Excited about witnessing Miss World 2009 live!

I've been a fan of nearly all of the beauty pageant contestants (and somewhat of the contests as well). This has long been established beyond doubt (lolz...). So when a few months back I moved to Jo'burg, and one fine day I fortunately read somewhere that Miss World 2009 is gonna take place at Jo'burg, I was all charged up and happy!

I went through the Wikipedia article and I checked the schedule and I checked the ticket prices and I checked the directions (more stuff here). And two days back, with a heavy stone on my heart, I finally doled out ZAR 780 (~INR 4,800) to buy a ticket for Miss World 2009.

Some noteworthy things:

• All the contestants are currently staying at Hyatt Regency (Rosebank, Jo'burg), which is about 4 minutes drive away from my apartment, and about 2 minutes walk away from the Planet Fitness center where I gym
  
• First of the (many) reasons I bought this relatively expensive ticket is because I thought it might never happen again in my life that I'm in that very city and on those very dates where/when a Miss X contest is taking place. Even if I am there, I might not be able to watch it because of some unforeseen issue(s)
  
• I was ready to buy this ticket for the last couple of weeks. However, there was a moment when my colleagues here had decided that we shall all be going to Durban on 12-Dec, and I had accepted that I was not going to be able to watch Miss World 2009. Fortunately, on last Sunday, the Duban plan got spilled-over to December 18-20, and wasting no time (lest the tickets sell-out), I grabbed a ticket on Monday morning
  

A (short) visit to an Emirates call center

Today I went to the Sandton City office of Emirates, to inquire something about my Apr'10 flight. One of the staff members came up to me and asked if I mind going directly to the call-center to have my issue resolved, as the number of customers was more than the number of computer-terminals they had in that office, and her intent was to have my query answered faster.

I readily agreed.

As beautiful as always - Emirates staff (source)

Through various corridors, passages, stairs and doors, she took me to the Emirates call center, and had me seated besides her near one of the terminals. In ~10 minutes, all my queries had been solved.

This was my first visit to a call-center - a world-class one at that - and I'm glad that today I finally got to see one from inside. It made me understand first-hand how a call center looks like, how are individuals seated, what type of computer-software is used, and so on.

(I didn't ask her name)

Comparing the course of a day to a boy's life

This thought ran across my mind as we were whizzing past the roads of Mpumalanga, en route to Graskop, on 22-Nov-09. When I looked at the first rays of Sun, it reminded me of how boys are when they're two-year-old. They're young, they're new, and they're just starting to give a glimpse of their infinite energy.

First rays of Sun, Mpumalanga, South Africa, 5:08 AM, 22-Nov-09

And as they grow up into an adolescents and then adults, the display of their energy seems to mimic the course of Sun's light on a typical day - it grows and grows and then reaches its peak, when it burns bright and overshadows everyone and everybody else - like an 18-year-old boy who considers himself on top of the world. Thereupon, like a 25-something adult entering his 30s, Sun's rays begin to calm down, get more relaxed, and start feeling pleasant. The evening Sun, especially during moments just before sunset, looks like a ball of wisdom, like an old, ageing man, who can no longer burn bright, but holds much sense and wisdom.

Rays of a young, growing boy, Blyde river, Mpumalanga, Age unknown

And that's how I compare the course of a typical day to the lifecycle of a young boy...

Missing computer science and my college days

Today I'm missing my college days. Am missing those highly intellectual subjects and chapters I used to read and enjoy... the graphs, parallelism, microprocessors, operating systems, computer graphics, NP-hard problems, algorithm-complexity, databases, and on and on and on...

Good days they were... and I wish to bring back the joy of those days...

And today I'm missing it so much that I drew a directed-graph on the whiteboard at my company's Jo'burg office, and started remembering the traveling-salesman problem.

List of my travels in an airplane / aircraft

A flight is being considered distinct whenever it's preceded by a takeoff. Aircraft models are indicative of only the broader series. Entries in italics are confirmed flights, yet to commence. Entries in blue highlight are tentative, subject to change. Aircraft in orange highlight are unsure.

1. 1993; Delhi-Agra; ~20-40 minutes; Indian Airlines; Unknown
2. Jul'06; Delhi-Goa; 2.5 hours; SpiceJet; Boeing 737
3. Jul'06; Goa-Delhi; 2.5 hours; SpiceJet; Boeing 737
4. 17-Oct-08; Delhi-Bangalore; 2.5 hours; Kingfisher; Airbus A320
5. 19-Oct-08; Bangalore-Delhi; 2.5 hours; Kingfisher; Airbus A320
6. 8-Oct-09; Delhi-Dubai; 3.3 hours; Emirates; Boeing 777
7. 8-Oct-09; Dubai-Jo'burg; 8.2 hours; Emirates; Boeing 777
   
8. 23-Dec-09; Jo'burg-Dubai; 8 hours; Emirates; Airbus A340
   
9. 27-Dec-09; Dubai-Doha; 1 hour; Qatar; Boeing 777
   
10. 27-Dec-09; Doha-Cairo; 3.5 hours; Qatar; Boeing 777
    
11. 30-Dec-09; Cairo-Bahrain; 3 hours; Gulf Air; Airbus A320
    
12. 30-Dec-09; Bahrain-Dubai; 1.3 hours; Gulf Air; Airbus A330
13. 31-Dec-09; Dubai-Delhi; 3 hours; Emirates; Boeing 777
14. 3-Jan-10; Delhi-Dubai; 3.8 hours; Emirates; Boeing 777
15. 3-Jan-10; Dubai-Jo'burg; 8.2 hours; Emirates; Airbus A340

Moving to Johannesburg (SA), shortly

I'm moving to Johannesburg, South Africa, within a couple of days. So many things need to be done still... Visa, packing, other formalities, learning cooking (!), etc.

Let's see how things pan out.

Miss Russia was the sweetest of all the contestants in Miss Universe 2009, I think...

...just an opinion... but it's true :)... more of Sofia Rudieva here

Update (19-9-09): It looks like Miss Argentina was beautiful as well, although she's less sweet and more raw compared to Miss Russia!

When you fear that you might have got swine-flu...

I fell down unconscious in the bathroom last night. When I regained consciousness, I found myself lying on the floor of the bathroom - in an utterly helpless state. I've always been proud of my uptime (so much so that I triumphantly bang this drum in front of some of my friends - "Me and ill? I don't fall ill! I haven't fallen ill in the last two years...") (plus read my tweets here, here, here, here, and here), and when I realized that I must've fallen down on the floor, it was then that I felt that I might really have gotten swine-flu.

I was feeling unokay since afternooon of the day before yesterday. And it worsened that night, and it kept getting worse yesterday (I kept ignoring my 101 fever, hoping that I'll soon get well, but when I didn't, I finally took leave from work). I looked up the symptoms of swine-flu on the Web, and it all seemed to suggest me that I've got this hopefully overhyped, but potentially life-threatening sickness.

How does it feel when you're living with this fear? Not good. You just wanna get ok real fast. You wanna see signs of recovery. You realize why they say that health is wealth. And you ask "Why me? Why now?".

I'm probably on the path to recovery (that's why I'm able to pen this post), and I'll hopefully be declared fit-for-work by my doctor by Sunday, so I'll probably be able to resume work on Monday.

I have so many dreams, and things keep getting added, and I must stay okay so I can fulfill them, and make my parents proud of me.

Let's see.

My feelings on transporting accident-victims to the hospital, twice...

Yesterday, while driving back from my company, I saw an accident-victim lying on the road. I was taken aback on seeing that practically no one was willing to help him. The crowd was making its way around the body, seemingly curious, and concerned too, but unwilling to help.

Shamefully, I too moved ahead - about 5 meters ahead of the body - and that's when my conscience slapped me and stopped me (I don't know why I just moved ahead initially). I quickly got out of my car, rushed to the body, shouted loudly that I'm gonna back-up my car towards the victim's body, and that someone must accompany me to the hospital.

People quickly placed the victim on the back seat, and one person joined me. I drove as fast as I could, safely, and got the victim admitted to a nearby hospital. After ensuring that the victim's family is on the way, I left the scene.

The incident reminds me of Jan'09, when a *ditto* incident took place at the very same spot. That time too I had seen people unwilling to render help. And that time too I had transported the victim, to the same hospital. The similarity of these two incidents is almost surprising.

It makes me feel good that I could help these needy and helpless human beings.

Still not out of my college...

I went to my college the day before yesterday (on Wednesday). As I roamed there, it did not feel at all that I'm no longer an active student there. Walking in the canteen, rushing to the science block, or simply wandering in the OAT gave me the exact same feeling that I used to get when I used to be a student there. I still many times think of my college, and wish I was there.

Click here to watch a memorable video of class of 2008

Remembering last year's squealing

I was crying bitterly around this time last year - almost begging. I guess I was on the phone for 2-3 hours maybe, while she kept destroying me mercilessly, over and over. 5th of August, 2008... will a day ever pass when I don't think of that day? Who knows. I promised her a comeback, and by god, I will come back with a bang that they won't be able to withstand.

A brand new blog - on my own domain

Close on the heels of the launch of my email address on my own domain comes the launch of a new blog - also on my own domain name. This new blog - named HyperBlog - will be my official blog from now, and is likely to supersede my Main Blog (my Other Blog should continue just fine).

Click to read Rishabh Singla's Google profile

Google I-O 2009 (Day 1) - Chrome Experiments Video's Background Music - Song Download Link

I recently watched the keynote video of day 1 of Google I/O 2009. Day 1 kicks off with an introduction video showing different Chrome Experiments running in Chrome. The video is abstract but quite impressive, especially if the viewer has knowledge of the ongoing Web-apps-versus-Desktop-apps war.

What is more impressive however is the background music of this video. I liked it so much that I watched the video about 10 times. User comments on the video's page show that many others too liked this song. However, no one really seems to know which song this is, or whether it is an original composition by Google or an existing song by some artist, and where to find / download it. Some comments on the video claim that it is a song called Falling, from Into The Fire album by Krylyn.


Incorrect. There's another video posted by Google, with not the whole keynote but only the introduction video, and its description clearly states that the background song is an original composition by Googler Matt Waddell.

I downloaded the highest quality version of this video (HQ22) (click here to know the difference between HQ18, HQ22 and HQ35), extracted the audio from it in WAVE format, trimmed it to remove the silence at start and end, and encoded it into 2 MP3 files (each at 192 Kbps) using LAME MP3 encoder

1. File 1: Unabridged audio. Click here to download this file
   
2. File 2: Same as File 1, but with the leading Welcome to Google I O removed, so it starts directly with the music and can be used as a ringtone. Click here to download this file

I think I'm not violating the DMCA because I think Google will love it if this file spreads :)

About Me - My Google Profile

A Continuity Mistake In The Movie "Crimson Tide"

***Caution: Spoiler Ahead***

I watched Crimson Tide a few days back. I usually read user comments, goofs, trivia, etc., on IMDB after finishing watching a movie. When I read the list of goofs in Crimson Tide, I was surprised to see that nobody had pointed out this important mistake.

Throughout the movie, Hunter kept insisting that the crew should try to receive the second EAM, which the Alabama wasn't able to receive due to a chopped cable first, and due to a faulty radio thereafter. This second EAM was shown partially twice, before being shown completely the third time. However, each of the three times the message shown is different in some ways, as demonstrated by the screenshots below

FROM field ends with D.C.; SUBJECT starts with NUCLEAR

FROM doesn't end with D.C.; SUBJECT still starts with NUCLEAR

FROM ends with D.C.; SUBJECT starts with TERMINATE

My claim that this is an error rests on the assumption that an EAM is like a SMS message - it stays queued at the sender end until it is received correctly, and the sender keeps attempting to send the message until the recipient acknowledges that the message has been received successfully. The contents of the second EAM could not have changed (the way they are changing in the screenshots above).

