Saturday, November 19, 2005

Lift me up!

I never wake up with a particular mood. So when i wake up, i am not happy and i am not sad, and i am not angry. Its the sequence of events that transpire that would decide my mood. So probably an sms from a friend that can put a smile on my face would put me in a good mood. Waking up and finding that i can sleep for some more time would make me happy.

But there is always one thing that can ruin all this. No matter how gd my start was. And it always succeds in ruining my start. And that is the mentality of some of my fellow countrymen.

Our office building has three elevators with two buttons for them. So one button between two of the elevators and the second button for the third elevator. When I go to the office, I would look at which elevator is the nearest and press one of the buttons. And then i would wait. And then would arrive some Mr. "I am in a hurry and I want to look so".

I would see that I have already pressed a button and that one of the elevators is already on its way to service us. But he obviously cannot wait. Cause he is in a hurry. So he will go and press the button for the third lift too. Finally one of the lifts for which i had already pressed a button would come and he would step inside completely forgetting about the third elevator that he had called for. For no reason at all. I feel like punching him in the face. He would never give a second thought to the inconvience that others would face because of this. There are other poeple waiting on other levels who would simply have to wait because some idiot pressed the button on the ground floor just for the kick of it and then went away in the other elevator. I would not even want to talk about the sheer wastage of power because of this.

I dont get it. Does calling two lifts simultanously make them come faster??

Saturday, November 12, 2005

How low can you go?

Google has become desperate it seems to kill Microsoft. And it is not hesitant about using any trick to do that. It recently announced that it will pay $1 for each referral to Firefox with Google Toolbar.

But this isnt the way to do it! You dont buy peoples loyalty! Thats probably the lowest someone can fall! Maybe next it will start paying people for not using Windows :0

I wonder what if Google ran out of money??:O Maybe then they will concentrate more on developing something that is better and more widely accepted than IE ;)

Would you erase me?

"How happy is the blameless Vestal's lot! / The world forgetting, by the world forgot / Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind! / Each pray'r accepted, and each wish resign'd."

Just watched Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind.

Quite a good movie. And very well presented. And it forces you to think a lot.

I wonder if I would want any of my own memories that I rather did not have removed! I think not. All of my memories make me what I am. Without them I would be a different person!!

Steve Ballmer

Steve Ballmer of the "I'm going to f***ing kill Google." fame and CEO of microsoft http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/exec/steve/default.mspx is apparently a very funny guy!!

Just have a look at these videos :)
http://www.ntk.net/ballmer/mirrors.html

Apart from that his take on the whole google thing.
http://news.com.com/Ballmer+Trusting+Vista,+battling+Google/2100-1012_3-5902168.html
http://news.com.com/1606-2_3-5904880.html?tag=ne.vid

Shame!!

http://www.bitstorm.org/gates/creamedgates.mpg

How idiotic can one be??
Shame on this guy to publicly humiliate someone. If you dont like it, simply do not use Microsoft Products!! Bill Gates is not forcing them upon you!

Friday, November 11, 2005

Simple Plan - Shut Up

There you go
You're always so right
It's all a big show
It's all about you
You think you know
What everyone needs
You always take time to criticize me

It seems like everyday
I make mistakes
I just can't get it right
It's like I'm the one
You love to hate
But not today...

So shut up, shut up, shut up
Don't want to hear it
Get out, get out, get out
Get out of my way
Step up, step up, step up
You'll never stop me
Nothing you say today
Is gonna bring me down

There you go
You never ask why
It's all a big lie
Whatever you do
You think your special
But I know and I know and I know and we know
That you're not
You're always there to point out my mistakes
And shove them in my face
It's like I'm the one you love to hate
But not today

So shut up, shut up, shut up
Don't want to hear it
Get out, get out, get out
Get out of my way
Step up, step up, step up
You'll never stop me
Nothing you say today
Is gonna bring me down

(Shut up, shut up, shut up)
Is gonna bring me down
(Shut up, shut up, shut up)
You'll never bring me down

