Oh yes, did i forget to mention my “glog” a.k.a Geek Log has been made a tad bit more professional and moved to TechCroon.com. The theme hasn’t been setup, but most of my posts from glog.kaushikgopal.com have been imported there. Please feel free to step there and comment to your heart’s glory.

So the HAWT news is how India has Kick Butt at the Oscars this time with Slumdog Millionaire. A couple of things I feel appropriate to highlight.

I always had this notion that the Oscars was more of a social-movies-award. They gave Russel Crowe the Oscar for Gladiator. He truly deserved it for a Beautiful mind. Denzel Washington got it for Training Day(beating Beautiful mind) which seems illogical and we all know it was more for the whole African-American sensitivity issue. You see Will Smith should have won it for Ali, but he didn’t and in my humble opinion they didn’t want to seem racist the next year and thus gave it to Denzel (Irony being they got caught in the racket they tried to avoid).Don’t get me wrong all these actors are spectacular (DW being one of my favorites), it’s just that sometimes performances shouldn’t unduly be deemed oscar-winning.

This time around, in the 81st Academy Awards , A.R.Rahman won two Oscars and I’m sure the world would agree when I state boldly that he truly deserves the honor. Again if Slumdog millionaire deserves it for the best motion picture is highly doubtful (Let’s face it my desi-brothers, the movie was good but not mind blowing), it was a simple-warm-cozy story and that’s about it. Nothing earth-shattering. Again I think the hype of the underdog getting somewhere and the hope for it winning the oscars enabled Slumdog to bag the best motion picture oscar (Mind you, again I’m talking only of the best motion picture award).
I’m ecstatic that ARR bagged two. I hope this shoves those moronic critics who kept saying ARR uses too much technology, he doesn’t have that “genuineness” in his music. Ahem, I believe I strongly opposed these yahoos back then(Allow me this gloat).

I’m a music enthusiast and I truly relish ARR’s music. Some of his compositions even to this day remain the best in the world. Buzz me if you want a list of must-listen-to-ARR songs. If you’ll excuse me now, my boss is wondering why the hell I have this 42 teeth smile on my face.

I was swept of my feet with this movie(get it :P). It has this typical-frustratingly-awesome ending of concealing what really happens. Check out my review of The Wrestler at reelsuave.com. If you’re a film buff, you’ll LOVE the site…. has loads of hot-stuff, content and updates. I plan on doing all my movie reviews(1 and counting :P) there, Feel free to contribute and comment!

A similar movie I wrote about once which has this indefinite story-telling pattern is No Country for Old Men. Also two movies that taught me to appreciate the Romance genre: Before Sunrise, Before Sunset.

After completing my board exams back in 2006, I was a whooping 100kg. My immediate chair-bound sitcom-loving life in college didn’t help one bit. I’m a decent 73 today. I’ve done a tonne of research regarding the matter and continue to research ways on getting fitter. The following series of posts is what worked, what didn’t, what I needed to know and what could have been done differently. Most of this is a compilation and largely taken from reliable sources. That being said, you have to understand there are quite a few areas where contradictions are plenty. I have tried my level best to resolve such matters and make the most sense out of it all.

I plan to split this into a series of posts on fitness cause one jurassic post with all the information would serve no purpose, there are tonnes of them out there already. I want these posts to serve as both inspiration and proof that getting fit and in shape is both possible and more importantly realistic. I plan to split my posts as follows (I’ll link to the posts from here as and when they’re complete):

• Fitness 101 – “De Equation”

  I gave a toastmaster’s speech once, regarding this topic and after researching/drafting/pruning my speech to the 6 minute time-limit, it boiled down to 3 things:

  1. Diet
  2. Exercise
  3. Attitude

  But since I have the luxury of space on my blog, I’m penning everything that I’ve learnt through the journey. So brace yourself for sporadic spews of self-help make-yourself-feel-better stuff as well as concrete scientific evidence to proven techniques/tips.

• Fitness 102 – Know your terms

  As always it pays to research what your up against and that is precisely what I had to do. For the benefit of the world and the lazy few who would like a single go-to location for all the terms and information, I’ve posted most of the stuff you’ll need to know to burn ‘em jigglin wigglies.Oh yes lot of Science Stuff here :P.