An Error In The Movie "Chaos"

Remembering This Day... This Memorable Day

Blood comes to my eyes when I recollect the memories of this day. I was at Netaji Subhas Institute of Technology, cordially invited by her. Invited by her to take her photos, as she participated in the "Fash-P". I remember that I didn't have much charge in my camera, and she had asked me to not waste charge on others. I knew that she was happy about me coming down to NSIT, just to click her. What I didn't know was that devil was brewing, quietly. I could smell it at times, though.

(This is not her photo)

Here is a link to some of the photos I clicked that day (I've not posted any of her photos to this album). I had kept this album private all through the year, and today I'm opening it up.

Dance & Fashion Show At The 2008 NSIT Fest

Let this be known that I've not forgotten what was done to me, and that I will not forget what was done to me, and that I'm not going to sleep peacefully till I've had the vengeance I rightfully deserve.

List Of Songs That Boil My Blood

Arcade Games, Computer Games, Video Games, Board Games and Other Sports I Like

I like the following arcade-games /computer-games / video-games / board-games / sports (These are grouped by the computing/gaming/logical platform they belong to, and within each group they are sorted alphabetically. The groups themselves are sorted alphabetically)

Java ME

1. Blackjack
   
2. mAtaxx
   
3. Pipes
   

NES / SNES

1. Cadillacs and Dinosaurs
   
2. Captain America
3. Circus
   
4. Contra
5. Contra Force
   
6. Double Dragon II
7. Goonies
   
8. Super Contra
9. Tetris
   

Sports

1. Badminton
   

Windows

1. Counter-Strike: Condition Zero
2. Delta Force
3. Delta Force 2
4. Project I.G.I.: I'm Going In
5. Quake III Arena
6. Unreal Tournament
   

Songs That Boil My Blood (GAMMA)

On the lines of this and this post, here's the list of the songs that make me angry, that spoil my mood and that ignite the firepower within me.

1. U2 - Electrical Storm
2. Judaai (From the movie "Jannat")
3. Tum Se Hi - Remix (Jab We Met)
   
4. Alvida (Life in a... Metro)
5. Jaane Kyun (Dostana)
6. Bhool Ja (Shaan)
   

It Happens Only In India (1)

To buy milk and curd, I went to a grocery shop at the local market. Another young-looking guy came up there, and he hurriedly asked the shop-owner for a pack of "Kohinoor meat masala". He had probably asked for something like this. The shop-owner, however, didn't seem to have paid much attention to his words. He took out a shiny pack the size of a pack of cards, and handed it over to the customer.

The poor fellow took it, looked at it for a moment, and was seriously taken aback, because this shop owner had not given him something to make his meat taste better, but had handed him over a pack of this!

It was laughter all over the place :)

List of movies and videos that I have seen

• Intent of this post: To enlist the movies & other videos (documentaries, TV shows, etc.) that I've seen, along with metadata about my viewing experience for each of them
• Limitations: The list is not intended to be exhaustive. I will not add every movie / video I watch to this list (because of multiple reasons). Additionally, all those short-duration videos that I frequently watch on various websites (YouTube, Yahoo! Video, etc.) will not be enlisted here. I will generally also not add repeat watches of movies / videos (something I do non-infrequently). Retroactive addition will be done, but not at the cost of my convenience
• Policies to be followed on this post: Movie / video title, date of watching, watched with, place of watching, comments, verbal rating, numerical rating and other information will be written (in the aforesaid sequence) against each movie / video (whenever these fields are available). A '~' symbol along with a date indicates that it is approximate. Items will be sorted in a descending order by date (whenever available), and alphabetically when the date is equal (and otherwise as well). Insertion sort will be used to add items retroactively
• A discussion of the ratings I will give: I intend to give a numerical rating to each movie/video on a scale of 0 to 100. How do I decide what score to give to a movie/video? If I liked a movie a lot, should it be given 70 or 75 or 80? Who decides the rules? Well, this problem is actually a little interesting one, because numerical ratings are relative in nature, and not absolute (at least as far as the current situation is concerned). This is because we do not know the end points (0 and 100). We do not have a movie which we know deserves 100, and that no other movie can ever exceed its goodness. Hence I start by giving two of my most-loved movies (Hindustani and Terminator 2 Judgment Day) a score of ~95 each. I shall give scores to the initially added movies/videos relative to these two. Subsequently, however, it will keep getting easier to give scores as I will have an increasing number of precedents to compare with. It is very interesting to note that verbal ratings can be given without comparison- they seem to be more absolute than the numerical ratings.
• Relation with my psychology: Any psychologist/psychiatrist can tell you that my psychology can be deciphered/understood better from this post, by analyzing the movies/videos I watch, and the comments and ratings I give to them. There's a lot more information present in this post than is visible to eyes, at the first glance at least!
• IMDB and Rotten Tomatoes connection: It'll be interesting to compare my numerical ratings to the average user ratings of the same movies/videos on IMDB and Rotten Tomatoes (I haven't done this yet). If my ratings turn out to be approximately same / similar as those on IMDB / Rotten Tomatoes, it shall mean that my ratings are a representative of the average ratings that a bunch of people give, and that my ratings can be believed (at least if you believe IMDB / Rotten Tomatoes ratings). If not, then my ratings are unique to my likings and not a representative of the overall public

List of movies/videos seen by me:-

• A Christmas Carol (14-11-09) (With: Arpan, Divyanshu, Hemant, Ipsa, Kaushik, Krishnan, Mausam, Neha, Vivek) (At: The Zone, Rosebank, Jo'burg, South Africa) (Comments: The first 3D movie I've watched. Took me back to my school days, when we enacted this play in our class, and made me feel choked, haunted and restless by reminding me of some things in the near and the far past) (Verbal Rating: Good movie) (Numerical Rating: 60-65)
• As luck would have it (14-11-09) (With: Alone) (At: Riviera Mansions, Killarney, Jo'burg, South Africa) (Comments: Violently shook my longstanding belief that There's no fate but what we make for ourselves.) (Verbal Rating: Awesome) (Numerical Rating: 80-85)
• Johnny Gaddaar (8-11-09) (With: Divyanshu, Kaushik) (At: Riviera Mansions, Killarney, Jo'burg, South Africa) (Comments: A good crime-thriller movie, with some good acting by the cast) (Verbal Rating: Good movie) (Numerical Rating: 70-75)
  
• Bheja Fry (7-11-09) (With: Divyanshu, Kaushik, Krishnan, Mausam, Pradeep) (At: Riviera Mansions, Killarney, Jo'burg, South Africa) (Comments: Although I watched only the later 75% of this movie, I thoroughly enjoyed it. I intend to watch the full movie again...) (Verbal Rating: Great comedy!) (Numerical Rating: 80)
• Up (6-11-09) (With: Divyanshu, Ipsa, Kaushik, Krishnan, Mausam, Vivek) (At: The Zone, Rosebank, Jo'burg, South Africa) (Comments: It's the first animated movie I've watched, and I loved it. A lot. The movie made me feel like a kid... there were moments when I was clasping my fingers and gnashing my teeth, hoping that all goes well with Russell, Kevin, Mr. Fredricksen, and Dug. I'm so happy I watched this movie. And I'm also happy that this movie made me understand the business of animated films a little better - through first-hand experience) (Verbal Rating: Very good animated movie. Worth every minute) (Numerical Rating: 85-90)
• National Geographic Channel - CIA Secret Experiments (1-11-09) (With: Alone) (At: Riviera Mansions, Killarney, Johannesburg, South Africa) (Comments: Surprising and enlightening to know that USA's CIA was covertly performing such horrendous and inhumane experiments on real, alive humans, in the name of national safety. I won't be surprised if I'm told that the CIA does this even now) (Verbal Rating: Great documentary) (Numerical Rating: 80)
• National Geographic Channel - Direct from the Moon (31-10-09) (With: Alone) (At: Riviera Mansions, Killarney, Johannesburg, South Africa) (Comments: Interesting to watch, especially the parts detailing future plans to setup a human colony on the Moon) (Verbal Rating: Good documentary) (Numerical Rating: 70)
• Air Crash Investigation - Missing Over New York (Deadly Delay) (26-10-09) (With: Alone) (At: Riviera Mansions, Killarney, Johannesburg, South Africa) (Comments: How enraging it was to see the Avianca aircraft being delayed repeatedly - caught amidst bureaucracy - ultimately leading to fuel-starvation and a deadly crash of the Boeing 707) (Verbal Rating: Good documentary) (Numerical Rating: 75)
• Air Crash Investigation - The Killing Machine (Hijacked) (Hijack Rescue) (26-10-09) (With: Alone) (At: Riviera Mansions, Killarney, Johannesburg, South Africa) (Comments: Delighting to see how the brave men of GIGN rescued every hostage from the hijacked aircraft) (Verbal Rating: Great documentary) (Numerical Rating: 80)
  
• Air Crash Investigation - Lost (Crash on the Mountain) (25-10-09) (With: Alone) (At: Riviera Mansions, Killarney, Johannesburg, South Africa) (Comments: Sad to see how super-experienced pilots of the Boeing 757 reached a level of complacency, assuming that now they know this monster-machine well. And that's why this tragedy happened) (Verbal Rating: Great documentary) (Numerical Rating: 80-85)
• Air Crash Investigation - Deadly Crossroads (Mid-Air Collision) (A Father's Revenge) (25-10-09) (With: Alone) (At: Riviera Mansions, Killarney, Johannesburg, South Africa) (Comments: Amazing how two aircraft could collide in mid-air, despite independent maneuvers being performed by both the pilots. It's also an alarming demonstration of how a collision-prevention system such as TCAS can actually become a significant contributor to causing a collision) (Verbal Rating: Great documentary) (Numerical Rating: 80-85)
• Air Crash Investigation - Cutting Corners (Fatal Error) (25-10-09) (With: Alone) (At: Riviera Mansions, Killarney, Johannesburg, South Africa) (Comments: Still furthered my understanding of the operation of an aircraft and its onboard systems... once again, it's sad that a beautiful McDonnell Douglas MD-83 crashed due to violation of maintenance procedures by Alaska Airlines) (Verbal Rating: Great documentary) (Numerical Rating: 80)
  
• Air Crash Investigation - Flying Blind (25-10-09) (With: Alone) (At: Riviera Mansions, Killarney, Johannesburg, South Africa) (Comments: Furthered my understanding of the operation of an aircraft and its onboard systems... it's sad though that a beautiful Boeing 757 went down in the Pacific due to an insignificant piece of tape) (Verbal Rating: Great documentary) (Numerical Rating: 80)
  
• Air Crash Investigation - Fire on Board (Fire in the Sky) (24-10-09) (With: Alone) (At: Riviera Mansions, Killarney, Johannesburg, South Africa) (Comments: Just the thought of fire-in-the-cockpit is chilling... I imagine what the passengers and crew must be thinking) (Verbal Rating: Great documentary) (Numerical Rating: 80)
  
