Aalaap.blog

Dadar Station Gutted!

noreply@blogger.com (Aalaap) — Wed, 12 May 2010 13:39:00 +0000

This is what happened around 5.30-6pm on May 12, 2010 at Dadar...

I was posting tweets but the BlackBerry sent them out in a random order, so they all went up on TwitPic as a picture puzzle.

This is the correct order:

DADAR STATION UP IN FLAMES

THE FUCKING STATION IS BURNING!

It's so fucked!!!

Traffic on dadar station bridge... not moving!

Looks like its under control...

TOAST!!!

Electrical fire mostly...

Fire engine and ambulance are here. Looks like the situation is in check..

Cops!! 5 0 man! Run f'yo liives!!

Traffic towards dadar station. Avoid the fucking road man!!!

No casualties.

Old list:
http://twitpic.com/1n5he5 - DADAR STATION UP IN FLAMES

http://twitpic.com/1n5ihj - THE FUCKING STATION IS BURNING!
http://twitpic.com/1n5ggp - It's so fucked!!!
http://twitpic.com/1n5gqs - Traffic on dadar station bridge... not moving!
http://twitpic.com/1n5gf6 - Looks like its under control
http://twitpic.com/1n5idk - TOAST!!!
http://twitpic.com/1n5gzk - Electrical fire mostly
http://twitpic.com/1n5hnp - Fire engine and ambulance are here. Looks like the situation is in check..
http://twitpic.com/1n5hg0 - Cops!! 5 0 man! Run f'yo liives!!
http://twitpic.com/1n5jhj - Traffic towards dadar station. Avoid the fucking road man!!!

Looking for a Google Buzz invite? Here's how to use it right away.

noreply@blogger.com (Aalaap) — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 04:50:00 +0000

You probably don't have Google Buzz in your Gmail yet. So here's how you can use it on your PC without having to beg for invites.

Fire up Firefox.
Install the "User Agent Switcher" add-on and restart Firefox.
Go to Tools > Default User Agent > iPhone 3.0.
Visit http://google.com/buzz and start buzzing!
Firefox will ask you if you want to share your location with the website. Say yes!
When you're done buzzing, switch back the user agent to default. The best way to do this is to use Firefox only for this and use a better browser for browsing - like Google Chrome.

How does this work? It's so simple, I feel shitty writing this. Google Buzz isn't available in Gmail for everyone yet, but mobile web access to it is open. At least for those using the iPhone. You can login, post updates, follow people, comment on others' updates, get updates from nearby and all of that. So you get Firefox, make it pretend that it's an iPhone using the UA Switcher add-on, and use the mobile version of Buzz through it. Voila. An added advantage is that Firefox also supports geo-location - the same HTML5 API that's used on the iPhone - so you actually get location-aware information.

Now buzz off! :-)

http://www.google.com/profiles/aalaap

Too much Buzz?

If you've been Buzzing, you'll notice that your Gmail inbox has more "Buzz: " emails than penis enlarging offers, so here's a way out of that:

Create a filter.
Set both 'From' and 'To' to "youremailaddress@gmail.com". Yeah, it's a bit weird.
Set 'Subject' to "Buzz: " (with the quotes).
Set it to 'Skip the Inbox (Archive it)'.
Apply a label. Create a new one called "Buzz!". The exclamation is necessary because it won't let you create a label called just "Buzz".
NEW! In "Has the words" add this: "is:buzz"!

Now the bad news is that I've got Buzz in my Gmail, so I won't have any reasons to continue coming up with any more hacky Buzz shit like this. You're on your own now.

P.S. Bhenchod, this filter shit doesn't work. How the fuck do I get the buzz shit out of my inbox now?? HELP! It works! is:buzz! Thanks to this guy!

The first movie that mentions Twitter is... coming soon!

noreply@blogger.com (Aalaap) — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 08:05:00 +0000

Ladies and gentlemen, the first ever movie to mention 'Twitter' is coming March of 2010. It's called Hot Tub Time machine. And the way they've talked about Twitter is also as WTF-worthy as the title of the movie itself!
Enjoy!

Why Zoho Sucks

noreply@blogger.com (Aalaap) — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 07:30:00 +0000

I like the effort Zoho is making with their online suite of apps and I've even been suggesting people use it as an alternative to Google's. But this week, I started to seriously use Zoho, because Google Docs was fucking up a little bit. And this is the shit I had to go thru:

1) Zoho Docs doesn't work properly in Google Chrome. It asks you to use IE6 or Firefox instead.

2) In collaborative editing mode, CTRL-A is not supported. So if you want to copy the whole doc into notepad or any other app, you can't.

3) Even the EXPORT option is disabled in collaborative editing mode. WTF? What's the point of using an online office suite if half the shit is not available in collaborative mode?

4) While most of their UI is AJAXed - hell, even the login page doesn't refresh after you put in your username and password - the sign up page bizarrely doesn't let you know if the username has been taken after you type it in. You have to fill up the whole form, click submit, and then it reloads and tells you that it's taken. Like fucking 2002.

Fuck Zoho.

