Saturday, September 24, 2005

CM 175

Chandramukhi - A film that changed the life of a man.

If you'd remember the pre-release days of Chandramukhi, it was a complete chaos. Anniyan and Mumbai Express were head-on competetors. What if Anniyan was released then ??

Rajnikanth was already on a complete disaster after the Damaaal of Baba ! Chandramukhi is not a guarentee movie.. It could have failed easily. It was not a sure-hit.

Thankfully, It is a hit and up on 175 days. Yes !

I am not an ardent fan of Rajnikanth.. but then Im happy for this man. Congratulations Rajnikanth !!

Expect the same from Sivaji.

Thursday, September 22, 2005

Post # 300



















Blogger stats says, this is my 300th Post. And it is the 365th day for Avyukta.
Avyukta is the name of my computer you see on the top.
Its been exactly One year since I got it.

Go have a Coke, and celebrate on my behalf :)

Wednesday, September 21, 2005

Life is different for different people

"Aridhu Aridhu, maanidaraai pirathal aridhu;
Adhaninum Aridhu, Koon Kurudu Sevidu neengip piraththal."

  • Avvayaar
On Sunday, my mom was telling me something that happened to catch her attention in the temple. She is an everyday visitor of a local temple, here. There used to be a guy who had lost his legs and spends most of his day time sitting on a wheel chair and loitering inside the temple. That guy has become the talk of the locality overnight - for a mighty good reason.

This person, despite his physical inability, has worked for weeks together (close to a year) and made a Ther (Radham) for the diety. The radham possesses awesome craftwork and impressive finishes. He has been the only guy doing the wood-work. Of course, he had employed a few people for fitting and painting. Still, he has carved every piece of wood on that Radham.

Today, he sits on the same wheel chair, looking at his work. You cant really express on words the feelings. This man, stands high !

Bottom line : The Diety made him sit on a wheel chair. But he has made the diety sit on a Charroit.

கூண் குருடு செவிடராய்ப் பிறந்தாலும்
நம்பிக்கை இருந்தால் கூண் யேது ; குருடு யேது ; செவிடு யேது ;

Tuesday, September 20, 2005

Splash Scupltures

Impressed by the Mi-Kaleidoscope photo - This - I instantly began searching for more photos with water splashes.

Thanks to BoingBoing, I landed upon a site that does Liquid Sculptures, with the help of High-Speed photography.

They Drop Water, Colored water, Milk, Chocolate and what not.. zap there and have a satisfying peek. All pictures of water splashes are amazingly crafted.. And I have a personal doubt about the gradient on all the pictures. Might have been a touch of photoshop. But then, the idea remains untouched. Looks cute.

Then I went upon a search on Worth1000. I used to be a member here. Awesome creativity. I was sure, someone would have done water splashes.. and This is what i saw - Click here.

I would like to write a poem, on seeing splashing water. Damn !! I feel illiterate.

Monday, September 19, 2005

Why Camera Phone will be banned in your Company ??

I have always disliked owning a Camera phone (because i don't have one.. earlier i disliked owning mobile phones...:), except the fact that my dream phone is still 9500 Communicator that has a camera.

Jokes apart, I dont like the idea of having a VGA Camera on a phone, and that too on 4096 colors. Even a 1+ mega pixel camera on a mobile phone is a compromise. For a real photo experience, buy the real digi-cam... and for a real cellular phone experience, buy 9500 :)

Ok... Now on the topic. There's a breakthrough technology that just caused tremours to companies to force and think about allowing Camera phones into their premises.

"The software, developed by NEC and the Nara Institute of Science and Technology (NAIST) in Japan, goes further than existing cellphone camera technology by allowing entire documents to be scanned simply by sweeping the phone across the page."

This is it. This is just what many needed. OCR enabled Cellphones will soon be packed and shipped.. So, one guy entering the Higginbothams can ruin the future of Dan Brown. Get the point ?? I have no say for piracy.. but this one would be too much of a breach.. Whats the remedy ?? The software makers (NEC) say, that the mobile will trigger an Alarm, when the user is scanning.. thus preventing piracy. Well, who in Higginbothams is going to care if the mobile phone Alarms with a "Vaseegara" tone ...

At a distance of 20 centimeters from the document, you could scan the entire A4 sized document in 3 - 4 seconds. Besides all the piracy stuff, the technology is amazing. I appreciate the thoughts to make this software. This takes a mobile closer to a power mobile.

