Final Score

Manchester United - a way of life

2011-10-23T22:55:00.002+05:30

Its an embarrassing day today to be a manchester united fan, beeing demolished 6-1 at old trafford is not something you see often. I write this blog post in frustration, not so much because of the loss today, but because of the usual reaction you see on facebook from fans of rival clubs who unite to slander and gloat.. I decided its high time I do some research on why this is the case, why a such a magnificent football club with such a great history gets so much hate from neutrals. My findings showed the reason is 2 fold, one the clubs recent rise to dominance led to turning a once exciting league to a boring one, although one might argue chelsea and mancity are providing the required excitement.The second reason is the fans themselves, when a club is winning almost everything in a smalls span of time, they seem to attract a lot of muppets, who inturn go ahead and spoil it for everyone involved with the club. Now the first reason cannot really be helped, it does happen that people like to support the under dog if you are a neutral and overtime it sticks. But the second reason, well it can be helped, i hope whichever united fan reads this can understand this and take my advice...

1)one thing every manchester united fan and for that matter everyone should understand is that "you win some, you lose some"

2)if you can't accept that, then you should rather skip the rest of this blog post.

3) Trash talking with your rival fans is supposed to be in jest and fun, lets not get carried away (I myself tend to get carried away), bottom line, its not personal

4) Be intelligent about what you speak or express towards the clubs players and managers, agreed they are paid ton of money, but they provide you entertainment week in week out and they work hard for it. Its not war, its professional football..so saying stuff like "sell him, or sack him" might not be the best projection of your loyalties as a supporter

5) Manchester United is a fantastic football club having one of the finest players in the game, always remember that, doesn't matter if you get drubbed a few times in a year..trust me, ive been following them for 9 years now, there have been very few such years..

6) People (including my mom) constantly ask me what drives me to waste my time on following the game, posting comments, reading articles etc..and my answer has always been simple, its firstly the sport that is my passion and secondly its the club i liked when I first started watching football, and it stuck and now its a way of life, the point i am trying to make is, whatever be the reason, if you hang on to that people might eventually get it.

7) Yes we have some rivals like leeds, liverpool and city.. and emotions can get the better of you..but refer to point 1) when that happens..

8) respect other clubs, I know this one is obvious, but sometimes we get lost in our fanatic trash talking, we tend to ignore the fact that there can be others who probably deserve it on the day or for the season

9) How to handle trashtalk from liverpool fans : just ask them to come back to you when they have won the league..

10) how to handle arenal fans : sympathize with them on how the future doesnt look all that promising

11) how to handle mancity fans : see point 9) on how to handle liverpool fans

12) how to handle chelsea fans : well this is tricky, remind them that terry drogba anelka and lampard can play on for more than a couple of more seasons and how their manager changes more than the seasons :P

13) how to handle anti-united fans : well this is the trickiest..you either rip on their respective clubs using any of the points 9-13), if they don't swear allegiance to any of the clubs, then don't waste your time, they are too scared to support a club in the first place.

that was that ..

- Gokul

United for life

India winter break 2010-2011

2011-01-21T12:04:00.002+05:30

as i write this , i am preparing to leave , to head back to school , as my winter break comes to a end. A big spring semester awaits me , with 2 advanced graduate courses and teaching a undergraduate + grad course in ECE . This will be my final semester at Rutgers, may 2011 is when I'd graduate. Phew , this will be my last vacation as a student , 20 years of formal education , phew..! looking back , looks like a long road traveled. Doubt id want to study further, i think a Masters degree is good enough , atleast thats what I think as of now :)..

I just wanted to note down some good moments in this trip to India , notably the flight from Chicago to Delhi to Mumbai , was memorable. Then new years was quite sobered down and humble , then the Goa trip was a good one. Catching up with mom and being able to spend time with her was the highlight of the 30 day stay. I loved being able to wake up to mom yelling at me , asking me to wake up, go brush so I could eat breakfast. I loved not having to worry about laundry or cooking or cleaning my room ( i never did that back home as well :P), I loved the road side fast food , the chats , the pav bhaji's, the dabeli's, the dosas at home , the idlis , loved watching Indian television , loved complaining about the slow internet , loved the weather, absolutely loved the warm sunshine that greeted me when i woke up on my bed through the window above my bed :) !! , can't believe I will have to go back to snow !!!

now looking forward to the spring semester , the new year and the final chapter in my education history...lets see how that goes..

cheers

2010 !!! the year of the tiger !!!

2010-12-31T13:34:00.002+05:30

according to my Chinese zodiac , i am born in the year of the tiger (1986), and this year being the 24th year since , 24 being the multiple of 12 (which is the total no. of Chinese zodiac signs) 2010 was the year of the tiger. Its supposed to be a very lucky year , but it was nothing like that. An easily forgettable year. If every 12 years is gonna be like this one , id like to avoid them. Here is hoping for 2011 to bring in something better. 2010 will I guess be remembered for my time in the states. The entire year almost was spent there , completing 2 semesters in my masters in computer science. Also working in summer at bank of america was a special time. Working in corporate America was exciting. Apart from that not much I can take from the year , which has been fairly forgettable. I will miss my grand mom and Murali mama. 2011 has a lot of things I am looking forward to , like my graduation in summer , then work from July. I will finally be stepping out of the university gates after 22 years of formal education. Good bye 2010 , screw you !!! so glad you are done !

Murali mama !!! i miss you

2010-12-02T19:41:00.003+05:30

as convoluted as it might sound , the beginning of the end is here for fall 2010 semester. I write this after a short visit to India where I went to perform the final rites of my uncle "murali mama" as I call him. He was a nice man , a simple one at that. I want to write down the memories I have of him before they fade away . I did not spend a lot of time with him , although he was close to me. He helped my mom a lot in her work and actually he was the man of our big joint family. The youngest of my uncles , he always was there for any kind of help we might need. He used to enjoy watching cricket and I used to love discussing the game with him. The few times I watched cricket was usually with him. We both shared the same passion for A R rehman songs and Tamil comedy. I will miss you Murali mama , I hope you have gone to a better place , coz if you haven't then its just not fair to anyone. I wanted to spend time writing this blog entry , thinking about the little time I had with him. I hope jaya amai has the strength to move on and salvage of what is left. I hope you meet up with amamma and vignesh up there in the heavens. I wish I could see you holding Vignesh one more time . Murali mama and amamma you people will always hold a special place in my life and I am sure I will never forget your contribution in my life. I am probably still not over this, its not sunk in that you are gone. Difficult to digest I guess , but the trip to India probably helped in the process. Holding that urn, was when it hit me that you are now reduced to just ashes and dust. All the moments I may have been rude or indifferent , I hope I am forgiven. I miss you and I miss amamma. 2010 will always be a sad year for me even though my own career kind of had a lift off and was quite eventful. I hope 2011 has better things stored for my family.

next 3 weeks will be hectic , stressfull and I hope to get past that to return to India (this time for a longer time).

-love from your nephew Gokul

Fall 2010 begins

2010-09-22T05:28:00.002+05:30

Well this post is in continuation with the earlier post , where i signed off hoping for a great vacation in Atlanta and anticipating the fall semester.

So this is it , FALL 2010 began with a bang , well that's because of 2 things
1) I am a Part - Time TA position in the department, yeah thats right , I teach now , grade and have my own office hours and lab support hours. I quit my dining hall job this semester. :)

2) I went on my 9 day vacation (includes long weekend) to Atlanta :)

The trip was exactly the boost I needed before taking up a really tough semester.It was me and Sheldon who traveled from NJ. We booked our flights from Philadelphia to Atlanta inorder to save some money :). Lucky for us , Sriram and Ashwin were also heading for their long weekend vacation to Portland, and they too like us had booked their flight from Philadelphia. So we got a late night drive from New Brunswick NJ to Philadelphia airport. Meeting Priyam after ages was the highlight , besides the aquariam and six flags trip. I had a great time there, recharged my batteries fully and now prepared for the long fall semester. I dread the oncoming winter though :(

ps. notes on atlanta, definetly visit Georgia Aquariam , Six Flags, Chow baby All American Stir restaurant and the cool student bar named Rocky Mountain aswell.

Karma

2010-08-29T12:32:00.002+05:30

The universe has a way of balancing itself out. Physically, you have matter and anti-matter. Chemically, you have protons and electrons. Biologically, you have males and females. Ethically, you have Do Gooders and Douche Baggers.

When somebody does something bad, they should be expecting something bad to happen to them. That is karma. Conversely, if someone does something good, they can expect good things. All this happens, so the universe can balance itself out.

But sometimes, bad things happen to good people even though they haven’t done anything bad to warrant the bad thing. This isn’t the universe balancing itself out. This is karma on credit. Like a credit card.

Karma’s all like, “Hey, I’m going to do this really shitty thing to you, make your life miserable for a while and you’ll want to poison yourself with mothballs. But don’t worry. Don’t eat the mothballs yet! I’ll hit you back when the statement comes and your life will be awesome.”

But secretly, Karma knows that our lives are going to collectively end in 2012 and Karma’s not going to get charged shit. He just stole your good deeds, replaced it with something really shitty and now you’re dead. We’re all dead.

