Crashed Photoshop!

It feels good when you crash a software like photoshop. It feels better when you can reproduce the crash. That I haven't tried yet. Here I was, trying out a Polaroid effect on some photos and it crashes. Something tells me it probably ran out of memory but then they usually manage memory pretty well. The down side to it is that all my work went down the drain :( I had not saved the file at any point. Bummer! Gotto do it all over again tomorrow.

There are times in life when you wonder, "Is this thing that I am doing currently, going to be of any use in my life ever?". At such situations, your wildest imagination can't come out with any idea to convince you otherwise. But then again, life is wilder than your wildest imagination right? You never know what it's gonna throw at you. I have realized it through various incidents in my life, that whatever happens, happens for a reason. Whatever I have done will someday, somehow bail me out. There are times when the act is not as important as the lesson which basically accumulates as experience.

And "experience" is a safe word! You can include a lot of stuff within it, at times convincingly, and at others, just as a reassurance. Thing is, the "experience" does help you, the context being irrelevant. :)

PS: Got a pretty interesting idea for the cover page, but will have to wait till the weekend to actually attempt it

Interesting stuff at work :)

I skipped gym again :( I had planned not to but this heat is killing me! Anyways that is not the point of concern right now. The new prospective project at work is really getting me excited. I am actually pretty happy about the prospect of creating a GUI with elements of interactive designing, form filling and low level user validation. It'll also consist of a basic database with some sort of encryption (not decided on it yet though). The best part is I have no idea about the underlying science of the program for which the GUI is going to be made. Which makes it that more interesting cause I get to learn about a new topic! :D Joy!

I haven't been able to think much about the site today, though I think I should include a section on general fundas of life that I have found interesting. Its always nice to hear different view points on the same. Sometimes actually helps in understanding it better. I think the About Me section is going to be the toughest of the lot. I really get confused about the thin line between promoting one's self and losing all modesty and blowing one's own horn.

*Need to read up a bit on web-mining. I have always wanted to get a certain idea implemented but never got down to doing it. Gotto atleast find out if it is possible.

PS : Was watching X-Files:I Want To Believe, and it brought back so many memories of the X-Files series. I was a die hard fan. Was totally in love with Scully and wanted to be just like Mulder :) I should dedicate an entry to X-Files one of these days!

Stumbling at the start line!

I spent most of the day checking out personal sites of various people and also fundas regarding what and how one should be. End result... zit! null! void! I have realized that I have no idea what I should put up on the site. I have been juggling a few ideas but have not been able to focus on any one of them yet. I might just end up putting them all in. But then again I wouldn't want my stray visitors to get confused and never return again. I think it'll be sometime before anything gets up. I don't even want to start talking about the design (truth is there is absolutely nothing to talk about it :P)

Even though I said that I spent most of the day on it, I actually had guests coming over the whole day and as a result I have been shuttling between my computer and entertaining my guests. Which has got me seriously tired and with a new week starting tomorrow, I would like to start it fresh. And as my weekdays are sickeningly packed, leaving me with little time to do anything creative, (I plan to change this now), I seriously hope that I'll be able to blog and at the sametime work on a roadmap to get my site up.

www.shubhayu.com

Ever since I first learnt HTML (it was around 1999) and put up my homepage on Yahoo geocities, I always wanted to have my own site. It just seemed so elite and unachievable then. Well things have changed for the better and after a decade I suddenly had an urge to do it. Call it self indulgence or just ticking off another item from my bucket-list :)

So after a little looking around and contemplating whether I should just stick to the first-name or the complete name, I finally got my own site registered.... www.shubhayu.com.

I have still not made up my mind as to what I would actually put up on it and as a result, have not really sat and designed anything yet. Nothing compares to blogging as far as new content is concerned. So a link to my blog would always be there. It actually gave me the idea to use it as a sand box for my ideas and also track my website development.

