Chak De India - We like to dream!

While watching this movie, I too go caught up in the story and the fantasy of India winning the Women's Hockey World Cup (!). But as the movie ended my brain started screaming 'wake up!'

The girls are cute and the casting was done really well. A mainstream movie, for once, highlights real life issues like the hypocrisy of people, the segregation based on States and the problems faced by people from the North-East. It tries to show achievement of great things by a diverse group of people. Addresses the neglect of all sports in India except Cricket especially the women's teams.
But most of the issues seem to be inserted for the heck of it. One doesn't see or hear of them ever again (for example women in sports and the problems faced by people from North-East). These seem to be inserted to appeal to the people and to try and ground this movie in reality.

They also used some real hockey players (State and National Teams) in this movie. Komal Chautala is a state and national level player (real name: Chitrashi Rawat). But no where in the movie do they acknowledge the fact. Many people I am sure would have been un-aware of this fact. They could have shown it along with the titles.

The movies tries to be about overcoming odds and success over difficult circumstances/fighting the system. But in the end it is about Shah-rukh Khan getting his respect back. The movie ends and begins with Shah-rukh Khan. After winning the 'Women's World Cup' the last we see of the Indian team is their arrival at the airport! We don't even see how their families react or what happens to their problems!

The movie also zips through certain places without actually making any sense. For example the issue with 'man to man marking' seems to have been added in just to allow the girl with the ego to re-enter the team. The entire scene is just about 1min 10sec long and the main tactic for beating man-to-man marking seems to be few hand signals.

As a friend pointed out, the real players are overshadowed by the professional actors who were cast for the role. Furthermore all the major roles have gone to professional actors.

To conclude this, I think this movie tried to show everything. The scope was just too big. There have been many successful 'sports' movies with much smaller scope. For example: Hip Hip Hurray, Lagaan and Jo Jeeta Wahi Sikandar. This tells us that to prove a point one need not show the team winning a World Cup. One can base it much closer to reality rather than make the movie into one long dream!

But in the end I hope the people don't think of it as a dream and once the movie is over, go back to their lives and narrow world views. Hope this does bring a change in people. Change is one thing that we need, as a nation, as a people, as a race.

Change in the way we dream, the change in the way we think about certain things and a change in what we believe.

My Perfect Two Week Wedding!

My perfect wedding should have lots of mystery.
It should have a duality about it. One side for the public, one side for the families and close friends.
So have three functions:

1) Cocktails / Dancing - for my alcohol loving friends! And family members and general public! The best booze, the best music and the best food!

2) Marriage - for everyone. Night muhurat (I wish!) because I feel night weddings are amazing and mysterious. As the new day breaks you also enter into a new life!

3) Reception - the rocking grand finale. In a VERY VERY posh place. Formal and informal both. So that my friends get a chance to dress up in their best clothes!


The key is not to have these functions in one go. But to space them out! So one weekend have the cocktails then next weekend have the marriage and the weekend after that have the reception.
That will give everyone time to recover and will allow having small gatherings in between. Therefore by the end of the 2 week wedding my friends and family will know my wife-to-be through and through and hopefully I will know the people on my wife's side as well!

It might pose certain problems because out of station visitors may not be able to get away for so long. But well, 2 functions can be combined I guess.. or spaced across a weekend.

Of course in all this one has to take the girl's opinion into mind as well!

Talking about weddings.. here is what a friend suggested:

PK: c u can try something like getting married on moon

or may be in a space ship

me: :D

waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah

u mean to say

PK: :) hahahhaha

me: next 40-50 year i am not gonna get married?

:D coz i am sure all this wont be possible any time soon... even if it becomes possible in the next 10 years it will be expensive n i will have to wait to EARN that much money! ;)

Air of Triumph!

Title: Air of Triumph

An inspirational picture. The background of this picture may not be clear to someone who has not played this game. What you see is a human knight in armour standing on a rock. What you don't see is that in front of him is a vast Orc army waiting to attack. Behind him is the equally big Human army.

Whenever I am sad, depressed due to some big problem that has just landed in my lap, I look at this picture and put myself in the shoes (or armour!) of the knight. Looking through the helmet, above the shield, at the vast army ahead of me. Each one waiting to take me down. The heat. The sweat. The blazing sun. I always imagine the air of triumph. To motivate me. To make me fight on. However bleak the odds might be. However tough things might seem.