Thanks, karma. You really are a bitch. Go fuck yourself

this is a repost from : http://thoughtsaboutstuff.com/post/586876915/karma

credit to the original author

I just don't agree to the author's ending of the karma story

here is my version :

at the end of the day , karma pays back with interests...if you do bad things, and you are momentarily rewarded even though you don't warrant the reward, soon karma provides a pay back..with interest..

similarly when you do good things and shitty things happen to you, after sometime karma provides a pay back ..with interest..

so yeah !! karma is the way to go. !! do good things and good things happen to you..

i also wrote this quote up : "The universe has a way of balancing itself after almost making you believe that life is just a meaningless blob in time and space " - Gokul Menon

with that, signing off

ps. can't wait to travel to atlanta and meet priyam , summer 2010 ends and fall 2010 begins with a bang !!!

cheers

summer 2010

2010-07-31T09:10:00.002+05:30

well, its been a while since ive posted,

not like there are a million views on this page..hahah *grins to self*

so a lot of updates,

I am working at Bank of America, NYC for he summer as a Technical Analyst Intern in the Global Loans and Special Situations Group (GLSSG). Work has been a fantastic experience, got to work on multiple projects, multiple technologies and so many amazing people. Don't want the work to end, dread the fact I won't be working after 2 weeks :(

other than work , life has been a big drag, begining of summer I tore my ACL while playing basketball..so pissing off, with all the pain,pshyiotherapy and to add things to that, insurance claim got denied coz of improper dates in my medical records ...:@

Its getting a bit hotter here now, day time temperatures cross a 100 Fahrenheit these days , I just noticed my electricity bill ..jumped up from 50 bucks to 121 bucks..wow..

as I write this , I realise its almost a year since I arrived in the US for my masters, phew..time flies they say..so true !!

signing off

-Gokul

ammama (eulogy)

2010-04-17T01:42:00.002+05:30

I write this in grief , in loneliness , in frustration , in regret , in tears , today the 16th of april , parvati amma left for her heavenly abode. She was my most favorite person on this planet , my guide , the sweetest person I know , my grandmother. My earliest memories of childhood always have me playing in her house , in her kitchen , breaking her furniture with our (me and my cousins) mischief. I still remember how many times I must have troubled her by playing cricket inside her house in erode or messing with the water or throwing stuff down the well behind the house. Those summer vacations in erode have been the best times in my childhood.How many times she has saved me from a sure beating from my granddad or my mother. She has always been very fond of sweets, one of the few people in my entire family having a sweet tooth like me. I cannot believe she will no longer be there to advice me , she will no longer be there to tell me not to bite my nails , or ask me to take a shower , or ask me to come to eat. She is no longer there to watch and discuss those tamil serials , or enjoy the odd malayalam movies. I will miss her for that cute smile , that showered a lot of joy in my life, the malayalam and tamil proverbs and quotes she keeps saying , whose meanings I never understand , and she patiently explain. I grew up with her always beeing there for me. Always supportive of anything I wished to pursue. She supported me when I wanted to do engineering and my mother wanted me to do bio and then medicine. How she managed to raise 6 kids , is still beyond me. She had immense strength , exceptional patience and a heart of gold. I really don't think I will ever meet a person who is so sweet and patient like her. I can't remember a time when I was angry at her, ever. That speaks volumes of the kind of person she was. I am beeing selfish , i am beeing stupid , but I need her to be around , I need her to see me step into a critical phase of my life, and her absence is like an abyss in my life, I know I will move on and life must go on without her , but I know that this abyss will not be filled , not for a long time. She was important to me , very important, not only because I spent a lot of my childhood with her , but because she was like one of the people I wanted to do something for when I was capable enough. I wanted to buy her something from my first salary , wanted her to see that I have done well and make her proud. I have lost that opportunity and there is nothing anyone can say or do to fix it. Its an unfinished promise to myself which I cannot finish anymore.Ammama I love you , and I will miss you , I want you to know (where ever you are) I will always remember you ! May your soul rest in peace ....

your grandson

gokul

Winter Break '09-'10

2010-01-06T07:37:00.002+05:30

The fall semister came to an end on a bright sunny Monday morning, the 21st of December, with a final project presentation for the 'Principles of Artificial Intelligence ' Course. Well It was not my best end sem , since I already had received 2 of my grades (both were B) which was unusual , both because I expected better grades and because I am not accustomed to getting my grades while my exams are still going on , unlike back in India. Nevertheless , I guess I just have to work harder now for spring. Well before that , I have this winter break :). As i write this , my winter break is half over. So far its been a great break , I visited NYC on two different occasions , one for christmas eve and the other for new years eve. The fact that Priyam visited my from Atlanta just made my winter break all the more memorable. There are few things that can substitute the company of friends like him. I also made some new friends in NYC. All in all , fun time is over , as priyam will be leaving tommorrow and I will have a lot of work to do. Graduate School ensures you don't have enough time to maintain your blog, and this break gives me that opportunity to do just that.

to anyone stupid enough to be following my blog , well happy new year !!!

ps. New years in NYC is overrated , Mumbai city is much more happening.

welcome to graduate life

2009-12-13T13:22:00.002+05:30

"Welcome to graduate life "

Its a warm summer afternoon , flight 9w228 was about to land

i set foot on american soil..just as i had planned

the first thing i notice was the welcome board

the 5 dollar payment for the trolly got me floored

now what kind of stupid country charges 5 bucks

to just move your luggage..gosh i wondered..this sucks

on that stingy note i moved out knowing not where to go

Nostalgic thinking i was back home just not too long ago

I enter my temporary accomodation , greeted by an old friend

My first day in america was a very simple one till the end

I dont remember doing anything important or special that day

It was mixed feeling , not excited nor a feeling of dismay

the 1st few weeks here..went past in a daze

i went to nyc , pensilvania and it was the vacation phase

I met my roommates , quite a bunch i must say

one was a pshycopath , other a snob and last i thought looked a little gay :P

Ofcourse thats not what i thought about them

i am just trying to bring some fun into the poem

Although they are very different from me in so many ways

Staying with them i knew would change me in the coming days

a month later , it was time to move into my new home

it was a nice transition..like firefox to chrome

we all liked the place and like to call it our own

everything was perfect , the wood , clay and stone.

Soon things begin to break ,as the bathroom flush needed a replace

and later the curtains , the doors all began to get out of its place

whenever things go wrong ,shit happens is what id say

Ironically,we needed to dig into the flush tank to make it go away

a new place , brings new friends , some crazy some fun

like arjun , debo , aparna , sheldon etc ...the chapter has just begun

all unique in thier own right , like sheldon has set up his own groves

switch on shakira and he will show you his moves

say something remotely funny , and aparna will laugh out so loud

It will definetly make mr. siddhu proud

deboleena is one the sweetest girls i have met till now

talking of sweettalk , mr. arjun will melt yout heart and how !

flirting and charming was becoming the norm

with compliments and praises, the guys were in full form

like always , i was the odd one out..

chivalry is something i knew little about :P

we studied , we partied , we sang in the middle of the streets

singing old kishore kumar songs or buzzing to the hip hop beats

these little windows of madness..the few things keeps me going

important to recharge batteries..necessary to keep life flowing

then came the rude shock , of horrendous choices

i took up the stupidest of courses led in by the wrong voices

graduate life promised to be challenging , but this was shit tough

i thought it was overrated and decided to call the bluff

boy o boy !!, what a bad call it was..

Things were getting so hectic , i wanted to take a pause

fucked left right and ceter , i coudnt think straight

the pessimist that i am , can't even leave it to fate

assignments and work , took most of my time

parting sometimes , spending every nickel and dime

I guess i gotta stop whining and get on with my strife

a silent voice in my head says " welcome to grad life"

gokul menon

Mission AMreeka !!!

2009-08-14T01:14:00.002+05:30

Well as one could have guessed , I will be flying of to New Jersy for my masters course in Computer Science.My jet airways flight is scheduled to take off from mumbai at 02:20 am on the wee hours of monday. Well as expected I am really nervous , freaked out , excited , sad as well as anxious to kick start this new phase of my life...

2 full years of probably the toughest acadamic challange awaits me beyond the gates of Rutgers , The state university of New Jersy. I have begun packing , and its really a task. Knowing what to take..what not to really begining to irritate me. Also how much each bag weighs etc is also another concern. As i sit to update this blog ..i realise I am staring at the last weekend in Mumbai for what could be 1 and half years. I know 1 and half years isnt a long time..but still beeing in the city for the last 20 years...staying away for more than a year sounds really scary. Away from family..loved ones..girlfriends..secret girlfriends..its just something easily comprehendible..let alone manageble.

In a weeks time i should have moved into my own apartment with my roommates and will be sitting inside the rutgers orientation hall..meeting my peers. Its just too sudden ..too abrupt for my liking. I have been probably preparing for this week for a long long time..but now that its staring right at me..I seem to be caught unaware of it.

so I guess il sit back..soak in the moment..enjoy my last weekend here before Rutgers ...

heres to a drunken friday (drink till you drop day as clearly marked by karan)

a glorious saturday and a final peacefull sunday

cheers

Okay I am back to bloggin !!

2009-05-11T17:22:00.002+05:30

4 months is a long time..and yes i have come out of my exile from blogging..
not that I something specifically brought me here , just that now that I am preparing for my final exams in my Under Graduate Studies ...I have a lot of spare time :)

Well just to update my readers ( I guess the google bots and the odd guy who comes across this page currently reading this wondering if he is who i am referring to :P)

this is what has changed since january 2009...

I got admits from 3 universities for MS CS...

they are Arizona State University , University of Florida(with a 40% waiver) and Indiana University of Bloomington..I got rejects from Suny Buffalo , NCSU and TAMU and I am yet awaiting a response from Rutgers.

My final destination is going to be UFL and i am mostly planning to leave for florida on the 7th of august.

Meanwhile college came to an end (been 4 years at DJSCOE) and ofcourse along with college..the college football came to a very abysmall and sad end :(
went trophyless this season.... ( did win silver and bronze..but no gold :()

and finally... my project at IIT B came to an end..although could have complete more work..the final result was appreciated by our mentor and we are hoping to continue the work this summer.

Well thats that..hope to keep this blog updated...
cheers

OOTY 2009

2009-01-14T18:07:00.001+05:30

well this is a summary of my trip commencing on the 7th january 2009 and concluding on the 14th.

DAY 1[Mumbai] - (drunk,caught,train)

this day we took the train from kurla terminas while completly drunk just in time. We got in and the train left , phew was close. Not much of an event ful day , as we had some tasty chicken biryani ricky's mom prepared for us. We slept like new born babies only to wake up late next morning.

DAY 2 [en route ]- ( Terror Terrance )

This is the day in the train when we met this guy nick named " Terror Terrance ". Well terrance if you are reading this , then i must tell you , it was great meeting you and hope everything works out for you. Well not too many eevnts in the day again , in the train only.

