Measled Potatoes!

Steppin into the Wayback Machine.

2011-07-03T22:08:00.006+05:30

So I was dropping by my dusty blogger dashboard the other day, and I went back and read some of the old posts, just for the heck of it.

And I gotta tell ya, it's an amazing feeling, walking down the memory lane.
The same feeling you get looking at a sepia-toned photograph from your childhood.. or going through text messages saved on your phone from 5 years back.. or just hearing the Windows 95 startup sound.
you feel a 100 years old. *sigh*

I also noticed I have completed a measly total of 100 posts, spanning more than 3 years, which should be considered an accomplishment, given my laziness.
and a quick peek at statcounter told me that my blog has been visited by unsuspecting victims 38367 times. double whammy! :)

So at this point I decided to do a little retrospection. step into the wayback machine and see how my blogging has progressed. Yes it has had its phases, highs, and lows.
and it will only be fair if I start with the first phase:

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I. Crappy with a capital C

"Oh look, everyone's got a blog these days! What? it's free? wait, you can make money too?? dude I'm SO in..!"

So I jumped into the blogging bandwagon on the 1st of March, 2008.
I gotta come clean here, blogging was more of a money-making opportunity to me then than anything else. I was in it for the dough.
So, naturally, the posts consisted mostly of 'cool' stuff I found on the internet, a Ctrl+C and Ctrl+V, or just some random drivel.

Goals at this stage: fill blog with junk, get pagerank, sneak in adsense, do sponsored posts, watch my wallet getting thicker.

I wouldnt mention any posts from this phase for the simple reason that they were all crap. However this one might make you crack up, especially since it was unoriginal and copied from somewhere on the internet:

A hilarious way to learn metal genres

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II. Not Alone.
The bucks hadn't started flowing in as I thought, In fact, I was yet to see a single dime. All I earned was a couple of visits a week maybe. no comments. nothing. nada.
I also came to hate blogging as I saw it more as a chore.

But then I discovered other bloggers out there. Luckily for me, I started blogging early on, when blogging wasn't this big. So there were many struggling bloggers beside me, trying to get their blogs out there.

Began to see blogging in a new light. Needless to say, the posts started becoming more original and personal. Blogging became fun.

and yeah, thank god for BlogCatalog :)

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III. Measled.

That did it. The transition from a vocation, to an avocation. I was totally, hopelessly addicted.
My lifestyle now consisted of surfing other people's blogs late into the night (or should I say, morning??), pots and pots of coffee, and bags under the eyes.

and surprisingly, I started seeing some money. So here's the ultimate tip for ya, whatever you do, you gotta put your heart into it, and the greens will automatically follow :)

Some of my personal favorites from this time
Becoming a Blogger
25 ways to kill time on the internet
Aliens through the ages
An alien encounter
..and the introductory post that was actually the 50th :
Here comes the measles!
better late than never :)

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and how can I forget them new year posts, wild and whacky posts written in the wake of sobriety after a particularly wild popping of bottles on the new year's eve.
2009 - 2010 - 2011
and it was during the new year of 2010 that I took the only new year resolution that I've kept: keeping this site completely ad-free. though I get tempted to cheat from time to time ;)

Life bites.
Now I know how people who write diaries must feel. It's nice to have some place you can write your heart out when life for you isn't going that great. It helps heal the wound. well, mostly.
Whether it be losing someone to death, breaking up with a good friend, or just the occassional blues, blogging is a relief.

Intoxicated
The countless posts made under influence, most of them that got deleted the very next morning at the first pangs of sobriety.
Here's a tip for you, do not blog when you are drunk, or desperately unhappy, or both.
and here's an example of how effed up a post can get, when the person typing it is too hammered to form words with the 200+ keys he sees on his keyboard.
Sealed with a kiss

and the one post that will always remain my number 1, looking back at the most beautiful phase of my life so far.
college = \m/

So, that's it, I feel like I've just sat through a movie.
and I thought it was pretty good. you might be tempted to throw tomatoes. it's your call really.

All I know is, I'm gonna keep this shit up for many more years.

..cause I friggin love it :)

Easter tidbits

2011-04-24T00:39:00.005+05:30

It's the Easter day! Have an egg! :)

It's a beautiful night. All tired and sleepy after the late night mass, back home listening to some soft music on the computer, enjoying the vibe in the cool night air.
and here are my wishes for you and your family, have a happy easter. Sleep tight :)

..and keep a shotgun cocked by your nightstand, in case a creepy looking rabbit comes sneaking into your bedroom at midnight.

---

So, a quick run-down of the stuff that's been happening.

Okay, let's start with the good news: My bro is getting married this May. and I'm really happy for him. I know this is a late time to break the news but you know, I haven't been around here in a while.
So, just wishing him all the very best and moving on to the less important stuff,
such as,

Exams
Yep, it's that time of the year again. You know how I always loved exam time. Three whole hours to let your imagination run unbirdled on a sheet of paper, heck, I'm in!
I'm known to have made my SSD professor wince by referring to the Avalanche breakdown of a Zener Diode as the 'Demise of the Device' in my answer sheet.
Yeah, it was all good fun. but it's no fun a couple of years later, when you're just hidiing under a dark cloud of past mistakes.
Time to get serious. Actually, the time is way due, and I feel I've missed my cue.
but like some old bloke said, better late than never right?
Yep, no more dicking around.

Pumping Iron
Decided to do something about my pathetic excuse of a body so I started eating like crazy and joined a Gym.

These particular words by Dave Draper inspire me:

Are you ready for this conversation? Hey, dude, long time, no see. You’re looking -- I dunno -- bigger, fuller, healthier. I can see it in your shoulders... thicker, more power. You been hittin’ the juice? Just kiddin’! Make a bicep. Golly. You’re also calmer, cooler and more sensational.

Listen to me, guys. By summer you’ll have your wings and you can fly with us. We’re authentic bombers. We do lots of loopty loops. You ever do loopty loops?

Go with God’s strength... Dave

Don't get me wrong, I'm not looking forward to getting all beefy and muscular like these guys (although that would be cool) (if that was even possible for someone like me!)

Just wanna build some flesh over these bones. Cause these days more often than not, I get mistaken for a high-school kid.
Pretty disheartening for a 23-year old guy if you ask me :/

Well, how far this goes remains to be seen. You know I get lazy. It's been just a couple of weeks since I joined, and I'm already on my Easter break away from the weights.
Yeah, I know. Need motivation. Gotta keep tellin my mind something like; I'm Improving my life, one rep at a time :)
Bullcrap. but it always seem to work.

Stay blessed.!

Rock in Peace \m/

2011-04-05T13:18:00.005+05:30

The 5th of April. A day that marks the demise of two of the greatest personalities in Grunge music. And I felt I had to share something here, cause these guys have been a huge inspiration for me

Kurt Cobain

Perhaps the first name that comes into your mind when you hear the word 'Grunge'. That familiar figure brooding over an acoustic guitar, a burning cigarette to his lips, who truly showed the world that "it's better to burn out than to fade away".
The musical genius came to an end on this day, 17 years back. But still his musical legacy lives on.
Cobain's suicide note is a must read for every indiidual.

Layne Staley

One of my favorite vocalists of all time, Staley delivers with so much power and emotion in his voice that it makes the hair at the back of your neck stand up.
Sadly we lost this man to drug abuse. It's been nine years, Alice in Chains is reformed and is still making good music, but it misses the emotional edge that they had when Staley was at the mic.
I do pop in an AIC record once in a while and wallow myself in the goodness of music that's so hard to find today. Alice in Chains will always be a favorite to me and Staley, you will be missed!
Have fun jammin in heaven with Kurt, Ronnie, and the greats! \m/

Bleeding Blue..

2011-04-03T23:50:00.004+05:30

I haven't cried in a long time, but yesterday I did. and it felt good :)
For the 2nd of April, 2011, goes down in my diary as a truly memorable one. An unforgettable day for a nation that carries the spirit of cricket in its blood and bones. After 28 long years, the Cup is home again.

I remember looking up at cricketers with respect as a kid. Back then, there was just one television set in the neighbourhood, and we kids would all huddle up before it, cheering for the likes of manjrekar and Dravid and Ganguly and ofcourse, the little master himself, Sachin Tendulkar.
Watching the game yesterday, I felt like a nine year old all over again. adrenaline rushes and chewing on fingernails till they were reduced to nothing.. and now sitting here, almost 24 hours after the moment of glory, the feeling is still awesome.! :)

So here's to team work.. and the ability to rise according to the occassion. and the Epic finish.. Chak De India.! \m/

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So it seems Indian Model Poonam Pandey went full frontal after all.. here's the video footage of the same ;)

Poonam Pandey bares it all

Heartache...

2011-03-28T10:22:00.005+05:30

don't remember how I got there.
It was a dimly lit hall in a building and we were standing near the doorway, talking. The place looked oddly familiar, kinda like our old college canteen. It was dusty and there were cracks on the wall. I was telling her something I dont quite recall.
I saw her looking intently into my eyes. and I thought she looked angelic, like she was made of porcelain and grace. which made me stop in my tracks and hunt for words.
Then she just leaned over, and kissed me.
A kiss that set me on fire, one that more than made up for the countless sleepless nights of longing and yearning.
Pausing for breath, she pressed her lips to mine again, inflicting me for all eternity.

Well, I don't remember much after the kiss, partly because it made me light-headed. We sure did walk along a stairway that seemed to go on forever. Brown and yellow leaves were scattered on the ground, and contorted trees on either side, making it look like an autumn evening. I held her hand and we just walked, enjoying the silence and each other's presence.

...and of course, finally waking up to face the bitter truth.
that the perfect world that i lived moments ago was but a fool's pipe dream.
just a dreamscape that felt so real and near, but actually existed aeons away from my reality.

I remember striving to achieve lucidity in my dreams a while back. to be able to control what I dreamed, to model ethereal dreamscapes.
But sometimes, isn't it just better to let our dreams take us where they want?
The places they take you, sometimes they can just blow our primitive minds away. I for one, can't name a dream more beautiful that the one I had last night.

Hmm maybe I should count the day I read the Chronicles of Narnia. That night I dreamed the founding of the world. Oceans rising and continents forming... it was all very beautiful, but it also felt otherworldly, like I was peering into some dimension I wasn't supposed to be seeing. Not real and lasting like this one.

I know reading the book triggered that dream. But this? Dreaming of a person you haven't thought about in a while, a person you deliberately refrain from thinking about, like a diet of the mind, to spare the heartache.. What started as a mere crush but soon transformed into a downward spiral of obsession and craving. Like a junkie constantly feels the need to shoot up. girl, your thoughts obsess my days... I feel my mind has become one with my soul, cause I cant think straight. Logic is clouded by emotion, soul has lost its flame. fubar. 'nuff said.

I just hope that this wound heals with time. that time flows in and fills the cracks in my sanity. Until then, I'll just do my time here, writhing in the embers, and praying for the bliss that is ignorance.

..didnt wanna write any of this crap, but now that I did, I feel a lot better.
and I also feel the need to invest in a personal diary.
and maybe I should just stick to bad movie reviews and posting crap about famous people in this blog.. yeah, I should :/

image credit

Rock n Roll on the Silver Screen : The Best Rock / Metal Movies of all time.

2011-03-06T16:08:00.011+05:30

It is not often that you find Rock / Metal music featured in mainstream media.

Reason? Rock, and especially Heavy Metal, is a genre of music that has been hated more than loved ever since its inception.
It has been bashed, ridiculed, called ‘evil’, and written off as unsophisticated music. But you make one of those haters listen to a badass metal riff and tell em to play it, I’m pretty sure they’ll jizz in their pants.

Nevertheless, Metal never got the recognition it deserved. And the widespread hate, has only made it all the more endearing to us fans who carry it in our bones.

Anyway, there have been some pretty good (and some awesome) movies and documentaries on Rock and Metal music. I'm not talking musicals here, these are (mostly) works of art that truly captured the spirit of rock and roll.

Here I’m listing some of the best I’ve watched.

And let’s do it the age-old way, counting down :

15. Detroit Rock City

This was one of my favorites back when I was a kid. The movie is about four teenagers trying to get into a KISS concert.
Now, as much as I’d love to punch Paul Stanley in the face, I have to say l love this movie. It’s nothing mind-blowing, but It’s fun, and has its moments.

Memorable Quote:

Christine: Hey, you know what? Disco's so fucking big right now, I wouldn't be suprised if KISS did a disco song.
Lex: Man, if there's one thing KISS will never do, it is a bullshit disco song.
Jam: No shit man!
Trip: Yeah man. Disco blows dogs for quarters man!

And we all know what happened next! XD

14. Still Crazy

Twenty years later, old members of fictional band ‘Strangefruit’ get back together and try to make it work.
You might find yourself wondering at the end of the movie whether the bollywood flick ‘Rock On!!’ was “inspired” by this one.

13. Sid and Nancy

Who doesn’t know Sid Vicious. The legendary bassist of band Sex Pistols, and the true personification of punk rock! But this biography shows us the murky details; Sid’s relationship with Nancy Spungen, her murder and the fateful events that follow. All of this interweaved with hazy moments of drug abuse and debauchery.

Memorable moment
Sid slaughtering the Sinatra classic, ‘My Way’, a riveting performance by actor Gary Oldman.

Nancy: I'll never look like Barbie. Barbie doesn't have bruises.

12. Decline of Western Civilization II : The Metal Years

A documentary that shows the ugly underbelly of metal music, namely, the glam metal subculture.
Features some distinguished people in Rock talking about the highs and lows of rockstardom such as, Ozzy, Steven Tyler, Lemmy, Alice Cooper,etc.
More than an hour of footage on some dumbass glam metallers wearing spandex pants. And a stripping contest organized by some old dried up fruit whom I’d like to kick in the balls if I ever get to meet him.
Finally relief comes when they give a scoop on a real metal band for a change, Megadeth. An interview with the band and an amazing rendition of ‘In my darkest hour’.

Memorable moment:
Chris Holmes (W.A.S.P) wallowing in vodka and making a complete fool of himself, and the expression on his mother’s face as she watches on., that sure is gonna make you reconsider listening to glam metal ever again in your life.

Interviewer to Dave Mustaine : What do you have to say to kids who wanna make it as a rockstar?
Mustaine : don’t.

11. Pirate Radio / The Boat that Rocked

A comedy about an illegal radio station that operated in the North sea in the 60’s. One of those feel good movies with a positive vibe. Some downright funny moments. Also, an awesome soundtrack full of nostalgic oldies. Got me hooked on the Kinks song ‘Sunny Afternoon’.

10. Rockstar

Lead singer of a tribute band gets the opportunity to become the lead singer of the real band he idolizes. Yeah, it’s based on the story of Judas priest. Starring Mark Wahlberg and Jennifer Aniston, and even a surprising appearance by a young Myles Kennedy, this movie has lots of them rockstar moments.

Memorable moment : Izzy taking the stage with Steel Dragon for the first time and nailing it.

9. The Doors

Perhaps the greatest performer ever to grace the face of this planet, excessive drug user, expressive poet, chicks dig him..
Who else could I be talking about but the lizard king himself, Jim Morrison.
And this is his biography, played to perfection by Val Kilmer. It follows Morrison right from his early days with Doors all the way to his untimely death at the age of 27.

Memorable moment
Morrison shouting out ‘higher’ on National Television at the Ed Sullivan Show.

Memorable Quotes

Jim Morrison: Actually I don't remember being born, It must have happened during one of my black outs.

Interviewer: Do you believe in drugs?
Jim Morrison: I believe in excess...

"The movie will begin in five moments," the mindless voice announced. All those unseated will await the next show. We filed slowly, languidly into the hall. The auditorium was fast and silent. As we seated and were darkened, the voice continued, "The program for this evening is not new. You've seen this entertainment through and through. You've seen your birth, your life and death. You might recall all the rest. Did you have a good world when you died? Enough to base a movie on?"

Know what my secret wish is? Go on a desert with Morrison and trip on peyote with him ;)

8. Lemmy

Ever been to a Motorhead concert? If yes, you might have seen an striking frontman standing onstage and shouting to the sound guy to turn it all the way up. Just get ready for an eargasm cause you’re listening to the Loudest band in the planet, and that man donning the cowboy hat and the Rickenbacker Bass is the most badass figure in Heavy Metal – Lemmy Kilmister.
And this is his story.

Memorable moments
Lemmy jamming with the members of Metallica and sharing stage with them.

Memorable Quotes:

Pumped-up fan : They drop a nuclear bomb on this planet.. Lemmy and cocroaches, it’s all that’s gonna survive!

Lemmy : We are Motorhead, and we play Rock and Roll.

7. School of Rock

Jack Black, awesome as always, plays a wannabe rockstar, who poses as a substitute teacher at a prep school and educates his students on something that’s not in the curriculum : Rock Music.
Taking the concept of the yesteryear movie ‘Sound of Music’ and bringing it to an entirely different realm, works out pretty well in my opinion.

Frankie: Miss Mullins, you're the man.

6. Anvil

Now this one comes highly recommended by me.. it is a documentary on the Gods of Canadian metal, Anvil.

Memorable moments :
* Bandmates get Lip a cake on his birthday, inscribed with ‘Happy fucking 50’ in icing.. man, if my friends ever did something like that for me I’d be psyched!
*Anvil playing to a half empty bar in Munich, and a loyal customer sitting in a chair and headbanging all by himself.

This is hands down the best documentary I’ve seen in years. It’s not about one of those bands that made it big, it’s about one that could’ve been big, about a failure for a change. And that’s the beauty of the film. It’ll leave you mesmerized.

5. Metal : A HeadBanger’s Journey

What better way to make a documentary on Metal other than by a Metalhead himself!
Headbanger’s journey follows anthropologist and longtime metal fan Sam Dunn as he embarks on a journey to uncover the roots of Heavy Metal, starting from the industrial areas of old England where Sabbath pounded out those first metal riffs and travelling all the way to the modern metallers, even a short dark trip to the depths of Norwegia, the Black Metal capital of the world.
Features interviews with a lot of important figures in Metal, it’s a must-watch for any metal fan.

The Ending lines are especially memorable :

Sam Dunn (standing at the concert venue amidst screaming metal fans) : Ever since I was 12 years old I had to defend my love for heavy metal against those who say it's a less valid form of music. My answer now is that you either feel it or you don't. If metal doesn't give that overwhelming surge of power that make the hair stand up at the back of your neck, you might never get it, and you know what? That's okay, because judging by the 40,000 metalheads around me we're doing just fine without you.

4. Global Metal

Following along the veins of Headbanger’s journey, this documentary follows Sam Dunn as he travels across the world to learn how Metal has flourished in and influenced the different cultures, including Asia, South America, and even the Middle East.

Memorable moment
Iron Maiden opening the concert with ‘Fear of the Dark’ to a pent up Indian crowd. Nothing short of mind-blowing! Don’t take my word for it, watch the video.

3. Heavy : The Story of Metal

Documentary series on Metal by VH1. Although it was done by the folks at MTV and glorifies mainstream junk and the music video a bit, I still find it to be a honest account on the origin and evolution of Metal.

It’s a four part series, and you could learn a lot by watching it.

Episode 1 : Welcome to my nightmare : Black Sabbath to Led Zeppelin to Alice Cooper to AC/DC.
Episode 2 : British Steel : Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, The NWOBHM movement, and the origin of Air Guitaring.
Episode 3 : Looks that Kill : LA Glam Metal scene, and my least favorite installment.
Episode 4 : Seek and Destroy : Metal was never meant to be pretty.. Thrash arrives and melts the faces of all the glam metal posers. Hell Yeah! \m/
Also, scoops on Rap Metal, Nu metal and the devil incarnate himself, Marilyn Manson.

2. Almost Famous

William Miller, a 15 year old journalist, gets hired by Rolling Stone magazine to tour with and write about the band Stillwater.
Now, I’ve placed this one so high up in the list cause it deserves it. It captures the true essence of Rock and Roll. Tons of replay value. And Kate Hudson gives one of her most unforgettable performances as the groupie, miss Penny Lane.

Memorable moment :
That scandalous moment where the band is on a plane about to crash and Ed blurts out “Fuck it! I’m… I’m gay!”. Also, this is Ed’s only line in the movie!

And now to the number 1, and my all time favorite :

1. This is Spinal Tap

If you’re into metal and you haven’t seen this one, you’re missing out. In the words of Dee Snider, “It was so funny it hurt!”. No arguments there, it gets you laughing right from the start till the ending credits roll.
Directed by Rob Reiner, this one’s a documentary, or rather, a ‘mockumentary’ on the fictional band Spinal Tap. Reiner himself stars as documentarian Marti DeBergi, who hits the road with the band.
Spinal Tap is comprised of three core members: David St. Hubbins (apparently St. Hubbins is the patron saint of quality footwear.. who knew!) on vocals, Nigel Tufnel on Guitar, and Derek Smalls on bass.

Memorable moments
Too many, though the Stonehenge scene was hysterically funny!

Also this Spinal Tap song deserves special mention., titled ‘Big Bottom’ :D

Memorable Quote

Nigel : “These amps go upto 11”

’nuff said!

I wanna keep talking about this movie but already this post has grown to epic proportions. So I have to stop now.

And please be aware that this list is purely subjective. Also, there must be other rock and roll films out there that I may not be aware of and have missed. So if you have any to suggest, just shoot in the comments section. :)

[Asked to write his own epitaph]
David St. Hubbins: Here lies David St. Hubbins... and why not?

Haha... fiddy got owned! ;)

2011-03-04T13:34:00.004+05:30

Wanted to share a crazy video I stumbled on the other day.

This one's SO full of Win!.. 50 Cent collaborating with Thomas the tank engine on a kickass rendition of 'In Da Club'.

I dont know who made this but dude, if you ever come here let me know cause I'ma buy you a beer.. or even a six pack. you deserve it! :D

I will say no more, watch the video and crack up! :D

Flame On!!

2011-02-28T13:42:00.005+05:30

One of my favorite pastimes on the internet is logging on to Ultimate-Guitar.com and reading the articles. It is a good place to keep up with some real music news, when most other music sites these days seem more interested in Lady Gaga's wardrobe and 12-year olds going multiplatinum.

Now I don't mean to sound like an old fart but really, I don't get the crappy mainstream music out there these days. You can go ahead flame me for this but I dont see any real musicianship out there.

So, we were saying, UG does have some kickass articles and news feeds, but any regular reader of the site will know that more than the articles, the comments sections are the real deal.
While the articles themselves are plagued with typos, misinterpretations and anachronisms, often with a misleading title to boot, the comments they always contain something that will make your day. and sometimes, week.