• Fitness 103 – Round up/Post its

  This is the must-read post if you just want a cheatsheet for the “learnings” of all previous steps. This is basically a round up of what you should/shouldn’t do. Take a print out of this and pin it up on your door until you have this ingrained.

• Fitness 104 – Sample Workout Routines

  This is just a compilation of the workout/routines that celebrities, health-coaches and others have posted.

• Fitness 105 – Action Plan (TFT style)

  I was successfull with my previous regime(check Fitness 103) in drastically shaving off the blubber, but I recently noticed, that while I look fairly thin, my body fat percentage seems relatively high. I’m a 23 year old male who’s 5′11 and weighs 73 kg (as on 28th January 2009). The BMI charts say my weight is perfect. I did a couple of rudimentary Body fat tests though and found it to be between 20% and 22%. The handheld-electric-current-through-fat device thingy gave a reading of 21.7% and the tape-measurement method yielded 22%. Another test came up with around 20.5%. The accuracy/inaccuracy of these tests aside, it’s pretty clear my body fat levels (what I should REALLY be worrying about) is a little on the higher side (I blame my mother’s unconditional love and ridiculously tasty dishes). Anyways quite clearly a major revamp in my diet/exercise-regime is in order (again).
  Even if I had to do it all over from the blubber-stage, this would probably be the better way to have approached it. I’ll post exactly how I intend to approach my diet/regime here TFT style. This is probably the best post to read if you too are looking into reducing your belt-clamp-size intelligently.

When I was a kid, Republic day only meant “one more holiday in School”. Adolescence and immaturity taken into account, I could probably excuse myself then.
I’ve been an NRI for a large part of my life, and many of my friends from college days have strongly criticized me for being hypocritical in my patriotism for India, (citing my NRI-status). Boy are you fellows mistaken. How NRIs contribute to India is reserved solely for a different post, but what you have to realize is, this physical distance from the nation merely strengthens the link. I know how it is not freely roam the streets of a mother-land. I know how it is to not be able to criticize the government and voice your opinions freely. Before you retort with any accusations let me remind you what Mark Twain has said on Patriotism, “Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it.” I will always be able to appreciate the freedom we so royally take for granted in our nation. Something I doubt you few who haven’t had the fortune of staying/visiting abroad will be able to revel in.

I’ve stated elsewhere, I will never forgo my Indian passport and have every intention to have my ashes buried in my motherland. Call it a superstitious hope of being re-born only as an Indian. And to make sure I don’t end this joyous occasion on a depressing note, a quote from Churchill: “When I am abroad, I always make it a rule never to criticize or attack the government of my own country. I make up for lost time when I come home.”

Happy Republic Day and Jai Hind brothers !

P.S: Many ask what the difference is between Independence day and Republic Day? After attaining independence on August 15 1947, a Constituent Assembly was set up to draft a constitution for India. This constitution came into effect on January 26, 1950.

and Nishal…dude… you really have to check out Gmail’s “Mail-Googles” lab feature. My theory is that you’ll appreciate it :D.

Headless Horseman stage

So we had the Obamaugration yesterday and I sat glued till 1 a.m KST (Kuwait-Standard-Time) today… following which I was inspired to read “Dreams from my father“…following which I saw my brother play a couple of warcraft games….following which I was inspired to read Kasparov’s book “How Life Imitates Chess“… following which I realized it was 4 freaking a.m and I had to sleep…..following which I realized I would never get sleep if i thought I had to get sleep…….following which I decided to tire myself out physically by doing 30 push-ups in a row….following which I dropped dead on the bed…..my mind kept racing(was Obama really going to achieve what his hope audaciously claims to? How awesome would it be to work on the team of Story-writing for Blizzard? Was Kasparov after all just a simple man with absolute focus and dedication? how should I tailor my workout to get the body of a Governor who can never become President?) ….. which is finally when I dosed off…..It’s 5.45 and my iPhone promptly irritates the hell out of me with the blues tone…..I realize the whole point of setting my alarm with the blue tones is for this purpose…. purpose achieved…… I’ve essentially slept for 1 hour and successfully completed stage 1 of Sleepy Hollow.

Sleepy stage

I’m debating whether to get up and brush my teeth or sleep for those precious “5 more minutes”. I drag myself off the bed and flop straight on the ground crawling to the bathroom. I finish my ablutions which unfortunately includes a bath. Enter Hollow stage!