DAY 3 [Coimbotore/Ooty] - ( The bus & the Resort )

We reached coimbotore at 6 in the morning. We took a bus to ooty from the bus stand at 7:30 am. The bus fare was an unbeliveable 32 Rupees. We coudn't believe it. It might be the most satisfying bus journey ive had. We reached ooty at 11. Now comes the resort part , i was told by my cusin's mom ( my cousin who i am visiting in ooty ) that my cousin was staying in an apartment and not at his hostel. When i went to his so called apartment , i realised that my aunt was wrong , he wasn't staying in an apartment , the fricking ass was staying at a resort. The apartment was nothing short of a resort. Infact holiday inn ( a 4 start hotel/resort) was just above the place he was staying. Whole day we spent lazing around , went down for lunch , had one of the tastiest onion dosas. Night we made a small bon-fire and lazed around drinking. We rented a big room in a hotel just 5 mins walking distance from my cousin's apartment. We went to sleep at 2 in our rooms. The walk down to the room at 2 in the night was one of the most exciting ones. We saw a very very weird phenomena (i hope it was true). We saw a big concentric ring around the moon , when we looked up the sky. It was magnificent.

DAY 4 [Ooty]- (boating,pine forests}

There have been very few days in my life which was as event full as this one. 10th january 2009 will go down in my calender as one of the most amazing days of my life. memory is hazy since its been almost 5 days since that day. The only aspect i can remember is that we rented a sumo to visit the best places in ooty. We went boating at a very beautiful lake. Then moving on , we went to a very big forest. I wish i can remember all we did , as it was so much. Absolutely fantastic , i cannot describe the feeling , its simply too much to describe in plain words.
Another highlight of the day was , that liverpool drew with stoke giving manchester united the oppurtunity to gain points on liverpool when they play chelsea the next day.

DAY 5 [Ooty]- {madness,chelsea thrashed}

I forgot to mention one main part of the trip , the fricking food. If you can imagine how gods would sit on thier grand tables and eat food , well then thats what we ate. We ate like kings , infact the kind of food we were eating , i doubt even some of the past kings mite have eaten like that. I am not exxagerrating , the food was simply brilliant. Talk about meet , vegetable , fast food , junk food , juice , alcohol , milkshake , blah blah..u name it and we've had it. Thats why day 5 , our stomouchs were upset. Cannot remember most of the day , was really a crazy day , was sloshed nearly most of the day. The highlight of the day was united thrashing chelsea 3-0. It was the best icing on the already so delicious cake. Day 5 was a very tiring day.

DAY 6 [Ooty/Coimbotore] - {ghajini & empty theatre)

We bid farewell to a great trip at ooty and left for coimbotore in the afternoon. We reached coimbotore in the eveninng. Sid left for his flight at 6 while ricky went to sleep in the room we booked for nights stay at coimbotore. The rest of us went to watch ghajini at a local hindi cinema hall in coimbotore. It was a tough task finding the place , never before in a theatre have i seen so many different sections. Here in Mumbai one has balcony and stall. Out there , there is deluxe , balcony , upper stall , 1st class , 2nd class and 3rd class. We paid 60 bucks for a deluxe seat in an almost empty theatre to watch what is probably a very very poor aamir khan movie. We had a great time in the room afterwards playing cards till late in the night.

DAY 7 [en route]- (unexpected train buddy)

Only last night did we find out that karan was travelling with us in the same train to banglore. It was a big surprise. The day was quite okay , we slept in the train which left coimbotore at 8:30 am.

DAY 8 [Mumbai] - (home sweet home....NOT}

Generally after a trip , its not all that a bad feeling to go back to your own toilet , your own bed etc..but it was not the case. The trip was too short for me to miss my home. we reached mumbai at 2:45 pm.

well i guess this should serve as a good reminder of the trip.
Ps i wrote this blog so that i woudn't forget the memories ive had in this trip :)

2008 , the good the bad and the ugly !!!

2009-01-01T22:05:00.003+05:30

2008...personally a great year , academically nothing untoward although could have fared better in 5th n 6th sems , career wise , not bad ..bagged a decent job. on the social front , didnt really upset anyone or make new enemies :P

let me review..il keep it short n simple..

the good :

Goa trip 2008 at the pepsi house was the perfect way to begin a new year.
IT has to be the highlight of my year.
Amby valley trip also was equally amazing !!!
GRE score and completing of applications for fall 09 were a relief :)
Got placed at accenture :)
Manchester united winning the Champions league and the premiere league..life just coudn't get better.

the bad :

Chances of spending the next couple of years away from family and friends set me back.
my uncle's deteriorating health was a big heartache.
my football form has really hit rock bottom , with just a few goals to show throughout the end of last season and the begining of this one.
hoping 2009 has something better in store.
my fitness and stamina levels have also gone down.

the ugly :

Terrorist attacks on my beloved city , dampening the spirit.
The whole reaction from the authorities and the government.
Liverpool ending the year on top of the table..now common..who would have predicted that ?

well here's to a better and bigger year..the year of the Ox
cheers

ps. happy new year to the handfull of you reading this shitty blog.

the answer is 42 !!

2008-12-10T11:56:00.004+05:30

well you must be wondering, the question will be "what is 6 times 7 or 7 times 6 ?"

well some claim it is the answer to the Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything !

here are some questions one can think of.

what is the sum of the totient function for the first eleven integers ?
what is a perfect score on the USA Math Olympiad (USAMO and International Mathematical Olympiad ?
what is the atomic number of molybdenum ?
what is the result given by Google when the query "answer to life, the universe, and everything" is entered as a search string ?
and so on..

the answer to all the above is 42.

don't believe me ? ask google.

Yes as you might have presumed , i have read the book " Hitchhikers guide to the galaxy" . The book goes on to ponder , the answer is 42 , but what is the real question. The question is what gives us the meaning of life , the universe and everything. As we speak , several light years away , there might be aliens working on it. There might be a super computer computing , to find out the question.

As a mere mortal on earth , i think my intelligence doesnt permit me to figure it out. I can just guess , there is no question , life gives us answers , it never gives us a question , a reason , or anything which will let us conquer our very purpose of existence. Okay fine i don't know what i am talking about. Ive always wanted to write on this for a long time , ever since i have read the book. The number has caught on to me. Everyday i come across the number , i give it a thought.

here is what i have thought of till now , Note: the below content can be very dangerous to all those read , it could change you forever or could drive you insane. You are warned

here goes
42 is a 2 digit even number.The number has the digits 2 & 4 . When i added them up , i arrived at 6. 6 it is the atomic number of carbon. Carbon is the fourth most abundant element in the universe by mass after hydrogen, helium, and oxygen. A simple Wiki or Google search will tell you that Carbon forms the backbone of biology for all life on Earth. Phew , now that brings us to earth. Home to millions of species,including humans, Earth is the only place in the universe where life is known to exist, at least known to earthlings :P.
It has a unique position relative to the Sun; it is the only planet within the Habitable Zone.Moreover, the Earth is fortunate that a series of circumstances (its relation to the gas giant planets, a large moon and a particularly stable orbit, an atmosphere and a magnetic field) have combined to enhance the long-term stability of the planet, allowing an extended period over which life could develop and evolve.All these circumstances conspire to render the Earth and the development of higher forms of life unique, almost certainly in the Solar System - and possibly in the Universe.

If any living body examines our planet , the first thing he/she/it would notice would be the abundance of water. 70% of earth is water , another few % is in solid ice , leaving very little land. Now that brings us to water.Water is a common chemical substance that is essential for the survival of all known forms of life.Much of the universe's water may be produced as a byproduct of star formation. A water molecule has 2 hydrogen and 1 oxygen atoms. atomic numbers of hydrogen and oxygen are 1 and 8 respectively. Since oxygen is a major part of life , i consider oxygen the dominant of the two constituents. Since oxygen atomic no. is 8 , we come to the number 8. The reason i am more interested in numbers is because the answer to life and everything is also a number. So anyways , 8..well while researching on 8 , i came across the fact that 8 is the only Fibonacci number that is a perfect cube. A perfect Cube , how is that of any significance , ofcourse a cube..it is symmetrical , It has the largest volume among cuboids (rectangular boxes) with a given surface area. Also, a cube has the largest volume among cuboids with the same total linear size (length + width + height). And more significantly it has 6 faces. Well that brings us back to the number 6. How did we get 6 earlier , well its from the digits 4 and 2. That brings us to the answer 42 Again. Guess my entire research has been futile , i'l have to start with a fresh approach. The way of working back from the answer to arrive at the question is not helping. phew.

hopefully in my lifetime , someone does get us the question.
cheers

ps. I am not drunk , i have not lost it , and no i am not bored.

Investigations , committees , mechanisms , Peace Promises and other bullshit

2008-12-03T22:03:00.003+05:30

As the title suggests..im not really a fan of the reaction that the indian government gives after each of the terror attacks..

its just sad , that a country of 1 billion , the largest democracy in the world , the country with one of the largest army , one of the best defense forces cannot defend its territorial integrity .

I write this after the horrifying Mumbai Terror Attacks on 26th of last month , deeply hurt as those terrorists came into my city , killed the police , killed innocent civilians , hurt our pride , questioned our very status and finally demolished our so called security.

I sincerely hope the indian government finally takes some action , takes this attack personally , and do something to avenge the attacks. i read this off a banner on a peace rally and i think the government should pay heed to it.

Action destroys FEAR
Inaction fuels TERROR

come on ! rise up to the challenge , take stern action against the concerned terror organizations.

Cheers

Apping process !!

2008-11-01T11:17:00.002+05:30

there are tough things in life..i get that..
there are really tough things in life.. i can imagine that..
there are confusing things in life..i can understand that..
there is something which is all of the above..i cannot take that..

well try applying for fall 09 to US universities...and you will see what i am talking about.

