Waves from my "complex" mind...

Get Windows 10 tray icon missing

2015-08-08T13:14:00.004+05:30

Posting almost after 3 years!

There has been quite a buzz around Windows 10 lately after it released on July 29, 2015. There have been questions around why one should even upgrade when they are happy running Windows 7 or 8. Well, it is all up to you! There is no strong reason to upgrade as such although there are a few improvements noticeably the performance (quick start and shutdown), multitasking, app store, the flat UI (the last two also seen in Win 8).

I got to take a peek at Windows 10 2 days ago on my cousin's desktop, and I was somewhat excited. And Microsoft is luring users to upgrade to Windows 10 with a free upgrade in the first year of release, probably to increase the user base and get more outside developers to contribute to the marketplace. So yeah, I have been trapped :).

The idea behind this post is not talking about Windows 10 itself, but about one of the issues I faced (and many others are facing around the world) - missing "Get Windows 10" tray icon.

I am sure you are already familiar with the icon and upgrade process if you are reading this post, so I will jump right in to the steps I followed to fix the issue.

Please read: Exercise caution in doing this as this is an "unofficial" process and may cause issues. A data backup is recommended if you have any important data which you cannot lose before you follow this and the upgrade next.

Fixing the issue:

1. To get the icon, two windows updates are critical: KB3035583, KB2952664
KB2952664 was easily installed via optional windows updates.
KB3035583 gave me trouble when installing via windows updates. It would just stay at 0% and never complete. Fixing this took most of my time. If you are not able to install this via windows updates like me, read the next section "Downloading & installing KB3035583".

2. Then run the win10fix_full.cmd (download from http://www.mediafire.com/download/bxxcf7t31ms3w0e/win10fix_full.zip) file to verify if required updates are installed and enable to the Windows 10 icon!

Finally, you will be able to click on the new tray icon and reserve the upgrade!

Downloading & installing KB3035583:

1. http://download.windowsupdate.com/d/msdownload/update/software/updt/2015/05/windows6.1-kb3035583-x64_d6308e28c41fcbd15695343d83709ed1c4bf5812.msu
2. Follow steps in http://blogs.technet.com/b/askcore/archive/2011/02/15/how-to-use-dism-to-install-a-hotfix-from-within-windows.aspx. See second half where .msu is expanded, that worked for me. Here is the command line output.

C:\temp>expand -F:* C:\temp\windows6.1-kb3035583-x64_d6308e28c41fcbd15695343d83709ed1c4bf5812.msu C:\temp\3035583
Microsoft (R) File Expansion Utility Version 6.1.7600.16385
Copyright (c) Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

Adding C:\temp\3035583\WSUSSCAN.cab to Extraction Queue
Adding C:\temp\3035583\Windows6.1-KB3035583-x64.cab to Extraction Queue
Adding C:\temp\3035583\PkgInstallOrder.txt to Extraction Queue
Adding C:\temp\3035583\GWXWU.exe to Extraction Queue
Adding C:\temp\3035583\GWXWU_1.exe to Extraction Queue
Adding C:\temp\3035583\Windows6.1-KB3035583-x64-pkgProperties.txt to Extraction Queue
Adding C:\temp\3035583\Windows6.1-KB3035583-x64.xml to Extraction Queue

Expanding Files ....

Expanding Files Complete ...
7 files total.

C:\temp>DISM.exe /Online /Add-Package /PackagePath:C:\temp\3035583\Windows6.1-KB3035583-x64.cab

Deployment Image Servicing and Management tool
Version: 6.1.7600.16385

Image Version: 6.1.7600.16385

Processing 1 of 1 - Adding package Package_for_KB3035583~31bf3856ad364e35~amd64~~6.1.1.20
[==========================100.0%==========================]
The operation completed successfully.

Note:

I did not invent these steps! I had to read through some forums to try out various steps (many didn't work for me), but the steps above are compiled from the trials I had to do before getting it right in the end. I do not want to take any credit for these steps. I really wanted to share this as I went through some frustration myself getting this right, hope you can benefit if you face the same issue.

Watching someone die…

2012-09-23T11:16:00.003+05:30

As I brush my teeth every morning, I watch the little world around me come to life – children going to school, people rushing to their places of employment, street vendors selling things, paper boys delivering paper. From my vantage point of the bathroom window I get a decent view of the street below. Every day I just stare out of the window in a semi alert state, with no particular thought in mind. Today was different and here I recollect this short incident.

A group of kids was sitting on the side walk outside the apartment block right across the street. The eldest among them was a girl of about 10, others were young boys around the age of 7. They were in a playful mood teasing each other, running around to escape a slap from the other. Out of nowhere came a small dog pup and it instantly grabbed their attention. One of the boys started chasing it deriving great pleasure from the power he yielded. The pup obviously helpless started running away from the boy in all possible directions. It first went into the apartment outside which the kids were sitting successfully escaping the boy. In no time the boy was on it again and the pup again slipped into the group of kids finding shelter. With no friendly faces around, the pup made for the other side of the street with the little boy still in pursuit. And then it happened. A speeding car came along the street and ran over the little pup. It all happened in a matter of seconds. The kids froze in their positions in shock not really understanding what just happened, I was wide awake and my hand stopped brushing for a few seconds as we stared at the helpless pup that was so cute to all of us only until a few moments ago, lay there in the street squealing in pain, unable to get up.

After a few seconds of struggle the pup gave up and silence took over. Finally one of the kids rushed inside and brought a mug of water and slowly splashed it in the direction of the pup hoping that would wake it up. Nothing happened. We continued to look at it from our own positions looking at the innocent pup. Finally the kids summoned the apartment’s watchman, who called out to the municipality sweepers who clean the streets to the spot. A sweeper then took away the pup’s body and the kids ran back into their apartment with their heads bowed down, possibly in sorrow. I finished brushing. And life was back to normal in the street where moments ago the unfortunate incident took place. I guess that is how life is…it just goes on, and you have no choice but to catch up with it!

