Priyesh's Brain Drizzles

The Plan

2012-07-07T11:26:00.002-05:00

On July 5th, 2012, I officially became a homeowner. We've started setting it up and will be officially moved in by the 15th. I'm very excited, not only because its my first home but also because I can finally make my dream project a reality. The Integrated Smart Home Automation project (tentative title) will be the brains behind my new house. I've got lots of ideas that I want to implement but I need to take it slow and make sure I do it right. I have several concerns that I want to address first:

1. This should not negatively affect my ability to resell the house. I'll have to be careful not to do anything permanent unless I'm sure its going to increase the value.

2. It must be secure. I don't want someone to easily hack into my cameras and sensors and do evil. Of course it is not practical to expect 100% security since theres always social engineering and other clever ways to get in. I just need to make it hard enough that the average criminal won't bother.

3. It must be intuitive to use. I want this to be easy enough that my mom can change the temperature on the thermostat with her iPad without my help.

Keeping those things in mind, my initial idea is as follows:

Phase I: Information retrieval
- Front and rear door wireless cameras that I can access externally
- Doorbell sensor that tells me when my doorbell rang (push notification?)
- NEST Thermostat installation
- Garage door open/closed (not sure how I'll do this yet, maybe an Arduino board or something simpler)
- Apache web server that serves up this information to me securely. Probably a simple Linux box

Phase II: Information gathering
- Motion/RFID sensors in the house
- Tablet devices mounted on walls for information display (could be iPads or Android)
- Record sensor information and learn patterns (I'll have to read Dr. Youngblood's dissertation!)
- Hack Siri to connect to my server from my phone (Its certainly possible!)

Phase III: Cool stuff
- Light control. This will be a tough one but I think I can do it without rewiring the whole house.
- Smart fridge. Not sure what this really means yet, but I'm thinking a bardcode scanner so I can scan things in and then scan things out when I toss them. So if I scanned in the milk 5 days ago, it can warn me to get more milk or something.
- Easier home entry. This will be tricky since I don't want it to be easier for criminals just for me. Maybe detecting the RFID chip on my keys and unlocking it is one way but I need to really think about this one.
- SECURITY. The cameras and sensors should give me a good idea of when someone is near the house but theres probably more I can do here.

I'm taking some tips from SuperHouseTV and I'm sure I'll find more resources online as I do this like /r/homeautomation. I guess I need to focus on actually moving first :)

-Me

Initiate next phase

2011-05-09T17:14:00.000-05:00

The tracks of my life change yet again but this time they turn back slightly. On May 15th, I start my new position as Unreal Game Developer at the Virtual Heroes division of Applied Research Associates in Raleigh, NC. I've already moved out of my apartment in Texas and now I'm staying in Charlotte with my parents until my stuff arrives in Raleigh (hopefully by Thursday). The biggest reason for the move was I was tired of being out in Texas by myself. Well not "literally" by myself, I had my uncle Vasu and his family and I had some great friends. But it was too disconnected from all the family I have here in North Carolina. I couldn't really see myself settling down in Texas in the long term.

Now that I'm back in NC, I feel like I need to make up for lost time and spend as much time with family as I can. I have big plans for the future, so heres a breakdown:
- Buy a house
- Develop an artificial intelligence program to run the house :P
- Give it emotions, just kidding! NO EMOTIONS!
- Install touch controlled thin-client machines in each room
- Setup a server in the control room (basement?) to control the house
- Build an iOS application to remotely login and control the house (TODO: security)
- Most importantly! Get a very good security system!
- Oh and get a hybrid car that also has that AI in it :P

I think its very doable but will take a lot of time and more importantly, money. I need to plan way ahead if I want to pull this off. I believe I CAN pull this off, but I need to learn a lot about smart-homes and AI.

I better get started...
-Me

For reference, here is my last "track-changing" post:
http://priyesh.blogspot.com/2008/05/how-youse-doin.html (yea I know not the most informative title :P)

I Have The Power!

