Google Late Talk

I should have been the last of the gang to pick up the Google Talk Invites and install it. I was seeing my GMail filled up with invitations, but couldnt install it.

First time, Im not able to do something in the office. Damn.

So, zapped home and installed the *God* talk. And How is it ? Wow !

I tried the Call feature with my uncle in Connecticut. And it was like talking real-time. No time-delays. No hick-ups.

I already have many people including one celebrity (Lazy Geek) :)

My GMail ID is keerthivasan@gmail.com. In an uncertain event of you not having a GMail ID, please email me. Join the GWorld. We could also GTalk.

"Can you hear me ?"

Yahoo Local !

Click for a bigger picture

Wouldn't you love it, if you had a search like this ? (did you or did you not see the bigger version of the picture yet ?).

How long is it going to take to index the Chennai data and lay it down on a search. Google Local search is now slowly expanding to UK too. Chennai ka number kab aayega ?

One day, you might type in "Google Home" search engine - "My Black Socks - unwashed - Lost". And Google will return "One Pair of dirty socks found - under the pile of shirts on your second shelf". Wouldn't it be a sight ?

Madras Day - Aug 22

Paste it on your site ! Put it on your T-shirt.
Feel free to copy !
Pass on the Spirit of chennai !

UPDATE !!
New Wallpaper on Photoshop Blog, Comm Madras Day !

Times 0f Avyukta

Put your photo on the back of a Magazine cover. More to it, you could even place text on the Mag cover, and create something like this.

I wish, someday, my pic comes on some international magazine (for a good reason, God !). Guess I should start my own magazine to get that done :(

You could do yours - here.

Kanda Naal Mudhalaai Kaadhal Perugudhadi !!

Yuvan Shankar Raja rocks. You should definitely give your ears to him.

The Land of Angry II

I made a very old post, way back in November about getting Angry. Read it here.

But then, after that or eventually, I've had very less reasons to get angry about. Not that I’ve had a peaceful life, but it was close to smooth. I wish it continues.

However there were occasions when I was driven crazy and wild. Now when I think about it, I feel ashamed of the way I reacted. I think everyone of us, would like to have reacted in a different way, when we expressed our anger. Think about it.

But I am against the verdict that we should control anger. We can’t be dumb and blocking all the anger-lava within the crater. We have to express, and that’s the beauty of it. But How ?

I had habits of throwing things that were on my hands. “Whack” they go. (I don’t do that anymore, after I broke that beautiful glass). I still think I should be doing something wild to drive the ignited anger.

Many Yoga and other techniques to control mind insist on ways to control anger. Do you think that’s right ? Well, it may be. But the way I see it, I feel anger should never be controlled. Let Go ! Let the emotions flow. I think it is emotions that drive a man’s life. It is important to be emotional. You cant be practical all the time.

People these days are trying to be emotionally mature in the name of EQ. But then, at the end of day, we are what we are.

Next time you are angry, let me know how you handled it. ( I know anand will get angry by even reading this post :P )

Sorry Guys - Vista may not work

Looks like Vista's minimum System requirements may not suit many of us. Take a look at those mind-boggling pre-requisites.

CPU
Minimum: mid-range 32bit CPU.
Recommended: 64bit CPU.

Memory
Minimum: 512MB RAM.
Recommended: 1GB RAM.

Graphics
Minimum: GPU that supports DirectX 9 and has at least 64 MB of graphics memory.
If you are building a new PC, make sure you get a motherboard that has a separate AGP or PCI-E slot.

Hard-Drives
Minimum: IDE hard disk with a speed of 7200 RPM and a 2 MB cache.
Recommended: SATA drive with an 8 MB cache and Native Command Queuing (NCQ).

I am Sure the existing computers in India, most of them are equipped with a maximum of 256 Meg RAM. And of course, AGP is never there.

Avyukta meets the minimum requirements, but still I need to upgrade to see the glass :).

Vista Update

Click Picture for 1280 X 1024 resolution
a top class wallpaper for your desktop. ( my weekend gift to you ;)

Glass and new Window animation. The Windows Vista desktop experience will deliver a new visual identity — translucent glass with more animation. Because it is visually intuitive, the glass helps users focus on the task at hand, whether reading a document, viewing a Web page or editing a photo.

This is one of the points mentioned in the features of Microsoft Vista. Sounds Good, doesn't it ?

Im a Software Engineer

You would have certainly got this email forward.

Someone said, a picture is worth a thousand words.

Bits and Pieces

I have a 80 GB Hard disk, and now only 2 GB is free. Thanks to my friend (Karthik Balaji), I have a whole new set of movies to be watched. hmm. I need to fund this one soon.

BSNL Broadband users may need to note this up. We may have a free unlimited download, from 0200 - 0800 hrs, every day. Thats a great news (or speculation). Wait for confirmation.

Kamal's Vettayadu Vilayadu shooting has begun (thanks to Bala-Karthik on Sambharmafia). I hope the movie is directed Gautham's way, rather than Kamal's way of making films. Kamalhaasan badly needs a super-hit movie.

Tomorrow is Avani Avittam (and Varalakshmi Nombu). If you are not in Chennai, you may need this for Avani Avittam. Think the festive season has begun. Next week has Gokulashtami (thats a Holiday for me, woohaa !). Last few months hardly had holidays, and all of a sudden, we have an outburst. Thats a good sign.

Also take a look at this - 24 hours of air travel in the continental United States.

Have a great day.

Straight from Desktop

I’ve heard many bloggers type it up on word or notepad, and then publish it on Blogger. I mean the posts on their blogs. Now there’s someone coming to our homes to take delivery of our posts. Please welcome, Blogger for Word Toolbar.

This Toolbar helps you, type up your text and pictures on Microsoft Word, and publish it straight away. This helps in a single point spell-check. It also Saves Drafts, and enables you to open Previous posts. It certainly is worth a try. DNLD it (

Another Software that caught my attention yesterday was “Kural”. It is a all-Tamil Processing software. Also includes a “Kavithai” Word processor, which is neater than any other softwares. Tamil Bloggers can give it a try. Available here.

*Update* - I published from Word with this picture, but the picture never got posted. So, it is again your Job to edit and upload a picture. Dear Google, can you do something for this too. :)

DMaran - a Minister with some energy

Of late, Dayanidhimaran is available on all news editions and Newspapers too. It happens to many politicians this way, only if they are in some controversy. But this Gentleman is on the news, because he is doing something, something better than what other ministers are doing. Of course, Manishankar Iyer would be doing the same efforts, yet, Dayanidhimaran has clearly out-beaten all other ministers in terms of performance and reach. It may be true that Natwar Singh is sitting on delicate foreign issues, but still in terms of results (though easily reachable) Dayanidhi Maran has proven better.

Please understand, that im not inclined to any political party. But I admire that this man is doing some work, that is of critical importance. I remember the communication minister in Mr. Narasimha Rao's cabinet did something valuable (besides corruption).

Dayanidhi Maran has been instrumental in introducing a lot of schemes to BSNL and other communication sectors. His ".IN" seems to be a success. His broadband schemes, and continuing efforts to improve the services of broadband, has certainly impressed the younger generation.

It is nice to see an educated person (Anbumani Ramadoss is MBBS, you know ?) in the cabinet. Look out his website maintained by nic - click here.