Phew , 3 months of research , nagging seniors , infinite e-mails , a thouand drafts , nagging teachers , and im still not done with it..

begining applications i though paying 22k to a counselor to guide is waste of money...
now i think my notion has changed..not that it is not a waste of money..its just that when you don't have a counselor who you have paid 22k , you don't have anyone to abuse or blame...

so all you guys out there in india..especially MU...think twice abt counselor ..taking ..not taking...ul regret it anyways..cause its a screwed up process

cheers

The illusion of LIFE

2008-10-16T23:43:00.002+05:30

here goes...

the water is not blue..the grass is not green...
the sea is not salty..the devil is not mean..
the suns not hot...the moon is not round
the wind is not breezy..the earth is not bound

the ice is not cold..the stars are not far away
india is not a country..Oslo is not in norway
dreams are not virtual..truth is not true
fishes do not swim..you are not really you

football is not a sport...boxing is not a game
live television is not real..chinese do not look the same
bacteria is not alive..beer is not a real drink
blondes are not stupid...barbie's favourite color is not pink

yes life is an illusuion..just like U2
if you don't believe me..just go check the zoo
the monkey is sitting tall..the lion is crouching down
the pythons fast asleep..the bears bored to even frown

- by yours truly

ps. i was really bored...do not report me to the authorities for boring the crap out of u..:P !!

blonde joke !!

2008-09-19T00:21:00.001+05:30

why can't you tell a blonde a knock knock joke ?

ans: she goes to answer the door each time ! lol

How Many DJSCOE BE Comps Students Does it take to fix a light bulb ?

2008-09-17T23:09:00.005+05:30

Answer : Three , 1st to fix the bulb , 2nd to make sure the 1st one is safe and 3rd to shoot the video to be used on his bday...
lol..

ps. no offence to any1..

NO GO ~!!!

2008-09-17T23:09:00.002+05:30

just to add to my previous post..
well like i said..i have neva managed to defend any trophy / title / prize ever...not in school..not in the club level..not in junior college , not in grad school..
and there it goes again...we lost out in bits BOSM '08..cdnt defend our gold.
so no drinks for any1 (sorry swapnil !)
cheers.

ps. Congratulations to BITS pillani football team for winning gold and Zakir Hussain College Delhi for thier brilliant football and silver medal.

a twisted ankle , loads of memories and defending gold !!!

2008-09-08T20:29:00.002+05:30

well those are the three things running inside my head...

1st) Twisted Ankle :

while practising at BAARC (rajats house) , i twisted my ankle , its gotten a bit swollen , i have a limp and i am worried about my overall fitness for the impending tournament aaka BOSM(bits pilani open sports meet) where we won the gold in football last year. I will be leaving for jaipur tommorrow morning and while i type this blog , my mom is busy helping me with all the packing...i know i am lazy lump of mass..

2nd) Loads of memories :

BOSM 2007 was special to me , not only because we won the gold , but because i was a part of something very very special , inspiring seniors tan n suri , promising youngsters..too many to name and brilliant team mates...our team had it all..from the fitness freak to the village drunkard..we gelled well as a team and a bit of luck saw us through to win GOLD. I still remember shaking moments before that spot kick , don't really remember the last time i was that nervous before a spot kick..and when i saw that ball roll in to the wrong side of the keeper , i knew fate was with us..rajat scoring the final kick to win us the game..well there are very few things that can substitute that one...very few moments as exhilarating or glorious..
The best part is.. ive been to BOSM 04 as well , when i was in jai hind. That time , we won the bronze with a much better team , but that team spirit and the companionship wasnt really there , we were more of 11 individuals on the pitch than 1 team..anyways..that trip was special aswell as it was my 1st real competitive tournament at the under graduate level.

3rd) Defending gold :

Well the reason its always at the back of my mind is because its not the 1st time i am going to play in a tournament knowing we are defending champions. Have had that feeling several times during my school days when we used to win almost everything one particular year but somehow messed it all up the next year, it was sort of a taboo ,so to put it in other words , i am not too sure if we can defend this one, considering ive neva been a part of team which has successfully defended a title.

phew...with that i am signing off..
off to jaipur , then from there to pillani for a 5 day sports meet..
cheers

ps. if we win the gold , i will buy any1 reading this blog a drink :D

Randomness !!

2008-09-05T17:40:00.002+05:30

a boring lecture on a boring topic from a boring professor on a boring afternoon on a boring monday is one of those times in your life when u drift away into a different zone , where one thinks about stupid , crazy , preposterous , wild , innovative sometimes , stupid (mentioning it again coz i am trying to emphasizing it :P ) stuff,,
phew that was a big sentance..but you get the point ?
well one such boring monday afternoon..i was in that zone..
and i was wondering about what the term random truly means..

according to the definition , it basically means any event , process , series etc which have no dependence on previous or post event , process , series etc..blah blah..u get the point..
but i was wondering , is it truly random..can anything in this universe be truly random ..or is everything interlinked to form a complexity we have not yet been truly understood..i know i am entering the intelligent design vs evolution debate here , but why not consider they are one and the same thing , for a moment think about it..
is it possible that what we called random events or random behavior or random stuff...is all planned and all in order of the universe's plan..

now i am not implying that everything is decided by one person (GOD or angel or wteve)... lol..i am an athiest..so i would never suggest that..
actually the whole thought process was stimulated by the discussion going on in my class room as i have to periodically have to pause my day dreaming and actually pay attention in class to what Joshi Sir was talking and he was discussing the generation of random numbers . Thats what triggered this whole new world of queries , hypothesis in my head , it made me think the whole day (in my free time ofcourse)

after all the madness , i concluded ive just day dreamed and that i may never really able to find out the whole deal in my lifetime...

cheers

ps. the above literature might not make anysense to anyone..apologies to the same.

I am NOT the nice guy you thought I was !!!

2008-09-01T00:01:00.000+05:30

as the title suggests !!

ps. yes its true !!!

Prisoner Of Birth

2008-08-30T14:02:00.004+05:30

"Revenge is a dish best served cold" is truly epitomized in this book , ( im sure ive spelled it wrong) .
the plot basically revolves around a certain Danny Cartwight who "on his supposed" best night of his life when he asks out his long time girlfriend sarah to marry him ends up in jail the next day on the charge of a murder he didnt commit , that too the murder is of sarah's elder brother and Danny's best friend Bernier. The story takes off from there , and innocent Danny is sentenced to 22 years in prison as 4 witnesses accuse him of committing a crime he didnt commit. The story mostly is focussed on Danny's life and his plot for revenge on those 4 strangers who have screwed over his life. Jeffry Archer is truly one of the best story teller of our time.

seldom does a book have classy writing combined with flashy storyline , not to mentio
i finished reading this book last week , once i was past the first 30 pages , i didnt stop. Its not like the best book or something , it might not even come in my top 10 books , but its definitely worth a read . Perhaps the book lacked the punch when it comes to the writing or the effect of certain passages. Like in Kane and Able or in some other of jeffry archer's works , there is a lack of high impact words , quotes or any kind of description of characters , places or events. Since the storyline involves a lot of courtroom drama , the book tends to be more of a suspense/murder mystery type of a book instead of a classic as jeffry archer always makes it to be. Maybe i am not supposed to draw parallels to his previous works , maybe i like his other works better , whatever is the reason i was left a little disappointed with it , although take nothing away this is a fantastic read.Considering i must have read over 200 books by now , i think i am becoming too choosy...as far as prisoner of birth goes ,i'l rate it 8.5 on 10 , not bad at all.
now as amanda suggested il be looking to read either atlas shrug or fountain head , ive been procrastinating it since a while..

cheers

22 inches Wide !!!

2008-08-18T18:49:00.003+05:30

its a different world on my newly acquired 22 inch wide lcd monitor
i just got my hands on the acer 2216wbd 22 inch black lcd screen as my old 17 inch CRT got spoilt.
And Boy isnt this big :D !!!

check out the pics..cheers

David Beckham - The Footballer, United Born and United Bred

2008-08-07T23:32:00.001+05:30

The following is an amazing article on one of my favorite players in football..
have a read..

David Beckham - The Footballer, United Born and United Bred.
By Srikanth Meka • April 14, 2008

David Beckham. Mega Brand, Fashion Icon, Multi Millionaire, Footballing Superstar,.. are amongst the few things that spring to one’s mind when they hear the name. What strikes me is the image of a blue eyed boy doing what he had lived to do, play football for Manchester United Football Club. The super cars, the multi-million dollar endorsements, the celebrity wife, the Hollywood lifestyle are all glossy make up on a mask.Beneath the mask is Becks, A cockney lad who grew up idolising Manchester United and ended up living his dream, playing for United.

Born in Leytonston, London, Becks was born to fanatical United supporters, Ted and Sandra Beckham. He promptly inherited the love for United from his parents at a very young age. A seven year old Becks would go around telling anyone who was willing to listen what he would do when he grew up, “I’ll play for Manchester United”. Becks accompanied his father, an avid footballer on Sunday league games, and would spend hours kicking the ball around. He started playing organised football for Ridgeway Rovers Youth team which was coached by his father and two of his friends. At 11, he won a nationwide skills competition organised by Bobby Charlton’s Soccer Schools and made his first appearance at Old Trafford, collecting his trophy from the United Legend at the half time interval of a United-Spurs game.

At 13, he joined local Brimsdown Rovers Youth team, still concerned that he was playing his youth football too far away from Manchester for United Scouts to notice. One evening, His dad let him know that a United coach had spotted him play and were impressed enough to give him a trial. Young David erupted into tears of joy, hugging everyone in sight. The wheels to his United career were set in motion. In the meanwhile he also had stints at Leyton Orient and Tottenham Hotspur’s Scool of Excellence. He turned up in a United kit on his first day at the latter; that was David, hardly apologetic about the fact that he was Reds supporting cockney, flaunting it on every opportunity he could. He would turn up in the United dressing room in every of their London game’s thereafter.

Becks signed schoolboy forms with United on his fourteenth birthday and later shifted to Manchester to begin his footballing education at Manchester United.His signing was all done under the watchful eyes of Alex Ferguson who met the schoolboy personally and signed the schoolboy contract on United’s behalf. His batch-mates at the United academy included Ryan Giggs(a year senior),the Neville brothers, Paul Scholes, Nicky Butt, Kieth Gillespie,Robbie Savage and Simon Davies amongst others,all of who went on to become good professional footballers from there on.Being a cockney lad from London, it took the local lads time to allow Becks into their fold, Becks love and passion for United showed soon enough to break those shackles. Two years under the watchful eyes of Eric Harrison, Brian Kidd and Alex Ferguson resulted into the blossoming of the finest young footballers into promising professionals,Fergie’s Fledglings as they came to be popularly known, the Class of 92. Becks started out out a central midfielder, but such was the competition for places in central midfield that he had to shift to the right wing.