But as long as it evolves completely into the all powerful mobile , C100 is my partner.

Saturday, September 17, 2005

Jesus Hacks Blogs !!

Adengappa Prabhu gave his URL, and asked me to Click it.

Well, you can try it too... Click on the URL - http://tringtring.blogpsot.com
Dont try this.. Venkittu Sir found his computer slowdown on clicking the Link.. So, dont try anything on this post. Just take the Information.

Exactly. I asked Prabhu if he switched religions...(Sorry Prabhu for that), and thats when he told me about the TYPO he has made.

Human mind overlooks the spelling if the letters in between the word was interchanged. (My theory - Any Nobels ?).. By that theory I had overlooked the spelling of *Blogspot* in the URL.

So, that means any Blogspot sites going with the TYPOs go to AmazingBibleStudies.com.
Even Blogpot entries go here. I went on a Google search on this potentially whatever issue, and found many people have come across this.

This is interesting : One guy who had mis-spelt his URL landed on this site, and he thought "God has Hacked his site"..... :)

Actually the media.fastclick.com pokes the nose on bad URLs and redirects it across to this site. So, Dear Blogger, when you pass on your URL, please make sure you spell the Blogspot part correctly.

Friday, September 16, 2005

Saraikkara News



This is the Gadget thats been rocking the news for the past 2 days.

Ladies and Gentlemen, errr... Gentlemen Only... Introducing the Gillette Fusion.

Just two words of caution - Five Blades. How does that sound ?

Gillette says "Gillette Fusion Power features a breakthrough 5 blade Shaving Surface™ technology on the front of the shaving cartridge. The blades are spaced 30 percent closer together than MACH3 blades.This creates a “Shaving Surface” that distributes the shaving force across the blades for significantly less irritation and more comfort."

Hmmm... The Art of Shaving has been really putting pressure on me. I shave on weekends, (co-incidentally, after posting this where do you think I'm headed to ..?) and the pain is the time it takes to carefully Shave the face without a blood shed. I use "Satta Sat", still it is not as Satta sat as it promises to be.

I asked a few friends about Philishave, and the response was an instant "No.. dont ever..". However I'm not ready to spend a 3000 bucks to buy an electric shaver that makes my skin as hard as I can possibly imagine.

I've been trying to grow a decent beard on my face, and have a look at it. Unfortunately, my office environment prevents me from doing it. So, is it like no more professionals are going to grow beards ?? Thats bad. Iam dreaming of a beard like Kamalhaasan in Hey-Ram.

Weekend is up !!! Up for Nanganallur today with Office mates. Wish there is Pongal today !

Thursday, September 15, 2005

















S i m p l y B e a u t i f u l

Whoever the Photographer is... Hats Off !

Wednesday, September 14, 2005

Bush wants to do something.

The Picture you see on the left (pic ctsy - Reuters) is featuring a hand that belongs to the Most Powerful Man on World.

George W. Bush writes a note to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice during a Security Council meeting at the 2005 World Summit. He asks "Is this possible ?"

The most powerful man needs to clear security permissions for everything. The security decides if he can or cannot do something on the public. He looses privacy. Am not sure about the surveilance on the Lincoln Bedroom (read Deception Point), but then I pity celebrities.

A celebrity would certainly miss the freedom to walk on streets.. They miss doing things they did when they weren't a celebrity. Most of all they miss privacy.

They are most certainly compelled to be moral. Why should Clinton's *leelais* be a matter of decision when US voted ? Why should Kamalhaasan scratch his head, when Sarika left him ? APJ Abdul Kalam is only one person we need to know. We need not know about "Mohammed Muthu Meera Lebbai Maraikkayar" his elder brother, whose name was not there on the Voter's list, last elections.

The moment they are on limelight, they are forced to expose their husband/wife to public. And from then on, the media focus is on both of them. They get up too close and personal, that one slight mistake is blown up to a mammoth conspiracy. It is a question to all of us. Why do we need personal news of the Celebrity ?

I've heard many people say, "I like Kamalhaasan on screen. But off-screen, I dont like the way he behaves.". I understand it is freedom of thought and speech that lets people talk like that. But we need to understand our boundaries. Who are we to talk of any celebrity beyond the reason they attained celebrity ? We talk like the celebrity guy is our neighbour. We talk like we completely know the protocols of the celebrity.