Hollow stage

That “refreshing” bath just yanked my ass off sleepy stage and into the most dreadful stage of SH. Nations can fall or prosper depending on the one’s actions in this stage. I decided this is all bollocks and thought of going back to sleep blissfully allowing Rome to burn. But you see that’s when my mom came and smacked Nero some, which essentially shoved me into the Undead stage.

Undead stage

I drive to office. There’s this retard Kuwaiti driver on the road shouting at me for going at 80kmph on an 80kmph road. Really what was I thinking! But you see in the undead stage it doesn’t matter, you’re oblivious to whats happening around you (I presume this is how one feels when high, only much much lower). I enter my office sit in my cube and furiously start typing away. I’ve submitted a report to my boss and I’m not yet fired…. I’m assuming my sub-conscious has taken over. He tells me something and I nod blankly looking at the pretty angels dancing on the tip of his pen. My god how many really are there?

Shutdown phase

The exact description of what happens thereafter, can never clearly be documented, because at some point during the undead stage, your body just doesn’t take any more and you’re literally doused with sleep.

The problem with Sleepy-Hollow is that you’re seduced into the Headless horseman stage without actually realizing it. Once drawn in, you’re doomed to follow the stages!

But if you have 3500 assorted files with names like “Woork xcFgvB1.pDf”, “iphone User manual.PDF”,”address Book.Icon.Drawer.dld free bts_128.png” or god-forbid “Gmail Contsfor-Kbefore SYNC with Iphoneon5Jan.csv”, partitioning would only get you so far. Apart from frustrating the hell out of productivity enthusiasts it would require you to necessarily do a “Search” for your files. Do I need to remind you of the problems of searching in XP? Let’s not forget how a general search can eat into your system resources if you don’t have your drives indexed.

You can reduce these issues to a large extent with adherence to a little diligence in file-naming. These are some of the tips I personally recommend.

word of advice: most of the reasoning should have been pushed to my tech blog, but these file-naming practices have helped me so greatly in terms of productivity in general, I thought this would be a better place :read if you just want the best practices read these rules and move on

• Avoid using “.” (fullstop/period) other than or file extension
• Avoid spaces like the plague
• Case Sensitivity : Use init-caps to separate logical words
• Underscore for change in context, hyphen only for versions/dates
• Use the YYYY-MM-DD format for dates in file names

• Avoid using “.” (fullstop/period)
  The full stop should be used only for file extensions. Although modern day OSes do allow us to use multiple fullstops(bear with me my american comrades), the intended primary use of periods in certain OSes like windows is to differentiate between file-name and extension. The last full stop is treated as the file extension. Unix like OSes hold no such rule (but it is recommended to have the file extension for compatibility between OSes). Java seems to have issues with it though. Also adhering to this rule ensures full backwards compatibility for ISO-9660 level 1 and other legacy systems like OpenVMS, Windows 95-98, etc. Most alarmingly though is the fact that certain mail filtering programs consider a file with two periods to be a “virus” or “worm” that the sender is trying to disguise and will generally result in your attachment not making it to your recipient. Given the availability of better alternatives, you should resort to using one “.” and that too only to denote file extensions.
• Avoid spaces like the plague
  Apart from appearing elusively convenient, spaces in file-names can wreak havoc while being referenced online. When you refer to a file with a space in it’s name, it gets converted to the “%20″ special charecter, what’s more is that you necessarily have to enclose it with inverted commas to ensure the name is read properly. I suppose it’s ok while maintaining files locally on a hard disk, but the title of this post is BEST practices.
• Case Sensitivity : Use init-caps to separate logical words
  Windows and IIS servers are oblivious to case sensitivity meaning “wtf.doc” is treated the same as “wTf.doC”. Many recommend using only lower case charecters uniformly. I beg to differ. I prefer separating logical words and initcapping them. These immediately stand out neatly and in the end productivity is of primary importance. A word of caution though, if you plan to use a unix like OS, “this-is-not-the-same-file-in-unix.doc” and “this-is-not-the-same-file-in-Unix.doc” would be treated as different files. And oh yes lower-case for file extensions please(no .PdF .PDf .pDF etc… only .pdf)
• Underscore for change in context, hyphen only for versions/dates
  This is by far one of the most widely debated rules among us productivity freaks. I’ve found this rule both convenient and logically convincing. If it’s a complete change in context, meaning the first part of the file name tells you what kind of file it is while the next part tells you the name of the file, separate them out with an underscore. The reason I use underscore here is because, again visually this is the most productive. I could also use a hyphen, but I’ve noticed this to look slightly more cluttered at first glance on a 1024X768 resolution monitor. If you’re still reading the reasoning and intend to read the rest of the post, give me a call sometime, you’re probably my soul-mate.
• Use the YYYY-MM-DD format for dates
  While using dates remember to name them in the format YYYY-MM-DD. Doing so automatically sorts them out neatly according to the date.
• Naming your MP3s
  Yes I have a life and I enjoy music too dammit. You have to use what’s convenient to you here. I listen to ALL kinds of music from hard-rock to carnatic classical. So the artist’s name appearing first is more important for me. Hence I name my mp3s as “Artist_Title_Album.ext”. So that would be DeepPurple_SmokeOnTheWater_BestOfDeepPurple.mp3 and BombayJayashri_TungaTarangeGange_AtmaSoul.mp3 . Another more common use is “Title_Artist_Album.ext”.