The Fledglings’ capped their graduation winning the FA Youth Cup in 1992. Becks made his senior debut for United in a League Cup match against Brighton and Hove Albion the same year. He played reserve team football for a year and had a stint at Preston North End on loan in the 1994–95 season to get some first team experience.He returned to United the following season and announced his coming of age to the world with ‘that’ goal, lobbing Wimbeldon keeper Neil Sullivan from inside his own half. And that happened to be my first concrete memory of United as well. Growing up in Baldwin’s (a convent set up by the British from the north-east of England) where football was a religion, Manchester United was the name that always rung around the school. Although it was the time Cantona was ruling Old Trafford as ‘the King’, strangely Becks’ coming was the first ‘hard’ thing I can recall about the club. And so began two journey’s along parallel paths, mine and his. Today a global superstar, back then Becks was like every single one of us United fans, only that he was ‘living the dream’.

Becks started regularly from then on, replacing the mercurial Andrei Kanchelskis more than ably, ‘winning the league with the kids’ in 1996. He went on take the United No.7 shirt on Cantona’s retirement, and with it the mantle of United legends like George Best and his immediate predecessor, Eric Cantona. If flair was what was needed to grow into the No.7 shirt, he had none of it. Like George Best himself commented,”He cannot kick with his left foot, he cannot head a ball, he cannot tackle and he doesn’t score many goals. Apart from that he’s all right“.But what he had was, arguably the greatest right foot of all time and a dogged determination and passion to play the game. Playing in a United shirt was all he ever wanted, and he went about each game like it was his last. Work-rate, dedication, vision and commitment were what his game was built on. He capped those qualities with what he could do with that right foot of his. Stunning free kicks, irresistible crosses, solid corners and impossible cross-field passes were the icing on the cake.

Playing with a group of people he had grown up learning the game, Becks played the game with a certain degree of freedom and flamboyance that is hard to explain. For instance,on a counter-attack, while Giggsy and Co would burn the pace to get to the opposition goal, he would stroll to the half way line with the ball.And with the turn of an eye he would deliver a pinpoint cross to the man he wanted from 50 yards away. Why would you want to run 45 yards to make a 5 yard pass when you can do all the same from where you are! On another occasion,against Birmingham City, a Veron pass found him 30 yards from goal with the goalkeeper stranded halfway between him and the post.Anyone would have gone a few yards more and slid an easy finish either side of the keeper,not Becks.He coolly chipped the goalkeeper from where he was.This was not arrogance, just supreme confidence in his abilities, something he had acquired from hours of dedicated practice.This was his pinch of genius, the ability to pick out a man from anywhere he wanted and sink stunning free kicks into the back of the net.

Becks returned from the 1998 World Cup a national villain, getting red carded against Argentina for a cynical retaliating kick ending England’s run in the tournament. Becks returned home to a huge outcry of anger and hate. Whereas he got booed on every single opposition ground in the country that season, United fans applauded him for every single corner and free kick he stepped up to take. “Stuff the rest,We love you Becks” was the message United fans gave Becks.Becks responded and how! In what was the greatest season a club could have, We ended up winning the Treble with Becks playing a pivotal role all along and providing the telling corners on ‘that’ night in Barcelona.

‘David Beckham’ was soon gaining more media attention than ever before.Success with the club along with his personal life,dating Spice Girl Victoria Adams, thrust Becks into the limelight.Soon, he would become one of the most most recognisable faces on the planet. United dominated in Engalnd and Beckham donned the role of ambassador of the club to take it to heights of its popularity around the world. A stunning free kick in the dying seconds of the game against Greece sent England to World Cup 2002, and forever erased any bad memories of World Cup 98. Becks was a national hero.

His choice of lifestyle and revelling under the media attention never affected what he did on the pitch. He was as determined and committed as ever. But it slowly started to have an effect on his relationship with manager Sir Alex Ferguson. The strains began to show in the relationship with several off-pitch incidents not helping the cause. After a loss to Arsenal in a FA Cup fifth round match, Sir Alex kicked a stray boot in frustration and it hit,of all people, Becks on the eye.He appeared the following day with a cut on his right eyebrow, and the English tabloids went overboard on the story speculating his exit from the club. He was dropped to the bench for the home game of the Champions League quarter finals against Real Madrid amidst speculation that he had agreed to join the club in the summer. He came off the bench and put in a superlative display and scored a stunning free kick to answer the questions raised against his commitment to the club. United won the title back from Arsenal in a stunning comeback after trailing them for most of the season. Accounts from various sources later confirmed that he had not held talks with anyone until the day United called him to tell him of their decision to sell him. David Beckham transferred from Manchester United to Real Madrid in July 2003 for 25 million pounds.

He went on to play 4 seasons for Real Madrid,winning a La Liga title, before transferring to LA Galaxy for a record five year contract of 250 million dollars.

Becks was like every single one of us, just a lot more talented and infinitely more famous.He loved the club to bits. He leapt out of his seat in joy right in the middle of a Real Madrid Press Conference on hearing the news of United winning the 2006-07 League title, much to the amusement of the watching reporters. Whilst watching him play, he brought out a certain something out of us that no one else could, and is hard to explain. Who knows what would have happened if that stray boot ended up anywhere else but his eye. Who knows what would have been if the series of events that strained his relationship with the manager had turned out differently from what they have.

Becks endorsed and enjoyed the lifestyle that arguably cut short his United career.Would he in hindsight have done things differently if he knew what was to come?Nonetheless, We love Becks for whatever he was, not for what he could have been.

Becks should be remembered along the same lines as Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Gary Neville and Roy Keane. It was just a tryst with destiny that ended up with him not finishing his career at United.

Great love stories, they say, never have the perfect ending. Becks’ with United was no exception. Great love stories,albeit a sad ending, are told on for generations. Becks’ and United’s should be too.

David Beckham ‘Once a Red, Forever a Red’ Legend.

About the Author
Srikanth Meka

animation using blender !!!

2008-08-04T21:08:00.000+05:30

what a ride ?

1st animation using blender

2008-07-30T23:02:00.003+05:30

this is done by us just by viewing some basic tutorials yet to learn a lot...
so its not that great...ive posted it on youtube .
here goes :

ps. Just an update ..i am now working with the project OSCAR team at IIT-B CSE department for my final yr BE project.We are doing an opensource animation project using the software blender3d :D..more later..cheers

[edit]

i improved upon the glass and water rendering and have made a new animation video.
check it out

Why So Serious ?

2008-07-19T23:11:00.002+05:30

Batman - The Dark Knight
Venue : Imax Adlabs (mumbai)
Time : 10:45 pm
Date : 18th july 2008

I can confidently tell you that there has been no movie that i have wanted to watch so much like the batman movie the dark knight , especially after the previous batman movie (batman begins). Been dying to watch the movie since a i came to know the release date..the last month has been especially exasperating...and finally the moment came...

With so much expectation from the director , the cast and the screenplay...i went in to the theatre..
the next 150 minutes of the movie have simply been amazing...i was not one bit disapointed with the movie , the movie had everything , heroes turning villans , villans turning mad , humour , thriller , twists , and of course action...i will not try and review the movie as i won't be a good critic..
but according to me , batman -the Dark Knight will be remembered for the performances of the late heath ledger ..he has for me given the best performance any actor can possibly give for a villanous role..i was speechless , amazed ..and scared all at the same time..

his antics with trics , his licking of his scars around his lips while muttering the infamous tagline " WHY SO SERIOUS ? "...the smile...the frown...the look..the walk..the talk...

The movie wasn't the best movie ever made..but it is definitely the best superhero movie i think..
although on second thoughts i think the weight of expectations mite have compelled me to believe its on par with batman begins..and on some levels i think batman begins was slightly more brilliant..

overall ..its a must watch..and for batman fans like me ...you can watch it 5 times and not get bored..and spidey n superman fans..i am sure they will like it too..

cheers

ubuntu new distribution - the pyromaniac release

2008-07-10T01:44:00.003+05:30

well don't get fooled by the title , NO i have not installed yet another version of ubuntu ( i am truly content with the working of the present version )
and NO ubuntu doesn't have a new release (pyromaniac)

this blog is for my good friend karan who unfortunately is a pyromaniac ( i dunno if im spelling it right) anyways.. it so happened that the ubuntu i am using has this application called compiz-fusion.
this software lets u make ur multiple desktops arrange themselve along the sides of a cube ( yes ubuntu has multiple desktops to be used as multiple desk spaces) ...it so happened that one of the effects included in the preferences is fire..well this option lets me click the windows button + shift+mouse drag to create a fire animation..the scrshots r below...quite cool na ?

ps. karan im sure ur gonna be installing ubuntu soon... i can probably bet money on that.

the ubuntu/vista/grub fiasco

2008-07-08T14:07:00.002+05:30

well here goes..
i have finally finished installing ubuntu 7.1
i am getting used to the interface , learnt how to configure the internet and other settings ,
installed my restricted drivers for the ATI graphic card and now i am all set to update fixes n patches online , when i realize that ubuntu lets u do a distribution upgrade online itself without having to burn a iso. for the newbies it means one can upgrade from one OS to the next version online itself without having to format the partition or use a CD/DVD. so i thought lets give it a try and began upgrading the distribution , from gutsy gibbon to hardy heron.
GNU/Linux system (ubuntu distro) 8.04 (code named hardy heron) was the distribution i was upgrading to, it showed me 2 hours remaining and it also warned me that i cannot cancel upgrade once the download finishes. i thought id give it some time and went down to meet some friends.
A few hours later when i got back home i see that the machine is switched off , my mom had switched off the pc as she thought i had forgotten to switch off before going down.
I couldn't believe it , everything was going so well , vista was set , ubuntu was upgrading, all my settings were perfect , all my updates were perfect , i had wasted so much of my internet bandwidth into downloading for the update and here mom comes and takes it all away , my Linux wasn't booting anymore :(
i couldn't seriously get in terms with it , this is how one must feel when one breaks up with someone one really cares about , the pain..the frustration..
i was in denial for half the day , later i composed my self and began debugging.
after a lot of research on the internet and talking to this one chinese guy in the #ubuntu channel at mIRC server quakenet.org , i finally managed to fineshed updating and was able to boot into ubuntu , but the problem was the manual editing of the automatic process screwed it up and two versions of the kernal was installed..2.4 n 2.6. But atleast getting it to work without having to install again was a great self esteem boost. So i thot now at least i learn't something , but little did i know that it was just the beginning of my worries..