Frankly, I don't think any of these communities would survive if it wasn't for the species called Flamers. they are the life of the party!
Flame wars are hilarious things to watch too.
In UG, whenever an article is posted about an artist, some wise-ass comes in and types in a hate comment.
Soon you see the whole community poised in a battle between the so-called Elitists and Fanboys.
Believe me, there's nothing funnier than watching a fanboy go down in battle, hopelessly trying to defend his favorite band, getting pelted with insults.
Alright, that's a bit mean. but funny nonetheless! XD

Flaming is widespread, but more common when the article involves bands like Avenged Sevenfold, SlipKnoT, Black Label Society, and lately, even Slayer.
and don't even get me started on the Metallica vs. Megadeth debate, they seem to go on forever.

After years of indulging in this hobby, there is only one band that I haven't seen getting bashed, and that is Rush. Such amazing musicianship, I'm not a bit surprised.

Anyway, I read this article on UG the other day, and this post was originally intended to talk about it, but guess I got carried away and ended up typing this wall of text instead.

Alright.

Vince Neil working two jobs in jail
Vince Neil turned himself in to the Clark County Detention Center in Las Vegas about 10 a.m. Tuesday, to serve a two-week long sentence for drunken driving there last June.
Reportedly, Vince is worried about having to "endure" two weeks, and is planning to be a model prisoner so his sentence may get shortened.
A very concerned girlfriend worries that he is not getting proper food or sleep in the jail. and believe me, this was a top story.
According to a Twitter message from Jacobs (an entertainment reporter at KSNV-TV), Neil is "understandably tired and working two jobs." She adds, "I'm very proud of him and miss him tons!"

Okay, a lil background for those who dont know this guy.

You might recognize Vince Neil as the vocalist of the '80s hair metal band Motley Crue.

You should also know that this piece of shit is known for another incident of drunk-driving earlier. and killed a guy, injuring two others in the process.

and all that is in addition to bringing disgrace to the Metal genre by playing in the crappy band called Motley Crue for three decades, making whiny music that made them millions and got them laid.

I know a few of you might actually like Crue, but me, like 90% of the metalheads out there, despise them and all those sunset strip bands.
I mean getting all dolled up like a dame for show after show..? what the hell dude? you got unaddressed issues!

Also, I'm pissed that this prick got it easy. Two weeks in detention, and that's not even a real prison., and still he's whining like a bi*ch. Don't forget that this is his second offense.. i hope they fry him!

Guess I got a little carried away.. I just get pissed when I see these big stars buying their way outta shit.
So I'll just leave you with a couple of comments from the original article, while I go pop in Kill 'Em All on full volume.. for all I know, that record was aimed at pansy hair metal bands plaguing the scene back in the day.

Peace.

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Salvo416 :
You know what he reminds me of? Brett Michaels.. both white trash long haired bearded hicks in overrated 80s bands trying to get publicity.

strung_out1 :
look out Gene Simmons, Vince Neil is creeping slowly towards being the biggest douche in the universe

nargoth :
Don't drop the soap sugar

SweepSDMF :
Jail, the one time when looking like a ****ing woman will work against him...

10pound :
"My reckless behavior cost someone their life and when I do it again....they bring the hammer down on me. So unfair."
Suck it Vince. You fail at remorse.

saved the best for last ;)

PatVanHalen5150 :
2 jobs, eh? I'll put my money on blow & rim.

Trippin' on Minecrack. er.., Minecraft.

2011-02-14T15:29:00.008+05:30

Back when I as a kid, we had this neglected medium-sized tank outside our house. Once a fat load of sand got dumped into it for some construction work, which never saw the light of day.
So in effect, me and my bro ended up with a new playtoy, a friggin sandbox!
For an outsider, it was just a dirty little tank filled with sand and dirt and decomposed skeletons of insects... but only to the untrained eye!
For inside the four walls of the tank rose Cities and Palaces and Roads. A cemetery for the deceased Gold fish from the aquarium. The big beady ants made excellent slaves. Sometimes the rain came down, wreaking havoc all over the place and massive reconstruction had to follow... Nothing went on in our little world without our consent, well, except the ants mutinying once in a while.. the revolting ones got burned at stakes or drowned in boiling water. We reigned Supreme.

We were friggin' Gods!

Moral of the story : Sure you can have the meanest, beastliest computer in the world and play the most state-of-the-art action game on it, but the sheer kick that you get out of it, can come nowhere near what you get playing with a sandbox!

Such is the power of sandbox-styled gameplay, you are not tied to any particular Storyline, and the possibilities are endless.

Now, this post is in regard to this sandbox game that I've been hooked to the past month or so, MineCraft. Thanks to my bud desmond for hooking me up with this game. man you rock! :)

Now, the whole game weighs in under about 100 MB and you can tweak the settings to allow it to run on any PC. You can play online or offline. You can buy it or get it from the dark side, but I encourage you to buy it, cause it's worth it. besides, it's a mere €14.95.

When you start a Minecraft game, you are spawned into a world of epic proportions.

Mark that spawn point cause you're gonna respawn there everytime you die.
The basic objective of the game is simple :
Make use of the daylight. Collect resources, hunt animals, farm crops, build structures, craft items, etc. etc.
And make sure you have a nice comfy shelter ready before the night. Cause in the night, you wanna be tucked away safely, unless you wanna be tossed around in a thriller dance featuring Zombies, Creepers and Skeletons with crossbows ;)

Did I mention this game has an awesome soothing soundtrack that plays in the background and keeps you relaxed during the daytime.
Also there's the creepy music and monster noises during night that will take you completely unawares and make you shit bricks!

I will say no more, cause I think you should play this awesome game and discover the many facets of the game yourself. So I'm gonna put in a few screenshots and leave you at that.

warm, cozy home

Castle in the works

Arsonist ;)

The abandoned mine

dungeons filled with riches... and horrors.

The monster spawner that churns out several monsters per minute

night of the living dead

About to get my ass owned

Beautiful sunset, the calm before the storm

Current goals:
-> Recreate Counter-Strike map cs_assault
-> Build an intercity minecart network
-> Mine Obsidian and open a portal to Nether

Okay then, load it up and get your creative juices flowin!
and if you get any doubts just refer to the comprehensive Minecraft Wiki.

later :)

LifeUpdate 4.0

2011-02-13T20:25:00.003+05:30

Well, looks like another post where I'm not feeling creative enough to think up a decent enough title.
But I kinda like this title, unlike the crappy software program after which it was named (Norton LiveUpdate) :S
So there's gonna be more of these, be warned.!
Series of posts where I whine and complain and fill you in on random junk from my mundane life.
So a word of advice.. see this title? just steer clear.

So, what I've been doing.. hmm..
certainly a lot of thinking. and regretting.
and a lack of (a)vocation of any sort means more time for both.

I think life has hit the so-called quarter-life crisis, except it came a lil early.
23 years.. certainly a lot of good memories. but then why do I constantly find myself wishing I could find a goodamn time machine! :(
balls! there goes my new year resolution down the crapper!

done with the daily helping of self-loathing, now let's get to the updates.!

So I've been..

-> been Reading!

finished :
'Memoirs of a Geisha' by Arthur Golden
Slapstick story about this Japanese chick who goes to Hollywood to make it big, winds up at good ol' Sunset Strip, ends up alcoholic and a groupie at Motley Crue concerts. Sad, if you ask me.

not really..
It's actually an imaginative tale set in early Japan, a mesmerizing life story dictated by one of Japan's most celebrated Geisha. Believe me, it's a novel that refuses to stay shut. What amazed me most is that it's the author's debut too.

Now reading :
'The Shadow of the Wind'
Looks spooky.. but engaging nonetheless. Can't say anything more at the moment cause I've just begun reading.

-> Gaming : will elaborate in a seperate post. :)

-> watching a lot of movies. and some random episodes of Simpsons and Two and a half men.
Watch this space for a generic 'My favorite movies' post.

-> tried to write a song : only to realise it's actually a hard thing to do, to sit on your ass and actually MAKE MUSIC. well, unless you're Creed, in which case you need just three chords and a drum machine for an album full of material.

So, for the time being, Mission Cacophony is on standby.

(refer to beginning of post about lack of creativity and inability to come up with clever names for stuff)

-> listening to some really cool stand-up comedy on radio.
Lesson learned : Russel Peters ain't the be-all and end-all of comedy.
Discovered some really great artists: Carlos Mencia, Robert Schimmel, Chris Rock, Carlin,.. and I know I've only licked the icing!

-> Songs stuck in my head

- Enya - May it be (Blame it on watching LOTR again)
- Switchfoot - On Fire (Blame it on this girrl)
- Smashing Pumpkins - 1979 (Puts me to sleep every night)
- The Pixies - Where is my mind (one helluva trippy song)
- Graveworm - Portrait of a deadly Nightshade (melo- blackened- symphonic- death- metal- whatever, it sounds good!)

-> and a coupla links to wrap it up:

UG Story : All About Nick Avers
A sweet piece of fiction over at UG that I liked.

Shameless idol worship
Dave Mustaine creams Moon Zappa and George Clinton on this episode of Celebrity Jeopardy.

Part II

'VICIOUS' video of the day
Sid vicious slaughters a Sinatra classic, a proud moment in punk rock history!

So long! :)

Got the blues...

2011-01-21T23:38:00.006+05:30

Today is a sad day..
Yes, another heartbreak. My favorite piece of internet fiction, which has been running for almost two years now, well, the author chose to kill it today :(

I've written about this guy here before. Nolan Whyte is a writer and a regular guest columnist over at Ultimate-Guitar.com.
I stumbled into his previous work, Guitargasm : A Novel, while fishing for guitar tabs at UG a few years ago. Since then I became a faithful devotee of his writings.
If you love music, and guitars, or even otherwise, you should definitely check out his works: On Comeback Road, Guitargasm, and the last one,'Riot Band Blues'

For the typical UG'er, the expression TGIF is all the more relevant, cause that's the day a new installment of Riot Band Blues would hit the site. Yeah, that's what it was, phenomenal. *sigh*
Nolan's writing got better and better over the years, and RBB is, in my humble opinion, a modern masterpiece.
Well, not the kind of masterpiece your English teacher would approve of... there's the occasional f-word. and the drugs. and the rock and roll ;)

So today Riot Band Blues came to an end, running it's course of 91 installments. and it has been one helluva read! I hope Nolan returns with another series soon, though this one will be hard to top.
So, if you'd like to check it out, I suggest you visit Nolan's contributions page @ UG here.
Ah, screw that, here's Part one for ya! Start right here.

So now that's one less obsession. A certain void seems to have formed.. Fridays will never be the same at UG :(

guess I'll have to go back to trolling the comments sections. oh well.

2011 baby!!

2011-01-02T00:24:00.003+05:30

Okay, new year is here. and I realize it's time to make that traditional 'New Year's post' :)

So I take a look at the posts I made in 2010, and 2009, and the resolutions, and I realize how quickly time has flown. Seriously, it seems like I made those decisions yesterday, and needless to say, a huge chunk of those went unkept.. Like someone said, resolutions are made for breaking right? NOT!

So I see I made 15 resolutions to stick to in 2010, and I gotta say, they all failed to stick :(
well, except the decision to learn touch typing. I'm touch typing as I write this :)
And I had resolved to listen to 100 new albums in 2010. Though I didn't hit the 100-album spot, it was a nice opportunity to discover some good music I wouldn't have known otherwise.

So 2010 is done now. Looking back, it was like watching an M. Night Shyamalan movie. Alright, 'Signs', if you're looking for a perfect example.
So the year started off awesome, seemed it would turn out to be a pretty good year, probably the best in a while, and then, BAAAM!! just like that... BAD ending!

You know the feeling when you sit i the theater watching a flick with a crappy ending... yeah, you just wanna exit the goddamn theater.
and that was 2010 for me. Inside you someone yells "Call it quits! Call it quits!". But you can't, 'cause you have to live through it.
and yeah, the girl sitting in the row before you is so dang hot ;)

And before you know it, you've lived through another sucky year. Congratulations.

Someone said, it's the number of times you smiled that sums up a year for you. And if my math is any good, 2011 barely sums up to a measly amount.

So, here goes my number one new year resolution for 2011 : Stay Happy! :)

Which also means no more blog posts filled with profanities that I have to delete two days later.

Which also means no more emo songs in the playlist.

which also means 2011 summing up to a HECK lot more! :)

Another resolution is to buck up and post more often here. Only 10 posts in 2010! (*gasps*) now that is some serious negligence on my part! :O

And I really need a makeover, and by that I don't mean appearance-wise (though alot of people seem to suggest, "tidy up!"). I mean, personally / intellectually. I think it's more important than a physical makeover at this stage.
Remember the laundry resolution I made last year? Not important!
brush-clean my conscience, and clear thoughts with speycide (quoting Jimmy Eat World). Screw laundry! :)

Okay, that'd be all. I'm looking forward to a good year this year. Things are definitely starting to look up, So I hope this will be a good one.

and a very Happy new Year to you too! Go Nuts! :)

by the way, that pic is from the comic strip "Calvin & Hobbes". If you haven't read it (which is highly unacceptable!) you should really check it out. Real good stuff, and Calvinball is my kind of sport! ;)

How to Revive a Dead Laptop Battery

2010-09-24T18:55:00.005+05:30

Let's face it, nothing's built to last forever, and laptops are no exception.

My HP laptop has been gradually deteriorating for the last 5 years since it was bought, and now has a dysfunctional speaker, a touchpad whose left and right buttons no longer work, and a dead battery.

Well, one can do without the speakers (there's this thing called earphones), and the touchpad, but a laptop without battery surely has one foot in the grave.
Especially in our state of Kerala where power cuts happen almost everyday, proper shutdown soon becomes a pipe-dream.

Coming back to the topic, laptop batteries cost a fortune, atleast the original ones do. So before you throw that dead battery out the window and fish out that money outta your pocket, you might wanna try this as a last resort.. and trust me, it worked like a charm in my case.

So here's what i did, i removed the dead battery from the laptop, wrapped it fully in polythene (you can use a ziploc bag too), and kept it in the freezer for one whole day!

Now after a day, i took it out, dried it thoroughly till all moisture was gone, and replaced it in the laptop.

I better show you the result than tell it, cause seeing is believing :)

This is the screenshot before freezing the battery:

And this one after the process:

Initially the battery backup wasn't that great. I was able to get only about 5 minutes. so I was somewhat disheartened by the result. But it seems to have regained its capacity over time and now i'm getting a steady backup of almost an hour ;)

So how's this possible?
Cryogenics??
Cryogenic sleep is rumored to preserve people for years and heal their wounds. Kirsten Stewart looked stunning after waking from cryogenic sleep in that crap movie Zathura. We all know aliens are preserved in cryogenic chambers in suspended animation at hangar 18.

Okay, the last paragraph was a load of bullcrap, but cryogenics is one fascinating topic and i got carried away to ranting about it. My sincere apologies :|

The truth is, the freezing process supposedly reverses some chemical reaction in the battery and this is what rejuvenates it. I don't know the specifics, but many people have had success with this method, so you can just google it and find out what makes it tick.

Anyway, if you are about to ditch your laptop's dead battery i suggest you just try this method. It worked for me, hopefully it works for you too.

Disclaimer: don't hold me responsible if something happens to your laptop, in the worst case it may blow up. Please ensure the battery is completely dry before reinserting.

Good luck :)

When Boredom Strikes...

2010-08-14T00:30:00.007+05:30

Too much free time on my hands has always made me do stuff that I consider ..well.. unconventional?

Normally, I'm a bit on the lazy side. Okay, I'll be honest and ask you to skip that "a bit" on the previous sentence.
I'm quite sure that when I get a job in the near future, and I'm asked to choose between an additional 1000 rupees remuneration , or a couple of extra holidays, I would readily choose the latter.. yeah I know, pathetic! :/

So I was naturally overjoyed when I got home after finishing college and parents asked me to stay home for awhile and take care of my body.. and thus commenced a long streak of sleep, sleep., and more sleep :)

But turns out you get tired of even sleeping after a while.. gah! didn't see that one coming! :(

even sleeping in unusual and weird positions didn't help..
So I began doing stuff, not exactly 'useful' stuff by common man's standards..
all kinds of useless crap to help me kill time..
Heck, I even tried moonwalking..! no, not the dance move, I'm referring to some serious bouncing around in a mentally cooked-up 1.96ms^-2 gravity environment in my room.
you should try it too, it's SO much fun (provided no one is watching you)..

Thankfully, the holidays are almost over (never thought I'd say that), I joined a 3-month course and it begins in a few days.. So I had about one more week to waste, and here's how it went.

So here goes, some of the stuff I've been doing in the past week that can be classified as 'useful':

I Cooked..
whoa! I've never thought of me as a good cook, neither does my ex-roomies..
I did some cooking, the simple stuff, and turns out I can't screw up everytime :)

That's a simple omlette, nothin to brag about, but I DID put in a lot of vegetables and other stuff in, and I expected it to taste terrible.. I was reminded of the Irish Beef Stew from the book "Three men in a boat", where they put in whatever they could find in the boat (and montmorrency turned up with a dead rat :D )
.. but this one actually turned out pretty good :)

french fries anybody?? :)

Made a mouse pad...
Got tired of the mouse having a mind of it's on so took some time and made a simple D-I-Y mousepad, complete with a crappy paint job.

Made some Guitar Picks...
Playing guitar means a big portion of your pocket money goes toward buying guitar picks.. They have this mysterious ability of disappearing two days after buying them.. So I found a nice instructable on making picks from old CD's or DVD's.

made a 50 of these., which I calculated would save me about 1250 rupees in the long run :)

Tried some Origami..
Made some paper airplanes, no big deal.. I started out with more complex stuff like 'dragon-in-flight' and 'caterpillar-on-a-leaf' and 'Bouquet of primula' (whatever that is), but they turned out to be pure mindfuckery, so I had to give up and go browse the kids' sections :|

Screw that, here's my squadron ;)

and some quality time was spent engaging the models in "warfare"

"Suck on these!!!" **KABOOM**

Ah.. to be eight again! :)

I know, I seriously need help! :O
But glad this phase of stagnation is gonna end soon and I'll be back with my friends before I know it..

Until then it's just more cooking, testing them on the poor parents, paper airplane warfare, and yeah, moonwalking!

Sweet Dreams are made of these...

2010-08-11T00:55:00.004+05:30

Okay, before you get sidetracked into thinking this post is about that demon-possessed dope fiend whose music I happen to like..,

it is about the art of lucid dreaming ;)

Well, so far my experience with lucid dreaming involves downloading an ebook on the same two years ago from wikibooks and then forgetting about it.. :/

Since I have so much time by my side right now, I decided to learn something I've always wanted to.
Alot of things turned up, but I narrowed it down to lucid dreaming and Ventriloquism.
and I decided to go with lucid dreaming (abbreviated as LD from here on), cause it's a lot cooler, and well, ventriloquism seems somewhat gay now that i think about it :|

Okay, so what the heck is a lucid dream, you might ask.
Simply put, a Lucid dream is a dream in which you are aware that you are dreaming. Ofcourse, most of us have experienced them, but usually we get too excited and wake ourselves up, while we could've carried on with the dream.

Doesn't sound cool enough? Okay, think of it like this...
you are in the middle of a dream, suddenly you notice something unusual and realise you are in a dream. So now you basically have a world open wide in front of you in which you are ..well, 'omnipotent' would be the right word!
So you wanna do somethin cool? just imagine the laws of gravity doesn't to apply to you.. and just feel yourself levitate..
fly, teleport, morph into a dragon, live your favorite video game,.. you know, when it comes to dreaming, your imagination is the only limit.. remember Matrix trilogy? ;)

Ofcourse, this stuff is not so easy to achieve as it sounds. For some new dreamers, it may take upto two or three years before they attain lucidity, while for most it can come down to a few months / weeks.
and then there are the naturals.. ughh.. they just have it in them! *goes green with envy*

anyway, my quest for lucidity begins tonight (I "started" two nights ago, but you know I get lazy.. :(

If you wanna have LD's yourself, the greatest resource I can point you to is the DreamViews website..
Check out the forum, there's a wealth of information there. The people seem to be helpful, and there are quite a few seasoned lucid dreamers there.. I have a feeling this place is gonna be my new haunt for days to come.
(and they dont do **** <-- this with the f-word, I hate it when forums do that!)

So, like most new LD'ers, I gotta make a checklist of goals that I wanna achieve.. let's see.. *evilgrin*

There's definitely gotta be a first phase to the checklist and that is:

* have a lucid dream :/

and when I'm past that...

* Fly
* pyrokynesis
* talk to my sub-conscious
* Morph into a praying mantis
* Flip off George Bush
* Spend a day in Pandora
* Kick Robert Pattinson in the nutts
* watch a star implode
* make out with Scarlett johansson ;)
* watch a meteorite wipe out the dinosaurs
* play at a Wacken concert
* play some foosball over at joey's apartment
* find my dream guide

Though most (if not all) of these aren't likely to work out, and this may die as yet another small time obsession, I've decided to see how far it goes.. and on the sidebar of this blog I'm gonna update the number of lucid dreams I have had.
it currently clocks in at a whopping ZERO, and will for a long time possibly, but still..

So I'm off to bed now, a couple of hours before my usual bedtime (but still a couple of hours after most normal people have gone to bed)..
wish me luck people..
sweet dreams :)

Mustaine: A Heavy Metal Memoir

2010-08-06T00:16:00.003+05:30

Rock and Roll, and almost all of heavy metal, is a form of art that has always been penalised rather than appreciated by the society.
For the same reason, it is not often that rock/metal finds its way to the silver screen, or the printed media.
But when it does, the result is almost always pure awesomeness.
Whether you are reading Heavier than Heaven (an amazing read btw) or watching the Doors movie (note to self: write a post on rock/metal movies), you'll feel it ;)

Now to the actual point of this post..

One of the most anticipated books in heavy metal history, Dave Mustaine's 'Mustaine: A Heavy Metal Memoir' was released the other day (August 3rd to be precise).

Now if you haven't heard about this guy, or atleast the band Megadeth, you sir, have been living under a Rock!

Alright I've written many posts about them in this blog so I dont wanna go over it again, so just go give a listen to 'a tout le monde' and you'll know why you should know.

So, if you enjoy reading and appreciate a well-written biography, give this one a try.
And if you are a fan of the band, this one's a must read!

