Help our Bros across the Border!

Just wanted to ask all the random readers of this blog to help out the folks in Pakistan, who have been hit by the crazy earthquake. Unfortuantely, the earthquake hit on my birthday... and as nonsensical as it sounds, I felt a need to help them out. As if it was a message from Captain Planet and the Planeteers (alright, enough nonsense!)

Anyway, just wanted to remind those of you who were planning on donating money (the least one can do)... that planning is a nice gesture, but actual giving is what helps :) I got to doing it finally, after our buddy Mr.Musharaff reminded me by postponing his F-16 fleet purchase. And also, I wanted to feel good about something before I take the GRE on monday.

It worked... I do feel good about myself. Hopefeeling the feeling stays through monday :)

Oooh! My Nerdity Shines Upon Thee!

Just installed WordPress on my personal website couple of days ago, and got a Technical Blog up and running over there. I dont consider the content presented in that Blog super technical... but its definitely not gonna be some lame recollection of day to day events in my life that no one SHOULD be concerned about :) Anyway, go check it out (http://www.supervj.com/wordpress). It's gonna have some interesting, and mind-stimulating Technical articles in there about stuff that doesnt belong here in this lame blog... If any of you want to contribute to my tech blog, just ping me thru email. If I dont reply back, It probably means I dont consider you to be intelligent enough :P

In other news, got an award at work for that rare ocassion of doing some real work in the job. And just as a reminder of how ironic life is, the award was aptly named "Blue Moon" award. Though it was meant to describe the person receiving the award, I felt it was a better fit to the actual work that I did. (Sunil, if you ever get to read this blog, I am just kidding... I do really work). For the rest of you all... In case you havent figured it out yet, he's my manager :) Anyway, I really dont think that work deserves an award, but now that I got it, I cant give it back :D

Fall is here!

Well it is almost end of september, and Fall is here. And all this means one thing... the Blogging starts again! Well folks ( I can count my readers with my 10 fingers ), this is the CPR post, just to bring the blog back to life, and its pulse beating again.

A Quick review of whats happened in the last 2 months... well, a Lot. Party (for this guy JO at work about to leave...), Party (JO leaving...), and more Partying (Let me sneak in the 3 days of Vegas here ;) ). Yes, went to Vegas again for Labor Day weekend, and had 3 nights of fun. Sadly, thats pretty much all the Deets I can spill. Havent y'all heard the saying "What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas?" I will upload some pimptastic pics on Flickr when I get a chance. Although by the time stuff gets on Flickr, it will all be censored out. Sort of like the Markendeya song from "New" :)

What else... Ooh! Almost forgot, went to Pittsburgh this weekend to visit a friend. Discovered what real Hiking is like (and its not pretty), and also discovered what I really wanna do with my life. Ascii! if you are reading this... please hook me up with any professor that you know who is working on Machine Learning / Computer Vision / Natural Language. Yeah, I know... its pretty detailed for an epiphany. I wanna do a PhD in that area of Computer Science.

Thats it for tonite. I will keep the bytes coming.

Life of Pi

Just started "LISTENING" to this book today, and I am already loving some of the things that are being said in it (Yes, I download audiobooks and listen to them... I cant strain my eyes by reading black glyphs on faded white paper for long hours :) ). I havent even passed the first chapter, and it already made me realize how proud I should be about myself... for, I AM A SCIENTIST.

From the book:
"Scientists are a friendly, atheistic, hard-working, beer-drinking lot, whose minds are filled with sex, chess, and baseball when not working"

TRU DAT!!!

Peacekeeper

August 6th... 60 years ago, the first A-Bomb was dropped on the city of Hiroshima, and in the blink of an eye, over 160,000 souls got wiped off this planet. And even worse, it was repeated 3 days later in Nagasaki. And this terrible event brought end to a terrible war that was fueling the whole planet with violence and hatred.

No doubt, the A-Bomb brought an end to one of the most terrible eras in the history of this world, but in doing so, it has given birth to an even more terrible one. The Nuclear Age, where there are more Nuclear Warheads present than places to drop them. It is amazing what terrible creations the Human mind can think of. It started with the Sword, and now we are here with the A-Bombs and the H-Bombs. I cant even think whats in store for the next generation. Sometimes I wonder, maybe the reason why we cant find intelligent-life (or any kind of life) elsewhere in the Universe, is because they too got a bit too curious with the Physical limits of torture weapons, that they just erased themselves off the charts.

Yes it is a far thought... but, whats surprising is that such insanely remote sounding thoughts are as much plausible as the Holocaust or Serbia in today's world were countries front their Nuclear Arsenals. I believe it's time the people of the world step up to the Nutjobs working in the Departments of Defence, and put some sense into their puny brains. Yes, It's their Job Security... but, it's our life and our planet.