Also it reminds me. I have my own army. People who care about me, my intelligence, my experience, my luck, my good deeds. These are my army. They will back me up.

God willing, I shall triumph over my problems and live to fight another day.

It is from the game WarCraft III. More desktop art from the game (including this picture) can be found here.

AC-130H 'Spectre' gunship

The AC-130H Spectre gunship is one of my favourite military aircraft. I just love the concept! Combination of artillery and aircraft!

First some data:

Primary

Function: Close air support, air interdiction and force protection
Builder: Lockheed/Boeing Corp.
Power Plant: Four Allison T56-A-15 turboprop engines
Thrust: 4,910 shaft horsepower each engine
Length: 97 feet, 9 inches (29.8 meters)
Height: 38 feet, 6 inches (11.7 meters)
Wingspan: 132 feet, 7 inches (40.4 meters)
Speed: 300 mph (Mach .4) (at sea level)
Range: Approximately 1,300 nautical miles; unlimited with air refueling.
Ceiling: 25,000 feet (7,576 meters
Maximum Take-off Weight: 155,000 pounds (69,750 kilograms)
Armament: AC-130H: 40mm and 105mm cannons; AC-130U: 40mm and 105mm cannons and 25mm Gatling gun. AC-130Us are being retrofitted with 30mm Mk-44 single barrel cannons in place of the 40mm cannon and the 25mm Gatling gun.
Crew: AC-130U - Five officers (pilot, co-pilot, navigator, fire control officer, electronic warfare officer) and eight enlisted (flight engineer, TV operator, infrared detection set operator, loadmaster, four aerial gunners)
Deployment Date: AC-130H, 1972; AC-130U, 1995
Unit Cost: AC-130H, $132.4 million; AC-130U, $190 million (fiscal 2001 constant dollars)
Inventory: Active duty: AC-130H, 8; AC-130U, 17; Reserve, 0; ANG, 0

Here is a picture:
Here is a video:

This is the kind of firepower you would want to call in, if you have irritating neighbours. This baby can flatten stuff from miles away in the air, that too quite neatly. No messy bombs required. Its 105 mm canon firing from such height gives the round large amounts of kinetic energy. If more precise targeting is required then one can always use the Gatling guns (firing about 600 rounds a minute) with its 25mm calibre or the 40mm canon.

Brings water to my mouth! :D

Check out the video for a demonstration of its fire-power.

Life is a Game of Numbers

1195551 represents many things.

All added together it equals 9.

Taken individually it covers 3 out of the 10 basic digits (1, 5 and 9)

How funny can numbers be. They define our identity. They make us what we are!
I have always appreciated the role these numbers play in our life. How they make us feel more confidant. How they make us believe in who we are.
When one writes down their passport number, on a form for example, don't we feel satisfied that we have a proof of identity as solid as a valid passport! That whoever challenges our identity we can confidently hand out our passport and prove who we are.

Then comes the second important number. The credit/debit card number. You are surely doomed without it. As cheques are increasingly frowned upon, only a credit or debit card can allow you to make most purchases. Otherwise carry a wad of cash around with you (which is quite risky!). If you want to shop on-line, well then you really are sunk without a credit/debit card number!

Each of these numbers represents a different side of us. Each is associated with different sets of information. From financial to personal, from health to wealth. These numbers guard and reveal all our information.

Let us see how many numbers does an average person need to be completely defined:
1) Passport/Social Security/Income Tax number - for proof of identity.
2) Credit/Debit/Account number - for financial transactions.
3) Phone number - for social transactions.
4) Driving Licence number - for transportation, alternate proof of identity.

So an average person who drives a car is defined by four numbers and an average person without a car is defined by three numbers.

If we loose even one of these numbers our world is shaken and we feel 'lost'.
Such is the power of numbers.

:)

Karishma Tanna

Karishma Tanna is one of the small screen actresses that I really like! She is tall and has a great smile!

Currently she is working in 2-3 soaps and is a contestant in the 'Comedy Circus' show on Sony TV.
What is also quite unusual about her is her surname: Tanna.

I was not sure which community she belonged to. So I did a bit of Googling and here is what I came up with:
Wikipedia informs us that 'Tanna' is a last name common among Lohanas who are basically a Gujurati - Hindu trading community.