The reviews say it's a great read, not just for the typical metalhead. It comes off in a very conversationalist tone, honest and human, and Dave's sense of humor is still intact.
Ofcourse, I'm yet to read the book. but it is Mustaine, he never lets down ;)

Here's the description taken from the Amazon page:

" The fall and rise of a heavy metal icon

Dave Mustaine is the first to admit that he's bottomed out a few times in his dark and twisted speed metal version of a Dickensian life.

Impoverished, transient childhood? Check.

Abusive, alcoholic parent? Check.

Mind-fucking religious weirdness (in his case the extremes of the Jehovah's Witnesses and Satanism)? Check.

Alcoholism, drug addiction, homelessness? Check, check, check.

Soul-crushing professional and artistic setbacks? Check.

Rehab? Check (seventeen times, give or take).

Near-death experience? Check that one, too.

James Hetfield, with whom many years ago Mustaine founded a band known as Metallica, once observed, with some incredulity, that Mustaine must have been born with a horseshoe up his ass. That's how lucky he's been, how fortunate he is to be pulling breath after so many close calls. And Hetfield is right. Mustaine has been lucky.

He has been blessed. But here's the thing about having a horseshoe lodged in your rectum: It also hurts like hell. And you never forget it's there.

Mustaine has battled through it all to achieve dizzying heights. From the early, heady days of Metallica, being unceremoniously let go only to become a world-famous rock star—founder, front man, singer, songwriter, and guitarist (and de facto CEO) for Megadeth, one of the most popular bands in heavy metal—Mustaine's is a story that will inspire, stun, and terrify. "

I have high hopes on this one. The people who have read it all say it's pretty awesome, so I guess I'll be reading it soon.

Here's the link to the amazon page if you wanna check it out or read some reviews:

Mustaine: A Heavy Metal Memoir

From the WTF file, another one..

2010-07-25T00:05:00.004+05:30

I dig Chinese food.. On occassion we go out and get our fix of the oriental stuff. and the best thing about it is that it's always unpredictable.. Either you get lucky or you end up tasting yarbles.

besides, some of the items in the menu just crack you up!
like this one for instance:

Read between the lines and you might see something(s) that will make you go WTF!!

LifeUpdate 3.0

2010-07-21T11:30:00.011+05:30

droogies!

It's been a while since I've dropped by, and the blog's been gathering dust..
The inactivity, well it can be blamed on my laziness alone..
but really, what else is an ex-engineering-student supposed to do during his post-BTech days, other than savor in the beauty of life laid back!

Anyway, I DID do some stuff during these days, so dont write me off as completely useless!
..and since i'm back here to get my blogging back alive and kicking (you know I say that everytime!), here's a quick update on what I've been upto:

f.r.i.e.n.d.s

Well I was not really a fan of sitcoms, mainly due to the fact that I hadn't watched any. (except maybe 5 seasons of South Park, but since when does cheeky toilet humor qualify as situational comedy? no offense to South Park fans, myself included!).
Anyway, deciding to watch f.r.i.e.n.d.s was the best thing I did to myself these holidays.
So, this friend of mine burned me all 10 seasons of 'friends' (I can't be arsed to do the dots everytime), and soon as college got over, I started with season one.
and I gotta say, I loved every episode! It got so much closer to awesomeness towards the end. 'The one with all the other ones' was especially emotionally charged..
So if you haven't watched it yet, I recommend that you do right away!
Hell, it ran its course for 10 full years, what more proof do you need!

Back to Books
Hell no, not text books again! That wont be until after six months when I'll return to college to face those dreaded backpapers!
I was talkin about the other books, the non-textbook books.
I had this habit of reading profusely when I was young, but that part of me slowly died away, unattended.
So now I've started reading again, and I started with 'The Shining' by Stephen King himself.
..and after a month and I'm at page 266, owing to the fact that I only read at night after 12 when I'm alone in my room, to add to the scare.
What I've read so far, it's been one hell of a horrorshow, and easily this is the scariest book I've ever read! :|

Shutterbug
Another entry into my already huge list of obsessions. I've always wanted to try photography, but it being an expensive hobby, and me being generally stone broke, it seemed like a far-out idea.
But the other day, I was raiding the house to find anything that'd help me kill some time, and I came upon this old camera that my parents had tucked away thinking it was dysfunctional...
..turns out it wasn't! double rainbow baby! You shoulda seen me, happy as a pig in muck!! :)
So now I own a Canon PowerShot A620, and it succeeded in getting me out of my room.
And now I'm addicted, it's like I'm on Prozac, clicking away pictures like crazy. Sometimes I end up with one decent shot from one whole day of clicking, but hell, that one makes my day! :)

and here's my first real shot:

47 days and no drag
It's been a month and a half since I said no to my nicotine addiction and so far I've been faithful, well, kind of... I still get my temptations :(
and there was this one time when I was really pissed and needed a release. So I went out and bought a couple of them ciggis, and when I got back to my room I gave them a very surprised roommate.
I couldn't do it, and now when I look back on it, I'm happy I didn't :)

...

Well that pretty much summarizes all I've been doing (and not doing) these days.
A month and a half of joblessness, and missing college life.
Do I still miss my friends? yes. but I'm slowly learning to move on.
until I stumble upon one of those silly photographs.
or when I get a good sms and open my contact list to forward it to my friends, only to see that most of them are not here anymore, most of them in other countries :(
It is a moment of heartache, partly because I'm overwhelmed by memories..

..and partly when I think of the cost of an International SMS. No kidding, it's a fucking rip-off here!! o_O

bye bye beautiful..

2010-06-05T02:24:00.005+05:30

I sure can remember a time when vacations came and I packed my bags and left for home happily, yelling "Screw you guys, I'm goin home" (yeah, cartman style!)

Well now I've come to a theory that most kids wish the vacations never come when they embark on the final leg of their college lives.. It did in my case.
I dont feel like going home... and no, I have nothing against my folks.
It's just that there's something unexplainably good about sleeping on the hard floor once in a while and having to eat crappy junk food.. when it's with your pals, it feels goood :)

Well, it's all memories now, forever locked inside me and sealed with a kiss..
It sure brings a pang of sadness when I think about it, hell...@#

So, now that it's all over, I too have become one of those accidental engineers, one that did his time without causing too many accidents. and now i've come full circle, clueless about what to do next.. to quote the Good Will Hunting movie, "a cocky, scared-shitless kid". wish me luck.. I'll need it! :|

So here's bidding goodbye to all the beautiful things, thanks for the memories people :)
and i'm happy to say that I've bid goodbye to that beautiful disorder of mine. yeah, I'm referring to my Nicotine cravings. When I flicked out that last butt of cig the other night, I made up my mind never to take another drag... It will be hard, considering how low I feel right now and how much I need a release.. but, let's hope this works out :)

and what did I miss... :/

oh yeah,

"SCREW YOU GUYS I'M GOIN HOME!!" :P

..no i can't :'(

College = \m/

2010-05-03T02:01:00.012+05:30

They say, the hardest thing you'll ever learn to do is say goodbye...

Now, as I spend my last few days on my college, I think the bloke that came up with the above words deserves a big pat on the back.. there was a time when I woulda just scoffed at it., but now, no.. just no.

I'm sittin here half-awake right now, the copious amounts of coffee I've had and the several ciggies i've inhaled pulling me towards either side of the thin line between consciousness and unconsciousness..

I have a text book open at my side, crying for attention as I sit and type away mercilessly on my keyboard.

and I gotta say, I'm feeling kinda depressed right now.. something that has become a constant for me lately..

I'm just pissed at the fact that everything these days has the word 'last' attached to it.. last lab, last college day, last counter-strike-in-class-while-the-teacher-is-not-watching, etc etc..
even the exams that have slowly sneaked up on me, is the last I get to write here.. and for some strange reason I hate that fact! :'(

Four years back, when I first came to this college, I didn't know what I was doing here.. okay, I still don't know, but now at least I've got many people by my side wondering the same thing..

and now, after living four years at this place that now feels just like home, I can't help breaking apart everytime I think of leaving..

Just a few of the beautiful things I'm gonna miss..

The combine study sessions..
a process that involved alot of kathifying and money going into the canteen owner's pocket before we finally decide to flunk and leave lookin for the exam hall..

Life on the back bench
we weren't like the usual back benchers - unproductive folks who does nothin but sleep. We also played and finished lots of mobile games, ate a lot of food, made music, took cool photographs, and accumulated alot of useless information from the internet (stuff that can help you win a trivia contest), ...besides, well, sleep :|

ikka's
another of those memorable places.. it provided a perfect getaway for us guys from all the lectures and woes during the lunch break.. taking a drag from a cig while eating n drinking random stuff from ikka's shelf and chattin away.. heaven!

The frags
no other class would be as excited about the project hours as us folks.. to us it meant bringing our laptops, connecting via wifi, launching counter-Strike, and kicking each other's asses for half a day ;)

The birthdays
cake cutting in the canteen, the cacophony that was in fact meant to be "happy birthday to you..", smearing the cake on others,.. in short, scaring the hell out of the people in the canteen ;)

The trips - both official and unofficial
quickly planning a trip, putting it all together, dancing like crazy on the bus on the way, letting go of all the worries in the world.. will they ever happen again! :'(

paper wars
ah! no better way to escape from a boring lecture! someone always set it off, and the rest followed suit. soon every single person would be gettin pelted with paper until the lecturer threw someone out of the class... lucky stiffs!

eating out.. there always seemed to be more than enough food and someone always paid the bill..

The crazy stuff we pulled off in class
the graffiti work, mission peembi, the games,..
the most memorable one was bringing bottles of vodka to the classroom and gettin hammered X)

the dreaded days when exam papers were distributed and the ones who passed (if there were any) gettin their backs owned

customizing the desks with self-made logos and lyrics and whatnot. Even the college ID cards were not spared!

the fact that we were such camera whores ;)
the pics always turned up with people in impossibly stupid poses but who cared!

The occasional trips to bpm or O'mall or wherever.
rarely buying anything, mostly window shopping.. and always appreciating beauty in its natural form - chicks ;)

my shirt filled with all your autographs
truly, the greatest gift anyone could ever give me.. you rock!

The farewell day
one of the best days in my life ever.. made me realize how much I've grown to love this place and the people in it..

Sometimes I really wonder if I could start over.. hop on a Delorean and go straight back to the first day on college so I could live it again.. but then I wonder if I'll screw something up and lose any of the people endeared to me.. I want these memories to just stay the way they are., with all the beautiful imperfections.. :)

besides, life isn't about going back, it's about going forward. The adventure of life is that there's always something new.. a fun game is one that gets harder as it goes, so it is with life.. (guess where I heard this - South Park!)

well, I don't know what the future holds for me.. new challenges, experiences, new friends,.. but I'm sure these 4 years will remain the most beautiful time of my life for ever.. :)

to all my friends, every single one of you.. and especially my beloved AEI 2006-2010 batch. love y'all.. gonna miss ya like hell! :'(

reminded of a song lyric I've heard way back..
"If you should die before me, ask if you could bring a friend." :)

Measled! :'(

2010-03-06T13:38:00.006+05:30

That's it. now I'm truly, literally measled.

Now, I'd be happy to get this disease at any other time. Measles always looked badass on the tv screen, take the classic tom & jerry for example ;)

But now, with just a couple of weeks left in college, and just when life couldn't get any better, this little f*cker had to show up! :@

I just hope that I'll recover soon and be back in time for the tech fest in our college (we've got paintball baby! check out this link :D ) or atleast in time for our farewell day :'(

til then, I'm gonna be home and be a super measled couch potato.

Alright now, the bag's packed and soon I'll be on my way to the land of no internet connectivity..
Good bye to my friends and my online life for a week.

bye.. take care :)

The New Year Post..

2010-01-04T23:32:00.005+05:30

My new year posts always turn up a little late..
Last year it was a terrible hangover that held me up..
..and this year, it's this confounded road accident that got me a few bruises and stitches and kept me bedridden throughout the holidays.. not a good start at all!

Anyway, I'm here now, and first of all, my belated new year wishes to y'all! :)

Alright, last year I made a list of New Year Resolutions, a list of role models to be precise, and I can't say I've been very honest in achieving them, except maybe the Ace Ventura bit, I pulled off that alright.. :|

Anyway, this being the start of a new year as well as a new decade., I decided to take the whole business of new year resolutions more seriously.. No superhuman stuff that I won't be able to pull off!

So, here goes:

write diary

More laundry and less deodorant (used to be the other way round)

Listen to class (atleast the ones in which I'm present)

Learn some serious programming

Turn up at college on time everyday (!)

Form a band, get involved in the scene

Launch a personal website

Pay off debts

Listen to 100 new albums

write a song

learn the thriller dance

learn touch typing

Bring down my abuse of emoticons

Get a driving license

live instead of exist ;)

A fairly simple list.. but I dont know how many of these are going to go unkept.. Some of them just look harrowing..! (like the early bird part.. OMG!)

----

Another resolution, not just for the year: No more ads on this blog!
cuz you don't stick them on the walls of your own home, right? :)

Sealed with a kiss...

2009-12-20T02:44:00.003+05:30

Alreirght I jus.t wanna find out what happens when I write a post while3 i'm completrely wasted..

Dont get me wrong., I'm not an addict..
I dont drink regularly. But whenI do, I make sure that I drink and smoke to the point wher I walk like a zombie and have to go to sleep cause another step would result in me throwin up my goddamn guts.

Alright
I've been listening to a lot of emotional music lately..

and by that, I dont mean the 'I slit my wrist cuz she stole my eyeliner' kind of emo crap out there these days.

This is some real music man!

----

The Velvet Underground - Heroin
It took a stoner to write it, and takes a stoner to get it.
Many of my pals didnt lioke it. maybe I should make them smoke some dope and try again

Radiohead - How to disappear completely
What''s a playlist wiothout some radiohead threown in.! This song is my absolute favorite from Radiohed.
"I walk through walls.. I float down the liffey.."
I want this one played at my funeral. and I MEAN IT!!

Coldplay - The Scientist.
You know., if you listen to one song continuously during a spoecific period, and then you listen to it after a long time, memories come gushing in..
This song is no exception, and it's just lovely.
and did i mention it's my official dope son g?!

Megadeth - A tout le monde
goes on to prove that a song doesnt hav to be mellow to sound sad.
angry guitars can be just as sad..
man, this one I'd definitely certify at their best, and the reaasonIm such a goddamn diehard megadeth fan

Sigur Ros - Staralfur
Sigur Ros sings in a mede-up lenguage, cause they believe words are not necesary to create beautiful music.
I'd call this track 'ethereal', cause it is.
literally

othre songs in heavy rotation:

Alice in chains - nutshell
Katatonia - soil's song
Megadeth - The hardest part of letting go
nirvana - Something in the way
countinG Crows - colorblind
Denali - lose me
Wihin temptation - somewhere
Gorillaz- feel good inc.
Collective soul -december
Radiohead- Creep

I know im noyt making any sense but

what the heck!

Donnie Darko : They made me do it

2009-11-29T03:14:00.006+05:30

I'm a sucker when it comes to movies.
I have seen my fair share of good movies and crap movies, and there have been some truly remarkable ones (Fight Club, A Clockwork Orange, Dark Knight, etc..)
But this is the first time I'm blogging about one, and not without a reason.

I've watched this goddamn movie five times in two days, and I can only say one thing:
It is easily the best movie I've watched in years.

Damn.. it does stuff to your head!

It is difficult to classify Donnie Darko into a specific genre. Sci-fi, Romance, Head-trip, Dark humor, time travel, schizophrenia,. heck, I don't know! it's all there..

The film asks this basic question: What if the universe as we live it really isn't as we imagine it?

Here's the basic storyline:
Donnie Darko (Jake Gyllenhaal), a mentally disturbed teenager, appears to suffer from a variety of symptoms. His parents and sisters are concerned about him. One night, Donnie sleepwalks and meets Frank (James Duval), a man in a menacing rabbit costume. Frank tells him that in 28 days, 6 hours, 42 minutes and 12 seconds, the world will end. While he is outside, a jet engine mysteriously crashes through the roof of Donnie's bedroom.

Alright, that makes up about the first ten minutes of the movie. Thought I was gonna write down the whole storyline for you huh?
nope, not gonna happen. 'cause I dont wanna ruin it. You better to go watch the film in its entirety.. You won't regret it.

All I say is:
* Some really good dark humor
* One of the saddest endings ever.. truly epic (and unexpected!)
* The soundtrack is fucking sweet. Check out the attached video
* Frank scares the shit outta me!
* The acting is really commendable. unforgettable characters.. Jena malone looks incredibly beautiful

and the best thing, everytime you watch it,you find something you never noticed before. (did I mention that it takes a few replays to finally understand whats goin on?)

Check out this video. Gotta say, this song has really started growing on me.. beautiful lyrics and fits nicely into the film..

----

Just putting down some of my favorite quotes from the movie:

Donnie: Why do you wear that stupid bunny suit?
Frank: Why are you wearing that stupid man suit?

Donnie: I made a new friend today.
Dr. Lilian Thurman: Real or imaginary?
Donnie: Imaginary.

Gretchen: Donnie Darko? What the hell kind of name is that? It's like some sort of superhero or something
Donnie: What makes you think I'm not?

Jim Cunningham: Son... DO YOU SEE THIS? This is an Anger Prisoner. A textbook example. DO YOU SEE THE FEAR, PEOPLE? This boy is scared to death of the truth. Son, it breaks my heart to say this, but I believe you are a very troubled and confused young man. I believe you are searching for the answers in all the wrong places...
Donnie: You're right, actually. I am pretty- I'm, I'm pretty troubled and I'm, I'm pretty confused. But I... and I'm afraid. Really, really afraid. Really afraid. But I... I... I think you're the fucking Antichrist.

Gretchen: My mom had to get a restraining order against my stepdad. He has emotional problems.
Donnie: Oh, I have those too! What kind of emotional problems does your dad have?
Gretchen: He stabbed my mom four times in the chest.
Donnie: Oh.

Roberta Sparrow: [whispering into Donnie's ear] Every creature on this earth dies alone.

Cherita Chen : Chut up!
Ronald Fisher: Go Back to China, bitch.

Donnie: [to his mother] How's it feel to have a wacko for a son?
Rose Darko: It feels wonderful.

Donnie: [in a letter] Dear Roberta Sparrow, I have reached the end of your book and... there are so many things that I need to ask you. Sometimes I'm afraid of what you might tell me. Sometimes I'm afraid that you'll tell me that this is not a work of fiction. I can only hope that the answers will come to me in my sleep. I hope that when the world comes to an end, I can breathe a sigh of relief, because there will be so much to look forward to.

-------

Play "Happy Birthday to you" on Guitar

2009-10-10T02:04:00.005+05:30

Here's a little something you can do to make someone feel really special on their birthday.
wanted to do this for someone I really prized, but it didn't happen, thanks to my shit life..

anyway, I'm gonna write a simple guide so you can call up someone on their birthday and play this for them even if you aren't a guitar virtuoso..

besides, its a really simple tune.

what you'll need:

* a guitar ( a REAL one, not the one that came free with your cereal box)

* a little credit on your mobile phone

* you should be able sing it without making them hang up (you can croak and they wont even notice cause they'll be listening to the guitar anyway ;)

Ok here's what it looks like:


      G           D         
Happy birthday to you
      D           G
Happy birthday to you
      G           C
Happy birthday to dear name
      C           G
Happy birthday to you

I've made a Guitar Pro tab of the song, and also a MIDI file so you can hear what it sounds like.
Download them here: Happy Birthday Guitar Chords (mediafire link)

check this link for help with the chords: The open guitar chords

hope this helps :)

Hopeless Self-justification...

2009-08-22T18:24:00.012+05:30

Where did I take that confounded wrong turn...

this is one of the top questions to hit my head during my personal hours of reflection. (read *lecture hours*)
Sometimes I think I've gone astray and wound up at a place where I'm not supposed to be..
Life is cruel, it gives you no lifelines.
You gotta think on your own (which is time-consuming., not to mention the hard work involved), or ask others who are as lost as you are..

The reflection process continues...

this place.. what's it even called?!
Oh wait, I must be the first to tread these grounds..
correction: the first of my kind...
for I can spot many, out of the corner of my eye..
shapeless shadows running and taking refuge in the inviting dark..
I try to count.. weigh my chances..
but heck, there's just too many
God, I just wish they dont bite...
...but I can already feel the blood leave my system

I get one of my Adrenaline rushes!

and I know what will follow:
"Hey guys look what I can do....
.
.
...oh fuck that hurt!@"

Yeah right, what happens around me these days seem to be way outta my league.. I feel like I'm some insignificant creature. *gah

back at the ethereal wasteland where my life has lurched to a screeching halt.

claws tightening round my feet...
that blind alley suddenly looks like a safe haven.
I dont know what it holds for me
but I'm not afraid.. I dont care..
yeah, that's what she told me..
"You don't fuckin care!"
I'm glad I didn't bring her along.. I need to suffer this alone
I don't need a friend
not that I deserve any..
or do I?
I wonder, as I ease my mind and take a drag..
smoke rings fill the air
yeah..
this is my best friend..
the cancer that slowly eats its way through my bones..
my friend who's gonna put the final nail in my coffin..
my friend who can slow the sunlight down..
always by my side, like a burning torch
until the day that I finally cross over
...and become one with the earth
my sweet earth..

my own personal purgatory..

*********************************
this was actually meant to be a serious post, after havin broken up with a really really good friend.. but crap, it seems I underestimated the power of the herb.
That explains the sophisticated words in the post that even I cant make out, and yeah, the unexplained laughter (as my roomies put it)
.
if you are reading this, know that I have nothing against you.. you are one of the nicest persons I've ever known.. but really, i think you are much much better off without a shithead like me as your friend lol

*hammered

Wake Up Dead!!

2009-08-16T14:24:00.005+05:30

It's essential that I write here occassionally about Megadeth, for many good reasons:

1. They're the best goddamn metal band in the planet
(and a few other planets as well)

2. Dave Mustaine is God. He's just hated profusely cause he's bluntly honest.

3. Megadeth made me the Metalhead that I am today

4. Megadeth are the best metal band out there
(deserves a second mention!)

When I picked up a copy of 'Rust in Peace' at a friend's place many years ago, little did I know that I was holding one of the greatest metal records of all time in my hands.
The song "Tornado of Souls" off that CD was kind of an eye-opener for me. Really, I didnt appreciate the heavier music much until then, but this one kind of grew on me. I still hld this song responsible for giving me the special powers to fly with my head, and to air guitar like a psycho ;)

Well, now to the actual point of this post..

The new Megadeth album is due this September!

Death Magnetic is the new joke! haha..!

This is gonna be Megadeth's 12th studio album and is titled 'Endgame' and is due on september 15th.