2011-01-22T11:16:00.000-05:00

The vacation went well. I got to relax, watch Netflix and spend time with family and friends. My friend took good care of Jackie while I was away. He was needier than usual for a few days after I got back but its back to normal now.

Some friends and I have been playing Dungeons and Dragons on Saturdays for the past few months. It was a fun campaign but it ended in December. We decided to do a mini-campaign before starting a new full campaign. We would take turns being the Dungeon Master (DM) and writing the story of what happens next. Unfortunately we didn't have the time to do a lot of sessions. Last week, we did one session which took longer than expected, so we are only going to do one more and I get to be the DM for it.

I've never DM'ed before so I'm really looking forward to it. It was a lot of work writing the story and planning the fights that would happen. In a way its like designing a level in a game. You have to decide where the players will be and what their options are. And you have to plan for what they might do but you can't always anticipate their actions. After the session I'll post a transcript of what took place, it should be fun.

In other news, I made good progress on Ball's Plight Remix during my vacation. I now have it working on iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad (iOS 4.0 only right now). I started implementing the Game Center features like leaderboards and achievements but those still need to be finished. Thats the biggest thing left to do, I already implemented the new powerup. I think theres one more special block I might implement but thats it. I think I will keep the online leaderboards on priyesh.org but you can't see those in-game. The in-game leaderboard will be Game Center only to keep it simple. So if someone is using a device without Game Center they can still submit scores. Also, score submitting will be done automatically now so they never have to worry about submitting them.

Well, like I said I'll post the D&D story once the session is over since the players are the ones who truly write the story :)

Bye,
-Me

In the air again

2010-12-24T10:04:00.004-05:00

My airport experience is going much better this time. Though its not hard to top the nightmare of my last trip. But thankfully it was mostly painless. The only problem was when I couldn't find a parking spot in the airport lot. I finally found a lot that had room and had to drive there and take a shuttle back.

I didn't bring Jackie with me this time, it was hard to leave him there but I know he'll be taken care of. My friend Brooke agreed to stop by my apartment once a day to take care of him. I'm going to miss him so much but its for the best. I did setup my computer with FaceTime so I can video chat with Brooke while she's there :P so I can see Jackie and know he's fine.

Now its time to wait for my first flight, Google is providing free onboard wi-fi which is pretty cool.

Beach Party

2010-09-12T13:25:00.000-05:00

Things have been really crazy the last few months. Our next game was announced, "Prejudice", the sequel to Section 8. Check out more info here: http://warisprejudice.com/

Yesterday, we had a company outing to the beach. It was a great party and I had a blast. I was having so much fun I sang Karaoke for the first time.

Now I just need to survive the next few months until the game's release and keep my sanity :P So far so good though, I've made some great friends and I'm having a good time and thats what matters.

Later,
-Me

while(bIsLayover);

2010-07-11T13:44:00.000-05:00

I've got about an hour left until my next flight starts boarding. I found my favorite spot at ATL (Atlanta Bread Company) and settled down with a sandwich and soup. Too bad the Wi-Fi is not free here but I decided to just back-date the entries and post them later. Genius!

Jackie has been a really good boy so far, no trouble at all. Even during security check, I held on to him tight and he didn't scratch me or run away (he tried but I've learned!). Now I'll pass the time by coding my iPad game. I love having this new laptop, I can do so much more while waiting for my flight now. I don't even need the internet to keep me busy.

[self endVacation];

2010-07-11T11:22:00.000-05:00

My vacation is now over, but I had a great time while it lasted. Jackie had a great time too! I could tell he was having fun in the big house with so much space to run around and play. Everyone got along with him great, even my brother's parrot Radhey didn't have any issues with him. We kept the separated of course, but even when they were both free in the same room they didn't bother each other. In fact, Jackie was afraid to go near her at first. It was pretty funny, a cat afraid of a bird.

