Ferrari F360 Modena VS Opel Corsa con Nos Drag Race

Unbelievable! Ferrari F360 Modena VS Opel Corsa con Nos Drag Race. Guess who won?

Pop-up-sick-le

Everyone who writes software must read Joel Spolsky's words on the software industry. I have seen pop-ups, I have been irritated to death by pop-ups, but have never given it a thought serious enough to make me come up with an article like that. Brilliant! My cogitation on the issue usually terminates at speculating how the darned pop-ups are impeding my reproductive instinct. I know this article is not so much about pop-ups as it is about software elegance in general. But them pop-ups are what stick to my mind the strongest. Die, pop-up! Die! (You can maybe imagine that last sentence as a cheap video game where some hideous gooey monster respawns again and again right after you slay it with fluorescent green slugs from your supernova-plasma-concentrator-10k gun each time. Die, then pop up, then die again....)

I am boring

You Are An ISTJ

The Duty Fulfiller You are responsible, reliable, and hardworking - you get the job done.You prefer productive hobbies, like woodworking or knittings.Quiet and serious, you are well prepared for whatever life hands you.Conservative and down-to-earth, you hardly ever do anything crazy. You would make a great business executive, accountant, or lawyer.

What's" Your Personality Type?

Could You Repeat That?

This is a grammatically valid English sentence:

Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo.

It was discovered/invented in 1972 by University of Buffalo linguist William J. Rapaport. It means "Buffalo from the city of Buffalo that are intimidated by other buffalo from the city of Buffalo themselves intimidate a third group of buffalo, also from Buffalo."

Is that clear? Be glad you're not in the Netherlands, where Als In Bergen, bergen bergen bergen bergen bergen bergen bergen bergen bergen bergen means "If in Bergen, heaps of mountains salvage heaps of mountains, then heaps of mountains salvage heaps of mountains."

Source: http://www.futilitycloset.com/2006/09/26/could-you-repeat-that/

Grandma, blogs and Mahabalipuram

No updates for the past few days, I know. Grandmother passed away on the 13th . She was 81. She suffered a cardiac arrest on the surgery table when they were prepping her for a cataract surgery. It was extremely unexpected. And I don't think it has sunk in yet.

I wish I had spent a little more time with her. Atleast spoken to her the night before her surgery. Regrets.

The house feels terribly empty now. It's just mom by herself the whole day.

I read a few other blogs today and frankly, I feel my writing is not too bad. I mean, everyone writes the same boring sh*t. What they did, and who they met, and what they felt, and whose birthdays they celebrated and where they went. I am sure they know that nobody gives a sh*t about these. Still, they write. Like me. I am convinced more than ever that this constant need for self expression is going to be the penultimate cause of the doom of humankind. The ultimate cause.. you ask? Well, 'meetings'.

I had beem to mahabalipuram and Pondicherry last weekend with cousins. Mahabalipuram is an awesome place. Stunning. I want to see the place by moonlight. It is so majestic. And quite a romantic place too. Pondicherry is another fantastic experience. The french quarters... Aurobindo Ashram and surrounding areas. We rented bicycles and explored the place. It was an awesome break (mentally relaxing) after a long long time (not considering the Sabarimala pilgrimage of October).

The inside story

A dumb blonde bomb. That's three synonyms for excessive stupidity. Overkill! This one did not know where the processor in a computer was meant to be!

That was the heights. Hilarious.

Leak Tests

This is a test of the most secure Firewall software. Two interesting facts emerge:

1. I use the third best software in the industry
2. Some of the best software is free-to-use!

Priceless piece of advice

I've wanted to post this for a long time. And samba-dee I know should be reading this.

This is how good wives must conduct themselves. By this definition, I do not know a single good wife. God save the husbands of this world!

I bet you'll c(h)oke on this!

What happens to your body if you drink a coke right now. Scary man! They make it look like Evil Death or some such low budget hollywood horror flick. Come on, it can't be that bad. Or the body is a lot more resilient devil than I had thought it was.

World's most boring blog post. Ever.

Pardon my absence. I am sure you all missed me terribly. But please don't stop coming here. I need you people. This blog runs because of its many fans and critics! Anyway, for anyone caring to listen, I did not post here because I was on vacation with cousins in Chennai.

I got back late Sunday night. And since then, many things have happened.
1. Had a ritual fencing match with the dee. (What's new, u ask?). A long long time ago, when the dee and moiself was a-talkin', we got to the issue of 'Loss of Freedom in an LTR'. She insists that an LTR/marriage does not have to curtail freedom. I insist it necesarily does. I think I am right. But she won the argument anyway! See what I tell you? But seriously, the last week was a very important week for the two of us, and we had planned on celebrating our little successess this last weekend. But i had to go to Chennai coz ma cuz wuz (who says I can't rap?) coming down from Delhi and this vacation plan of ours was long pending. I really didn't want to miss that. But now, the dee will never forgive me for 'my mixed up priorities' and 'absolute lack of compassion or feeling'. Well, all I can say is, I hope one day, you'll see things from my perspective.