I can still remember, Dayanidhimaran was nobody, weeks before the general elections. Where is he now ? whoopa !!! We certainly need people like these, working. I would like to see all the MPs, swiping in their attendance cards, and going into the Parliament - discuss strategies like what Project Managers do, and come out with results. Am I only dreaming ?

August 15 - a day to remember

Click Picture to see the bigger version.

V a n d e M a t h a r a m B a n d h u !

New Picture / wallpaper on photo[shop]blog

Update : BSNL guys today informed that the 250 plan is offering only 400 MB.
Apologies for the erronous information.
I was carried away by the customer-care guys words.They seem to be unsure.

Whats your Time ?

[pic - germane softwares ]

Few days back, I was showing off to a friend, that I never wore a watch for the past 6 years. The reply was, "Know what !! I never wore a watch in my lifetime". Well, ????

There are few people in my life, I have met or I have lived with, who had some crazy idea of manipulating the time. If it were 7.00 AM, their watches show 7.15 AM. With a intelligent smile they would say "I always keep it 15 minutes faster, so that I can keep up with time.."

Thats really crazy. They realize, everytime they see a watch, that their watch is showing a time thats going to come 15 minutes later. Whats the whole point in doing so. I dont get the idea.

Can someone explain, if there is something really a time-management Sutra in having your watch with manipulated time. ?

BTW, Double checked twith BSNL. The previous news on BSNL broadband holds good. :)
I can save Rs. 250 per month now. Wow ! Atlast some income.

JIGINA (Dan Brown effect for Gajini)

Gajini
Surya - AC Murugadoss - Harris Jeyaraj

The Music is out, and Im still on for MP3. :)

You will be surprised to see just 5 songs. And the album doesnt have a theme song. Thats a relief. Even Mumbai Express and Sachin had theme music, when the movie by itself followed no theme.

5 songs. Im already hooked to "Oru maalai Ila veyyil Naeram !!" sung by Karthik. Cute song.

Shankar Mahadevan and Sujatha voice to a song - "Rangola" with beats reminding "Thillana Thillana" from Muthu. Cant help it, huh! Worth a listen

Oru maalai Ila veyyil Naeram - Karthik. I wish this song gets noticed, better than others. Karthik's voice is very ordinary, and that makes it so very special. Im getting to like Karthik's voice for this reason - a very usual voice :)

"X machchi !" - Anupama sings this song, reminds Harris's own "Arakkonathil Aarambam" from Arasaatchi. Nah ! not again ! When it comes to Hunky music, i feel Music directors including AR Rahman dont strain themselves that much, and just place any instrument and completes the song. How long !! Give it a break, guys. BTW - Anupama has sung it good (few places are really notable).

"Rahatulla" - Nakul and Mathangi. Im not sure if this song has Lyrics in Tamil. Have to decode yet. Another fast song...

"Sutrum Vizhi" - a trend setting song. You may not like it the first time. But this one is cute, with Sriram Parthasarathy singing it along with Bombay Jayashree. Mild and wild song. Like it !!

Songs Good ! What about movie ? I have a greater expectation for the movie. Lets see.

B r o a d b a n d now cheaper

BSNL Broadband Prices Slash.

Woo Haa !! Thats a relief.

BSNL Dataone monthly rent is Rs. 250 per month for 1 GB. Thats a biggy ! This beats all other service providers in Chennai.

Talking in Ramya's words, "Chennai Dataone folks ! Let the power of Bandwidth be with you !"

Pic CTSY - Google Images

Update : The news may be wrong, as Kiruba, and even the BSNL Site says, It is just 400 MB per month for Rs. 250. Thats ridiculous. But 1600-424-1600 promise that it is 1GB per month for Rs. 250. Im not sure though. Will visit the customer center and let you know.

Cool Eyes

How do you like it. !!

Im eyeing on this Titan Fastrack eye-gear for the past few weeks. We got one as a gift to our friend. All the collections inside look cool and amazingly stylish.

Few pieces are even affordable.

I usually drive without helmets, and you guys know what is bound to happen. Cant help all the dust that disturbs the driving by getting into the eyes. So, badly need this one.

Click here to view all the product ranges of Titan Fastrack (eyegear section).

Last week, I was again in Titan world buyin a Fastrack watch for my friend. Some nice collections, there too.

One Quick question, do we have a plan to celebrate and project our Independance day, in some way on our blogs ? Someone come out with a plan. We shall execute it.

New Picture / wallpaper on photo[shop]blog

Vettayadulu Vilayadulu !! (there's no Lu in Kannada ??)

[ctsy - Avyukta's Photoshop works :) thanks to Indiavarta ]

Tamil's Sathileelavathi is now Kannada "Rama Shyama Bhama". Kamalhaasan Rocks on Kannada language with Hubli accent. I havent heard Kannada, itself. So not sure, if im prepared to watch this movie.

Imagine "Kappakhazhangaaaa !" from Kovai Sarala... this guy is a master of comedy.

Newspaper Online - Literally

What is heaven ? Having a cup (Davara Tumbler in my case) of Hot strong filter coffee early in the morning, accompanied by the bits and pieces of information flowing in from the Newspaper.

Hope you guys saw the Ad promo for "Sunday nna Rendu !!". It kept me and most of us in chennai guessing.. what could the product be. I was having an impression of a coffee ad. Could have been Bru. But then, Dinamalar broke the suspense, right on time, without irritating us just like few other ads did, earlier.

I dont remember with which product this kind of intutive advertisements evolved, in India. Intutive in the sense, making the public guess about the product, on seeing an ad promo that doesnt display the name of the product.

I had a good email forward yesterday, and that gave me a link to a website, that displays newspapers as it is printed. This is amazingly clear in picture clarity and the fonts are good. This site displays all leading newspapers from mostly all the countries.

Economic Times, Hindustan Times, Malayala Manorama, Times of India, Times of India Mumbai edition and in Tamil - Dinamalar. :)

Click here to go to the site.

click on the pic, to my new blog for photoshopps

Vista Wall

Here's one of the very few wallpapers coming out for the Windows Vista.



[thanks to Jammie from MSDN ]

I had a lot of them for Longhorn. Will post up my version of Vista tomorrow.
I decided to make a Photoshop Blog, instead of a Photoblog.

2 Photo Blogs - 2 Good

Friday Already. I’m trying to Quickly end this day, and go hug the seducing weekend. I have a backlog of movies still pending to be watched. Did anybody understand “Pulp Fiction” ? I watched a few scenes from it, but think I need a subtitle for the movie. Will post on it later.

Two photo blogs that recently caught my attention (this line got deleted when I first posted )

The photo blog of Magic Lens. The profile doesn’t say much about her (it says that it’s a “She” from USofA alone). But her photos say much about her (Dhoda !). It’s a vibrant collection of amazingly simple natural elements, enriched with God given colors. I’m awaiting to see more photos from Magic Lens. Been there ? Go Now.

Our Karthik has began his own photo blog “Memoirs”. His photo’s apart, he has implemented Google Maps in his site. The map shows the location of every photo taken. I don’t know what good it does, but then.. nice technology. Magic Lens could post the location of the photo as a first comment in her blog. (just a suggestion ).

I would like to start a photo blog too. Is it necessary that I have a camera ?

DIVINE CODE HAS DEALT CHAOS

Are you Dan Brown fan, then you'd certainly like this site.

Click here

The Word Jumble when the flash is loading, itself will keep you guessing and Wow ! what a beautiful flash. You gotta see it to experience the beauty of computer technology.