i installed a fresh copy of ubuntu 8.04 hardy heron using a live cd ..and i clicked on enter to reboot after the installation was complete only to realise that my grub loader (GRUB is an aplication that helps make a boot menu for linux and vista to dual boot)m wasnt working.
i was irrtated beyond words...now i coudn't boot into vista nor ubuntu..man what a mess..

its like some one above was really bored and thought mebbe he could fuck around with me a bit ..just for funzies..
its like after u breaks up...and the girl just goes on to marry ur best friend..
i was not going to give up though ,, my options were :
1) clean format whole system and install both OSes again
2) clean format ubuntu , fix mbr of vista to make vista boot and then reinstall ubuntu
3) boot into the ubuntu live on cd and figure out a way to edit the grub conf file and fix the booting issue

i obviously chose the 3rd option..and so it began..
i know this is becoming a frickin long blog..but hell what can i do..
life is becoming a series of challenges and riddles in the Linux world i think..
i booted into the ubuntu live on cd and connected to the internet to lookout for help and it turns out there are many more idiots like me around the world who have done the same thing and got stuck in no man's land..i was delighted ..there was plenty of support on how to fix grub and voila...i was in..

both ubuntu and vista booted perfectly well once i edited the menu.lst file in the boot/grub folder ..and now i have finally finished with all the problems at least for now..
who knows whats in store for me next...

highlights of using ubuntu till now has been the following for me

1)stupid thing but i really like it..shows me time , date n temperature of whichever city i want on the desktop
2)i like the way the boot menu can be fixed and altered ..very flexible unlike windows
3) no need to mount my hard drives every time unlike some other distribution
4) internet connectivity is automatic for my dsl pppoe connection unlike in vista
5) it starts in 12 seconds n shuts in 6 seconds..pretty impressive
6) this is one of the most important highlight..no need to install any anti virus program :D
7) keyboard shortcuts option is amazing and i love working more on the keyboard

overall been a very hectic week with so much troubleshooting..
signing off
cheers

Gutsy Gibbon

2008-07-02T13:44:00.002+05:30

my sata hard drive just crashed and i got it replaced...
since i now had a clean slate.. i thought id finally install linux and play around a bit..

and so finally i installed ubuntu 7.10 gutsy gibbon release

its not the latest in the ubuntu release but its a pretty stable one..so i thought i'd install it.
so here i am , working on the ubuntu environment for the first time and i must say its been a nice ride till now..
ubuntu has a lot of cool features and also is one of the most userfriendly linux distributions i have worked on , the synaptic package manager is one of the best things ive seen in an OS..
also ubuntu dsl dialer has fixed my problem of having to click on connect to the internet everytime i boot...in ubuntu i just had to configure my dsl settings once and it asked me whther i would like to trigger the connection everytime i booted , and i gladly said yes :D

And mind you i have also installed windows vista ultimate on a parallel drive , but im so impressed with the speed and flexibility of ubuntu , im mostly using ubuntu only.
also the boot times of both the OSes r so different , ubuntu is so much faster.
Vista ultimate takes 45-50 seconds to boot while ubuntu takes just 10-15 seconds.
impressive eh ? yes indeed , but what is more stunning is the shut down time , vista takes me more than a minute sometimes , and around avg 30 seconds to shut down , while ubuntu takes me just 5-7 seconds.

any of u guys out there still contemplating about using a linux distribution , ubuntu is definetly worth a shot..

cheers

and im back...

2008-06-18T18:34:00.002+05:30

well after a long break ..of nearly 3 months.. i am back

a lot has happened over the last 3 months..
1stly i gave my gre..i got a 1430 (v660/q770)
2ndly i am done with my semister 6 exams
i am officially now in final year

a lot of things coming up now ..
placements..toefl..

im also mostly giving subject GRE this november..

phew...anyways all this as i am just about to leave for amby valley for a short 2 day vacation..speaking of vacations i am just back from lonavala from a great one day trip with my college friends.

so thats that...

cheers

FA cup '08 poem

2008-03-09T07:44:00.001+05:30

Grass is green,
Skies are blue
Liverpool One
Barnsley Two.
Barnsley Beats
Chelsea too

ARRRGHHHHHHH !! :@:@:@

2008-03-08T13:51:00.002+05:30

GRRRR....im so fucking pissed , aargggggghhh #$%%$^ %^Y& %^& %^ &%^&
well no , nobody punched me on a train , its just this stupid television series ive been watching ,'lost'.picture of the coverpage of the dvd given below, just for your reference.

20 hours of wasting my time , and end of season 1 , they hvnt explained most of the questions about the season , they havent explained so many irritating questions , ...

well it was a decent season though , the plot was interesting , the charectors wele believable , all in all a decent show , the cliff hanger in the 1st season end , made me watch the second season ...

so again , another 20 hours of wasting my time , most of my questions of the 1st season still remain unanswered , some new questions are not answered at the end of this season...and im wondering what the hell is going on...i mean common..are you serious..are you fucking serious..if i meet the writers , i swear id chop them down like a fruit...no kiddin..
warning to the writers of 'lost' and anyone from the ABC network , dun cross my path for i shall kill you !!!

no cheers..im fuckin bummed off

ps. DO NOT WATCH LOST...its a serious advice..

End of a legend , begining of another !!

2008-03-06T14:27:00.002+05:30

Well , Maldini's career is coming to an end , after last nights defeat against arsenal at the san siro..
for all those not having a clue i am talking about , well its about football , about the great team of AC milan , and more specifically the end of a legend , MALDINI
great defender , great player and one of the biggest legends of the beautiful game.
well as his career comes to an end , i am sure this is not the last maldini on the football pitch ,
have a look at the video , its daniel maldini tackling seedorf..
i guess when its all in the genes..
cheers

something im trying , help me !!

2008-03-05T14:48:00.001+05:30

Referral Link: http://www.xpango.com?ref=91290885

click above and register on the site , it will give me credit points.
just trying something , lets see if it works
cheers

The other bar !!!

2008-03-04T18:03:00.002+05:30

Venue : Grand Hyatt(ballroom)
Occasion :Varun and Priyanka's sangeet ceremony
time : 12:00 am
Well i am standing outside the crowded bar , waiting for my 2nd drink for the night , mehul was getting me a repeat of my previous drink ( black label with coke ) and mehul was getting his drink (black label with water). The music was really loud , the sangeet dances where still going on, the energy levels were so high , was fantastic. Sid is as usual getting someone a drink , there's an old saying you know ! it goes like this.. "if your looking for sid , check the bar". Its True , ask anyone.Anyways coming back to me , i was still waiting there , it had been like 5-6 minutes since mehul had been trying to get the drinks , and 5-6 minutes is lot of time wasted .
And then suddenly out of nowwhere , i notice another bar at the other end of the ballroom . A sudden gush relief mixed with excitement filled in me, i told mehul and we went there , and mehul didnt stop thanking me for this the whole night. We got our drinks in no time !
It was a wonderful night , last night. Oh that reminds me , a here's wishing Varun And Priyanka all the very best and wishing them happiness in thier life to come.
cheers

ps. was fun to watch sid so drunk , you guys have to check out the recording i took of him singing the liverpool song in conrad's room at 3 in the morning , hilarious i tell you.

Tree hugging ..!!!

2008-03-02T14:05:00.002+05:30

well ive decided to add some entertainment quotient to the few visitors to my blog ,
well im going to post all the funny jokes i come across on the internet..
heres a funny one to begin with..

While walking through the forests a man came upon another man hugging a tree with his ear firmly against the tree. Seeing this he inquired, “Just out of curiosity, what the heck are you doing?”

“I’m listening to the music of the tree,” the other man replied.

“You gotta be kiddin’ me.”

“No, would you like to give it a try?”

Understandably curious, the man says, “Well, OK…”

So he wrapped his arms around the tree and pressed his ear up against it. With this the other guy, slapped a pair of handcuffs on him, took his wallet, jewelry, car keys, then stripped him naked and left.

Two hours later another nature lover strolled by, saw this guy handcuffed to the tree stark naked, and asked, “What the hell happened to you?”

He told the guy the whole terrible story about how he got there.

When he finished telling his story, the other guy shook his head in sympathy, walked around behind him, kissed him gently behind the ear and said, “Cupcake, this just ain’t gonna be your day…”

Happy birthday Namrata ~!!

2008-02-29T03:06:00.004+05:30

Place : Vie Lounge(juhu)
Time: 11 pm
well i am sitting at the bar having my drink..sid is almost done with his whiskey andwondering what to have next , priyam is somewhere around i guess , karan is playing with his newfound beard...
aarthi is chatting with sanket (in the black lingo ofcourse) , namrata is drunk, dhrumil is thinking( dunno about what), shy girl is shy as usual, drunk girl is drunk and is at home , tall girl is tall , maitryee* is with priyam i think , amanda ..well i really dunno what she is upto..
the bartender is making 7 taqila shots , dunno who the lucky 7 are...there are 5 screens on the bar , each of them showing advertisements from different channels , except one showing a ben stiller movie..there is a couple sitting at the bar table , guy is having is drink , while the girl is talking about somethin very important i guess, the DJ is playing some crappy stuff and sipping his redbull from time to time (wonder why its not taking effect on him yet)..
been a long time since we all met up..partied..drank..n sang happy birthday..
which reminds me..
happy birthday namrata...hope uve had a good one..

cheers

* maitryee is also known as maitree/mamitree/maiytri

ps. Priyam i will get back at you for embarrising me infront of everyone..

What the HELL ~!!!