It is true that the celebrities need to be Moral, and be a guideline to others. But it is a mistake to expect. Dont you think so ?

Tuesday, September 13, 2005


Now You See Him Work !!!



















Now You Don't !!!!



















Ladies and Gentlemen, Welcome to the world of "Work Blinders".

The screen in front of your cubicle has a printed image of you working on your computer. But in reality, you could be Chatting with your friend, Updating Blogger comments or of course, you might not even be there.

So, don't you think thats useful ??

"Indha arivai velaila kaattalaam nu sollreengala !!!" I understand. Hmm.

Monday, September 12, 2005

SPAM Jaakradhai !!



BEWARE : Check your Spam !! Your "somebody" could have emailed..
Thanks to Chakra's question, I searched for his email and found it there.

Added surprise, I found PK's email in spam..
phew.. GMail, my first complaint to you !!

Saturday, September 10, 2005

Thotti Jaya - Colossal Action

















First Things First.
Thanks a million to VZ Durai and Simbhu for not letting us down. The movie is good and you can start dressing up. Go watch it, soon.

With a very ordinary story [extra-ordinary story taken as movies again and again, makes it ordinary] Simbhu has taken up a huge challenge of a paradigm shift. And he has done it well. It is a risk free job, to act as a Dada or Rowdy.. show hand actions, talk punch dialogues and have a beautiful heroine to love you, even if you are the crappiest. Thankfully no hand actions, and punch dialogues.Simbhu is showing growth, and I'm placing my bets on him. Thotti Jaya is an effort well-taken, and wish it is well-paid too.

Simbhu works as a "adiyaal" (Hit-man) for a don Seena Thana(Pradeep Rawath, i did not like him on screen... a very boring villain..). Simbhu is asked to be undercovers for sometime. I started yawning, when Simbhu chose Kolkatta, and boards the train, and a usual heroine-intro song pops up. But all of a sudden, the movie is on 5th gear. The Heroine misses the train, gets exploited by the taxi-driver and a gang abducts her from the taxi..Simbhu saves her from them, and takes her to the railway station, and on-request he also accompanies the heroine to Kanniyakumari.

They realize they are in love (This is a new way of showing love... i was impressed the way Simbhu realizes that he is in love....too good.) and thankfully no duet songs here. Only later, Simbhu realizes that the Heroine is Seena Thaana's daughter and Seena Thaana is mighty-angry about what Simbhu is doing with his daughter, and sends men to kill him.

From then-on the movie is on a even faster pace.. some very entertaining Action-sequences...and the struggle continues till the climax. Finally Simbhu defeats the villain (and cries awkwardly.. imsai thaanga mudiyalappa) and "The End".

RD Rajasekar is one of two Heros of the movie. Anthony [Editor] is the other. They hold up the movie, strong and interesting till the climax. Trust me, I never got bored anytime on the movie. It keeps you occupied full time. Camera works for showing Simbhu as a hero, really works out well. Everytime Simbhu walks on screen.. we are excited, and thats success for the Thotti Jaya Crew.

Harris Jayaraj - If only Harris Jayaraj had made the songs even better, the movie would have been an ultimate package. Ironically, for a good movie like TJ, the songs are not that good. Two Kuththu songs.. and others are really boring. "Uyire Enn Uyire" is too good on screen. (PK, Samba Sambaley's picturization reminds Meenaxi's Chinnamma). The last song is clear lift from "Uppu Karuvaadu" of Mudhalvan. Hariss anna, neengaluma !!

But HJ has gone beyond excellence in Background Score. Absolutely brilliant. Iam waiting to download the BGMs. 5 starts to HJ for the background score.

If I can spot mistakes on Thotti Jaya - there are only Two. One is Harris Jayaraj making sloppy songs. The other biggest mistake is Gopika (I would be violently opposed for this). I felt Gopika was not for that role, and she couldnt perform even the expected. If someone wants proof, Please visit Thotti Jaya and watch the way she shows reactions inside the Taxi. Yuk !

Action sequences need a prime mention. Kallaaaas !! Chancey Illa. Beautiful action all over the movie, and wonder how it got a "U" Certificate. My apologies. I didn't note who did the Action in TJ, but whoever it is... Take my bow... Right from the Go-word, the screenplay is Hot and burning. Thotti Jaya is an example of how a screenplay can increase the interest on a story.