We have all seen death, or been the cause of it. As kids, we innocently or out of evil pleasure later on crush ants under us and watch them die. I don’t know why, but that has never really touched me so much as today’s incident did. I guess it was just the size of the creature that died that made things different. I have come across descriptions of people dying in books and movies but watching it happen right in front of me was very different.

Thinking about death sometimes brings other thoughts to my mind…the labor the dead’s mother endured, the plans and hope the parents and family had for this child's future, all the time the child spent on growing up, were for nothing in the end. Again, that describes another aspect of life – it is very unpredictable!

Are we really pure vegetarians?

2012-03-18T14:01:00.000+05:30

In the good old days, vegetarians used to maintain strict rules when it came to eating out. Elders in my family tell us sometimes how our ancestors used to not even drink a drop of water out of home. They used to carry their own water container wherever they went. And that too, they used to travel on foot most of the times...not in cars or trains or planes like we do! They must really have had so much discipline and patience to have had lead such an austere life. They knew that they could not really take others' word at eating out.

We, their descendants, on the other hand are totally flexible (a pat on my back by myself, optimism would you say?). We today are ready to eat out at any hotel. My parents are still very keen on not eating at a place which serves both vegetarian and non-vegetarian where I today eat vegetarian food (yes, I am still 'strictly' vegetarian) with non-veg aromas piercing my body from all sides! The whole point of this post is the question "Are we really pure vegetarians?"

I was dining at the restaurant "Barbeque Nation" in Hyderabad where the food is majorly all about kebabs and tikkas. It is not at all the right place for my parents to eat out! Paneer, pineapple were about the only likeable items on the veg platter while there were offerings like prawns, fish, chicken and so on on the non-veg platter. That only tells me one thing. The number of non-vegetarians are on the rise. The people converting to vegetarianism are mainly the page 3 types. That number is quite small compared to the people going carnivorous. Also, many vegetarians today don't mind eating egg. Some eat egg like they eat any other vegetable and some eat egg only in foods like cake, etc.

No hotel serving both veg and non-veg foods maintains a strict separation between them although they promise to you that they have separate dishes for both the food types. A close friend of mine who worked in a couple of 5-star hotels in Bombay, Delhi and Hyderabad tells me there is nothing known as veg food. Behind the scenes in the kitchen, don't be surprised if the same spoon is used to mix a non-veg curry and a veg one. Anyway, I don't mean to frighten you here, but just wanted to share some "interesting" facts. You should after all know what you are eating!

Enough said, the bottomline is that if you are eating out, you really should not expect the tradition, hygiene, and food handling that the food gets at your home. Learn to live with it if you have to eat out!

Train To Pakistan, a review

2012-03-01T21:21:00.002+05:30

Khushwant Singh is among India's most celebrated authors. I have always wanted to read his works. I remember casually chatting up with my parents long ago about Khushwant Singh and there was this disapproving frown on their face that suggested I should stay away from them! But then my curiosity dominated everything else and I recently finished reading the book "Train To Pakistan".

Here is what my thoughts are on the book:
Singh explains wonderfully the way of life in small remote Indian villages, the impact of railways on their lives. The villagers' innocence, curiosity, religion & prejudices & beliefs, government & leadership & police, the good guys & the bad guys are well outlined and portrayed. The time after partition, how friends were forced to move away from each other, its even difficult to imagine what people must have gone through, the mental agony must have been really intolerable. Overall its a decent read, not thoroughly recommended, but worth a try if you have never read a Khushwant Singh before.

Kindle

2011-12-20T19:24:00.002+05:30

I got my Kindle three days ago and let me tell you I am totally enjoying the experience! And that too, the Kindle touch really is worth its price. Here I first tell you why I like the Kindle and then later on a general analysis of what to consider when buying an e-book reader.

What makes the Amazon Kindle the best:
- very responsive touch screen
- screen refresh rate slightly low and that leaves a "ghost" of the previous display most of the times
- PDFs: not really the best device for reading PDFs especially if the PDFs font is already small. Increasing font size is not possible directly on the kindle for PDFs although it supports zooming in. Zooming in and panning a page can be annoying as it takes special effort unlike simple screen touch for kindle books. Anyway, its a decent experience.
- Articles/documents can be sent to a kindle.com email address that is assigned to you. This is very handy and reading the articles on kindle feels nice. And, all documents emailed to this address automatically get archived in amazon cloud from where they can be retrieved anytime.
- The on-screen keyboard with well spaced keys is great...I started typing fast right from the first use!
- Built-in dictionaries are very handy
- Last but not the least - at $99, I strongly feel its very fairly priced

Kindle vs. hard books: When you compare the prices, both Kindle ebooks and regular hard books cost about the same. In fact, in most cases Kindle books are costlier. Also, you are investing about $140 just for the device (books cost extra). I preferred hard books as they offer a far better experience than its electronic cousin. The nice covers, pages, etc. offer better satisfaction.

Kindle vs. iPad/GalaxyTab: If you already own a good phone (iPhone or some other good Android phone) or even a device such as an iPod touch, iPad or Galaxy Tab are redundant. The first few weeks would be too good, but slowly the excitement would fade away as the stuff you would do with it would be just routine. Also, for book reading a tablet is not really the best device especially under bright light conditions.

Kindle WiFi vs 3G: If you really have made up your mind on an Amazon Kindle or a B&N nook, WiFi should really be sufficient. If you travel too much without availability to a reliable WiFi connection, you should go for the 3G version. Otherwise, both the versions offer the exact same experience. Remember, the 3G version is slightly pricy compared to the WiFi one.

When buying a Kindle makes definite sense:
- you are a power user
- reading books on an electronic book reader is fun & a matter of style for you
- you have a lot of eBooks with you on your PC which you would like to read conveniently
- you want to annotate, bookmark sections of a book so you can conveniently refer them back at a later point in time
- Owning hard books requires good storage space to store them. If you are short of storage space, go for an eBook reader.