Initially I was thinking that the Movie may not be as good as the book was. But then, the teaser trailer and the Flash has given some confidence to wait for the movie and watch it.

For those of whom, this topic is new, "The Da Vinci Code" is a book by Dan Brown which is a story of continuous mystery solving adventure, that reveals many devastating secrets.

That is being attempted into a movie, "The Da Vinci Code". It comes from the director of my favourite movie "The Beautiful Mind". Da Vinci has Tom Hanks starring in it.

2006 is a good year with many such most-awaited movies coming up. Ice Age II, Woman with Water (MNShyamalan), Da Vinci Code, Mission Impossible 3, Indiana Jones 4(Spielberg again) and the Italian Job 2.

See if you can crack the Title of this Post !

BTW, I've added Amazon Ads to my side bar. Any suggestions ?

Usshhh ! Private

Click on this picture, to see the bigger version.

[Pic ctsy- Boing Boing ]

You will see a Cubicle with PVCs and Cheap curtain cloths, providing the ultimate privacy to some worker in some company.

Why did we, all of a sudden, require this much of privacy ? I, personally, would require a lot of privacy when I know Im doing something really stupid. (which will be "most of the times" ). When I'am about to go crazy, I simply take a 360 scan, to find out no one is watching me. Also explore the possibility, if someone would after doing this. Unfortunately, most of the times, everyone will be watching me.. when I think Im done.

Probably, I should try and put up some curtains like this ;) This way no one will care even if I sleep inside.

But then, we seriously need privacy when thinking. Have you seen a programmer's face when he is thinking about some Logic ? Gawd ! I have. It is the most reactionless, close-to-dead face you will ever see. You will wonder if this person is alive at all.

Im wondering how I'd look.. but hey.. i never think logically ;)

Firefox - Thirumazhusai

Have you ever seen the Easter Eggs of various softwares, that you use everyday. For those who have not, here's some ways to identify the Easter Eggs in programs - Click here.

For those who are not aware of the Term Easter Egg - It means the Credits of people who worked on making the product / Software. Few softwares have them Hidden. (IE4.0 for instance, had a very interesting Easter Egg, where you would use Key combinations and some Unlocks to finally discover the Egg) . But many other softwares like Adobe products and Firefox have them explicit.

I was watching the Firefox 1.0.6 credits roll on. And This is possibly the first Tamil name that struck - Namachivayam Thirumazhusai. Wow !! He cant be from any other place.. can he be. It is kind of proud (i know it is unnecessary) to see names of Indians / Tamils / God Names in Software Credits.

One other popular name is Seetharaman Narayanan. I know many would have guessed the Software, with this name. Yep, Seetharaman Narayanan is the Third name in almost all versions of Adobe Photoshop.

I make very interesting Easter Eggs in my applications, thats difficult to crack, and that would display my photo and name. But Damn, no one uses the applications. Let me try and put up some Eggs on this blog..

Im not sure if you did - Firefox 1.0.6 updates available now.

Brand New Day

Turn the clock to zero, honey
I'll sell the stock, we'll spend all the money
We're starting up a brand new day

Turn the clock to zero, boss
I'll finish the work, we can win across
I'm thinking in a brand new day

Turn the clock to zero, Jack
We'll fix the car and put it back
We started up a Brand new day

Turn the clock to zero, God
Im feeling like a new-born, fresh
Thank you for the brand new day

Inspired by Sting's Brand New Day. First para mattum suttadhu.

Konfabulator - Yahoo !

Yahoo buys Konfabulator and New Widget site is opened up.
Click here to Widget.Yahoo.Com

This is a Desktop Enhancer, with a wide range of Widgets (small applications that run under on main Widget launcher). These widgets varies from Telling the count of Mosquitoes in your locality, upto watching the Traffic close to your locality or the locality of desire. Weather updates, Watches and System Utilities are some more widgets in store.

Try and grab this... For those people who want more applications decorating their desktops.
I prefer a clean one. For those who want a clean desktop and a high performance PC i suggest you have this software. (Just kidding...)

Service Record - BSNL

Excel is one of my playtool, all the while. BSNL was so kind enough to list my usage for the month in a useless HTML page. I imported the data and did a lot of statistical analysis and found out that Im well behind the threshold limits.

Pivot-table said me, Im using only 790 MB, and have the freedom of 2oo MB for 2 more days and Lazygeek said me The Rising has good songs. :)

Are you thinking what Iam thinking.

You would be shocked to see my May months Service records from BSNL.. its a whooping 4 GB download.

Hari Hi Om !

I have this real good habit of visiting temples every Saturday. Dont have a pathetic question "Why is it a real good habit..?".. Its good because it feels good. :) that simple. I've heard mixed opinions from different people about God. Of course ChennaiCentral had a post on "Does God Exist".. God is such a hot figure that he is never out of controversy. Much like Salman Khan, huh !

Jokes apart. To me divine is really divine. I am a part of the gang in our locality, that visits on Anjaneyar temple in the city (and sometimes outside the city), every saturday evening. The Gang is all my friends, who studied with me in School. It is a pleasurable experience.

More than that, you get a comfort feeling being subjective.

Spread open your hands, up in the air, and worship the deity "Narayanaa !". Wow ! Thats the art of complete surrender. Here's a small story.. Draupathi was being stripped by Duchhadhanan. She was crying aloud for help.. none. Then Draupathi started crying aloud shouting Lord Krishna's name, with both her hands opposing the pull of Duchchaadhana. As time progressed and no help on way, Draupathi, left both her hands off, spread it up in the air, and requested for help to the Ultimate. And Lord Krishna was bang on target, to help Draupathi.

Was a mini - kathaa kalakshepam, wasnt it. I love these things, man. Back to point.. it is the complete surrender that needs to be there on a prayer.

Try this, Visit a temple tomorrow.. and pray like you've never prayed before. See what God can do for you.

Click here - You will Find a surprise :)
You could do it by clicking here

Nambikkai

This post is for a contest - Venkittu Sir's Kavidhai Contest !
Sokka ! Evvalavu Kurai irukkudho, avvalavu kazhichikinu, baakiya pon mudippa kodu sokka !

தூரத்தில் வெளிச்சம் ; உலகச் சத்தங்கள் ;
இரண்டு நாளாய் இது தான் வாழ்க்கை;காலடியில் பல பேர் பிணமாக ;
நான் மட்டும் உயிரோடு;எங்கே இருக்கிறேன் நினைவு இல்லை; பாதாளமாக இருக்கும்;
இரண்டு நாள் முன் இரண்டாம் மாடியில்; நில அதிர்ச்சியோ !
மேலே பிணங்களை எடுக்கிறார்கள்; என்னை காப்பார்களா ?
கத்த வேண்டுமோ ? கத்துகிறேன் ; ஆனால் குரல் எழவில்லை
உடல் தளர்ச்சி; ரொம்பவும் வலிக்கிறது;

செத்து விடுவேன் ; சுவாசம் கூட முட்டுகிறது ;
அழுகை வருகிறது; மரண பயம் இது தானோ !
அழுகையில் கூட சத்தம் எழ வில்லை.
கை கால் நகர்த்த முடியவில்லை ; முடிய வேண்டும்;

முடியும்; நிச்சயம் முடியும்; "காப்பாற்றுங்கள் !";
வார்த்தைகள் வாயால் செய்ய முடியவில்லை. திக்குகிறது;
"ஆஆஆ!" .. இது தான் முடியும்; தொண்டை தளரும் வரை;
கத்தித் தான் ஆக வேண்டும்; கதறினேன் ;

தூர வெளிச்சம் கூட மறை ந்து போனது; இருள் கூடியது;
ஆனால் சத்தம் ; சத்தம் மட்டும் ; பளீரென வெளிச்சம்;
என்னை காப்பாற்ற வருகிறார்கள்;
காப்பாற்றி விடுவாற்கள் !