Here are two pics of this cutie (if you want more just Google her name or click here):

51/50 Day

A 51/50 day is the kind of day when everything seems to be falling into place. You feel in complete control as if God had revealed your future for that day.

This comes from an incident which happened to me few years ago. Me and my friends were giving an exam. It was a Master's level module on System Failure that we were being examined on. In that exam we had a Critical Path Method question. The answer to which was 51/50.

The moment, the exam ended, I knew my answer was correct. I just knew it. A gut instinct. Was feeling supremely confidant. So I turned to my friend, who was looking a bit nervous, and said '51/50'. He gave me a big smile and I knew that it was a perfect day for me!

For D

Well Mr. D. Didn't know you or anything about you except that you were 95 years old.
We shared something.

You again reminded me that life doesn't stop for anyone or anything. It keeps on going.

It was my date with death. Thank you for it. It will be remembered.

I hope you are happier where you are now.

Independence Day

I shall never forget this day. 15th August 2007 I gained my freedom. I gained my freedom just like India did 60 years ago.
India was anything but the confidant and strong nation that it is today. It was born crippled with communal tensions and aggressive neighbours. It survived. The nation survived. It went on to make something of itself.

True steel is tested not at time of war but at time of peace. How does it weather the peace? Will it rust into a powder? Will it shine again in times of war? War is but a blink of an eye between two intervals of peace. A mere interlude.

It is in peacetime when future wars are won and lost. As a famous quote tells us:

"At times of peace prepare for war".

War doesn't come upon you after lengthy debates every time. Often it creeps up on cat's paws as you sleep the sweet sleep of life. It stands upon your bed. Looking down upon your face. Relishing in its black heart the pain and shock it is going to cause you. The twist it is going to give your life.

Coming back to India. We find ourselves again in a time of peace. But the next war is always around the corner. The next period of struggle is just over the horizon. Are we prepared? Do the shopping malls and the presence of luxury brands indicate preparation for future struggles or do they indicate the removal of stones from the protective wall to build buildings of pleasure?

Do we, as humans, deserve any peace in our lives? Or are we cursed forever to look out for what is around the bend and best prepare ourselves for it, keeping in mind, that most probably, we will be overwhelmed? There will have to be a certain non-zero percentage of 'acceptable loss'?

This 'acceptable loss' is the price of freedom. It is what allows us to sleep at night as soldiers and civilians alike are killed across India. We know, others die so that we can live, we can buy our cars and our watches and our televisions. But what we don't realise is the fact that as the acceptable losses start eating away at our base, without preparation one day soon, we shall find ourselves being counted in that percentage.

On an unrelated note, I wonder how big a percentage loss is 1cm diameter piece of our body?
Is it an 'acceptable loss'? Strangely enough the 9mm bullet (one of the common calibres) is about 1cm in diameter (since 1cm = 10mm).

Raste ka maal saste mein

Me: coz very few girls think im a normal guy, u see, i dont have a wide choice

lagta hai mujhe apni neelami karwani padegi 'raste ka maal saste mein',

'arre koi to le jao, token amount hi de jaao'

A: this is an interesting thot process being shared with a gal,

if u l ytell this to ne gal other than me, i doubt tht they l call u normal.

Crazy.. Me?

azahar*it is always gud to be a bit crazy for people u care...try it u will understand what m saying

This was a comment from someone.

:D

They want me to be crazier than I am now. Its a first!

But I don't think the world is ready for that yet.

Maybe after I get MARRIED I'll be crazy enough to please 'you'?

;)

The Year of Death

The year was 2002.

The one year of my life when I lost four people I really respected. Four people I really liked.

1 Friend
1 Grandmother
2 Uncles

Someone once told me that I am a very cold person. I think in 2002 I hit absolute zero.
In theoretical physics at absolute zero temperature a system neither emits nor absorbs energy.
My emotional temperature was just that. I was neither absorbing nor emitting emotions within me.

That was, I feel the completion of my education in Death.
But , then again, when your doing a degree in Death, you only graduate when you die. You always keep learning. See it in new forms around you.

Why did I write this post? Well because today I was struck with a thought: why do we worry so much when we are all going to die one day? What is the source of continuous human progress when human themselves are not permanent.

