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June 17th, 2008
05:31 pm - Bill O'Reilly show
Happened to see the Bill O'Reilly show today more for curiosity than anything. Was curious to see how such people can manipulate news and events and give it a conservative twist. Was disappointed in a way, since he talked about this ad from moveon.org, and failed to convince me or anyone for that matter, that this Ad was stupid.
For some reason he thought this Ad was funny, though he acknowledged that Baby Alex would be sent to war but, not before 21. Oh well, time to get back to work.
Current Location: Sunnyvalu
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/marcus/beheadedboy/93.gif) full
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May 6th, 2008
09:57 am - Funny
Was getting my daily dose of NPR today morning, and this is what I heard ..
News item X:
Hundreds of job cuts at University of Florida, and thousands of cuts in admissions - reason $46 million budget cuts by the state
News item X+1:
Senate to approve 1.6 Billion dollars for War in Iraq ..
Funny .. well, not so funny.
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/marcus/beheadedboy/88.gif) working
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March 30th, 2008
01:11 am - Golden gate bridge finally
Its almost been a month since I moved here, and I finally got a chance to spend a whole weekend in the city. (so I think, the weekend is not over yet). I took this opportunity, to just chillout today. Got a haircut, *walked* to the place, had an afternoon nap, and then did something I had wanted to do for long time in the evening before sunset. As stupid as it may sound, I went to the Golden Gate bridge. Its a near spiritual experience for me to head to Marin Headlands. and just be awed by the surrounding beauty - natural and manmade. On my far right is the mighty Pacific Ocean, the full span of the Golden Gate Bridge right in front in its characteristic colour and grandeur, with the city of San Francisco in the backdrop. The mostly Victorian houses up and down the hills in Presidio, which is slightly to the right, look like a "Benki Pattana" arrangement. No noises, just the humming sound of the breeze. Not many tourists either. Massive ships entering and leaving the bay under the bridge make it picture perfect. I have joked to several of my friends, that one good reason to move to SF, is to goto Golden Gate Bride every weekend :)
( Some pix taken from phone )
Current Location: SOMA, SF
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/marcus/beheadedboy/26.gif) satisfied
Current Music: Random hiphop on 94.9
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March 13th, 2008
11:44 pm - Move to San Francisco ..
So, its been a week and a half since I moved to San Francisco. Living in Downtown (or very near it) had been a wish ever since I realized what Sunnyvale (aka Sunnyvalu) offered. The wish came true after I worked out a seemingly (cross my fingers) fragile sublet arrangement with a friend.
Some things that became very apparent:
- The Sunnyvale apartment was bigger than what I actually needed. The studio here feels just perfect. Everything's virtually at an arm's reach.
- Living near downtown (7th st), has its own ups and downs. Just walking a couple of blocks feels lively, there are so many people around. But albeit, most of the people are homeless people.
- The best part of down town is just a stroll away, and today I did walk up to Union Square and chilled out. Its quite refreshing than I thought. Just got to make a few friends now.
- Its possible to finally get into a routine.
- Living without a car is more convenient than I thought, put the other way - Having is a car is a pain, unless you are ready to spend the additional bucks for safe and secure parking.
- Its quite acceptable to look for free parties, and free events.
- Oh yeah, the essential SF fame. Turn on the radio, and its not uncommon to find an RJ on the air who's gay.
Its been so far so good. Will keep posting more.
Current Location: SOMA, SF
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/marcus/beheadedboy/49.gif) sleepy
Current Music: Calabria 2007
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12:28 am - Howdy ..
One of my friends, Devadutta, has been doing something novel. He and some of his friends run this site called BoiledBeans.net, yes it is named after Bengaluru. The idea is to post a puzzle (random topic, not just tech related) and put out the answers after a day or so. Some of the puzzles are brilliant, BTW.
Here's the link - www.boiledbeans.net. Get hooked on, if interested.
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January 20th, 2008
06:24 pm - Thus went the weekend ..
On Friday night, as if to celebrate India's emphatic win, I went out with ![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) belurk, nice night out .. And in the evening on Saturday, went and watched this Paki movie called "Khuda Ke Liye". Nice movie. The movie seems to be too dramatic to the extent that its impossible to believe its true. Its a movie about how a moderately liberal Muslim family in Pakistani gets entangled in the crisis before and after 9/11. The plot is nice, but a bit overdone which does not leave the sting that it was intended to leave I guess. Its still good in bits and pieces. Would recommend watching it.
Went climbing again today. Happy that I am doing it for the 3rd consecutive week. So, overall nice weekend. Continued with my lengthy discussions with friends, chilled out, watched a movie, some sport and now let me get some work done :)
Current Location: 14-Desk
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/marcus/beheadedboy/68.gif) calm
Current Music: Random crap on RadioTeenTaal
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January 19th, 2008
10:30 am - Cannot hide my gleeeeee
What made the win special:
- Against Australia in Australia
- Against Australia in Australia
- Against Australia in Australia
- Against Australia in Australia
- Against Australia in Australia
- Against Australia in Australia
- Against Australia in Australia
- Against Australia in Perth
- Against Australia in Perth after the Sydney drama
- It was India that had last beaten Australia in Australia and that was 4 years ago
- It came on a Friday evening ..