Mumbai - Stand Still Life

[click to view larger - Pic ctsy - Raghu ]

That is a picture of Mumbai Dombevilli Station. Do you see the tracks in between. If you cant see them, then you are witnessing the heaviest rainfall in Mumbai. Thats so devastating that it has taken Mumbai Life to a stand still.

My project mates in their offices are still in office, and no way back to home, for the past 2 days.
Is Chennai anywere closer. I dont think so.

Personal Google - Way too personal

Google Personalized search Home Page is gone through some feedbacks (including mine, but im not sure if my suggestion was even read)

Click the picture for the bigger version (shud be a 1280 X 1024 res). You should be able to see Lazygeek.net and Welcome to your senses on the Left.

Viola. Google has now provided the ability to add your own favourite bookmark and the RSS Feeds. This feature however is currently not offering the preview, as it offers for GMail. Probably it appears soon.

But then, hey, look. My personal page looks like my own composed HTML page, with just the Google search bar on the top. Doesnt look like a Google Search page at all, does it ? But then, it allows easy sneak peak of all the things of my interest. Firefox profile is saved with a few set of pages, of which Google Personal is one. So, the moment I open Firefox, i have all the subscriptions on one page.

Should try and put up all my Blogrolls on the Google Personal page, and check that out. By the way, did you see the Quote of the day in the Google personal page, "With most men, unbelief in one thing springs from blind belief in another.". Is Google, trying to say me something ??n>

Music Piracy 3 (MP3)

Thanks to Capriciously Her for bringing up this topic, something really delicate to *prove the point. *

One Base philosophy. Why should we pay for what we buy ? Two Answers.

Emotional : Is that because, nothing is free and it wont stand long if we dont pay for it ?

Logic and Emotion : Is that because, we pay for the thing, so that we dont steal someone's bread (Prabhu Karthik's reflection on Capri's blog).

All righty then, with this let me tell you the Topic we are discussing. MP3 Piracy. When could you be a owner of MP3 and still be legal ? Thats when you have the original CDs or Cassettes of all the MP3s you own. You are legally permitted to convert the songs of your compression mechanisms, Provided you own the originals, and you dont get to distribute what you have compressed or the original (without prior permissions, blah blah blah ...)

With the popularity of MP3s on the net that are available for free downloads, you should get a feeling that MP3s are legal stuff. That varies from country to country. It has so happened in Chennai that Chennai Police have seized control of many MP3 guys (the makers) and a few MP3 holders (the Buyers). So be careful when you have MP3. Its potentially illegal.

But the way I see it (Dhoda !) It is soo much in my blood that even this corruption doesnt seem to be a big crime. I understand that the Music Director is paid. Singers and Lyricists are paid well in advance. Who is in Fix because of MP3 ? It is the Audio Company that releases the Album or the Movie Cassette/CD. Of course, due to un-distribution (what a word ?) of the cassettes the Music Director may have future impacts. Probable.

So, thats right. a few people do get affected because of this music piracy. But then, more people live by it too. Im amazed by the way the MP3s swarm into the Internet. The Ah Aaah was available the very moment it was released. (of course i downloaded it, cmon.. ).. So whats the revenue for these guys, who host MP3 ? Possibly someone is funding them.. otherwise they loose interest (Torrents are a different story). The option is right in front of us. The law cant be wierd to say, "You have something in front of you.. if you pick it up, that shall be a crime."

I dont really know. But the stand is MP3 piracy wont end this soon, as long as the Audio companies try to reduce the useless profit margin they host on every CD ? Why would a cassette cost Rs. 50 and a CD with the same songs cost Rs. 120, when the making cost is not that widely different. To me to download a movie's MP3, it takes 20 MB out of my 1GB limit. Working out the rates effectively paid for one movie MP3 it roughly costs Rs.2 /-.

I guess the Audio companies themselves can think of making the MP3 legal and selling it out themselves for a cheaper rate. [note : MP3 is poorer in quality than the CD Audio ]

Astala Vista Babey !

What was formerly called the Longhorn is now renamed to Vista. (atleast thats what Microsoft says).

Click the picture and see for yourself the way Microsoft Works.

I understand every big company works hard for having a High Quality Graphics (pictures and fonts). But Microsoft Tops them all. Im mesmerised by the graphical content and the way Microsft.com is organized.

Microsoft certified me few years back. Now I certify Microsoft.com as a web portal with Naturally cool colours and graphics. Its called the Keerthi Certified Site - KCS. Anyone want their site KCS Compliant ??

However, I like Longhorn better than Vista. Try Windows Avyukta ?

Job Post II

Are you a fresher (doesnt mean you should have taken bath on a sunday morning) ? Any degree. My cousin-sister-in-law runs a consultancy, and requires fresh graduates, for her current opening.

Just eMail Paropakaram@gmail.com with subject line "Fresher 2407" (that means the job posting that came on 24th July and has nothing to do with 24 hrs and 7 days).

And the eLearning thing is still open. Guys let your friends know about this, and ask them to email.

Ah Aah - Musical Pulambal

[ctsy - Obviously Indiaglitz ]

SJ Surya should have had a very bad adoloscent times. Or he is yet to come out of it. I've not watched his new movie yet, but then listening to the tracks of Ah Aah makes me think, this guy has a very narrow thought process.

Last week, we had a discussion among our friends, about the depth of Rahman's music. We were listening to Uzhavan, one of his earlier movies. How much concentration he has given to it, even though it was not his mainline. But now, Rahman appears in vey few movies, and the music doesnt show any depth. Ayutha Ezhuththu was just a Frooty Loops mixture, easy composition (of course voices were doing magic instead of the music).

In Ah Aah, Rahman is forced to do music for a semi-porn songs. And he hasnt concentrated even like "New". Few songs in "New" were mesmirising, but this one is bad.

Someone on Lazygeek.net has said "Ah Aah music Sucks". Very true.

Please Rahman, We are missing quality music for quite sometime... Please !

Woo Haa !

Man On Moon

Yesterday, was annievrseray of Man landing on moon. If you forgot what your school lessons - July 20 1969 is the date. Neil Armstrong...ok Now you remember.

Thirty Sixth Anniverseray. Moon, however, is no longer our fancy. Our prime area of acquisition is Mars. So, moon is only a resort in 2045. But your flat will be in Ramanuja nagar, India-Mars Extension, Mars.

By the way, look how Google made a one-week project to launch Google Moon (like Google Earth) yesterday. It is nice to have a look at that.

And hey, i wanted to remind you about the job posting i posted earlier. For the eLearning company. You guys dont know anyone without jobs ? Unemployment is no more, is it ?

Avyukta Zeitgest

Google puts on the Zeitgeist for May 2005 - India. The Top Ten Searches of May 2005 by the Indians.