@aalaap Happy Birthday!

noreply@blogger.com (Aalaap) — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 10:35:00 +0000

Here's the craptacular cake I got made for myself:

It sucks!!! But it tasted pretty fucking good! My cake from last year was so much better! :-(

This is the chair I gifted myself:

Very comfy! And, as usual, here's the list of all the birthday twishes, in reverse order of receiving them:

inimeg @aalaap Oye i love First train home, it's another of my fave :) BTW belated birthday wishes!
shivOO @aalaap happy b'day
ajitonline @aalaap Wish you a very Happy birthday....good chair there!
princessxiaa @aalaap hey Wish u a very very happy bday!! hope u have a great time and all the best:)
mayankdhingra @aalaap hey, happy birthdayyy !! may you get all the beer you ask for :D
ashishmohta @aalaap happy bday man
Netra @aalaap happy birthday, dude !
vodkaholic @aalaap Happy birthday.
shahveer @aalaap happy birthday; have an awesome day & year!
annkur @aalaap #happybirthday
mrjain @aalaap Nice cake from 2008! What's in store for 2009? Fail Whale.
Saurangshuk @aalaap Happy b'day dude.. sorry for the late wish...deer aaye durust aaye..
mehulved @aalaap happy birthday
aryayush @aalaap Is it your birthday today? Happy Birthday! And what is this chair you keep talking about?
krazyfrog Happy Birthday @aalaap!
saaket @aalaap daaru chakne ke liye kaun aayega ??!
rashmid @aalaap Happy Burday :) sorry haven't mailed wrt work; wl mail on Mon. U have a kickass kickass day
pierre_nel @aalaap happy birthday 'n ol.
DjHarsh @aalaap Happy Birthday Aalaap. :)
pathik @aalaap Happy Birthday.
geekaren @aalaap happy birthday!!
Ramblinggeek @aalaap HAppy Birthday :)
greenrains @aalaap Happy Birhtday :P :D
vivekjishtu @aalaap Happy Birthday
iChaitanya @aalaap Happy birthday!
ankurgupta Birthday wishes to @aalaap and @b50's cute little kiddo Varun! May you both have a great year ahead :-)
iMBA Wishing a very happy birthday to @ankitk @Aalaap & @nandinih. Enjoy ur day budday pipul!!! HAPPY BUDDAY!!
AnujaPonkshe @aalaap Heyy Happy BIrthday!!!! :)
jun6lee @aalaap Well Done Chief! You made it.. 21 yet again! :D
Anusual @aalaap I can awesomely say,Wish you the same!Woohoo
cruisemaniac Happy birthday @aalaap may your life be a full mix of alcohol and gaali's
aditipatel04 @aalaap Happy Birthday!
BirthTwit @aalaap Happy birthday bro. Have a blast. http://bit.ly/1hZ4AU
Maczoos @aalaap Happy birthday bro. Have a blast.
NavinPai @aalaap ...Happy B'day Bro!!
chhavi @aalaap happy birthday! :)
aafreen @aalaap Happy birthday,.. So, whats in store for d day,..??
hardik @aalaap - Happy birthday dude... have a blast.
rejistry @aalaap - Vaadh divasaache shubhechha :)
santoshp Good morning people.. Its a wonderful saturday & @aalaap 's bday.. wishing him CHEERS! Nd have beer at pesos tonight
Vigram @aalaap wish u a very happy b'day dude
sattu77 Happy Birthday @aalaap
asmita @aalaap Happy Birthday Aalaap :-). Wish you all the happiness in the world
saaket Happy birthday @aalaap ! Where's the beer flowing ?
prolificd Haan! Aaj toh @aalaap ka bhi budday hai. Uthaya kisi ne usko?
razzdino @aalaap Happpy Birthday!! have a great day!
nighthawk24 listen to the Black Eyed Peas - I Gotta Felling! the remixes are even better! dedicated to @aalaap happy birthday again!
KirtiB @aalaap Happy birthday
ksavai @aalaap happy birthday
dj_priyam @aalaap haaap haaaap HAPPY BDAY.. Have a Blast Dude
b50 @aalaap hey, happy birthday man!
danishk @aalaap where are u Mr. EverSwearingGadgetFreekEternalGeek .. wishing your a electrifying birthday.. have a blast!!! :)
anaggh @aalaap wish you beerful, cycling, vada Birthday! Rock on d00d
iamShishir and it is @aalaap 's B'day too - Many Happy Returns of the day dude !
sandtree @aalaap yappy bday boy
butterchick @aalaap happppy birthday!
kissability @aalaap Happy Birthday! I hope your day is really fun and special.
andreaclear @aalaap HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!! When's the party? :D
Ishme3t @aalaap Happy birthday! If it is your birthday, that is. :\
shan_adhicary @aalaap 30? Wow.. aapke tweets se aapki umar ka pata hi nahi chalta #lametweets
madhumita @aalaap hoorrahh!!! treat treat treat treat treat! p.s. that made me feel old!
ruchi18 @aalaap Happy Birthday hai!!!
stoned @aalaap bacardi cuz its ur birthday!
shubhankar @aalaap aapke janam din ke is paavan avsar par aapko hardik subhkamanye Bhagwan aapka jeevan sukh, samriddhi aur kamiyabi se sajaa de
daman_c @aalaap Hey Happy Birthday!!.. Guess how I know, lol..
ameyadalvi @aalaap Many happy returns of the day
Sarvesh @aalaap .. Happy B'day mate.. Have fun. :)
sreeyesh @aalaap Happy Birthday! And many more happy returns.
parthans @aalaap - happy birthday sire!!
ceetee @aalaap Many wishes
gryphusnick @aalaap Happy Bday Dude! So what's gonna be 'different' today?
dkris @aalaap @jaggy Happy birthday guys
vipulk @aalaap happy birthday
mohdabdurraafay @aalaap Happy Birthday!
citylightlove @aalaap Hey! Have an elated and mindblowing bday! :D
Chet6 @aalaap Happy Birthday! Cheerz!!!! :)
sensonize @aalaap Happy Birthday! :-)
keshav @aalaap Happy Birthday :)
aDeSe @aalaap many happy returns of the day. I hope i've not mixed up :P hav a good one ahead.
mixdev @aalaap Taking the pride of wishing you many many return of the (yester)day. have rocqqqin party!!!!!!!!!!!!
MysticDews @aalaap Wish you a very happy birthday :)
pinkandpop @aalaap happy birthday :) have a great one!
_delux @aalaap happy b-day :)
tsuvik @aalaap Wish you a very very happy birthday dude :)
latecomer @aalaap Wish you a very very happy birthday.....& loads of fun...God bless :)
vivekk @aalaap hapy to u
fossiloflife @aalaap happy birthday dude!
Reetesh @aalaap Happy Birthday!
theBirthdayBot @aalaap have a great day!
rahuljrark @aalaap Happy birthday!!!
Tuoni @Aalaap Happy Birthday!
shan_adhicary @Aalaap Have a fucking budday!!! Aalaap style! and stay away from walls.. :P
eRajesh @aalaap Happy Birthday!!!
madhumita @Aalaap happy birthday dude!
sugarkisss @Aalaap hey happpy brthday ...have an awesome time :)
sizzler_chetan @Aalaap Happy Birthday in advance.. if its your b'day after 3 minutes :)
moonaai @Aalaap Hope u have a verry happy birthday! http://bit.ly/swoRs
freegeek @aalaap Happy Birthday!
schmmuck @Aalaap hey.. saw the FB notification. happy burrrday doood. have an extra leffe on me ;)