My day on-campus went well, I had lunch with Dr. Youngblood and Hunter but unfortunately didn't get to meet a lot of others. At least I got to meet some of them at GDC this year. About to get on my flight now (on time this time!).

The journey

2010-07-04T22:53:00.000-05:00

A lot of stuff happened today, but I guess I'll start from the beginning. I got up at 6:45AM, double checked everything, put Jackie in his pet carrier (a lot easier than I thought it would be) and then we were off to the airport around 9! I figured since my flight was at 10:30AM I would be fine if I got there at 9:30, right? WRONG! I completely forgot that this is a holiday weekend.

So I get to the airport at 9:30 and the parking lot says FULL. I go in anyway thinking someone somewhere must be leaving and thankfully I was right. I found a spot in Area E of the parking lot but there were no shuttles around. So I throw my car keys in my luggage bag and walk to the terminal (about 5 minutes but it was hot and I was carrying a cat, a backpack and dragging a bag around). I finally found my way to the AirTran terminal (they moved it) and to my surprise, theres a huge line there! I waited from 9:40 to 10 but the line wasn't moving much (some people apparently had a bag that was too big). Finally they call people in my flight so they can get checked in fast. I think "Awesome! I'm ok". WRONG!

They say the flight is closed for baggage so my bag has to be sent with a different flight, its annoying but ok. I've got everything I need in my backpack anyway, I think. So after the guy gets done typing for 5 minutes straight, not saying a word, I'm finally checked in. I rush to the security line, and see that it is even bigger than the check-in line (like 3 times bigger)! Argh!

I finally get to the security checkpoint and I take Jackie out of the carrier and put it in the belt last (bad move). My bag throws a red flag because it has a water bottle in it. I tell the guy, please just get rid of it so I can go to my flight! As the belt starts moving, making noise, Jackie freaks out! He starts clawing at my shoulder and back trying to run (Oh, and I forgot his leash at home). He hides under a table and I snag him and put him back in his carrier like a pro (I was in no mood for playing nice!). I grab my stuff, put my shoes half on and run for it!

At the gate, I see some familiar disappointed faces. A few others passengers for the flight that were in line with me did not make it either. The flight is closed. The manager at the gate, however, was a very nice guy. I asked him to put me on the next flight thats connecting with Charlotte (that would be at 7:30pm). At least, I'll get to go home and rest and then come back later. I start walking back to my car and go to open the door.... CRAP!!!!

My keys were checked in with my bag, which was on its way to Atlanta already. My apartment key was also in that keychain. I was stranded with my cat at the airport. I called my uncle who lives nearby. He agreed to pick me up and let me stay at his place until my next flight. I was relieved, Jackie wouldn't have to be in the carrier all day. I went back inside the airport and found a family restroom where I could let him out without worrying about him running. Thankfully I had a bowl I brought with me to give him water. But he didn't drink it, he just sat in a corner the whole time. My uncle came and picked me up, we stopped by Walmart so I could buy a small litter box and litter for Jackie.

We kept Jackie in the garage because my baby cousin was sick and they didn't want the cat inside. It was a bit hot in there so I constantly went in to check on him. I tried using a leash but the rascal wiggled out of his entire harness to escape me and hide under the car. I let the garage door be open for a little while since it was raining and I knew he wouldn't run out into the rain anyway.

Finally at 5pm, I pack up again and we head off to the airport. This time there was no line at all and I only had to go through security. I put the pet carrier in first but Jackie wouldn't come out of it. Thankfully, the guy in line behind me helped me out by holding the carrier while I took him out of it. He still freaked out when the belt started moving and scratched me up pretty bad but I was ready for him this time and he didn't escape. I got some pretty big cuts though, thankfully nothing deep. I get on my flight with no problem and it went great. Jackie got scared when we first started taking off but once we were in the air he was fine.