• Air Crash Investigation - Flying on Empty (24-10-09) (With: Alone) (At: Riviera Mansions, Killarney, Johannesburg, South Africa) (Comments: Interesting to see a veteran pilot assume that "the computer must be erring", causing a pilot-error in this process... lol) (Verbal Rating: Good documentary) (Numerical Rating: 75)
• Air Crash Investigation - Unlocking Disaster (Ripped From The Sky) (24-10-09) (With: Alone) (At: Riviera Mansions, Killarney, Johannesburg, South Africa) (Comments: I salute the three brave men, who maintained their composure, and safely landed the disaster-stricken Boeing 747; I also salute the Campbell duo, who relentlessly pursued their own investigation of United Airlines Flight 811, and made public certain alarming design-flaws, that will make us all safer for decades to come) (Verbal Rating: Great documentary) (Numerical Rating: 80)
  
• Air Crash Investigation - Racing the Storm (Fatal Landing) (24-10-09) (With: Alone) (At: Riviera Mansions, Killarney, Johannesburg, South Africa) (Comments: Increases one's knowledge of how bad weather affects an airplane's flight, and helps further remove the scarf of ignorance from one's eyes) (Verbal Rating: Good documentary) (Numerical Rating: 75)
• Battle at Kruger (18-10-09) (With: Alone) (At: Riviera Mansions, Killarney, Jo'burg) (Comments: Never again will I say that animals are emotionless machines, or that they don't have feelings of love for their community/offsprings) (Verbal Rating: Unbelievable) (Numerical Rating: 90)
• All The Best: Fun Begins (16-10-09) (With: Kaushik, Mausam and Vivek) (At: The Zone, Rosebank, Johannesburg, South Africa) (Comments: The movie is so ridiculous that it actually revolves a full circle around the imaginary sphere of movie-goodness, crosses over the line of hyper-ridiculousness, and comes back to the line of goodness from the opposite side... lolz) (Verbal Rating: Nice and bad!) (Numerical Rating: 60)
• Aloo Chat (8-10-09) (With: Alone) (At: Boeing 777; Somewhere over the Indian Ocean; Somewhere over Africa) (Comments: I watched this movie in the second half of the long DXB-JNB flight) (Verbal Rating: A decent one-time watch comedy movie. Ah yes, Nikki was cute!) (Numerical Rating: 60)
  
• 13B (8-10-09) (With: Alone) (At: Boeing 777; Somewhere in the Pakistani airspace; Somewhere over the Arabian Sea; Somewhere in the Dubai airspace) (Comments: A poor movie that should only be watched if there's nothing else available) (Verbal Rating: What a waste!) (Numerical Rating: 45)
• National Geographic Channel MegaStructures - Mega Ship (25-9-09) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: Interesting to see how good are transported around the globe, what issues arise, and how logistics are handled. Quite interesting and insightful) (Verbal Rating: A good documentary about a huge container-ship, that awes the viewer) (Numerical Rating: 70)
• Cruel Intentions 3 (1-9-09) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: I thought this was going to be similar to Euro Trip, and Road Trip. It wasn't. Although good, the movie would've been better had it been kept non-serious) (Verbal Rating: A fine one-time watch) (Numerical Rating: 60)
• BBC Timewatch - Concorde - A Love Story (31-8-09) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: Loved getting to know the past of this very beautiful machine, the object of my dreams for long) (Verbal Rating: Good documentary on the world's greatest passenger-aircraft) (Numerical Rating: 65-70)
• Satya (29-8-09) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: I liked it, but in the end, what was the point? Good movie, but seems slightly overrated) (Verbal Rating: Good, but great? I'm not sure) (Numerical Rating: 65-70)
• Vaastav (29-8-09) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: Finally, I understand why I hadn't understood Hathyar till today, despite having watched it about five times already) (Verbal Rating: Great movie) (Numerical Rating: 75)
• Knocked Up (19-8-09) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: A good comedy. But beyond that, this movie has a heart. It makes you feel things. It seems as if this movie's changing my notions about childhood, marriage, parenting, etc.) (Verbal Rating: Nicely-made movie) (Numerical Rating: 65-70)
• Marissa Mayer's Illinois Institute of Technology Commencement Address, Spring 2009 (16-8-09) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: Miss Mayer delivers invaluable pearls in this address. Interesting and inspiring) (Verbal Rating: Everyone should watch this) (Numerical Rating: 75-80)
• 40 Days and 40 Nights (15-8-09) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: Similar to Euro Trip, Road Trip, and Sex Drive - this movie too is a watch-it-enjoy-it-forget-it type movie) (Verbal Rating: Good movie) (Numerical Rating: 65-70)
• Swimming Pool (14-8-09) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: A very nice movie. Intellectual and engrossing, it keeps you interested with its daring candidness and mystery. The open-ended ending is something that makes you both love and hate it) (Verbal Rating: Loved it) (Numerical Rating: 70-75)
• Death Race (13-8-09 to 14-8-09) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: For first few minutes, I felt that the movie may not turn out to be good. It became interesting past the first 30 minutes. There's some good action and speed in this movie, mixed with some superheated steam. In short, an adrenaline-pumping mixture) (Verbal Rating: A good action-filled enjoy-it-and-forget-it type of movie) (Numerical Rating: 60)
• Sex Drive (9-8-09) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: It's been quite a long time since I watched Euro Trip and Road Trip. When I read the plot of Sex Drive, I was instantly interested - it felt similar to Road Trip... this is a fun-filled movie that makes you laugh, with some innovative new words like Cockspert) (Verbal Rating: If you loved Euro Trip and Road Trip, you're gonna love this one too) (Numerical Rating: 65)
• PBS Nova - The Deadliest Plane Crash (9-8-09) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: A worthwhile watch, although it's quite alarming to know that there are 325-odd annual runway "incidents" in the US alone) (Verbal Rating: An interesting and insightful documentary about the deadliest airplane crash in human history) (Numerical Rating: 75)
• National Geographic - On Board Marine One (8-8-09) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: I finally got to see the other aircraft. When I started watching this documentary, I initially got the impression that Marine One is just a poor cousin of Air Force One. Deeper into the documentary, its role and its importance become clearer. The epic moment, however, is around 25:00 when a McDonnell Douglas C-17 Globemaster III is shown taking off - very, very majestically. I've already watched this scene perhaps 10 times) (Verbal Rating: A good documentary about the Presidential Helicopter of the US President) (Numerical Rating: 65-70)
• The Hills Have Eyes 2 (31-7-09) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: It's a movie with some things good and some bad. Although it was able to entertain me overall, I must say that most of the dialogs and acting are quite pathetic. Some of the scenes seem forced and unnecessary, and the movie tries to make them interesting by sprinkling gore and violence) (Verbal Rating: A poor sequel, although a watchable movie in absolute terms) (Numerical Rating: 55-65)
• The Hills Have Eyes (26-7-09) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: Looks like today I'm watching good movies! The Hills Have Eyes is a nicely made movie, based around some ill-genetic effects on humans at the towns where the US had conducted nuclear tests in the past, and the consequential hatred these mutants develop for the normals. Two of the things I liked were the clever trick that Bobby and Brenda pulled off with the trailer, and Doug's new-found bravery that saved Catherine's life, among other things) (Verbal Rating: A good movie overall) (Numerical Rating: 75)
• Wolf Creek (26-7-09) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: Although a work of fiction, Wolf Creek is surprisingly well-made, minus it's rather "open-ended" ending. It reminds me of movies such as Turistas, and Wrong Turn) (Verbal Rating: A nice movie that should've had a more "close-ended" ending) (Numerical Rating: 70-75)
• Terminator Salvation (17-7-09) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: Being a non-James-Cameron-made movie - like Terminator 3 - I had quite low expectations from this movie. And it met those expectations nicely. Salvation is untrue to the spirit of Terminator. It seems the makers have no clue about what Terminator stands for, or what people feel about it. The dialogs are too casual. The movie is too predictable. The number of goofs in movie is so large that it'll take a day to list them all. Why is Kyle Reese - a true Resistance warrior, as portrayed in The Terminator - depicted as an idiotic civilian? The makers seem to have overlooked his character in The Terminator. Why are there only two Terminators inside the Skynet building? Where are the others when Marcus and John destroy the building? Why does Skynet have to orally talk to Marcus, and not communicate electronically? Why are there seemingly unnecessary and unexplained fires and sparks inside the Skynet building? I feel like vomiting thinking how the makers have raped the out-of-this-world movie series defined by The Terminator and Terminator 2. This one is worse than Terminator 3. These people will never understand the depth of the comments written on this video) (Verbal Rating: Only James Cameron understands what Terminator is all about) (Numerical Rating: 60)
• New York (11-7-09) (With: Arpit & Yuvraj) (At: Wave, CSM, Noida) (Comments: The first half is good, and I felt that perhaps this is going to be a good movie overall. The second half slows down a bit, things get a bit bollywoodish, and the story seems to be going nowhere. Overall a good movie, minus the many goofs. The NYSU scenes are nice and make me want to study abroad!) (Verbal Rating: A good movie that could've been much better) (Numerical Rating: 55-65)
• The Virgin Suicides (7-7-09) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: A different type of movie. Kept me smiling halfway through. Made me quite nostalgic about my school days, and my childhood. Provides a glimpse into the enigmatic world of teenage girls - especially teen sisters. And a much needed caution to parents) (Verbal Rating: A good but sad movie) (Numerical Rating: 60-65)
• Paying Guest (27-6-09 to 28-6-09) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: Difficult to tolerate even if one doesn't have anything else to watch) (Verbal Rating: A useless movie) (Numerical Rating: 35-40)
  
• X-Men: The Last Stand (26-6-09) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: Overall a good sequel, but I have severe complaints with Jean's role. With no previous indication of her split-personality, The Last Stand sees Jean suddenly transforming into a speechless monster that does more harm to the good X-Men than good. Felt so unrealistic) (Verbal Rating: A good sequel, but Jean's role could've been a little more realistic, and vocal) (Numerical Rating: 60-65)
  
• X2: X-Men United (26-6-09) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: Having tasted blood, I watched part-2) (Verbal Rating: Good sequel) (Numerical Rating: 70)
  
• X-Men (25-6-09) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: Wolverine had sparked my interest in the X-Men series, and having watched the prequel, this one felt quite enjoyable) (Verbal Rating: A good movie) (Numerical Rating: 75)
• X-Men Origins: Wolverine (21-6-09 to 22-6-09) (With: Kapil) (At: TDI Paragon, Delhi) (Comments: I had never seen an X-Men-series film before, and I had thought that I wouldn't enjoy it as much as those who would've already seen the first three films. Luckily, this film turned out to be a prequel... yay! And what else can one ask for if the movie itself is nice! Looking forward to watching the other three...) (Verbal Rating: Quite nice!) (Numerical Rating: 75-80)
• National Geographic - My Brilliant Brain - Make Me a Genius (17-6-09) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: A nice documentary which shows that human brain's "FPGA" can be hardwired to do a particular task extraordinarily well, using hard work, right training, and "fortunate circumstances") (Verbal Rating: Brilliant) (Numerical Rating: 85)
• Rock On!! (9-6-09) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: Makes me want to throw away all the never-ending "works" I have, and to start living my life; Surprisingly, I had guessed Rob's brain tumor much before it was revealed in the movie - on the basis of his headache + pills + hair-loss + looks + absence from the meeting + gut feeling; My favorite scene is near 1:13:20, when the guys are with that clown-like sponsor of the music album) (Verbal Rating: A beautiful movie on life, on death, on youth, on dreams and on friendship. Both touching and inspiring) (Numerical Rating: 75)
• Mirrors (7-6-09) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: A horror movie which is good on most dimensions, except, crucially, its story. The story looks promising till about 75% of its length, and begins to show its cracks thereafter. I couldn't understand the whole point of many things, and there doesn't appear to be a convincing explanation of the overall story. The last scenes - except that lastmost - are quite pointless. Despite this serious weakness, the movie deserves to be watched once, for its nice special effects and a few interesting scenes) (Verbal Rating: A fine-to-nice one-time watch horror flick) (Numerical Rating: 55-65)
• Google I/O 2009 - Keynote Day 1 (full) (7-6-09) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: Very impressive keynote. An ovation to the Web, a glimpse of what's coming. Equally impressive is Vic Gundotra) (Verbal Rating: Every Developer and Computer Science student should watch this) (Numerical Rating: 85)
• Google Wave Developer Preview at Google I/O 2009 (7-6-09) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: Wave is an amazing product, a modern tool that blends the disparate tools we currently use. And this video stunned me. Hope the product is successful) (Verbal Rating: So amazing, it scares!) (Numerical Rating: 85)
• Discovery Channel - The Real Superhumans - And The Quest For The Future Fantastic (24-5-09) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: Makes me feel that many of the issues we all keep worrying about, they're all petty. Documentaries like this one raise and broaden our thinking, and make us realize that there's much, much more to our life than what we believe. This documentary almost scares me - the future is not going to be simple) (Verbal Rating: A must-watch for everyone) (Numerical Rating: 85)
  
