kya jump maara, saala!"
we accept everything western without a question... and we raise infinite questions about our stuff!!

and i still cant understand so many NGOs teaching small children english! its not needed!! they need to learn the true Indian culture! that will give them all they need to live happily ever after! teach them hindi, kannada, tamil, sanskrit... maths... why english?!!

we dont need to teach them freedom struggle so early... thats the past which we can forget and talk about later!
not this!

give it a thought! what we are doing is crap... crap... and seriously 100% pure u know what... :(

lets change!

goddamn serious thought

Inndiaaaaa Inndiaaaa! clap clap clap... Inndiaaaaa Inndiaaaa! clap clap clap!

**********no disclaimer**********
i want every single mofo to read this and understand what shit he/she is upto
if u cant handle this language... u will never be able to handle anything at all!
u must be happy u were not in front of me when i was typing this...
*******no disclaimer ends********

what ever you say, our country rules! there is no way that is going to change!!
after 4 months in europe, i have learnt it, the fukin hard way...
Believe me ladies and gentelmen... damen und herren... u dont know what our country is worth!

this is a warning message to all those leaving India to "pursue" "higher fukin studies" or whatever in the US or wherever the hell they are going...
just lose that thought... you are getting no where...

first... leme start with the basics...

why do we study?
to learn new things...
why?
i'm interested in something and i wanna know more...
what else?
i like this... i like that... blah blah....
ok! time out! stop all this... and tell me where u are headed?
i wanna give the world some thing... i wanna make a goddamn difference... i dont wanna live like some normal nigger...
oh! so... u wanna be supernormal? beware... be fukin aware... u may be headed towards abnormality!!

i did a little bitta questioning about why ppl go abroad... and the reasons i got are pathetic!
if u tell me i'm goin abroad coz i wanna bone some biach n make a mark, that would be close to reality... everything else is 100% pure unadulterated bird poo...

here are some of the reasons i get! and i quote
"not enough opportunities here"
"the course i'm taking up is not available here"
"too much discrimination based on caste... and with reservation, i get nothing" - the one reason i felt sorry about
"i wanna make a difference... i will come back and do something for my country" - well u better remember the latter part... i hope the perspective of my country doesnt change!!
"prospects of a better job"
"$ dude! i can make a hell lotta money" - go for it man! u can do it!!

see what i mean!!
you are prepared to leave your country, your parents, your near and dear ones for ever!! and for such lame reasons?!!
i goddamn cant comprehend this shit!! are u drunk or something?!!

dont you think the only thing that you need to do in life, as your goddamn moral responsibility, is to keep your parents happy? so... screw thoughts of world improvement and such other "noble" endevours...
first do what u must do... you are not albi (i call einstein that, tribute to FRIENDS episode 9x20).
and the first step in keepin your parents happy is in your presence with them...

life... ur living it, not for urself... its for ur family, ur mom, ur dad, ur sis, ur bro and prolly ur unknown children and then the known ones as well... and... u dont need to make urs so glamorous... u gotta kill ur ass to make theirs glamorous... and going abroad is not the fukin way!

u wanna live happily, what better way than making the ones around u feel good about ur fukin presence?
do u know what is the most important thing u need to make that happen?? its easy... u gotta fukin be there, with them... when they need u... & making a fukin phone call from some foreign soil and saying "hi... im doing good... listen, i need to go, i got an assignment to submit in one hour" doesnt exactly qualify...

what good is it if you are 10 hours behind IST and you need two years to come back... for a short visit! coz u dont get enough holidays... and the tickets are damn expensive!
oh hero! you were on a quest for making money... what point in making it and not spending it?! damn! u people! so fukin unbelivable!

