Thursday, April 20, 2006

Tuesday, April 18, 2006

Monday, April 17, 2006

Well, there's already gnashing of teeth about Google being a portal and I say, "Yeah, so what?" The fact that AOL and Microsoft's portals are clunky and Yahoo's is busy opened the way for clean, simple design. Google has exploited their weaknesses.

On to the Calendar. I worked with it this morning and I like it. Why? Because I love Gmail and use that as my primary email. Firefox is my web-browser (if you are still using Internet Explorer you are a complete looooooser). Outlook bugs me. (Sacrilage!) A calendar within Google is just the ticket.

One guy said that a Google calendar is no big deal with PDAs, cell phones, etc. I don't know. My cell phone calendar is a pain and I don't use it. Since my arse is in front of the computer a good chunk of the day, it's nice to have the calendar right here.

And here's the thing: Google Calendar is free. Microsoft's Outlook is NOT free. (Nothing is free in life, I know this. I'm just sayin....) And here's another thing: if my computer crashes guess what? My data is not lost. No it isn't. Tralalala!

Yes, there's the little worrisome fact that some nerd at Google knows my innermost thoughts via Gmail, Blogger and now Google Calendar.

Anyway, I'll let you know how I like it over the next month of use. If I were Microsoft I'd be afraid. Be very afraid. And I'm not the only one thinkin' it either.

Sunday, April 16, 2006

Having not attended college for one week I felt so bored that i went to the barber and had the shortest crew cut available (1 level b4 botak).

The crew cut was adopted by the United States armed forces during World War II, and became a civilian fashion for men during the early 1950s. The cut was felt to be "clean-cut, athletic, and patriotic." By the mid 1960s, the crew cut was generally seen as a mark of conservative politicial opinions, as opposed to the longer hair styles favored by those less trusting of the government.
A similar style, under the name buzz cut, returned to fashion in the late 1990s.

Chris Mullin, a former NBA player for the Golden State Warriors, had the crew cut in his playing days and still has one to this day

Is that the new craze ? Agreed, it's been around from long time so much to qualify as a veteran in 'connecting people', but as once there was craze of getting urself an e-mail id, then an IM id was in buzz, then Blogs started flaunting the limelight and now i see Orkut as the latest talk of the town. So, these days i m on Orkut for almost an hr a day. an hr a day isnt that long but it's fun.

I am taken more by the communities. You name it and there would be a community waiting for you. Your college, your class, your department, your canteen, your library, your neighborhood, your city, your favourite movies, your favourite authors, your favourite hangouts, your past times, your hobbies, there might be a community for absolutely anything and everything !!!!Phew !!

It's definitely a better way to stay connected than Blog, if thats the only reason behind someone's blogging foray, plus thanks to the communities, it clearly outclasses hi5. Also you might even run into ur long lost buddy or ur childhood crush on Orkut. I would refrain from comparing it with YM; our beloved tool to stay in touch.

It's worth trying, all u need is a Gmail (oldies would have a different orkut id, but as now Google has taken over it, your Gmail id is all you need) but beware : it's additctive and it's a BIG BIG ocean.

It was raining yesterday. Not the torrential downfalls of water that makes moving outside similar to walking though a solid brick wall, but one of those days where the sky is a light grey and there are drops of water coming out of the sky like a lawn spinkler. I think it's a comfortable cool and making my 10 minute walk to college was like driving though a series of stunning paintings.

The horizon was a washed out water color as patches of blue and yellow peaked out though the grey in the east. The sky was darker to the south, more like an oil painting, and complimented by the occassional bits of lightning. Lower to the ground my eyes were treated to a mixure of trees with brown leaves that never quite fell down last fall, intermixed with the trees that have not only budded, but trived during the warm march we've been having, and all of them contrasting with the vivid spring grass that has already taken root in the fields

Foolishly I didn't bother pointing a camera out the window (not that I could have edited it easily if I had), but you can get an idea of how beautiful my commutes can be from watching Leaves, which I shot along the same route. Not that any quality of camera and screen could possibly instill the same feeling of beauty. While I might hate wasting time and natural resources for my commute, somedays its worth it just for the scenery.

All of this makes me wonder why everyone seems to complain about the slightest bits of "unpleasant" weather. Its a beautiful thing that should be enjoyed - life is boring if its lived in a climate controlled zone where its 20% cloudy and 20-30 degrees Centigrade. If its raining turn on some light jazz and just soak it all in.

Saturday, April 15, 2006

I swore to myself...I'd never do something adults do. I swore I wouldnt make my life sound like the biggest mystery in the history of makind by saying.."My life is very complicated". I swore I would never use this one word as a sorry excuse for the lack of being able to undo the mess one got into. And most of all...everything seemed to fall in sync with the theory of cause and effect... you did something..there was a repurcussion... then why would adults be so confused. As a kid...it seemed as if..these grown ups couldn't see somthign that was staring in theit face...the whole time!
because ...the way one saw it...you got what you deserved, you paid for what you did..... if you did something wrong you were punished,grounded sent to a room....and if you did something commendable..a toy, some candy and a big hug waited for you when you reached home.

