The day Onam ran wild!!

The Day Before!!

30-08-2006

The Day before the Onam celebrations at college.

Everyone was charged up for the big day. After having classes till afternoon, everyone started moving the furniture and commenced planning for the battle of the flowers! (i.e. Athappoo matsaram :D ) Tactics and Counter-measures were being planned with Ratheesh taking up the role of the cheif strategist this time.













Vaibhav managed to get more flowers from somewhere. Well, we made good use of it and gave it back to him!! :D



Then it was time for the photoshoot outside at the parking lot!!!
So, the stage was set for the grand day tomorrow. Looking forward to a great day tomorrow..

The grand-daddy of em all!!

Faster than a speedin bullet!
More powerful than a locomotive!
Able to leap over tall buildings in a single bound!
Look!! Up in the Sky!!
Its a Bird!
Its a Plane!
No.. Its Su-perman!! (The famous Superman catch phrase of the 70's.. Note the pause after "Su" :D )


It seems to b the season of super heroes. The latest Superman Film hit theatres here at Trivandrum on 30-6-2006 at Both Dhanya and Remya! Me, being a hard core fan of the comics made sure I got to see it 1st day, 1st show as usual! :D After seeing Krrish, I was lookin forward to seein the Hollywood heavyweights showin the Indians.. or should I say.. the Roshans how its to b done..

The expectations were high. After all, its been released simultaneouly in 2 theatres! The film started with the legendary Superman music and I sat back and let the roller coaster begin..

The big idea of Superman Returns is everything that happened in the late 70's Superman films, notably I and II, happened. I'll ignore the badness that were Superman III and IV, and pick up the story 5 years after the events in Superman II. This would have been a brilliant and fine idea, if this movie came out, oh, TWENTY years ago! Singer(the director of Superman RETURNS) made the mistake of remaining too faithful to the classic two films. I mean it was as if I was in a time warp, and not in a good way. Why didnt the guy just restart the series like they did with Batman Begins and give us the updated Superman and his wide array of super villains?? Even Luthor posing as the common mad-scintist is kinda defeatin.. In the latest comics, he's a dynamic modern age businessman with shady dealings.

Everything in Superman Returns feels like a retread, a has been, done there, did that. Never once in this film did I feel like I was watching a Superman for the new millennium. With a reported $200 million dollar budget, I wanted to be awed, to see new filmmaking techniques, or at the very least have some decent cinematography. But then Singer films never had brilliant and vibrant colors, or super duper effects, even my favorite X-Men franchise were kind of dull to look at..

The prob with Superman is.. He's too powerful.. He is a GOD fer heaven's sake! Invulnerability, flight, heat vision, super cold breath, X-ray vision, super hearing, super speed , infinite strength..etc.. to name a few...(He gets these powers by processin earth's yellow sun,btw..). So.. the challenges 4 this man should be super too.. But this is where the film fails the most as U will see when u watch the film.. All the other heroes like spiderman,etc are beatable by their opponents.. unlike the opponents superman gets in this film. Where is Darkseid.., Doomsday.., Brainiac and the likes??

If you thought newcomer Brandon Routh was stiff and silent in the 2 minute trailer, then be prepared for two hrs of essentially the same thing. He rarely says anything throughout the film, he just broods and stares. Never once do you really feel like he's attached to what's going on around him. He doesn't hold your attention or have a presence like previous Supermen. He's no Reeves. That's for sure! Compared to him, Routh is a total lightweight.


In short.. Superman RETURNS was not the roller coaster I had expected.. but it was enjoyable nonetheless. No fans of the comics should dare pass it up.

Fallen Angel

Tuesday, May 25. 2006

Tring.. tring...
"Hello.. ?? "
A troubled voice at the other end replied..
"Da.. this is Ram.." ( Names are changed..)
I have never heard this jolly guy in such a tone before. Something's wrong...
"Yes da. Wassup?"
"Can u do me a favour??"
"Of course. What's it? "
"Father's in trouble. He needs blood pronto. Can u help?"
"Of course!"
" Ok. My driver will take you in the car to the hospital tomorrow by 11,ok?"
"Tomorrow? Ok man. I'll be there!"
"Thanks. Bye". Click.. I put the phone down...