It's called the Peacekeeper, but we are hardly living in a world filled with peace. We are just faking "Peace" with "Fear."

Grand Canyon and Vegas

For the 4th of July weekend, I drove with family to Grand Canyon, and Vegas. After driving for 15 hours straight with the short food stops, we arrived in Williams, AZ around 10.30 in the night. Went to bed around 1 after dinner and family talk, and had to wake up by 3 in the freakin morning to rush 70 miles to the Rim to watch the Sun rise over the mystic Canyon. That sight was well worth the long drive and short sleep, but after that... the day just got boring. You can only appreciate a pit in the earth so much :) And not having enough sleep wasnt helping either. Spent another night in Williams, and headed over to Hoover Dam the next day enroute to Las Vegas. The Dam never fails to amaze you, no matter how many times you have been to it. It's one of the marvels of Civil Engineering.

Moving along... Some places never get tiring, no matter how many times you have been there, and I am not talking about Grand Canyon or Hoover. Yes, Vegas Baby!!! It's that place that your "Dangerously living on the Edge" side calls home. All night clubbin... drinkin... gambling... shows... food... then back to clubbin. Did I miss sleeping in there?? Oh did I forget to mention, it's the City that never sleeps. So, in case any of you guys are missing that part of your personality... go find it in Vegas. Good thing, I had my Bro-In-Law's Bro (is that my BIL too?) to have fun in Vegas with... Can't party with family, and if you cant party, you cant have the total Vegas experience.

Not Long Long Ago, and definitely not in a Galaxy Far Far Away

I am not sure how many of you out there are Star Wars junkies. I am not one of them, although I did wait in line at the Movie Theater for 5 hours when Episode 1 launched in 98/99 (I was one of the dumb freshmen then...What do you expect?). So please forgive me when I spill out my honest opinion about the recent Prequels in the Saga -- They were amazing in effects and visuals, but totally-omni-fantastically-ubiquitously sucked in content. Episode 1 had Jar Jar Binks, and Episode 2 was just one big light-saber swingin Robe wearing Geek Orgy. (Or should I say, Illuminated dildo swingin gay slumberparty).

Episode 1 was a torturous experience especially after watching 4,5,6 (great movies!), and then waiting 5 hours in line... and then MeesaJarJarBinks comes along... and we all go "WTF???" Episode 2, I watched it just because every one else had seen it, and well Natalie Portman is kinda hot... not as much as the Original Princess Lea. But it was kinda Ewww to watch Queen Amidala and young Anakin hit on each other... cuz he is so much younger. (Just for the record, I feel the same way about Michael Douglas, and Catharine Zeta, so please dont shout sexist at me).

But, Episode 3... I am not quite so sure if I feel the same way about it. It's releasing this weekend, and from the Preview-reviews (Tongue Twister :)), It seems like this movie might be worth watching. Especially since the Washington Post draws similarities between the movie's storyline, and the current events happening. I have to admit, I am totally biased towards the Leftist view, and if there is a movie that can subtly bash at the Bush white house... I HAVE TO WATCH IT!!! Supposedly in the Movie, Anakin (Darth Vader) says to Obi Wan... "You are either with me, or you are my enemy"... and Obi-Wan replies "Only a Sith thinks in Absolutes!". Does anyone remember vaguely something that the president said before the Iraq war..."You are either with us, or against us"... and this from the president of the USA. What a fkin Dumbwit:) Anyway... I am gonna watch this movie, if not the first show, atleast the first week its out.

BTW... Heres the link to the Washington Post article.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/blog/2005/05/16/BL2005051600615.html

Quick ReWind! and some words on Bullshit :)

So heres the Quick REW... Okay, I have been super busy for the past 1 month... over closing my house purchase... that I booked for construction in December..FFW... House looks sweet, had a walkthrough scheduled for today morning.. REW... some dudes tried to break in to steal the kitchen appliances (luckily before I signed the papers), so the walkthrough is rescheduled for next week... FFW into Future.. Hopefully I can sign and get the house next week, which I am not sure whether to feel happy about it or sad, since I am getting a new house, but at the same time a nice FAT LOAN worth over a third of a Million :(

And heres the fun stuff on Bullshit. Unlike boring normal people, I get my daily news from this funny as hell show aptly named "The Daily Show" with Jon Stewart on Comedy Central. And a couple of weeks ago, he hosted a Yale professor who published a book, "on Bullshit". And in that book, the professor explains that there are 3 kinds of people. Those who speak the truth, those who speak the lie, and those who bullshit... and according to him, its the third kind thats the most dangerous, since they have no respect or concern for the truth. (Even liers know what the truth is... but BSers dont).