do you understand how much this decision is going to change you life?! it will never again be the same!
and for one moment, dont think its fun to live in a foreign developed country... no matter how developed the country is, you are still a foreigner there... and they know it!
do you fancy taking a shower in a 4x4 tub, with curtains drawn so that no water gets spilt on the non water proof floor?! who the makes a bathroom floor and doesnt make it water proof?! "oops! sorry, i forgot!"
a goddamn bathroom needs to be water proof! its the basic requirement!
you are not allowed a postpaid mobile connection as u dont have a SSN (social secutiry number, a number to identify ur lame ass coz numbers are easier to search than people's names) which u get only when u work. and prepaids suck as incoming calls are charged!!
plus... do u fancy working as a waiter in a restaurant? a janitor in a dorm (unless its a gals dorm, i'm not at all interested), a moote horavnu in wallmart (they dont make u horu moote... but its boxes and u operate machines)... just because they are fancy, doesnt mean u can do it! cleaning a toilet with a parke or a mop makes no goddamn diff... its the same... cleaning shit! (in the ultimate meaning of the word, tribute to beasty's 39 page essay)
to one of the guys i asked this, and he said it was a welcome break! from hectic schedule! and something new he hadn't done before!! WHAT? u think its cool to work like that? i would rather kill myself than serve food to a foreigner, who is in no way thankful for it!
i would rather be a waiter in a sea side restaurant in goa... atleast people coming there like India...
have you ever served food to your parents? cleaned your own toilets? NO... thats was not 'ur' work...
KISS MY ASS... u losers! you know what else you have never done before? and you will never be able to do ever in your life... Suck your own dicks...

and getting into a US university is a pain in the ass... and thats an understatement! the number of documents u need to produce, literally produce... "statement of purpose" as it is called! recos... if i were you, i would go there, give them the finger and come back... and would open a nair chaaya shap on hosur road...
why are you so ready to kiss ass?? that too a white american one?!

werent you the one complaining about lack of opportunities here?! you are not capable of getting a decent score good enough to get you into the course of your choice! and you were pissed with the reservations! but you are fukin ready to kiss some lilly ass giving loads of reocs, given by our people, making some cock and bull story for the "SOP" haha! i can only laff at u infedels!!


as for me... i'm content with leading a normal life... atleast i'm happy and i dont have a constant fire all over my ass... i can afford to eat Vena stores idly, drink a brahmin coffee bar by-two coffee, eat that occassional VB dosa... go for an MTR full meals, just because i can and u cant... and dont even get me started on the junk food... its divine! gobi manchurian... masala puri... paani puri... and i dont have to restrain myself from spending money... i have saved enough... its time to savour... and u guys aready there, enjoy your half cooked rasam and rice with some dipshit chips that tastes like shit... the ones yet to get elevated to that state, well think about it... its nor all that worthy u see...


23 people changed their decision and are happy to be where they are after reading this...

Scorpions!!

my first concert :)
yes! the scorpions in bangalore, 16th december 2007!!

I knew Scorpions from the first time they came to bangalore... during 2000-2001... and that time i had not started listening to English music!! :) yes! all my English music gyan and following just started around that time!!

I had not listened to any of their songs!! and then, one day on Radio City (the old one, which rocked) Suresh Venkat played hurricane 2000... and gawd! was i spellbound!! the orchestra ruled!! never had i heard that high speed violins (untill i heard salaam bombay by Rahman) what a song Hurricane is!! u must listen to believe it!!
from that day on... i am listening to Scorpions... Hurricane, Lady Star light, Moment of Glory... and then my friend opened my ears to Holiday and Wind of Change! please please listen to these few songs at least ( though u r not a rock fan)! its worth ur time!!

and then... on that day, there i was... with Vijay Narendra of Blendzzz fame!
i was astonished when he told me that the Scorpions released their first album in 1972...
and that after that, every 2-3 years they have continuously released newer albums!!

It takes a lot to have a band, performing concerts, releasing newer albums, unlike many others who release a best of 80s album thingys!!

and i was immediately calculating... assuming the singer was 20 when he released his first album... its been 30 odd years now... and that means he must be 50 odd now!! Holy Jesus!!
The Scorpions are Veterans at the art of crowd entertainment! they know what the audience want! they know how to deliver too!!

the very thought that we were not even born, not until 10 years after the release of their first album, gave me chills!!

the wait was pretty agonizing! especially since we were inside the enclosure 2 hours before the start... and we had to simply wait!! with the HH Hunk's waste add coming over and over again...

but then... the opening act by Nervewreck was ok ok... they need to learn a lot more! waste bodys dont know that the crowd dont recognise them and that they must play a popular song, from a more famous band, at least for the opening act! but no... they played some song, which wasnt bad... but still... was pretty unheard and also lasted just too long... but then, they did try to clean up the spillt milk by starting off Metallica's Where ever I may Roam... but then, they added a little bitta the nervewrek shit and it was history...
they are a talented band no doubt... but they need to learn to woo the crowd!!

anyway! the wait was over! and there stood in front of me, Scorpions! not on a video, but fukin real ones!! i was waiting for that very moment!!
and when i heard the guitar... OMG! i cant even put those moments in words!!