Kindle or nook - which one to buy...well the response is mixed. Be it the kindle or the nook or the iPad, reading eBooks is a different experience altogether!

Chanakya's Chant

2011-11-30T20:27:00.001+05:30

I just finished reading the book "Chanakya's Chant" by Ashwin Sanghi. Although a modest attempt by an Indian author, I liked his first book (The Rozabal Line) better. This book narrates a story happening in the current time, and the way it resembles what happened about 2300 years ago - Chanakya's story.

What I liked:

Chanakya's story was narrated very well in a concise yet clear manner
Facts pertaining to Indian politics, general political strategizing

What I didn't like:

Current day's story was unnecessarily "dirty"
Resemblance of Gangasagar to Chanakya wasn't really good
Although the book was of good quality, it missed about 20 pages (publisher Westland's fault, not the author's!). Of course, it didn't really matter as the story was easily understandable and there was nothing much to miss anyway.

I wish the book was just about Chanakya's life. I would happily read just the historical part of story again!

F1...its not just about speed!

2011-11-08T21:41:00.002+05:30

This post is a compilation of facts collected from "The Week" magazine. I know the F1 season is now behind us, but I had to type this in, hence the delay. I am sure you will be as excited as I was to read them and realize these interesting facts accompanying F1!

+ At the average top speed of an F1 car, one can cover the length of India - 3124 km from south to north - in 10 hours! The top speed of Formula One cars ranges from 320 to 360 kmph, far more than the 290 kmph take-off speed of a Boeing 747.

+ Aerodynamics, which helps an aircraft generate upward thrust for take-off, also helps produce downforce to keep a racing car stable on track. An F1 car produces enough downforce to be driven upside-down on the ceiling of a tunnel!

+ The machine:
Engine: 2.4l V8; power: 750bhp, mileage: 1.3km/litre, air consumption: 450 litres/second
Fuel: Refined version of petrol (other high-octane mixtures were banned for safety)
Acceleration (average): 0-100 - 1.7s, 0-200 - 3.8s, 0-300 - 8.6s

+ Body:
Made of carbon composites and other ultra-light material. Minimum weight, including driver, fluids and camera, should be 640kg.

+ Tyres:
Max life up to 300km. Six variants based on track conditions.

+ Brakes:
Made of carbon composites; can get heated up to 1000 degrees celcius. From 200 to 0kmph: 2.21s.

+ The man:
Thanks to extreme temparatures and g forces, drivers lose up to 3kg of body weight during a race. They drink 8 litres of water before races and gorge on carbohydrate-rich food such as pasta and bread. While accelerating, braking and cornering they experience up to 5 g force. That is, if one's head and helmet weigh 6kg, at a tight corner the effective weight on the neck would be 30kg.

Thus, drivers undergg rigorous training to strengthen the core of their body - waist to neck. They do cardiovascular exercises, too, as heart beat rates (HBR) increase by almost three times during a race. The HBR of a driver throughout a 90-minute race is similar to the HBR of a marathon runner at a finishing point.

The drivers must have immense concentration and coordination, as every microsecond counts. The steering wheel, for instance, has more than 15 control swithces, besides the clutch and gear shifters. A car undergoes up to 4000 gear shifts, which just take 0.05 second, in a single race.

The King's Speech

2011-06-05T22:25:00.004+05:30

I watched the movie "The King's Speech" and was truly enthralled by it. The whole movie was mostly very slow and steady, typical to its genre, but this one in particular had me glued to the chair all along! Very beautifully directed & performed, especially by Colin Firth & Geoffrey Rush, it was a pleasure watching the movie. The movie is about the Prince of England's stammering problem and how he mostly overcomes it.

Watching the movie with my headphones on made me realize I was using technology from the 1920s! There is a scene in the movie where the speech therapist (Dr. Lionel Logue) asks his visitor (Bertie, the King George VI) to read out a few lines from a book with headphones put on playing loud music. To Bertie's own surprise, he reads out the lines without any stammer! Its all your psychology & thinking. Bertie's wife, the queen played a great role in improving her husband's abilities with her great encouragement and patience. It wouldn't have been possible for Bertie to become what he became (the king) without her support. About the movie, the scene where Lionel's wife Myrtle returns home early to find the king & queen home is very naturally done. In all, the casting was perfect.

Here are a few favorite lines from the movie of the character Lionel:
"l can assure you, no infant starts to speak with a stammer."
"Every stammerer always fears going back to square one."
"You don't need to be afraid of the things you were afraid of when you were five. You're very much your own man, Bertie."

No wonder this movie swept 4 Oscars this year!

Government run city buses - some facts

2010-11-03T16:33:00.005+05:30

On way to office today morning in the bus I take daily, the following discussion emanated during a conversation with a friend. This guy is a good friend of the driver & got to know a few facts about the bus which he shared with me. The bus we travel in is a Volvo B570R - air conditioned, excellent suspension, great pickup, good lighting and a host of other features which we don't really care about much...the best public transport bus Hyderabad has ever had. In the end, he had only one thing to say - "We are lucky to be able to use this facility", and I couldn't agree more! We pay taxes after all ;). That is how some government departments function - service to public, not for profit. This bus and some other buses were procured through JNNURM (Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission - a Central Govt scheme under which it allocates funds to State Govts for developmental activities) early last year.

Expenditure:
Initial cost of the bus = Rs.87 lakhs
Mileage = 2 kmpl (diesel)
Number of shifts per day = 2 = 4 round trips per day
Kms per round trip = 80 kms => total kms per day = 320
Cost of fuel per day = Rs.40 x 160 litres = Rs.6400
Salary of an employee (driver or conductor) = Rs.15000
Cost of salaries per day = 2 shifts x 2 employees x 15000/30 = Rs.2000

Earnings:
Peak earnings of Rs.1500 per one way of trip = Rs.10000 per day on average (being very optimistic here!)