"Of course!"" ??? Did I just say that? Me?? The one who dreads the thought of even a mosquito piercing my skin, said "Of course!" ?? The one who always believed that blood is something that should always stay inside our body? The one who's never to be found when those announcements for blood donors are made at college????

Well.. let me just make my point clear. It aint like I'm a stranger to pain. I had the end of my index finger chopped off by the blades of father's scooter when I was 2, Had stitches on my leg after falling off from the top of the slide in the school playground in 4th standard, Was mauled by a dog when I was in 7th, A nail pierced straight through my foot in 12th,etc..to name a few major ones. I mean.. I had my share of pain, but still the thought of knowingly lettin a needle pierce me and suck my blood to fill a bag still sends shivers though me!!

And to top it all off, I had to submit my Lab records the next day!

Wednesday, May 26, 2006

I had stayed up late last night finishin the record. And had to get up early to give it some finishing touches, etc. I managed to finish it off and went to his house. It was around noon. I picked up Jake on the way. He had offered to come with me to give me company. Ram couldn't come as he had exams that day at college. I reached his house, got into the car and started the journey to the hospital.

That must have been one of the longest journeys in my life. To make matters worse.. we started talkin bout the procedure. And to top it all off.... The bumper question popped up. "Is it still possible that people get AIDS through used syringes?? " WOW!! That definitely lifted my spirits !! Desp... :(

We stopped on the way and ate lunch. Finally we reached the hospital (Medical College). It was a sorry sight. People were walkin around with huge bandages, crutches, etc.. pleadin for mediaction. An accident case had just arrived at the E.C.U. I turned my face away. I had seen enough! I ignored the pains of the world around me. I looked down at the floor. Guess what? It was covered with blood stains!!! Just great!!

I reached the... ah.. "extraction point". I got into the dreaded room. There was a person sitting there wearing a white coat. Since when did vampires start wearin white?? I sat down before him. He started askin me questions...
"Did you eat breakfast today?? "
" I just ate as I came here, doctor."
"No.. did u have your breakfast in the morning before comin here?"
"Why??"
I had skipped breakfast .. as always...
"Otherwise you might feel dizzy after the procedure. If you didnt have breakfast, come tomorrow."
"Of course, I had it!! No problem!"

" Did u sleep atleast 8 hours yesterday? "
Huh?? I had just managed 3 hours!! I didnt take any chances.
I promptly replied.. "YES! "

"Have you recently donoted blood or come across any diseases? "
Atlast... 1 out of 3 aint too bad...
"No"

"Ok. Then fill out the form and go to the next room."

I gingerly made my way to the next room. Jake wasnt permitted to come inside. There were 2 nurses and 2 students in there. They ushered me to a bed and told me lie down and stay calm. They gave me a ball to hold on too.... Wonder why??
The nurse proceeded to take a big needle at the other end of which was a blood bag. Are they really goin to pierce me with that?? I am not an animal, fer cryin out loud!!!! She proceeded to search for my vein in my right arm joint. I shouted, "NO!! That's where the dog had bitten me and it is still too sensitive! Puh-leeze take blood from my left hand, sister!" Thankfully...She proceeded to search for my vein in my left arm. I closed my eyes.. braced myself for the pain.. I waited.. and waited........ OUCH!!!
She had inserted the needle without even a small warning! Atleast she did it quickly enough. There wasnt much pain. She started the blood collection machine. Chug.. chug... the machine was gettin on my nerves .... After about 2 minutes... It let out a BEEP! and stopped! Hurray!! At last!!! My ordeal's over!! I am still alive! I can't wait towake up from this nightmare.. The nurse came beside me.. checked the machine and said to the other nurse.. "Hey, it seems the machine isn't able to get blood from this patient."

