A drive to remember forever!

A quiet drive over the I-278 E and through the Brooklyn-Queens expressway was all that was required. How could such a straight ride turn horrible? Well it was New York! What possibly made me decide to take the car drive is still a mystery, It was just my second visit to the city and I had no big reason to drive, off course there was a sweet damsel to be satisfied, but that was not reason enough, though in the end that was all that brought the courage in me to take the road. Even then it all started smooth, I drove right out of the parking garage and brought the small hatchback onto the glowing sun, which was just there doing nothings its known to do; no heat nor any brightness. It was just there confirming us what part of the day it was. A chill wind was blowing with all the merriness and there we were in the skinniest cloth possible. I did cuddle the beauty to avoid if not all, some of the bitter wind.

Even she was confident, with the phone of hers it should just be a simple drive. But then even before her GPS had locked on the route we were to take, my car came right in front of an unexpected front driver. Who was patiently waiting the lane I dint want to be and BANG! I scratched his trunk and took my car onto the left lane.  Obviously the lady in my car had already started munching words and had decided just to get down immediately. If only I had driven a bit more careful or had I been a regular driver in the NY roads that crash wouldn’t have affected me, but then I had neither of the experience and started shivering and praying to god, “It was just to your abode that we are trying to reach why don’t you let me do it?” I don’t know whether He heard my call or I got my senses back, I drove the rest of the way in a quiet uneventful manner. Not to forget the rash cuts we were to experience right after the under bridge and also a complete bumper-bumper drive all the way across the city.

All this time I dint even get the thought of seeing my companions face for I was sure she would be carrying her heart in her hand. If not for her composure, I was for sure heading towards another crash.

Temples are not just pillars that hold the almighty. For somebody who has completely shed his/her roots in her motherland, this was the only rock house of hope and last bit of any culture thats left of her. More that intentionally praying for ones personal wishes this visit was a much need opportunity to get to the basics of one’s own identity, I was happy I was able provide that. I found relief and clarity in that face and felt the divine joy of having brought that smile in her.

It gave me just the strength to get back alive, apart from other benefits that concurred subsequently. Almost always, I believed in Murphy. Of all the others his where the only law that never failed. True to its power, it so happened, my dear companion mentioned of that one last exit I was to not miss if at all I wanted to go to Brooklyn. It was not a big harm though if I missed it just htat it would cost me something more for missing the exit and travelling somewhere else. And as if the gods indeed heard her and wanted to check my wallets strength exactly after the last first exit I had to take, He made the next exit vanish and bring in just the exit I had to turn. It would have been a dreadful If I had made it for I was completely on the left lane and had to get to the right most in less than a 100 ft. I humbly accepted my defeat and glided over the Verrazano Bridge only to pay the extra toll and got back on time to return the car to the garage meekly praying for the owner of the car not to find the dent I had made on the front. Once we reached back the destination we just parked the car for a minute on a side lane just to savour the sensation that for once we are alive.

Shivering heavy, not because of the climate but to believe the unbelievable mystery of turning out alive, we entered our apartment. For all the good reasons we lay on the couch, trying to get back our sanity at the same time saying, “Once is enough!”   

Google+ provides Facebook alternative - Features - Technician - North Carolina State University

My first post to the paper "technician"
Google+ provides Facebook alternative - Features - Technician - North Carolina State University

my pre-print version is here

Social networking is rapidly evolving into an obnoxious potpourri of personal hindrance. It was once a growing rage, now it has just become an unavoidable adherence. Moreover the market is getting saturated, the numbers don’t matter anymore.

It all started with the shameless coup by a Harward sophomore, whom I don’t need to name anymore. Just one social networking, it took the whole world into its claws. Undoubtedly, it was a attractive venture and had all the ingredients in the right mix. It had everything for anyone. It made communication simple. Then came the micro-blogging race that nearly overtook facebook.