• Red Swastik (15-5-09 to 16-5-09 to 24-5-09) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: Rarely does it happen that I delete a movie upon watching it. This one I deleted) (Verbal Rating: A waste of time) (Numerical Rating: 35)
• Batman Begins (On: 23-5-09) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: No comments) (Verbal Rating: Excellent) (Numerical Rating: 85)
• House of Sand and Fog (On: 23-5-09) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: A sad tale of an unfortunate dispute turning into a series of disastrous events) (Verbal Rating: A beautiful movie. Worth every second) (Numerical Rating: 85)
• Bombay Boys (On: 13-5-09) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: When I read that there's Rahul Bose in this movie, I knew it was going to be good. No wonder, it did) (Verbal Rating: A good movie, but you need a special taste to like it) (Numerical Rating: 75)
• The Blue Lagoon (On: 4-5-09) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: I wanted to watch this movie since many years. Today finally I did. It's a different type of a movie. It's as natural as things can get. There are no cell phones, no cars and no buildings. All that there is are animals, trees, leaves, insects, rains, and humans - the way god made us. It made me ponder whether the life depicted in this movie is really the ideal life... whether the happiness shown is really all that one needs) (Verbal Rating: A different type of movie. The story of how two kids grow up and discover love. Worth one watch) (Numerical Rating: 55)
• The Killing of America (On: 3-4-09) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: An excellent documentary with 100% real footage about some of America's most notorious criminals and events. Although it's 27 years old, it shows how, when and why America has decayed culturally and morally, and is probably valid more today than ever) (Verbal Rating: An intense documentary about the decay and decline of modern America. A must watch) (Numerical Rating: 70)
  
• A Mighty Heart (On: 1-4-09) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: Well-made movie about the 'back-end' events surrounding the kidnapping and subsequent beheading of WSJ journalist Daniel Pearl. Irrfan Khan is superb, while Archie Panjabi is sweet - both as usual. This movie would've been better had there been some 'front-end' scenes of Daniel Pearl with the kidnappers) (Verbal Rating: A good movie. Reminds me of Traitor. Worth watching) (Numerical Rating: 70-75)
• Cannibal Holocaust (On: 20-3-09) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: I had read that this is one of the most controversial and banned movies of all time, and this sparked my interested. I wanted to see what is it about this movie that it got this infamous reputation. It turns out that the movie indeed is more gory than I had expected. The worst part, worse only to the blantant demeaning of women, is the real slaying of many animals) (Verbal Rating: My stance on this highly controversial film is that of almost support. An eye-opener, that shows us one of the darkest, unexplored sides of the world we've never seen. Eat your dinner before you watch it) (Numerical Rating: 50)
  
• The Blair Witch Project (On: 19-3-09) (With: Arpit) (At: Noida) (Comments: I had heard of this movie from a long time, and had reasonably high expectations from it. Instead, I kept waiting for one good scene to come. Before anything good could come, the credit roll opened abruptly, leaving me not just disappointed, but a little annoyed as well... I want my 86 minutes back!) (Verbal Rating: A complete waste of time. The hype surrounding this fictional movie is unjustified) (Numerical Rating: 25-30)
• Dil Kabaddi (On: 16-3-09) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: I somehow had a feeling that with Irrfan Khan, Rahul Bose and Konkona Sen Sharma, this movie was going to be good. And it turned out to be just that. A humorous movie that portrays the sexually-disturbed lives of modern Indian couples, their desires and fantasies, and a constant mental battle they wage with their morality. The movie succeeds in balancing light-hearted humor with serious tones) (Verbal Rating: A well-made sex comedy with some fine performances by Irrfan Khan and Rahul Bose. Nice to watch) (Numerical Rating: 65)
• Gulaal (On: 13-3-09 to 14-3-09) (With: Kapil) (At: TDI Paragon, New Delhi) (Comments: I was apprehensive about buying the tickets for Gulaal - a movie I had not heard about until last night. And I had quite low expectations, but gladly, Gulaal turns out to be a nice movie. It has a fresh theme that circles around politics and power, with crime, comedy and some sex thrown in to spice-up the serious plot. The first half is especially nice, while the second half - particularly the last quarter - appears somewhat confused and off-course. The end appears to be incomplete, as if something is missing. Overall though, a definitive thumbs up) (Verbal Rating: A fresh movie with a new theme. Gulaal is a pseudo art-movie that puts before the audience several aspects of the modern world - politics, violence, power, crime, and women - all of them naked) (Numerical Rating: 70)
• Pearl Harbor (On: 12-3-09) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: I had high hopes from this movie. And it let me down badly. Pearl Harbor could've been such a great movie. It could've narrated the tale of the 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in a memorable way. Instead, it turns out to be a monotonous, non-serious and emotionless drama, that's confused between a three-way love drama and the World War II event - doing justice to neither. The dialogs are awkward at best, and funny at worst. It's fun to see the actors using cool language in situations that should've been intense and serious) (Verbal Rating: An utter waste of time. It's a shame that this movie got an Oscar) (Numerical Rating: 50)
• The Spy Who Loved Me (On: 11-3-09) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: It may be a Bond movie, but The Spy Who Loved Me is a dated and stupid movie. Probably because it's late 2000s now. The gadgetry seems primitive and the whole environment is primitive as well. It's laughable to see characters using huge analog telephones, and using computers that look like microwave ovens. The more troubling part, however, is that the acting of most of the characters, and even many of the scenes themselves are outright stupid. It does have one memorable scene - the helicopter chase. Only three characters played their roles elegantly - Naomi, Anya Amasova, and Stromberg. 20 years later, someone else may say the same thing about Tomorrow Never Dies - a Bond movie I like - but the truth is, The Spy Who Loved Me failed to impress me) (Verbal Rating: A dated and largely stupid Bond movie that may have been ahead of its time in 1977. Not anymore) (Numerical Rating: 55)
• Crimson Tide (On: 9-3-09) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: Crimson Tide is as beautiful a movie as its name. Every bit about it is beautiful. Is powerful. Energizing. And inspiring. It's the story of two brave men - men who fight for their beliefs, for their country, and for mankind. Men who know what they're doing. It's a story that teaches us that two men with clashing opinions can both be both right and wrong - at the same time. Also noteworthy is the fact that there is almost no female role in this movie - there are men and men and men) (Verbal Rating: It's a beautiful movie. Of men, of merciless machines, of war, of mankind, of choices. Not to be missed) (Numerical Rating: 85-90)
• Taken (On: 8-3-09) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: When I had just started this movie, I didn't have much expectations from it. However, Taken turns out to be a rememberable action movie that keeps you hooked to the screen nearly all the time. It's the story of the relentless pursuit of a heroic father to save his teen-going-adult daughter from the human trafficking business. And it's worth watching) (Verbal Rating: A surprisingly good action movie that keeps you engaged and engrossed nearly all the time) (Numerical Rating: 75-80)
• Delhi 6 (On: 1-3-09) (With: Yuvraj and Madhur) (At: M2K Rohini, Delhi) (Comments: Ever since I had heard of this upcoming movie named Delhi 6, and more so after I had watched one of its trailors, I had a strong feeling in me that no matter how the movie is reported to be, I am going to watch it. Today we went, and I am glad that contrary to what many of my friends had heard, Delhi 6 is a really nice movie. I wasn't aware of the plot, and I wasn't aware of the core concept of the movie (kala bandar), and I believe this contributed to me liking the movie so much) (Verbal Rating: An excellent movie that brings forward the themes of ignorance, illiteracy, and religious disputes using the kala bandar as a tool. A worth remembering movie) (Numerical Rating: 75-80)
• Solaris (2002 version) (On: 22-2-09) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: Solaris - unlike many other sci-fi flicks - provokes deep thought. It has the potential to haunt you, to make you think about life, existence, and mortality in new ways. Although it doesn't itself try to explain any of these, it touches the concepts of group mind, Gaia hypothesis, and collective consciousness. I didn't fully understand the movie, but whatever I did left me thoughtful and impressed. Hopefully I'll understand Solaris better when I read the original novel) (Verbal Rating: A sci-fi movie that can scare and haunt you. Painfully slow at times, but nonetheless a good watch for sci-fi fans) (Numerical Rating: 60)
• Malèna (On: 21-2-09) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: Malèna is an altogether different type of movie. It's unlike any other non-Indian movie I've seen. It's a touchingly-told tale of a young boy transitioning from childhood to adoloscence, who develops obsessive sexual attraction for an unusually voluptuous 27-year old married woman. Hats-off to Giuseppe Sulfaro and Monica Belluci for their brilliant performances) (Verbal Rating: An art-movie that not only impresses you, it amazes you too) (Numerical Rating: 70-75)
• Kidnap (On: 19-2-09 to 21-2-09) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: The movie-makers have tried hard to utilize Minissha Lamba to "spice up" the movie and cover its many deficiencies. They fail miserably) (Verbal Rating: A wannabe movie that an utter waste of time) (Numerical Rating: 35)
  
• Predator (On: 18-2-09) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: I've watched Predator at least twice previously, but that was years back. And today I felt like watching it again. Predator is a sci-fi movie about a hostage-rescue that goes awry when the rescuers discover that there's an extra-terrestrial creature hunting them down - one by one) (Verbal Rating: A nice sci-fi movie. Worth watching once) (Numerical Rating: 65)
• Jab We Met (On: 17-2-09 to 18-2-09) (With: Alone / Ankur) (At: Noida) (Comments: My friends had told me quite many times that Jab We Met is a nice movie, and that I should watch it. Today I did, and I am happy to admit that they were right. Jab We Met is like a sweetly narrated fairy tale. Despite the utterly simple and bollywoodishly-predictable story, Jab We Met entertains you, makes you laugh, makes you smile, and sometimes touches you. Most of the credit for this goes to the lead actors. Kareena Kapoor has played her role way too good, and even Shahid Kapoor has acted quite well. Both are able to bring innocence to their characters. Overall, it's a lovely movie) (Verbal Rating: A nice movie that's as innocent as its lead characters. Touches you at times, makes you giggle at others. Worth the watch, especially for those in love) (Numerical Rating: 70)
  