Jai Hind :)
Current Location: 14-Sofa
Current Music: Random crap on RadioTeenTaal
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January 13th, 2008
08:50 pm - Location detection on Google maps phone app
So, I added a data plan to my existing phone connection to really "use" all the nice features in my phone. BTW, I bought a Sony Ericsson W580, mainly because I think they are some of the best makers of phone software. That the hardware was nice too, was a bonus. Anyway, so I downloaded the Google Maps java application, and instantly it showed my "approximate" location on the map. The actual location was about 300 meters away, but not bad I thought. But I was wondering how could Google detect this ? The maps server needs some support from the client. Probably the java application on the phone is querying some location information and passing it on to the server.
Yep, my guess was right. There is a standards based Location API for in the Java Wireless Kit.
http://jcp.org/en/jsr/detail?id=179
Very interesting ! The maps application had some limitations though, some were obvious - there was no way to set my "home" location. I was able to lookup directions, and use it as a pesudo-GPS, but the biggest problem was that the "my location" was not getting updated in realtime. That makes sense I guess, updating the "my location" may lead to updating the route based on some "approximate" location, which will only end up making the directions very flaky.
Current Location: 14-Desk
Current Mood: calm
Current Music: Green Day - Wake Me Up When September Ends
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08:11 pm - Deccan Odyssey among top 25 trains
Trains have been a fascination for me for the longest time I can remember. Have sweet memories of chucku-bukku coal engine trains, and the way coal was constantly tossed into the furnace. Then came the Diesel engines, and there was meter gauge, broad gauge. Unfortunately, haven't traveled much in trains though :( The best I did was Mangalore to Goa on the Konkan Rail. Pix are here and here. Oh yeah, I traveled from Shimoga town to Talaguppa on a Ashok Leyland train once. That was quite memorable too. Fortunately, the love did not die after I moved to the US of A. Quite to the surprise/shock of lot of people, I did a 22 hour Amtrak journey ("Lakeshore Limited") from New York City to Chicago in 2005. Did not get to see much, but it was an experience. I have set my eyes on doing a journey from Chicago to San Francisco on the once-famous "California Zephyr" train. Some day for sure !
Now, I read this is today's edition of Bangalore newspaper Deccan Herald.
...
The Society of International Railway Travelers, which celebrates its 25th year in 2008, said some on the list are over-the-top luxury, such as the all-first-class “Golden Eagle Trans-Siberian Express,” Rovos Rail’s “Pride of Africa” and India’s “Deccan Odyssey”.
...
Source: Deccan Herald
The website for the train says that a 7 day on-the-train tour costs about $400. How I wish I was in India ...
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Its been a nice weekend, this one. Went rock climbing today too. Second time in 8 days, good by my record. I did a 5.10a level climb today. I realized I have such weak arms, just couldn't pull myself up at times. Then, there was the dreaded cramp. I just have to stretch out more and work out during the weekdays.
Current Location: 14-Desk
Current Mood: calm
Current Music: Random crap on comcast radio
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January 6th, 2008
12:06 pm - Charlie Wilson's War
Watched this movie yesterday in San Fracisco. The movie is about a Texas Democratic Congressman "Charlie Wilson" who singlehandedly mobilizes support for the Afghans against the invading Russians. It is a good movie I feel. Highlights:
- colorful lives of public personalities
- the context in which the US supported the Afghans, the way it was done, and the aftermath is shown really well.
If you look at the global picture of things, and lot of history, its easy to miss what Charlie Wilson did, and instead blame the US for screwing the world. But, if you localize your context and just think about what how the Afghans drove out the Russians and what made that happen, this movie and Charlie Wilson must get a tons of accolades. Needless to say anything about acting and such - Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts and Philip Seymour Hoffman as as good as they can get. Its a treat to watch 3 academy winners together in the same movie. There's Om Puri too, BTW.
Current Location: 14-Desk
Current Music: Phew .. just wating for Gururaj
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January 4th, 2008
07:58 am - Snow and Rain in Nor Cal !
= more greenery, esp. along the hills on the east side of I-280.
= good time to start the winter activities in the Sierra
Yay !!
Current Location: 14-Bed
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/marcus/beheadedboy/15.gif) happy
Current Music: Lebanese Lounge
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December 4th, 2007
11:40 pm - No car, biking .. and few other things
After I had to give up my car under unfortunate circumstances, I did not realize how different life would turn out to be, till after a few days. So, many things which would "just happen" with the car, had to be planned now. One such was "getting to work". From a lazy 10 AM, to 7ish AM, starting the day earlier has been a good feeling. Going early can mean coming back early, which can mean doing other things in the evening, like watching movies .. or chilling out otherwise. But, must admit, evenings are as boring/interesting as earlier, but I am spending at home.