  Though these initiatives have their gore sire, they did find their use at times of voicing issues globally. Not to forget the Egypt riots, Anna hazares’s fast, facebook and twitter were the sole medium of communication for people to join, organise and raise their voice against the herculean bureaucrats.

Having said that, one must definitely appreciate the courage of Google to launch a supposedly novel product to capture yet another million hearts. Google+ project was a bold step considering the mass flop of their previous attempt to revolutionise social networking through the “Wave”.

“Introducing a few new thoughts on sharing”- this was the theme google wanted to focus and thats exactly what they have created by means of different concepts. Here is a brief know-how to familiarize ourselves with the Google+

A typical home page of Google+ looks something like this

Circles: a revolutionary thought to segregate your friend list based on your choice. It’s a closed group to maintain your data. “There are things, I don’t want to show my Mom but would want my close friends to talk about, that’s exactly circle helps me with” so says Katy.

Huddle:  this is not just a forum based talk-through. It provides conference video sync and gives a chat room environment.

Streams: our familiar and used information wall to read random posts from anybody. In a way its similar to the Google buzz, the fizzled out concept brought a few months back to break the facebook mayhem.

Photos: For those of you who are not aware, google has clubbed the Picasa service to G+ this where you maintain your photos from now on there is no separate arena to save your photos. But then you can decide your circles to view it.

So what has G+ transformed?

It has given a new meaning to one’s social life. Its has given respect to individuals personal space at the same time providing enough fun and food for others to see and talk about.

Even though G+ is similar to facebook in more than one aspect, people still believe its a worthy transformation from the latter. But its true that people are still hesitant to make that radical shift.    

How similar is it to facebook, here is the comparison.

Facebook’s driving force is its wall. G+ has streams

Facebook has chat messenger, G+ has Huddle, and you can even make conference video chats here.

G+ has circles facebook can’t do that!

Is it the weapon to break facebook’s success? We may not know but it just deserves to.

Yet another article in a newspaper :Android-the future of mobile technology

This article got published in NxG, The Hindu newspaper supplement click here

How smart is your phone?

TREND Android’s the future of mobile technology, says BHARADWAJ VASUDEVAN. Here are the why’s and how’s…

A much pronounced terminology in our present mobile market is the word “Smartphone”. Unfortunately, not everybody understands its real meaning. The moment we mention it, somebody is going to hoot, “I know, it’s an iPhone, right?”. Not to blame anybody but that is how it has been marketed, for smart phone is a very generic mould given to a complex hearing device.
Bridging platforms
On Google-ing it, I came across an interesting definition: “A Smartphone is a mobile phone offering advanced capabilities, often with PC-like functionality (PC-mobile handset convergence). There is no industry standard definition of a Smartphone.” The key thought is held within the braces.
Smartphones are meant to bridge the barrier between PC and mobile. And here comes the biggest fallacy of eras. Almost the whole last decade this meant, a cheap imitation of your Windows inside an awfully small screen with a gigantic toothpick called stylus.
Poking on every possible angle to just stutter open the tab equivalent of our start menu in Windows XP and try playing solitaire in it. Not to forget the Blackberry, unfortunately neither did have it and the ones who had it got stuck to it fascinated by its mail server. But there grew the sowing seeds of the current generation advancement only to be just hindered by the giant sites like Facebook and Twitter. For now, the one qualifying factor in a mobile for the young generation is to have access to Facebook in the phone. Let’s not forget our initial thought, convergence!
Looking at the present trend though may not be so prosperous towards advancement; mobile phones are going through that transition from being a vendor specific black box to a user customisable jukebox. Yes it is true; Android is going to rule the market just for this one reason. It gives the customer the flexibility to decorate their customisable ROM (namely cyanogenMOD, XDA, MIUI etc.) and at the same time share it with the others in the community. To support my argument, you will not be astonished to know that every quarter there is a minimum of 100 mobiles getting launched powered by Google.
Every vendor has now got only a small area of hoarding their market value by providing hardware infringement for jail breaking the phone (it’s the act of rooting your mobile to access the core software), which are also on the verge of getting abolished for its well known to them they can’t sustain longer with such a policy.
Power to you
So what difference does this make to us as a simple layman with very little buying power? It’s simple — as an individual we get options and the power to customise our requirement. Similar to the PC revolution, we will get access to individual hardware required to build our mobile and the vendors’ can have a hold only on the software part (Operating System). We would get to design our phone. And this is where Google is cashing in; it’s a company that believes in open source and that’s the reason they support this revolution.
They have launched special developer’s mobiles just to help anybody willing to grow android. Their NEXUS (NEXUS one and NEXUS S) product is a testimony to Google’s ideology towards developing a common product by not hoarding talents but by providing opportunity to anybody interested. Samsung is trying to do just that but the only difference is they have entered the market late and already people have gotten familiar with a better product in the name of android and they find no reason to shift to Samsung’s BADA market.
This revolution is heading towards a bright future in the mobile world by bringing out better mobiles that shall one day throw the PC away, just like PC did throw the typewriter and the latter the pen over the generations behind us.
I’m a proud owner of Nexus One myself!
Some links to help you understand this thought better:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nexus_One
http://www.xda-developers.com/
http://www.cyanogenmod.com/
Bharadwaj is a Systems Engineer with Areva T&D India, Noida.