I remember having this discussion with a friend few months ago. I think it is because we spend so little time alive, we want to leave our mark. Then some people are too intoxicated with life that they don't see death.

Plus there are the social rules that one has to follow which makes us live. From the moment we are born, we don't comprehend the shortness of life. Normally by the time we reach that level of maturity our childhood is over (if you are lucky) and we are caught up in the day to day struggles of adult life. That is what keeps us surging ahead. I wonder do we ever live for ourselves? Especially when we reach adulthood? Or is it always about other people?

I think most of us live because we were born.

Its like we are serving out a prison sentence. The same way prisoners don't have a choice about their daily routine; they get up, shower, eat and sleep at fixed times. Similarly life seems to have a routine. Grow up, prepare for life, get a job, get married, produce kids, take care of kids, prepare them for life, get them settled, grow old and die.


A cynical view but then it is just that, a point of view. One of many that I have on this subject.

:)

The Crow

People once believed that when someone dies, a Crow carries their soul to the land of the dead, but sometimes something so bad happens that a terrible sadness is carried with it and the soul can't rest. Then sometimes, just sometimes, the Crow can bring the soul back and put the wrong things right.

From: 'The Crow' comic book.

I hope when I die, I do meet this mythical Crow and convince him to bring my soul back. So that I can set the wrong things right. I know a terrible sadness shall be carried with my soul. Therefore my chances of convincing the Crow are quite high!

My question to you is, what price would you pay to set wrong things right? Would you sacrifice your essence, your soul? What is the price of your life? What is the price of your soul?

Is your price end of world hunger? Is your price end of war? Is your price the birth of an idea (like Shaheed Bhagat Singh) that brings change?

Would you give up life and soul if the above price was offered to you? Would you really? Or would you prefer to turn your back and continue living?

Die Hard 4: YAAAAAAAAAAAAWN HARDER

Die Hard 4 was not as good as I thought it would be.
In my opinion it is the worst of the series. Before this I thought the second one was the worst but now I can say with confidence, this latest one is the worst.

I think, besides the unrealistic plot (most movies about hacking are SO far removed from reality that you end up laughing!) the whole movie stank of repetition.
Few minutes into the movie Bruce Willis has been shot at, bloodied and bruised!

Die Hard 1 was about few floors in a high-rise building.
Die Hard 2 was about a large airport (say couple of square kilometeres?).
Die Hard 3 was about a city (New York)
Die Hard 4 is about half the US East Coast!
Logically extrapolating...
Die Hard 5 is going to about saving the world perhaps?

All in all the action sequences are good. But the dialogs, situations and acting seems bit repetitive. There is no real 'twist' in the story like there was in Die Hard 1, 2 AND 3.

One thing that is good about the movie is the fact that you see lots of things blowing up. From power plants to aircrafts!

Go watch it 'coz its there in the theatres! But don't expect anything special.

Diamonds! A Girls best friend!

Showing girls best friend... so that I can make a few 'girl type' best friends. ;)

LADIES! Please comment on the designs (they are from Tiffany's). Lets see what kind of stuff girls like these days.

Have been requested to explain what does 'girl type' friends means:

It means human beings who can be categorised as 'females' by anatomical analysis even if in their behavior they are not 'girl like'.

I ain't Alcoholic!

Talking about an old picture with a friend:

Me: that picture was taken in 2003

T: aain u have some drink in ur hand.. so thats one thing that hasnt changed hehehe

Me: :D

n till my liver is working and pocket has money, shall never change,

Machwe will be seen with a drink in hand and smile on face.

Talking about marriage, wishing a friend well:

Me: Hope you find the woman of your dreams this year.

M: tere mu mein teri manpasand daru... (may you get your favourite alcohol to drink*).


*Back home we have this saying for whenever someone predicts / wishes something nice for you. It goes something like 'tere mu mein ghee shakkar' - basically meaning may you get to eat what you enjoy the most (coz you said good words through your mouth.


So people don't think of me as an alcoholic! I just love to drink!

Engagement Rings!

I found these two pictures of engagement rings on my hard disk (don't ask me how they got there!). Really impressed with their design. So here they are:

Job Titles and Bullshit

Was talking about my job with a friend. She happened to mention that the job 'sounds important'.

Which made me realise the fact that more important a job sounds higher the percentage of bullshit in it!