In Atlanta, I had about 45 minutes until the next flight and since I was on standby they said I was not guaranteed a spot. I was really freaked out because there was no other flight for a while and I didn't want to be stranded overnight in Atlanta with Jackie. Thankfully, two people didn't show up for the flight and I got a seat. I don't know who you are, but thank you for missing your flight Melody Gold :P This flight was really short and I just played Chrono Trigger on my DS. Jackie was totally calm and quiet the whole time.

So that was the plight of my flight. I definitely learned my lesson now. I will always be there at least 2 hours early for any flight in the future. Never again!!

I'll try to update more often during my vacation. Since I quit using Facebook I'll post pictures on my blog. Its a bit harder to use but it works.

Bye for now,
-Me

Here we go again...

2010-04-27T16:33:00.007-05:00

So two weeks ago, I ordered a 17" MacBook Pro (which I have dubbed the MacBookPri). I knew I wanted one but I had to wait until Apple upgraded them with the latest processors. As soon as that happened on April 13th, I made my move! This will replace my 5 year old Powerbook G4 "Mak", it served me well but its time has run out. Its even leagues beyond my Mac Pro, "Sherr", which is not so much a sherr anymore. I'm using the new laptop right now to write this post. I would have written the post sooner but things have been weird lately. The past 2 weeks, I was busy with work and hardly had a chance to play with it. And this week I'm sick with a sinus infection thats giving me a major headache. But I gotta pass the time somehow, so here it is.

The specs you ask? Why certainly:
2.66GHz Intel Core i7
4GB 1066MHZ DDR3 SDRM - 2X2GB
500GB Serial ATA Drive @ 7200
Intel HD Graphics
NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M with 512MB
SuperDrive 8X DL
MBP 17"HR Antiglare WS Display
iWork preinstalled
Built-in battery (8-9 hour)

I ordered it with an anti-glare display so that it doesn't reflect light so easily. Makes it easier to use outside, it cost me an extra $50 though. The 1920x1200 display makes it easier to develop for the iPad since the iPad simulator can now fit on the screen (768x1024). Another really cool feature is it can switch between the integrated Intel graphics chip and the discreet nVidia graphics automatically as needed. Saves battery power that way. And speaking of battery power, holy crap! It can go for about 8 hours under normal usage.

If I wasn't feeling so terrible I would take it to some coffee shop and do some coding. But that will have to wait until I feel better. Hard to code when all I can think about is my headache. Hopefully I'm better enough by tomorrow that I can go back to work, I hate missing days because I just end up having to work more to catch up anyway. Its not like school when sick days were awesome because you got to stay home and play games. I don't even feel like doing that right now.

Anyways, I leave you with this montage of photos.

The treasure chest...

Still in its pedestal

Fresh out of the box, still wrapped in plastic

Comparison: top

Comparison: side

Comparison: Open

Both turned up to their brightest setting

GDC '10

2010-03-13T01:48:00.002-05:00

I'm in San Francisco, CA right now for the Game Developers Conference and its a lot of fun. I got here on Wednesday night and I'm leaving on Sunday morning. I only have one day left at the conference now. I came to San Francisco for a vacation and I came to the conference for information. Staying with my friend Rob is great, we've gone to a lot of different restaurants around town and explored the city even more than the last time I was here in 2008.

On the first night, we went to Marnee Thai on Irving St, not as good as Sabai but it was pretty good. Then the next day it was Udipi Cafe near Potrero, great dosas. And today, we went to Spices II on Clement St, I had the Bamboo Skin and Tofu which was OK but not very spicy. I've gotten used to the bus system here now, I can catch the bus to and from the Moscone Center with no problems. But walking up and down the steep hills is still pretty painful.

The conference itself has been pretty good so far. I've learned a lot from most of the talks, and met a few new people. I may post my notes from some of the talks on my blog if I get around to it. The most important things I've learned have to do with game design which is something I'm not that good at yet. Game design is not really something I would want to do full-time, I'm still an engineer at heart, but its something I'd like to be involved in. Especially with this next iPhone project I'm working on which is something my brother and I came up with together. I want to make sure we create a great experience so I'm learning from the best.