Thank you all and see you at the Janata drink-up today (if it's not a dry day, lol!)!

Videos of me being interviewed about FloodFeed on Techtree on UTVi!

noreply@blogger.com (Aalaap) — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 16:34:00 +0000

Without further ado, here is the entire TechTree episode where Malaika Shenoy was talking to me about FloodFeed and other stuff. Split up into two parts:

Part 1:

Get Flash to see this player.

Part 2:

Get Flash to see this player.

If the above players don't work, try simple links:

Thanks to Aparna Andhare and Prasanna Ratanjankar!

I should start blogging again.

noreply@blogger.com (Aalaap) — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 14:17:00 +0000

I don't think this was much of a "blog" anyway, but I should probably continue to do whatever I was doing with it till a few months ago.

Ok. See you in the next post!

Shady Sequels: Wrong Turn

noreply@blogger.com (Aalaap) — Tue, 05 May 2009 05:26:00 +0000

Official Wrong Turn movies:

Wrong Turn
Wrong Turn 2: Dead End
Wrong Turn: Left for Dead

It looks like this is going to continue, so I went ahead and made it easier for them. These are not just names of potential Wrong Turn sequels, they are also plot lines if you're imaginative.

Wrong Turn 4: Should've Used GPS
Wrong Turn 5: How About Google Maps, Then?

How about some prequels?

Wrong Turn 0: You're STILL Not Ready?!
Wrong Turn -1: We Haven't Left Yet.
Wrong Turn -2: Where the Fuck are My Socks?

More..

Wrong Turn 3.5: I Said LEFT, Dammit! LEFT!
Wrong Turn 6: Ask for Fucking Directions
Wrong Turn 7: Next Time, Just Take the Bloody Bus

And the grand finale...

Wrong Turn 8: I Think the Party's Over

I certainly hope it is.

Contributions by the community:

@Tuoni: "Wrong Turn 8: You & me, we're fucking done professionally"
@nithinkd: Spin-ofs: "Wrong Turn: Wrong Bus", "Wrong Town", "Wrong House", "Wrong Wife", "Wrong Kids" .. "Wrong Maid" !!! LOL

Got more? Twee-ply to me.

Maybe this 'Shady Sequels' series can become a regular thing on my blog. I come up with too many movie names and plot lines to just tweet them once and let them fade away!

Firefox Axxis (2009) Review

noreply@blogger.com (Aalaap) — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 03:58:00 +0000

I guess it's been a while now and so I figured a review is probably due.

Here's the post I made in my epic thread titled "Aalaap's big bike search" .. heh.

"aalaap" wrote:

I bought the Firefo Axxis.

Rs. 7,062 exact. Rode it all the way home from the Malad bike station to Mahim.

Hardtail (front shocks). Standard, powder-coated 18-inch frame. VERY light. No gears. Alloy rims, steel spokes and hub. V-type brakes. Easily detachable front tyres. Easy seat height adjustment. Great looking. Great name.

Add-ons in the next few days or so:

- Bottle holder

- 21-speeder Shimanos. If I go for Revo Shift, it'll cost me around 1,800 bucks. If I go for Rapid Fire shifters, around Rs. 2,000. I think I'll take the rapid fires...

- Helmet - a standard Kamachi from Metro for Rs. 250 or so.

- Mud guards would be a good idea...

Some more details on my blog.

THE END

* credits roll *

Ride

Very, very comfortable and smooth to ride. Makes NO noise at all. It's like I'm riding on smooth tarmac. And when I actually get on smooth tarmac, I don't feel like I'm on the ground at all!

The front suspension is very basic, cheap stuff that you'll probably find in some local, under 5k bikes. It does kick in when riding over potholes, but otherwise, on non-potholed roads, it's fairly hard, and so it doesn't have a negative effect on pedalling efficiency. I think that's a good thing.

The seat is a bit hard, but I'm going to put a Velo GelTec cover on it and see if that makes it any better.

The grip isn't uncomfortable, but a slightly thicker, softer rubber cover might help. I do think the grip is a bit too thin for me, so an added cover is really going to help me.

Components

From what I see, the bike has very standard components that you'll find in a normal and/or cheapo bike. The downside is that they'll give way sooner than the good quality stuff, but on the other hand, they are cheap and easily replaceable. Another upside to standard, cheapo components is that you won't have a problem letting your local cycle shop repair guy tinker around with it. They're used to working with that kinda stuff. I would have hated to take a Trek or a Merida to the local shop!!

On one of the RTWs (I suppose it was the second one), I was noticeably slow on our way to town from shivaji park. The reason was that my front brakes were rubbing against the rim even when I wasn't braking. We (Kunal, R K) tried fixing it with toolkits, but we only made it worse and I rode back with a barely working front brake. I was dead slow on the way back, so it was okay. I took it to the local cycle guy (Sardar) and he fixed it up in 10 minutes for 10 bucks. lol. No problems since.