So that is what I'll do, update the blog about all my evil plans concerning my website and also try and get back into the habit of writing. I have like 5 blogs lying around on the internet, all meeting their inevitable ends. I have decided to continue this one and give it a lease of new life :P

Lets see where this takes me, rather lets see how far this goes :)

Kalimpong - An Introduction

"Kalimpong is a quiet and peaceful town nestled at a comfortable elevation of 1,250 meters, which ensures a pleasant climate round the year.The sub-division town Kalimpong was an important trading center in the earlier days, when the trade routes/silk routes between Tibet, Bhutan and Sikkim were very much active." This is how typically Kalimpong is described in most of the tourist sites. But there is a lot more than that as far as this lesser known hill station is concerned. All you need to see it, is a little heart and my point of view.

Kalimpong has and always will be my place of nirvana, a place whose memories always make me smile, a place where I run to rejuvenate myself and remind myself of simpler days, days of innocence, days of mischief and unbridled fun and freedom.

It was the year 1988 when I first stepped into Kalimpong. I still clearly remember the trip. I had absolutely no idea how the climb up the hill was going to be. I had imagined it would be a straight inclined climb up to the mountain top. I remember it was a company jeep that had come to pick us up. Over enthusiastic as I was, I stuck my face to the window so that I don't miss a single moment of the climb uphill.

We left Siliguri, crossed the army cantonment (a lovely forest stretch with occasional army settlements and the road was way better than it is now) and reached Sevoke. I was still waiting for the climb uphill when I was informed that the ascent had already begun. It was a huge let down! The road wasn't even 10 degrees inclined and I had imagined a minimum 60 degree inclination.:P

After 20 minutes of serpentine roads up the mountain, my stomach felt weird and had I been a cartoon character, my face colour would have definitely cycled through 5 shades of green. Due to the pressure difference and quick ascent, my ears had already blocked and I was literally shouting. The only way out apparently was to fall asleep and thats what I did. Missed the hanging bridge of Teesta (shall talk about it later), the awesome ascent to Kalimpong. Just to get a brief idea about the steepness, the altitude changes from 90m (Teesta Bazaar) to 1250m (Kalimpong) within a 14 km ride!

When I woke, we had already reached Kalimpong and it was almost dark. We were to temporarily stay at a house which was on the main road just above Himalayan Stores. The windows in the sitting room opened up to the Main Road while the bedroom windows over looked the Mela Ground (the central ground of Kalimpong). I don't remember much about that house, except for the fact that there were huge rats (one of which bit my Dad one night :D ) and that there was a major water shortage.

I don't remember much about the night either, I was tired, bored cause there was no TV and nothing interesting happening and it was cold. But I remember the next morning, as if it was yesterday.

"Get up!", my Dad called out, "You need to see this." Now sleeping late was a habit I had caught long long back and I was in no mood to give in so fast. Finally my Mom shook me till I was wide awake. My dad was standing next to the closed window, smiling at me. "Ever touched clouds?", he asked me and opened the window. With a gush of cool air, white clouds poured in. I ran up to the window, mesmerized, and breathed in the damp, suffocating moist air. My hands and face were damp. I could hardly see anything beyond the clouds, could roughly make out the Mela Ground below and a few dark figures running around. There wasn't a single sound outside, the cars hadn't come out on the roads yet, apart from a few ladies babbling below and the sound of children laughing at a distance.

It was the beginning of my seven years in Kalimpong, years that made me the person I am today, the reason that makes me feel out of place in the fast paced life of Bombay, where I have got so engulfed in my work and myself that I have lost touch of reality. Life and relationships have become so complicated and measured that it sometimes make me feel claustrophobic, bitter and disgusted. And then I go back to those wonder years and find peace... and hope...

Fragile

It's been more than a week now since I last wrote. The problem is a lot have happened in the past one week which has left me pretty depressed. I just didn't feel like putting them down in a post but I guess that acceptance is the only way to move ahead. Last weekend started off very well. 2 of my kitties got a home. Trupti was kind enough to come all the way from Mulund to take 2 of them home. The remaining 2 were healthy and active and things looked perfect. Everything went fine until yesterday.