Well I should probably get some rest now. Hopefully I can meet up with some people tomorrow before I have to leave.

-Me

Year-end Review 2009

2010-02-23T09:13:00.003-05:00

Probably the shortest one yet (I only posted 5 times total in 2009). But I wanted to do it anyway.

So here it is, the year-end review for 2009 (first few sentences from the first post of every month):

January:
Well, today has been interesting. I made the decision that I would try to get out more during the weekend.
http://priyesh.blogspot.com/2009/01/interesting-day.html

February:
This is really a great moment. This is my very first officially published game.
http://priyesh.blogspot.com/2009/02/history-is-made-sort-of.html

September:
Its been many months since I last updated this blog. A lot has happened since my last post.
http://priyesh.blogspot.com/2009/09/back-again.html

Yea, I told you it was a short one! But I'm hoping this year is different. I've already posted once a month at least even though its only been two months :P

See ya
-Me

Welcome Jackie!

2010-02-22T00:34:00.004-05:00

A lot has changed since my last post. Someone new has come into my life and his name is Jackie :)
I adopted Jackie from the Homeless & Orphaned Pets Endeavor (HOPE) on January 2nd. He was 9 months old and now its been almost 2 months since I got him. I was really nervous about adopting a cat but now I can't imagine not having him. He is the sweetest kitty I've ever met, really friendly (99% of the time at least :P) and well behaved (98% of the time?). He was named Jackson by his foster mom after Michael Jackson (his brother is Tito :D). I call him Jackie though, and mom calls him Jacku.

Speaking of which, my mom is also visiting me in Texas right now. She is here for 17 days total, and only 6 days are left. I'll miss having her around and I think Jacku will too.

I haven't done a "year-end-review" for 2009 for my blog but really there isn't much to work with. I'll do one anyway though a little later just for fun, even though there will be many months missing.

Well thats all for now,
Bye
-Me

Back again

2009-09-23T07:54:00.003-05:00

Its been many months since I last updated this blog. A lot has happened since my last post. For one thing, Section 8 is officially out on store shelves becoming my first "shipped game"! I have my copy here next to me signed by everyone at TimeGate. I also sent a few copies to some friends but I had to buy those, they only gave us each one free copy.

I haven't been working on my iPhone projects much, mostly because I've been too busy. But I will fix that soon. I'm trying to decide which one to work on first but I will definitely do something soon. I will plan out the schedule and follow it this time.

Something hit me this weekend, when I was getting ready to go to work on Saturday I had a revelation. I have to change the way I am. I can't just be passive about everything and be afraid to say what I'm thinking. Its going to take a while to get there but I will get there. I am tired of living my life one day at a time without thinking about the long-term plan for the future.

Of course, any plan is going to have setbacks but at least I will have a plan. Though I don't know what that plan is yet, I'm still working on it :)

All in all, life is good.
When I have a plan I will let you know :P
-Me

History is made... sort of

2009-02-25T01:20:00.003-05:00

Current mood:ELATED

Download Ball's Plight:

This is really a great moment. This is my very first officially published game. Even if it is free, thats ok. Now my next goal should be trying to get one more in before Section 8 even comes out :P That would be awesome.

Now I'm just plain tired.. I should go to sleep.

Good night!
-Me

Time flies

2009-01-27T13:22:00.002-05:00

Current mood:relaxed

To pick up where I left off.. Slumdog Millionaire was really awesome! At its core, its a love story about a man triumphs over his circumstances to be with the woman he loves. A lot of it was in Hindi which was no problem for me :P but they did a good job with subtitles.. it was like Heroes where they placed them where it was easiest to read in the frame and not always at the bottom in tiny text. I highly recommend it to anyone, and make sure you watch the credit sequence ;)

This weekend I didn't really go anywhere, I just stayed at home and watched Sliders and Wanted. Wanted was alright, an entertaining movie with some serious flaws but nothing I couldn't get over. I also worked on my iPhone game quite a bit, I implemented suggestions made by my friends. I think its getting closer to being done, I just need to come up with a brief "How to play" screen. I want to keep it all on one screen, which shouldn't be that hard since its a simple game. And of course, I need to put in my obligatory cheat code.. something that usually involves calling me the ruler of the universe :P

By the way, the Section 8 media coverage has begun! A new trailer is out and can be seen at http://www.joinsection8.com and there are a lot of previews out too (which are linked from the official website as well).