After-market components and Accessories

I had planned to put gears on this, inspite of Dipak (of Gear) advising against it. But after giving it more thought, and more importantly, after riding it for a longer amount of time, I have a feeling that I don't need gears at all. I hadn't seriously ridden a bike for almost a decade till I bought this one, so I was naturally feeling left behind. But I guess I'm slowly regaining the stamina every time I ride, so even light slopes such as flyovers seem pretty trivial now. So I don't think I want to put gears. Besides, even if I do, that'll end up streching the seat stay to accomodate for the rear gears, and that's gonna screw up the frame, which is what everyone is saying. Fair. No gears.

But you can put gears if you want. Around 1500-1800 for 21s.

Style

The Axxis is a REALLY good looking bike. I finalized on buying it the day I actually saw it on front of me. I already liked it in the pictures, but when I saw it, I had to have it. And that's why I bought it.

The bike has a perfect balance of black and silver colors. It's got some great tribal-ish vinyl-ish sticker on the frame with a fantastic looking "Firefox" and "Axxis" logos in a very good looking font.

This bike looks so good, almost everyone stares at it when I ride by. One guy on a motorcycle in my area slowed down while next to me and was staring at it. I told him its a Firefox Axxis and asked him to check out firefoxbikes.com. He asked me where I got it from. I said Malad. Then he said it's a cool bike and sped away. And I was smiling!

Customer Service

Don't ever go to the Malad shop. The guy out there is a total ass. Go to Nerul or Thane. Much nicer people.

However, you don't always need to go to the Firefox Station for everything. Like I said before, the local guy can take care of everything for you, and he won't mess anything up, since the components are pretty standard on this one.

Conclusion

So the bike has standard, cheap components, but the ride quality is excellent and the style factor is way up there. For Rs. 7,062, this may not be the best quality bike you can buy (surely not), but it IS definitely the best looking bike you can find!

I may add more to this review as and when I remember stuff.

Bought the Firefox Axxis on March 13, 2009 around 6pm from the Firefox Station in Malad. Paid Rs. 7,062 by credit card (so 2.5% got added).

I started using Twitter on...

noreply@blogger.com (Aalaap) — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 03:53:00 +0000

3/25/07

I looked long and hard for the "Welcome new Twitterer" email in my Gmail inbox (which I got back in 2004 and I've never used the 'Delete' button in), but I just couldn't find it. I found some welcome emails for some extra accounts I had created for work later on in 2007, but not my main account.

Then I expanded the search to throw up everything sent by @twitter.com and I found these:

Date: Sun, 25 Mar 2007 01:37:59 +0000
From: Devesh Mistry
To: (hidden)
Message-Id: <4605d277d340c_2ab06fba1b695@habrock.tmail>
Subject: Devesh Mistry wants you to join Twitter!

Hi!

Devesh Mistry wants you to join Twitter!

Click here to get started:
http://twitter.com/i/06c99b863b0fc0588a7911c92be180a85e934aea

Or, check out Devesh Mistry's Twitter profile:
http://twitter.com/deveshm

Ciao!

... followed by the first DM he sent me:

Date: Sun, 25 Mar 2007 09:54:51 +0000
From: Devesh Mistry via Twitter
To: (hidden)
Message-Id: <460646eba16a_eab707af922692@sirin.twitter.com.tmail>
Subject: Direct message from Devesh Mistry via web

LOL this is neat!

Devesh Mistry

--
follow me at http://twitter.com/deveshm
send me a direct message from your phone or IM: D DEVESHM your message here.
turn off these email notifications at: http://twitter.com/account/notifications

And a forgot password email:

Date: Mon, 26 Mar 2007 04:06:18 +0000
From: Twitter
To: (hidden)
Message-Id: <460746ba372e7_1f98758f3fc31ba@sirin.twitter.com.tmail>
Subject: We all forget, sometimes...

Hey there-

Can't remember your password, huh?
It happens to the best of us.

Your password is: (hidden)

Login at:
http://twitter.com/login

If you want to change your password,
login to your account and click the
"Settings" link at the top right
side of the screen.

The forgot password email is dated 26th and the first invitation is dated 25th! lol, i must have been one oblivious ass!

I still haven't found the original "Welcome new Twitter-er" or whatever that email was called back then. It might have something to do with the fact that I signed up using an aalaap.com email address instead of gmail, and switched it to gmail later on. But, if I've been using Gmail since 2004, why the fuck would I give a non-gmail address to a web app two years down the line? That just eludes me.

Update: I may have found the first few tweets that @deveshm and I posted to Twitter!! Not in the correct order...

aalaap: Listening to Nocturnal 082 - a blast from the past - while last night's Nocturnal 086 gets downloaded! (4/1/07, 12.35pm)
deveshm: So much emotional baggage... Still so much to off load... There goes my weekend plans :( (4/1/07, 8.08am)
aalaap: Playing Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (4/1/07, 2.23am)
aalaap: Upgrading Boot Camp on the office Mac so I can go ahead and install Vista. (4/2/07, 1.16 PM)
deveshm: Hate waiting in medical centres :( (4/2/07, 2.02 PM)
...

As you can see, I took to it instantly. I knew it was going to be a great time ahead. The dawn of a new era on the internet!

Remember your first few tweets? If you had enabled the Twitter IM feature and used Gmail, then all of those tweets you posted/received would be saved in your chat history. That's where I found the ones I mentioned above. If you find some of your first tweets, post them in the comments below!

Why Firefox Personas are a good thing...

noreply@blogger.com (Aalaap) — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 02:28:00 +0000

It's been over a year since Mozilla Labs introduced Personas - a simple skinning add-on for Firefox that makes it easy and light to change the look and feel of your browser - but only now have they released it officially. I don't know why it would take them more than a year to work on and perfect an add-on that displays two images - one on top and one at the bottom - but that's exactly what it's taken them.

Anyway, it's finally here, and I have a feeling only good can come of these Personas.

One of the obvious reasons why I like Personas (and liked them from day one) is that you don't need to shut down and restart the browser every time you change a skin. Just select a new Persona from the menu and you can see it change right before your eyes. This is the thing I hate about Firefox themes or add-ons - they are useless until you restart and with the kind of bloat and tardiness Firefox is packing these days, that can annoy the fuck outta you.