You can get a taste of how the new material is gonna sound by listening to this song that has been out for a while now - HeadCrusher

Listen to it once and you'll know the new record is gonna kick some serious ass. The lyrics speak much for themselves, it's about a torture machine used in the medieval ages.
The first half of the song sounds like good old school thrash metal, and the latter half just screams 'Megadeth'! Everytime I listen to this song, I have this violent urge to headbang like crazy! Dammit Mustaine, you just crushed my head!

Personally, I think this is gonna be Megadeth's best work since 1990's Rust in Peace.

* Metal Hammer's track-by-track review of EndGame

* Dave talks Influences, new Album (Interview) - check out the part about Marty and about the Megadeth Meatloaf ;)

September........ Fucking Come Already!!!

Political Rant

2009-06-10T02:27:00.005+05:30

It's not often that I talk about politics., even in real life.

In fact my mentality on politics is what Soulfly had when they wrote this song:

"Back to the Primitive,
Fuck all your Politics!
We've got our lives to live,
the way we want to live!"

uhm.. okay, we needn't go that far and eat raw meat and stuff,.. but I really think some of these politicians have to be dealt with in a very primitive way!

For instance, consider the goings-on in my own state, Kerala, which was so gorgeous that it's been called "God's own Country" for as long as I can remember.

Now, there was this huge scam that surfaced several years ago and involved 375 Crores of big fat money vanishing into thin air.
I dont know much about this scam or the men involved, I wasn't old enough to digest politics when it happened, and now at 21, I'm still not able to digest Kerala politics.
Thing is, one of the accused happens to be the state secretary of the ruling party. Now the case has somehow resurfaced and the Governor naturally ordered a prosecution, to get to the truth of the matter. and trust me, you can't even imagine the turmoil it's caused!

There's been widespread protests, claims about a 'Cooked-up case', and a Government carrying out a war against the Governor.
Even a harthal was observed for a day, to fuck up the common man's life even more.
so tell me, *Does this happen anywhere else in the world?!*

What I'm trying to say is, This Sucks!
The minister in question, I think he should have the balls to let them inquire, and he must prove his innocence in the right manner. if at all he is innocent...

Instead, what's going on now is shameless mud-slinging. It permeates our screens, makes our newspapers boring, and makes YOU look like dorks on the TV screen, though you hardly realize it .

And that's what I hate about the politics here. It's sick, and badly needs a reform. If I were to form a political party, I'd call it The Non-Conformist. I'd get rid of all these stupid traditions, get someone who can actually rule, and make the Finger our symbol, you know which! yeah.. up yours!

You see, this political stuff is actually real boring.. bleak... i think Pulp fiction was even funnier :(

I swear to God I'll never write another political post in here.. never..!

From the WTF file...

2009-05-02T00:18:00.007+05:30

This one should go right into the WTF file, cuz my first reaction on seeing it was :
"WTF Were They Thinking?!"

Maybe it reads "Plot for Sale"

...or even "Flat for Sale"..

but WTF is a 'Floot'?!

I googled it and found this:
Full-Lifecycle Object-Oriented Testing (FLOOT)
now, this is gettin' exciting!

and the image search brought me to this:

and eventually to a site flootwine.com which advised me to "Enjoy the site, enjoy Floot and enjoy life!". no thanks, I think I'll stick with my Marijuana, it looks healthier..
The site even lets you order 'Floot' online. So we've got an international tie-up going here it seems..

Another distant possibility that we came up with was "Flute for Sale"
But the meaning of it in our jargon is too profane to be put down here. And as y'all know, profanity is something that's NOT tolerated here... that's Fuckin' certain!

Btw, this pic was shot in our own very cultured and educated city of cochin.. Now, I'm not blaming the ones who wrote this ad, or making fun of them. I just thank them for making my day.. this is Murder!

In the meantime, if you are able to comprehend the meaning of this strange signboard, please let me know.. I'm dying to know..!

LifeUpdate 2.0

2009-04-30T12:29:00.003+05:30

It's been ages since I wrote anything down here, and trust me, I've missed it. I rarely got the chance to sit in front of a computer. and when I did, I'd just stare at this little white square for hours on end before calling it quits and clicking the little x button up there. I remember a time when I used to write here on a daily basis.. ah, the good times!

When I look back on it, the last two months seem kinda hazy, owing to my nicotine cravings and the increasing need to get wasted.. some of those days just reeked of bile. I tried to write a poem, ended up coming up with a one-liner, and on hearing that my room-mate called me a cynic. and i don't blame him..

but I tell ya, I'm not ashamed to be a cynic either. I'd rather be a cynic than be somebody's bitch.
cuz lately, I've been heavily influenced by the music of Megadeth. I don't call them cynics, but I share the same cynical view as them on all that bollocks goin on out there in the name of politics and peace. I call it 'writing music for a reason'.
I suggest that you go and read Megadeth's biography right away, and give a listen to some of their gems, you'll surely get inspired. or atleast break some stuff..!

Now here's another thing that kept me occupied for awhile:

Took me quite awhile cause I was on a slowcoach dial-up connection, but I'm satisfied with the end result.
Been listening to alot of Nirvana lately, so I went for a Grungy look.. I think this's how Cobain's desktop would've looked.

What else did I do with my time..? heck, I don't know!
I slept an aweful lot, and by sleep I mean the full-fledged 'out-cold' kind of sleep.
Got maself some sugar, another entry into my list of addictions..
and though I call it hols, others call it the study leave just before exams., and exams are round the corner. which means I'm fucked, literally.

oh well.. :\

Whole Lotta Love..

2009-02-16T17:24:00.003+05:30

Just a quick post to let some special ones know how much they're loved..
yeah right, it's been awhile since the V-day (D-day for some), but it took me sometime to come back to sanity..
all I can say is, vodka tastes heavenly when mixed with high punch beer! really..

Okay, just know that this is my heart goin out to tell you how special you are to me.. You are my Life!
the girl I loved and lost.. how I wish I had you in my arms, just like old days.. *sigh. thanks for being by my side and for all that love dearie.. love ye..
my sweet mom.. what would I be without her! thanks for raising us up, despite all the things we've been through..
my best friend.. love ya to the bones, mate.. no matter we're in different worlds now.. and i'm sure you love me from up there..
and to all my friends (and you), its because of you people that I keep smiling.. you rock!

better late than never..
my late, frozen valentines day wishes to y'all :-*

Excerpts from the Hitchhiker's Guide...

2009-02-09T17:18:00.010+05:30

The history of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is now so complicated that every time I tell it I contradict myself, and whenever I do get it right I'm misquoted. So the publication of this omnibus edition seemed like a good opportunity to set the record straight-or at least firmly crooked. Anything that is put down wrong here is, as far as I'm concerned, wrong for good ...

..and thus begins this confounded little book that kept me occupied for two weeks on end.
Now I know why the 'Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy' enjoys cult status in the world of science fiction. Here I post some of the memorable quotes and excerpts from the guide. Read them and you'll know why too..

Far out in the uncharted backwaters of the unfashionable end of the western spiral arm of the Galaxy lies a small unregarded yellow sun.
Orbiting this at a distance of roughly ninety-two million miles is an utterly insignificant little blue green planet whose ape-descended life forms are so amazingly primitive that they still think digital watches are a pretty neat idea.
This planet has - or rather had - a problem, which was this: most of the people on it were unhappy for pretty much of the time. Many solutions were suggested for this problem, but most of these were largely concerned with the movements of small green pieces of paper, which is odd because on the whole it wasn't the small green pieces of paper that were unhappy.
And so the problem remained; lots of the people were mean, and most of them were miserable, even the ones with digital watches.

In those days spirits were brave, the stakes were high, men were real men, women were real women, and small furry creatures from Alpha Centauri were real small furry creatures from Alpha Centauri.

And then, one Thursday, nearly two thousand years after one man had been nailed to a tree for saying how great it would be to be nice to people for a change...

The knack of flying is learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss.

"What are you talking about? "
"Never mind, eat the fruit. "
"You know, this place almost looks like the Garden of Eden. "
"Eat the fruit. "
"Sounds quite like it too. "

On the bridge of the Heart of Gold, all was silent. Arthur stared at the rack in front of him and
thought. He caught Trillian's eyes as she looked at him inquiringly. He looked back at the rack. Finally he saw it.
He picked up five small plastic squares and laid them on the board that lay just in front of the rack.
The five squares had on them the five letters E, X, Q, U and I.
He laid them next to the letters S, I, T, E.
"Exquisite," he said, "on a triple word score. Scores rather a lot I'm afraid."
- yeah right, brevity as well as subtlety is the soul of wit ;)

Arthur: If I asked you where the hell we were, would I regret it?
Ford: We're safe.
Arthur: Oh good.
Ford: We're in a small galley cabin in one of the spaceships of the Vogon Constructor Fleet.
Arthur: Ah, this is obviously some strange use of the word safe that I wasn't previously aware of.

The Guide is definitive. Reality is frequentlyinaccurate.

"Ford," he said, "you're turning into a penguin. Stop it."

and my favorite one..

"Well, sir," snapped the fragile little creature, "if you could be a little cool about it ..."
"Look," said Zaphod, "I'm up to here with cool, OK? I'm so amazingly cool you could keep a
side of meat inside me for a month. I am so hip I have difficulty seeing over my pelvis. Now will you move before you blow it?"

go pick it up at the local bookstore, you won't regret it :)

What I wanna be in 2009

2009-01-20T18:32:00.008+05:30

They say, "don't make promises you can't keep". Still, every human in the planet has this bad habit of taking a fresh set of new year resolutions every year.

I call it a BAD habit cause first of all you gotta spend loads of time brainstorming to come up with an original new year resolution, you know, one that you can not keep and still get away with it. Remember, you could've spent all that time going out, partying, and gettin wasted.

Unfortunately, by the time you realize this, all the new year celebrations will have ended, and you'll look like the biggest dork in the room if you try anything crazy a week after new year. Good luck.

This year I decided to do it a bit different. This time I came up with a list of all the people i like and want to be like someday.
Gotta say, this was so much more fun than taking resolutions (I usually copy down them resolutions from a classmate). I even invited some friends over to assist me in the job, which ultimately ended up in popping of a few bottles and a hangover that lasted two days...

Anyway, I'm back here now, SOBER, and here's the goddamn lischh..! *hick

Dave Mustaine

Don't know why, but this guy has always been the top one in my list of idols. I soo much want to be like him, okay, him minus the ego..
In case you dont know (which's weird), Dave is the frontman of the band Megadeth. I adore this band cause they're one of the few bands that have stayed true to their roots and played true metal music all along. Also, they are one of the very few who has the balls to criticize all that political crap goin on in the world. "Fuck you UN, this is what's wrong with you!!" - now there's a rebel!
Plus, Mustaine has the coolest hair in the whole planet.
Alright, enough gay talk for one day...

George W Bush (W for Wanker)

I've said this many times, and I'll say that again, I DON'T hate Bush. I just think he's too stupid to be a president.
There are actually two reasons I idolize him:
1. He's incredibly lucky - consider someone goin all the way to become a president with the brains of a nitwit. Now, that's lady lucky all over him!
2. As in "Beer is the reason I get up every morning", "Dodgeball is the reason I want to be like this biggest jerk in America's history". I wanna be a dodgeball superstar just like him!
Not convinced? Check out this amazing video of Bush displaying his dodgeball tactics!

Tupac

I don't fancy RAP music much, especially these new generation rappers talkin about stupid shit like chromeZZ, grillZZ, how they shitZZ, etcZZ...
Here's an advice, okay, you are cool. Now go sell two of those diamond studded wheelcups of yours and feed two hunger-stricken countries! Wearin diamond all over you, AND bragging about it, when the rest of your country is dying of hunger, is FAR from cool. period.

Now, here's one of the three rappers I've ever liked (the other two being Dr. Dre, and Zack de la Rocha of RATM).
Tupac is one of those old school rappers who actually made real, meaningful RAP music. Call it socially-conscious rapping.. we'd like to see more of it in the scene.

Will Hunting

I know I will never have brains like this guy, but there's still alot of things in common.
I believe I'm like Will Hunting at the beginning of the movie, "a cocky, scared shitless kid", and I wanna be like Will Hunting at the end of the movie, which is pretty much the same, which is cool.
Coouldn't make head or tail of all that? click HERE.

Ace Ventura

The Ace Ventura series had Jim Carrey at his best, no doubt about that! If only I could achieve that degree of craziness, I could be the life of every party (not that I haven't tried to, I just end up blind-drunk and just pass out instead).

Amy Lee

I'd decided against including a female in my list of wannabes, cause then I'd have to grow a great set of... erm.. eyelashes! *innocent
Okay, now here's one woman I've worshipped for a looong time now. She's just adorable, check out those killer eyelashes, the goth look, the flawless voice, and that ability to make a song sound heavy or strangely melancholic at will.
No, I don't wanna be like her, I just wish my girl was like her! :/

That does it for this year's set of resolutions. I decided to post them here cause I have this nice habit of misplacing important stuff. Good thing I've kept these here, else I'd have to write out another set next year :(

Believe it or not - I'm busy!!

2009-01-20T18:09:00.004+05:30

College has started again. So there is no time for anything other than normal college activities now. It's a busy schedule this year, with a few new subjects squeezing in between the usual stuff. Here's the scedule (as of today) :

8:30 - 9:30 : Whoa, wait! our classes begin at 8:30! WTF!! most of this hour is spent thinking about this fact and 'cussing' the college authorities.

9:30 - 10:30 : the ceiling fans (with their wind AND noise) make it impossible neither to sleep nor to stay awake. more cussing!

10:30 - 11:30 : people are awake and energetic after the coffee break. So they exercise that excess energy on the surroundings. Some of the greatest music of our era was written in this manner, from our very own last benches.

11:30 - 12:30 : Now that all the energy has worn out, most hit their desks for an early afternoon nap. Others dream about the upcoming lunch-break.

- lunch & afterwards half the class bunks -

1:30 - 2:30 : The MMOG mania has hit our class too. Only, this time it's bluetooth multiplayer gaming between mobiles. There are many playing, no one knows against whom he/she is playing. but this is soon known when someone yells out a warcry and someone else yells out something REALLY offensive.

2:30 - 3:30 : We are one hungry bunch! and we just can't keep our big mouths idle. more f00ding!

3:30 - 4:30 : It seems most of the class are Paintball/Counter-strike fanatics. For now it's battle-time, everyone gets pelted with chalk. An occasional piece strays over to the lecturer and stirrs him awake.

4:30 - WTF! the class has ended and now we gotta head back. More cussing the college authorities for not extending it one more hour!

yeah right, deep down inside we are all kids.. you know, one of those nasty mischevious kids who just need some good spanking! xD

the blog gets his say..

2009-01-04T11:11:00.005+05:30

"...Alright, I've been in this job for awhile.. that is, ghostwriting for this jerk, now it's about time I get ma say.. This is the first time in months that I get to poke my measled self o'er the dusty dashboard that I call home. So i better enjoy this while it lasts. hmm..

Now to da actual reason I decided to show up: it's New Year! Everyone seems to be havin fresh new sets of resolutions, even the blogger kid has stopped ordering me around and is working on one of his cheesy posts, you know the kind, right? ;)

Though I love talkin shit about the kid, I actually like him. And I know he loves me the most..., okay, right next to that confounded phone of his...

Alrighty now, I remember the kid calling this blog, that is me, as CRAP! but excuse me, i beg to differ.. While I agree most of me is crap, I'm sure I've also seen some of the ups and downs in the kid's life, and I've helped him get through them.
So I believe I have every goddamn right to make a change in MY theme song. I've trodden the blogosphere enough, and the way I see it, life is made up of bitter and sweet chunks (for you humans. For us, it's just posts and hate-mail, In That Order). So I think a better theme song would be this one that we all love:

BitterSweet Symphony by The Verve

Don't you worry, there will be lots of sweet bits in here to keep you smiling. I will once again be the happy place that I used to be. After all, what would life be without a certain amount of crap, right?! ^_^

Happy New Year folks, and my blogy brothers.. see y'all again sometime :)

Long time.. No post..

2008-12-16T16:19:00.005+05:30

Now I guess it's time to break the ice!!

Xmas is round the corner and college has closed down. I just wrote the last exam and am gettin ready to leave for my hometown as I am writing this. The fact that I'll be missing my friends here and my college creates a certain pang, but I'm also looking forward to spending all these days at home. There's gonna be lot of sleeping, eating and I even plan to build some muscles this holiday season!

Guess what, it's year ending. So here goes a quick round-up of sorts.. for the ones who missed me ^_^

* Got a haircut.. and it was BAD!! I have been suffering from withdrawal symptoms ever since that fateful day. Trust me, the transition from shoulder-length-hair to no-hair was nerve-wracking!
So I spiked up what was left of my sweet hair and dyed it with burgundy streaks. Cause I HATE lookin like a shaven (p-word).
better be freaky than be dookie!!

* A friend of mine started a blog. She writes some really profound stuff there.. Do check it out when you feel like some inspiration. Show her some love people!
Off-d-track

* Guess what, I'm planning to build a website these hols. Yeah, you read that right. I already purchased a domain and a year's hosting from a site called HIOX. Yeah I know it rhymes with HOAX but I trust those guys completely.
About the site, it's gonna be a store. Only, I will be selling other people's stuff.
Also this is gonna be my first attempt at piecing a website together all by myself. So I can assure you, it's gonna be downright ugly. Plus, I've got a terrible colour sense and a fetish for outrageous colour-combinations. So watch this space!
Got my mind fixed on a Flourascent yellow background with red polka dots and Green H1 text. I know, it's tempting, but sorry folks, you'll have to wait till It's completed. It may take a few months to say the least..

I guess that's what all've been happening all these days. Atleast thats all I remember. The rest of the time I was sleeping, eating, or just stoned. University exams were going on, so only there was more time to sleep.

Well I'm gonna (read 'hoping to') post more often here. People had begun to think that I got eaten by bears cause I had disappeared from the internet totally.. But this time, I'm here to stay.. take care peeps :)

Somebody put something in my drink

2008-10-29T21:17:00.002+05:30

This life is over-rated, you all know it. There are times when you're left without a piece of land to step on. In short, you feel like shit.
This is when I find asylum in music.. It works just like a drug - you get high then you pass out without having to worry about the goddamn world. and the good thing about music is that there are no health hazards and you don't have to sell your farm to get a shot of it.

Here are some songs that've been occupying my playlist lately - good stuff to put you to sleep.

Drugs Don't Work (The Verve) - but this song will. Richard Ashcroft's voice works just like a lullaby. Listen to this song and you'll know why I'm so in love with The Verve.

Everybody Hurts (REM) - Just the song you need when shit hits the fan. REM wrote this song when he lost his dearest friend. The music is powerful and the lyrics are full of hope, urging you to live, and move on.. love it.

My Immortal (Evanescence) - poignant lyrics and nostalgic music, add to that Amy Lee's perfect voice - works like marijuana!

Wish You Were Here (Pink Floyd) - It doesn't take a minor scale to sound sad.

BitterSweet Symphony (The Verve) - One of the greatest songs in my life, and one i'll never get tired of listening to!

Sooner or Later (Switchfoot) - "come back and haunt me...", exactly what it does. nostalgic at its best!

Heart-Shaped Box (Nirvana) - One of the first songs that I learned to play on my guitar. hate the video but love the music to the core.

Coil (Opeth) - easily one of the best songs I've ever heard. Opeth could be this mellow.. who knew?

December (Collective Soul) - a tune that brings back memories! Whatever happened to Collective Soul? they were hot!

Ana's song (Silverchair) - though it's about anorexia, what it invokes in me is a familiar emotion sickness.

Too mellow?
I don't know.. Normally I would be banging my head to Pantera's "Walk" or Children of Bodom's "Everytime I Die", but now I don't think my head's in a mood to fly.
Life's gaping at me like a gigantic toilet seat, threatening to flush me down its depths of despair..
OMG I'm getting too poetic! It all comes natural now but I know I'll hate myself for writing this later... but what the heck, all I wanna do now is pass out :(

"Cause it's a bittersweet symphony this life..."

2008-10-22T16:09:00.011+05:30

...so said The Verve.

..and that's so so true.. Life's not always sweet. sometimes you can't help feeling that life's a real bitch, she just sucks you dry of all your happiness!

October 19th goes down in my diary as the day I had to take the most bitter bite of all.. This is the day I lost the dearest of my friends, that too at the young age of 20 years..

The guy up there is George Kurien. To me, he was my georgie, one of the best things that had happened to my life. God I wish you had given me a chance to tell him that!

Going abit down the memory lane...

When I joined a new school in eighth grade, there was this guy who always had something up his sleeve. He was one of the popular guys in school back then, and noticing him I couldn't help thinking "OMG, What a prick"! But I was yet to find out what a gem of a guy he really was, and that he would become one of my closest friends in a short time.

Now, he was everything that I ever wanted to be. never spent too much time in front of books, but still he managed to be one of the toppers.
His nickname 'Maximus' was believed to be jinxed. Most of the unfortunate Counter-Strikers in the local gaming joint suffered from shaky-knees-syndrome whenever they saw 'Maximus' on the player list. I gotta thank him for making a decent fragger out of me.
And then there was the music, did i mention he had been my fellow-headbanger ever since I got obsessed with metal?! He never failed to keep in touch even after we had to go seperate ways for our higher studies. Then there were the guitar solos; everytime i learnt a new one, he'd be the first to know despite the distance.

Had his funeral today. and I gotta say I didn't recognize the body that lay there before me at first.. it was more like a shadow of him - his skin blackened cause he spent one whole night underwater, maybe mocking the people who were searching for him, in his usual playful way.. then there's the damage done by people. Damn the one who invented post mortems! why did you have to disfigure my dearest friend?!

I've heard, your entire life flashes before your eyes the moment before you die. I wonder what he must've felt. It might have been all pain for him, water gushing into his body through every pore.. drowning is death in its worst form, I've read somewhere.. why did he have to die that way?

I couldn't bear the sight, yet I stood there looking at him for a long time, cause I'm not gonna be seeing him again for what seems like an eternity! As I finally caught hold of my mind and made my way outside, I couldn't help taking out my rosary, clutching the crucifix and asking "Why?!.. Why the fuck?!!".. Sorry lord if it pained you, but he really didn't deserve this kind of a farewell! sorry..
As memories came crashing into my mind, I couldn't help bursting into tears. a hundred people were watching, but I didn't care.. I don't know if it makes you less of a man when you cry, but I didn't give a flying fuck right then.. all I could feel was a voice telling me from the inside, "Be man enough to cry".. and I still cry when I think of you pal, loved ya to bits!!