" HOLY S*** !!!!! "

What the hell?? And did she call me a patient??? Bloody country... ( Using mild language... :D )
The other nurse came over. She looked at me and told me to squeeze the ball harder and try to create pressure for blood flow. Grt...Soo that's what it for?? Now they tell me!!! hehe.... I tried squeezing it.. It was rock hard. The nurse threw it away and gave me another ball. I started squeezing again.. but to no avail.. Blood wasnt just coming!
"He's got a small vein. Try again! "
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!
The 1st nurse came back, took out the syringe and put it back again. Just Kill me!!! I'm not a pincushion for God's sake!!
She asked me to try again. I squeezed the ball with all of my remaining reserves. Come on.. come on.. " Blood's flowing again!"
Eureka! I squeezed harder. I could now see the bag filling up with blood now. My blood!!
After another couple of minutes, it was finally over! She took out the syringe and asked me to get up. I got up slowly.. I felt my fingers. Moved them around. Thank God! Still working...
"Feeling dizzy?? "
"Not yet.." I replied.
She showed me the way out and asked me to sit down and asked the assistant to get me tea.
"Its over, sis."
Great! Just my day!
I sat there for about 5 minutes. Then I slowly made my way out. I saw Jake waiting outside, pacing around. "What was happenin in there, man??"
"Oh, they were just practising acu puncture with me!" :-D


We went out and had some fruit juice. Then I made my way to college and submitted my record!! Whew!! What a day!!

Tring.. tring.. The phone was ringing again. I picked it up.
"Thanks man!"
"No prob!"

Suddenly I felt great! In fact, I've never felt better in all my life! I actually felt that I had finally mattered to someone in this life of mine! Any pain I had experienced that day melted to a sweet bliss..!! It didnt seem such a big deal after all....

That made my day... :)

Speed Demon

Friday. April 21. 2006.

Well .. It was a grt day 4 me.. ( Read my previous blog 4 da details.) It was 2:00 pm. I had just come out of the lab xam victorious and was in the mood 4 mischief.. My spirits were high and I was on cloud 9..hehe. After chattin with the guys n gals for some time.. I got onto my bike with Jose in the back seat and headed home from college.
Today, I felt adventurous. I decided to go via the kovalam-kazhakootam bypass route to home. It was a smooth ride, with sporadaric distribution of vehicles only. I cruised along the highway, takin in the sights and fresh air. After we passed the gates of Technopark, it was a straight road. The devilishly evil smirk resurfaced again to my face. I told Jose to hold on.. revved up the engine .. pushed down the gear.. increased the RPM off the charts and .... VROOOOM!!!! :D
The Pulsar wasnt meant for city cruising. It was meant for burning roads. And today..I meant to Burn some rubber!! I took it to the limits. Poor Jose. I cud barely hear him screaming!! It was a cool day and the wind was chilling. Even the Gods seemed to join me in the fun and it was gradually becoming overcast...
80 Kmpr.. It was a breeeze for the Pulsar. It can handle it smoothly.. Not Good Enuf 4 me!!
90 Kmpr.. Now the Fun starts..
95 Kmpr.. The sound of the wind through my helmet lends special effects to the ride. It sounded as if we were on a plane!!
100 Kmpr.. Jose starts screamin again.. It begins to drizzle very gently...
105 Kmpr.. The world's a blur.. The road's barely visible with the waterdrops smeared on the visor of the helmet. The rain stops..
110 Kmpr.. Nirvana!! I've never reached 110 before!! The few raindrops that were still fallin felt like bullets ricocheting off me as if I'm invulnerable. The bike starts shaking and screams for mercy. No Mercy today..Not today.

Then it happened.. I was behind an Indica which was behind a Qualis. As I was overtaking it, the Indica started to swerve to the right to overtake the Qualis.. .. And there was an Ambassador comin in the opp. direction to boot. I had figured I cud get in front of the Indica well before the car reachin us.. But I was in no-man's land now. I started blarin my horn desperately.. Luckily the Indica's driver realised the situation and started to pull back to the left ..I also slowed down.. but it was too late.. I prepared for the worst..
Don't really know how it happened.. I cud swear that the car's side rear view mirror had brushed me. My ears were still ringing from the commotion of the horns and the wind. But.. I was still alive..
I carried on like it never happened.. It was too close for comfort. Don't think Jose realised it.. I left him off at his house at Pettah and went home.. The incident got me thinking..
" Was it worth it?? What if something had happened to me? Worse.. what if something had happened to Jose? I would never be able to forgive myself " ... Anyway.. All's well that ends well.. and I'm glad that it wasn't the end of me......

Lucky Guy

Friday. April 21. 2006.