Quick link to trailer at IGN:
http://xbox360.ign.com/dor/objects/746148/section-8/videos/s8_trailer_012009.html
Also their preview:
http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/946/946467p1.html

Anyway, I should get back to work.. lunch break is nearly over.

Bye
-Me

Interesting day...

2009-01-17T22:04:00.002-05:00

Current mood:tired

Well, today has been interesting. I made the decision that I would try to get out more during the weekend. So tonight around 6:30 I left to get some dinner before going to see Slumdog Millionaire at 7:15. First I tried P.F. Chang's but there was an hour long wait! Then I went to Cheesecake Factory, the wait wasn't too bad so I thought I could make it. But by the time I finished eating it was 7:25 :( I decided I would try to make it to the other theater which had a 7:50 showing.. it was only 10 minutes away so I thought I could make that at least.. right?

Wrong! I got there on time but there were about 100 people in line.. and there were 2 lines that big! This is when I realized why I don't go to see movies at night anymore. I found the automated kiosks and the line was not as bad for those. By the time it was my turn it was 8:05 or so. I clicked Slumdog Millionaire.. and the 7:50 showing was no longer available! I went all the way out there for nothing!

Well at least it was an interesting day :P On the way back I thought I'd grab a cheesecake slice from Cheesecake Factory but on my way there I changed my mind and went to Panera for a Frozen Mocha. I love those things :)

Now I am waiting for the 10:05pm showing at the theater thats right here. I won't be late this time! I'll leave at 9:30 to make sure I don't miss it!

By the way, I got Windows 7 Beta installed on my Mac Pro. I'm using it right now to make this post. On the surface it looks just like Vista (except the new Apple-esque taskbar), but its definitely "snappier".

Anyway, I'll post a review of Slumdog Millionaire once I see it. I can't wait!

-Me

Year-end Review 2008

2009-01-14T15:35:00.003-05:00

Current mood: great

I haven't done one of these since 2006, but here it is again! Its year-end review time! :)

Some months were skipped because I was especially ~~busy~~ lazy last year. But heres what was there. You know the drill, the first sentence from the first post of every month is posted below.

February:
I am now at the airport on my way to San Francisco, CA to attend GDC (Game Developer's Conference).
http://priyesh.blogspot.com/2008/02/gdc.html

March:
I've been pretty busy lately, but I'm still around.
http://priyesh.blogspot.com/2008/03/still-alive.html

May:
I have come to another point in my journey where I can see the tracks changing.
http://priyesh.blogspot.com/2008/05/how-youse-doin.html

June:
Its already June! Time flies when you're having fun.
http://priyesh.blogspot.com/2008/06/recap.html

July:
The long weekend is going really well so far, yesterday I cooked some more Seero (cream-of-wheat pudding) which I burned.. but its ok it was still good.
http://priyesh.blogspot.com/2008/07/this-was-triumph.html

August:
So the reason I haven't updated in a few days is because on Thursday afternoon, I bought an Xbox360 :)
http://priyesh.blogspot.com/2008/08/wii60-again.html

September:
Ike just passed through here last night (Hurricane Ike that is).
http://priyesh.blogspot.com/2008/09/i-am-alive.html

October:
I made major updates to my website.
http://priyesh.blogspot.com/2008/10/still-alive.html

November:
I finally got my laptop fixed this week.
http://priyesh.blogspot.com/2008/11/i-3-mak.html

So thats that, January and December were both skipped but other than that I tried to post at least once a month. I'm going to try and post more often but who knows if I'll actually do it.