On the whole, VZ Dorai has given us a Hot-Dum Biriyani... tastes good. Go pick up your plate.

If only, Simbhu can choose different roles like this (for God's sake, please dont sign-up another dada movie..) and select good stories.... he can reach where he dreams.

Let me know, when you have watched this movie.

Friday, September 09, 2005

Thotti Jaya - Setting Hopes

Me and my friends are up for this movie, tonight. Whenever we said someone, we are going for "Thotti Jaya".. there was always an expected reaction.

"Avan Padathukka poreenga ?? vera padame kidaikkalaya ??"

I was on the same grounds before "Manmadhan". I wouldnt say Manmadhan changed the way I looked at Simbhu, but it set a ray of hope that this guy could act.

Unlike Danush and the 7G guy (i didnt even bother to remember his name) who can never play roles other than what they have been recognized with, Simbhu stood up and showed some difference, atleast in my viewpoint. Manmadhan had too much of over-acting and sodhappal stuffs, but it showed some maturity in acting too.

Also, the trailer of Thotti Jaya was nice.. i want to see that Qualis hitting the Ambassador on the big screen. Should be a happy occassion (!). So wait up, will try to do the review of the movie tomorrow morning.

Prabhu Karthik already wrote a review about the Kuththu song in TJ.

Wish me luck. Hope the movie is good.

Thursday, September 08, 2005

MP Wars - No. Not Politics.

10.3 Megapixel.

Okay. Relax.. Breathe..
Don't Gasp for Oxygen, yet.

$1,000. :)





Sony's new CyberShot R1. This Digital Camera of the Next-gen has a unique LCD that is foldable/ rotatable. That allows you to take pictures in angles you have not imagined. Its got 10.3 Effective megapixel, that could easily count the Hairs on my moush very easily.

Its got all the features of other Cybershots, except for the Electronic Viewfinder, and the state-of-the-art LCD. Take a look at this and this, so that you will get a real idea of what is so good about the LCD.

Rea a review of this camera, here, just-in-case you are inclined to buy this 10.3 MP. Just let me know, if you are buying one. I'd like a life size picture of mine taken.. huh !!

Wonder where this megapixel war is going to end. There is already a Leaf, manufacturing 22 Megapixel cameras. This would produce images that could be blown up to a size of a football field (says Gizmodo). Mamamiya !!

I know, people are not that interested in having an increased MP camera.. but then, the depth and colors (Sony Cybershot R1 has a unique color enhancer too) they produce makes me wait for a Digi Cam with a very high resolution capability. Of course, Iam waiting for the money too :)

Wednesday, September 07, 2005

Seven Seven Things

Tagged By Jeevan and MagicLens (ML has a new Text Blog)

Seven Things U Plan To do Before U die
  • Actually there is just one thing I wish to do before I die - Live.
Seven Things that U Can Do
  • Can Do Resonably good Badminton
  • Can Do Pencil Sketching
  • Can Do Super-fast crazy drive on Nelson Manickam Road
  • Can Do Quick Learning (as long as there was no Exam on it)
  • Can Do Very Good Advices with good Illustrations (havent got any feedback for this)
  • Can Do Arguements on any subject, with a little knowledge
  • Can Do Instant identification of a Lie (not that Iam very honest).
Seven Things that U Cannot Do
  • Cannot Cook Food
  • Cannot Wash Clothes
  • Cannot Be Consistent on something
  • Cannot Watch the same channel for more than 2 mins
  • Cannot Tolerate improper lies
  • Cannot make a very long conversation
  • Cannot be awake beyond 10 PM and asleep beyond 5.30 AM
Seven Things That Attract U ToThe Opposite Sex
  • Driving Style (Scootys and Activas)
  • Hair Length
  • Dressing Sense
  • Foot
  • Smart Answers
  • Occasional Smiles
  • Ground-Normal Attitude...
Seven Things U Say Most
  • Muruga
  • Mhmm
  • thats f****** B*** S***
  • whoopa !!
  • Chariwokey ! (Sari, Ok)
  • I know !
  • Ayayyo !
Seven Celebrities you want to meet
  • Kamalhaasan
  • Maniratnam
  • Bill Clinton
  • Steven Spielberg
  • Usama Bin Laden
  • Sujatha
  • Jayalalitha Madam
Seven People Who Have To Take This Quiz

Here's the tough part. Yet, its in the spirit.. take it guys.. Im tagging you.