Don't tell me who I should be
(Don't tell me who I should be)
And don't try to tell me what's right for me
Don't tell me what I should do
I don't want to waste my time
I'll watch you fade away

So shut up, shut up, shut up
Don't wanna hear it
Get out, get out, get out
Get out of my way
Step up, step up, step up
You'll never stop me
Nothing you say today
Is gonna bring me down

Shut up, shut up, shut up
Don't wanna hear it
Get up, get up, get up
Get out of my way
Step up, step up, step up
You'll never stop me
Nothing you say
Is gonna bring me down

Bring me down
(Shut up, shut up, shut up)
Won't bring me down
Bring me down
(Shut up, shut up, shut up)
Won't bring me down

Shut up, shut up, shut up

Wednesday, November 09, 2005

Work is worship and duty is God

Whoever said that! Its 1:24am and I am still in office. Working. The whole office is almost empty. Except for the occational breaths from the AC cooling ducts, and my heavy typing, there is hardly any other noise to be heard. Thanks to a friend whose keeping me company on the messenger. Shes in the US rite now. Sometimes it helps to have friends in different time zones ;)

No one can be blamed for my plight though. Its a defect I found on inspecting my own piece of code! Better I find it than others! If I fix it before the others come to know about it tomorrow, I might be spared some embarresment.

Chalo. Bak to work. Need to finish it before the effect of the tea wears off or before my friend goes offline.

Daniel Powter - Bad Day

Where is the moment we need at the most
You kick up the leaves and the magic is lost
They tell me your blue skies fade to grey
They tell me your passion's gone away
And I don't need no carryin' on

You stand in the line just to hit a new low
You're faking a smile with the coffee to go
You tell me your life's been way off line
You're falling to pieces everytime
And I don't need no carryin' on

Cause you had a bad day
You're taking one down
You sing a sad song just to turn it around
You say you don't know
You tell me don't lie
You work at a smile and you go for a ride
You had a bad day
The camera don't lie
You're coming back down and you really don't mind
You had a bad day
You had a bad day

Well you need a blue sky holiday
The point is they laugh at what you say
And I don't need no carryin' on

You had a bad day
You're taking one down
You sing a sad song just to turn it around
You say you don't know
You tell me don't lie
You work at a smile and you go for a ride
You had a bad day
The camera don't lie
You're coming back down and you really don't mind
You had a bad day

(Oh.. Holiday..)

Sometimes the system goes on the blink
And the whole thing turns out wrong
You might not make it back and you know
That you could be well oh that strong
And I'm not wrong

So where is the passion when you need it the most
Oh you and I
You kick up the leaves and the magic is lost

Cause you had a bad day
You're taking one down
You sing a sad song just to turn it around
You say you don't know
You tell me don't lie
You work at a smile and you go for a ride
You had a bad day
You've seen what you like
And how does it feel for one more time
You had a bad day
You had a bad day

Sunday, November 06, 2005

So it ends...

I was on a leave for the past one week. A much needed and long pending vacation from my job in Pune as a software engineer.

Well, the vacation did not start quite as exected since I was unwell in the earlier half of the week. Which also means that I slept through Diwali and Eid!! :( Ironically, that is why I had taken leave in the first place!!

The second thing on my mind was to get a good enough Graphic Card so that I wud not have to give second thoughts to my config while buying any game. Two trips to Lamington Road and a week later, I am still without one. They are out of stock they say!!

Had to watch Garam Masala twice!!

Frustated

So ends my vacation!!! Work as usual from tomorrow...

Saturday, November 05, 2005

Black And White 2!

Recently Black And White 2 was released.

B&W

I have not played Black And White 1 but it was strongly recommended to me by a friend. Did not get a chance to try it out though.

Well, I finally was able to get my hands on the Second Part. Will try it out pretty soon. Expect a review soon;)

For those who do not know about this game, click here to go to the official website.

Friday, November 04, 2005

Windows goes Live!

Well not exactly, but its answer to all the Google fuss:

Windows Live!

Rock on!!