My goodbyes mate, your life definitely rocked! Hats off to you for showing the world how to live life! and thanks for all the memories.. You're still alive within us, and I'm sure you'll make people happy wherever you go..
My prayers will always be with you..

your favorite song, back from the days we used to go to school together.

here without you - three doors down

Rest In Peace

LifeUpdate

2008-09-13T12:22:00.001+05:30

It took me awhile to find out a blogger's biggest hurdle : Keeping up with both Worlds

Life's been hectic for me lately. Struggling to keep my real life alive and kicking, I've had no time for Blogosphere.. Everyday I'd been writing some shitty assignment or studying for some stupid test (and still managing to get zero),.. add to this the fact that I don't own a goddamn computer!
In fact, these things were doing my head in so much that I decided to call it quits and stop blogging altogether.

..and a week later I'm back here typing away this shit!
Yeah, that's right, I can't stay away from this place for too long.. I'm in too deep to quit!

Measled Potatoes is being Featured!!

2008-08-20T02:07:00.004+05:30

Finally, some recognition for the tuber! :D

Measled Potatoes is being featured on Weblogian Socialite!
Check it out Here!

They're also giving me free 125x125 advertising space on the Weblogian Blog!

A huge thanks to Weblogian, creater of the Weblogian Socialite. Also, thanks to Achuna, the PR of the socialite. I really appreciate it guys :)

Weblogian Socialite is a social community for bloggers, and one of my favorite haunts. Hop over to this place to get your blog some exposure and to meet some cool bloggers.
So fellow bloggers, go check it out right away ;)

Changes, baby!

2008-08-20T01:03:00.004+05:30

In case you haven't noticed, alot of weird stuff have been going on here lately. Things were getting pushed around, new things were getting checked in, while some others were getting thrown out of the HTML tag.
Well, this commotion is what I call a 'Re-design', and I love making it often ;)

So here are the major changes this time around:

* We've got a Theme Song!

That's right, Measled Potatoes now has a theme song!
I've wanted to have one for some time now, but it was this discussion over at BlogCatalog that really got me going!

So, as usual, the typical brainstorming session followed. I even sought the help of a few friends. I asked them what they thought about my blog, and these were the replies:

"it's upbeat!" - sorry, I'm not into upbeat music :/

"dude it's dirty" - No way I'm gonna have some KidRock track playin in here!

"it's gay" - I'll deal with you later pal ~_~

So I had to not-so-respectfully decline all those suggessions. since no one could help this lonesome blogger out, I decided to help myself.. I analysed the situation:

* I love Heavy Metal * to the core *
* I hate Britney Spears * to the core *
* the song has to be upbeat
* It should be crappy enough to match my writing
* It has to make you laugh, or atleast make you send me a hate mail

...and I chose the only song that could match this criteria.. and so we have the theme song:

Oops I did it again by Children of bodom

Enjoy!

* In Love with CSS

Did some experimentation with CSS and I'm starting to completely love it! I've just scratched the surface, but hey I'm really impressed with the things it can do to your pages.. cool!
You may see alot of CSS experimentation here in the near future, be warned!

* Isn't this project Wonderful?

Got the blog signed up at Project Wonderful.
It works like the EntreCard system, except that this is real money involved. See those 'Your Ad Here' spots on the sidebar? They are open for advertising and the price starts at 1c/day! This rate can increase as more ads as queued up, and so it helps bloggers make some greens. I recommend it to all those disgruntled bloggers out there: atleast, Some money is better than No money, right?

* More Widgets

As with every revamp, I put in a few more, just to keep up the tradition.
I especially love the live Traffic widget. Thanks to my friend bladeaxe4 for pointing it out to me;)

So, as usual, please help me out tellin me how this place looks. Yeah I know it looks half-baked, but really, what more could you expect from a guy like me haha

Keep Bloggin' ;)

Aliens through the Ages!

2008-08-17T02:18:00.011+05:30

The Alien Encounter that I had a week ago inspired me to delve more into the subject.
So I kinda did some research on alien sightings and abductions, and to my shock, I found out that 99% of the aliens come not from outer space, but from the Hollywood!

Yeah, that's right, the people over at Hollywood have created aliens of all weird types, so if a real alien pays us a visit someday and happens to see them, he'll be really pissed!

Let's take a look at some of the most famous alien superstars hailing from the silver screen:

The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)

The aliens in this flick are one peaceful lot, who comes to tell the earthlings that unless they too become a peaceful lot, they will be eliminated (peaceful, &ucking peaceful!)
A remake of this this ancient Black & White movie is scheduled for December 2008, starring Keanu Reaves and Jennifer Conelly. so I suspect there will be some mind-blowing 'action sequences' (*wink), with the aliens pulling off some kickass kung-fu fighting.

Invaders From Mars (1953)

Does this guy make you snort too or is it just me?

Aliens in this movie are Eight-foot tall green men controlled by a little Martian in a glass ball... the typical alien image etched on the back of our minds.

The Island Earth (1955)

Almost an acceptable human, except for this freaky bulge on the forehead. I wonder if a skull-cap could fix that... and umm, a pair of sunglasses... and behold, he's one of us!
Oh look, he's even got space-age boxers!

The Blob (1958)

Oozy, slimy, gooey, making-you-wanna-puke blobs that devour any living thing in their path. This is one of those flicks that made me scared of the television-set in our house back in my childhood.

Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)

Wise, kind entities who only want to make contact with us. Yeah right, they are just geeks.

Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978)

People get replaced by simulations grown from plantlike pods. The duplication is done when the humans are sleeping and the doubles thus created share the same looks, build, and memory as the original human. Only, they don't have any love or affection inside. After the duplication is complete, the human bodies disintegrate.. means no one can be trusted, the one sitting next to you may actually be from another planet... what a scary idea! Crappy, but scary still!

E.T (1982)

You surely remember this lovable alien with a fondness for candy, don't ya?

Starship Troopers (1997)

Hmm... what attracted me more than the aliens in this flick was the young and attractive cast.
The movie is set in a futuristic world. Aliens are a hostile species of inerstellar insects rampaging through the galaxy. They even hurl harmless asteroids at the earth (pretty harmless, one of them can just level Buenos Aires). There is alot of gut-busting action with loads of blood and gore - not a pleasant future at all!

War of the Worlds (2005)

I still wonder if the movie was about aliens or about Tom Cruise.
Aliens are large Tripod machines taking over the town and vaporizing things in its path. Some unfortunate souls get imprisoned in metal cages between the legs of the aliens. (It's okay if Wells wants to call them 'Metal Cages'... well, we all have our pet names! ;)

Star Wars (1977 - )

Now this one surely gets you baffled... they got aliens of every colour and shape! From the solemn Jedi Master to the Teddy-ish Ewoks, there is a truckload of 'em in this series.

Alf

One among the 1% that comes form outside the Hollywood. British families will surely remember this friendly alien from planet MelMac who kept wondering "What's wrong with these earthlings?"

The Ones That Got Away!

While we were busy scanning the skies for life, there were a few lurking right here on the face of the earth craftily hiding their alien origins.

Here are three of them that deserve a special mention:

1) George W Bush (W for W@nker)

Yeah, we all know it. He's got a pair of antennae tucked away somewhere under those grey hairs.

2) whacko Jacko

I've kept a close watch on this one right from the moment I noticed the ridiculously long nose.
Check out this top-secret image of him that I secretly got smuggled out of Hangar 18:

That surely is extra-terrestrial behaviour.
And the affinity to abduct young earthlings only adds fuel to my doubt.
I'd call him another Body Snatcher, albeit of a different kind!

3) Paris Hilton

What more proof do you need? She is making her point clear, *in your face*
Poor thing, she doesn't know that she is just a fragment of interstellar shit that the earth can very well do without!

...and there are more out there!
Yeah, I know this is a scary idea... but that's the truth my friend. The one sitting next to you might actually be an alien.. your roommate may be one. your boss may be one...

just don't get into trouble checking out people for tails or antennas or whatever... I have enough people complaining that my crappy writing causes more confusion and chaos in an already fucked-up world :/

The Ultimate Mobile Web Browser Shootout!

2008-08-16T14:40:00.011+05:30

Not sure what's the logic behind it, but every internet-capable mobile phone comes with a crappy browser built into it by the manufacturer. These browsers are not suitable for surfing anything other than tiny WAP pages that are not much fun.
This problem can be solved, thanks to third-party software. There are a lot of web applications available today that can help you browse large web pages with ease. However, for this to work, your phone must support the installation of third party software (Java or Symbian).
Here we are looking at the most popular Java Web Browsers available for Mobile Phones today. All of them are tested using my Sony Ericsson k750i.

Now, let's look at the options... Many browsers are out there but we concentrate on these three:
Opera mini, TeaShark, UCweb. In that, we'll be looking at two different versions of Opera mini. So, here goes:

First, let's see two browsers that display web pages in full; i.e. just like they appear in a normal desktop browser:

Opera Mini 4

Yeah, this one is the most popular mobile browser today. Like the desktop version of Opera, the mini also looks and runs smoothly on the mobile. It is also the most professional looking among the four browsers discussed here. They support a great range of devices (I have a friend of mine using it on his not-so-spectacular LG C2500, it works flawlessly).
I recommend you to use the version 4.0 since v4.1 is somewhat buggy with a completely useless download manager.

What's good about it:
* You can view web pages in their full glory. There's even support for CSS! I'd use this one for the eye-candy alone!
* Surfing is extremely fast, thanks to the high degree of data compression.. more so than in previous versions.
* Features Opera Link, that lets you sync your bookmarks with a PC.
* Create searches from web pages.
* All the typical browser features : Bookmarks, History, etc. In v4.1 you even get a download/upload manager, support for saving pages, and even an integrated RSS feed reader.

What's not so good:
* If you are on a mobile with limited memory, you will get an 'Out of Memory' error often. The way to prevent this is to surf with images turned off.

Teashark

Another application that sports full-screen web browsing. It's seen a sudden spike in downloads lately because of the fact that many people were able to get free GPRS internet access using it in some networks.

What's good:
* All the Typical browser features available.
* Ability to select and copy text like you'd do on a computer.
* Bookmarks can be tagged with color, a cool feature that I just loved!

What's not so good:
* Not many features, hence not suitable for a power user.
* In Zoom mode, most of the images don't display.
* Runs out of memory very quickly. This is more common n AJAX pages where the phone gets stuck after loading just one or two pages!

Now, on to the two browsers that don't have the Full view feature. Surprisingly, these are the ones I use most of the time!

Opera mini Mod v2.06

Another reason I love hackers and modders! Look what a bunch of russian modders have done this time: They took the old version of the Mini (v2.0) and literally Pimped it Up! The features built into this mod should leave you drooling right away. Check it out:

* Multiple Windows
* File Manager . it can even play most media formats * right within the browser *
* FTP Manager
* Download Manager - Excellent and Full-Fledged - Supports list dowloading, download history, and much more.
* Backup/Restore Browsing Sessions
* Multi-Clipboard
* Saving and Loading of pages
* Alot of settings and Tweakability, I mean A LOT!
* Color Schemes, adjust, export, or import.
* Shadow Connection prevents the GPRS connection from being cut off.

OMG if I wanted to list all the features, this page wouldn't be enough! You better download it and find out all the cool features yourself.. then you'll understand why I use this one profusely.

What's not so good:
* I couldn't find anything that I hate about this great app. You can even prevent it from running out of memory by clearing the cache and available memory regularly.

UCWeb

Another very good browser, this time from the Chinese. Yeah, it does'nt look too compelling, looks half-baked... but I use this one whenever I'm not on the mini mod.

What's Hot:
* Multiple Windows
* A Really good Download Manager
* Alot of great links they've provided in the homepage itself. Most of them are in Chinese, but most of them are free download links that are just rich in content!
* Extra tools like RSS feed, bookmarks, an Online Hard Disk (yeah), and loads more.

What's Not:
* There's serious problem with the language. Every webpage you visit treats you as a Chinese and serves you with the chinese flavours of the web pages. You'll have a hard time using this with Google products, you will be instantly teleported to Google China!

Well that does for the review.
Now, for some websites, some of these apps are more suited than others. I have been using Internet from mobile phones for five years now, (first on a B/W Nokia 2280, then a colorful LG G1800, then Nokia 6600, finally on a SE k750i, and occasionally on an N70 and an N73), and I gotta say i'm pretty addicted to the internet by now. Let me summarise you on how these nifty little apps continue to help me maintain my Web Presence:

* Just Reading Websites and Blogs - Opera Mini 4
* Commenting on blogs - opera mini mod, UCWeb
* Downloading - Opera mini Mod - hands down!
* Making a Blog post - opara Mini Mod (Reason? Mod let's you type way more than other browsers do, after you cross the 400 letter limit of characters that can be entered onto a text area in a site, simply select more => Next, you can go on typing as much as you want in this fashion!)
* Orkut - Opera Mini 4 - Orkut is fully supported!
* BlogCatalog, Weblogian, etc - UCWeb.
* EntreCard Dropping - Opera Mini Mod.

Do some experimentation and find out what works best for you.

So, the other day, when I told a chat friend of mine that I do almost all my surfing with my mobile phone, she was asking me, "How can One do that without an iPhone?"!
See, this is what most people believe! But I tell you, you don't need a goddamn iPhone to surf the net, it's just a myth!
Just go try these apps out, and watch this space cause I will be writing about more cool apps soon!

Update : Orkut is currently not working with Opera mini 4. There are 2 solutions to this:

* Use TeaShark: It lets you use most parts of Orkut, including communities. If it gets your phone stuck, use it with with images turned off.

* Use UCWeb: You can just check and reply to scraps, because it shows you the mobile version of Orkut.

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Related & Recommended Read : Essential Java Software for Mobile Phones

CellWare : 100% Free Mobile Content!

Picks from the Blogosphere...

2008-08-15T21:10:00.003+05:30

I'm in a good mood today so I just wanted to share some links with you guys.
I've been reading alot of blogs lately and I've fallen in love with quite a few of them, some of which I'm sharing in this post. Show 'em some love people :)

Amy Oops
Wanna kill some time? Amy's got her blog filled with loads of funny stuff that will keep you occupied for days. Actually, she's the reason I don't go to StumbleUpon anymore! :D

Arcticulates
A very well put together blog, it is about the author's life in Alaska. Go take a look, the aerial view of Alaska in the header itself should elicit a 'Wow!' from you. The beautiful design adds to the eye-candy of this blog.

Crotchety Old Man Yells At Cars - "Standin on the corner, Yellin at cars".
Classic! Fuckin Classic! Da old man has got me hooked to his writing ever since I stumbled upon it one fateful evening. Head over to his den if you're ready to be bombarded with some witty, original humor.
P.S: He's been writing alot about his body parts these days, and I think that's weird... hmm..

Kat's Litter-box
Poke your head in here only if you have some balls... I mean big brass balls! Young Katty has a way with words that many will find.. erm... amusing?! In her own words, you will either love it, or you will hate her very much!

Suburb Queen
Another exceptional blog. I loved the downright funny lists that Jamie has written over there. Check it out people, you'll love it.

Wendy's Reel
Here is one nicely written blog. Read it when you're feeling down, it will surely cheer you up with loads of fun and humor.

Want more? Head over to your friendly neighbourhood at BlogCatalog to find more awesome blogs!

25 Perfectly Normal Ways to Kill Time on the Internet

2008-08-11T23:30:00.006+05:30

Feeling bored?
I was too... So I sat down and wrote this post.
Hopefully this list will help other prefessional time wasters like me to spend their time more productively.

So, here goes:

1.
Read a Blog.
Or better still, create a blog and start posting bull.

2.
NetDisaster lets you rampage through your least favorite websites. They've got some real juicy attacks like 'Led Zeppelin', 'Nuke', 'Bloody Gun', 'Scribbling Baby', 'Acid Pee', etc. Works great with facebook profile pages, you literally get to puke on someone's face!

3.
Download gay porn, rename it as the latest game or software, and upload it to the major file sharing networks.
And give yourself a big hand cause you're fighting Software Piracy!
(p.s: don't do this on LimeWire, cause, well.. ahem.. I use that one... *shifty eyes)

4.
Look at NASA pictures. Works great if you're at a public place.
Carry a notepad with you and pretend to take notes.

5.
Put your body parts for sale on eBay.
A better idea : Sell advertising space on your cheeks (yes, on all four of them!)

6.
WikiMapia lets you take a virtual stroll around the globe.
Try this one: locate your enemies' houses one by one and label each of them "Public comfort Station".

7.
Do the GoogleWhack!

8.
Search and find old friends at facebook. Then go post crap in their comment walls.
If you remember any scandals about them from your school days, post them too! *in bold lettering*

9.
Easter Eggs are fun! and they are all around us! Find out which Easter Eggs are hiding in your system and have a great time digging them out!

10.
Take a silly test at BlogThings.

11.
Read a random Wikipedia article.

12.
Play BoomShine. Trust me, you'll love it!

13.
Make a crappy video of yourself and upload it on YouTube.

14.
You gotta love these anagrams:

'Axl Rose' = 'Oral Sex'
'Dormitory' = 'Dirty Room'
'Astronomers' = 'Moon Starers'
'George Bush' = 'He Bugs Gore'
'Clint Eastwood' = 'Old West Action'
'Desperation' = 'A Rope ends It'

Check out more cool anagrams or find out the anagrams of your own name at the Internet Anagram Server.

15.
Visit HowStuffWorks and learn a thing or two. It doesn't hurt to work your grey cells once in awhile.

16.
MyHeritage lets you upload a pic of yourself and check which celebrities you resemble the most. In my case it was Kevin Costner who matched the most (67%). (okay, I can live with that).
But I recommended this site to a friend of mine and she got 'paris Hilton' and now she won't talk to me :/

17.
FutureMe lets you write an email to yourself and schedule it to be sent to you at a later date. So go write yourself a letter if you have nothing else to do. Yeah I know, you should be really desperate to do this!

18.
Look for a better job at monster.com . You wouldn't be reading all this crap if you weren't jobless.

19.
Ever wanted to be a rockstar? Play the Popmundo RPG. Trust me, it can be real addictive!

20.
Play some Flash Games. They are mostly no-brainers so you can surely pull 'em off! (Yes! Right in your face!! haha!)

21.
play iSketch.

22.
Which is Worse?

"Licking 500 payphones" or "Licking a toilet rim at a gas station"?
"Running out of toilet paper" or "Running out of underwear"?
"Having your teeth pulled out one by one" or "Having your toenails pulled off one by one"?

Spend the day voting on a hundred such thought-provoking issues at WhichIsWorse.

23.
TheMovieSpoiler got movie spoilers!
Yeah, you know what to do: copy it down and text it to your friends right before they go to a premiere.

24.
Learn Hacking from the internet and hack into your boss's computer. Leave him a really Terrifying, Threatening, Blood-Curdling message!
You know, like:
"The PillsBurry DoughBoy Was Here!"

25.
Make a stupid list like this one.

Disclaimer : The information contained in this post is for general information purposes only. In no event will the author be liable for any loss or damage to intellectual or property arising from the information in this page. Please don't tell my name.

Sex Cartoon!

2008-08-11T14:50:00.004+05:30

Just sharing a cool video I found today on youtube:

Oh no you dirty mind, it's not porn! Watch the video first :D

I'm Back!! *groan

2008-08-09T19:05:00.009+05:30

Yup, I knew I couldn't stay away from this place for long.

I'm home now, and the dial-up connection we have here is nothing to brag about.
But what the heck, it's INTERNET!
After being deprived of it for a week now I'm pretty excited and I'm literally shouting out the word like I would in the 90's!

My messed-up foot hasn't gotten much better over the week. I paid my doctor a visit today evening, and he says I'm gonna have to keep to my bed for some more time.
Took another X-ray today and looking at it, the bones appear to have drifted apart a tad more.

Check it out, the 'Golden Boot' as my roommates christened it:

Yes, I'm abit hairy.
No, my toes aren't missing, it's just the weird camera angle.

Doc says I gotta rest for two more weeks... that means,
I'm gonna miss my classes,
gonna miss the exams (not complaining about that one!)
gonna miss the 3-day tour programme that our batch had planned right after the exams... Heck, I'm gonna miss that one very much! :(

By the way, the past week had also given me some pretty good experiences (just tryina be optimistic)...

I've always loved the 'Friday Love Lists' that my blogger friend Sara writes in her blog, so I decided to put mine into one fine lurve list:

Things I'm Loving with my Plastered Foot

* How I get to sleep till 12 am every morning without having a pail of water or whatever emptied over me.

* How I almost made my little cousin jump out of his skin the other day. The guy walked into my room and saw just my plastered foot sticking out from under the covers. He still believes he saw King Tut... atleast the little fucker won't be pestering me for a while!

* It made me very happy to hear that my batchmates were collecting money to buy me something.

Well, that 'something' later turned out to be a wreath!
those pricks! lol
love 'em :)

* Getting to spend some time at my home with my parents.

* Missing the exams ;)

* Getting to spend the whole day in front of a computer. I suspect that by the time my leg heals, I will have lost my eyesight.

* The song "Under a Glass Moon" by Dream Theatre. Yup, it has nothing to do with my foot, but it's so damn good that I had to mention it!

* Missing the exams (deserves a second mention!)

I really don't know how to feel about my broken leg. I really felt pissed about it at first, but the lazy side of me is starting to love it.

Maybe at the end of two weeks I too will have become a potato...
a Couch Potato!

Pretty long post, huh? I think I'm blogging too much about my body parts these days, I fear it will bring down my readership lol

Anyway, you guys have a great day and Blog On! (my favorite phrase at the mo)
I'll just drop back to my bed and try thinking up another crappy post lol.

Just Lying Low...

2008-08-05T19:04:00.001+05:30

Just popping in to say that I won't be writing here for a week or so.

Reason : I broke my leg :(

Yeah, you read that right. Yesterday was the lucky day. Well, I don't remember much, but I do remember trying a hand at soccer.
Now I know i'm not built for soccer... not yet!

I'm bedridden now, and am writing this post from my mobile, which means no pics, no formatting, no eye candy,.. just plain text. When i'm able to get my ass off here and make it to a place with internet access i'll be writing more.

An apology to all my friends over at entrecard, I won't be able to reciprocate your drops for some time. Sorry..

Guess that's all for now, I'm gonna miss blogging for some time. Thanks to my mobile phone, i'll atleast be able to check my mails, read some of my favourite blogs, etc... what would i do without you pal!