Do it when you find Time. :)

Monday, September 05, 2005




















All of a sudden, we have been having World records for Sarees. The 50,000 Color saree has triggered this competition.

RmKV has been instrumental in experimenting many things on Sarees. They introduced a Lengthiest saree that entered the Guiness Book of Records. Then they came out with Cinderella Paavadai (See Older post on Cinderella Paavadai ). From Time to Time, RmKV has been brining out the classical pieces with a touch of awe.. just to create records. C'mon, no one will buy that lengthiest saree.. and many cannot afford the Rs. 50,000 saree with 50,000 colors.

But after this colorful saree broke the ice, Pothys has come up with a Saree (obviously green in color) that has the entire History of India in it. I happened to see the Ad, with Barathiraja's speech on the background. Duh, another Guiness record.

What took me by surprise, is an advertisement in Vikatan. India's First 3D saree. This was done by Sri Kumaran Stores. Looks like they still dont have it for displays, but will soon be. So, another record.

Is that, by any chance, a marketing strategy... Why would anyone go to that shop on seeing a Saree that she cannot buy or wear ?

But hey, we dont want 3D pants.. for Almighty's sake.. :)

Sunday, September 04, 2005

Today - Muhurtham

September 5th is "Pazhuththa Muhurtha Naal". Quite a lot of marriages today. Being the first or second muhurtha naal after Aadi, marriage-dependant businesses are at peak profits today.

Yesterday, I was having a "Super-Kaara" Sambar Sadham at "Kuchalaambal Kalyana Mandapam", as a part of Lavanya's Reception. [Lavanya is my peer at work]. Next time you are thinking of a wedding(?), consider this Kalyana Mandapam. Boy, it is amazingly simple, neat and huge. No hassles of going to the dining hall on first floor.. and many other stuffs that irritate. The Stage is big, and the dining hall could accomodate quite a lot of people. One another great thing is the spacious parking. Have any marriage coming up ? Try this mandapam (dont forget to invite ;)

Another Holiday closing up. "Shri Vinayaga Chathurthi" is on Wednesday. I hate holidays on wednesdays... but then, I will take it [duh!]. Not much work to do, but "Gangs of New York" insists that I execute it on Wednesday.

May June July was dry.. without holidays, and at the break of August, there's been a series of holidays. I just remember the Prabhu Deva Song.. "April Mayiley ; Pasumaye Illey ; Kanju Pochuda ;" :)

Have a great Monday. Look, I have not fussed about Monday today. Looks like I have come out of the Monday morning syndrome. Or Have I ?

Saturday, September 03, 2005

New Picture on Photoshop Blog

Get Crazy - Go Yahoo oooo ooo le !!



















This is one Game I downloaded for Dachu.. (see prev post). But I got addicted to it, better than him. The sounds and colors are too good to keep you interested throughout the game. It is one another Bejeweled - Diamond class game, from Yahoo ! (PopCap).

The Name of the game is - Chuzzle. You can download it here.
WARNING : Need a Childish Heart to play. If you play Arcade, forget it.

Friday, September 02, 2005

Innocence













Click Pic for bigger version

My next door kid - Dachu !! also called as Darshan !!

Thursday, September 01, 2005

Bajaj Avenger


















Bajaj Avenger - The new kid from Bajaj has got the best advertisement ever.

"Feel like God" is the Tag-line following the all-popular "Definitely Male" of Pulsar.

Bajaj has rocked the bike market, giving shock waves to the big-guy Hero Honda, with the huge success of Pulsar. Chennai is full of Pulsar.. anywhere and everywhere.

I am not a good bike guy. Iam just the Honda Activa guy, who can simply overtake the Pulsar with ease, and have a smile on the face. I have extreme pleasure overtaking a Pulsar. Thanks to Honda. The only bike hard to overtake on Nelson Manickam Road is Yamaha (135). Gawd !! Solid pickup.

This new Bike - Bajaj Avenger, is simply good because the Ad is extremely good. Thanks to Prasanna for the link to the Ad. See it here. (9 Meg)

See it, with good volume.

FedEx - BedEx !!

We know many people, who make someting useful out of the waste. I hate that habit, most of the times. Using broken parts of something as something else - thats the idea.