Every song they played... so much energy!! its hard to imagine the amount of energy they had!
they jumped, kept runnin all around the stage... kicking air... dancing, offcourse doing their trade mark steps and offcourse singing! Klaus Meine, the lead singer, is simply mind blowing!!
the pitch he can reach will make most other singers shy! i'm sure Nervewrek had a real nervewrek watching the Scorpions perform! these buggers were almost standstill!! the only visible movement was the leadsinger/guitatrist moving his over grown hair outta his fukin face!!

Here I am... the song of all times!! Klaus sang Here I am... and all of us, from the crowd yelled Send me an Angel... the atmosphere is un-describable...

some of the super hi-fi songs that the scorpions put up included Zoo, Send me an Angel, 321, big city nights, humanity, tease me please me and so on!

and when they brought in the aucostic guitar... tears almost ran down my cheks!
"Here i ammm.... Send me an angel"!! that was just the start!!
"let me take u far away... you'd like a holiday!" Scorpio fellas, you are the best!!
I couldnt resist... so i called up my friend, panta, and made him listen... useless fellow! u missed the show ma!! i hope they come back again!! and soon!! so that we can go!! :)
and when the whistle started... i was mesmerized!! i couldnt help but yell "Taaaake me... to the maggeeek of the moment... on a glooory night.. Where the children of tomorrow... dream awaaay... in the wind of change..." oh my sweet lord!!

i also cant forget Big City Nights... Big City... Big city nights! Bangaloreee... Big city... big city nights... i still have that visual stored in my head!!

off course Humanity!! what an album that is!! at such age! after so many years of rock! they still have the same charm! the same touch! what i describe as awe-fukin-some!!

and then... they sang one more master piece from their new album... the song, i later got to know, is called 321... wow!! what a song!!

saaaaaave me...
coz the worlds gonna stop...
baby 3 2 1
are u ready to rock...

are u ready to rock, are you ready to rock, are you ready to rock,

Tonight!!


simply superb!!

and then... they played Hurricane!! i almost broke down!!
me and vijay were looking at each other's awestruck faces for every song they played... with a wide smile... so much anxiety... we were 10 times more than ecstatic!! and then, boy tells "we're not gonna leave you... untill we rock you like a?"
oh brother! that time i knew... the time had come!! my heart skipped a beat...
then the guitars started... oh bajezus... and klaus... tran tran... Its early morning... the sun comes out... last night was shaking... and pretty loud... my cat is purring... and scratches my skin... so what is wrong with anaaaother sin? The bitch is hungry, she needs to tell... so give her inches and feed her well... more days to come new... places to go... Ive got to leave its... time for a shoooooww...

Here I am, rocked you like a hurricane
Here I am, rocked you like a hurricane

Oh my god!! i simply cant forget that night!! and that is when i decided, i'm going to every live concert that i have access to!!

Scorpions! My god!! i bow... no prostrate to them!!

and to know more, Klaus is a '48 born!! which means... he is... freakin almost 60 years old! and the energy he has! you HAVE to see the Scorpions live! atleast once in your freakin short ass life!!

long time no see...

Its been a real long time that i 'blogged' - still the word makes me wanna puke...

anyway... that outta the system... i was thinking of what to blog (yuk) about... i've been to lotsa places since my swiss trip... and everyone of which was just amazing! Pisa, Rome, Milan, AMSTERDAM! and few more! thought i'd write about that...
but thats for some other time... coz i need to get the pics in order...

so... now, lets talk about porn :) I see you scrolling down... sorry! there are no 'that kinda' pics here! u gotta go to the proper websites... if you want a list, let me know... i can help you...

but anyway... i was reading a post by incognito boy...
and then i thought... yeah! i've been there!! and to juice it up, i'm talkin bout porn :D

so here i'm in flash back mode... those days!! were real cool! :)

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Disclaimer - Internet is one of the best sources of information... i owe my present state to internet... lotsa info that i have... many friends i've made -> the internet... how i stay in touch with my frnds and family from 5ive thousand miles away is only because of internet!
and i dont want to hear anyone say internet means porn. period... coz thats not true... porn is also kinda info... u kno... so... dont equate internet = porn... remember, porn > internet :)
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it started after 10th std, in the year 2000 AD... i'd finished the exams and was getting ready to go to the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair... and i needed to send receive mails! And i was new to using a computer! so i asked my neighbour to make an email ID for me...
he wanted my birthday as well! i was like... ow! cool... its like a passport or something! a freakin mailID!!
the next day, he told me it was done...
mailID - Venkatasubramanian.M@excitemail.com (with a unique name like this, i dont need to use numbers and all!)
password - i seriously dont remember!! i think it was something like venkat_85 or something...