• Dev.D (On: 8-2-09 to 9-2-09) (With: Kapil) (At: TDI Paragon, New Delhi) (Comments: Devdas must change with the times, and how can we spare his name? The oddly named Dev.D is a different type of movie. After you're watched it, you feel like exclaiming "Wow! That was nice...". However, this feeling can't be foreseen when the movie just starts - in fact, looking at Paro, you may be tempted to write the movie off. That's when Chanda enters and not only lends the movie a gust of fresh air, but also gives it a new and interesting direction) (Verbal Rating: A hatke movie that shows the many shades of today's youth. It's fun to watch with your friends. Beware, however - this is not a movie to be watched with your parents) (Numerical Rating: 65)
  
• Slumdog Millionaire (On: 7-2-09) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: After reading enough of the hype surrounding Slumdog, I finally fired it up today. Fortunately, the movie lives up to its hype. I had tears rolling down my eyes a couple of times during the movie, sometimes watching the misery of human beings living in Mumbai's slums, and sometimes watching Jamal's fearless love for Latika. Applause to the director of Slumdog Millionaire for making this wonderful movie. I, however, have two complaints. First, and most importantly, is with the term Slumdog. The term has been carefully coined to be as close to the line of offense as possible, and yet be sufficiently intriguing so as to generate interest. Danny Boyle should be ashamed of himself for insulting the millions of poor Indians living a life of misery in Mumbai's slums, just to lend the movie a provocative title. Second, the way the host of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire slings insluting statements towards Jamal based on his profession as a tea-server not only feels unnatural, it makes me feel angry. No sane host of a television show would dare to make such derogatory statements about someone's profession. These small qualms apart, Slumdog is a masterpiece that every human should watch. I don't know what thoughts will come to my mind the next time I see a blind kid, begging in a subway in Delhi) (Verbal Rating: One of the best motion pictures of all time. Capable of physically touching your heart) (Numerical Rating: 90)
• National Geographic - On Board Air Force One (On: 3-2-09) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: One would have to be either a feelingless-stone, or a time-traveler from the future, to not be awed by the advanced and complex system named Air Force One. This documentary shows us the behind-the-scenes story of this majestic airplane, the symbol of the supreme influence of the United States of America in the world. And it doesn't fail to impress) (Verbal Rating: Breathtaking. Watch it if you haven't) (Numerical Rating: 85)
  
• BBC Four - The Story of Maths - The Language of the Universe (On: 10-1-09, 1-2-09 & 3-2-09) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: A well-made and highly insightful documentary on the dawn of the sophisticated discipline that conclusively governs the world around us - Mathematics. The Story of Maths takes us into the world of the Egyptians, the Babylonians, and the Greeks, and leaves the viewer amazed at the level of mathematical advancement these ancient civilizations had achieved. Only the BBC could have delivered a documentary of such quality) (Verbal Rating: A masterpiece documentary on one of my favorite subjects - Mathematics. Fascinating, thoroughly enjoyable, and an eye-opener as well) (Numerical Rating: 85)
• Iron Man (On: 31-1-09) (With: Ankur) (At: Noida) (Comments: Iron Man is both a good and a bad movie. Good, because it is fun-filled and entertaining for the most part, has some excellent computer graphics, along with a fine story. Bad, because the movie feels stupid and childish at times. The reactor that Stark is wearing on his chest feels 'forced' most of the time, and it seems that this device has been introduced into the movie only to lend it a sci-fi touch. It is not hard to notice that this movie has copied more than a few ideas from the Terminator series. Another stupid twist is the way Iron Man suddenly converts from a fun filled action movie to a full blown Terminator versus T-1000, or Spiderman versus Green Goblin movie, without any meaningful reason. To summarize, the movie lacks believability, it is easy to guess most of what is about to come, and most of what is not guessable, turns out to be stupid) (Verbal Rating: Good to watch once, or maybe twice, but certainly not worthy of the unusually large number of positive reviews that it has got) (Numerical Rating: 55-65)
• The Eye (On: 26-1-09) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: The Eye isn't really a horror movie - it failed to scare me. Worse, it failed to interest me. It isn't a pathetic movie, in fact it's fine, but I really didn't quite feel interested in it. Things felt monotonous at times, unexciting at others) (Verbal Rating: A just fine one-time watch. If your standards for a horror movie are high, look elsewhere) (Numerical Rating: 50-55)
• Ghajini (On: 1-1-09) (With: Parents, Brother & Kapil) (At: Aarti Palace, Ludhiana) (Comments: Thank god, Bollywood has released a film with some nice acting and a hatke story. Ghajini, albeit allegedly copied from Memento, is a much-needed different story about a person who suffers from short-term memory loss. Despite its many obvious scientific flaws, the movie doesn't fail to impress. One can't stop oneself from falling for the genuinely sweet Kalpana, and one also can't fail to notice the realistic performance of Aamir Khan. My only qualms with the movie are - the force-feeding of songs, and its strange use of inappropriate electronic music in the background of many scenes, even some of the crucial ones - just like in Rang De Basanti - this felt very odd. Had the movie not been a loose copy of another movie, it would probably have garnered some international awards) (Verbal Rating: A well-made movie with a different story and terrific acting by the lead stars. Definitely deserves to be watched!) (Numerical Rating: 75-80)
• History Channel - Ancient Discoveries - Ancient Torture Tech (On: 29-12-08) (With: Alone) (At: Ludhiana) (Comments: A documentary that explores and tests the various gruesome torture techniques used on slaves and POWs in ancient empires. The documentary is insightful as well as interesting, and an unexpected positive side effect of watching it is that one learns some useful things about human anatomy) (Verbal Rating: An insightful documentary about ancient torture techniques. Also teaches some aspects of human anatomy. Worth watching once) (Numerical Rating: 65)
• Fashion (On: 28-12-08) (With: Alone) (At: Ludhiana) (Comments: An insightful - albeit monotonous at times - journey into the dark side of the fashion industry. Fashion is interesting at the beginning, but it gradually starts getting monotonous because of an excessive number of ramp walk scenes. Some parts are interesting, while others are easily guessable, something non uncommon for Bollywood movies. Overall though, Fashion is an entertaining film, and it can also be called a primer on the Indian fashion industry) (Verbal Rating: A good movie on an unusual subject. Monotonous at times, but worth watching) (Numerical Rating: 60)
• Discovery Channel - Everything You Need To Know - The Brain (On: 27-12-08) (With: Alone) (At: Ludhiana) (Comments: An eye-opening documentary that takes the viewer into the mysterious world of the human brain. The video starts with a brief introduction of the structure and functioning of the brain, and then moves to showing some amazing brainiacs, as well as some hard-to-believe medical incidents related to the human brain. Overall, the video makes the viewer realize that there is immense untapped potential in our brains. My only complaint with this documentary is that it doesn't teach viewers useful things that viewers could use to improve the functioning of their brains in a profitable way) (Verbal Rating: An interesting and insightful journey into the mysterious world of the brain. A must watch for everyone!) (Numerical Rating: 75-80)
• Aitraaz (On: 26-12-08) (With: Alone) (At: Ludhiana) (Comments: Although Aitraaz is a fairly typical Bollywood flick, it's slightly different because it's a pro-male movie. Aitraaz steps away from the oft-seen ideology that it's always men who are at fault for everything that happens to women, and narrates a tale of a beautiful and ambitious woman who tries to use her professional power to force her ex-lover to make physical relation with him. An interesting chain of events follows. This reversal of ideology is what makes this movie a little interesting) (Verbal Rating: A typical Bollywood movie which is fine to watch once) (Numerical Rating: 60)
• Sorry Bhai! {On: (25-12-08) & (26-12-08)} {With: (Aayush, Piyush and Raghav) & (Alone)} {At: (Jalandhar) & (Ludhiana)} {Comments: Sorry Bhai! is a tale of two brothers and a girl. The movie is a much needed gust of fresh air, with an unusual yet refreshingly interesting plot. I liked nearly every portion of this movie, except the seemingly unnatural reaction of the elder brother, when his younger brother admits before him that he has fallen in love with his brother's fiancee. Newcomer Chitrangada Singh has played her role well, as have others. A nice thing about this movie is that it narrates this tale without getting too serious, and keeps things the way they should be kept - simple! A nice watch, especially for those who have a younger brother, like me!} {Verbal Rating: A nice movie, which will appeal more to the youth} {Numerical Rating: 65}
  
• 2001: A Space Odyssey (On: 13-12-08 to 14-12-08) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: It's a strange movie, different from any movie I've seen to date. The way photography has been done, it seems as if the makers have a taste for paintings. Minimal use of dialogs, apparently arbitrary and unexplained scenes characterize this movie. The concepts presented in the movie are way ahead of the time when this movie was made, and most of them remain a dream even to this date. The special effects are so good that I'm confident that Bollywood is incapable of producing such effects even today, 4 decades after this movie was released. However, there were a few boring scenes, and I skipped them) (Verbal Rating: An ahead-of-its-time movie that is nice to watch) (Numerical Rating: 60-65)
• Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi (On: 12-12-08 to 13-12-08) (With: Deepu, Karan & Natasha) (At: Wave Cinemas, Noida) (Comments: Overall a horse-shit movie, but does have a few nice scenes) (Verbal Rating: Don't waste your money or time for this shitty movie, unless of course you have nothing else to waste them on) (Numerical Rating: 30-35)
• Traitor (On: 10-12-08 to 11-12-08) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: I liked this movie. It takes one into the world of Islamic Jihadis, and presents their reasons for doing what they do - mostly against the USA - from a perspective that the USA never lets us know. And I have to admit that watching this movie, at times I did feel that the reasons they have for acting against the USA are genuine enough and strong enough. The movie runs at a nice pace, and almost all actors acted well. This movie reminds me if Babel, another movie I liked a lot, although there are hardly any parallels. Overall, a nice flick) (Verbal Rating: A dive into the world of Islamic Jihadis and their quest to terrorize the USA. Nice to watch!) (Numerical Rating: 65-70)
• The Descent (On: 30-11-08) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: The Descent starts off with an interesting scene, although it slows down for a brief period after that. Subsequently though, as the core movie starts, it's all the way up. The movie is chock-full of suspense and violence, and a few unexpected events did manage to scare me a few times. The all-female cast performed brilliantly, with the lead character Sarah's transformation into a fearless soldier reminding me of Sarah Connor and The Terminator. The parallels with the equally good The Cave are hard to miss; in fact at times I felt as if both of the movie camps had installed insiders in the other's camp to ensure that any improvement in the story is copied promptly) (Verbal Rating: Absolutely thrilling horror movie!) (Numerical Rating: 70-75)
• Hijack (On: 30-11-08) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: It is clearly visible that the movie makers have tried to create a United 93. Sadly, but not surprisingly, they fail; and miserably. Hijack is a poorly made story of the ill-fated Indian Airlines flight IC 814. The movie has rare flashes of good content, but a multitude of laughably childish scenes mar the ocassional goodness that this movie does have. The "special effects" are blatantly unreal - kiddish most of the time - and the dialogs are overly generic and overemphasized nearly every time. Needless to say, the movie makers probably don't have any idea of a commercial passenger aircraft or a plane hijack situation) (Verbal Rating: Utterly timepass movie. To be watched only if there is nothing else to see. Even then you won't be able to stop yourself from laughing at some of the scenes which are supposed to be the most crucial ones) (Numerical Rating: 40-45)
• Turistas (On: 29-11-08 to 30-11-08) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: There are two camps of people - those who hate this movie, and those who are surprised that many people hate this movie - read here and here. Well, I belong to the latter group. The movie isn't really a horror movie, although it does include a high dose of suspense and thrill. Some scenes are so bloody and gory that they may be unpalatable for many people. Overall though, I enjoyed this movie) (Verbal Rating: A nice thrilling movie) (Numerical Rating: 75-80)
• Captivity (On: 25-11-08 to 27-11-08) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: The movie tries to act smarter than it is. It's a little less than 'fine to watch once') (Verbal Rating: Watch it only if you don't have anything better to watch. Most people will not like this movie) (Numerical Rating: 55)
• Tortured (On: 23-11-08) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: I didn't exactly enjoy this movie, as I didn't understand the plot well... guess the plot is a little confusing. But I could figure out some parts of it, and yes, some parts of this movie are nicely made. In particular, Cole Hauser was great! Other parts, though, can be boring. Overall, this movie gave me a glimpse of the torture methods used to mentally break down suspected criminals and extract information from them) (Verbal Rating: The movie has frequent graphic scenes, many of them very graphic in nature. Watch it only if you don't mind them) (Numerical Rating: 50)
• The Dark Knight {On: (2-8-08) & (16-11-08)} {With: (Deepu, Karan, Natasha & Prashant) & (Alone/Ankur)} {At: (Delhi) & (Noida)} {Comments: (Because of my personal problems, I couldn't concentrate on the movie & couldn't enjoy it as much as I could have and should have) & (It's today, after watching it the second time, that I've truly understood and appreciated this masterpiece)} {Verbal Rating: (Absolutely awesome! Watch it if you haven't!) & (Wish I had a 50-inch home theater!)} {Numerical Rating: (75-85) & (85)}
  