Profit:
Profit per day = Rs.1600 = Rs.5,84,000 per year
Years to breakeven = 15 years

These many years, and we didn't even include the servicing charges for the bus which runs into lakhs sometimes! And the price of fuel would most probably go up too. Another fact my friend enlightened me on was that the bus's life was supposed to be around 700000 kms of which this particular bus already traveled around 2 lakh kms. After the 7 lakh kms, the engine would need to be serviced fully which is almost equivalent to replacing it. But frankly, the mileage figure of 2 kmpl seems too low for me, but I guess that is what it is...

The other ordinary buses have a mileage of about 4-5 kmpl of diesel. This triggers yet another chain of thoughts - imagine the amount of diesel public transport buses consume! This of course would be much lesser than the amount of fuel we would consume if we traveled using our private transport. And imagine the amount of fuel being consumed throughout the country, and even worse, the whole world! The number you just thought of, even approximate, can be really frightening! We are this fast drinking up the petroleum reserves we have. Its not a surprise hence that most cognizant countries are worried about future energy security. Huh, let me stop this here...this topic sure deserves a blog post of its own!

Bottom line: Use energy resources wisely & responsibly; use public transport whenever you can!

Drenched in rain!!!

2010-06-18T22:30:00.000+05:30

I started off from office back home at about 6:30 PM, it was all cloudy (it has been so for the past few weeks). The bus started and I took a little knap and after about 1.5 hour I reached Secunderabad. The moment I got down from the bus it started drizzling. All my laziness was gone and it was a very fun moment with the little rain drops trying their best to get you wet. Then it started. Huge rain drops appeared from nowhere and me and my friend ran for shelter. We survived. So far. In about 3 minutes a bus to our destination came and stopped about 50 meters away. My friend didn't really want to go out in the rain and get wet. I was already kind of frustrated spending 1.5 hour on travel and didn't want to waste any further time waiting. I convinced him & we both ran to the bus. In the few seconds that we were under the open sky, we got about 50% wet. We breathed a sigh of relief once in the bus.

Fortunately, the bus started immediately and reached my locality in just 10 minutes. It was raining even more heavily here. My friend had earlier given me a complement that I ran really fast...that registered well in my mind :). So the bus stopped at the bus stop and I jumped right out of it and started running! I ran for a few seconds slowed down a bit, ran again when I thought it was safe to and slowed down where I thought the road might not be level under the water flowing on the road. I reached home in about 3-4 minutes from the bus stop while I normally take about 10 minutes walking. So I got drenched totally, top to bottom. All along the way while I ran I had this unknown happy feeling...I felt very light inside and it just felt great. Maybe this is how drug addicts feel after they get a shot! I totally hate getting wet partially; on the other hand I love getting wet fully, if I do have to get wet. Then I reached home, and took a quick overall bath & even now as I write this I have this great joyful feeling!

Thank you dear rain, you made my evening today!

Petrol vs. Diesel - which car to buy

2010-05-28T14:37:00.002+05:30

If you are looking to buy a car & can't decide whether to buy a petrol variant or a diesel variant, or if you are just curious to know what just is the difference between the two, read on...

Until 1 or 2 years ago, most potential car buyers were diesel averse & petrol run cars were the most popular. But this seems to be changing now. These days, I see more and more people trying out the diesel versions of their favorite car...the obvious reason? Fuel efficiency.

The big visible difference is the high price of the diesel car compared to its petrol sibling. This itself wins the race for petrol in most cases. And, diesel engines have traditionally been noisy and that is not to the liking of many. Most would think, I don't mind spending that extra penny on petrol when it can give me the comfort ride.

However, today's diesel engines are more sophisticated than before & their noise levels are almost at par with the petrol versions. Also, under the present day context where fuel prices are on the rise, buying petrol means spending about 25% more per liter compared to diesel. And, considering the mileage, diesel cars give an additional 4-5 kmpl mileage in many cases. Although other maintenance costs associated with diesel are slightly higher compared to petrol, the overall savings achieved significantly eclipse the disadvantages.

Here is a little tool that I created in MS excel showing a comparison in the costs involved in buying & maintaining a petrol car vs. a diesel car. The parameters considered are the initial cost of the vehicle and the maintenance cost involved (mileage, fuel price). Other factors like the time value of money, miscellaneous maintenance costs have been ignored and it is assumed that the petrol & diesel engines rate equal on the technology & comfort scale. You can modify these parameters (initial cost, mileage, fuel price) to study a different case. Download the file to your desktop to view it better.

Tool: Buying a Car - Petrol vs. Diesel (click here to download the MS Excel based tool)

As can be seen, the petrol version comes out to be cost effective upto a distance of about 50,000 kms which in many cases is associated with a period of 3-3.5 yrs on an average (estimated). Beyond that, the diesel version overtakes the petrol version in cost effectiveness.

The bottomline: if you travel long distances daily, the diesel variant is for you if you can afford the additional initial cost. If you really use your car occasionally and drive just a few kms around, the diesel version would prove costly.

Lessons of life that driving teaches you...

2010-05-05T15:12:00.004+05:30

Lessons of life that driving teaches you...

I have been driving down to work for the last one week, and the various experiences I come across while driving have started a series of thoughts flowing in my mind. Here, I try to present the thoughts just as they occurred to me.
Warning: the content below can get philosophical...proceed at your own will ;)

1. Speed breakers/pits: They are like difficulties in life - if you can't avoid them, minimize their impact.

2. A race?: When other cars zoom by, don't worry if you have been cruising at a comfortable pace enjoying your drive. If you believe winning is that important to you, maybe do something about it but don't keep worrying. I have personally experienced peace when I let those speed daemons pass by while I continue to enjoy the ride listening to good music. It is very important to have such feel good moments in life. The moment you start racing, you forget there is someone sitting beside you and its quite probable you don't realize the facts until you actually reach your destination. Don't always drive in the fast lane, enjoy the slow lane too!
Even in our life, we get so busy with our careers that we spend very little or no time with family and time just flies by. Later in life when repentance sets in (if it does), there is nothing you can do! Parents/kids age and things slightly change. Maintaining a work life balance is of paramount importance.