Top Level Domain Names - A Friendly Guide

Top level domains... now what the heck are these and why should I read this post?

Let me answer the second question first...

Why should you read this post?

You will be surprised to know top level domains (TLDs) are encountered by us every time we surf the internet. Equally surprising is the fact that many people are unaware of what they mean (especially those not in the IT sector) and how useful they can be in figuring out the nature of the website (without even visiting it!).
Moreover many websites have names which might give a false or wrong impression, prompting you to click the link. But due to the strict control on TLDs their true nature can be found by just looking at the FULL address.

So read on, it might save you a few useless clicks when you are looking for that important piece of information!


What is a Top Level Domain (TLD)?

Generally domain names (or main website addresses) are of the following format:

www.WEBSITE_NAME.X X X

(e.g. www.yahoo.com, www.google.com, www.amazon.com)

OR

www.WEBSITE_NAME._ _ _.X X

(e.g. www.yahoo.co.in, www.google.co.uk, www.homeoffice.gov.uk)

Now top level domain is the bit (in italics in the examples above) after the main website name (which is highlight/bold).

The Internet Assigned Numbers Authority classifies top level domains into three categories but here we will discuss only the two important ones which you are most likely to encounter on a daily basis:

1) Country-code top level domains (ccTLD): used by countries as top level domains. Used by country specific versions of various sites. For example Google UK has the following address:
www.google.co.uk where the ccTLD is .uk similarly for Google India the address is www.google.co.in where the ccTLD is .in. This shows that the site is particular to that country.

Why do you need to bother with country specific sites?
An example to answer the above question: If you reside in UK and you go to Amazon.com (the US version of the site) it will not sell you many of the available products and ask you instead to go to Amazon.co.uk and purchase the product from that site. This is due to copyright and other legal restrictions.

2) Generic top level domains (gTLD): used by particular type of organisation. For example .mil (as in military) is used by the US Armed forces for their websites (http://www.navy.mil/ - US Navy). Similarly .com (as in commercial) is widely used by companies. The gTLD .gov (as in government) is used by US goverment bodies (e.g. www.fbi.gov - The Federal Bureau of Investigation)

These are often combined with ccTLDs to give country and role specific sites. For example all UK government websites end with .gov.uk and for Indian government websites it is .gov.in (http://www.indianrail.gov.in - website of Indian Railways) or for country specific commercial sites such as Amazon.co.uk (.co is same as .com both standing for commercial websites) and eBay.co.in.

USING TLDs

TIP 1:
When looking for government/country related information (such as passport information, visa, tourist information etc.) concentrate on websites with addresses ending with .gov.XX or .gov (for USA) specific to that country. Therefore if you are looking for information on Australia start with sites having names ending with .gov.au. Many commercial websites have an official sounding name such as in the ad highlighted by the red box in the image below.

The website name is www.indianvisaheadoffice.co.uk
What strikes a casual user is the main website name: indianvisaheadoffice which may be mistaken as a Government of India website especially if the user is in a hurry and doesn't read the ad carefully (which doesn't clarify that it is NOT affiliated with the Indian Government and that it is a commercial website!).

But the FULL ADDRESS gives it away! Looking at the TLD we see it is .co.uk which means it is a COMMERCIAL (.co) website specifically for the UK (.uk)

TIP 2:
When looking for products look on the country specific website first (if present). Thus if you are looking for a book and you reside in UK, search Amazon.co.uk first. All the top retailers and brands have country specific websites (for major countries). For an accurate idea of products available in your country go to the country specific website first!
Usually the smaller brands and retailers do not have country specific websites, instead they operate out of a single .com address with or without country specific sections in the website (an example would be www.WEBSITE_NAME.com/uk/some_page.html - pointing to UK specific webpage within a standard commercial website).
Don't worry if you type in the country specific address and the browser takes you to a .com version of the site. Most probably the country specific domain points to the same site with a redirection to the country specific content.

TIP 3:
If you are still confused about a particular website then go to http://www.who.is and type in the full website address to find out registration information about the domain name.

Click here to view the WHOIS information about my website (www.pisceslab.com)



FINALLY
A full list of ccTLDs and gTLDs can be found here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Internet_top-level_domains

The BIG Chivas Regal

Bin is our Bar

The Dust-bin Drinks Club

Yummy, the final drink!