Now, coming to the "getting to office" part, I am biking + taking the train + taking the bus. Overall, it takes about 20 mins more, but the feeling is good. A Starbucks coffee and a sandwich on the way makes the morning really special. Did not want to settle for a Walmart/Target bike, so, went a bought a decent one from - a Hybrid one.
 So, it doesn't end there. Since, I bought a good bike, went out on starter biking enthusiast rides of about 10-12 miles and thoroughly enjoyed them. In fact, plan to go biking pretty regularly now. Hail biking :) PS: Of course, when it pours or when I feel lazy again, I rely on karthiks
Current Location: 14-Futon
Current Mood: calm
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November 27th, 2007
10:34 pm - Joke of the century
Was speaking to my grandma ..
Me: hoo kanajji hosa car thagobeku
Ajji: Thagolade Thagotheeya, olle Ambassador car ne thagoLLo ..
I just burst out into peels of laughter .. Hail Ajji !
Lets see, this could be the translation in RK Narayan English:
Me: Yes Ajji, I will have to buy a new car. You see cars don't come cheap nowadays.
Ajji: Why don't you buy a good car like Ambassador ? During our times, only respectable families could own an Ambassador.
Current Location: 14-Desk
Current Mood: calm
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October 1st, 2007
01:26 pm - Chak De India ...
 =))
Current Location: shh
Current Mood: calm
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September 30th, 2007
02:27 am - Speed TV Sucks
So, I get a Comcast cable connection just to watch Formula 1, and Speed which is supposed to carry F1 at 4:30 AM EST is showing selling milkshakes. Totally sucks.
Current Location: 14-SW Corner
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/marcus/beheadedboy/1.gif) aggravated
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September 26th, 2007
09:29 pm - Ubuntu Still Rules ..
So, its been about a month or so, since I switched over to Ubuntu at home. As I wrote here, it was super doopar wave of fresh air. One thing about Ubuntu is, it feels so complete. Nothing too flashy yet, but I don't feel like missing anything from Windows using the default install. Evolution still suck compared to Outlook, but with time, it can only get better. I see the Ubuntu maintainers are being quite proactive in pulling great features from the mainline kernel. One of the things was the Wireless stack. Mainline kernel 2.6.22 got a new wireless stack, but I got adopted in the Ubuntu kernel in 2.6.20 or earlier itself. So, it feels great that someone is trying to improve things quite aggressively, unlike say RHEL which still sucks.
Anyway, I'll go back to my update manager to install some updates.
Current Location: 14-floor
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September 25th, 2007
03:11 am - Kite Runner
 For only the second time in my life have I started and finished a fiction book ! .. and in record time - 2 weeks. Yay to myself !! I heard about Kite Runner from Delip and went to Borders and paid the extra 4 bucks it takes to buy in a bookshop and bought the book, since I wanted to read something badly. The book luckily did not let me down: - Very well written - Great narration - Manages to keep my curiosity and interest, esp towards the latter half - It manages to show the ill effects of the happenings in Afghanistan, in a subtle way - Since there are lot of references to the SF Bay Area, the reading makes it very personal - The narration is peppered with Afghani words and phrases, lot of which are common with Urdu. But, one of them I liked a lot. "Zindagi Migzara" - Life goes on Now, I hear they are making a movie of this Novel. Will for sure watch it.
Current Location: 14-SW Corner
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/marcus/beheadedboy/14.gif) exhausted
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03:01 am - Motorola V9
Was casually browsing the Web today only to stumble upon a new version of Mot Razr, called V9 this time. V3 -> V9, whatever. The phone looked decent, in terms of features. Battery life sucked still. So, was thinking I should get one.
The main complaint I have with my Sony Ericsson W600i is the form factor. It so sticks out in my pocket, in a rather awkward way. So, my next phone MUST be thin. And I am a big fan of flip phones. So, something like Razr is tailormade for me. If only it had better software .. and battery life. It is kinda against the trend to not want something hi-tech like an iPhone or a smart phone, but, frankly, these are the only things I really care for in a phone, in the same order of preference:
- Excellent voice quality
- Great form factor, Decent speed, Battery life
- Powerful address book
- Decent Browser
- Quad Band
- Bluetooth
- A quick noteit kind of app.
- Camera
- Messaging
V9 has an Opera Browser, so did the Blackberrys. I'll probably see one for myself before deciding.
Current Location: 14-SW Corner
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/marcus/beheadedboy/112.gif) by cough
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September 5th, 2007
10:10 am - Yay Uthappa ..
Never imagined that following cricket over phone with live commentary at the other end was so exciting ..
Yay Uthappa ..
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/cricket/england/6978311.stm
Current Location: 14-SWCorner
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/marcus/beheadedboy/64.gif) content
Current Music: Swades - Yeh Jo Des Hai Mera
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August 27th, 2007
02:11 am - bad movies ..
Note to myself: Keep away from bad movies ...
Eg. Rush Hour, Heyy Babyy ..
I lose much more than 3 hours when I watch such movies.
Current Location: 14-SWcorner
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/marcus/beheadedboy/7.gif) crappy
Current Music: Mastradio Crap
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