1. Sania Mirza
2. Aishwarya Rai
3. CBSE Results
4. CAT
5. Kingfisher Airlines
6. Harry Potter
7. ICSE results
8. John Abraham
9. maruti swift
10. kerela

My friend Madan will praise me forever, for posting up Mirza madam's picture. He is such a fan of Sania Mirza, that he switched his huge area of interest from Cricket to Tennis. Many of my friends, like Madan, have started being fans of Sania Mirza, in no time. I dont want to discuss the credibility of holding such a fan-club, and Is Sania Worth it.. No.. let me not talk about it, and win the ultimate hatred from Madan. (Actually he will kill me).

But the whole point is in Google Search, most of the Indians have searched for Sania Mirza. Thats an achievement one has done, in his life (in her life). How would you feel to be in the top of the searches. All the internet browsers searching for your details. Thats the proudest feeling.

Of course, veerappans name was there during the assasination. We dont want that kind of fame.

By the way, Down the list we find Maruthi Swift in the list. That car thats zooming in Chennai. Looks like the Car is a hit model. It looks really cute in my eyes. But few say it look s awkward. I personally adore the car. It looks like the Volkswagen Beetle. Small and cuty.

Dear God, are you watching ?

Job Post

I have many GMail IDs. One of them is really funny - Paropakaram@gmail.com

Send resumes of people in chennai, any degree.. This is for a eLearning company. They dont expect much, not even experience (however experience is an added advantage to your payslips). Only requirement, a very good Language Skill.

Send me the resumes faster. 15 - 30 positions available. Good Luck.

Important - Please type the Subject as "ELearning".

Monday Morning Misery

Monday Mornings are always Mysteriously Miserable. This is my wallpaper both at work and office.


[pic ctsy - digit/garfield ]

Miserable for one simple reason. This is the transition where you decide, whether you surrender to laziness or buy some expensive briskness. Either ways, Boss's mail is waiting in your inbox. So keep it moving, and quit to work. The Secret of winning mondays is to quickly wake up, and before you realize anything, be on your way to work. (this did not work for me.. you try it and let me know).

Hey, Here's something interesting. About the Fall of Hollywood.
MarginalRevolutions has an article on why Hollywood fail to impress this year. The Hypothesis is as follows.

1. Hollywood cannot control its marketing costs or star salaries. The growing importance of DVDs increases the "needle in the haystack" problem for any single film and thus locks studios into more marketing, creating a vicious spiral.

2. TV is now so much better, and offers artists greater creative freedom. Why watch movies?

3. The Internet is outcompeting cinema, whether at the multiplex or on DVD.

4. Big TV screens are keeping people at home, which lowers box office receipts. This also hurts the long-term prospects of many DVDs.

5. The demand for DVDs has fallen because movie lovers have completed their core collections, just as the demands for classical CDs have fallen.

5. The demand for DVDs was due to fall in any case. Forget the collectors, you buy DVDs to have a stock on hand so you don't have to run out to the video store on short notice.

If thats the case for Hollywood, where are we. I think Jollywood has been through this already. Only the DVD part is missing. Otherwise, I should say, Jollywood has survived the revolution.

What Say ?

Still Crazy on Invites

Take a look at this- ~An Advertisement on eBay.In~

GMAIL+ ORKUT INVITES AT RS 3

How does this sound ? Well, there were times when crazy things were exchanged on GMailSwap(Site now not operational) . I personally got my gmail ID after mailing a guy one Pencil art of mine. I was very early to get my GMail. I have nearly shell out 120+ invitations of GMail and almost everyone around me now own a GMail ID.

Even though GMail has not gone public, it is generous to fill our Invite bags with 50 frequently. That doesnt make GMail reach everyone, however. Is there enyone who doesnt have a GMail ID here. Just give me an email - keerthivasan@gmail.com (its free ;)

ORKUT - is not my place. I was there actively for some time. But then the same kind of stuffs repeated again and again. (May be i subscribed uninteresting groups). Why should someone want a ORKUT invite.

I was on eBay.in searching for some DVD Burner, just to analyze the market rates. Should fund this one soon. (Take a look at this)

Microsoft clips

Beautiful Clips - at Microsoft. Check them out. I just like the pictures part.
Do we get any good pictures - for clip use elsewhere ?

Why Mom's are the greatest

Picture CTSY - Ganapathy Tantry

If you'd remember, the last-but-one post had a very similar picture. Just scroll down to a post named "Shame" and comeback here.

You would be surprised (or not surprised) to see both the pictures look ultimaetly similar, but different emotions conveyed. I really dont know from where this guy has taken the photograph. But a brilliant effort taken. Gana says this picture was taken at the Gujarat Flood, exactly where the other photo was also taken.

Look at the eyes shown in this picture. 4 different eyes 2 different emotions. Look at how far your mom can go to save your life. She will do the ultimate sacrifice for you.

She makes sure you get the air in your nose, even if she gets water in hers..

What kind of affection a mom develops on her kid. Certain things in this world are unexplainable (you will find most of them on this blog). Being a Mom is one such thing. You couldnt understand the undivided affection and care and love and protection. Warmth.!

We may not be able to reciprocate in terms of everything, that our mom did to us. But we may have opportunities to Show back your love. How many of us utilize that opportunity.

Talk to your mom now.

ePaper

Scratch your heads before reading this. Or have you read this already.

In the line of eMails, eCommerce, eBanking and everything E .. we have ePaper. Well this one is a physical media. Take a look.

This is ePaper, Ladies and Confused Men. Fujitsu has announced the launch of bendy electronic paper that can store and display images wirelessly.

The newly developed ePaper features an image memory function that enables “continuous display of the same image without the need for electricity”, although it does require a smidge of power to switch images. Plus, the images don’t warp or lose quality when the e-paper is bent or rolled up.

Fujitsu has even outlined some applications for its smarty-pants paper, including wireless transfer of photos and text messages from mobiles onto the ultra-portable e-paper. Here are just a few other uses it envisages for launch:

• It can offer more convenient digital-media devices that can be carried from room to room in the home.
• Operating manuals and other short-term information displays, facilitating the trend toward paperless offices or factories.
• Electronic shelf display tags, restaurant menus, and other in-store uses. Can also be used for pricing displays or product information displays that stand out in full color and can be readily updated.

Well, I read this in Gizmodo. This might be leading to some interesting potential uses. The first, and most obvious, thing would be digital newspapers and magazines. You walk up to the kiosk, pay your money, and get a copy of Hindu sent down to your epaper for later consumption.

Whoops ! Is this possible ?

Shame !

[Pic Ctsy - Srikant ]

Im not sure if you received this eMail. The complete message in the eMail is as below.

Scene: A flood affected area of Vadodara, Gujrat

Cast: Joint Commissioner of Police, K. Kumaraswamy, riding on the shoulders of a Constable to save his feet and trousers from Flood Water!!!

Source: The Indian Express, July 2

I dont know under what circumstances the picture was taken. May be the Person being carried is injured. Or may be he is scared of water, but still wants to do his duty. May be he was doing something really good, except for this picture. Anything is possible.

But the newspaper content says The office was not willing to get wet. So he has utilized this service of his constable to port him. (or deport him !!).

Usually when I see a picture (this may happen to many of you guys ) a series of words would come in our minds. Something like google keywords that describe the picture. "Shame" was the word, in this case.