Happy blogging friends, Stay healthy, and stay the fuck away from a football if you're built like me :D

An Alien encounter!

2008-08-02T02:05:00.005+05:30

What do you think aliens look like?

little green men wearing funky jackets?
oozy slimy blobs?
bipeds/tripeds/mopeds that roamaround shooting death rays?
whacko jacko?

When it comes to aliens, each of us has his own idea about them, blame it on hollywood!
In my case, I always thought they were little green bastards that cruised around in saucers.

But all my convictions went down the drain today when I actually came face to face with an alien itself!

Found this beauty (yeah, i have developed a liking for grotesque things lately..) in our garden today evening.
it must've had a warped childhood, look at it!
The Alien was stationed just outside the window, resting in a sub-terranean chamber.
It surprised me that our rottweiler hadn't gone for it and bitten him to bits. Maybe he'd sensed something too (He's seen his share of hollywood movies to tell an ET from a mere T you know!).
I carefully extracted the alien and took him to my BDSM chambe.., oops., I mean, my underground laboratory. *blush*

I analysed the situation. I had a knocked-out alien in my room, and the world didn't know about it. What should I do next?My mind raced through a zillion sci-fi's and I came up with the answer...

...that's it!
An Alien Autopsy!
and Autopsy is what I did!

I didn't have to worry about anaesthesia, the unfortunate guy had landed right next to our waste dump.
First I had to confirm my suspicions regarding his alien origin. I examined the alien in detail and look what I found growing out its body!

Yucksy!

So this gives us two possibilities:

1. It comes from a place where aliens grow antennas. or
2. It comes from a place where aliens don't grow antennas. It is male.

So that confirms my belief that it IS an alien.
Cause I've never known anyone from this planet who grew antennas like that, or someone with that kind of a... okay, nevermind!

The day had been a typical one, meaning that I was bored and jobless,.. so I decided to spend some time studying the alien. I thought about the various uses it could be put to.. trust me, I'm not very bright when it comes to thinking, so it pissed me off when I couldn't come up with a serious application. ('paperweight' was my personal best).

Anyway, I'm not a complete turd to not realize the potential of the thing lying before me, lemme tell ya. I knew it could make me rich and famous.
People hesitate to spare a homeless guy some change, but they'll pay twice that money to see something grotesque. amirite?

... So I turned over the alien's body to take a closer look, and got the shock of my life!

Damn!! I almost jumped outta my skin! Why do they always have to do that?

And this is friggin' India for christ's sake! I thought they hit the US first. Screw you Hollywood! :@

Anyway, I was not gonna get punk'd by some damn alien right inside my own house! Just no.

- fast forward -

End of another typical day. I'm feeling real drowsy. Maybe I ate too much food for supper.
but then it was all real tasty...

...especially the mashed potatoes!

Pep Up Your Blog - Templates, Gadgets, and Stuff!

2008-07-30T12:57:00.021+05:30

So you've got a blog with great content that will get you loads of readers..

.. but wait, give it a second look!
Does the great content get muffled by the dull appearance of your blog? Does it put off your readers?
Think! Think!
In fact, this is the problem faced by a large chunk of bloggers making up the blogosphere. They say 90% of bloggers are lazy... Let it not happen to you too!

I've not had very much experience blogging, but I think this post will help most of you to improve your blog's look (content? no. that depends on you!).

So let me give you...

"The Ultimate Guide To Pep Up Your Blog!"
*Drumroll!

Let's start with...

The Template:

It all started with the template. Remember, before you started customizing, before you even started posting, Blogger asked you to choose a template, from the fifteen or so ones available on Blogger. Now I'm not saying that those templates are crappy, most of them are good (i friggin love the Tic-Tac and the Rounders series!). But with these, you are sure to run into some other blog sporting the same template. Wanna switch to something more unique? Something that suits your blog's theme (content's) more? Read on:

When I re-designed this blog, about 90% of the time was spent in choosing a template. So now I kinda know a truckload of places that provides Blogger templates, no sh*t. For free of course!
Here I am listing out the ones I found most useful:

eBlogTemplates - Tons of templates for Blogger and Wordpress. You can find all the popular ones here.
BlogSkins - Templates created and uploaded by other people. A really huge collection, so you might get some cool unique ones here.
jackBook - Has many Blogger templates converted from WordPress.
FinalSense - A small number of beautiful, quality templates.
BloggerTricks - Again a few templates created by a guy, some of them are real nice.

You might also want to check out these blogs:

Awesome Blog Templates
3 Column Templates 4 Blogspot

Here are some Cool compilations that will help you choose from the best:

BloggerBuster : 101 Excellent Blogger XML Templates
Mashable : 50 More Beautiful Blogger Templates
Mashable : 70 Fresh and Modern Blogger Templates
Mashable : 10 Unique Blogger Templates

So how do you actually change the template?
* Goto 'DashBoard' --> Layout --> Edit HTML
* Click on 'Browse' button to choose the new template's 'xml' file from your computer
* Click upload.
... and you're done!

Gadgets, Widgets, etc.:

Are your blog's sidebars empty? Fill 'em up with some nifty Widgets and Gadgets.

Widgipedia has a nice collection of widgets that you can add to your blog. Just copy the Widget Embed Code from Widgipedia and add it as a 'HTML/Javascript' page element to your blog.

Gadgets can be added from the 'Blogger in Draft' dashboard.
Haven't heard of 'Blogger in draft'? I can't blame you.. sometimes I can't help thinking that Blogger is keeping it a secret from most bloggers...
like Hangar18!

Login to your 'Blogger in Draft' dashboard here.

Compress the CSS, Pack It Up!

Compressing the CSS of your Blogger Blog might be a good idea to make your pages load faster. You don't wanna be putting on pots of coffee everytime you wait for a page to load, right?
Use a free service like CleanCSS to compress the code.

* Goto 'DashBoard' --> Layout --> Edit HTML
* Select the check box 'Expand Widget Templates'
* Your Blog's CSS is the code between the and tags. Copy it, compress it with CleanCSS and copy it back in place of the old code.

Make sure you backup your template before fooling around with it!

You can also play around a little bit with the colors on your blog from 'DashBoard' --> Layout --> Fonts and Colors'. Changing colors to match the theme and your writing style would be great!

I hope these tips helped you improve your blog and make it more personal (or professional, whichever way tou wanna go!). Good luck pepping up your pages...
keep bloggin! :)

Here Comes The Measles!

2008-07-28T16:38:00.009+05:30

5 months and 50 posts after creating this blog, I am writing this one post that that most bloggers would have written as their first post.
I wanna introduce you to my blog :
Measled Potatoes!
*Drumroll!!

Weird huh? an introduction after 50 posts? But then, almost everything regarding this blog is weird, and that's what I love about it :)
I'd never really written an 'About' post for this blog, and I've been itching to do it. And now that I've completely re-designed this blog, this makes it the ideal time to write one!

Well to start off, let me introduce myself...

I'm a college student from India; one with many obsessions.
So you can expect in this blog everything that plays a part in a typical teenager's life: Rants, Brainwaves, Technology, gadgets, Internet, Guitars, and some Pure Heavy Metal Music!

So that makes it kind of a personal blog huh?

Anyways, you will find it all here, stuffed into one goddamn mixed bag that is this blog!
I'm gonna blog about everything under the sun! No one is safe! *Muahahaha..!

So why the name 'Measled Potatoes'?
Actually 'Measled Potatoes' was the result of a particularly wild GoogleWhacking session I once had with a friend. Well, it didn't exactly earn me a GoogleWhack, but it did give me a name to christen my blog!

That serves for an introduction methinks ;)

I've made some changes here in the past few days I'd like to mention:

* New Look - I finally got rid of the Blogger Tic-Tac template that I'd been using forever (even my old blog had that one!). So now we have a new template and new design. I'd love to hear your comments about the new look!

* SezWho! - I've installed the Sezwho Plug-in to help me keep track of my commentators. It can be abit irritating at times, with the pop-up and all, but trust me, it can be quite useful.

* You Comment, I Follow - I've taken away the nasty 'no-follow' tag from the source code. So now I'm part of the 'Do-Follow Movement'! This kinda makes me proud :D
So comment away and get some link love!

* New Widgets - I've added some new widgets too, to help me fill the empty sidebars. OMG, switching to a 3-column template certainly gives you too much space!

So be it, I'm here to write my heart out and to make some new blogging friends. So any kind of help would be appreciated. Feel free to let me know any suggestions or criticism (yep, I can even take some constructive criticism!) that you may have.

So drop by often and give it a read... you might get measled too :)

My First PayPerPost Payment!

2008-07-25T17:40:00.002+05:30

I got paid by PayPerPost!

I joined PPP got my blog approved more than one month ago.. So like any other new postie, I was given the opportunity to write my first paid review about PPP and earn 20$ doing so.. This I did, you can find the post here.

So, yesterday, i.e. exactly one month after my post was approved, I got this mail saying that I've got new funds in my paypal account. Guess what, it's 20$ of big fat greens sittin there!

Here's the payment proof:

I'm waiting to get a decent Google pagerank score, then I'll be able to bag some real good opportunities... Good luck to me!

Got a blog? You too can make some extra cash through paid blogging. Check out PayPerPost today!

Just Married - Mr. & Mrs. Frogger!

2008-07-17T17:23:00.000+05:30

The monsoon failure here in India has led to some desperate measures to make rain come down.
I read this particularly interesting post in the newspaper today that I thought I simply should share.
In the district of Udupi in Karnataka, majority of the people are farmers and depend heavily on monsoon rains. Well, the monsoon kind of played them this time and as a result most of their paddy fields got scorched, which is sad. So they were willing to do anything for rain, even experiment to see if the old saying is indeed true:
Frog Marriage Brings Rain!

Yes, you read it right! Last night two lucky frogs tied the nuptial cord in the presence of a massive throng, near the Taluk office, Udupi.
Mind you, it was not just a gimmick, it was a real marriage, and the two did exchange wedding rings and garlands. There was even a wedding procession with the bride and the bridegroom riding majestically in a decorated bullock-cart, as is common with hindu marriages in India.
I don't know what became of the couple after the ceremony was over. Will they will keep their wedding vow and hop together until death does them apart? I doubt that very much.

It's believed there that this kind of a ceremony pleases the rain-god, and the villagers swear that they will be blessed with rain pretty soon.. well, let's wait and see how things turn out!

Lazy to the Bones!

2008-07-14T16:42:00.000+05:30

Monsoon's in..
...but not rain!

True, this year's monsoon is turning out to be a big disappoinment.
There ain't enough rain to fill the dams. And the result? Gotta suffer half an hour of power-cut every day!
Generally there's two conditions that i like : rain, or no rain. But some of these days it's just the in-between crap.
It rains just enough to keep you from going out!

I hate this rain.. It's laziness is infectious. I feel like curling up in my bed most of the time and do nothing. I haven't even posted anything here for about a week.
It's totally unlike me!
Cause I love work! I can sit and look at it for hours!

Another uneventful week, half of which was spent sleeping, the other half listening to this song by Opeth..

Yup, it's nothing extraordinary, but it's got that mellow, soothing sound that you just gotta love.
A perfect lullaby to go with these dull overcast days methinks... it's growing on me!

So much for another uneventful week, gotta go get some sleep now..
catch y'all later ;)

"Love Story" by Erich Segal

2008-07-12T12:18:00.000+05:30

"What can you say about a twenty-five-year-old girl that died? That she was beautiful and brilliant. That she loved Mozart and Bach. And the Beatles. And me."

So begins the bittersweet love story of two young hearts; Jenny Cavillery and Oliver Barrett.

"Not another Love story!", you'd grumble.

That's just what I thought when a friend gave me this book. You (we) can't be blamed though, there's enough potboilers out there to make us turn our backs to this genre.

But ironically, "Love Story" is not your typical Love Story.

Really, this is one of those books that made me quite emotional, and that doesn't happen often.

Oliver is a rich Harward Jock, while Jenny's a witty Radcliffe Music Major. Seems they have nothing in common.. but yet they fall in love. Again, this is not the typical love-at-first-sight crap.
The young Oliver meets Jenny in the library while hunting for a book; the bespectacled, mousey lookin Jennifer. She is referred to here as 'Minnie Four Eyes' - Thanks Erich, that made me smile:)

The first conversation between the two goes like this:

"Listen, I need the goddamn book"

"Wouldja please watch your profanity, preppie?"

"What makes you so sure I went to prep school?"

"You look stupid and rich", she said, removing her glasses.

"You're wrong", I protested, "I'm actually smart and poor"

"Oh no, Preppie, I'm smart and poor"

She was staring straight at me. Her eyes were brown.

Okay, maybe I look rich, but I wouldn't let some 'Cliffe -- even one with pretty eyes, call me dumb.

"What the hell makes you so smart?", I asked.

"I wouldn't go to coffee with you", she answered.

"Listen -- I wouldn't ask you"

"That", she replied, "is what makes you stupid."

In the next scene we find Ollie and Jenny in a coffee-shop:)

The way the story develops is interesting, thanks to Erich's witty writing style.

Here's Ollie's first attempt at proposing to Jenny:

"Jen... what would you say if I told you..."

I hesitated. She waited.

"I think... I'm in love with you"

There was a pause. Then she answered very softly.

"I would say.. you were full of shit."

She hung up.

I wasn't unhappy. Or surprised.

The two soon find themselves in love though, get married, and embark on life's bumpy ride. They continue learning life's unruly lessons, never failing in their love anyway, and all goes well, but then disaster strikes. Jenny is diagnosed with Leukemia. You can't help feeling sorry for the young couple, as they carry on, trying to live life like everything was normal still.

In her own words,

"It doesn't hurt, Ollie, really", she said, "It's like falling off a cliff in slow motion, you know?"

I really shouldn't be writing all this, cause you really gotta read the book to love it. I found it very similar to one of my favourite movies, "A Walk to Remember". What the walk lacked was good dialogue, and that void's filled here. I'm pretty sure you will love this book, so I recommend it to you. Check it out for sure:)

Becoming a Blogger

2008-07-05T00:31:00.001+05:30

Woke up today to find my head in total turmoil. Not a neuron in it wanted to be woken up.
More than anything, I wanted to dive right back to into my bed again. But sleeping beyond 2 pm, according to most, is nuts!
In fact, it's more than nuts; It's Tits! (new cuss word on the block! )

I've been following this wacky lifestyle ever since I started serious blogging:

.... Waking up at noon, posting the occasional rant here, reading the blogs I've come to like these days, discovering new ones, sleeping well past midnight (around 4 - 5 am), dreaming about my blog attaining a PR of 10, waking up at noon, posting the occasional crap, ....

So now you know that if I wasn't in my PC, surely I was in front of the bed.
*yawn

And at this stage, I've got a confession to make: I came into the blogging scene for the money. You will realize this if you read my earlier half of posts; They're all crap!
But over the last week, I've come to know what it's like to be a Real Blogger.
I'd spent all these nights posting, reading and commenting blogs, with feverish intensity! And you wanna know what I got?

A new obsession,
and bags under my eyes.

Okay I don't care about the bags now, If they don't go away in a week I will have them surgically removed. All I care about now is my blog. I know I'm finally gonna write my heart out here!
Please help me out with any suggessions or comments you might have.

More updates from my so-called life :

They say all good things must come to an end. Sadly, the same goes for holidays :(
That's right, College's starting this monday, and I gotta head back tomorrow.
No, this doesn't mean my blog will go unattended, but my activity on others' blogs and sites like BlogCatalog (Been there only for a week, and was beginning to love it) will be considerably reduced.
Reason? I don't own a fuckin computer!
Oh btw, there's the college's computer lab! But no fuckin way I'm gonna stay back there for that.
I ALREADY SPEND SEVEN HOURS A DAY AT THE DARN PLACE!
However I'll still be able to do something with my mobile :)

Another thing is regarding my physique.. I'd hoped to grow some body these hols. But at the close of it, I seem to have reduced to half of what I originally was. And considering I was originally as slim as the MotoRAZR, you can very well imagine what's left of me.

So here ends another eventful vacation. Here are some of my accomplishments during the same:

Got a haircut - finally I can see where I'm going :D
Fragged the hell outta my buds playing Counter-Strike in our local gamedrome!
Grew sonething on my chin that vaguely resembles a goatee :/
Learned to play the 'Master of Puppets' Guitar solo \m/

and best of all,

Became a Blogger!

Things I love - Knotty Words!

2008-07-03T16:04:00.000+05:30

I have always loved words. I admire the range of options they provide us to do something.
For instance, when you wanna cry, you can choose whether to sob, whimper, wail or to blubber. You may even "be in tears" or "burst into tears" or even "cry your eyeballs out" in extreme situations!
See what I mean?

Here I post some of my favorite words from the english language. I try to incorporate them into my speaking as often as possible.
Okay okay call it show-off or whatever, but I won't entertain your ornery and ordant platitudes at branding me a panjandrum solely by misjudging my logorrhea!
(lol)

* abibliophobia - the fear of running out of stuff to read. Great word, but I don't get to use it very often :(

* argle-bargle - not sure what it means, but I manage to include it in my speaking almost everyday.

* blunderbuss - A kind of gun, but I've generalised it so I can use the word everytime I wanna say 'gun'.

* bungee - an elastic chord. I haven't seen bungees, but i think they're the ones you can find in the hem of your underpants..

* canoodling - means alot of huggin' and kissin'. A real cute word methinks.

* conundrum - a confusing problem. you can almost feel the tension when you say it. seriously.

* discombobulated - when your world comes crashing around you, throw your hands up in the air and say, "My life is all discombobulated!"

* flibbertigibbet - means 'nonsense', just like it sounds. another synonym is gobbledygook!

* hullabaloo - definitely better-sounding than 'scandal'.

* imbroglio - you're in an imbroglio when you're caught in a fucked-up situation. I love getting into imbroglios 'cause then I get to say the word!

* osculate - make your love sophisticated, don't just kiss your girlfriend, Osculate her!

* rhinorrhea - cool word, but I still prefer 'runny nose', that sounds funnier!

* scrutiny - This is no new word for us, but I really dig the sound of it. Same goes for 'Gullible'.

* zeitgeist - no idea regarding the meaning. I use it mainly as an insult.

I'm always looking for new words to add to my arsenal. So if you would like to add to this collection of potentially harmless words, you are more than welcome:)

Things I Love - My Mobile Phone

2008-07-02T13:34:00.000+05:30

Dearest k750i,
Love you loads!
It’s been roughly two years since our relationship began.
I still remember the day I asked you out of that damp electronics store. Little did I know then that it was the beginning of a date that would last 2 years, and you know, it’s gonna last even more. People had tried to trick me into buying other supposedly ‘Hot’ models, like the obese 6600 and the retarded v3. I consider it my luck that I went for you instead. I love you the way you are, small wonder!
I love all the cool features that you’ve got under your jet black skin. I love the way you make my friends go green with envy (the pricks must have gone for one of your kind when I told them to). I love you for making all those boring college lecture hours so much entertaining. I love it when you let me post to this blog when I don’t have a fucking computer. I love the way you fit nicely into my pocket without making it look like I have a goddamn erection.
In short, I love (almost) everything about you. Of course, you would have realized that when I opted to stick with you even when my bro bought me a spanking new k800i. And you know, I care a lot about you. I mod and patch you like crazy, dress you up in cool little themes everyday, and start getting withdrawal symptoms whenever you’re away from me. So you really got no reason to complain you know!
Stay with me and be my wired friend for life (or I will have you dipped in mayonnaise you prick!) lol.

How Much Is Your Life Worth?

2008-07-02T01:50:00.001+05:30

Every once in a while, weird items turn up for sale on eBay. There have been bald guys offering advertising space on their heads, teenagers auctioning off their virginity, people selling off supposedly 'Haunted' items, etc.
ComputerHovel has a cool list of weird items that have been sold on eBay. Check it out HERE.
The eBay Totally Bizarre Section lists strange items that you can bid on.

But none of these can compare in weirdness or bizarreness to what an Australian Seller put up for auction on eBay : His Life!

After 44 years of treading the earth, Ian Usher, originally from England and residing in Australia, decided to sell his life. This included his house, car and bike, job, lifestyle, and a lot more. (check out alife4sale.com)
Many thought that it would turn out to be a hoax, but bids actually started coming in. And after 100 days of being listed on eBay, Ian Usher's life was sold this June 30th.

And how much is his life worth? $3,82,000!

Ian later said that he was content with the outcome, though he had hoped for no less than $480K. He thanks all the people who supported him, though most people who e-mailed him thought that he should simply 'Get a Life'!

He still has his body, soul, identity, and his wallet, with which he will walk out of his home after the transaction is complete.

So what lies ahead for a man who has just sold his life? Ian says the adventure is yet to begin. At a new website, he has put up his plans for future. 100 goals in 100 weeks, how does that sound?

The Coolest Gaming Mice

2008-07-01T10:27:00.000+05:30

There was a time when mice were wooden..

Don't believe me? well then don't take my word for it, look at these pictures..

Alright now Mice have come a long way since their early wooden days, following the Theory of Evolution closely.They have gotten more feature-rich and refined to keep up with the demands, especially of the Gaming industry. and I gotta say, there are some truly mindblowing ones out there today.

Let's take a look at the top gaming mice around.

Razer CopperHead and DeathAdder Gaming Mice

The CopperHead have been enjoying Cult status for some time now. The 1ms response time of the CopperHead is unmatched. It has adjustable polling rate (125 to 1000 Hz) and real-time sensitivity adjustment. The laser sensor catches even the minute movements of your hand and gives this monster its celebrated sensitivity.

Throw in an extra 10$ and you can get the Razer DeathAdder. Check it out :

You may be willing to go for the DeathAdder just for its looks!

Razer DiamondBack Plasma

Razer has always produced the greatest gaming mice on the planet, and the DiamondBack is no exception to this. This is an optical Infrared mouse with a 1600 DPI sensor, which means a wholly different gameplay experience than the CopperHead / DeathAdder. The only drawback is that the polling rate cannot be adjusted.

LogiTech G5

The G5 captures any gamer's heart with its rugged looks, performance, and extensive array of features. Too bad it's only suitable for right-handers! (If you're lefty, check out the Razer mice). It has real-time sensitivity adjustment from 400 to 2000 DPI. The coolest feature is the adjustable weight cartridge that gives it the exact feel you are looking for. Plus the G5 are the mice with the biggest feet (quite literally! lol), making it the easiest to use.

Logitech G7
The big brother of G5, the G7 sports almost the same feature-set as the G5, minus the adjustable weight cartridge. And the G7 is wireless, and one of the very few decent wireless mice in the market. As you know, 'Gaming' and 'Wireless' do not go hand-in-hand very well, as there is always some lag. But the G7 has little or no lag, that makes it one of the few acceptable wireless mice in the market.