It was the end of S4. Another Semester gone .. And the most funny thing is.. it seems as if it was just yesterday that I joined college.. Anyway.. As usual, the 2nd series xams were a disaster but I was extremely lucky with the lab xams. In both the EC lab and Simulation Lab, I got the output in a matter of 20 mins!! Today I had the Simulation lab xam. I was prayin to god that I dont get to do SPICE and was hopin to get MATLAB. We use a stupid software called ED-WinXp for SPICE and the damn thing never seems to work with the proper design values and seems to need the values given in the lab manual for optimal functioning!! (A bad workman always blames his tools.. hehe ;) )
It was 1:00 pm. My time had come. I once again prayed to my Gods and gingerly went into the lab. The questions were written on bits of paper and set on the table in front of the examiner. I took a paper. "Design and set up...". DAMN!! . My heart skipped a beat.. I didn't wait to read the rest. I quietly put it back and took another one. Luckily he didnt notice me in the flurry of the other people in my batch submittin their records and taking their own question papers. The new question was.. " To generate a deconvoluted waveform ". BINGO!! :D
It was a breeze from there on. I got the output in good time. I was lucky in the VIVA too. I got almost the same questions that Dersh had got earlier in the day. "Use of transistor in simple sweep circuit", "Working of bistable multivibrator", etc..etc.. All in all, it was a grt day .
Btw, as I was about to leave the lab, I saw Karthik struggling with his question . He had entered the lab before me and still didnt seem to hav any luck. I asked him about it. "Design and set up a Monostable Multivibrator!!!!". Poor Karthik!! An evil smirk slowly formed across my face.. Bwahahahahahaha!!

Believe the hype??

I've been hearin bout this book for some time now.. Actually, I had the opportunity to read it more than once before.. but .. the cover of the book with the Mona Lisa paintin bored me and I set it aside without readin a word!!. I had read Deception Point recently. Liked it. Now I take this book in my hands with a lot of anticipation.

It is clear that there has been few such brilliant books which combine intellect and great storytellin. Dan Brown's extensive research on secret societies and symbology adds intellectual depth to this page-turning thriller. His surprising revelations on Da Vinci's penchant for hiding codes in his paintings such as The Mona Lisa, The Madonna of the Rocks and The Last Supper is sure to come as a surprise to many. The Last Supper holds the most astonishing coded secrets of all and, after reading THE DA VINCI CODE, you will never see this famous painting in quite the same way again.

But.. the book, I think is highly over-rated. It's brilliant.. no doubt.. but its linear. I cud sense the exact moments that twists were bout to happen in the storyline.. and by the middle of the book.. I even started solvin puzzles!! ( That one in which the puzzle is solved when u put the book in front of the mirror) and the main villain was predictable too. There weren't too many characters of importance.. and I had seen too many Hollywood flicks to b genuinely surprised.
Also, the book's unnatural popularity is clearly due to the anti-christian elements and the Pope banning it. I heard that almost all christians in the hostel bought one the next day from Dayal. hehe..
Anyway.. full credit to Dan Brown for such an excellent read. I wud highly reccomend this book .... even to highly orthodox christians 'cos its a great piece of art and genius and a Must Read!!

Nokia Mobile Secret Codes

I'm better known for my experiments with tech. and gadgets. But I've never done justice to that in my blog. Well.. here's the first of many of to come.
Use at your own risk. May not work with all mobiles. i.e, Avasanam mobile kolamakkiyathinu shesham enne onnum parayalle!!

Nokia Mobile Secret Codes

IMEI Number *#06#
For checking the IMEI (International Mobile Equipment Identity).

Information you get from the IMEI-

Type approval code
Final assembly code
Serial number

Default Security Code 12345

SIM clock *#746025625# [*#sim0clock#]
To check if the Sim-Clock can be Stopped. This option is depen on your service provider network.

Waranty Code *#92702689# [*#war0anty#]
Menu:

1. Displays Serial Number.
2. Displays the Month and Year of Manufacture (0698)
3. Displays the date where the phone was purchased you can here set the Purchasing Date
4. Displays the date of the last repairment.
5. The next screen has Transfer User Data?
6. To exit turn the phone off and then back on.

*#0000# To view Software Version.

Buddy or Friend ??