2008-02-27T19:57:00.002+05:30

WELL thats exactly what i was thinking the moment that fist hit me...

here's what happened today ( mind you i am not drunk, i am not making it up and no my blogspot account has not been hacked by stevan speilberg)..

i was returning home from a tiring day at college in the usual 5:08 local from parle to wadala , the day was especially tiring as i had played 2 matches in the RGIT football tournament for my college and also attenended a prof. Ranjana Singh practicals( Folks from the E2 batch in IT 3rd yr engineering will know what i am dealing with here) .Anyways, coming back to the train journey , i am here sitting on the 2nd row of the wooden seating arrangement in the usual 2nd class compartment , doing my usual thing that i do while i travel alone in the local ie nothing, and somewhere between mahim junction and kings circle station , there comes this beggar/drunk/weird/shabby guy and you will not believe what i type next , yeah..he frickin punches me hard..
thats right..he hit me out of the blew , without the hint of a warning ,

yes i repeat ..he frickin hit me ..and i am beeing completly honest here , i DID not do anything to deserve that ( i have said this atleast 20 times today ,10 times to the railway cops at wadala ).

what followed was a very emotional response , emotional not in the way you are imagining right now and grinning , emotional in the way that there were a lot of emotions involved , emotions like bewilderment , anger , puzzledment , irritation , complete shock and surprise at the randomness and probability of the event , i mean common , i seriously would not belive anyone who told me this story nor would i believe a similar stupid blog post.And the manner of this emotional response was an obvious attempt to hit back/defend myself from a future blow/trying to figure out if it was a dream...
well after the initial trade of blows , there was this weird pause...a couple of people in the train took notice but the majority of the people in the compartment hadnt taken notice to this absurdity, complete randomn and weird event.After this pause as i began to expect it (however weird it may sound) , came another exchange of blows , he punched me square in the stomouch and the rib cage , i just punched wherever i could make any contact , a complete mad and blind attack on some sort of a completly unforseen predator(if i can use that word) in a couple of minutes around 2-3 people separated us and the sometheres began to quiz about what was going on , and i just couldnt believe at what had just happened, i mean i had no idea why the guy started hitting me , i ask this again .. why o why..

well the ending is somewhat the usual , we got down at wadala , i reported the guy to the RPF (cops at the station) after explaining my version of the bewildering event to 3 different cops , they finally took down my complaint and i got permission to go home , having given them my contact details .

phew..it will take sometime to get over this , writing this down here probably helped..

cheers.

ps. im so fucking glad i don't remember any of my dreams and that all my nights are dreamless and peacefull , so whatever nightmares i might have , fortunately i shall not remember any of them in the morning :D.

Football !!!

2008-02-14T23:52:00.004+05:30

Well football has been a huge part of my life m right from grade I where i was 1st introduced to the beautiful game till the time i started playing regularly till date..
its been an amazing journey , playing with my boot size of 3 to right now playing with a boot size of 9. It seems just like yesterday that i went with mom to buy my 1st pair of shoes :D and my 1st football ...

Our school had this system where in each year , there was a division called as the "A" divison or "sports divison" where students who excelled in all sports were put together and this divison would have a special timetable where in they would get extra sports period (ie 2 hrs a day for 3 days a week ) :D ..
well the whole system is important in achieveing all round growth and also to promote and support sporting talent. Every year in the summer vacation, all the students including those in the sports divison had to undergo a sports camp where their performance in the sport is annalysed and the new sport divison students were chosen from those in the summer camp. So your place in the elite sports divison was not to be taken for granted and one had to perform well to stay in the same divison the next year.(ie to be promoted from V A to VI A one has to make sure he is performing well enough in his respective sport).As a very young kid , Well since it is too early to decide which sport he has potential in , from grade I to grade IV all of the kids in the sports divison had to play all the sports , and il tell you something , there was something special about playing football , something so amazing that other sports just didnt interest me the least.It was one of my happiest days of my life as a 9 yr when i was selected for football in grade V. That was it , i was to play for school every year from Grade V to grade IX :D. Those were the best days of my life !

seriously looking back at it now , i cannot imagine how life would have shaped out without football.

cheers

an old poem i wrote..

2008-02-10T00:02:00.000+05:30

she's the one that stayed that way

its a short time ago..i began knowing her so well
its been so wonderful..how amazing i juss can't tell
there are not many words that describe her ways
be it the silence,the laughter or the sweet smiling face

she's the one that stayed that ways

he doesnt speak that loud,as her eyes do most of the talking
even when all the chips r down,she will still keep on walking
she writes she draws she reads ...oh yes she even sings
ive lost count of it but there are so many other things

she's the one that stayed that way

the best way to ur loved ones heart they say
is through thier stomouch ,der's no other way
the same can be said for her..the food gotta be more than okay
..its nt burgers or pizzas but its gotta be the sizzlers at kobe

she's the one that stayed that way

you cannot miss her silent stare ..
its like the solar flare..
comes quite often..directly at you
you don't know wts fuse of her's u blew :P

she's the one that stayed that way

the colors are blue and green..
the mind is smart and clean..
as a friend as a guide ..year after year after year !
psychology is what she wants to do..n she's made that very clear..

she's the one that stayed that way

its her for whom i make my say..
its for whom i shine like the day
she is the one for whom this poem rhymes..
her name is ***** ***** and she's worth a trillion dimes,,,

she's the one that stayed that way..

Ps. i wrote it for a friend , he wanted to write something for this girl.

..Of Munich by Musab

2008-02-09T13:05:00.000+05:30

The following is one of the best blogs i have read in a long time...
i hv provided the link below, hope the author doesnt mind me sharing this beautiful article on my blog..hats off to u man..
cheers

....Of Munich '58

I have a knack for doing things in reverse.

Take Dylan, for example.I was a Dylan fan way before I had heard him sing.Way before that in fact.I had stumbled upon an article about him,gotten hooked and began to dug deep. I read up everything I could get my hands on,which wasn't very much I must admit.But it gave me an idea of what I was in for before I was floored by Like A Rolling Stone. I'm pretty sure that if I'd heard that brilliant nasal drone unawares,my experience would have been quite different.

I am a football freak,as any friend of mine would tell you.I support Manchester United..(the understatement of the century),have done so for at least ten years now.The first United match I saw was eight years ago.(He's loony,you say...and I don't blame you).

The same lopsided logic applies here.It wasn't the football United played that attracted me.Niether did the fact that they were the most successful and entertaining side in the world while I was growing up in the nineties.Or the fact that by the time I started following them religiously,they had won,or were on the verge of winning just about every trophy you could name.

The reason I fell in love with United was...Munich.

At the end of the Second World War,United were a struggling club ; almost bankrupt,their stadium badly bombed,without a full time manager.That's when they hit a rich vein of luck by signing a Scotsman, a former Manchester City and Liverpool player as manager.His name was Matt Busby.He inherited a football team in a very sad state,but he set about remedying it.The key word was Youth.Lads in school,or just out of school with a knack for playing fast,attacking,entertaining football.

A team was quickly built,and the work began.They won the FA cup in 1948,defeating a strong Blackpool side.Four years later,they were League champions.As the first great post-war team was maturing,the plan kicked into overdrive and the first batch of youngsters got signed.This batch was already proving to be outstanding,having won the FA Youth Cup an astonishing five times.Roger Byrne,Jackie Blanchflower,Bill Foulkes,Mark Jones,David Pegg,Liam Whelan,Eddie Colman and Duncan Edwards joined the first team,a product of the United youth and scouting program.

Something magical happened,this team of young lads turned into the leanest football machine in England.They won the League in 1956.And again in 1957.And they didn't just win it,they won it with style,with pace and attacking vigor that had never before been seen.They were not just a team anymore.,They were Matt Busby's little bounders.They were The Busby Babes !!

If ever they're playing in your town,

You must get to that football ground,

Take a look and you will see,

Football taught by Matt Busby.

Manchester,

Manchester United,

A bunch of bouncing Busby babes,

They deserve to be knighted.

So goes a famous terrace song,"Manchester Calypso"

But winning in England was just the beginning.There was a new adventure just beginning...Europe. England had long considered itself the home of football,and somewhat scorned upon the rest of the football playing world.The notion that since they had invented the game,they were by default the best team,was shattered when the Hungarians-The Mighty Magyars-,thrashed them at Wembley,England's home ground.English football had retreated into a Europhobic shell by the time the Babes arrived,but European club football was just starting.

The English Football Association-The FA-,myopically prohibited any English club from playing in Europe.But Matt Busby defied them and entered Manchester United in the european Cup.The Babes' first European game was at home to Belgian club Anderlecht.There was apprehension as to how the kids from England would faare against European opposition.But all those fears were allayed as the Babes licked Anderlecht 10-0.The adventure was on.

They reached the semi-final in their first attempt,ultimately losing to eventual winners Real Madrid in an entertaining encounter.But the stage was set,the torch had been lit and the Babes were ready for another try,confident that this time they could go all the way.1958 began on a positive note.Slow and steady,the Babes were advancing on three fronts.They were onthe way to reclaiming their third League title,were still in the FA cup,and had just won the first leg of the European Cup quarter final against Red Star Belgrade (Crevna Zvevda).

Full of anticipation,the team set out to Yugoslavia for the return leg of the match.On 6th February,1958,after a very intriguing game,they drew 3-3,thus ensuring a place in the semi final against AC Milan of Italy.The second Semi-Final in the second attempt.This time,there was a genuine hope that this team,whose average age was just 22,would go all the way.They flew back to England on a twin-propeller Elizabethan aircraft.With a blizzard raging,they had to stop at Munich to refuel.A quick refuel later,they were ready to take off.A first attempt failed,so did a second one.

There were thoughts about abandoning the trip for the day and heading back on the next,but the captain decided against it.The runway was covered with ice and slush,the wings were iced over.and there was heavy snowing when the plane set off for the third time.The plane set off,and just before the wheels left the tarmac,the plane skidded,slipped and crashed into a barrier.One of it's wings hit the side of a house and the plane caught fire.As survivors dragged themselves out of the burning wreckage,the greatest tragedy in english football had unfolded.

At 3.04 PM on 6th February 1958,23 people died,including eight of the Busby Babes-Geoff Bent,Roger Byrne,Eddie Colman,Mark Jones,David Pegg,Tommy Taylor and Billy Whelan.In addition,three club officials,Walter Crickmer,Tom Curry and Bert Whalley also perished,along with the plane staff and some journalists.The greatest football team in England was no more.