Its just the way it is...

Disclaimer: Im not a racist, im just a critical critique.........


Here is a part of a healthy conversation,two grown up men had last night lets say today early morning.....
here me is me and the Speaker Y is a mysterious anonymous NRI with a same blend of intellectuallity.....

somewhere sterday, I read this genration lacks attention span, well i guess here is the reason for it.


this is an era where everybody have their opinion and its very strong and biased blame it the media or the availability of unrestricted information.
This is how the convo started....


me: here durga pooja is happening

its actually

nice

me: particularly the well clad

bongs

Speaker Y: Its a big event for them
12:07 AM
me: i have never seen

it

b4

and not the bongs too this well clad

with dark n bold bindi

in their hed

with a

semi transcluescent sari

n a

sleeveless

blouse to top it

i dont get it
12:08 AM
they are so very sexist

n

all look as if they are on a high

Speaker Y: Some off thebongs are hot

me: almost all are

but only as longs they dont speak out

i cant bear their jwol kabho

stuff

simply disgusting tongue
12:09 AM
Speaker Y: Is their language that does not have V

me: yup

thas the one

and its the same language
12:10 AM
Speaker Y: yup sometimes it can be a little fucked up.

me: wer they

say

eat every thing

eat water

eat

fag

eat

anything
12:11 AM
Speaker Y: Malayalam drives me nuts

me: its all kabho

no pebho at all

i know

i have two at my palce

they guys are simply

lets

say

over mouthed

they and their

out grown

teeth

god

they need two mouths to keep it

Speaker Y: Its never simple with them. Its always SIMBLE
12:12 AM
me: ha ha

u kno its chol bhe

not chal abey

for bongs
Speaker Y: Not to say tamils are any better

me: not at all

we say h

as ech

Speaker Y: We have a horrible end tinge to every word

me: and 'sh'

as

'sa'
12:14 AM
makes

it sound like

makess

for mahesh

or mages

with bloody mustache n

Speaker Y: Yup and it sucks big time

me: a

grossy

nose

which

almost everybody use to talk with

none talks from their mouth
12:15 AM
Speaker Y: Hey nothing against the mustache ok :-)

me: even im sporting one today

jus givingthe dabangg look

moustache

is

old stuff

im biased

i consider it to be old man stuff

Speaker Y: Lets make it you are trying to sport one
12:16 AM
me: how true

seriously i cant grow one

i accept it

Speaker Y: I know.its as true as truth can get

me: :P
12:17 AM
hey n8 launched here

with the same s60

jus a third gen of it

but then 12 mp camera

that sounds

something
12:18 AM
Speaker Y: Nokia sucks they have to snap out of their self made utopia.its better for them

Sooner the better......


things dont change....