But in the end it boils down to what you feel is convenient wow all that drivel and poof! ship sank..

When you have a full folder named neatly like so, the untold joy……

If, after reading this guide you feel i have issues, how right you are ;) !

Good Stuff

• Vox Populi : 43 folders’Jurassic post :P
• What Do i know
• The awesomest File Renaming Software

• Change we can believe in – (yup you know who)!
• How to Change the World
• Change your pricing
• Change is hard change often

Notice that? politics/marketing/sales/gaming ! you can apply change to any field. The outcome is always positive.
I have vehemently concurred with the saying,”Variety is the spice of life”*.

*I agree variety and change are quite different, but in the context of this famous quote I believe variety is used to mean change.

Change keeps things fresh. Change begets ideas and ideas beget success. I have gone as far as incorporating change in every aspect of my life. I love re-arranging the furniture in my room every new-year. I love re-arranging things on my desk every couple of weeks. I love taking a different route to office everyday. I love trying out new-dishes at restaurants (before my brother starts to mouth off I’ll come out clean and agree this is a recent change, one that i’m thoroughly enjoying).

The beauty with Change is that it will never go out of fashion. It is, by definition, always in vogue.

Change is good, Change often my friend!

• Cambridge Advanced Learner’s*,
• Merriam Webster,
• Dictionary.com and
• The free dictionary.

Read on if you want to know why I think the Advanced Learner’s is my winner.

When dealing with an online dictionary these are the factors I consider most relevant:

1. Meaning (duh!)

   I think they’re all tied on this one. Out of experience and a little experimenting, I’ve found them all to be comprehesive and comprehensible. Couple of things I noticed though when the same word has slightly different meanings-depending on context(what is called connotation):
   Results:

   • Cambridge: Presents a first page with likely connotations neatly. You must click to proceed to a new page though for the actual word’s meaning.
   • Merriam Webster: Presents likely meanings in a textarea box. More than one connotation though, implies an ugly scroll-bar (but faster access to actual meaning)
   • Dictionary.com : True dictionary style, it displays ALL the results on one page. I’m non-commital on this one.
   • The Free Dictionary: Follows the same pattern, but presents it in the most readable manner.

   If I “had” to choose a winner, Free dictionary would be it.

2. Content Presentation

   This is by far the most important for me. The more sensible rationale to this statement would be, the better the presentation content the more readily understable the site.
   Results:

   • Cambridge: Neat, minimal and concise.
   • Merriam Webster: NOT Available
   • Dictionary.com : Irritating adds at the beginning
   • The free dictionary: NOT Available

   Truth is at heart I’m a web-designer. Beautiful looking pages please me.

3. Word Usage in Sentences

   It’s important to know how to use the word as well. Remember them useless GRE word-list pegging days?
   Results:

   • Cambridge: Available
   • Merriam Webster: NOT Available
   • Dictionary.com: Available
   • The free dictionary: NOT Available

   Cambridge and Dictionary.com are the only ones that provide this option for most words. Personally though Cambridge’s form of presentation of sample sentences consolidated in the end based on the connotation of the word is what I prefer. Dictionary.com gives the usage with the connotation and I completely understand if this would seem better for you, but it looks more cluttered through my eyes.