Anyway, last week I happened to have the privilege of being one such person, and guess what? The professor was right! I got stuff done, that I couldnt have done if I had been worrying about whether I was speaking facts, or making shit up on the fly. I had an argument with the house builder (The Seller) on Saturday over the terms of an incentive, and when I came up with financial terms that sound so genuine like "Non Occupant Co-signer" and such... even my Loan Officer (The Bank Lender) couldnt resist to agree with me. And I get the lender approve my loan on some crazy terms (get discount since my mom is an employee of the bank, but still not have my mom's name on the title), so that I can qualify for the incentive (which the seller had to agree since only my name is on the loan)... And then later that night, even I was surprised to find out that there exists no such thing as a "Non-Occupant Cosigner." But, the lender understood it in some way, and the seller understood it in some way, and I got things done.

Thats Bullshit for you!

LakaLakaLakaLaka!!!

Dont know how I forgot to mention about this in my previous post, but, I watched Chandramukhi last weekend. Really fun movie to watch... especially in a theater packed with fun Rajini fans. This movie was a RIOT!!! From the intro till the end, every rajini stunt and move delivers a perfect spin of masala and style. I thought the Matrix was the best Special Effects movie... but now Chandramukhi has cast some doubts in my mind about it ;) Enought sarcasm... but the movie is definitely a fun movie to watch, and Jyothika's acting is a pleasant surprise. Watching this movie makes us wish we all could forget that a movie called "Baba" was ever made, and it kinda helps to cure the Baba nightmares. Go watch it, and yell LAKALAKALAKALAKA!

Sweetness! Almost killed this one too

Wow! Its been over a week since my last post. Anyway, last weekend I went on a realllly long ass walk in the city (Frisco) scouting the route for the SF Marathon that is to be held on July 31st. I am thinking that I should at least try out the Half Marathon. Posted some pics from that trip on my flickr site, so you guys can go check them out.

And this week, I got done with my first project at eBay...Yippeee! (well, technically 3rd project, but my first as a new Employee of eBay). It will up on the ebay site soon... Related Products. Kinda like product recommendations from Amazon.com (I know we are late at the game... but its a bitch to implement this functionality, and we are finally there :) ).

Back 2 School & Allergies!!!

I went to Davis on saturday. Started off from home around 5pm... did some crazy driving and got there by 6.20 after picking up my friend and stopping for gas. Luckily, there were no Cops on the highway, cuz drivin 95 miles in 80 minutes with stops in between is a bit on the crazy fast side of things :) "Posted" Speed Limit on the freeway in Cali is 65 mph. Public's understanding of it is +/- 10 mph (+ usually) => 75 mph. Anyway, got there in time for the Davis Bhangra Competition... pretty lame show. Not because the performance wasnt that great... but because I just couldnt understand what they were all laughin about whenever the MCs said something :(

The one good thing in the evening is that my old homies' team won. LBC or Lethal Bhangra Crew rocked the stage. For the ignorant ones, LBC usually stands for Long Beach Cribs, and is common in Rap/Hip-hop songs :). Anyway, met couple of old friends (thats exactly 2)... which was kinda weird. Now I know why I am not that keen in going to my college campus after graduating... Its cuz I dont know anybody over there anymore. And also lookin at how dumb the students act (especially the freshmen chicks) makes you feel hella old, though its only been like 3 years since I graduated. But the acme of weirdness is to realize that I was once like them too :( / :).

I have posted some pics from the Afterparty on Flickr (check the links)... sorry, no half naked dumb freshmen chicks here. Just me and my homies. And finally after everything ended... drove back home in the middle of the night reaching home around 4:30 am. Woke up around 10, and went hiking with a friend (Ashok, matter alert). It was a nice, warm and sunny day. And the plants must have noticed that too... cuz they got super excited, started having unsafe sex, and I got caught in the cross fire of pollination ammunition. By the end of my hike, I started sneezing, and by the time I got home, my face was all super red, and my eyes were bloodshot... Damn Allergies!!!!

amaZIN CITY!

Watched Sin City in theatres this friday night, and wow, It was super cool. The whole movie looked like reading a Comic Book. I guess that should be no surprise given the fact that it is based on Frank Miller's Dark Comic Novel Series. But this movie had a style that did justice to its roots. Each frame in the movie was like a box from the comic. B&W with just the significant characters colored. It was cool eye candy, and I enjoyed every bit of it (esp. Jessica Alba, and Rosario Dawson ;) ).

Of all the "Comic2Film" movies (Spiderman, Superman, Daredevil and the likes), there are only 2 that I think are marvels in movie making. Especially in being true to the Comic book Style. This one is definitely one of them. The other one is "Unbreakable" by Night Shyamalan. Though it wasnt based on any comic book, it was inspired by Comic Book Superheroes, and in that movie also the cinematography was subtly comic book style. Almost everything in the background blends into a dull color, except for the characters we care about -- They are wearing distinct colors. If you guys are film buffs like I am, these 2 movies are definitely not to be missed.