It's easy to get started too. Firefox comes with only one theme by default and makes you go to the online Theme directory to look for and get more. Personas have almost 50 skins ready for you to use when you install it. And they are all easy to preview and switch by clicking the little fox icon at the bottom. If you want more, you can always go to the Personas directory.

Finally, there's the categories of Personas in the gallery. I noticed a 'Websites' category which has a collection of skins that let you brand your Firefox with a website of your choice. This is very interesting, because it opens up new possibilities in providing a seamless website style. Imagine the blue sky and clouds from Twitter.com extending beyond the canvas and showing up in your browser header and footer. Imagine Flickr.com showing up some popular photo thumbnails behind your header. Okay, that doesn't sound very pretty, but you get the idea. This can be used for advertising too!

Sure, this can be misused, but it's not less safer than landing up on an unknown website that may just have porn advertising all over it!

The CSS for activating Personas could read something like this:

body {
-moz-personas-header: url(this-is-my-header.png);
-moz-personas-footer: url(this-is-my-footer.png);
}

For this to happen, Mozilla would need to...

1. Integrate Personas into the next version of Firefox. Personas are no good if casual users don't know about them. The extension is about 178kb, which won't add too much overhead to the full Firefox installer download. Integration will drive up usage.

2. Add the -moz-personas-header and -moz-personas-footer CSS extensions to Firefox.

3. Consider adding another 'toolbar' image strip that can be used to change the default theme icons, such as the back, next, refresh, stop and home buttons. This will make Personas a lighter, easier to use theme engine than the theme engine itself.

We all got used to favicons, right? In the same way, I think Firefox Personas have the potential to make the web a more interesting place.

And now, I shall go back to using Chrome because I prefer it over Firefox. :-)

Just got a Firefox Axxis!

noreply@blogger.com (Aalaap) — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 16:23:00 +0000

Yep.. I went to the Firefox Bike Station in Malad, took one glance at the Firefox Axxis and I knew I had to buy it. So I did!

It cost me Rs. 7,062 after all taxes and VAT and shat and fat.

Some of the interesting features include:

26" wheels, 18" frame
VERY light!
Detachable front wheel for use with a bike rack
Easy seat height adjustment
F/R V-brakes
Alloy rims, steel spokes and hub

What's not good? Well a few things...

The frame is regular MS iron and power coated, not aluminum alloy. This means the bike will need some special care after a little wear and tear!
No default gears. I'll put gears later on, but they'll cost me between Rs. 1,500-3,000 bucks. I can do that later - I don't feel the need right away.

I'll also be honest and say that I was leaning towards this bike because of two primary reasons - it looks hot and it's got an even hotter name - Axxis - which sounds way better than Target or Cyclone or Tempest or anyfuckingthing else that Firefox has in their range.

And I rode it all the way home from Malad to Mahim! It was a tiring, yet exhilarating ride that took a total of two hours because I took a good amount of breaks, had a Pepsi (reluctantly) and made a few phone calls. I'm sure I can do it in half that time, but I think this is pretty good for a first ride!

Just got a laptop for Rs. 10,990!

noreply@blogger.com (Aalaap) — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 17:39:00 +0000

Update: This is crazy! The laptop had a built-in Atheros AR5005G WiFi adapter! 11k and WiFi too!! INSANE!

No, it's not second hand. No, it's not a netbook. No, it's not a VIA processor. No, it's not a joke!

It's the Sahara E101. I got it from the great big Big Bazaar clearance sale at Orchid City Centre mall at Mumbai Central. Normally, I wouldn't touch a Sahara product with a ten foot pole, but a full-featured laptop at 11k was too fucking cheap to resist!

It doesn't look so bad...

...and it's not too bad on the specs either: (mostly copy pasted from the website)

Processor: Intel® Celeron® M Processor 380 (1 MB L2 Cache, 1.6GHz, 400MHZ FSB)
Operating System: Linux (Fedora some fuck shit. EDIT: It's Fedora Core 5 from 2006. It has Firefox 1.5!)
Motherboard: SIS M661 MX+SIS963L
Memory: 256 MB DDR RAM (upgradeable upto 2GB)
LCD Display: 35.8cms (14.1") TFT LCD XGA Display
VGA & Graphics: SISM661 Integrated graphics
Hard Drive: 40GB HDD
Optical Drive: DVD/CD-RW Combo Drive
Pointing Device: Built-in touch pad with 2 click buttons
LED Status Indicator: Power, Battery, HDD, Num Lock, CAPS Lock
Keyboard: 19mm, 2.5mm travel 86 keys with Windows function keys, Power button, Internet Browser, Email and 2 application buttons
Interface Ports: 2x Audio Jack (Mic In & Headphone Out), 1x VGA, 4x USB 2.0 Port, 1x RJ11, 1x RJ45, 1x DC-In, 1x PCMCIA Type II
Audio: AC'97 Built-in stereo sound with 3D sound effects
AC Adapter: 100~240 V, 50-60 Hz, 19V, 3.42 Amps DC Output Adapter
Battery: Li-Ion battery pack
Communication: Built-in 10/100 Fast Ethernet Controller, 56 K v90 v92 support modem
USB Connector: 4* USB 2.0 (v2.0)
Warranty: NO WARRANTY OR GAURANTEE! hahaha

Here are the points you need to make note of:

There is no Wi-Fi. But since this thing has a PCMCIA slot, a simple WiFi adapter will do the trick. Since it's PCMCIA, the card'll slide right in and you won't even notice it, unlike the newer USB WiFi dongles. I'm going to get the Netgear WG511, which costs around Rs. 1,100. The laptop comes with a built-in Atheros AR5005G 802.11b/g WiFi adapter! No need to buy anything extra!
There is no Bluetooth. If you need it, a simple, tiny Bluetooth dongle (like my Super Mini BT dongle) will cost you not more than 200-250 bucks.
The laptop has two DDR slots They are DDR1, not DDR2. There's one 256MB DDR333 SODIMM by default, so you can add another 1GB and get a total of 1.25GB. This is good enough to run Vista. A new 1GB DDR400 SODIMM costs around Rs. 1,450. 2GB would cost you Rs. 2,900, but that'll be totally sorted!