But the "UBadravams" those things give are untolerable. So, I dont encourage the habit of "Wealth out of Waste". (but who cares !!). But then, I was impressed by the following.

Take a look at this.


















This is a fully functional and durable Bed made out of 44 FedEx Boxes and Tubes.

The guy has made Dining tables, Couches and many more out of FedEx boxes. His site (Click here) gives directions on how to build them.

By the way :::::: Did you lazygeek ? One very hot topic brewing there :)

Wednesday, August 31, 2005

Are you Rich ?

















Pic ctsy -OrderFinancialGenius

The Median Income per household in the city of Houston is $37,483.

Thats 16.5 Lakhs INR per annum. :) Remember the post we had on India beating US. With that memory , think about this. To my knowledge, the average income in India would be around Rs.3000, and an annualized income of Rs. 36,000.

That sounds bad, doesn't it.

Look at the definitions of poverty in US. "The poverty threshold varies by household size. A family of three with a child younger than 18 was considered to be living in poverty last year if its annual income was $14,974(Thats 6 Lakhs Our money) or less. For a family of two, the poverty level was $12,334.(5 lakh in our money)"

That means either of the 2 things. Iam crazy enough to confuse economics, or I live well below the poverty line.

Hmmm... But God has promised to make me richer. "A Day Would Come"

Tuesday, August 30, 2005

Today Is Blog Day






I dont know what it really signifies. Or what I am supposed to do for this. Yet another day in the calendar. But, if some blogger comes to rule the world or any piece of country, in the future... He would declare this day a Public Holiday.

Dont know how this sounds - "Happy Blog Day to You !"

Here's the Blog of the guy who started this all - Nir Ofir.

Let us say, You are given a chance to create such a Day, with significance. What day would you create ?

Surprise Package - CDAC

Looks like every BSNL Broadband Subscriber has received a free copy of "Tamil Software Tools".

Released by the Ministry of Communications.

The CD Contains 100 Tamil Fonts, Bharateeya (Open Source Office Suite in Indian Languages), Firefox Browser in Tamil :) , Tamil Dictionary and many more.

This came to me as a surprise. BSNL also had given a small page-let that talks about various Jargons, Factors for Speed and few other things that will be of full use to the Novice Broadband users. :)

Way to Go !! Best way to stop piracy, is to sell the softwares free.

Whoops ! Will that mean - I should work for free ?

Monday, August 29, 2005

Creativity Max !

Thanks to Kaps, for mentioning Creative Criminal. Thats a whole new different world - The world of Advertising. My all time favourite time-pass. I used to go brand hunting on the internet.

You and I receive a great deal of email forwards, which contain award winning advertisement videos. I hold a big collection of Cannes Ads in my Hard Disk. I know most of us have this affinity towards intellectual Ads.

Take a look at this posted on Creative Criminal.



I bet, most of us would take a few seconds to understand. Now, thats being creative !!

Sunday, August 28, 2005

Are you having a Routine Life ?

Are you someone, who can throw away your bags - spread your arms - get wet in the rain - and do all the *all-time-tamil movies-heroine-introduction-song* stuffs ? How long can you do that ? Weekend is over. And Monday is back with an Axe.

I am surprised. Many people are having complaints about having a machine-like life, following stereotypic time-tables and routines all day long. You would have seen some middle aged guys talking to each other.. "Enna Sir Pozhappu idhu !!! arachcha maavaye arachchukittu"

I dont know, if Iam still immature to get those feelings. But, Iam happy to follow a routine. Everyday, from the morning till night (on weekdays) I behave in a very "this-next this-next" way. I get a comfort feeling practicing these routines in the weekdays, and weekends have no specifics (except the Anjaneyar temple).

Let us imagine this way. If you do not have a routine, and you are a surprised-package to every activity, life may not be interesting. What I mean is, you cannot be having a all-day-long-interesting life. Thats boring. Do you get the point ?

I feel Iam blessed to have a Routine-life. I dont want to do Bungee Jumping on a wednesday evening. I feel happy to fill my SAP timesheet and take the usual Snack and head back home. I think that is heaven :)

May God Bless you with a Routine-Life. (No Curses please !!)

Saturday, August 27, 2005

Single Window - Curtains Still open !! No more crows

11000 Seats free. Counselling is over.

In my times, BE was so very difficult to get.