Friday, April 14, 2006

Every day people are born and people die. Human beings come into this world and leave it—most without their names being immortalized in any history books. Millions of people have lived and worked and loved and died without making any great claims to fame or fortune.

But they aren’t forgotten—not by their friends, not by their families. And some of these people, some very special people, are not forgotten even by those who hardly knew them. My grandfather was one of these very special people.

What made him so special? Why is he remembered not only by friends and family but even by casual acquaintances? Very simply, because he was the essence of love. More than that, he was the essence of what I think of as “active” love. Just as his heart was not empty, his words were not empty.

I think he taught me everything I needed to live and make my mark in this world. He taught me everything I know. But he din't teach me everything he knows.

His lessons to me were sometimes a few words and sometimes they were long converstions. But each one molded the man I am today. I long to go back to be taught but one last time by the giant of the man with not much to say.

But all I can do is feel sad as he is gone, his lessons taught, his time here expired. I dreamed of my Grandfather last night but this time no tears fell and I awoke with a smile.

I realized he had given me one last lesson of life and love that had to be learned through the pain of death and crying. That if you hold someone you love tightly in your heart, then they will always be with you and a part of you, even in dying.

At the core of my grandfather's soul was love for his family. It is simultaneously his greatest pride and disappointment, and he loved us all with a mixture of love and resignation.

I never really understood the idea behind keeping a diary. It seemed fundamentally wrong to me as an idea...then again..thats the the thing about life....it's sometimes a blend of irony and denial...

We live our entire lives, guarding those pages...writing in them, things that are meant for us and us alone...but somewhere ..i think each of us....tries to picture a face reading through our scribbles....reacting, appreciating..no matter how much we deny it.

The fact is, some part of us ...is an exhibitionist afterall, no matter how many secrets the diary contains..and no matter the countless thoughts it holds...the fact is, we write it because one part of us...wants it to be read..

There are somethings that people say that stick with you. A quote you might have read in a book, a line in a movie...or just a random statement in a conversation....but sometimes you tend to take one random thought...and make it your own...


I don't even remember where I got mine from...but "You don't have to love people...just to be nice to 'em"...was something I made my own. And thats helped me build bridges, make friends, love what I do.

Frankly, I don't adore half the people I know, I cant possible be in love with everyone I meet on the job, and no not all my college buddies are to die for...but being nice has always been a good habbit. At first one fakes it, then one makes it a habbit..and now I think this doze of congeiniality has become such a part of life...that one realises when you walk a mile...people really do walk two in your direction.

And then you realise...you've made so many special friends where you don't shout off a roof proving each others worth to one another....you don't do special gifts and cards to say you care..and you don't really spend a lot of time talking either.....but just that morning smile..day in and day out wins over so many friends...that even though you know you're actually alone in the world...when you really need them..there will always be those friends who didn't go overboard trying to convince you they are here to stay.. you'll find them when you really need to..

Well though I understand it's a dangerous situation facing us. Fear of epidemic or the despair of not being able to eat those delicious butter chickens or kebabs.

One thing I have understood being a vegetarian once for a few days is that I really shouldn't feel guilty about eating non vegetarian food anymore coz the it's the destiny of the poor chicken to get slaughtered. Either they are now getting killed for the suspicion of being infected with the flue or they are now being preserved to be slaughtered later.

And not to forget the poor bakra's who will now become the favorites of the die-hard non-veggies. .

It's an old story I am sure you all would have read it. I just felt like pondering over it again.
As I was passing the elephants, I suddenly stopped, confused by the fact that these huge creatures were being held by only a small rope tied to their front leg.
No chains, no cages. It was obvious that the elephants could, at anytime, break away from their bonds but for some reason, they did not.
I saw a trainer near by and asked why these beautiful, magnificent animals just stood there and made no attempt to get away.
"Well," he said, "when they are very young and much smaller we use the same size rope to tie them and, at that age, it's enough to hold them.
As they grow up, they are conditioned to believe they cannot break away.
They believe the rope can still hold them, so they never try to break free."
I was amazed. These animals could at any time break free from
Their bonds but because they believed they couldn't, they were stuck right where they were.
Aren't we all stuck in some way or another? Popularly known as mind block. I wouldn't call it a disease but it sure is a handicap.
Most of us don't really know our real strength, which usually we discover in desperate circumstances. A lot of belief induced in our young minds like don't jump from the table you will hurt yourself or don't hangout with those kids they are bad influence stick with us for the rest of our life.
This may even be one of the reasons of generation gap? Maybe!!
So many things we have been told to do or not to do have come in handy in our lives but also has limited us to some extent.
Like the elephants, how many of us go through life hanging onto a belief that we cannot do something, simply because we failed at it once before?
How many of us are being held back by old, outdated beliefs that nolonger serve us?
How many of us have avoided trying something new because of a limiting
belief?
Worse, how many of us are being held back by someone else's limiting beliefs?