• Six Days Seven Nights (On: 15-11-08) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: I first saw this movie a decade back, in 1998, at my classmate and friend Abhinav Oswal's home. God it feels so strange to be writing that it's been a decade since I watched this movie last time. It was his birthday celebration and I still remember so clearly how we all friends sat down in his room and watched this movie on a DVD on his Sony VAIO laptop. Good old days! As for the movie itself, it's a nice movie. A light-hearted movie that never gets serious. Fun to watch one time. It isn't memorable, except that there are some really beautiful and touching scenes of sea, islands, hills and forests. As for the acting, Harrison Ford's understated and manly role left me impressed, whereas the actress' over-acting left me a little turned off) (Verbal Rating: A light-hearted movie that is a nice one time watch, especially if you like adventure) (Numerical Rating: 60)
• 1920 (On: 15-11-08) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: One of the worst-made movies I've seen in a long time. The movie starts off nicely, and the first half is actually acceptable too, although one can start drawing parallels with Raaz quite soon. It's in the second half that disaster strikes. As the movie progresses, my feelings shifted from that of surprise (initially) and disappointment (increasingly) towards laughter and ultimately carelessness. The otherwise sweet and pretty actress was made to act like a ghost in (creatively) weird ways, and this felt like a major turn off. As the second half progressed further, the extent of absurdity, at times, made me want to stop the playback. I frequently tell my friends that we either laugh at the goodness of a joke, or at its absurdity. 1920, sadly to say, fits the latter very well) (Verbal Rating: It takes a lot of desire, creativity, hard work, time and money to create a movie which is as shitty as the oddly named 1920 is) (Numerical Rating: 35)
• Mumbai Salsa (On: 13-11-08) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: I liked the movie. It's the fourth movie- after Hello, Life in a Metro and Dil Dosti Etc- that teaches me about the life of youth in urban India. There were a few less-than-great scenes, but overall I enjoyed watching this movie) (Verbal Rating: Not for everyone. You'll like it if you like movies about romance, love affairs, etc.) (Numerical Rating: 70)
• Game Over: Kasparov and the Machine (On: 11-11-08) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: It was an interesting documentary about the historic match between Kasparov and IBM's Deep Blue (Kasparov lost the match to Deep Blue). I strongly believe that had IBM placed whole of Deep Blue in front of Garry, with Air Gap making sure that Deep Blue couldn't possibly receive any external/human help, not only would the match have been decisively fairer, Kasparov wouldn't have had any doubts about possible human intervention in the match) (Verbal Rating: An interesting, although a bit anti-IBM documentary. Definitely worth watching though) (Numerical Rating: 70-75)
• Hello (On: 10-11-08) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: The movie sheds an unbiased light at the life of India's youth, increasingly employed at call-centers. I liked the movie and enjoyed all of it, except a small scene near 1:45 hours, where the movie gets slightly stupid for a short while. It is the third movie- after Dil Dolti Etc and Life in a Metro- that teaches me about the life (of youth) in metropolitan India. This is the first movie I've seen in which there's a two-level flashback; a flashback inside a flashback. If you found this fact interesting, you'll probably find this interesting as well) (Verbal Rating: A creative story which has been nicely told by the way of a memorable movie. Highly recommended if you are young and employed; You'll find a lot to relate to) (Numerical Rating: 80-85) (A worthwhile photo album on Hello is here)
  
• Bachna Ae Haseeno (On: 7-11-08) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: I just loved this movie, although there were many scenes right after the first 2 hours, which didn't quite fit the serious mood that had descended on the movie by that time. This movie strengthened some of my recent painful memories; memories that haunt me multiple times each day (before I fall asleep, when I wake up, while brushing my teeth, while taking bath, while driving to my company, while in the elevator, while working on my workstation, while watching a movie, while listening to music, even while reading a Gartner report... it's like it's on my mind all day, every day) even now. The movie has some really nice shots involving airplanes; it seems that the makers are as fascinated by these flying birds as I am. Finally, my skepticism for Ranbir Kapoor not just ended after watching this movie, I highly liked his performance in this movie) (Verbal Rating: You'll love this movie if you have been through some of the tormenting incidents that have been played in it. You'll like this movie if you like movies about love. Overall a nice movie) (Numerical Rating: 75-80)
• Ted Bundy (On: 5-11-08) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: This is not a usual movie. It's about Ted Bundy, America's most celebrated genius serial killer. There's lots of gore in it- multiple rapes, brutal murders and an execution- although I strongly believe that this movie could have been made much better) (Verbal Rating: You should watch it only if you are interested in knowing about Ted Bundy, and if you can take all the gore that this movie has. If you fit this criteria, you will appreciate this movie) (Numerical Rating: 75-80)
• Frequency (On: 2-11-08) (With: Alone/Ankur) (At: Noida) (Comments: Although it's fiction, it has been very well made with no boring part) (Verbal Rating: A thoroughly enjoyable watch for fans of sci-fi flicks) (Numerical Rating: 80-85)
• An American Crime (On: 2-11-08) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: A true heart-wrenching account of torture and murder of Sylvia Marie Likens. I almost had tears in my eyes near end of the movie, feeling sorry for the little girl) (Verbal Rating: An awesome movie) (Numerical Rating: 85-90)
• Discovery Channel - Disaster at Chernobyl (On: 1-11-08) (With: Alone/Ankur) (At: Noida) (Comments: An eye-opener which made me realize the horror and scale of the accident in Soviet Union) (Verbal Rating: A must-watch for everyone) (Numerical Rating: 80)
• Discovery Channel - Kings of Construction - Dubai - The Ski Resort in the Desert (On: 31-10-08) (With: Alone/Ankur) (At: Noida) (Comments: Good as such, but could've surely been made less-boring/more-interesting) (Verbal Rating: A slightly boring- sometimes- documentary on a great topic) (Numerical Rating: 60-65)
• Discovery Channel - Most Evil Mastermind (On: 30-10-08) (With: Alone/Ankur) (At: Noida) (Comments: An eye-opening journey inside the mind of a genius killer, and about the most high-profile murderers in the recent human history) (Verbal Rating: One of the best documentaries I've seen) (Numerical Rating: 85)
• Heroes (On: 24-10-08) (With: Karan, Nishant and Divyashish) (At: Noida) (Comments: A fine one-time watch. Has a few emotional/touching scenes that feel good. Also has many scenes showing beautiful landscapes/scenic-beauty) (Verbal Rating: Not bad) (Numerical Rating: 60)
• History Channel - Modern Marvels - Apollo 13 (On: ~Mid-October 2008) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: I salute the crew and the mission control staff on the ground for pulling this most unlikely rescue mission. Apollo 13 is without dispute a triumph of the mankind, stubbornly defiant in the face of tragedy) (Verbal Rating: Will leave you both speechless and inspired, especially if you're an engineer) (Numerical Rating: 85)
• Discovery Science - Apollo 11 - The Untold Story (On: ~Early October 2008) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: This nice documentary not only left me amazed and inspired, it also largely quashed my skepticism about the truthfulness of Apollo moon landings. It showed me how the famed Apollo 11 mission was actually on the verge of a disaster, not once but muptiple times during the course of the mission, a fact known to a handful few) (Verbal Rating: An enjoyable and insightful documentary about one of mankind's greatest triumphs) (Numerical Rating: 85)
• Life in a Metro (On: 2-10-08) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: I had high hopes from this movie. It lived up to them. It proved to be as good an insight into the darker side of lives of metropolitan India as Dil Dosti Etc was) (Verbal Rating: An excellent, well made and memorable movie) (Numerical Rating: 85)
• Untraceable (On: ~Sometime in early October) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: A sci-fi flick packed with tons of gore and blood. Watch it only if you're comfortable with seeing blood-soaked human bodies) (Verbal Rating: It could have been made much better. As it stands now, it's a timepass movie. Recommended only if you have nothing better to watch) (Numerical Rating: 35-40)
• National Geographic - Seconds From Disaster - Crash of the Concorde (On: 13-9-08) (With: Alone/Ankur) (At: Noida) (Comments: I enjoyed watching details of the year 2000 crash of Concorde. However, the documentary emphasizes the use of computer graphics a bit too much- more than what's apparent) (Verbal Rating: A thrilling documentary about fatal crash of one of the most iconic engineering marvels) (Numerical Rating: 80)
• Cannibal Ferox (On: 8-9-08) (With: Alone) (At: Noida) (Comments: Violence and blood alone cannot sustain a movie. Has lots of gore and blood) (Verbal Rating: Poorly made and overall boring movie) (Numerical Rating: 35-40)
• Dil Diya Hai (On: 30-7-08) (With: Alone) (At: Home) (Comments: Not very different from a typical Hindi movie. If you like typical Bollywood movies, you'll like this one) (Verbal Rating: A fine one-time watch for those who enjoy Bollywood movies) (Numerical Rating: 60)
• 21 (On: 14-7-08) (With: Alone) (At: Home) (Comments: Entertaining and thrilling true account of the MIT Blackjack Team) (Verbal Rating: A memorable and well made movie. Thumbs up!) (Numerical Rating: 85-90)
• Woodstock Villa (On: 12-7-08) (With: Alone) (At: Home) (Comments: I hate to write this, but once again this is a typical Bollywood movie. Low quality action, masala romance and poor storyline...) (Verbal Rating: Fine one-time watch) (Numerical Rating: 50)
• 300 (On: 10-7-08) (With: Alone) (At: Home) (Comments: A historical account of the brave Spartan dynasty. Action packed) (Verbal Rating: A nice one-time watch, although I won't call it memorable) (Numerical Rating: 75)
• Mission Impossible (On: 29-6-08) (With: Alone) (At: Home) (Comments: I watched this movie many years back, but had not quite understood it then. This time I not only understood it, but also enjoyed and appreciated it) (Verbal Rating: A great one-time watch. Has some memorable scenes) (Numerical Rating: 70-75)
• Ju-on: The Grudge 2 (On: 28-6-08) (With: Alone) (At: Home) (Comments: It was a waste of my download time. Wish I had not wasted my time on it) (Verbal Rating: Overly complicated and overall boring plot) (Numerical Rating: 25-30)
• Chak De India (On: 27-6-08) (With: Alone) (At: Home) (Comments: Absolutely thrilling fictitious story about Indian women hockey team) (Verbal Rating: A memorable movie that's worth watching again and again) (Numerical Rating: 85-90)
• Wrong Turn 2: Dead End (On: 26-6-08) (With: Alone) (At: Home) (Comments: A thriller. Has more gore than its prequel, but the prequel was a little better than this one) (Verbal Rating: Good!) (Numerical Rating: 60)
• Wrong Turn (On: 25-6-08) (With: Alone) (At: Home) (Comments: A thriller. Has some amount of gore) (Verbal Rating: Nice!) (Numerical Rating: 65)
• The Train (On: 24-6-08) (With: Alone) (At: Home) (Comments: A typical Bollywood masala movie) (Verbal Rating: Just fine one-time watch) (Numerical Rating: 60-65)
• Dil Dosti Etc (On: 22-6-08) (With: Alone) (At: Home) (Comments: I was left speechless. The movie taught me a lot about the youth of today's metropolitan India) (Verbal Rating: One of the best movies I have ever seen) (Numerical Rating: 90)
• Final Destination 3 (On: 21-6-08) (With: Alone) (At: Home) (Comments: It's sad to see sequels degrading in quality as compared to originals. This one's no exception. Predictability and forced introduction of sexuality tends to spoil an otherwise interesting concept) (Verbal Rating: A fine one time watch. Not memorable though) (Numerical Rating: 65)
• 88 Minutes (On: ~Sometime in early 2008) (With: Alone) (At: Hostel) (Comments: I thoroughly enjoyed the unusual plot) (Verbal Rating: Excellent!) (Numerical Rating: 70-75)
• A Beautiful Mind (On: ~Sometime in early 2008) (With: Alone) (At: Hostel) (Comments: A very interesting and highly inspiring movie) (Verbal Rating: Excellent and memorable!) (Numerical Rating: 75-80)
• The Butterfly Effect (On: ~Sometime in early 2008) (With: Alone) (At: Hostel) (Comments: An interesting one-time watch) (Verbal Rating: Nice!) (Numerical Rating: 65-70)
• Next (On: 8-1-08) (With: Alone) (At: Hostel) (Comments: Good acting by Nicolas Cage and a nice movie overall, although it has a goof) (Verbal Rating: A nice one-time watch) (Numerical Rating: 70)
• The Pursuit of Happyness (On: ~September 2007) (With: Alone) (At: Home) (Comments: I had tears in my eyes as the movie ended. Read more about my feelings in a blog post here) (Verbal Rating: One of the best and the most inspiring movies I have ever seen) (Numerical Rating: 85-90)
• Identity (On: ~Sometime in 2007) (With: Alone) (At: Hostel) (Comments: An interesting and well-made movie) (Verbal Rating: Nice!) (Numerical Rating: 70-75)
• United 93 (On: ~Sometime in 2006 or maybe 2007) (With: Alone) (At: Hostel) (Comments: I had tears in my eyes as the movie ended) (Verbal Rating: One of the best movies I have ever seen) (Numerical Rating: 80-85)