Duh !! This is how we can spoil the value of a degree..
This is how we spoilt B.Com and B.A. Thankfully B.Com is at peak these days.

The way I see it, MBA will rock for few more years..

After that ?

Friday, August 26, 2005

What you see is What is not there !! :)

Thanks to BoingBoing, that i spent the entire morning on one sing site.

Click here for 57 Optical Illusions & Visual Phenomena

A must see site. Though you might have seen quite a lots of illusions in the name of eMail forwards, this site is worth a try, for 2 simple reasons. Its got a few more. And its got good explanations too.

Even if you didnt have time to Zap to this site, check the following.. my favourites.

This , This and This.

Talking of which, Iam reminded of Dan Brown's friend John Langdon (Not Robert Langdon.. this guy is real). He has a lots of pictures painted on his site, and one of them keep amazing me, every single time I see it.

Here it is for you
Let me know, What you saw first.. "Optical" or "Illusion".
I saw Illusion first. :)

Thursday, August 25, 2005

New wallpaper on Photoshop Blog (Avyukta Special)

Your Opinion : Just in case you are free !

Please read this, only if you have extra-ordinary time to spend. You could as well be fed up with the topic under discussion, as it is repeatedly under diagnosis.

The Question is “Is India growing at an extreme rate, that it will over-take US of A in few years ?”

Yeah, I know. This is a crazy question which might have varied responses. Most of them might express their patriotism, and many of them see the greener side of growth in India.

But ground reality is only the statistics. A statistical study of GDP, Un-employment, Under-employment, Population, Poverty and Mercedes-Benz (?) can tell us the growth in India. Unfortunately the Internet doesn’t have the detailed (or updated) information about the math.

I will tell you what I see everyday.

I see many cars in Chennai Streets (more SUVs). I see huge counts of constructions. A majority-population of final year BE students, this year, have found a job already. Many World-Furniture shops in elite roads. More Hotels. More bike-riders with a tagged ID Card hanging on their necks. Same crowd in Renganathan Street . More Business.

Virtually all houses have Color TVs. More pockets, now, have a Cellular Phone.

But this is Chennai, that I see by 7.30 mornings.

There is a Chennai, that I believe I have not seen, and Chennai alone is not India.

More people are now affording to buy a C- Class Benz. People are getting richer. Yet, there are people who still sleep on roads. There are still beggars. They have not reduced in number. I only feel, the rich are getting extremely richer and the poor remain poor.

I understand that these situations can’t be wiped out.

We still need one person to tighten up the Nuts and Bolts on our future cars in Sriperumbudhur. We still need a hand that will pack the matches, as long as we are going to smoke. I feel, at whatever situation, the economic imbalance can’t be straightened up.

Or am I just blind to some great economic facts about India.

Avyukta's B Day !


Click pic for a bigger one.

No. Not the birthday of this Blog !

Avyukta - name of Lord Krishna - means The Crystal Clear.
Aug 26, 05 is Krishna Jayanthi - Floating Holiday.

So My week is already over. Come home for Murukku, Seedai and more.

Wednesday, August 24, 2005

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 ?"

Tuesday, August 23, 2005

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 ?

Monday, August 22, 2005

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 !

Sunday, August 21, 2005

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.

Saturday, August 20, 2005

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 )

Friday, August 19, 2005

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 :).

Thursday, August 18, 2005

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.

Wednesday, August 17, 2005

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.

Tuesday, August 16, 2005

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. :)

Monday, August 15, 2005

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 ?

Sunday, August 14, 2005

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 !

Friday, August 12, 2005

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.

Thursday, August 11, 2005

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.

Wednesday, August 10, 2005

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.

Tuesday, August 09, 2005

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.

Monday, August 08, 2005

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.

Sunday, August 07, 2005

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.

Saturday, August 06, 2005

Friday, August 05, 2005

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.

Thursday, August 04, 2005

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 ?

Wednesday, August 03, 2005

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 ?

Tuesday, August 02, 2005

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 ;)

Monday, August 01, 2005

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.

Sunday, July 31, 2005

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.

Saturday, July 30, 2005

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...)

Friday, July 29, 2005

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.


Thursday, July 28, 2005

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.

Wednesday, July 27, 2005

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.

Tuesday, July 26, 2005

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>

Monday, July 25, 2005

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 ]