4. Pronounciation

   When English isn’t your native language and your mother-tongue is one that can influence a heavy accent in your speaking, it’s quintessential to know the correct pronounciation. Check the pronounciation of “epitome” if you feel this isn’t too important.
   Results:

   • Cambridge: Audio(Paid) + IPA.
   • Merriam Webster: Audio + IPA
   • Dictionary.com: Audio + IPA + non-IPA sensible
   • The free dictionary: Audio + IPA

   I’ve taken a course in linguistics so I can understand the IPA(International Phonetics Association) script. In fact I prefer the IPA script as it provides the EXACT pronounciation(but more importantly to ensure I don’t forget how to read the script). If you’re the more saner type though, Dictionary.com is the clear winner. Cambridge only gets the audio rendering if you pay for their service. All others provide the free audio snippets, but dictionary.com also includes a more readable-understandable script.It’s “i-pite-mee” if you’re curious.

5. Loading Speed

   Some may compromise on this, but I consider this equally important. When I’m in the middle of writing my “masterpiece”, flow of thought is vital. If there’s a word, the usage of which I’m slightly doubtful of, I would like to quickly look it up. Waiting for the damn site to load with all its advertisements and grandeur can be frustrating and more importantly thought halting!
   Results:

   • Cambridge: whooping 1.83s (complete page load).
   • Merriam Webster: 1.86s(for text content)/6.58s(complete page load)
   • Dictionary.com: 2s(for text content)/9.39s(complete page load)
   • The free dictionary: 2.2s(for text content)/7.27s(complete page load)

   I queried the word “zealot” on a firefox browser. I presume “zealot” would be close to the end of the Dictionary Database(see the irony in that) :P. It’s also important to know that the results can be skewed based on numerous factors, but overall I think the first two come out as clean winners.

I keep both Cambridge’s Advanced Learner’s dictionary and Merriam-Webster in my quicksearch bar for Firefox. If you’re finding difficulty searching for the dictionary of choice, be sure to check the mycroft project’s search engines page. In fact I prefer searching for them here than the usual mozilla firefox addons page. If you want to pimp it further check my tech-post here.

While the outcomes of my recent efforts have all been competition to only 4 year olds, the knowledge I have gained through research is encouraging. One particular designer whose work I’m an ardent fan of is Veerle . Take a look at this blog-post where Veerle explains how she came up with her company logo, TFT Style.

Why the moleskine is so great? Absolute hype. I don’t see anything that a mini-spiral pad off the counter couldn’t satisfy that a moleskine can, except the ultra cool feeling of actually having a moleskine :P .
Will I buy another one? Hell Yeah!.

Brace yourself:

 

• Start Regularly Gymming again
  
  2006-2007 I morphed from a whooping 100kg couch potato to a 70kg cardio-freak. From the start-mid 2008, I was diligent with my gymming and en-route to my distant dream 6-pack. Time to start putting up Arnold posters again.

 

• Read the gazillion books just bought
  
  One of the many good habits my brother passed on to me, is a love for reading books. What the bugger also passed on was an insatiable need to purchase all the awesomest books around. 2008 gave us Reality Check, Outliers, Tribes, Presentation Zen… all of which I already posses a copy of. This is apart from the many books I purchased in 2007 but never got the time to fully read.

 

• Get Sketching
  
  
  I was at one point of time(sometime between the 7th and 9th grades) quite a decent artist. After my 10th (board exams), I completely left this and continued only to pursue my musical inclinations. I want to revive that lost interest and talent. Vector Graphics is also something I’m seriously looking at.

 

• Learn Arabic
  
  I love learning languages. I’ve spent a major part of my life in the middle-east and it’s a shame I haven’t picked the language up yet. The fascinating thing about Arabic is that the script is really easy. I can in fact read and write Arabic pretty well. Each time I try to speak though, my bakala owner thinks I’m a retard.

 

• There is no later, only now!
  It is my ardent belief that the number one productivity-killer is procrastination. I’ve fallen short of quite a few of my goals this year primarily for this reason. No more!

It’s a modest list, one that currently seems doable. Time will tell…