Anyway, I'm glad she eventually got tired of the fencing match and gave up the fight (of course she believes she won the match, but that's a story for another day). Things brightened up rather quickly after that and towards afternoon we were well on our way to not being murderous. In the same vein, i find this blog very soothing. It calms my frayed nerves immensely just knowing that one other person in this world feels just the way i do.

2. Had some bit of property registered in my name. Thank you dad. That's awfully sweet of you.

3. Had a lengthy chat with the family doc about my high Blood Pressure and threatening-to-shoot-up cholesterol. I need to wake up and start working out now, but the bright side is, he said it wasn't really too bad. I'd be fine, just as long as I took care starting now. That is immensely relieving for a chronic worry-wart like me.

Meet the Barons

Media barons. I wonder sometimes how it would feel to be floating on that much money. Controlling empires, making and breaking deals worth billions of dollars every day, effecting the economy of many nations at the wave of my hand, capitalizing on the stupidities of so many billions of people. Would I be happy at the end of every day, knowing that in breaking the thought barriers and shrinking inter-continental distances, I have further infringed on the silence in people's lives - their precious mind-space that there seems to be such a dearth of these days? Ehhh... I dunno.

Where do you think you've gone today?

I always had my reservations about Windows Vista. Of course, my limited access to high end hardware made all my reservations remain just that - apprehensions not based on fact. Now somebody else has the facts researched and presented. And i'm not sure I want to try Vista. Read on.

Your soul shall burn in the lake of Fire

I hope these guys have good reason to back their claims. Anyway, going by their version, here's what the crystal ball says. Pretty gory (unintentional oxymoron). Please make sure you die a peaceful death before all that happens.

Breaking the Law.... Breaking the Law

Access to webmail blocked? Your right to pornography throttled? Feel stifled by that silly corporate internet usage policy?

Well no more! Welcome Hideu!

The best part is... It's free! And the second best? It's not the only way :)

Now try and find another excuse for not doing something groovy on the web...from Office.

Depressed?

Before people consider taking pills to swallow in order to magically get rid of their symptoms of depression, it seems they rarely take a serious look at their lifestyle. Note that depression is a serious issue and there are circumstances where it may be best to treat cases with medication (further, if you are considering taking your own life, you should to seek professional help immediately), but never should it be the case that one disregards or minimizes the immense effects of starting (or maintaining) a healthy lifestyle. I believe everyone can benefit from this page -- here are the things that have worked to make and keep life bright n smiley for me.
If these work out for you, or you think I'm a moron, or you've got more pressing issues to suggest, then send me an email: pdabrows--at--uiuc-dot-edu. Otherwise..

1. Drink Water
More than you can imagine. 8-12 glasses a day, if possible. Do you have to pee a lot? Sure, at first, then your body gets accustomed to functioning with a proper water supply.

2. Eat Well
5 meals a day of healthy food, each portion about the size of two fists. Stick with lots of protein. Unsaturated fat doesn't matter too much, but sugars and satuated fats do. Be sure to fill up on vegetables and fruit. If you're fat, try fewer meals or stick with extra-lean foods.
Do not eat any hydrogenated oils. Never go out to a fast food place for a crappy meal.

3. Move Around -- Outside
Break a sweat every day for at least a good few minutes. In the morning is better. Get lots of sunlight, it'll help your sleep cycle function properly..

4. Sleep Smart
This does not mean you sleep 10 hours, or even necessarily 8. Short is good, you just need to find out when you're in a light sleep. If you're not rested when you wake even though you got 'a full night', try sleeping 20 minutes less the next night. Once you find an appropriate length (good times for me are something like 5:00, 6:20, or 7:40 hours, for example), your sleep will not have to be long for you to wake up feeling rested in the morning. A nap in the afternoon is fine, but, again, short is good -- less than 45 minutes or you'll fall into heavier sleep and waking up will hurt a lot.

5. Learn How to Fight
If you can't rile yourself up, you're gonna be in trouble. If you can't figure out the right time to rile yourself up, you're still gonna be in trouble. Be sure to use this wisely, and not keep yourself going for too long, otherwise that stress buildup will knock you around.

6. Remove the Biggest Problems
Take that fight and aim it at the biggest problems in your life, if you feel you have something significant in your way. Remember that you can always succeed as long as you've set the right goal, are getting the proper information, and can rile yourself up when action is required. Take control or find help. This applies to everything including abusive relationships, drug addictions, or sitting in front of the TV/computer all day (or in other words, if 'inexplicable' depression is your big problem. In this case, be sure to take a lot of notice to the next point).