3. Watch out!: Even if you are driving on a open highway at a high speed, it is important to be alert and watch out for any pothole or animal crossing the road. Given the fact that slowing down from such a high speed requires special attention & focus, remember not to become reckless even when everything in life is going as desired.

4. Be humble: If you are driving a car, when driving through stagnant water on roads, don't go fast and spray it on people commuting on 2-wheelers beside you. ie, don't show off your power, give respect to the less capable (2-wheelers are not necessarily less capable...this is just a analogy).

5. Don't go too fast: Don't travel too fast and rash or your "car" will wear away fast! Drive smooth.

Carnatic Music Programmes in Hyderabad - March 2010

2010-03-08T12:13:00.004+05:30

It is rare that we have good carnatic music programmes in Hyderabad, and when we have them, we must not miss the opportunity of attending them!

South Indian Cultural Association, SICA, is organizing some carnatic music programmes this week onwards in Hyderabad. The tickets would be sold at the venue 1 hour before, or there are donor passes (Rs.300 - eligibility for 2 for all programmes) being sold at L. B. Stadium. Here is the schedule:

9 Mar - T. M. Krishna (Vocal)
10 Mar - P. Unnikrishnan (Vocal)
11 Mar - N. Ravikiran (Chitraveena)
12 Mar - Sankaran Namboothiri (Vocal)
13 Mar - Priya Sisters (Vocal)
17 Mar - M. Chandrasekaran (Violin)

Venue: Ravindra Bharathi, Hyderabad
Timings: 6:30 PM onwards...

Enjoy!

A sleepwalking experience!

2010-02-22T19:00:00.004+05:30

I have heard of people walking in their sleep before, but never imagined I would do it some day...yes, I did sleep walk last night! The first time in my 26 years on earth, and hopefully the last one!

The weather here is transitioning to summer now, and I am feeling more tiresome than I used to until a few weeks ago. Add to the summer the increasing traffic and I don't need to explain how it feels traveling for about 1.5 hrs in a hot summer evening to reach home.

Last night, I went to sleep at around 12 AM. There were a lot of mosquitoes making party in my bedroom. My sis generally doesn't like sleeping with the fan at a higher speed, so the fan rotates at a speed of 2, in this type of weather. Of course, all out was on too. Mosquitoes however seem to have got used to this too...they fly around freely no matter what. Ok, enough of history :). So I went to sleep, turned around a few times in the bed, with the bed sheet over me for some time to evade the mosquitoes, and sometimes beside me to get some fresh air. Next thing I know, I was turning over in bed, due to the pillow feeling a little high. The fan was at full speed and the surroundings were different...I was in a different room! Yes! I really do not remember when I got up to go to the other room, but I did this consciously for sure (justification ;)). So then I got up, switched off the fan, and headed back to my own bedroom. This time, I didn't care about offending my sister and increased the fan speed to the maximum and went to bed with a little smile on my sleepy face :). The next morning when I shared this experience with my family, they had a little laugh too, and of course, my mom put a little concerned face! "Don't worry mom, I don't do this regularly!" was what I could manage to mumble.

I generally am a sleep-late, get-up-late type of person. I almost never go to bed before 11 PM & don't get up before 6:45 AM. Lack of sleep? Some may say so. And, I almost daily get some dreams (good topic for a potential blog post, later)...special effects! So yes, from now, whenever I come across the word "somnambulist", I know very well what that experience means!

Mile Sur

2010-01-26T16:50:00.003+05:30

It is India's 61st Republic Day today and as ever, it is a great feeling to be an Indian. Watching the Republic Day Parade that takes place in New Delhi near India Gate gives me immense pleasure & excitement. The rich cultural diversity of India is unmatchable in the world. This parade showcases many such items which we don't realize to be present in the nation we live in.

Since childhood, another favorite item of mine and I am sure many of you out there has been "Mile Sur Mera Tumhara", a national integration song which was released on 15 August 1988 immediately after the Prime Minister's speech from red fort on Doordarshan. And today, the TV showed yet another version of the popular song, all newly created, but a total disaster according to me.

The new "Phir Mile Sur Mera Tumhara" is no match to the charm of the original "Mile Sur Mera Tumhara". The new version doesn't convey any message, at least to me. It only tries to make it look good by roping in celebrities, mostly filmy. While the older one really succeeded in depicting the diversity of India, the new one miserably fails to deliver the magic. It no way generates the desired effect. Even the audio is only average for that matter. The camera work is a 100 times better in the original version. Also, it depicts some real icons.

The original is what it is...a masterpiece.

PS: Visit this link to obtain some excellent information on the song.

Calendars missing from homes...

2010-01-02T12:25:00.002+05:30

This thought stuck me as the new year approached as it does every year. Calendars at some point of time were a favorite wall hanging at any home. When you entered any home, the first thing that caught your eye was a calendar...a calendar with big sceneries, or a calendar with birds, flowers, or at least a biggish calender with a grid of numbers in large fonts. A calendar was an essential article of the wall jewelery. People used to mark their appointments, etc. on the calendar.

Of course, I speak above of the non-digital age. This was in the last century. One of the biggest events in this millennium is the internet revolution. More and more people getting connected, electronic devices getting popular, every home has at least one computer. People now use calendars on their computer desktops, internet, mobile phones, iPods, etc. They no longer rely on the paper calendar that they were used to earlier...they are more comfortable using the digital calendars which they can access anywhere, add/delete entries which look neat, stay private, send notifications when the event gets due. Yes, this is the digital revolution. It is hard to imagine what other exciting stuff the future holds for us.

But I definitely miss the beautiful wall calendars that stole my glance whenever I passed by them. Their charm can never be overcome by their digital counterparts...

Changes here in 2 months

2010-01-02T12:08:00.003+05:30

First of all, wish you all a very happy new year! I hope I will able to write posts here more regularly than last year.

I left India for US on 29th October for about 2 months and came back on 20th December. These are some changes I see here...