Update : I'm having second thoughts about the wooden mice. They are actually cool you know.. You may be interested in checking out some cool wooden PC components HERE.

Free GPRS on Airtel Using Airtel Live Settings

2008-06-30T15:14:00.000+05:30

If you are an Airtel customer, then you can enjoy GPRS on your mobile phone for free!
Here's how:

Make sure you have Airtel Live settings activated. If you don't have the settings, call up a customer service executive on 121 and ask them to send you the settings.

Your mobile should support java application installation for this trick.
If it does, then..
Download the TeaShark Browser by clicking HERE.
Install TeaShark in your mobile phone.
Make sure you have selected 'Airtel Live' as the active internet profile for java applications.
Just enter any url in teashark and watch it load immediately, this thing is fast!
..and the best thing is that this is absolutely free! enjoy it while it is:)

Scar Symmetry - Holographic Universe

2008-06-23T19:38:00.001+05:30

Melodic Death Metal never sounded so good!

Scar Symmetry is a melodeath band hailing from Sweden.
"Holographic Universe"is their third studio album after "Symmetric in design" and "Pitch Black Progress". After giving a brief listen to "Holographic Universe", I can only say one thing, they are an extremely promising act
Seriously, the songwriting has the quality of "Fate's Warning" or even "At The Gates"! This band was undoubtedly inspired by the Gothenburg metal scene, but rises much above most of the melodeath wannabes that belong to the same.
Christian alvestam, the vocalist, is extremely talented. His growls are no less than deep and ferocious, but when he switches to singing, it is remarkably clear and mellow. These combined with the smooth guitar solos and highly rhythmic drumming shows how much the band has progressed since 'Pitch Black Progress'. The guitar solos are no serious fretwork, but they are powerful enough to melt a rock.
Scar Symmetry achieves with this album a sound that is perfectly balanced between Melodic and Death Metal sides. Seriously, you can't be surprised if they start playing Scar symmetry in the radio!
Song titles like 'Morphogenesis', 'Timewave Zero', 'Artificial Sun Projection', etc. can get you to think what these guys are actually upto.. but after all, it's good to hear a metal act go on about stuff like that, than complain about god or throw random insults and do bitchy music.

I highly recommend that you listen to this album. It's epic, and I have a feeling that these melodies are gonna be remembered for a long time. It's pure musical genius!

Guitar Tabs :

I couldn't find many, but here are the few I found:

Scar Symmetry Guitar Tabs @ Ultimate-Guitar.
Scar symmetry Guitar Tabs @ 911Tabs.com

How To Monetize Your Blog

2008-06-23T18:35:00.000+05:30

Once you have built a good readership to your blog, you can start making some money from it.
It's always a good idea to start with...

Google AdSense :

The most loved Advertising Program of Bloggers. The reason is that Adsense doesn't have any big requirements to be met by your site/blog to begin using it. If you have a Google Account, things can get ridiculously simple!
you can login at Adsense with your google Account. (If you don't have one, create one. You're gonna use it alot!).
Once you have logged in, submit your blog using the form. It may take some time to get it approved.
After your blog is Approved, you can get code for Adsense that you can copy onto your blog. But an easier method will be to add Addsense to your pages using the 'Add/Remove Page elements' page from Blogger.
Adsense can make you alot of money if you display your ads in an effective way. Try to make visitors click the ads (But don't overdo it, your readers may turn hostile!). Also, never attempt any malpractice such as trying to click your own ads! It will get you banned immediately, and you will lose all your earnings!
You can cash out at 100$, when Google will send you a cheque.

A service that is similar to Adsense which is closest to being that good is..

Bidvertiser :

A site very similar to Adsense, except that the rates are abit low. But the best thing is that The Minimum Payout level is just 10$, that can be easily reached. They pay by PayPal, which is another advantage. Click Here to join

These are the best advertising tools you can use when your blog is developing. Once it is full blown, with a steady amount of traffic, you can try other methods. I will post about them later.

For now, keep bloggin'!

How to Bring in Lots Of Visitors To Your blog

2008-06-23T18:20:00.000+05:30

These are General Techniques that ensure traffic to your blog. Try to implement as many of them as you can, and as often as you can.

Rule #1 in blogging : Content is the King!
This is the most important Rule. No other technique will be effective unless you have content in your blog. You don't visit empty pages, do you? A blog which is rich in content has great chances of getting traffic from search engines alone.

This one is quite obvious. Try to make your blog posts as interesting as possible. You will eventually develop a style of your own. This will make your visitors want to come back to your blog again and again.
Not convinced? Check out this blog The Sneeze . Notice the style Steve (the author) uses. It makes you wanna go back there and read some more sometime right?

Try to post often. If possible, post daily. Blogs with fresh content are loved by search engines.

Make sure you are making use of the RSS feed of your blog. This will help you build a good readership. Use a site like FeedBurner for best results.

Make use of Social Bookmarking sites like Technorati, Digg, StumbleUpon, etc.

Comment on other posts related to the theme of your blog. Inward links to your blog count alot.
If you use any forum sites, make sure you include your blog's link in your signature with some catchy text!

If you can, try to employ some common SEO techniques. Do some googling and find out how. I'll post a tutorial on it later.

Done. Now we move on to : Monetizing Your Blog

Make Money blogging : The Tutorial

2008-06-23T18:16:00.001+05:30

This is a simple tutorial I am Writing on How to Make Money Blogging.

I will try to keep this brief and systematic. In Fact, most of these will be Step-by-step guides that even a newbie can understand and implement. If You are quite new to Blogging, try to follow this in the correct order and you should be making money from your blog in a short while.

Bookmark this page by pressing CTRL + D

Pages:

01. Introduction to Blogging

02. How to Set Up a Blog

03. Customizing Your blogger Blog

04. How To Get Lots of Traffic

05. How to Monetize Your Blog by Displaying Ads

07. Customizing Your Blog Further : Templates, Gadgets, Widgets, etc.

... more tutorials to be added!

Customizing Your Blogger Blog

2008-06-23T17:58:00.000+05:30

Here's how to make your Blog on Blogger.com look more interesting by adding various gasgets and page elements to it.

First, In your blogger page, Click on 'Layout' to bring up a page where you can add and rearrange page elements.

In This page you can add some page elements to all of your blog's pages. I recommend the following Ones:

Blog archive : lists your blog posts in chronological order. Helps the readers, as well as helps in Search Engine Optimisation (SEO).
Labels : Displays a list of the Labels/Keywords you have used in your Blog posts. This is useful for categorising posts. For example, on the sidebar of this blog you can find the page element 'Categories', which is nothing but a 'Labels' element that I added.
Adsense : Helps you make money by displaying relevant ads on your blog. More on this can be read Here. Add a Google Search Bar to your Blog, it helps alot.

You may also experiment with other page elements as you wish. 'Poll' and 'Video Bar' are ways to make your blog more interactive. But make sure you don't make your pages too cluttered.

AddThis : This is a handy little gadget very useful for letting your readers add your blog as favrite at sites like Technorati, Dig, Reddit, etc. Goto Addthis.com to get it for your blog.

You can add code snippets for other gadgets by choosing the page element 'HTML/JavaScript' in the layout page.

Done Pepping up your blog?

Let's move on to : Getting lots of Traffic

How To Set Up A Blog With Blogger

2008-06-23T17:46:00.000+05:30

Ok, so you got an idea what Blogs are. If not, click here for a quick primer.

How to set up a Blog.

Just Like in the case of websites, there are two choices in setting up a blog:

* Paid Hosting : You register a domain name for your blog, Host it somewhere, install a free third party blogging software like wordpress, and start posting.

* Free hosting : There are alot of free blog hosting services out there. The best free one is undoubtedly Blogger. You can create your blog here for free.

If you are a beginner, I suggest that you use a free blogging service like Blogger. Here's how to set up a blog with Blogger, step-by-step.

Setting Up a Blog With Blogger

* Direct your browser to blogger.com

* Sign in with your Google Account. If you don't have one, create one. You're gonna use it alot!

This takes you to the 'Dashboard' Screen.

The Dashboard lists all your blogs, and also allows you to create new blogs.

* Click 'Create a Blog'.

* Name your Blog.

* Choose a Template.

* So now your blog has been created! Click on 'Start Posting' to start posting in your blog.

So you have created your Blog. If you Want to Make people come to your blog, you should pep it up. So,

Next up : Customizing Your Blogger blog.

Introduction To Blogs And Blogging

2008-06-23T17:08:00.000+05:30

This is the first part of the Simple Tutorial I plan on writing about Making money blogging.
This one gives a quick intro to the little things we love, called blogs...

You know what a blog is, right? If not, you should have been living in some deep well so far. Don't worry though, I'm here to lend a helping hand:)

A blog is very much like a person's diary. If you have a blog, you post in it regularly about your interests, pastimes, and even personal experiences. There are blogs of all kinds in the internet.

If you are new to blogs and are planning to start one, I highly suggest that you check out some blogs before you start Blogging. Technorati and Digg are great sources for discovering new and cool blogs.

A blog is very similar to a website, except that a blog is more regularly updated. For this reason, search engines love blogs! This is very important in generating traffic.

Ok, that's it for a quick primer on blogging.

Now, let's move on to : How to Set Up a Blog

GuitarPRO - Great Tool For Creating And Reading Guitar Tabs

2008-06-23T16:28:00.000+05:30

I wrote on an earlier post about the PowerTab software. It is a very useful tool for the beginner guitarist in learning new songs. But now I don't use PowerTab anymore, because I've found out a better software that's much neater than PowerTab.
GuitarPRO is a software for creating and playing guitar tabs. Let me say this first, the only problem with this handy little tool is that it is not free. I am currently using it in the evaluation period and it seems quite nice. I'd happily buy it, had I any money in my PayPal account:(
The nicest feature with GuitarPRO is that you can have as many tracks in a song as you want. For example, if you are tabbing a song, you can have seperate tracks for Lead guitar, rhythm guitar, Bass guitar, Percussion, and even Voice! The array of instruments available will surely blow anyone's mind away. They sound way better than PowerTab in which even Death Metal Tracks sounded like the Super Mario theme. The Realistic Sound Engine (RSE) (available only in full version!) enhances this greatly.
And GuitarPRO can open PowerTab (.ptb) files aswell!
If you are learning a new song, say the rhythm section, you can select that track only and learn as you play. This is way neater than PowerTab where things always appear cluttered. You can even reduce the tempo in real-time, so that it will be easier to play along.
And now for the tabs themselves, there seems to be no shortage for GP tabs on the internet. As always, Ultimate-Guitar is a great source.
This tool is so good that I am learning a new song every 2 or 3 days these days. On weekends, it's a song a day! If you are having a hard time figuring out how to play some songs, go ahead and try this one.

Indestructible - New Album From Disturbed

2008-06-23T03:36:00.000+05:30

Disturbed released their newest studio album on June 3rd, and it's called:

"Indestructible" (hope I spelled that right!)

This album
Track Listing:

01 Indestructible
02 Inside the Fire
03 Deceiver
04 The Night
05 Perfect Insanity
06 Haunted
07 Enough
08 The Curse
09 Torn
10 Criminal
11 Divide
12 Facade

I haven't listened to the album for long enough to write a review. But on first listen, it appears pretty cool, infact, it's great!
Disturbed manages to maintain their signature sound, truly exploiting Draiman's vocal skills as always. However, Donegan has thrown in a few solos that sound cool. This makes one actually wonder if Disturbed is veering more toward the thrash metal avenue.. If they are, I more than welcome it.
I really like the single 'Inside the Fire', sounds cool. Be sure to check it out.

A Neat Camera Trick!

2008-06-23T03:12:00.000+05:30

Adjusting the exposure time of your camera can yield some amazing results.
For instance, watch me play guitar at warp speed! (No, that's not nine fingers, I'm playing so fast that it just looks like nine).
I know it is a camera trick, but looking at it really makes me feel better about my playing:)

Fort Kochi in the setting sun's glow

2008-06-23T03:01:00.000+05:30

A couple of pics off my camera. This is Fort Kochi, glimmering in the setting sun.. The Chinese Fishing Nets are still used by most fishermen here for.. well, fishing.
If you happen to visit Kerala anytime, be sure to check out this place.

The Coolest Spidey I've Seen ...yet!

2008-06-23T02:49:00.002+05:30

This funny little thing turned up yesterday in my washroom, wearing shades.. Looks pretty harmless (though it was half the fize of my fist!)
Guess what, the hunk even posed for a photo, ...before he became one with the wall (and one of my sandals) :D

The Sneeze!

2008-06-23T02:31:00.001+05:30

Here's a fun blog that I love to read. It isn't regularly updated anymore, but there is a huge archive of posts there that is more fun than a barrel of monkeys!
The Sneeze!

Metallica On The Comeback Road With New Album

2008-06-23T00:19:00.000+05:30

Metallica has been one of the greatest heavy metal bands of all time. But now they are also one of the most hated bands of all time. Take any metal-related forum and you're sure to see a thread or two featuring the fans and haters in an ongoing exchange of words. Most of it is centred around Metallica being 'Sell-outs' since 'The Black Album' of 1991, the well-known Napster controversy, and also people who hate good ol' Tallica for no reason at all!

Ofcourse I too felt bad when Metallica departed from their classic sound. And I happen to be such a fan of Megadeth and consider Dave Mustaine (minus the ego) as my idol. But still I respect Metallica for all the great music they've made.

Here is a conversation I found on a forum (http://forum.guitarherogame.com/Default.aspx?g=posts&t=6161) :

coolbian57 : "THEY HAVE TO BE THE MOST OVERRATED AND MOST BORING BAND OF ALL TIME."

Anton_LaVey : "your right thay are the most overated band ever, music is easy to play and they are boring as hell but for some reason people like them."

Personally, I think both these guys are fucking retards. If you can play a song on your guitar sitting in your bedroom, that doesn't mean the song's crappy. Go get a fuckin life!

So now to the subject...

Metallica's Back! Their 9-th studio album is gonna be out this September and it's been christened :

"Death Magnetic"

Pretty cool name for a metal record, I think.
If you don't think it's good enough, try saying it a few times or get some friends to tell it a few times to you aloud. It will surely grow on you. Btw, what's in a name, huh?

So what does this title mean?
Death Metal? No, we've had "Creeping Death" before.
I think the album will have a track with the name "Death Magnetic" on it.

Anyway, you cannot tell if a name is befitting ir not unless you actualy listen to the music. I find myself wishing September came early this year!

Why? Because Metallica has released a video about the upcoming album, and in that there is this awesome riff that reminds me of the Old Metallica, especially of the "...And Justice For All" era. This really gives me some high hopes concerning Death Magnetic.
2008 surely has been an eventful year for Metal. First the Bodoms, then Opeth, and now this! Plus, I've heard that Testament is working on a new album too. Omg, what more could a metalhead ask for!

Hitch your browser here for more Metallica: Mission : Metallica

PayperPost - Paying You To Blog About The Things You Love!

2008-06-21T21:30:00.000+05:30

Paid Blogging has been the talk of the blogosphere for some time now. If you read blogs alot, you might have seen a banner reading "Hire Me" in many of them. Welcome to the world of PayPerPost.

So, what is this PayPerPost thingy?
PayPerPost is a program that allows advertisers to promote their websites, products and services. Bloggers can review the products and services of these advertisers through PPP and get paid for it. Thus it benefits both the Advertiser and the Blogger.

How did you find out about this site?
I read about it in a blog about making money by blogging. I wanted to sign up at once and start making money right away. But my blog was quite new, so I couldn't register my blog. So I waited for a while, and submitted it. Now they have approved it and I'm already writing my first post, that is this one!

How can I make money with PayPerPost as a Blogger?
Bloggers can sign up with PPP and register their blogs. The only requirements for a blog to be approved are that it should be more than 90 days old and should be free from profanity. Once a blog is approved, bloggers can start taking opportunities and writing immediately.
The best thing about PPP is that your first post can be about PPP itself. You can do this right away after your blog has been approved, and your blog doesn't have to meet any more requirements to take this opportunity. And you get paid $20 for your first post!
Most opportunities pay from $5 - $10 if your blog is not too popular. This is not too bad, right? But if your blog has a good pagerank and a decent amount of traffic, this amount can go up by scores!

Why should I Join PPP?
PayPerPost has become the favourite Paid Blogging service of most bloggers, helping them make a steady income from this site alone. You too can take advantage of this great program by registering your blog with PPP right away.

Is it reliable?
Ofcourse! I did some research before joining and found out that it pays its members on time. Just make sure you follow the rules and blog ethics , and they'll surely accept your post. The business model is sustainable and you can be sure that you will be paid for your work. I can't say more on this at the moment because this is my first post for them. I'll post updates here on whether I get paid or not.

Ok, so how do I join PayPerPost?
Simple, just direct your browser PayPerPost.com!

Download Free Content For Sony Ericsson Mobiles.

2008-06-14T12:52:00.001+05:30

Here are some links to find resources for your Sony Ericsson mobile phone.

Themes, Wallpapers, Screensavers :
Lasyk is the best website I can recommend for downloading free themes, wallpapers, and screensavers for your SE mobile. This site also has a few games and applications. The best things are the themes and walls ofcourse, you can find a wallpaper of almost everything in this site.If you have a k750, goto myk750.lasyk.net . If you have a k800 goto myk800.lasyk.net . You get the idea now?

General info and help :
Se-nse.net is a site that is rich is resources for SE fanboys (I'm one myself!). Here you can find the latest news, rumors about upcoming models, a lot of useful links, etc. There is a really good Forum that can be a good source of info. If you wanna modify your mobile a little, be sure to check out the forum. With the help of this forum I've modded my k750 beyond recognition:)
Esato is another SE-related site. The forum has been around for some time, which means that it is quite content-rich.
TopSony forums is another forum site rich in info. There seem to be quite a few experts in this site.

Related post : Free content for Nokia mobiles.

Where To Find Mobile Content For Free

2008-06-14T12:47:00.001+05:30

Looking for mobile phone content? Here are some helpful links where you can find them at no cost.
If you have a Sony Ericsson mobile phone, Lasyk can be a good source of content. In addition to themes, this site also has tons of wallpapers, screensavers, and quite a few games and applications. There's a dedicated section for each phone. Say, if you have a k750, just direct your browser to myk750.lasyk.net . If it's a w800, just goto myw800.lasyk.net . As simple as that. Try looking in at Esato for more SE stuff.
Zedge provides themes for all mobiles including nokia, SE, etc.
Mobimaza has many categories of goodies for your phone. The games section is especially rich.
Another good site is mobile9.

Well, that's all for now. I'll post more links later.

Related post : Free content for Sony Ericsson mobiles.

Guitargasm - A Novel

2008-06-14T12:44:00.000+05:30

There is alot of really good literature on the internet. Here is one that has I've been reading lately. 'Guitargasm' is an ongoing novel by Nolan whyte. This can be a pleasure to read, especially if you love music, and a heck more if you play or make music!
You can find all of his works including Guitargasm right here.

PowerTabs Help You Learn New Songs on Guitar.

2008-06-14T12:38:00.000+05:30

What do you do when you wanna learn a new song on your guitar?
Here's what I used to do:
I goto a good guitar tabs site (like Ultimate-Guitar or GuitarMasta) and do a search for the song's tab. After fishing out the one I need, I sit down with my guitar in my lap trying to find out how to play the freaking song (unless it is an easy song). Reason: as you all know, online guitar tabs doesn't indicate rhythm so you gotta figure it out yourself.
But now, here's what I do:
I goto UG, do a search for the song, download a PowerTab for the song, and after a few minutes I'm jamming along to the notes I'm hearing on the computer. Welcome to the world of PowerTabs.
PowerTabs are special tab files that you use with the PowerTab software. The software can play PowerTab files ( .ptb files) that you can find on the internet. It doesn't sound too great, considering it plays using midi, but what the heck its damn useful in learning a new song.I'm not saying too much about this software now, you gotta use it to love it! Download it here for free.

W3Schools - Free Programming Tutorials

2008-06-14T12:37:00.000+05:30

Wanna learn programming? Just googling 'VB tutorials'or 'C programming tutorials'can bring up a zillion results. The sad fact is that most of these sites does not have tutorials written with the absolute beginner in mind, and some others will be composed almost entirely of advertisements. But here is one site that provides quality programming tutorials for all kinds of people, either beginners or seasoned programmers looking to learn a new language.
W3Schools (www.w3schools.com) is a site that has alot of tutorials on alot of programming languages. There is everything from system programming to web programming. These tutorials are absolutely free of cost ( So says their motto : "The best things in life are free")! There are tutorials with lots of examples, exercises and explanations. Also, the site provides tables of all functions and procedures so you can make your programming real spicy. Be sure to check it out if you wanna do some serious coding.

BitTorrent Tutorial

2008-06-14T12:34:00.000+05:30

This is a simple tutorial that explains how to download files using BitTorrent.

The easiest way to download anything today is to use BitTorrent. Be it Music, E-books, Movies, Games, etc. sure there will be a torrent for it in the web.

You need a BitTorrent Client application to download files from the BitTorrent network. Get the official BitTorrent Client HERE. But I recommend you to use a more user-friendly client like µTorrent that is more tweakable.

Once you have downloaded the client application and installed it, you are ready to start downloading.
First get a .torrent file (file with a .torrent extension) for the thing you want to download.
This you can find by just googling the name of the torrent you're searching for. This .torrent file will be a few KB in size.
Once you have saved the .torrent file, open it using the bitTorrent client.
Choose a destination and it will start downloading the file. As simple as that!
Make sure that you don't just download all the time. Upload at times cause this will be helpful for other users.

Opera Mini - The web on your mobile phone

2008-06-13T23:23:00.001+05:30

Most people use their mobiles to access the internet today. It's a good thing that you can be connected on the move. But browsing the web on the mobile's small screen and keypad can get quite tiresome. Plus, most phones have built-in browser software that cannot handle web pages, or even larger WAP pages. One solution to this is to use a third party browser software, if you mobile is Java-enabled. And coming to third party browsers, undoubtedly the best is Opera
Mini.
Opera Mini is released by Opera Software, and it pretty much looks like a mobile edition of the opera Browser. The best thing is that it is FREE!
Opera Mini has been the favourite of most mobile users for sometime now (The current version is 4.1). It has gone through major updates through time and in my opinion, the version 4.1 provides the best browsing experience on a mobile phone.
It displays the web pages just as they look on a PC, and also supports such stuff as RSS feeds and CSS. Opera Mini also has typical browser features such as Bookmarks, Feeds, Autocomplete, History, and support for saving web pages and web images. And more features are added with every upgrade.
The input methods make it really easy to use the web. Most sites work perfectly with Opera Mini (Myspace, Orkut, Blogger, etc.). If you have a mobiile phone with GPRS support and are planning to use it to access the web, download it and install it right away.
Get Opera Mini Here!