7. Find Something To Do
Without big problems to focus on, you need to give yourself some smaller problems. Find a job and stick with at least one serious hobby. Your job should have only one or two major projects required of you. Give yourself time to practice a hobby significantly for at least an hour each day. Further, focus on thinking about getting these things done successfully when you aren't actually doing them.

8. Forget About Failures
No one cares if you think you're a failure or if you've made mistakes. Move forward, because remembering the bad is only going to bring you back down. Write these things down and hide them away. If you need to remember what happened before, re-read what you've got and take a look to see if what's ahead of you avoids the same old situations.

9. Smile
As much as possible, even if you hate it.
source: http://www.ews.uiuc.edu/~pdabrows/how_to_cure_depression.html

10. Joke around a lot (added by me)
Say unbelievable, funny things, no matter how impossible they sound. It gives a good laugh, and that's better than a smile. Example: I am going to follow the above nine principles consistently.

But then if we do not ever take time, how can we ever have time?

Merovingian: Aha, here he is at last. Neo, the One himself, right? And the legendary Morpheus. And Trinity of course, si belle qu'elle me fait souffrir. I have heard so much, you honour me. Please, sit, join us. This is my wife, Persephone. Something to eat? Drink? Hmm... of course, such things are contrivances like so much here. For the sake of appearances.

Neo: No, thank you.

Merovingian: Yes, of course, who has time? Who has time? But then if we do not ever take time, how can we ever have time? Chiteau Haut-Brion 1959, magnificent wine, I love French wine, like I love the French language. I have sampled every language, French is my favourite - fantastic language, especially to curse with. Nom de Dieu de putain de bordel de merde de saloperies de connards d'enculis de ta mire. You see, it's like wiping your ass with silk, I love it.

Morpheus: You know why we are here.

Merovingian: Hmph... I am a trafficker of information, I know everything I can. The question is, do you know why you are here?

Morpheus: We are looking for the Keymaker.

Merovingian: Oh yes, it is true. The Keymaker, of course. But this is not a reason, this is not a `why.' The Keymaker himself, his very nature, is means, it is not an end, and so, to look for him is to be looking for a means to do... what?

Neo: You know the answer to that question.

Merovingian: But do you? You think you do but you do not. You are here because you were sent here, you were told to come here and you obeyed. [Laughs] It is, of course, the way of all things. You see, there is only one constant, one universal, it is the only real truth: causality. Action. Reaction. Cause and effect.

Morpheus: Everything begins with choice.

Merovingian: No. Wrong. Choice is an illusion, created between those with power, and those without. Look there, at that woman. My God, just look at her. Affecting everyone around her, so obvious, so bourgeois, so boring. But wait... Watch - you see, I have sent her dessert, a very special dessert. I wrote it myself. It starts so simply, each line of the program creating a new effect, just like poetry. First, a rush... heat... her heart flutters. You can see it, Neo, yes? She does not understand why - is it the wine? No. What is it then, what is the reason? And soon it does not matter, soon the why and the reason are gone, and all that matters is the feeling itself. This is the nature of the universe. We struggle against it, we fight to deny it, but it is of course pretense, it is a lie. Beneath our poised appearance, the truth is we are completely out of control. Causality. There is no escape from it, we are forever slaves to it. Our only hope, our only peace is to understand it, to understand the `why.' `Why' is what separates us from them, you from me. `Why' is the only real social power, without it you are powerless. And this is how you come to me, without `why,' without power. Another link in the chain. But fear not, since I have seen how good you are at following orders, I will tell you what to do next. Run back, and give the fortune teller this message: Her time is almost up. Now I have some real business to do, I will say adieu and goodbye.

Neo: This isn't over.

Merovingian: Oh yes, it is. The Keymaker is mine and I see no reason why I should give him up. No reason at all.

Persephone: Where are you going?

Merovingian: Please, ma cherie, I've told you, we are all victims of causality. I drink too much wine, I must take a piss. Cause and effect. Au revoir.

************************************************************************************

What I would love to do now:

Laze around in the sun; get new fenders, alloys and rubber for the car; stumble; sleep; listen to plenty of music; hang out with the dee.

What I should be doing instead:

Some crappy office work; make the school website; co ordinate a personal call; clear my table; take a walk; watching the 2 movies I rented yesterday.

What friends want me to do:

Play pool; go to a bird sanctuary; eat out

This is not how i want my weekend to be. So out of control and so without time to do the things I wanna do.

ok . I'm getting a drink and some chips. :)