Well.. Sounds kinda confusing,rt? After all , what's so much difference between a friend and a "buddy". "What's the big deal??" , U may ask... But just think... How many REAL friends do U have?
Well.. during the course of life, we meet and deal with a lot of people. We get to interact with people of different backgrounds, believes and disciplines. We get to know the world, both its good and bad faces... But, during this journey called life, we come across certain individuals who mean something to us more than the rest. They usually share and define our finest moments in life and give us something to remember by. They share our deepest thoughts and secrets and more often than not mean more to us than family itself. But, how many of them are really our friends?? Are they just a fleeting moment in our life or are they the reason why we have so many fond memories of life??

For me.. for a person to qualify as a friend, he should be special. Special in the sense.. special to me. I dont believe in overnight friendships. I believe friendship develops through time, through interaction. Friends should never expect anything from the other. All should be given voluntarily without expecting anything in return, even companionship. Buddies are those people who are just fleeting moments of your life. You wont even remember them after some time. They are just people with common interests who most probably stand to gain something by pretending bein ur friend. That's how I differentiate between friends and buddies.

Well... let me just take my life as an example. I was the quiet type back in my schooling days. I was very selective in choosing my friends. ( And I was successful too, cos they are still my best friends. ) I never got to travel around too much and was confined in the walls of my house those days. It was always study, study, study.. Then things changed when I entered +2. My life was turned up-side down and there was no looking back! I had discovered a world of freedom and opportunity. More and more people started entering into my life . And the main reason behind that... Tutions!! It was around the same time that my parents had bought a computer for me. It was bought with the best of intentions. But.. that's what was said of the Atom bomb too when it was discovered,no??

I found myself a new world. A world of opportunity, creativity and entertainment. I made it a point to get acquainted with all latest buzz of the PC and its technologies. In course of time, I got myself a treasure of software, movies, songs and games. That's when trouble started. I got myself scores of people as "friends" who saw me as nothin but a mechanic and as a library of software. It started consumin my time and I had no time 4 myself. 90% of the phone calls I get was for my services and not 4 me!! Of course I made myself a bundle of money,but it was a bit too late before I realised it wasnt worth it.

Now, I am tryin to move on.... Setting my priorities in life right. I got no problem with people bein my buddies.. but I just have to differentiate those people who take advantage of me and those who really care. So, I've got only 2 words to all those "fraud" buddies of mine.. BUG OFF !! . U know who all I'm referring to... Get yoursef some other mechanic and membership in some cd library. Sorry for the offence, but it was inevitable.

So.. R U my Buddy or... My Friend???

One hellofa book

Unputdownable!! That's the one word to describe the book. The fact that I didnt let the tragedy that is my S3 results slow down the pace at which i was readin the book proves it.
I had been a book worm till the end of my schoolin days. Somehow, lost track after that. Anyway, I came across this book by chance. My bro had bought it from a friend. I just sifted through the first few pages and .. I was hooked bfore i knew it!! I began reading the book at 10 am and finished it at 3 am the next day!! Half way through the book, my S3 results came . :( Still, it didnt slow me down as the adrenaline rush was too high!!
Gettin down to the review..

Rachel Sexton, daughter of the charismatic leading Presidential nominee Senator Sedgewick Sexton, and herself a highly competent "gister" working for the little known but highly effective intelligence agency NRO (National Reconnaissance Office), one day gets an unexpected audience with the President himself. On his request, she soon herself in the icy depths of the Arctic, sent to verify a stupendous discovery by NASA.

Coming at a time when NASA’s existence is threatened by Sedgewick’s rhetoric condemning its very expensive failures, Rachel finds the discovery too coincidental. But outside experts like Michael Tolland, a world-famous oceanographer, convince Rachel of its authenticity. Just hours before the President announces this information, Rachel and Michael discover a deadly deception. Before they can go public with the vital information, a highly skilled team of Special Forces are sent to destroy them. Battling nature’s deadly elements as well as unstoppable killers armed with incredibly high-tech arsenal, the duo struggle to survive and discern the truth.

Even though I have not yet read his most famous piece of work .. "The Da Vinci Code" , with author Dan Brown at the helm, readers are virtually guaranteed a book which is not only thrilling, intense and riveting but also thought-provoking; this book is no exception. Brown’s painstaking research is readily apparent in the copious authentic facts on which the premise of this entire story rests, adding a chilling touch of realism to the tale. Visual descriptions and a mild romance round off this adventurous story. Integrating behind-the-scenes look at insidious Washington political power-brokering with cutting edge high-tech research as well as abstruse scientific facts, Deception Point is a perfectly paced, inventive and gripping "whodunit". I'm not giving away the ending . Its for u people to find out!!