So after spending around Rs. ~~2,800~~ 1,700 (depending on what you want from the list above), you get a fully functional notebook and that's still going to cost you just a hint over Rs. ~~13.5k~~ 12.5k! I think that's a good deal for those who are strapped for cash and are looking for a netbook for that very reason. If you're looking for a netbook for the portability factor, then this Sahara E101 at 11k is obviously not for you, but if you're running low on dough and you need a laptop, this is the best deal in the market right now!

What do you think?

Unfortunately, this marvel of a deal is no longer available. I got it from a Big Bazaar clearance sale that's obviously over now. Too bad!

Just got a Firefox Toxin!

noreply@blogger.com (Aalaap) — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 11:19:00 +0000

After an hour of tennis in the morning, I decided to go the Firefox Bike Station in Nerul as recommended by Anoop, a Cyclists.in member. I test rode the Cyclone and quite liked it, but I really like the fact that the Target has detachable wheels - great for packing the bike into the car.

A close friend stays at Vashi, so I figured I'd give him a call and say hello. When I told him I'm looking at cycles in Nerul, he knew I was at Firefox and he went on to say that he's got a Firefox bike that he doesn't need anymore! I raced to his place to look at it - it wasn't an MTB as I had hoped for, but hey! it was a BMX! I was instantly transported back to the 80's when I wanted a BMX! I really, badly wanted a BMX and my folks just didn't get me a one. After talking to him about it, he decided to just give me the bike! And so I took it!

It's a black Firefox Toxin with 20" wheels, alloy U-brakes, alloy rims and front+rear stunt pegs! It's COOL!

I never thought I'd actually get a BMX bike in this day an age! This is as much a surprise to me as it is to you!

Now this doesn't mean my bike search is over, no! I'm still going to get either the Firefox Target or the Cyclone (mostly the Target for the detachable wheels) but I'm also considering the Temptest (6 speed gears)...

The Browser Cycle

noreply@blogger.com (Aalaap) — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 08:20:00 +0000

I was discussing cycles on Twitter the other day and I tweeted something like this:

It'll be fun if I get a "Firefox" bicycle, do lots of "Chrome" plating on it and go "Exploring" the mountains during a cycle "Safari". WIN.

That was because of the 140 character limit. The full version is this:

It'll be fun if I get a "Firefox" bicycle, do lots of "Chrome" plating on it and go "Exploring" the mountains on a cycle "Safari" while listening to the "Opera".

Seriously, though, Firefox seems to have a seriously good range of bicycles starting from around Rs. 7,990 for dual-shock absorbers and gears.

Very nice. Time to make a trip to the bike shop. It's in Malad.

How to install Google Chrome for all users in Windows

noreply@blogger.com (Aalaap) — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 07:28:00 +0000

If you noticed, the Google Chrome installer doesn't ask to run as administrator (read: no UAC prompt) while installing itself. This is because it doesn't write it's files to the system directories like most other applications do (Firefox, for example). However, this also means that only the user that installs Chrome can use it. For every other user, he/she will have to run the installer and have it download the full setup and then install it.

There are some ways to get an already installed copy of Chrome to work with multiple users. One such way was posted on Neowin.net:

Copy %UserProfile%\Local Settings\Application Data\Google\Chrome\Application to another folder accessible to all users, eg: C:\Program Files\Google\Chrome\Application
Add the following registry value for each user that will be using Google Chrome:
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Google\Update\Clients\{8A69D345-D564-463c-AFF1-A69D9E530F96}]
"pv"="0.2.149.27". User preferences will continue to be per-user in %UserProfile%\Local Settings\Application Data\Google\Chrome\User Data

There is an easier way:

Simply download the full offline installer version of Google Chrome from here: http://dl.google.com/chrome/install/160.0/chrome_installer.exe (around 8.5mb), login to each user's account and run the installer. Voila!

Hey, it's better than logging into each user's account and messing with the AppData folders and the registry!

And there's an EVEN EASIER way to install Google Chrome on all Windows accounts at once if you're an administrator on the system:

Visit the Google Pack website.
Customize the package by removing all items other than Google Chrome and download it
Run that as administrator (default behaviour) and your system will have Chrome for everyone

That's it!

Who is this Garnier Fructis commercial girl?? UPDATE: DIVA DHAWAN!

noreply@blogger.com (Aalaap) — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 17:24:00 +0000

UPDATE: We found her!!!! Scroll down!

Who is this Garnier Fructis commercial girl??

Tell me!

As pointed out by "edwin" in the comments on this post, the elusive new Garnier Fructis girl has been identified as (ta-daa!!!) DIVA DHAWAN!

Apparently she is an NRI and was also chosen as a face of WIFW etc. but fuck all that! I don't care! I'm just fucking happy I found her! Thanks, edwin!

And now, feast your eyes on some [insert interesting, not oft-used adjective here] photos of Diwa Dhawan!

She is so fucking hot!

FUCK!

Need for Speed: SHIT

noreply@blogger.com (Aalaap) — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 19:38:00 +0000

No, that isn’t a typo in the post title. The new game in the series from EA is called “Need for Speed: SHIFT,” but given how crappy the last two titles were (ProStreet and Undercover), I wouldn’t be totally surprised if everyone starts calling the game “Need for Speed: SHIT”.

Having said that, the screen shot doesn’t look too bad:

EA also announced two more NFS games – Nitro (for the DS and crap) and World Online (which is some Motor City Online type online game destined to fail equally badly).