No Man's Land

For the past few days, I've been subject to a lot of movie watching. The last movie watched was so very different. So Very Different. It was like watching a Award Winning Malayalam Movie. If I reccommend this movie to you, and you in a happy mood watch this movie, then the after-effects are unimaginable ;)

No Man's Land. Written and Directed by Danis Tanovic. (Thats just a info.. I dont remember hard names). This is a war movie. Where most of the movie is not showing up any fight between the armed troops, but is a light story of a Man, and his friend - who has been booby trapped, and another Guy from the enemy-troops. All three of them are stranded on a trench. Each one's life at other's mercy.

Serbia Vs Bosnia. A beautiful arguement happens between the enemy guys, Thanks to all the technology for inventing sub-titles. They both fight fiersomely, and at every stage try to kill each other. The UN then intervenes, but they could do nothing. Then comes the saddest part. The power of politics. The UN even, in its corrupted minds, leaves the booby-trapped guy, alone with the mine. And the movie ends.

Dont be surprised, if you dont find a Climax. Have you seen a Sine Curve. Imagine a Sine Curve, that goes on a straight line. No Ups and Downs (Technically not a sine curve). Thats the way the movie travels. FLAT. Flat screenplay, no twists. Absolutely Flat.

Besides all these, there is Black Humour that brings a grin and a smile at times. You get a different experience watching these movies. This one is a masterpiece.

A tribute to the Chennai Slang

I have posted this long back, when Avyukta was not frequently visited. So, for the benefit of everyone, here's a re-post.

Click here to go to the Wiki page of Chennai Slang aka Madras Bashai.

Please read it completely. I guarentee a wholesome laughter.

he badly wanted to write a poem
he did not have a theme to reflect
he did not have the words to pen
he did not have the thoughts to express
but just a want to write

first para went like above
didnt know how to fill the second
searching for words, complex words
he was still struggling
may be it was a bad idea to write

he felt ashamed, not being expressive
being thoughtless and numb
but then he didnt care, he didnt want to
he has a different territory, poetry was not his
just thoughts wont do, just words wont do

he stopped writing that poem. not anymore.

JK on a good mood

Karthik Jeevakumar is also called JK, and also Invictus (click here to know what Invictus means).
I guess he is in a real great mood today. I got another pic from him. Taken at Everglades.

Just had a chat with him after the pic was sent.. but then you know what happened ?










Ada, Kosu thollai thaanga mudiyalappa !!!!

Camera Phones - not on my list

Call it Coincidence or whatever.. This is the sequence.

1. One fast look into Junior Vikatan. Read the news about the London Bombings, and more specifically about RengaRaman, who was on the train that was impacted.

2. One lazy browsing morning.. Chakra's Grafitti featured Renga's appearance on Junior Vikatan. Only then, i knew he was a fellow blogger. Renga is known as Dubukku in the Blogosphere.

Good to know, a blogger is on Junior Vikatan, and more good to know that he survived.

I also came across this article about Camera Phones being used to Broadcast the London tube calamity. Read it here...

I have had mixed opinions about having Camera on Mobile phones. I personally like the art of photography, and having a limited capability on camera is something i dont feel comfortable with. A VGA camera mobile is simply a compromise. I got a Samsung C100, when many other popular Nokia's were available for the same rate. Prime reason 65K Color. Nokia never gives a 65K color on any mobile less than 10,000 bucks, or atleast for Rs. 5000.

I have always dreamt of the Communicator. But thats not for the Camera on it. I like the feel of having an Organizer in hand, void the fact that Im the most unorganized person in my friend neighborhood. Yet, the style of having a relatively bigger mobile ( I dont like the smaller ones ) and a Qwerty keyboard function.. just melts my mind. Someone give me a good job (I mean a better job.. heh!). I wanna buy the Communicator soon.

Coming back to camera phones, look like many IT organizations are drafting policies to surprise the Associate, telling him - "Uh Oh ! That one is not allowed in there."

Well, First of all, who on earth thought of having a Camera on mobiles ?? What kind of Idea was that ??

Run Lola Run - A must see

I usually put a word to god, before writing anything like this. Just a question of why Im not allowed to watch certain movies much earlier.. I got Run Lola Run just a few days back. But this time, I appreciate God for giving the Cd with sub titles. Thanks.

This is a 20 minute movie. But repeated thrice. Each time you get a different story. Same Characters, and different sequences, and devastatingly different end points. This is the mother of all Screenplays like 12B, Virumandi. This movie is pretty old - 1998 released. Now you understand why I have a conflict with God.

The Story is very ordinary, and characters are not justified.. meaning Hero is not a good guy.. Heroine is not beautiful.. There is no Villain. Actually, in all the three sequences shown, each person perhaps becomes a villain. This will show you clearly how circumstances make a man do things in a hasty way. I guess everyone of you reading this would have watched this movie already.

If not, I recommend you to watch it. Have P2P ? Take a DVD Rip and download it.

Gp : and here I am....hey bro, cool blog, nice post.

That I guess was the last Comment on the Chatter Box (Posted as Insta Comment) on the Side bar of this Blog. NVNCBL was the service provider, and he has just Shut down the service.

Luckily i had eMail notifying the comments to one of my email accounts. And I was able to get Gp's comments from it. So, looking for some other Chat box to put on my site. Some one give me suggestions.

Reflections

Karthik's Back with his yet another Stunning Photography.

Title: Reflections.

Location: Everglades, FL

"Thanks to Jai for the reflection and staying still, Vivek for patiently sitting down until I shot the pic"

Thats too very good.

Karthik's promised me to buy that Canon Digi Cam when he is coming to India. (this is just my imagination)...

Thiruvasagam in Symphony

Just as I write this, Ilayaraja is singing "Puttril Vaazh Aravum Anjaen" around me (Surround, heh !). Thiruvasagam in Symphony from Ilayaraja, is really a treasure to keep. A Collectors edition you could say. This release has created a stir, and I find a great sale of this.. Proof - most of the people in my bay have their personal copy of this. Only that they dont like it. (whaw !)

Before you read this, understand that Im a great devotional guy. I belong to the group of friends who visit temples quite often, around the city on weekends. I have a good taste for Carnatic / Classical music. But Im not educated on that, i dont know which ragam or thaalam the song belongs to. But I have the flair to admire.. that will suffice. So, I was thrilled to hear "Hey Ram's Vaishnava Janatho" song, as it had the "Vaaranam Aayiram Soozha Vadham Seithu" piece classically sung the Iyengar way, with the Nadhaswaram and Thavil background. (this piece also appears in Keladi Kanmani, in a different way).

So, I was confident that Ilayaraja would have glorified Thiruvaasagam just as he did for Thiruvempaavai. However, I have no clear idea of Thiruvaasagam.

Has he glorified ? Well, Yes and No. People who have sung Thiruvaasagam would definitely hate it (Hate is a hard word to use, but I know it is apt). But first timers like me, will adore it like a classical song in a movie. I know, many of us like the "Alaipayuthe Kanna" song for the fast beats of AR Rahman,. This is quite similar, only we do not know the lyrics.

Polla Vinayaen - Sung by Ilayaraja is a 20 minute stand-still song. Ilayaraja accumulates all his brilliance and sings this song, and as Balaji had said, you will show no sign of life, when you listen.