Further information:

• A little bit more about my taste of movies/videos can be found on my Orkut profile.

List of books that I have read, or I am reading (along with my reviews and comments)

• Intent of this post: To record lists of books, market research reports, academic/research/technical papers, white papers, etc., that I've read or I'm reading
• Limitations: The lists are not intended to be exhaustive. Retroactive addition may be done, but not at the cost of my convenience
• Policies to be followed on this post:
• I'll strive to write these items against each entry: (1) Title; (2) Author(s); (3) Start and finish dates of reading; (4) Brief review with some comments
• What is being read currently will be moved to the already read section when I finish reading it
• A date with a '~' symbol is an approximate date
• The lists will be sorted on title, and insertion sort will be used to add entries

Stuff I'm reading:

• The Google Story (David A. Vise) (Start Date = ~May 2008)

Stuff I've read:

• Artificial Intelligence (Elaine Rich, Kevin Knight) (~Winter'07-08)
  
• Cleaning Up After Cookies Version 1.0 (Katherine McKinley) (19-7-09)
• Our Iceberg Is Melting (John Kotter, Holger Rathgeber) (~Summer'08)
• The Google Dilemma (James Grimmelmann) (~Mid Nov'08)
  
• The One Minute Manager (Kenneth H. Blanchard, Spencer Johnson) (~Aug'08)
• The Search (John Battelle) (Start Date = 18-10-08) (Finish Date = 13-9-09)
• Who Moved My Cheese? (Spencer Johnson) (~Summer'08)

Further information:

• A little bit more about the books I've read or I'm reading can be found on my Orkut profile

The Lull Before The Storm...

“If an injury has to be done to a man it should be so severe that his vengeance need not be feared.” -- Niccolo Machiavelli (Italian writer and statesman, Florentine patriot, author of 'The Prince', 1469-1527)

“Men ought either to be indulged or utterly destroyed, for if you merely offend them they take vengeance, but if you injure them greatly they are unable to retaliate, so that the injury done to a man ought to be such that vengeance cannot be feared.” -- Niccolo Machiavelli (Italian writer and statesman, Florentine patriot, author of 'The Prince', 1469-1527)

“Vengeance has no foresight” -- Napoleon Bonaparte (French General, Politician and Emperor (1804-14). 1769-1821)

“Delay in vengeance gives a heavier blow” -- John Ford

“When a man steals your wife, there is no better revenge than to let him keep her.” -- Sacha Guitry (French Actor and Playwright, 1885-1957)

"I will not leave you until I have seen you hanged." -- Jean Baptiste Poquelin Moliere

"All the old knives That have rusted in my back, I drive in yours." -- Phaedrus (Thrace of Macedonia)

“He that studieth revenge keepeth his own wounds green, which otherwise would heal and do well.” -- John Milton (English Poet, Historian and Scholar. 1608-1674)

Two little birdies chirping in my home... may they live long!

Today papa brought home 2 little birdies. Papa told me that the parents of these little sparrows got killed by the ceiling fans in the factory. Papa brought them home & told me and mummy to take care of them as much as we can, with the hope that they live.


For the first 15 minutes they didn't move at all. No motion whatsoever. It appeared as though they had either fainted, or were sleepy, or lacked energy. By mummy's suggestion, I sprinkled some bajra in from of them, but they just wouldn't eat it, or even acknowledge its presence. "Poor little innocent birds", I said to myself. "Perhaps they don't even know that this is food and that it's necessary to live". "Perhaps they still need their parents to feed them orally". "How are they going to live, if they don't eat or drink", I wondered.

Scores of ideas started flashing in mind as to how to make them eat & drink:-

• Use a sort of thin stick and attach a grain to its top and take it near their beak hoping that they eat it. If they eat even 1 grain of bajra, they'll start eating more, hopefully by themselves, ensuring their survival.
• Use an ear-bud and attach a small piece of damped makki-ki-roti in a fashion similar to a thin stick.
• Ask the chowkidar (who's a Nepali, & supposedly more aware about handling these animals) for help.
• Observe the little sparrows for some time & see if they themselves taste the makki-ki-roti or the bajra sprinkled in front of them.

About 15 minutes later, a ray of hope emerged. Both the little birds started looking around, started turning their heads, started chirping (and it grew louder with each passing minute), & they even (lightly) fluttered their little wings.

I really don't know how are they going to live if they don't drink & eat. I'm hoping that they eat the bajra. I don't want them to die. I want them to grow up & live their life, & fly high in the skies.

P.S. One of these little cute birds is already my friend. An interesting conversation between it & me can be heard by downloading & playing this file.

New! The sweet birds are on the Internet! I've created an album with some of their photos. Watch it here.

More! I recorded 3 videos showing how these lovely little birds recognize me and eagerly open their mouths wide open whenever I approach them (and more). They aren't scared of me anymore! Here are links to the 3 videos

• On YouTube- First Video (THE BEST), Second Video (ALSO NICE), Third Video (Sleeping Birds)
• For Download- First Video (THE BEST), Second Video (ALSO NICE), Third Video (Sleeping Birds)

Update (11 July 2008, 10 AM through noon):- Around 10 AM I heard mummy loudly calling papa and this broke my sleep and I went rushing down to the ground floor. Mummy was scared because while she was trying to make one of the birds eat some bread by sticking its piece on top of an ear-bud, the poor fellow grabbed the ear-bud itself and got it stuck in its throat :(
When I realized this, I quickly grabbed the other end of the bud and gently pulled it out of throat of the bird. Phew! Mummy tells me that when she saw the 2 birds in morning, they were motionless and she feared the worse. But it turned out that they were sound asleep. And now, near 10 AM they started chirping again, probably indicating that they need their breakfast. Mummy assigned this task to me. Initially I decided to feed both birds by sticking a small piece of bread (dipped in milk) to top of an ear-bud and bringing it near the beak of one of the birds. Soon however, I realized that these innocent birdies didn't even know that this is food. They were hungry, but they didn't know this is what they need! Things got more serious here, and so I attempted to repeatedly touch the bread piece to their beaks, hoping they would open their little mouths and eat some of it. Finally, one of the birds hungrily opened its mouth and grabbed a large piece of milk-dipped bread. The other followed soon. Thank god!


And with this began the really enjoyable activity of feeding both the birds. It's so much fun watching them eat. It's even more fun trying to get them open their mouths. Perhaps that's why kids bring joy to homes, and people yearn for children. But what about water? Now it can't be stuck to an ear-bud. Mummy suggested a nice idea. Dip a clean piece of cotton in water and use it as a dropper to drop water into the (open) beaks of these birds. Little extra tricky, but it worked.

It has been 2 hours, and both the birds are now sitting on a newspaper sheet, chirping away happily. Hope things go well. Let's see.

Update (11 July 2008, 4 PM through 7 PM):- I woke up around 4 PM after a horrific dream which had spoiled my mood badly. As soon as I woke up, I heard chirps of these little birds. Miraculously a smile instantly came to my face and my mood became very good. I rushed down and as I went near them, both the birds eagerly opened their mouths wide open, hoping that I had brought food (mummy tells me that my brother had made them eat lunch near 1 PM). I call these birds beta or mera bacha and I told them that don't worry beta your food is coming. Once again I took milk-dipped bread and fed them.

New! The sweet birds are on the Internet! I've created an album with some of their photos. Watch it here.

More! I recorded 3 videos showing how these lovely little birds recognize me and eagerly open their mouths wide open whenever I approach them (and more). They aren't scared of me anymore! Here are links to the 3 videos

• On YouTube- First Video (THE BEST), Second Video (ALSO NICE), Third Video (Sleeping Birds)
• For Download- First Video (THE BEST), Second Video (ALSO NICE), Third Video (Sleeping Birds)

Update (12 July 2008, 9:30 AM through 11 PM):-

• I wake up hearing chirping of one of them. The other is still asleep. I wait for half hour before getting worried about the other one. I gently shake it to make sure it's ok. It slowly wakes up like small kids. It looks around and blinks its eyes :)
• After a while they start chirping a lot, indicating that they need breakfast. I make them eat a specially-prepared new dish for their breakfast (little wheat-dough balls with ghee applied on them).
• I also make them drink water, and sprinkle some water on them to clean them up. They seem to enjoy it :)
• They fly for one of the first times :). Although only about 2-3 feet long (and 1 foot high), it's a great first step!
• Lunch follows. Then evening snacks. Followed by dinner.
• The birds are awake eve at 11 PM. I caress them and switch off their light. Within 10-15 minutes the chirping slows down, and the birds go off to sleep!