1. At the time I had left, swine flu masks were a craze with people of Hyderabad...masks were sold at traffic signals, people were seen wearing the masks on roads, at railway stations, everywhere. Today, I don't see a single person wearing a mask...a good sign! But there was a checkpoint at the Hyderabad airport where they scanned passengers with some thermal sensor that apparently detects the presence of virus. Is Hyd free from swine flu or do people not want to spend any more on swine flu masks when they do not hear of any flu cases?

2. Even more traffic on roads now...before I had left, there sure was traffic & traffic jams, but today I feel the traffic density has gone up. Is it only because I spent two months in a sub-urban place in US where the traffic was limited & organized? No, the traffic has definitely increased now...

3. At work, there were 2 resignations, 3 marriages

4. The state of Andhra Pradesh is in turmoil over some people's demand for a separate state which only seems political to me. The common man doesn't really care, he just wants a happy & peaceful life after all.

5. My neighbor's granddaughter is older by 2 months and doesn't look like a baby any more...she crawls around really fast, throwing things here & there and is a lot more fun to play with now!

However, there has been no change in my dad's work schedule, he still leaves at 7:30 in the morning & returns home only after 9:30 at night. His health is the one that is taking a hit, but he tells us the conditions at work are such and there is no way out. This was the thing I strongly wished to see a change in...I very much wish things improve for my dad at work & he enjoys his life better.

An episode with the microwave oven!

2009-11-25T09:35:00.004+05:30

Away from home in US...ok, I felt like having some regular meal - rice. That is why I brought a microwave safe rice cooker from India. You put rice & water in it, put the cooker inside microwave for about 10 mins and lo, rice is ready to eat! At least that is what I understood I could do with it. It was the 21st, Saturday night at about 8 PM. I put the cooker in the microwave, set the timer at 10 minutes and started talking on the phone.

After about 7-8 minutes I saw a little smoke inside the oven and after another minute there was billowing smoke! I just put the phone down and ran to the oven in time to realize what had happened. As I opened the door, the characteristic smell of burning plastic hit my nose. I immediately lifted the cooker up, inverted it and carried to the sink. I felt a mixture of panic and irritation. I had planned on enjoying a homely dinner after almost a month & this is what I enjoyed instead. I then opened the balcony door, and kept the melted vessel there in order avoid spreading further smoke inside the apartment. I was already lucky since the smoke detector didn't trip. It is really cold at nights here (46F or 8C) and I didn't expect there would be anyone outside to smell the smoke; except that I was wrong. Right in the apartment above, a group of people, presumably students, were having fun in the balcony. Right after I put the vessel in the balcony and came inside, I could hear a little bit of running around in the apartment above, panicky voices shouting, etc. I realized what was happening & went into the balcony & spoke in a loud voice telling them there was nothing to worry and that the source of smoke was my apartment. A girl in her 20s with a cigarette in hand peered over the railing and took my message. I then brought the vessel back into the apartment and sealed it in a plastic bag leaving enough space between the burnt spot & the plastic.

I kept the door open for about 3 more hours. The apartment got freezing cold inside, but getting rid of the smell was my highest priority. Around 12 PM, I went to bed after having a little snack. This was my experience with cooking rice in a microwave!

Keep this in mind: if you are unsure how much time it would take for the rice to cook, cook in increments, checking at intervals how much is cooked & then approximating how much more time it might take. Ideally start with 3 mins and increment by 1 minute there on.

Here are some pictures from that day (caution: they are not a pleasant sight!)...

PS: Today is 24th Nov and I successfully cooked rice in a microwave oven. Thanks to a colleague of mine who gave me the cooker. Feeling full...cooking was fun too...potato fry, some rasam & curd constituted the dinner. Its a nice feeling I have now having cooked a full dinner myself! (secret: rasam was an instant one & curd was ready-made :))

2009-11-09T07:08:00.005+05:30

Yesterday, we went to the St.Paul Cathedral. Built it in 1850, it is an imposing gray colored structure that you can't take your eyes off! With an immaculate finish, it is one of the greatest architectural masterpieces I have ever seen. Once inside, you get a peaceful feeling that is well suited to its purpose. From the church, we stopped by at a Walmart store where I picked up some milk and chocolates. From there, we went to the Mystic Lakes Casino. This is the first time I have ever been to a casino. The first thing I noticed was that about 70% of the people gambling there were old people! Some of them so old that they had to pushed around in a wheel chair. I didn't gamble of course, but spent time going around watching people immersed in their game. Most of them were electronic slot machines with exotic names from Egypt, Greece, etc. There were 5 electronic Roulette boards, 10-15 Blackjack tables. My only spending, not that worthy :(, inside the casino was $2 on 4 postage stamps costing much less than that. By the time we came out, it was 6 and dark. On the casino building, there was a set of blue laser beams projected upward to intersect at a point...was an awesome sight. Then we headed to an Indian Restaurant where we picked up some dinner and got back home.

Today afternoon, I had my lunch (left overs from yesterday night) and enjoyed an amble to the Eden Prairie Public Library, about 3 kms away. It was a 30 min walk, but was lovely. I only expected it to be a small complex with a few books and few people but I was amazed by what I found there. The library was huge and there were a lot of people, kids and adults, spending time with books. Impressive. I quickly found my way to the fiction section and picked Stephen King's "Insomnia". I then settled down to read at a sofa nearby. I read for about an hour. It was a nice read, I put it down for some other day. I then perused some magazines. The library closed at 5, today being a Sunday. I then went around in the Eden Prairie Center for more than an hour. It was 6:45 by the time I came out. I then started my walk back home. Again, I was the only one walking and frankly, the lighting in the street is not that great. There are a lot of dark stretches which are freaky to walk through. I did feel apprehensive...but sometimes I like taking such risks which my mom doesn't approve of. I reached home at 7:15. For the first time in the ten days I have been here, I realized I was slightly sweating. I am sure you would begin to think I was sweating out of fear :), but let me tell you that is not the case. It was purely out of physical effort!

Anyway, that was how I spent this weekend here!