Few of the songs resemble his old musics, but nothing wrong. Only one song, strongly resembles the Pithamagan - "Poovar Senni Mannan". But the song really deserves that music. AR Rahman reused his songs in Bombay Dreams, so Ilayaraja is excused. :)

"Pooerukanum Purantharunam" is my personal favourite sung by Bhavatharini and Ilayaraja. I would even plead you to listen to this song. You might get a hint of 'Mayil Pola Ponnu Onnu" from Bharathi.. Ilayaraja's music is so vast, that all his songs start resembling one of his own.

My suggestion - Buy it soon and listen to all the songs.
WARNING : Just like any Raja song listen it twice or thrice, only then you get inclined and get to like it. Let me know, if you do like it.

[ctsy - Bharatbala Pics ]

For those who did not know why did the Indian Flag appear on this, without a relevance (Duh ! When was something relevant here..) then I'd request you to go to Chakra's Blog.

By the way, Did you guys notice GMail was a lot inconsistant today.. This has happened quite sometimes.. I have trusted GMail all the way. Hope it doesnt Kavuththufai.

Broadband User Guide

All these months went on continous browsing,. And you know, thats not anymore. With the 1GB limit on, how would you know, how much you are browsing ?

Know your limits - is a very important sentence in philosophy. You go more than your limits, then you have to pay for it. In BSNL terms, if you download 80 MB Thiruvasagam in Symphony in MP3, you would be paying BSNL Rs. 160. The Original CD Price is Rs. 125/-.

So, dear BSNL Broadband users, kindly go to this site with frustration,. Find out how much ou have already consumed in the month of July. And take your kerchief and wipe your sweating forehead..yes..I was shocked to see mine., I had already consumed 60% of 1 GB (in just 5 days). Not very good signs, huh !

So, this is it. Same old Dial up behaviour.

Decision - July 5th

I took a very important decision in my life.

This decision could change my life.. the way i grow, the way i earn, the way i live.

It is during these decisions, a man becomes nervous.. or atleast me. I need some guts to get out of that, and it is difficult to move on with life, with the thought that doubts the durability of the decision itself. Would I regret for this later, at some point of time ??

What if I had decided otherwise.. Sounds like a 12B story beginning, doesnt it.. ! We cannot really sit and watch like the director of the movie, as to how the life will go, in both of the decisions. If I had been so much with Foresight, I would not have had a tremble in the morning. Strange, but I cant foresee even ahead of months.

I believe, it is decisions like this keeps man wondering about life. There are many ways you can take. One lightning decision could take a man anywhere.. to the top of the skies, or to the bottom of the rocks. Where do I want to go ?

I just think, my life is just as good as it used to be.. I dont want to be any more happier.

Anniyan - Still on Talk

[ctsy - The Hindu]

Thanks to Ram. C for indicating such an Interview on Vijay TV. I was watching TV for this programme. It was "Madhan's Thiraipparvai", a program where Madan reviews a movie along with the director.

Shankar answered to most of Madan's Questions in the most descriptive way, starts describing the effort he put on for the movie. It was making sense to listen to his answers, and his justification for the movie was acceptable. We can understand, that Shankar has already got the message many reviews have given.

He says " I wanted to make a stunt that never existed in tamil cinema. So, the idea of fighting Karate men was conceived. And the Stunt was extra-ordinary. But then.. people see it and just like that say 'Dho da.. Matrix scene copy..' . But I have put a lot of efforts in creating that scene. The 360 degree camera used to be only Horizontal in Matrix, I wanted it vertical. The Camera guys were stunned and said that it was not possible. But then, I made them make it nearly vertical, making an Oval round.. we threw Real Sadha (no doops) and took a shot, that was never a part of any Indian movie."

WoW ! It is really amazing when I realize the effort put to take that shot. Really Amazing Mr. Shankar. You deserve a great applause for that. But people wont go back to theatres to see that shot alone, would they ?

Shankar, Kamalhaasan and few great people have this Bad tendency to use Technology because it exists. Please use technology if you need them, only if you need them. Makes it Boring.

Use of graphics in a movie, is to hide the truth.. and make people believe it is real. "Pachchai Nirame " song from Alaipayuthey is a clear example of how well a graphics can be done. Many dont realize how the colors were manipulated and made real-like. But Shankar uses graphics just for the fun of having it. Please come out of it.

Shankar also said that most of the important scenes were cut off considering the huge length of the movie. Phew ! Wonder what would have happened if they were not.

The Power of Addiction

Internet Addiction is soemthing Iam into, and I guess most of us are into. I feel giving into some addictions are not wrong. But for those of you ethical thinking people, who feel being addicted to something is bad for morality.. here's news... Click Here

I check mails and blog and browse and download and chat and upload. Thats nearly 12 hours of the day. I am on the internet at home, whether or not i need it.

I dont really know if this is good or bad, but i have already felt the power of having it, sharing it, and owning it. I have sent one email for once and talked about it so proud for nearly seven months.

Anything and everything, we believe Google is going to give you. The Search terms that land on my site makes me feel so. People, including me are searching Just about anything on the internet. Once, someone searched for Margo Soap and it landed on my site. Wonder what happened.!!

Nyways, Sundays Uh ?? Ensoy yourself.. take a look
Click Here and Here. Real Good Animations.

Sethu Samudhiram

[ctsy - Manitham ]

"The Union cabinet has approved the Sethusamudram ship canal project, which was conceived about 150 years ago. The project many not be as important as the Suez Canal or the Panama Canal, but it will definitely change the Indian navigation scenario. Described by commentators as the Suez of the East, the new canal will reduce the travel time for ships moving from the east coast to the west coast by almost a day. This would mean savings in time, fuel and money. However, the project will need investment and recurring expenses towards maintenance of the canal." - excerpt from Financial Express.

More than a Social activity, this has become a political activity. Hope this project becomes live soon, without any hick-up. This project generates a lot of revenue to India (or savings rather). This was supposed to have been done by 1960. And we do it, 45 years later. Shame.

July 1st - Mourning Day

The BSNL Dataone Service will no longer tolerate my P2P downloads. Iam restricted to 1 GB per month. I would have to spend Rs. 2000 to download and watch a movie.. well, you know.. Kung Fu Hustle is not worth downloading if it would cost that much.

I know many users have used this Golden opportunity, and downloaded quite a lot of movies. I accept invitations from those who are in Chennai (and reachable) with a good collection of movies downloaded on their Hard Disks. I have a decent collection of movies ripped from Original DVDs (and hosted on some remote system).

I wish the BSNL guys be more mature to lift the Download limits.. at least make it 12 GB per month. That would do.

Small Computer of 1979

This is a picture of a Smallest Computer, designed for the Businessman. It occupies half of the room, unlike todays' businessman's Laptop that doesnt even occupy 1/3rd of his lap.

It is really interesting to read the book called "How It Works...The Computer". This book was published first in 1971 and then revised in 1979. There is not much enormous difference between the two editions. Technology was not at that pace, as it is now. Take a look at the same page of 1979's edition here.


The book also contains, various technologies used in computers, and is really humorous, the way it is written, when related to today's environment. Give it a read - here.

It is really amazing the way, computers advance in terms of technology. My computer One year old, is completely old. All its components has upgrades, and all of them are increased in capability, and reduced in size.

New SATA hard disks are incompatiable with my Computer. I need different Bus wires (Im not even sure if it will recognize). CD-ROM drive costs Rs. 700/- only. Just 5 years back, a floppy Drive used to cost more than Rs. 1500/- and now it is just Rs. 150/-. Understand that the cost reduction is mainly due to consumption. The entire world is consuming the Computer machine at amazing throttle.