Update (13 July 2008, 5 AM through 11 PM):-

• Didi's sleep is broken by chirping of one of the birds. Didi gives it food to eat. I wake up and scold didi for scaring the cute bird. It sleeps after eating.
• Around 9 AM I wake up and make the birds eat breakfast. They take a short nap after eating breakfast.
• Today the birds are unusually aggressive. They are chirping more, flying more and all the time trying to jump and sit on our feet. They have scared mummy, didi and even papa. I have given strict instructions to everyone to exercise utmost caution when passing near them. Hitting them is unacceptable, even if they sit on your feet or touch you or scare you or bite you or poke you with their sharp beak. Do not lift your feet off the ground when passing near them- just slide them on ground so as to avoid any injury to them!
• As expected, they obey me more than how they behave with others. Today only I gave them all their meals, since most others were scared of their new-found aggression.
• Around 11:30 PM I turn off the light and the birds soon go off to sleep.
• Around 1 AM (14 July 2008), I hear loud thunders and sound of heavy rainfall outside. I go down to have a look at the babies. The babies are sitting together and sleeping tight. Assured, I come back to my room.

Update (14 July 2008, 9:30 AM through 8:30 PM):-

• I wake up and walk down to check the well-being of my babies. I don't find the birds at their place. Horrified, I ask mummy where the birds are. I'm told that because they were flying a lot this morning, mummy & didi chose to free them and thus left them in the open sky. Upon hearing this, I got as angry & hot as the boiling magma inside earth. I couldn't believe how they could let my babies fly away without telling me. Of course, I too want the birds to fly one day. But I want it to be in my presence. Mummy saw me getting angry, and she quickly informed me that it was a joke, and that the birds are happily playing in the duct (that is, they had been moved to a different- more peaceful & secure- place). I went rushing to the duct and saw the babies as happy as ever. Thank god!
• Today the breakfast, lunch, evening snacks & dinner were all given by someone other than me.
• Before leaving for my cousin's ladies sangeet ceremony, I carefully shifted the sparrows back to their original place (the duct isn't suitable for night). When we returned (1 AM, 15 July 2008), the babies had already slept.

Update (15 July 2008, 2:30 PM through 8:30 PM):-

• I woke up around 2:15 PM. Mummy told me that the birds had already had their breakfast and lunch. Also, they had already been shifted to the duct. I went near the duct to have a look at them- they were happily playing there :)
• Around 4 PM, I fed them milk-dipped bread. They hungrily ate it. Soon thereafter me and mummy had to go to my cousin's place for a marriage-related ceremony. While we were there, it started to rain. I immediately told mummy that I'm going back home immediately, lest the birds get wet in rain and fall ill. I drove very fast and within about 6-7 minutes, I reached home. I went to the birds and inspected them. It turned out that it hadn't rained in this part of Ludhiana, so the birds didn't get wet. Lucky me and lucky them! :)
• Around 8 PM I again fed milk-dipped bread to the birds. They hungrily ate quite a lot of it. I also made them drink water. Shortly thereafter, however, the poor birds had loose motions. It made me quite worried. I called up mummy, and she told me that it's ok and asked me to not give them anything else to eat. I turned off their light and papa & me went to my cousin's place for a ceremony related to my cousin's marriage. By the time we returned, the birds were sleeping tight!

New! I posted a question on Yahoo! Answers seeking help from the community about my little birds. Read my question & the very helpful replies of some people here.

Update (16 July 2008, 8 AM through 11:15 PM):-

• I had not slept the whole night. I was busy doing some works. The birds woke up around 7:30 AM, and by 8 AM they were chirping loud enough to make me feel that it's time for their breakfast. I fed them flour-balls and then I went off to sleep. The birds slept too, again.
• When I woke up (around 1:15 PM), mummy told me that the birds had already had 2 more meals (1st around 10 AM, and 2nd around 1 PM).
• Before going to the market for some purchases (around 3:30 PM), I fed the birds milk-dipped bread.
• When I returned (around 7:30 PM), I saw that the birds had had severe loose motions. I and mummy both got quite worried, and we decided to not only stop milk-dipped bread (in favor of flour-balls), but also consult our family-friend uncle, who is a Ph.D.
• Around 8:30 PM, I fed 4-4 balls each to both the birds.
• Brother informed me a very worrying thing. He told me that he saw a cat looking at the birds from a window. Cats may be cute, but they are one of the deadliest enemies of birdies. I'm worried because as long as I am here, the birds are safe. But I've to go to Noida, for my job, on 19th. What after that? Agreed that mummy & brother too love the birds a lot, but when it comes to ensuring safety, I trust only myself. I'm not doubting their love for the birds, but just because someone loves the birds doesn't mean that one is sufficiently capable of ensuring their safety, even if one's intention is exactly that. This is the cause of my worry.
  
• Around 11:15 PM, I again fed 6-6 balls to the birds, and turned off their light.
• Around 1:15 AM, I went down to observe the babies. Felt assured to see them sleeping tight.

Update (17 July 2008, 11 AM through 8 PM):-

• The birds were fed 4 times today. For the first time, both of them (I've named them Cheeku & Peechu) started eating (albeit just a little) from the ground. In the evening, around 8 PM, I fed them (very hurriedly) and then we went to Jalandhar for my cousin's marriage.

Update (18 July 2008, 6:30 AM through 11 PM):-

• We returned at 6:30 AM. As I opened the door, the birds woke up. I tiptoed in, so as to not disturb them. They slept again soon. Around 8 AM, I shifted them to the duct. Everybody else had slept by then. Everyone had slept on the way back, except me, and I had worked real hard in last night's marriage, so soon I too went off to sleep.
• Around 11:20 AM, mummy rushed to me, woke me up and told me that one of the birds died. In a state of shock I rushed to the duct and saw peechu lying weak on the ground. Tears immediately started rolling down my eyes. I touched it and it couldn't stay on its feet. It just slid sideways. Unable to control myself, I felt like I'll get mad. It looked so frail, so weak. Its legs were moving a little, its throat was moving a little. It was moving very little. Mummy told me that she had fed them at 10 AM, and they were perfect at that time. We all were in a state of shock, despair and helplessness. I just cried and cried. My baby, my peechu, whom I loved and fed and cared for the last 9 days- that peechu was fighting for life in front of me. I tried to make it drink water, and then water mixed with milk. I fanned it with a newspaper for an hour. I scared away the ants from it. But peechu was slowing down. We were losing hope. We cried a lot. I kept caressing dying peechu and kept telling him "So ja mere panchhi, aram se so ja". Peechu died in front of my eyes. My dear peechu. I love you. I've always loved you. I'll never forget you. I'll always celebrate July the 10th as your birthday, the day you little angel came to me. I buried peechu with my own hands in our garden. I'll never forget those weak chirps you let out in your last few minutes. Peechu dear I miss you a lot. Even as I write this, tears are rolling down my cheeks. I love you peechu. Why did you leave me? Was there something missing in my love and my care? I buried peechu around 1:30 PM. Peechu a plant will be planted at the place where you have been buried. Love you peechu. When I saw your video around 3 PM, I couldn't watch it more than 15 seconds. I cried bitterly and stopped it. Mummy cried a lot with me. Why peechu died is still not known to us.
  
• Cheeku was feeling very alone. He had already been shifted to the other place around 11:45 AM. I saw his searching for someone, as if he was looking for peechu. I couldn't watch him sitting alone. Looking at him reminded me of peechu. We called up a doctor and he told us about a bird-sanctuary called People for Animals. We feared death of cheeku. We thought it would be best to give him in safe hands- the hands of bird-experts. We called them up and told them the situation. The generous people sent an albulance to our home and 3 very nice people inspected cheeku and gently took him, assuring us that they shall take care of him. We requested them to set cheeku free when he grows up- for I've always wanted my birds to grow up and soar high in skies. At the time of writing this, I'm missing cheeku. I know he's missing me too. I know he's missing my touch. He must be looking for me. Maybe he's in a cage. Maybe he's sad. I'm missing you a lot my babies. Don't know why this happened to me. Love you my kids. Missing you a lot. Don't know what to say. Whenever I think of you, tears roll down my eyes. I remember how your sight, your chirps would make my bad mood good in an instant. Cheeku I miss you a lot. And peechu, I love you.

Here are the last photos of cheeku. How sad it feels to see him alone. Love you my birds.

Sweating yet Smiling- I've joined a gym!

Okay well. Recently, I've joined a gym in the Kitchlu Nagar Main Market. For the next 4 weeks, I'm going to work out real hard. I know I already have lots of energy and endurance power too (which definitely isn't visible from my physique), but still...

The simple and short story of my first day at gym goes this way (this is the first time I've joined a paid gym- I used to work out at my hostel's gym too, but that wasn't a professionally run gym).

1. The coach tells me to work out on various machines, 20 times on each (in 2 sets of 10 each, with a 30 second break between the 2 sets).
2. I do everything the coach tells me to do. And I do it fast (dedication or over-excitement?).
3. I come home, with my whole body drenched in sweat and still sweating profusely (probably it was over-excitement). Heat is coming out from me like it comes out from an oven. One can almost feel the steam...
4. I'm HUNGRY like a beast. Heavy dinner follows.
5. I crash on the bed in my room. A short nap follows.
   
6. 46 hours later (that is right now), I have severe cramps in my arms, biceps and legs (oh, it hurts) :(
   
7. End of the story.

The photo below was taken (some minutes after I returned from the gym) so that I should be able to compare my physique, as it stands right now, to what it shall be a month hence. More photos of me can be viewed here and here.

Welcome Greetings To Delhi College of Engineering

My last day at my college was about a week back. And now I wish to extend Welcome greetings to my college. When I say Welcome, I'm welcoming Delhi College of Engineering to my heart, my feelings, and my memories. It is now - after having left my college - that I realize what it was, and how much it means to me.

I miss it so much.

Some of the memorable memories of me and my college can be viewed here

• My photo album of Delhi College of Engineering
• A photo album with my photos
• My feelings about leaving college - before I left it
  

A memorable and worth watching video of some of the hostelers of the Class of 2008 can be downloaded from here (click on the Download link near top left of the webpage).

Saluting my college just before leaving it - on my last day

Who Am I? - My Google Profile

Driving 700 Kilometres in 36 Hours- An Experience!

On 14 June, we all (my family) sat in car and started off for Patiala at around 2:30 PM. I was at the driver's seat. We picked up didi from her college, and then via Devigarh we reached Kurukshetra. After that we headed straight to Delhi, and after that went to Ghaziabad. Out of the approximately 375 km total length of this route, I drove about 340 km (papa drove the rest). We reached our destination at around 12:30 AM (on June 15).

On 15 June, I did the works I was supposed to, and at around 6 PM we started from Ghaziabad for Ludhiana. Once again, I was at the driver's seat. We reached back home around 3 AM (on June 16). So I drove a total of about 700 km within 36 hours.

What made the drive back home special was that it rained almost all the way. It was the first time I drove for so long amidst such rain. Everyone was sound asleep, but with me fully alert- knowing that my whole family is sitting in the car, it's night, it's raining, and I'm driving on the Grand Trunk Road- infamous for the accidents that take place on it daily.

It was during this drive (towards home) that I first time ever touched the speed of 100 km/hr.

Also, mummy complimented my driving, saying that it's butter-smooth. Mummy faces Motion Sickness each time she travels on long routes, but mummy said that with me at the driver's seat, she didn't face even a bit of problem for all of the 750 km journey.

When I finally reached home, I felt happy :-)

The photos above and below (these have not been clicked by me) are representative of the perils of driving on a highway on a rainy night.