Day before yesterday I got a call from Apna Home, followed by Trupti. Out of the 4, Trupti had taken one of the white/orange and one black. There was one which was of a dark shade and had stripes all over. Looked very much like Hobbes. Dr. Sangita from Apna Home called up to say that Hobbes wasn't keeping well. He wasn't moving much, wasn't eating much and generally was growing weak. His body kept getting cold and in spite of her various attempts to keep him warm, it wasn't helping. She wasn't very positive about saving him.

I had just done talking to the doctor when Trupti called and she had bad news too. The black one wasn't doing well and the same symptoms were showing. I told her about Hobbes and told her to continue the way she was doing. All I could do was hope for the best.

The next morning, ie yesterday I got a call from Trupti. The black one died at 8:30 in the morning. I immediately called up the shelter and found out that Hobbes had died too at 4:30. I didn't know what to do. They were fine just a couple of days back. How can they cease to live in 2 days? I went over to the shelter in the afternoon. The last one is all alone and looks terrible. It's become extremely skinny in spite of the constant feeding and all the care. I don't know what will happen to it. Trupti on the other hand is trying her best to keep the other one alive.

I feel bad for the way things have turned out and feel responsible for their deaths. Maybe I shouldn't have hurried to get them adopted so soon and separated them. I should have waited for atleast a couple of months before giving them away. By then they would have stabilized. Ignorance is my only plea, my only alibi. Others may be convinced by it but how do I convince myself?

The Holiday in room 1408

Work front has been mind numbing the past week. I have loads to do (which I am looking forward to) but my stupid code refuses to cooperate. I have been breaking my head over a piece of code which mysteriously refuses to work. Its developed AI and is diligently working against me, frustrating me. To get my head off the little prick, ended up watching "The Holiday" yesterday and "1408" today. Refreshing, but still the code keeps disturbing me at the back of my head. Anyways, my main intention was to review the 2 movies. So here goes...

"The Holiday" was a romantic comedy about a couple of girls (Cameron Diaz and Kate Winslet) swapping homes as a home exchange vacation setup. Both tired of their miserable love lives, or their attempt to have one, plan to take a trip away from all the shit and spend christmas in a different country. They both end up meeting guys (Jude Law and Jack Black) more suited to their line of choice than their previous disasters. It was a tad bit long but then again didn't really get bored at any point of time. All the actors did justice with their roles (loved Kate, always had a soft corner for her) and the director did a brilliant job portraying the emotions. I was a little disappointed by Jack Black's character. Probably its difficult imagining him in a non-sidey character. A good movie to watch on a lazy weekend afternoon. Will definitely leave you with a warm, fuzzy feeling inside and the hope that someday you too, in spite of all the failed romances shall meet the right person accidentally.

Alright! I admit it! I like mushy romantic movies. I like kick ass action, gross guy movies. But I love the romance and drama genre too. I can imagine a couple of my friends smirking but I shall take care of them later. X-(

Its been ages since I have seen a good horror movie. I hate those serial-killer-oh-so-scary flicks but its been a long time since I have been scared by a horror movie. "Exorcism of Emily Rose" scared me in some scenes, ie the original version and not the one they showed on TV. They actually butchered the movie. The fact that it was based on a true story helped too.

Well 1408 based on a short story by Stephen King was interesting, though a little boring in the middle. There were quite a few twists and turns and if one is familiar with Stephen King's work then you'll know that apart from just supernatural, he likes to play with the human psyche ( you'll know what I mean if you have seen Stanley Kubrick's "The Shining"). 1408 had a good mix of paranormal and human psychology. Mike Enslin (John Cusack), the protagonist is a writer who debunks paranormal activities in haunted hotels, graveyards etc. He checks into room 1408 in the Dolphin hotel where it is claimed that no one has survived for more than an hour. There have been 56 deaths in that room. The movie slowly reveals the activities of 1408 and Enslin's life and how the two mix to create the experience that Enslin goes through. There is a "Director's Cut" version of the movie which has a better ending, though the current ending is also pretty interesting. If you wanna increase the effect of the movie, watch it in a dark room, alone... you'll like it :D