In other news, I finally got a real bed a few weeks ago when my parents and brother were visiting. Needed help getting it up to my apartment :P Its nice to sleep on a real mattress. My Mac Pro is also fully functional now thanks to a new hard drive. Hopefully it stays that way! I also started my first role-playing game with some friends.. no not a video game. The kind with a Game Master and dice rolling.. its a sci-fi "Sliders" like theme where we are going to different dimensions. My friend Christian is the GM (Game Master) and he came up with a pretty good story to bring us all together. My character is Ramesh Shah, one of the freedom fighters in Bhagat Singh's crew from 1946. Can't wait to see how this turns out.. we play every Tuesday night.

So far 2009 is shaping up to be a good year :P

I <3 Mak

2008-11-28T21:45:00.002-05:00

I finally got my laptop fixed this week. So now I at least have that to use while I continue testing my Mac Pro. I did a fresh install of Mac OS X and it still died after a few days of use. This time I won't even update it or even USE it. I'll just turn it on and leave it for a few hours every day. If the partition still dies I know its a hardware problem for sure. Wonder how much a replacement hard drive would cost.. I really dont want to have to do that but I think I will :\

Anyway, my trip to NC went great last week. It was fun to see everyone again and Kunal got me an early birthday present: Mortal Kombat v.s. DC Universe for Xbox 360! Its a really fun game once you get past the campyness :P

As for Thanksgiving, I just made some chilli paneer :P yes I know, its not a thanksgiving-y thing to make but who cares?! It tasted GREAT! I didn't buy much today from the Black Friday sales. I just ordered two games from Amazon: Personal Trainer Cooking for DS and Wario Land Shake It for Wii. I hope theres some good recipes in there for me to try, its like a virtual cookbook. And Wario Land is a hardcore platformer with some nice motion control twists.

Maybe now that I have my laptop I can do at least some work on my game. I can't code it but I can fix up some graphics and screens. And maybe do some design work.

Anyway, thats it for now. I will try to work on my recipes section for my website too, I'm sure you guys miss them right? :P hah

-Me

Still Alive

2008-10-24T11:42:00.003-05:00

Current mood: triumphant... and hungry

I made major updates to my website. Added an "About Me" section and a Recipes section. The Recipes is under construction though, I have been neglecting it lately. I've got the photos on my camera, all I have to do is upload them and write some javascript. But I want to make it sorta fancy with PHP and MySQL. I'll probably make a temporary javascript solution until I can do the fancy stuff.

I've been working on my game too, "iP'Zong". But I can't call it that anymore, I am trying to come up with a new name. Its coming along quite well and I think I know exactly what I want it to be like when I release it. I can do a pro version later if I get a certain amount of downloads.

And my trip to NC is now confirmed. November 18th - 23rd is when I will be flying over there. And my parents and brother are coming here December 31st to January 6th. Can't wait!

Gaming-wise, I've been playing Dead Space and I am slowly working on my 3rd play-through of Mass Effect. I've been using Wii Fit regularly only missing a few days a month. And this weekend I am splurging on Guitar Hero: World Tour. I originally really wanted to get the Wii version since it has all the same features and I wanted to support them. But it seems everyone else is getting it for Xbox 360 :\ If thats the case then I have no choice in the matter.

Anyway, I think I'm gonna go have lunch now.
Bye,
-Me

I am alive

2008-09-13T15:24:00.002-05:00

Current mood: annoyed

Ike just passed through here last night (Hurricane Ike that is). Other than knocking out power it didn't really affect my area much. Now all I can do is eat junk food and play with my iPhone until power comes back. Feels like I'm in India again :P Maybe I'll take a nap or read my book again.

So long for now
-Me

The eagle has landed

2008-08-27T21:54:00.002-05:00

Current mood: great

Mom is here! I picked her up from the airport a few hours ago. Then we went to Berry Hill's for dinner (mexican grill). I was going to cook this recipe but we were both starving. I will probably make that tomorrow.