In two more years, Mobile computing will reach its peak (My predictions sometimes work).

By the way, June 30th today. End of Six months in 2005. Did you realize, or were you busy ?

AAA Logo Creator, is one very good software, with a wide range of templates, that best describe whicherver your business is.

This Picture on the left was created with a simple click, and it impresses with every option. It is available for free trial download here. Give it a try.

New Google Earth is available for download. Whats the difference between Keyhole and Google Earth ? Well, 3D. :) Yep ! you can see earth the way you like it. Tilt it. See from surface, see from top... do whatever you want.. for in this earth we have an Undo button unlike our earth. I wish there was.

And hey ! 7000 up... smiles.

Anniyan - Review (What ?? Again ?)

I know most of you guys read a review of this movie. Hey, I never attempted to write reviews.. So, i thought I start practicing by writing useless movies, and then finally write for a Kamal movie. But, Anniyan gave me a opportunity, very quickly. So, here goes.. Anniyan - "The man who comes from hell, is not afraid of ashes !".

Shankar's career depended on this movie, and its hit-status confirms that Shankar has survived. But I wish he survived with a style. Shankar has grown backwards in terms of maturity. "Gentleman" was a all-appreciated movie. "Kadhalan" was crap but a huge hit, it was Rahmans game totally. "Indian" was a sure-hit, with Kamal starring a award winning cast. "Jeans" was crapper than Kadhalan, and again was Rahman's game. "Mudhalvan" was desparate.. he mixed up everything and with one interesting knot, he unfolded a huge hit. "Boys" was a movie, any adoloscent guy would have wished to direct. Amidst a lot of controversies, Boys went on good business, not to forget the great music from Rahman.

If Boys was adoloscent - Anniyan is Childish. Lucky Shankar got Vikram's dates. I am wondering the otherwise clause. If just 2 scenes in a movie could drive the movie to success, then Anniyan is a sure Silver-Jubilee runner. But the way I see it, two very good scenes and all other highly immature scenes, sends a clear message to Shankar - "Be careful next time you make a movie."

Whats the Anniyan Story - Ambi alias Rules Ramanujam is a lawyer, who strives to find perfection in others - interms of following the rules. He is not happy with people, who spit on the road, violate traffic rules, who make faulty brake wires, who doesnt care to stop to help a person badly hurt, and so and so.

Meanwhile, Ambi logs into www.Anniyan.com to log complaints aginst the person who did not stop the car to help a person badly hurt. And this person is killed by Anniyan. From there on, Anniyan appears and kills everyone Ambi finds fault with.

Is it enough for a hero to be angry all the time...perhaps no ! So, Ambi loves Nandhini (played delicately sloppy by Sadha). As other heroes do, he is not expressing it. And finally when he does, he understands, that his love is not reciprocated. This is when another character pops in - REMO. Remo is a model (you have to believe it.. you think you have choices ?) and impresses Nandhini and wins her heart, with a small Love-meter (crazy idea..).

So, we have Ambi, Anniyan and Remo rotating in Random fashion on the screen. And for the directors surprise, we are not surprised. There is a Split Personality or what is called the "Multiple Personality Disorder" on Ambi, and he behaves and super-behaves as Anniyan and Remo. Vikram has a huge carpet of Acting to roll over, and he has done it good. Sadha had a very small scope of acting, and she misses even that by a huge gap.

Back to story.. Meanwhile a crazy Prakashraj and Vivek duo, investigating all the murders, in a very unnecessarily disguised manner, finds out who is Anniyan. What they do after that, is the climax. Actually, Climax is the best part of the movie. Please dont take the exact meaning of best, its best because the rest of the movie is so-sloppy.

Vivek - a special mention is very much required. I felt Vivek performed even better then Vikram. Without Vivek, we would have quit the movie in 30 minutes. Absolute roll-out comedy. The theatre was fully laughing, and enormous response for Vivek's comedy.. at the sametime, the entire theatre sighed at the action sequences... Action scenes are really lengthy in Anniyan, and few of them very very immature. The Karate kids fight with Anniyan - damn it went more than 20 minutes. Too bad. Its boring man....

Music was really good to hear on my computer, but when I saw the way it was picturised.. it was not upto the expectations. "Kumari" song had very bad graphics and clearly showed, Vikram and Sadha were super-imposed on the backdrop of a huge Tulips garden, which was again a graphical animation. I bet Rs. 26 crores were not spent on the movie. There nothing worth so much of money.

Camera works amazing. In the action sequences, camera is the only thing that keeps us guessing, if it will be shown from top or panned, ,or will it be another 360 degree spin-around. But I prefer, Shankar stops using this technique in his next movie.. its kinda boring to use the same tricks.

On the whole, I find this movie Childish. I understand, "Childish" is not the word you give for a violent crime movie. But, Hey ! Watch the movie and you will know why it is childish.

Thaththu(Piththu)vam !

"Everyone is someone's fool" - I dont know who said this, but I really adore this quote.

Albert Einstein was a fool to his Girl Friend.
Mahatma Gandhi was a Villain to the Englishmen.

This post comes out of a comment section from Thennavan's ChennaiCentral.

Everyone of us have show a different faces to different people. We are a sincere worker to the Boss, but a lathorgic person at home. We are a monster to the next door kid.

Even if we are a soft-natured person, we are mis-understood as a rough guy by atleast someone. Thats because we do not completely adopt a theme, and follow that as our Character. We exhibit on-the-fly emotions. We react differently to the same sequences. Thats Human Nature.

We yell atleast at some person. We are rude to some, without our knowledge. We are impressing some at the same time. We are not a algorithm. Our emotions are not hard and fast. Emotions are better left uncontrolled. I suggest you adapt just one word in your life...

Let Go !

"Let go", is the principle (or the non-principle) is take in my life. If you feel like shouting and crying, and screaming and laughing loud, and yelling, and slapping, and throwing things .. whatever you feel like ... do it. DO IT.

I am amazed at a few yoga and other classes trying to teach us to - "Control Emotions !" why on earth should a human control emotions. Why should you not show your anger, when you actually are. Just because you want to be good. Revise your thoughts.. come on. You are angry, and you are blessed with expressions, Show it !

Thats why you would be someone's fool, but that doesnt really matter. Or Does it ?

Blogger Images

Thanks to GoogleBlog for the update. Blogger now has a beautiful way of uploading pictures, unlike the Flickr way. However, Flickr was good as well. Here's my try with the Blogger photos.

This is the Picture, I uploaded from my Hard Disk, directly to Blogger. This is the first picture, i ever loaded on my computer, actually. This, Ladies and Gentlemen, is Mr. Avyukta.

Avyukta is Lord Krishna's name and it means The Crystal Clear. And this picture of Lord Krishna, is called "Kaalinga Nardhanam".

You should definitely remember watching Mahabaratham on Doordarshan. Krishna tries to bring out something from the river, then comes out of the water with a deadly snake called "Kaalinga", and he performs an ecstasic dance over the head of the snake.

You will experience this divine spirit when you go to Srirangam, and there is a small Bronze statue (very very small) beautifully depicting this scene. This one is shown only on demand. So, most of you might not have seen it.

Thats with the picture, now to Blogger. The picture was customized to align left of the text, and size was modified after uploading on Blogger. Thats all the Flickr features you might need. So, with this, I think lots of bloggers will have one image per post for sure.

After all a picture speaks a thousand words.