Curious Case Of Benjamin Button

2009-11-07T21:10:00.003+05:30

Yesterday night, I watched the movie "The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button". Man, what a movie! 2 hrs 46 mins long, I watched the whole movie without getting up from my seat. The sentiments of child birth, death, parental love, etc. have been displayed really well. How old people spend their time, their feelings, everything, is depicted well. There is no villain or negative aspect in the movie except for the part where Benjamin's father gets rid of the baby Benjamin. Brad Pitt's acting was amazing as the old man. In fact, every actor lived their role. The movie totally keeps you immersed in it throughout. The story begins with an old woman on death bed with her daughter reading the diary of Benjamin Button beside her. Most of the story is thus a flashback. Interestingly, the present time of the movie is the year 2005 when hurricane Katrina hit US. The hospital's TV keeps showing a weather report with the movement of the hurricane.

A highly recommended movie!

Sleep cycle almost set now!

2009-11-01T18:00:00.006+05:30

Its Sunday and I am up early in the morning. The time on the alarm piece beside my bed reads 7:30 AM, but its actually 6:30 AM. Yes, Daylight Savings ended today at 1:59:59 in the morning (ie, 1:00:00 after the change). I now have to manually set the clock back by 1 hour. I had a good sleep yesterday. Though I slept for just 6.5 hours, it was nice compared to the day before, when I slept for a disturbed 3-4 hours. Yes, looks like I am getting used to sleeping in the US time after all!

Yesterday, we spent the day at Mall of America. Its a huge complex with roller coaster and other rides right in the middle! The centre of the mall is an open place housing "Nickelodean Universe". Attractions here are a Lego shop where you can have fun with bricks, thrill rides (a lot of them), games and other stuff for kids. Spread over 3 floors and 4 blocks (north, south, east, west), the mall is so huge you can simply spend lots of hours with a good friend. There is an underwater kingdom showcasing a lot of fishes in a Sentosa-like tunnel aquarium; star fish, sea horses, crabs, octopus & jelly fish in other aquariums. The mall also houses a theater complex. In each of the four blocks are the giants Sears, Macys, Bloomingdales, Nordstrom occupying two floors each. There is a big Best Buy store where I bought the pin-converter for my laptop plug. In all, the mall is a good fun package.

A thing I notice about Minneapolis is that very few people actually walk the streets. Everyone travels by car. Of course, the weather here is not really inviting to pedestrians. In the place I am living, the roads are almost deserted except for the little car traffic now and then. Taxis are costly too. For a travel of about 11 miles, the charge is $35. Spending this daily from my pocket is not a good idea...need to look for an alternative. I don't see any public transport system either. Driving around a hired car is what most people do but I am not sure if its safe enough (yet) to hit the roads right away. Driving in US is a lot different than in India. Anyway, this is just my beginning here...have another 1.5 month to pass. I am sure I will be a lot more familiar with the place than I am now.

The nearest shopping center from my apartment is the Eden Prairie center. It is about 20 mins by walk. This is on our go-to list for today. There is no other convenience store nearby. Walking 20 mins in a cold place is not fun. The best thing ideally is to visit the store once a week and stock up things until next time.

That's the update on yesterday's activity. Let me start with the day now!

Traveling with the Sun!

2009-10-31T03:56:00.004+05:30

Its 4:47 PM now and I got up just an hour ago after a 12-hour nap! Yeah right, I am not in my home country; I am in Eden Prairie, Minneapolis, USA. I got onto a flight yesterday morning and got down here yesterday night. Ok, let me not confuse you here. The former refers to Indian time & the latter, now local time. I have a little headache and I really feel like a time traveller! It was fun traveling with the Sun till he set in the US. All this, we fondly call 'jet-lag' :).

Our flight took off at 8:30 AM on 29 Oct from Hyderabad, India. Via London, Chicago, we reached the Minneapolis St. Paul Airport at 11:45 PM on 29 Oct. By the time we got to our apartment, it was just past 1. Technically, the airport is about 30 miles from the place we live, but it just took about 15 mins to reach the apartment. The cabbie charged us $45 (more than Rs.2000!). It was a very smooth ride. We got here, looked around the apt a bit, sent an email to home that we reached safely, changed, and just some lingering around and by the time I hit the bed it was 3:30 AM. And now some time back when I looked at the clock on the bedside table, it was 3:40 PM! I slept like a baby after a really long time. Outside, it was cool & pleasant and my mind refuses to admit it is evening and not early morning.

Something about the flight...the journey was really comfortable, no hassles whatsoever. I didn't have any problem with the food too. The familiar ear-pain when changing altitude was almost absent too. In all, the in-flight experience was very satisfying. The first two legs of flight was British Airways, the third was American Airlines.

Well, I have nothing much to write about now, having did nothing at all in this new place. Here is a picture to start with…the view from our balcony. As I go out into the balcony to take this picture, the air is very chill although its just 10 degree celcius, lot of fun time ahead!

Oct 2 & DD

2009-10-02T10:27:00.003+05:30

Come October 2 and we sit before our television watching "Gandhi" the movie. Well, we used to do this. I am in a very petulant mood now since I realize with annoyance that "Gandhi" movie is not being telecast on the TV today. The loyal telecaster of the movie, the national Doordarshan (DD) channel on TV, isn't showing it too! Ever since childhood my father always wanted me to watch the movie without fail. Back then, it was just a matter of making my father happy and of course some non-interesting watching. But today, I really really want to watch the movie and alas, the movie is not to be seen. What DD is showing instead, is the movie "Munnabhai MBBS". DD has gone to the extent of showing this movie on 15th Aug & 26th Jan too as if its some national movie! Come on DD! Munnabhai MBBS is a movie that has come on TV hundreds of times already, and it is available at all music stores for as low as Rs.40. No doubt it is a good movie, but it can never be something that can replace the charm of "Gandhi".