You want my advice? Save your money and load up Burnout Paradise. The new update packs are going to decimate all other games in the arena. Don’t you remember PLANES?

Windows 7 Boot Camp OS X Virtualization

noreply@blogger.com (Aalaap) — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 06:38:00 +0000

I just couldn't think of a logical, short title for this post. Sorry.

So, I've been using Windows 7 on Boot Camp for a while, but I'd really like to get it to work under OS X in a VM, so I don't have to keep rebooting for either. I tried all the major products. Here is the list of problems:

Parallels Desktop 4.0.3810 - sound doesn't work.

VMWare Fusion 2.0.1 - networking/internet doesn't work.

VirtualBox 2.1.2 - Doesn't let you run a Boot Camp installation in a VM.

MacDrive 7 - yeah, not a virtualisation app, but I still think it belongs in this list. I couldn't get this to work in Windows 7, although some people have reported success.

TransMac 8.1 - Works! But this is a simple, temporary way of accessing files on a Mac partition via Windows.

I don't want to go back to Windows Vista because Windows 7 is much faster and more stable.

If you ask me, I'd expect Parallels to release a working update soon. So if you're considering a VM app to run Windows 7, put your money down on Parallels Desktop 4.0.

Alternate Ending: Vacancy (2005)

noreply@blogger.com (Aalaap) — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 06:08:00 +0000

Once again, such an interesting premise laid to waste by too simple a script. Agreed, my suggested twist for Red Eye was a little too contrived, but for a movie like Vacancy, I'm sure it could work.

Amy watches in horror as she sees David get stabbed and collapse to the ground. She holds on till the morning, gets down from the trapdoor in the roof and checks up on David, who is still unconscious. She senses an attack from behind, and runs out to the car, leading to the chase/fight sequence in the movie (which is already there). After nailing one of the killers, she has a run-in with the concierge and shoots him after a bit of a fight. However, she sees that his body has disappeared. She goes back to David, and tries to get him up, but to her shock again, David points a gun at her. It is revealed that the whole thing was plotted by David, who, in fact, did blame Amy for the death of their son and could never forgive her. Another bit of a chase ensues, lots of stuff gets thrown around, but Amy manages to run out of the motel and onto the road, where she is met with a couple of patrol cars who responded to her second call to 911 during the time she was running from the concierge. The cops take in David. Amy goes home alone. Crying. Just for effect. Hahahah.

Come on, you gotta admit - this WAS a bit better than the boring original ending!

Alternate Ending: Red Eye (2005)

noreply@blogger.com (Aalaap) — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 05:52:00 +0000

I'm always thinking of ways in which a movie can be made better. It could be the editing, the script, the direction, the camera work and sometimes even simple lighting and locations. Mostly, I just talk to friends who have seen the movie and discuss my ideas with them, but I felt that my thoughts need more concrete storage, so I'm gonna start publishing them here. I'm going to start off with Wes Craven's Red Eye, starring Rachel McAdams and Cillian Murphy.

I really, really enjoyed the movie. However, that doesn't mean that I think it's perfect. My biggest gripe with Red Eye is that it's very linear. This isn't a problem, but when you have all the elements for a perfect parallel plot, why make the movie so simple?

So here's the plot twist I suggest:

Lisa comes home around the end of the movie to find a man standing outside her father's house. She drives the car against him, knocking over and killing him. She finds her father, who's okay. After some time, Jack shows up and tries to attack her. She runs to her father, hoping that the game will come to an end soon. However, to her horror, dad turns out to be one of them, and starts monologuing about how he's the one who plotted all this. There could be some story arc about how he's the one who is somehow affected by Keefe's actions. I haven't thought of that, but I'm sure something can be thought up here. There can also be reasons that caused Lisa to drift a bit away from her dad. After the monologue, there's a bit of a chase and fight (just the way it takes place in the movie - I really liked it). Dad is the one who gets the gun, but Lisa ducks and Jack gets shot instead. Lisa has alerted the cops already on her way to her place, so they arrive, and take her dad away.

Yeah, it sounds a bit unnecessarily villainish, but I'm a sucker for plot twists, so I enjoyed the thought of this.

What do you think?

Freida Pinto on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, 12.22.08

noreply@blogger.com (Aalaap) — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 06:19:00 +0000

I always knew there was something magical about Freida Pinto, since I met her in 2006.

Fast forward to two years later, here's Freida, winning awards for her performances in the awesome Slumdog Millionaire and appearing on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on 22nd of December 2008.

Missed it? Here's a clip!

I still can't believe I actually know this girl!

I'd also like to mention that I have a similar hunch about someone else right now. She's destined for great things too. But I don't want to get too far ahead of myself, so I won't name her just yet...

And, oh yeah, this is my first blog post of 2009! Yaay.

Update 01/26/2009: Sorry, NBC had the video deleted from YouTube. However, what's the use of this thing called the Internet then? You have two options. If you're in the US, you can watch the episode on Hulu and if you're not in the US and/or you can't do Hulu, then download the clip off RapidShare. As a bonus, it's HD 720P :-) Enjoy!

CANCELLED: Matt Darey @ State of Mind Festival, Goa, India, 12.26.2008

noreply@blogger.com (Aalaap) — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 10:32:00 +0000

UPDATE! CANCELLED! :-( News and bad news. News is that Matt Darey was playing at State of Mind Festival in Goa, not Sunburn. And the bad news is that the event has been called off due to the prevalent terrorist threat in the country. Great. I'm gonna sleep through the Christmas weekend in the comfort of my own home!

"Hi mate, im really sorry to say I have just been informed that the police have advised the promotor of the state of mind fest to call off the event with ref to the terrorist threat. I was supposed to be playing there for 2 days in a row.....real shame......Im guessing it will be some time in 2009 when i get me next chance."