back in those days, excitemail was free... just for curiosity, i did open excite.com, just now, and they've kicked me out i guess! :(

so... he was the one who used to check my mails and tell me... and i would tell him what to reply...

then one day i though i'd try it myself... it was the holidays... and I had nothing much to do really! so, i set out... with a friend of mine... Mr.Mohan... (guru... if you happen to read this, just leme kno u exist)
he used to sit next to me in school... it was with him that i "learnt" what an intercourse is... off course with the help of an oxford dictionary... and some quick wit! thats another amusing story... may narrate ASAP...

anyway... i took him over to an internet cafe... it was called Netizen :) and we had to pay about 30 bucks an hour, i guess... and then opened excite.com and keyed in my name and password, which i'd on a piece of paper... i'm not jason bourne!! rather, i was not :P

and i typed in my corespondent's mail id and the message and wola! i'd sent my first email!
we used to come almost daily... and my mom used to give me those 30 bucks... and then one day, the ingenious mohan came up with an idea... you guessed right... porn!! :)
i new they existed, but never knew how to go about... lets just say i didnt know the art of gettin pics of naked women on my computer screen!
and mr.hero told me there is a website jcbaba dot com... (thats what i heard)
i was sitting at the keyboard, as I'd paid for the internet... and then i typed www.jcbaba.com... and i got a "This Page can't be displayed" message!
and then he said it was desi baba dot com... and then it appeared... the desibaba.com verification page...
clicked on the "Click here if you are above 18" button (seriously i dont still know why they have that) and then opened the home page...
the first porn site i'd ever visited!
First time i saw the stuff... was awestruck!! :) you dont get to see a fukin nude woman every day! atleast i had not gotta see that everyday... untill that day :)
two freakin 10th std kids sittin in an internet cafe lookin at naked women, for the first time :) Internet... u fukin RULE!
we went straight to the actress section and were drooling over the numerous fakes pics of actresses... how many times i've visited that site after that, even god cant tell! :)
now i'm so damn good that i dont need to visit any website for seeing naked women... i can do it right in my head - anyone, anywhere, anytime ;) ,\,,/ its an art... not everyone can do it... or appreciate it :)
next year... i was in PUC... and there was a new chain of cyber cafes that opened near my place... and they had branches near my college as well... and as an intro they gave 30 minutes of browsing for free (jagga and suraj would remember the names of this offer as well!!)... haha... somebody gonna get a hurt real bad! how many aliases i've used i dont know! free internet porn!! YES PLEASE!! even today i'll be intrigued by that offer!! if you say ur not, you are lying... and thats a pho phuk lai! (damn! Russel Peters is the man!!)
i'd used so many aliases and had taken so many people to the free internet thing that those people could recognise me! so i was not allowed any more... and in two branches... gandhi bazar and rajajinagar... paapa!

that was long ago... and then i grew... and i knew how to use floppies... and then in the next level, i knew how to use Ctrl-Alt-Del... some cyber cafes used to have a program which would automatically log u out after the time u've paid for... unless u hit Ctrl-Alt-Del and disable that software... and then it was P.A.R.T.... Y? because it was unlimited browsing for price of 30 minutes!! - i miss this! now i cant simply Ctrl-Alt-Del my way around no more!

and, by reading all this, dont get me totally wrong! when i say browsing, i don't always mean porn!! many factors decides what i do on internet!
the place where the comp was situated in the cafe was a major concern... often i used to fight for a secure PC :) else, i used to goto F1.com... collect pictures of cars, planes, super models (FYI also clothed ones) and many many things... i used to play online games... even now i have more than 10000 points at indiatimes contests... and i havent redeemed them points at all... and there was contests2win... i think this is still there...

you may ask, if i have ever been caught doing this... and the answer is NO... the only possibility of anyone finding out about this is after reading this blog! - now it doesn't really bother me if someone finds out ,\,,/
i used to take several measures while doing it at home... and i tell you internet explorer sucks... use mozilla! its damn easy to erase traces! :)

next question... do i do it now? - well... now i dont really go behind pics of nekkid wumen (unless they are exxxtremely hot, these ones deserve to be posters in my room), i have limewire and naughty america :)