Glory Glory! Its a Hell of a way to die

I went for the kill, three were already dead. It was a tactical op carried out to the pinnacle of its perfection. And most of all we had no other choice. As Tennyson had said it, they had marched the valley of death and surrender was a no-nonsense for them. They succumbed to the ultimate and we can't say they dint put up a fight. Just that they were weak. There is a reason why we still hold the top of the evolution chart.

Men have strange habits. They sleep all the night just to wake up in the morning to cleanse their mouth with some peppermint so that they dont give out a noxious smell. Rather they might not have slept at all to peppermint themselves in the morning. But they never care. All they need is yet another avenue to prove that they are lazy. So was the day when it began with the search for the peppermint. I found them hanging on the edge of the cupboard, when i placed my hand on it. It then appeared out clenching its fist which i obviously coudn't see but could feel its breath on my skin when i placed my hand closer to it. I had not noticed it till then. It jus cracked a little and then began to jump forward. I was actually taken aback. Primarily it was morning and i was slacky after my slumber and secondly it was there right in my cupboard. How in the world did it reach there? Without second thought i pushed myself back only to be hit on the bedside and fall gregariously onto the cushionless bed only to break a bone or two. I recovered quickly and now with both of us knowing our presence we became alert. I had the added advantage of home ground, but not to under estimate its alacrity and firm footing.

I wanted to face it head on. A warrior's stroke, you may call it. One by one i started removing things out of the place providing it more space to come forward. People might say you need to lead your enemy into your determined path. But i say to make your enemy uncomfortable give him first more space, he shall get confused and ultimately fall in your trap. So did my strategy took over me and i eventually faced my opponent again. The moment it found open space he ran listlessly and made a fretful jump only to fall on my skin. I immediately with a reflex action of less than a millionth of a second cornered my leg and made it flew through the side of the door. It had one meanest chance to escape and it went for it. Just then i lauched a killer strike on him, right on his upper abdomen with a stick equivalent of a not-so-fat baseball bat. The shot was intact and the receiver got the full brunch of it only to be sent ot a deft undertaker ot give it a better look on its funeral. It was a terrible blow on the mean soul. I rushed aside into the kitchen only to find a few more dead. It hardly mattered anymore I couldn't just bear the sight of dead ones in front of me, but then what to say I was just afraid of lifting them and throw away!

Prologue

Its been a year since the shelling. Uneasiness has slowly started to retrieve out of the commoners mind. But behind the curtain, the military was extending its every ounce of a resource to trace the traitors. It was a cold war at the outset. Neither of the developed countries was willing to get their hands dirtied. Already almost all of them were busy making up for their afgan mistake. One that they cannot repent on since its a bygone story and secondly you can never just curb terrorism. Not if the same fellowmen were the once who grew them for their then needs. Vietnam was a mistake but the last war can never be atoned; to enter a war the third time, none of them would even burn a matchstick unless the true enemy is known.

The stillness of the bright city was shattered by the insolence of the thundering mortars. It volleyed through every corners of the city filling it with just chaos and dust. The military had just a pinch of a second to recover, when the sky was poured with more shells and within a wisp of a second they all vanished ecoying into the city randomly. The remains of the shells where the only ones the intelligence got hold of to investigate. Off course it was the left overs of the world war II and the last transaction was dated far beyond for them to be traced only to an anomalous decoy. The intelligence knew that it was a waste of a time to invest on whose they belonged to. All that mattered was to stabilise the country from the shattered belief of a safe country. It was a preparation to meet the unknown future. The war tune had already been set in the minds of the admirals and it was just a matter of time before they responded to the attack. But one big question was yet to be answered, whom should they attack?