Speaking of cooking... :D of course you didn't think you were gonna get away without another photo album.

Actually I also have my photos from my trip to NC up! Enjoy!
PriPri goes to NC

Pasta take 3: Lo Mein edition

Kadhai Paneer

I also got my Mac Pro memory today! I now have 3GB of RAM, next stop 8800GT graphics card! I won't get that until next month probably.

Also, P'Zong development is going well! I have high score recording and sound and now I just need to add obstacles and polish the experience.

Bye bye for now
-Me

Stuff

2008-08-24T17:16:00.002-05:00

Current mood: relaxed

Overall I got a lot done this weekend! Which is good, because usually I've been wasting the weekends by just staying in most of the time. I got my car inspected in Texas, so now I have to pick a day and go to the county tax office to get it registered in Texas. I cleaned my apartment.. looks much better now! Lets see how long that will last :P I also worked a lot on iP'Zong (my iPhone game remember?). I think I'll try to post a video of it sometime soon. I think its about ready to be sent to Kunal for new graphics. And I need to polish the sounds up. I should be able to get high score recording in by tonight and I'm gonna look into incorporating a leaderboard thats stored on my server.

The pictures are coming! Facebook is being annoying and not letting me upload.. I managed to get one album published though:
Tindora: Take 2

Uploading my trip photos (for the 4th time) hopefully it works.

I'll have new photos to post tonight too :) I'm making "Khadai Paneer".. yes its paneer! But I have been avoiding it lately so I can have some now :P
-Priyesh

I CAN HAZ EYEFON NAU?!! kthxbye

2008-08-18T22:12:00.002-05:00

Current mood: EXCITED

I finally have my own 16GB iPhone 3G. And I love it so far, except that I had to exchange it one day after getting it. The WiFi completely stopped working.. oh well this new one works great! And I can now finally deploy my apps to it! I took a video of it too which I will upload soon.

The trip to NC was great! I got to see my family again after a long time and just had lots of fun! The facebook album will be up soon I promise.. I'm just a bit "busy" right now :P

For some reason Blogger is having problems with uploading photos. So you'll just have to wait.

See ya later
-Me

Rewind

2008-08-14T23:57:00.002-05:00

Current mood: excited

Tomorrow night I'm flying back to Charlotte for the weekend. For a couple of reasons, mainly to attend a wedding reception but also so I can see everyone again! I kept myself busy most of the time with movies and video games but it really does get a little lonely out here. Sadly I won't have enough time to visit my friends but I guess I can do that next time I go.

Oh and here are the pics I promised:

Chick peas with gravy (aka Chhole)
Pri's New Toys!
Chili Paneer.. my way!

My next big purchase will be an iPhone 3G sometime in the next few weeks.. and then a TV in September! Yayz

I better get some sleep. Tomorrow will be crazy

Bye
-Me

Wii60 (again)

2008-08-03T21:30:00.006-05:00

Current mood: great

So the reason I haven't updated in a few days is because on Thursday afternoon, I bought an Xbox360 :) Along with a 500GB Apple Time Capsule (basically a wireless router with a 500GB harddrive in it). I've been playing the heck out of my 360 with Mass Effect, Geometry Wars 2 and Soul Calibur 4!

Heres my setup:

One thing thats really bugging me is that my monitor only supports 16:10 resolutions (basically widescreen but slightly smaller). This means a little bit is cut off on both sides! This is really annoying!!
Examples:

Exhibit A: Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2

No, thats not supposed to say "Core" and I don't just have 69,745 points.

Exhibit B: Mass Effect

I can't see how many skill points I have to distribute!!

So the only solution so far is to play in 480p until I get a real TV :\ Its not too bad, Mass Effect still looks really good. Just not as sharp.

I did do a few more cooking experiments but I will post them in a little while. By the way, my Xbox Live gamertag is on the sidebar of the blog.. be sure to friend me!

-Me