Related & Recommended Read : The Ultimate Mobile Web Browser Shoot-Out

Essential software for Java Mobile Phones

2008-06-13T00:36:00.003+05:30

Here I am listing down some of the most essential Applications you should have installed on your Java Mobile Phones. Ofcourse, there are very few good applications on the Java platform, and these are some of the best you can find to pep up your phone's functionality.
Here goes:

1. Opera Mini :

Most middle range mobile phones come with native browsers that are no good at browsing websites. Even accessing WAP sites is tiresome on some handsets. Opera mini is the solution to this. Without doubt, it is the best Java based mobile browser around. Read more about the Mini here
Or check out the post where I've compared the major Java Web Browsers HERE.

2. MobyExplorer:

This is a nice File Manager application for java mobiles by Bermin Software. It supports all the basic File Management functions like file copying, moving, compressing, encrypting, etc. But the really useful feature is that MobyExplorer is an excelent FTP client.

Download MobyExplorer

3. FaceWarp : Have some fun with your mobile phone's Camera. Facewarp takes a picture ( a face, for best results), does some 'Warping', and what you get will be something like these:

These are warps from my mobile's camera. Trust me, it's real fun, especially on an exam's eve :D

Download FaceWarp (direct link)

4. JZipMan : This is zipping and unzipping application for Java phones. May not work with all handsets. I find this one especially useful in unzipping files I download off the internet.

Download JZipMan

5. RadioBee :

Listen to internet radio stations on your mobile phone. Ofcourse, many similar applications have been developed for Symbian devices, but for Java phones, RadioBee is the best bet (or 'only bet'!). This software runs smoothly on most phones. It runs perfectly on my sony Ericsson k750i. If your phone has EDGE support, you can get seamless streaming radio.

RadioBee Download Page

6. Mobile GMaps :

That's right, Google Maps has a mobile edition. It is really easy to use and can show you the map of any place on planet earth, and even shows you the imagery of the place from google earth. This is really cool, but be careful if you're on a traffic-based data plan; this application is really data-intensive.

Mobile GMaps Download Page

Update (19/8/08) - Forget Gmaps, go get the all-new Google Maps for Mobile.
PC Download HERE.
or visit m.google.com/maps from your mobile's WAP Browser.

7. Nimbuzz :
Nimbuzz is a nifty little IM application for your java mobile. It works with all the major networks like Skype, MSN, Google Talk, Yahoo, AIM, Jabber and more (ICQ coming soon). The feature set is rather extensive for a j2me IM app, and it includes Free Chat with lots of chatrooms, Free File Sharing, Free 'Buzzing' your friends, and low-cost worldwide calling. Free VOIP call is soon to come.

Alright, go check out these softwares now, especially FaceWarp and MobileGMaps. And install Opera Mini rightaway; it will make you want to use the net on your phone more often. I will post a second part with more juicy software later.

Recommended Read : The Ultimate Mobile Web Browser Shoot-Out!

CellWare : 100% Free Mobile Content!

Opeth - Watershed : A Review.

2008-06-07T17:05:00.000+05:30

I posted earlier on this blog about the progressive metal act OPETH bringing out an album in 2008. Well, they did, and guess what, it is brilliant! What follows is a review from the first impressions of ‘WATERSHED’, the new album by Opeth.

Opeth has always had a sound of their own, and they never fail to impress with that unique sound, which is all over this album too.

Watershed starts off with ‘Coil’, the first track. This is a soft, sad-sounding track with Mikael Akerfeld, the frontman, singing in clear vocals. It is easily one of the most beautiful songs I’ve ever heard, and it also features female vocals. I had an impression that Watershed would be like opeth’s earlier album ‘Damnation’, which was clear throughout. But I was to be proved wrong.

’Heir Apparent’ is a powerful plunge into the Traditional Opeth sound, with Mikael pulling off some of his finest growling, real heavy guitar riffs, psycho double bass drumming, and overwhelming energy. Towards the end, Heir Apparent takes a turn into the melodic lane and ends on an eerie note.

’Lotus Eater’, one of my favourite tracks off the album, starts with a low hum by Mikael but soon bursts into raw power. This track has some killer guitar solos in the middle.

’Burden’, the next track is one in which Mikael uses clear vocals throughout. A very melancholic track, this can hit you hard even though there ain’t a bit of heaviness in it. The acoustic outro section is priceless!

’Porcelain Heart’ is my favourite track from Watershed. It starts with an ominous riff and alternates between Heavy and Melodic sessions. Mikael’s voice is clear throughout and perfectly suits the song’s sound. The acoustic solo is simple but real powerful. In my opinion, Porcelain Heart is flawless, and is something for the band to be proud of for a long long time. Check out the song’s video on Youtube, it’s Wicked!

’Hessian Peel’ is the longest track on the album (11:25). It is a powerful progressive track with death-style vocals, heavy riffs, and violent drumming. Obviously it is based on folk music.

’Hex Omega’ is the closing track, and it brings out a worthy end to such a marvellous record.

Watershed is one of the best albums of Opeth. I’ve always had great expectations about this album ever since I heard it was coming, and as an Opeth fan I wasn’t disappointed at all. I've been listening to Watershed everyday for a month now, and it's still growing on me.

Opeth has gone through line-up changes, but still has that signature Opeth sound. Mikael is a musical genius and this album just reflects that. Axenrot has done a great job drumming. The lyrics are great, and are more like beautiful little poems. Overall, it’s an album that I recommend you to buy. Go ahead, you won’t be disappointed!

A Hilarious way to Learn Metal Genres.

2008-06-07T16:58:00.002+05:30

Hi there, here's a fun stuff I found someplace that explains Metal Genres quite 'clearly'. Read and decide where you belong:

An evil dragon has kidnapped a beautiful princess and locked her into the dungeon of his castle. Now it is described how metalheads of the different metal subgenres would rescue the princess as "hero" of the story.

POWER METAL:The hero rides to the castle on a white unicorn, defeats the dragon in an epic battle in a storm on the edge of a huge cliff.Then he rescues the princess and both make love in a magic forest.

THRASH METAL:The hero walks by, kills the dragon, rescues the princess and fucks her.

HEAVY METAL:The hero comes riding on a harley, kills the dragon, drinks some beer and fucks the princess.

FOLK METAL:The hero arrives with some mates who play flute, violin, accordion and some other instruments. They're having a party with lots of beer and mead and make the dragon sleep with their music and with dancing. Then they leave again ... without the princess.

VIKING METAL:The hero arrives in a dragonship, kills the dragon with his mighty greataxe, moults him, rapes the princess to death, steals her possesion and burns the castle before he leaves.

DEATH METAL:The hero arrives, kills the dragon, fucks the princess, kills her and leaves.

BLACK METAL:The hero arrives at midnight, kills the dragon and spears him in front of the castle. Then he rapes the princess, drinks her blood in an unholy ritual, then kills her and spears her next to the dragon.

GORE METAL:The hero arrives, kills the dragon and spreads his bowels all around the castle. Then he fucks the princess, kills her and fucks her corpse again, slices her stomach and eats her bowels and fucks her again.

DOOM METAL:The hero arrives. He sees how big the dragon is and thinks he will never be able to kill him. He falls into a deep depression and commits suicide. The dragon eats him and the princess.

PROGRESSIVE METAL:The hero arrives with a guitar and play a 26 minutes solo!The dragon commits suicide cuz he is so bored.The hero enters the chamber of the beautiful princess and plays another solo in which all his technical ability, which he has perfected during the last years at his music school. The princess runs away and looks for the heavy metal hero.

GLAM METAL:The hero arrives and the dragon laughs himself to death. The hero steals the princess' make-up and decides to paint the castle pink.

NU METAL:The hero arrives in a shabby Honda Civic, trys to fight the dragon but his gay baggy-pants catch fire and he dies.

GRINDCORE:The hero arrives, grunting and growling something unidentifiable and leaves after one minute.

NSBM:The aryan hero arrives yelling 14/88 and looks for the princess. He sends the jewish dragon to a concentration camp. The dragon contacts Israel and the hero is convicted under crimes of racism.

TR00 KVLT BLACK METAL:The hero doesn't show cuz he doesn't want to fight the dragon.

CHRISTIAN/WHITE METAL:The hero prays to god that he will take away this satanic creature. then he tells the princess that they can't have sex before they're married.

FUN/HAPPY METAL:The hero shouts "I am the protector of all nonsense! But ONLY of nonsense!" The dragon kills the hero and the princess laughs her ass off.

So where ya belong?

(footnote: excuse me for the profanity..)

iLike.com – Discover new music, make new friends!

2008-06-07T16:32:00.001+05:30

Don't tell me you haven't joined this place yet. Especially so if you are an audiophile and a netizen at the same time... cause then I might have to spank you, :DiLike is one of my newest haunts. Being an audiophile myself, I spend almost my whole day listening to music (Yeah I somehow manage to pull that off!). If you suffer from a similar disease, I suggest that you immediately check in at this place and get help right away. No, this won't allay your sickness, this will only make it go haywire (c'mon, that's what ya want, right?!)When I checked in on this place one day, I had no idea I would become so intimate with it.. iLike has been helping me discover new music and make friends wth new buds from all over the world who share the same tastes and perversions (!) like me :PSo how does this work?First, launch the browser software in your computer. If you can't find it, look around: It will be an 'e' or an 'O' or an 'N' lying somewhere on the desktop (O in my case). I've heard that some people even have fox hugging a globe, but i'm yet to see one of that kind.So you got your browser up and running... now try to locate the address bar. Now, this can be tricky! One trick is to move the arrow thingy around until it changes into an I, there you click and type in the addy "www.ilike.com", and there you go, things start appearing out of nowhere.,...Alright, enough gay talk!If you read all that crap up above, sorry, you walked right into it.!Thing is, iLike is one cool site that has become one of my major haunts lately. It's a social Networking site that you can join and start making friend right away who have similar musical tastes as you. So, apply the lessons you've learnt from the latest social networking trands: Sign-up and start spicing up your profile. iLike displays a buncha artists to you and you get to select which all you like. Don't worry, they got everything from Spice Girls to Slayer.After you are done with your profile, you are presented with other users who are into the same kinda music as you are. Just add away!You can later do things to your friends, like chatting to them, calling names, sending hate-mails, etc. - the usual stuff.
One thing I love about iLike is the way they keep me updated on my favorite artists. I get to know when alexi Laiho decides to try out a new solo.. they inform immediately when Dave Mustaine scribble another rhyme,.. tour Dates, Upcoming stuff,.. it's all there. So if you're into live music, you're just gonna love this site!

Oh, my bad, I haven't mentioned the coolest feature of this site yet... they call it:
'The iLike Challenge'!
Thing works like this: They play you a track, and ask you a question.. like, "Who sung it?", "What's this track called?", etc. If you're really into music, you're gonna love it! and as you progress on, answering more questions and earning more points, you increase in your rank aswell! Check it out for sure.

So there I leave you with it, make sure you join it right away if you love music.
Don't make me use my whip!

Something to Listen To...

2008-06-07T16:29:00.001+05:30

You know, when you’re obsessed with something, you think about it all the time, and whatever you say will have something to do with your obsession. You probably notice that I talk a lot about metal music. That’s because I’ve been obsessed with Heavy Metal ever since I heard the track ‘Tornado of Souls’ by MegaDeth. That one song made me what I am today, a real Metalhead, and I haven’t listened to anything else since then.In this post, I will list some heavy metal songs worth listening to. If you don’t like heavy metal, well, then don’t give a crap about this post. Just go listen to what you like. After all, all music is good. I just happen to love metal abit more than other forms of music.
This time, I will suggest some good songs belonging to the genre of ‘Melodic Death Metal’. Pure death metal is disliked by many who say that it’s pure cacophony. Death metal is highly technical and is most difficult to play, but yes, it can’t be too pleasant listening to it. Melodic Death Metal (lovingly called ‘Melodeath’) adds something to Death Metal, and that’s Melody! Most Melodeath songs are rich in infectious melodies with traditional death-style vocals to give interesting results.Well, enough with the intro, let’s get to business.

Everytime I Die – This song by the finnish melodeath band Children of Bodom is one of the most loved songs of melodeath fanatics of all time. It’s hard to classify COB as a melodeath band though, as they have their own unique sound. Powerful riffs, catchy guitar and synth solos, and poignant lyrics give the song a classy touch!
They Will Return – by a not-very-well-known band, Kalmah. The song is excellent in terms of Guitarwork and harmony, and is worth a listen. ‘Moon of my Nights’ is another good track by Kalmah, which uses piano mainly.
Suburban Me – by the melodeath band In Flames hailing from Gothenburg in Sweden. In Flames are considered one of the definitive acts of melodic death metal, and thay again prove the fact that American Death Metal is more Brutal while Swedish Death Metal is more melodic. My favourite by the band though is the catchy, mid-tempo track ‘Satellites and Astronauts’.

There are many more Melodeath acts out there, like Arch Enemy (they’ve got a female screamer!), Dark Tranquility (very good), Soilwork (abit like In Flames), Amon Amarth (Gosh, they’re real Vikings!), etc. Try to find out some on your own.iLike.com is a good place to make friends based on music and to discover new music. And the iLike challenge is an addictive little game. Better let it be another post :)

Got Myself an AXE! wOOt!!!

2008-06-07T15:37:00.000+05:30

I’ve been playing metal guitar (rhythm) for quite sometime now. During stage shows I used to play some friend’s borrowed electric guitar, and when at home I’d play real heavy metal on my Acoustic Guitar!
Sounds funny? Even if it does, it was a fact, as I couldn’t afford to buy a decent electric. If you lived near my house, you would’ve heard something like Tom Petty trying to play ‘Master of Puppets’ or ‘Seasons in the Abyss’ almost every day. Well, that’s life ;)
Well, you won’t hear it no more now, cause now I’ve got a super cool electric guitar to jam with! And the best thing is, IT’S AN AXE!! OMG, I’ve always wanted to play with an axe, it suited my style of playing the best, i.e. Pure Metal!! I had it custom-made to cut down the cost, and had to settle with just two pick-ups, and I couldn’t get a Floyd Rose in time so gotta fix it later. Well, that takes away abit of it’s glory, but dude, it definitely looks and sounds Metal! And I guess I can do without the tremolo for the time being…
Well, here goes some pics:

It’s built neck-thru, got 22 frets, 2 pick-ups, and pretty much everything a typical electric guitar has, as you can see. I always wanted to buy the Alexi Laiho signature series axe from ESP, but it was way beyond my reach. So I wanted this to be made exactly like it.. well, the shape is almost the same, only the pinstripes are missing here, plus the tremolo, plus the wicked inlays, plus….
Well, enough rant for one day! Time to grab the axe and play some riffs now. Catch ya guys later:)

Where to find Online Writing Jobs

2008-06-06T17:02:00.000+05:30

Now, this one site is very useful for every freelance writer out there looking for work. ONLINE-WRITING-JOBS.COM has been around for awhile now and they are a good place to find freelance writing jobs on the internet.
Online-Writing-Jobs is a job board where employers can post their ads for free. Freelance writers can also post ads there, showcasing their skills. In this little site, writing jobs are classified under 3 categories mainly : High paying jobs, Low paying jobs, and Non-paying jobs. If you're a beginner writer then I suggest you to start by doing the non-paying jobs ( they're not non-paying as the name sounds, they're just very low paying jobs, like about 3-5 dollars per article, etc.). Online Writing Jobs is thus a very easy to use site to hunt for FREELANCE WRITING WORK. Check it out rightaway. Best thing is, the service is totally FREE!

Why Getting Paid to Write is the Best Way to Make Money Online!

2008-06-06T16:59:00.000+05:30

After spending a good portion of my life trying to make a fortune off the intermet. I've come to the conclusion that getting Paid to Write beats everything else (well, atleast for me!).

If you can write a decent article or blog post then you can surely find work on the internet. If you can't, then you have to stick to other money-making programs. Writing web content brings in more cash than those Paid to Click, Paid to whatever,.. programs can.

Here are some ways to MAKE MONEY WRITING ONLINE:

* Writing Articles and Reviews: Article writing can be very lucrative if you know the right places to submit your work. You can even look for freelance article writing gigs on job boards. If you are willing to put in some work, you can earn anywhere between $10 to $50 an hour depending on your skill. If you can produce really high-quality content, you can earn even more than that.

* Make Money Blogging- Blogging is a writer's dream come true. If you thought you can't write, get yourself a blog and start penning down your thoughts, ideas, whatever. You'll be amazed at the multitude of things you will want to write about.
Once you have good content on your blog, plus a decent amount of traffic, join some Paid Blogging networks. PayPerPost, smorty, etc are some good paid blogging sites (but that's another post!).
In paid blogging, you are required to review a product or the advertiser's site on your blog. This can fetch you anywhere between $5 and $100 per blog post! If your blog is highly popular with a high pagerank, this amount can go even higher! Great, huh?
So what I suggest you is to start a blog (if you haven't already), and start writing. Trust me, it can be real fun!

So there you have it! Now you know why I advocate getting paid to write.

There is never a scarcity of work for a good writer. If you have trouble finding work, feel free to ask me, I will be more than willing to help:)

For the Technologically Challenged!

2008-06-06T16:52:00.000+05:30

Well, the world today belongs to the computer geeks! Think you're technologically challenged? Read through this once and you'll definitely feel loads better!
These are real stories about people calling up their customer services to enquire about serious 'Computer Errors' :D

1. Compaq is considering changing the command “Press Any Key” to “PressReturn Key” because of the flood of calls asking where the “Any” key is.
2. AST technical support had a caller complaining that her mouse was hard to control with the dust cover on. The cover turned out to be the plastic bag the mouse was packaged in.
3. Another Dell customer called to say he couldn’t get his computer to fax anything. After 40 minutes of troubleshooting, the technician discovered the man was trying to fax a piece of paper by holding it in front of the monitor screen and hitting the “Send” key.
4. Yet another, Dell customer called to complain that his keyboard no longer worked. He had cleaned it by filling up his tub with soap and water! and soaking the keyboard for a day, then removing all the keys and washing them individually.
5. A Dell technician received a call from a customer who was enraged because his computer had told him he was “Bad and an invalid.” The tech explained that the computer’s “bad command” and “invalid” responses shouldn’t be taken personally.
6. A confused caller to IBM was having trouble printing documents. He told the technician that the computer had said it couldn’t find the printer. The user had also tried turning the computer screen to face the printer, but that his computer still couldn’t “see” the printer.
7. An exasperated caller to Dell Computer Tech Support couldn’t get hernew Dell Computer to turn on. After ensuring the computer was plugged in, the technician asked her what happened when she pushed the power button. Her response, “I pushed and pushed on this foot pedal and nothing happens. “The “foot pedal” turned out to be the computer’s mouse.
8. Another customer called Compaq tech support to say her brand new computer wouldn’t work. She said she unpacked the unit, plugged it in and sat there for 20 minutes waiting for something to happen. When asked what happened when she pressed the power button, she asked, “What power button?”
9. Another IBM customer had trouble installing software and rang for support. “I put in the first disk, and that was OK. It said to put in the second disk, and had some problems with the disk. When it said to put in the third disk, I couldn’t even fit it in…” The user hadn’t realized that “Insert Disk 2″ implied to remove Disk 1 first.
10. A story from a Novel NetWire SysOp: CALLER: “Hello, is this Tech Support?” TECH: “Yes, it is. How may I help you?” CALLER: “The cup holder on my PC is broken and I am within my warranty period. How do I go about getting that fixed?” TECH: “I’m sorry, but did you say a cup holder?” CALLER: “Yes, it’s attached to the front of my computer.” TECH: “Please excuse me. If I seem a bit stumped, it’s because I am. Did you receive this as part of a promotional at a trade show? How did you get this cup holder? Does it have any trademark on it?” CALLER: “It came with my computer. I don’t know anything about a promotional. It just has 4X on it.” At this point, the Tech Rep had to mute the caller because he couldn’t stand it. He was laughing too hard. The caller had been using the load drawer of the CD-ROM drive as a cup holder and snapped it off the drive.
11. A woman called the Canon help desk with a problem with her printer. The tech asked her if she was “running it under windows.” The woman responded, “No, my desk is next to the door. But that is a good point. The girl sitting in the cubicle next to me is under a window and her printer is working fine.”
12.TECH SUPPORT: “Okay Bob, let’s press the control and escape keys at the same time. That brings up a task list in the middle of the screen. Now type the letter “P” to bring up the Program Manager.” CUSTOMER: “I don’t have a P.” TECH SUPPORT: “On your keyboard, Bob.” CUSTOMER: “What do you mean?” TECH SUPPORT: “P, on your keyboard, Bob.” CUSTOMER: “I’m not going to do that!”

source : BornSilly

Make Money Writing for the Web!

2008-06-06T16:48:00.000+05:30

Got some mad writing skills?
If you have, then you can make a decent INCOME writing on the internet. Read on to find out how.

The internet today is swarming with many opportunities for writers and bloggers. The best thing is, you don't have to be a professional writer with high technical skills to do most of these jobs.
If you can write a sufficiently good article, review, or blog post, then you can EARN some dollars quite easily.

Here are some guidelines I'm providing from my experience for the best results:
* Put in some effort and try to make your article as appealing as possible.
* It is a good idea to do some research for writing the article, from the internet ofcourse!
* Make your article rich in keywords so it will be loved by the search engines.

and that's all!

So you see it's quite easy to earn a living off the internet these days. Watch this blog for new posts where I will write about different sites and opportunities out there for the writer on the internet.

SharedReviews - Write Reviews, Get Paid!

2008-06-06T16:45:00.000+05:30

SharedReviews is paying you to write REVIEWS. Make sure you join this one rightaway, because alot of people are joining it and exploiting it already. Surely you don't wanna miss the loot, do you?
SharedReviews used to be in beta phase when they used to say $2 per REVIEW, but now they are operating on a revenue sharing model. It can still earn you a handsome amount quite easily. The nice thing about the site is that anyone can join and start writing. The reviews just have to be clear and grammatically correct. Write honestly of your personal experiences with the product you are reviewing and they will surely accept it. Join SharedReviews now and start writing your heart out. Happy Reviewing:)