The movie "Gandhi", directed by Richard Attenborough, released in the year 1982 cast Ben Kingsley as M. K. Gandhi. The movie won 8 oscars including best actor in leading role, best direction, best screenplay. It is a gem of a movie. Watching Ben Kingsley is like watching the real Gandhi, he totally lives the character. The movie's greatness can't be expressed in words...one has to watch it to appreciate it.

I wish with my heart that DD resumes the old tradition of telecasting this movie every October 2 (at least this day). Every generation must watch this movie, not just once but many many times. DD has always been a channel catering to the nation's interests, its character building. No other channel can match DD's vision & goal. Hence, it is DD that has to continue doing the great things it did in the past. And yes, this includes showing great movies like "Gandhi"...

Childhood recollections...

2009-08-24T22:30:00.003+05:30

We all love our childhood...the innocence, the free time, the no-responsibilities-life, most-mistakes-forgiven life, etc. :) Here are some of the recollections from my childhood, do share any of your interesting ones in the comments!

1. Stealing money for trifles: I would like to expand this one in particular as this is something I can never forget in my life. I was in 2nd class at Indira Ideal School (Janak Puri, New Delhi). There used to be a little canteen type of thing operated out of a room with a window selling chocolates, stationery, snacks, etc. There was this pack of spicy black balls called "Chatmola" which was mine & everybody's favorite. We friends used to buy it occasionally and savor it. At one point of time I became so obsessed with it that I started stealing money (just a rupee coin now & then) from my dad's cupboard. I rarely used to spend it, I collected my booty in my school bag's front pocket. With time, there was so much change in my bag that it started making sound even with the slightest movement of my bag. Innocence at its height, I never cared about it! One day, my parents' attention was drawn to this coin sound and they asked me what it was. I went red and confessed my "crime". I now don't exactly remember my parents' reaction, but I believe they forgave me immediately with just a warning, the nice parents that they are!

2. Getting jealous with cousins since grandma told them all the stories & none to us (me & my sis)

3. Crying & crying till dad bought me a video game!

4. Fighting with my sister at every opportunity!

5. Watching detective/horror serials at night with a lot of interest & then becoming afraid to go into a dark room!

6. Getting jealous when parents bought something for my sister and not for me :)

7. Playing for over 2 hrs in the evening with my gang of friends, sometimes until late in the night!

8. Wore shorts to school until my 7th class even when everyone else was wearing pants!

9. Copying the actions of someone I liked absentmindedly until I realized I had caught up with the habit of biting nails!

10. Visiting grandparents every summer.

11. Reading chacha chowdary & other comic books with deep interest.

PS: Kids now-a-days have a totally different list. They are growing up fast mentally, missing all the fun we used to have, lack the innocence (most of them), have a good presence on the internet, play on PSP or XBox,... :)

Easy Ubuntu Linux With Wubi

2009-07-30T20:48:00.000+05:30

It has been long believed that Linux, the open-source operating system, is only meant for geeks. The installation procedure, more working on the command line, the unfamiliar and seemingly difficult-to-use interface, all this, has always kept most computer users away from Linux. However, it is not the case these days. More and more users, amateurs and experts alike, are turning to Linux to embrace the open-source term. And more importantly, the evolution of Linux into a more user friendly OS has attracted users. There is a gigantic developer community out there contributing in a big way to advancement of Linux. Myriad applications are available for free for all your needs. Basically, everything that can be done in Windows/Mac can now be done Linux too. I myself am a Windows user & occasionally like working on Linux too, for a change mainly.

Traditionally, Linux installation means creating a separate partition on the hard drive before installing the OS. This is in fact the case if you wish to run just Linux on a computer. However, if you are a Windows user like me and just want to start using Linux in parallel, Wubi is for you. With Wubi, Linux gets installed the way you install any other software program on Windows and in the same way, can be uninstalled! Yes, see it to believe it! The Linux installation appears in the Windows Add/Remove programs list and can be uninstalled from there if you wish. Please note that Wubi is a Windows installer only for Ubuntu, and doesn't work with other Linux distributions like Fedora, Red Hat, etc.

Also, when you have a branded PC, there would typically be just two drives: one gigantic drive for the OS, and the other for recovery. Manipulating the OS drive is very risky and even if you are determined, it can be very irritating. In cases like these, an elegant solution like Wubi comes as a blessing.

The best part is, installing with Wubi is not similar to using a virtual machine software. It is equivalent to installing OS on a separate partition. Once installed, you would see Ubuntu along with Windows. Select "Ubuntu" from the boot menu to get into the Linux world.

Installing with Wubi is a breeze. Following is a brief overview:
1. Download Wubi from its website. The .exe is very compact, well under 2 MB.
2. Obviously, you would need the Ubuntu's ISO to install. You have two choices: let Wubi download it for you, or download the iso manually from Ubuntu's website. Though Wubi's website recommends letting Wubi download the iso for you, I personally find downloading it manually easy & reliable. If you wish to do the latter, place Wubi installer and Ubuntu iso in the same directory.
3. Launch Wubi installer. You would see the following screen.

4. Enter information on the screen above. Select the harddrive partition where you wish to install Linux. Select how much drive space you wish to allocate to the installation (min. is 3GB and is sufficient for part-time users). Leave others with their default values and configure a user name and password as shown. Click Install.
5. If you already downloaded the Ubuntu iso from its site and placed it at the same location as Wubi installer, it would be used. Else, Wubi would download it now.
6. Once setup is complete, restart Windows.
7. Now, in the boot menu, you should see "Ubuntu" along with Windows. Select Ubuntu and press Enter. This should boot you into Linux.
8. Now, Ubuntu would do some first time setup, and finally take you to the login page. Enter credentials and submit.
9. Enjoy the Ubuntu experience!

Installing Linux this way is the most hassle-free way of doing it, and the best part is, even intermediate users with a basic knowledge of Windows can do this!

Note: If you are unsure of any of the above steps above, please don't hesitate to contact me for details. Do not take any risks as this could lead to corrupting your existing OS or loss of data on your hard drive. But, there is no need to be afraid, its quiet easy after all.