In search of the perfect Graphic Card

After almost a months research, I have finally narrowed down my choice to these three Graphic cards:
  • ATI Raedon X800 XT
  • nVidia 6800 Ultra Extreme
  • nVidia 6800 GT

The first two are pretty similar except for fact that they come from rival companies and secondly that X800 does not support PixelShader 3.0 whereas 6800 Ultra Extreme does. Infact even the 6800GT supports PixelShader 3.0.

Now its not a big deal considering the fact that right now there are a very few games that actually use PixelShader 3.0. Almost all games are still using PixelShader 2.0c which is supported by all the three Graphic Cards. And then me not being a Game developer or a reviewer, my chances of actually ending up buying those games is pretty thin. However, these cards are expensive. Within the 8k to 15k range. Now since I am shelling out so much, I would want that my Graphic card be future ready and I may not have to look at it for atleast the next 2 years or so.

So that puts serious questions in my mind about going in for X800 XT. Also a point worth noting is the fact that the normal working temperature of the X800 XT is quite higher compared to the 6800. The temperature is not a problem for the Card itself, but it would definetely raise the ambient temperature of my entire cabinet. And considering that I have an AMD 64, I shouldn't risk that.

So maybe I will go for nVidia. The nVidia 6800GT which I have not talked about as yet is the next best thing to the first two being only a tad slower in terms of core speed. All else remains almost the same. But this card is quite cheaper as compared to the other two. So depending on availability and my budget I will buy either of the three. Although I think buying the nVidia 6800GT and overclocking it is a better option!

Wat say you??

Garam Masala

Saw Garam Masala yesterday.

Garam Masala

Have just one word for it - pathetic.

Director Priyadarshan who had earlier given us gems like Hulchul and Hangama, has failed to do it again. The humour in the movie falls flat on its face most of the times. There are a very few scenes that succeed to tickle the funny bone. The storyline if not completely non-existent, is just not acceptable. Paresh Rawal and Akshay Kumar do try their best to work their magic but fail to do so. John Abraham who is trying his hand at comedy for the first time is passable but needs more polishing. All in all a complete waste of time.

My Advice - Stay back home and watch Doordarshan.

The only bright side of the whole thing - I watched the movie at New Empire. This is one of the older theaters in the city. After watching a spate of movies in multiplexes in Pune, this was a welcome reminder of how uncomfortable the older theaters can be :)

Microsoft does research

For all those who do not understand what Microsoft does in between giving us state of the art operating systems, heres the answer:

http://research.microsoft.com/

I was dumbstruck when I went through all the research that goes on. Everything from simple applictions to new languages and their compilers.

Thursday, November 03, 2005

I Love Microsoft!

I have seen thousnds of people curse Microsoft, curse Windows. How Windows sucks!! And some of those "geeky intellectuals" crib about Windows and brag about their new Linux installations.

What i don't understand is why do you act like hypocites?? Why do u use Windows in the first place?? If you hate it so then just stop using it!! Poeple say because everything runs on Windows. They have to use it cause they can't work without it. I say then stop cursing it!!

At a time when the beautiful interface of MAC was beyond the common man and poeple had quitely submitted themselves to remembering DOS commands with al their unlimited options, Microsoft gave the common man something which he never imagined possible. It gave him Windows. A complete GUI. User friendly in every way possible. People started looking at possibilities.

Just imagine life without Windows!! Many of us cant even think about it! And I dont blame them. Microsoft has become an integral part of our lives. From our Mobile phones to Web Servers. Everything can run on Windows nowadays.

I dont say Linux is bad. Or any other OS for that matter. But that does not mean Windows is not good! The very fact that almost all flavors of Linux try to emulate Windows GUI, itself points out the popularity and ease of use of Windows.

Windows is a really big system. Really complicated. I do not and I cannot expect that it would be completely bug free. There are bound to be bugs in it. But what system is bug free?? Even the smallest and simplest systems have bugs! But look what Microsoft is doing. It gave us Windows Xp. So beautiful. So stable. So user friendly. And now they work tirelessly to give us Windows Vista. One of the most anticipated systems in the Software industry right now.

Yes I love Microsoft and I will support it!
Start something beautiful!!