CONFIRMED! Matt Darey *IS* playing at Sunburn 2008 in Goa this year. After announcing it on Nocturnal 174 on the weekend, I went around asking everyone from Nikhil Chinapa to RayG/Reji (who is in the line-up! hooray!), but no one could comment. Finally, Matt himself spoke:

"its true dude...........theres a big festival that goes on all that week, I'll be playing 2 different styles on different days........first time out there so really looking forward to seeing how you guys party"

on a forum post. Yaay!

I don't normally do Goa. I even missed out the first Sunburn kick-off and the pre-parties, but now that Matt is playing, I'm fucking going!

Who: Matt Darey, RayG and a LOT of others!
What: Sunburn 2008
Where: Goa, India
When: 26th, 27th and 28th of December, 2008; 12pm to 10pm.
How much: Rs. 2,875 for a 3-day pass or Rs. 1,725 for a single day pass for 26th/27th and Rs. 2,300 for 28th.

I'll be there all three days!

Book your Sunburn 2008 tickets here!

Linux vs. Windows to Sys Admins: The Myth

noreply@blogger.com (Aalaap) — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 07:19:00 +0000

Jeremy Allison writes in a post on Tux Deluxe, titled "When Linux Fails":

It's amazing to see the myth that Linux is hard to use, install, and support still being propagated in much of the media here in the USA, when in reality it is resented by Windows administrators due to its ease of use and lesser requirements for professional support.

BALLS.

That's all I have to say.

Shove the Candles Up Your Ass!

noreply@blogger.com (Aalaap) — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 17:52:00 +0000

I'm sick of everyone trying to "show support" for the city by doing stupid things like lighting candles outside your windows, walking across town, wearing black or white or whatever. What the fuck are you going to achieve by doing this? You think a candle or a black t-shirt is going to spare the city from an attack the next time? All you get is a false sense of achievement of having done something when you haven't done fuck shit.

The truth is, none of us can do anything. While you're out there spamming everyone in your phonebook asking them to observe a minute-long silence or whatever bull crap, in another part of the city (if not Mumbai) or somewhere else in India, there's another huge attack being planned of a bigger, if not equal, magnitude. More terrorists are arriving into the country using illegal credentials or none at all. More rooms are being rigged with enough explosives to blow the whole building down. And you can't do shit about it. None of us can. Not you, not the cops, not the politicians.

So stop trying to show that you're doing something constructive by lighting candles. Fuck you. Take the candles and shove them up your ass.

Post-comments Update: (4th December 2008)

My friend, the odd nari, Mishty Varma, has written a softer version of the same thing I'm trying to say. Read it here: Symbolic gesticulation belongs to the Age of Passivity; Move on.

I got more favorable comments than flames on this post, but whatever I read, still deserves a reply.

The Walk

The case in question: the Gateway of India march or protest or whatever the shit fuck that ass parade was called. On the day it was supoosed to take place, at least ten people asked me if I was going there. Obviously, I said no. I didn't even know what the fuck it was, cuz I don't fucking care. I told them that I don't fucking care and that they are wasting their time. And they got all pissy patriotic and said shit like "see its because of ppl like you why all this is happening and because of ppl like u who don't do anything, no change is gonna come about" and BLAH BLAH BLAH.

Well, now that you're done with the walk of life, WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU ACHIEVE? WHAT FUCKING CHANGE HAVE YOU BOUGHT ABOUT? ARE YOU REALLY THAT MENTALLY IMPAIRED TO BELIEVE THAT A BUNCH OF PEOPLE WALKING AND PROTESTING IS GOING TO MAKE THE SOMEONE TRY TO MAKE THE COUNTRY MORE SECURE? WELL, IT'S FUCKING NOT.

And what the fuck was going on while you were walking? They found 8kgs of RDX at the CST station package room or whatever, where it was just lying for the past week. Fucking brilliant, isn't it?

However, at least two good things came out of the walk. First, a fuckload of people got a reason to get out of work early and second, all you fat fucks probably lost some weight if you did walk at all.

The Blame

Whenever any shit happens, what do all you fuckwits do? You blame the government. You blame the politicians. You blame the cops. You blame the media. You blame Dawood. You blame Pakistan.

You say that I don't do anything and that you're fuelling change and all that shit? What the fuck have you done besides blaming all the things above? (Yeah, of course Dawood is a thing. I'm sure he ain't fucking human.)

The 49-O

I had to add a filter in Gmail to trash all the emails with "49-O" in the subject line.

It seems this is some right that all of us have that lets us vote, but not vote for anyone at all. And then, if a lot of people vote but don't vote for anyone, which is fucking stupid in the first place, then there's some fucking re-election carried out, so the people who were winning have to poll again. HELLO FUCKCOMPOOPS! Someone is winning because THE AAM FUCKING JANTA voted for them! So if you do this re-election again, WHAT'S GOING TO STOP THEM FROM VOTING FOR THE SAME PEOPLE AGAIN? So you'll do the 49-O again! Re-election! Lather! Rinse! Repeat! A NATIONAL FUCKING WASTE OF TIME! Hmm, this might even be better than cricket!

What else can I say.. come.. post some more comments so I can fuck around some more.

Update (6th December 2008):

The Movement

Today's Mumbai Mirror has a write-up about a certain Shruti Jalan-Narang who lost her husband and her in-laws in the 26/11 attack. I've known Shruti since 1998 and though we haven't spoken in a while, we're still good friends.

In the article, she has been quoted as saying "... I will not let my husband's death and the lives of other people go waste. I will start a movement, although I have no clue what it will be about yet."

Now, she's a friend and I do mourn for her loss of someone irreplacable such as her husband, but she is exactly the demographic that this blog post is written against.

All you people are chanting things like "Enough is enough", "Wake Up Mumbai", "Let's Change", blah blah, but none of you have any clue to what you're going to do next.

Update: (14th July 2011):

If you're thinking about having another candle light march after last night's bomb blasts at Dadar, Opera House and wherever else, I have the same thing to say to you: SHOVE THE CANDLES UP YOUR ASS AND FUCK OFF.