Duncan Edwards,Big Brilliant Dunc followed fifteen days later,after valiantly struggling for life,even saying that he was ready for the next match,two days before he passed away.Matt Busby,the manager,badly injured,struggled on.His injuries were so severe that he was twice given his Last Rites.

Back in England,the country was in shock.The whole of England,irrespective of club loyalties,was in mourning for the bunch of young lads who had set football ablaze with their own brand of football.The loss to Manchester United,and to British football was immense.Most of the Babes were playing for their national teams,and were a symbol of hope for the international tournaments to come.The crash not only deprived United of their greatest team,but also cost England the world cups of 1958 and 1962,which would have had entirely different outcomes if the likes of the great Duncan Edwards had played.

The story wasn't over yet,in a scene unimaginable today,United had to play their next competitive match just 13 days later.An immobile Matt Busby told assistant manager Jimmy Murphy,"Keep the flag flying,Jimmy".In barely two weeks,Murphy managed to string together a team that included survivors still recovering from the trauma,reserve team players and hastily bought replacements.This team astonishingly reached the final of the FA cup,before losing to Bolton 2-1 in an emotional final as Matt Busby,in crutches,watched from the sidelines.

Busby was the one who suffered the most.He head seen these kids grow up,and he considered himself responsible for the disaster by ignoring the FA's orders and playing in Europe.These feelings stayed with him for many years,while he rebuilt Manchester United from the ground up,just as he had done after the war.This resurgence was finally complete when,10 years after the crash,United beat Benfica from Portugal 4-1 at Wembley to finally lift the European Cup which they had set out for way back in 1957.Matt Busby was knighted that year for his services to football.This was the ultimate fruit of Busby's labours,it also served as his great catharsis....

That was the story that turned me into a United fan,and as I watched United win against Munich that night in 1999 in the greatest European final ever,my journey was complete.It would have been Sir Matt's 90'th birthday if he was alive,but it served as the greatest birthday gift nonetheless.

I am still a United fan;I miss classses to watch them play,skip marriages and functions,scream my head off when we score a goal(just ask my neighbours),and sulk for days when we lose.But Munich is still special.And every year,when the 6th of February comes nearer,I go through my collection of articles,videos and photos,and -call me asentimental sod if you will-get almost teary eyed.This year was the 50th anniversary of the crash.The club commemorated it splendidly,the fans did their part brilliantly,while I sit here typing my own silent remembrance.

Here's to the Babes.....The Flowers Of Manchester !!

source : http://lalioutloud.blogspot.com/

ALCOHOL

2008-02-07T20:56:00.001+05:30

as the title suggests

just found the pic online...found it cheerfull...:D so thot id spread the cheer

Boss Ek Cutting dena ~!!

2008-02-07T20:18:00.000+05:30

the title pretty much sums up the whole point of my blog entry...
its so fucking cold these days..and my chai drinking habbit has returned..

it all started with my crash course of maths 5 at vidyalankars 3 months back..
me beeing an avid coffee drinker , neva really liked tea that much..

but after those 3 hrs of maths.. having a break of 15 mins , that small little cup of tea was the only thing worth living for..
we started having it in our breaks , it magically revived us to survive last the remaining 3 hours..
we got through those 6 hour tuts everyday for a week somehow..but the tea drinking never stopped..

I did take a break from tea drinking , when i went to goa , ofcourse you don't drink tea there , you drink beer .
anyways coming back to the main point , ek cutting chai , what an invention i must say.
and since its been like 9 degrees , having tea is just a neccessity these days..
anyways im signing off , my tea is getting cold

cheers

Goa pictures...

2008-02-07T15:57:00.001+05:30

the place

the pool

the beer

the people

(clockwise from extreme leftbottom : amanda , karan , me , priyam , dhrumil , namrata and aarthi)

well that sums up my previous blog i guess..

cheers

GOA 2008

2008-01-22T23:43:00.000+05:30

well , the journey began on 13th january 2008,
a short trip by train to madgoan around 690 kms from mumbai.
We left around midnite on the 13th , and reached on the noon of the 14th.
Its a trip i am not going to forget in a long time to come. Beautiful , luxurious , comfortable , exciting , scintilating , energising , relaxing , pulsating , binge drinking , loads of meat and fish would be the ideal words coming to my mind as i sit down to write this one..

We stayed in probably one of the finest places in southgoa(near majorda) , a magnificent mansion called the jaipuria pepsi cola house. Its maintained by pepsi india and namrata's mausa is currently the manager , so courtsey to him and to pepsi india , we got to enjoy the life of a king for 5 days.
If there was monarchy in goa , and a king ruled the state , I am guessing he would be staying in such a house. Right from the amenities to the beautiful natural floura everything was kingsize , there were lush green lawns , sea facing infinity pools , dolphins in the sea (no seriously , we could see dolphins every mornin from out rooms jumping in the sea ) , the jacuzi , the entertainment unit , the pool room and not to mention the poker room.

The stay was so good , we didn't venture out till the 3rd day of the trip. Since the house was so huge we took some time to cover ground.The 3rd n 4th day we took a trip to north goa to visit the beaches of Anjuna , Baga and Calangoute. The dinners at the beach side shacks with those candle lighting was one of the highlights of the trip , with prawns winning the award for the food item of the trip. We must have had atleast 2 kgs of prawns in the end of 5 days.

This is gettin long n boring so il just provide a short checklist which should summarize my trip.

1) beer - check (3 crates)
2) woman - Check (went with girls :P)
3) food - check (ate like hungry whores)
4) other - who cares a shit...the 3 keys of a succesfull trip are checked.lol

cheers

ps. il post images of the trip soon..

The thing

2008-01-12T20:57:00.000+05:30

well this blog entry is all about that Thing..

that Thing i was carryubg today..it was so weird..so different..so scary..so good..so bad..
i had gone to meet a friend , who i was meeting after a long time..
it all started at the movies..the next thing i know i was eating the thing , it didnt taste good..:( ..then came the movie itself....well a nice movie..but made the Thing worse..
then more things followed...right from the traffic on the road to the major accident near my place..so many cops..so much commotion..the thing was just not gonna quit firing itself away...

ive never experience anything like it before..and it was just too much to handle..

whoever is reading this has no idea what the hell is the Thing i am talking about..
well the Thing is..its just this Thing ..you know ...
lol..honestly speaking after reading the first few lines i don't think anyone has reached till this line....the thing is history now..

Maths 5 !!!

2008-01-08T18:12:00.000+05:30

the tittle says it all !!!

Maths 5...for most engineers this is the final mathematics in thier engineering..
I for one used to love mathematics a lot right from school , but since the last 2 years , once i started with maths 1 in engineering, things have changed. My maths scores have shown that.

well I am about to give my last semister 5 paper which is incidently also my last mathematics paper in my course. Maths 5 or M5 as most call it , is all about practice , practice and more practice. Ofourse even a 100 hours of thorough practice will also not guarantee you a good score as it has probability . For those who are not studying engineering , they may not understand the meaning of 100 hours practice for a single paper as in engineering we do not give that much time for any single paper. Anyways , the point is its the kind of subject which can screw you up very badly if u do not practice and also screw you up if you do all the practice. I have been told that maths 5 has more casualties (more kts) than anyother subject in any branch of engineering, well thats an astounding statistics and ironically statistics is also a part of maths 5. There are 2 main parts in maths 5, i'd like to call it maths 5-bad and maths 5-boring.Well the 1st part (60% weightage) concerns stats and probability and the 2nd part(40% weightage) concerns with LPP & NLPP . Now the reason for me calling the first part maths 5- bad is very simple , although its very interesting and challenging, its sometimes confusing and tough ( oweing sometimes to the mumbai university's amazing english) , where as the the 2nd part is comparitively simpler n more mechanical it is very boring and silly mistakes can simpley ruin u.

Well judging from the fact that i have so much time to write this blog juss around 21 hours before i give my paper you might think i am very confident with the subject , but its just sheer frustration and irritation that has compelled me to write this. I hope to do well ( i mean get 40 marks ofcourse ) and get on with my vacation which by the way i am really looking forward to.

Maths god ..according to greeks its Ares i think.. i don't know for sure..anyways..whoever you are up there...have mercy tommorrow..keep those silly mistakes of mine away and those calculation errors at bay...and i shall never abuse mathematics again.

cheers

ps. i shall update this blog if my paper is good , or else i shall delete this blod :P

update :

i am fineshed with semister 5 ...n done wid M5

verdict - Maths 5 wasnt as bad as expected.. i should be able to pass

cheers

2007..the year that was..

2008-01-01T23:13:00.000+05:30

Well..of all the things i shall miss in the coming few weeks.. the year 2007 is definetly going to be one of them. Its been a phenomenal year for me and i don't think 2008 can match up to 2007 .
Obviously i am not going to list all the amazing things that have made 2007 so great ..but would like to have a moment to look back at this year and hope for many such years to come.
Of all the things i liked about 2007 is that i have spent so much quality time with my best friends, its too good to be true. Besides another highlight would be manchester united regaining the epl and winning the Gold Medal in BITS Pillani for football representing my college.

Looking forward to a fresh new year now i guess, 2008...well I have always liked the number 7 .. maybe thats another reason for my fondness for 2007.As i write this , so many thoughts running across my mind , a look at the number of things in my mind listed numerically :
1) Am i ever going to be able to maintain this blog ?
2) When should i begin studying for maths ? ( i have a math exam in a week)
3) should i write more or is this enuf ?
4) should i go for the snickers in my refridgerator now or should i save it for tommorrow ?
5) should i watch 'that 70's show' or 'my name is earl' now ?
6) why am i thinking about so many things at the same time ?

well as you can see , im pretty much messed in the head.
hope 2008 works out fine..but as of now 2007 is leading on all counts.
cheers

Finally started Blogging

2008-01-01T22:50:00.000+05:30

Its been my wish to start bloggin for so many years..and finally i stopped acting lazy and got on with it..a new year..a new blog..a new activity... finally :D
cheers