Anyway, it was a highly satisfying book and now I cant wait to get my hands on the "Da Vinci Code"

Esperanza :- Day 2

Feast your eyes on the event manager of the highly successful event Ad-Zap. Of course, its success was assured the minute it was entrusted into the hands of yours truly and Dayal.. hehe(Poor Dayal did most of the work). Anyway, the event went smoothly with the participants puttin up a commendable show given the time constraints. There were innovative ideas and it was creativity at its best.
That's the Barton Hill team above btw.

But definitely, the highlight of the day was Karthik, my classmate, winning 2nd prize at Mock Press!! Kalla @%$$^%^# Just look at that 70 mm smile on his face and u'll understand his feelings at the time. He got a Tata Indicom Mobile with connection for cryin out loud!! And he got a juice sponsored by Sneha to boot!! The lucky dog!! (Although the juice wasn't for the victory.. hehe. Ask him for the details later)

Deepti put up an excellent dance performance again. It was a solo, kathak , this time around. She definitely is one of the best dancers in our college. Its a wonder how the quiet girl turns into an epitome of flow and emotions on stage .
There was a ganamela in the evening also. It was done by a professional band. It was good.. But after hearing Rough Record's performance the other day, it paled in comparison.

So, all in all the event was... well.. above expectations. Actually, it was pretty decent when compared to our last year's event.

Rock 'N Roll @Esperanza 06

The events in the morning of the first day were all technical events. It must hav been a bore for the audience. It drove away many who came to see the event. Too bad..They missed a gem of a performance by Rough Record in the evening which made all including me stand up in awe and clap our hearts out.

They were too good!!! And their last song from Yuva , DhakkaLagaBukka was the exclamation point!! I had seen live performances of people like Yesudas and all... But even they did not have half the energy and spark of Rough Record!! And it makes me proud that my Best Friend , Hari Shankar was a part of this band. I had heard a lot of classics sung by him during my schooling days at loyola... But today's performance beat them all Hands-Down!!
Also there were breath taking performances by rope dancers and professional dance troups.

The girls in my class S4-EC also put up a great fusion dance. They had been practising their hearts out for the last 2 weeks and it showed on stage. They were near perfect. Co-ordination , expression, charm and all. It seems us boys hav to take lessons from them or come up with a dance worthy to put up a competition if we are to have any chance at the dance fest in our college at Acefest.

In all , it was great day. I had participated for paper presentation and did a decent job of it. Didn't get the prize though.. But, who cares?? I was the event manager for Ad-Zap too. That went smooth too. Damn!! If only our seniors didn't make a mess out of last year's Tech-Arts fest, Ingenio, we wud hav got a lot more participation. Everyone seemed to want to know if they get the prize money this time....
Anyway, it was a fine day and hope the 2nd day's good as well...
Signin off..

Esperanza '06

In case u didnt know, Esperanza '06 is a tech cum cultural fest organised by University College Of Engineering, Karyavattom. It's to be held at the Senate Hall , palayam. I hear that the Vice chancellor of the Kerala University, Mr. Ramachandran Nair will b there too. The events hav been revamped...hopefully. ( After last year's Super-Bomb called Ingenio, let's hope lessons have been learned). This time around, the prize money's not too great. But its going to be given this time around.
Initially, only the seniors were involved. But, when we showed interest, the Ad-Zap event was entrusted to us (S4,EC). Thus, I got to play event manager for the second time (The first one being at La Fest 2K3 where I was the Dance-O-Mania Event manager..Ahem!!). So, we started puttin our heads together and.... voila!! we came up with notin!! We got desp. All the questions we came up with were sitters. We had to do more. So, Dayal decided to stay over at my house for the day(That was on wednesday, 15 march). We started ambitiously, but never got the right questinons. To make matters worse, I was like a zombie . I didnt get enough sleep the other day, and all the dance practice at college had burned me out. I was out by 11 pm. Dayal tried his best, but he too succumbed to sleep. And .. day 1 passed with no new developments.
to be updated.....

So... It begins....

Beware world !! Here I come .........!!!!!!!!!!!!!