Had you been to rishikesh

“okay team all forward! Now! Faster Dig Deep! On reaching the side i shall call for all down! Be quick to lower yourself into the boat.” here we go into the famous rapid “ the roller-coaster!”” he said this with so much pride and enthusiasm. We all were amatuers in rowing and our paddle never made it to the water perfectly. It was a downstream and thus by the laws of motion we continued to stay in the same state. The water gushed in the centre creating a wallow just ahead of us. The sharp turn provided the water to gurgle up and splash on the rock with a massive strike. The rocks made the difference. They were so unevenly positioned that they raised the turbulance much more than it meant to be. This was one hell of a rapid we were to enter. Just a yard ahead of us the first raft entered it side ways. A strong rapid is deadliest when you enter it right through its womb. You get to tap the entire force of the rapid to get your raft outside. The more the heavier the raft, the more balanced it is. But at the same time its more vulnerable to tackle the entire force on it. The raft in front of us thus entered the rapid form the side. The person sitting on the right side middle was the bulkiest of all in it. The moment the raft gave a shake,out of angst the person stretched for his lifeline and shifted himself. This disturbed the raft's balance and eventually the man fell outside. By then our raft has got positioned to enter the same rapid and we heard the guide say “ Hard and fast team!” we brushed our paddle as much we could into the most holy river of India, The Ganga. Just after a few strokes i realised we were entering the rapid head on. On the same moment our raft gulped right into the wallow and popped above us just as a mighty horse does to celebrate the riders triumph. I was in the centre left holding my lifeline with all my life. We saw the fatso emerge out of the rapid in the far left, his boat pretty safe without him but far ahead. By the force of the rapid our raft had gotten pushed to the right and all of us were forcing to find the balance since we were still engulfed in the rapid. Just then we heard the command “stoppppppp! Paddle back. Double it . We need to take up the guy.” the raft turned right just at the end of the rapid. The river was gurgling less and we were all vibrating but it dint stop us from rowing. All of a sudden we all felt heroic and all we wanted to do was say that little fatso. “all forward now! The left one stretch your paddle to lock with his. Bring him closer and give him the lifeline.” We reached him in a minute, by now the river has settled calm and we in the left, three of us struggled to get him inside. After a strenuous effort we had him inside. He was all drenched with fear and little water. Once he got settled our guide shouted “ there is another rapid nearing us we cross the rapid and transfer this fatso to his own raft! Now all forward.” now that we had him with us, the raft pressed more into the river and we felt like drowning more. Still we went forward crossed the rapid with the raft nearly reaching an explosion due ot over pressure and helped him get back to his raft.
We entered the final and a more fierce rapid called “The Golf Course”. The moment i heard the name it brought my old memories back. Just six months ago i had entered the same rapid with six other friends and got toppled with the raft right in the centre of it. I shall never forget that. “All forward team nice and easy.! We shall clear this one and we head home”, the guide said. I caught my lifeline for the last and final rapid. “team down now!” the water splsahed right into the raft pushing aside my friend sitting opposite into the raft. He had completely lost his balance. On approaching the centre the river rose into a whirlpool and it just swooped us with the raft. By then all have settled down into the raft. “hurry now back paddle hard and fast! Faster! Faster!”. We forced our raft from hitting the rock just in front of us. And then came the deal breaker . A solid cliff just on the course of our raft obstructing us from moving forward. “Left back! Right Forward team” was the command. All of us tired and exhausted followed the command and pushed our raft away from it with a 90° turn and somehow made our way out of it. All this while i dint paddle even once, i held to my lifeline hard and on seeing the cliff i forced myself to paddle back since i felt it was my responsibility too to keep us all alive in the raft . I paddled the rest of the cruise without much of a fear. For once i had come out of the golf course. Its not that rafts are dangerous. And a fall from it is just a thrilling experience. Rafting is a adventurous sport and Offcourse you dont fall into the golf course always!