That being said, I guess my Dilemma is no longer a Dilemma, since the movie ended around 2 AM. No way I was gonna wake up for a Tahoe trip :)

Dilemma!

Well its Friday night, about 8 pm, and I am still at work debating... Should I go to Tahoe and DO some Snowboarding tomorrow? Or, should I go to Davis and meet old buddies from college and WATCH a Bhangra Competition? Aint life a bitch? There is always a mutually exclusive, and equally attractive alternate for every decision you take in it.

Well only time will decide which path I take... Literally!!! Cuz it all depends on when I wake up tomorrow. And since my biological clock has been messed up by the Daylight Savings TimeShift, this whole week I have been doing everything with a 1 hour offset (like getting into work no earlier that 10am and leaving no earlier than 8pm). So, I am predicting the WATCH path in my future.

In that case... since I am gonna wake up late anyway, I might as well go and watch "SIN CITY" tonight. Seems like a cool flick! I have loved all Robert Rodriguez movies, and hopefully this one is no different when it comes to the "Blow your freakin brains out" factor =)

BTW... got some new pics on flickr.

This is gettin CRAAZYY

Ok, so its just been 1 day, but I already feel like I am addicted to flickr. I just realized I have wasted the whole day uploading pics from my computer onto flickr, and viewing them through the site. I dont understand why I get so much pleasure out of watching the same pics that I have in my computer after uploading them on the site.

Well One good thing is, now you all can look at my pictures too. And there is already one pretty critic who thinks that I have a pretty nice gallery. Anyway, I think I have wasted too much time on Flickr. MothrFlickr!!!! I need to control the urge... aah flick it! I'm goin back... Im weak and likin it :-D

I got Kamera!

First of all, a Huuuge Shukriya to Venki and Ashok... I dont feel as dumb typing this stuff as I used to.

But, anyway for those who know about the Kamera "Matter", well I tried to get a better url for my flickr thing today, and surprisingly no one thought of registering Kamera so far. So, now my photostream url is a simple http://www.flickr.com/photos/kamera instead of that Ginormous number thing.

Ashok, I will have some of the events that happened in recent times posted for your reading pleasure =) But just not yet! A Hint... they are rather startling events.

And Venki, Walnut Creek isnt too far away... so mail me your contact info at v_i_j_a_y_k_u_m_a_r_a_@_y_a_h_o_o_._c_o_m.

P.S: Do you guys hate Spammers as much as I do? Cuz they are the reason I have to type my email addy like that :(

Flickr is wayyy cool!

NOTE: I just re-discovered this old blog post of mine in 2024. Shows how I too was once dumb as a rock, and probably still am. I'm leaving this post unedited for posterity's sake, and to serve as reminder for why judging/canceling people based on past mistakes is not a good thing. There is no redemption in life if that weren't the case. 

For context, I was an immigrant navigating and fitting into a new social environment... and owning up the name SIN by which my punjabi friends called me in school was my way of avoiding the victim mindset. I hope one day society will get past judging people by the color of their skin, and that one day hip hop artists will stop being lazy with the N-word in their rhyme schemes, even if it is with the 2pac approved spelling. 

PS. I don't have an XBOX or play videogames anymore, but that is still my gamertag 😔

So I have a serious Blog now... so, I thought to myself -- Hmmm.. maybe I should get a Flickr account too, and try out the whole PhotoStream concept. So, I got one under my blogger account name, Sin2Core (thats South Indian Nigga 2 the Core for those who dont know me as SIN). BTW, if anyone has an XBOX live account, my gamertag is sin2dacore.

Anyway, after signing up on flickr, I found out that I can very easily hit my upload limit... and I wasted it on some junk pictures I took at work. And since I am a sucker for new stuff like this... I ended up getting the Annual Pro Subscription for about 50 bucks. So, now I have this Blog and a cool Photostream. Oooh, and BTW, the User Interface on Flickr is just absoFreakinLutely amazing. You guys should check it out, and please... MOTIVATE ME PEOPLE!!! Leave Comments :)

Here is my flickr link:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/66502966@N00/

Brand Spankin New Blog

Welcome guys, to this Shiny Brand Spankin new blog of mine. I have tried to do this before, but unfortunately they all died out pretty soon. Hopefully, this one stays alive, and will attract some readers.

Whats this Blog is gonna be about:
1. My Day2Day life notebook ? --- hmmm.... may be. I dont wanna bore you with mah life. Not that my life is boring. (its pretty interesting)
2. My Shutterbug portfolio? --- Definitely, lots of Pics to see here.
3. Something Technical? --- Oooh Yes! Technical & Mac Evangelical! How about that?

What I want out of you:
Please read my blog regularly, and leave feedback folks... Motivate me to blog ;)

That should be good enough for my first post.