Monday, December 25, 2006

Merry Christmas!!

My best wishes to you and you're loved ones for a very Merry Christmas and a blast of a new year.

This card was made especially for you. I'm not pasting it here, as it need to be seen full screen to do it justice (the F11 key toggles full screen on IE and Firefox). Do turn your speakers on too.

Link to the card here.

Also, you need the flash player plugin (v8 or above). Check your version here. You can download it here.

A Christmas Carol

Well kiddies, a very merry Christmas to you. I hope you all are brimming with the yuletide spirit. I have not slept the whole night, and its 8:45 am and my eyes are all bleary. I was supposed to update my blog regularly (insert sheepish smile here) but unfortunately I'm stuck out in the boondocks (technologically speaking), and I'm not able to get my laptop on the net. I'm currently blogging this on my old PC, and I do mean OLD. I'm talking pentium 2 233 mhz here guys.

So, I'll pause while you applaud my commitment,and then put in some pics, of the wreath at my door and my Xmas tree. The tree is a bit messy, but to quote friends,it looks comfortable and lived in (by monkeys that is).

















Also have a look at the Xmas card I made last year. Link to it here.


Wednesday, December 20, 2006

In Transit

I'm writing this while sitting in Bangalore (or as it will be called Bangalooru) airport, on my way home for the Christmas hols. Huzzah, I've got two and a half weeks with nothing but rest and relaxation on the agenda. I know I am a very fickle blogger, but expect regular updates from now on.

I'm really getting into the holiday spirit, and even though my nose is plugged up with muck (just getting over a cold), I just cant stop that grin from creepin' up on my face.

So take care, gentle readers, and have a blast for the holidays ^_^

Monday, December 11, 2006

Brainshadows

Have a go at this quiz i made a long.. long time back. Quite outdated by now, its was more experiments with flash (check out the draggable question window and cursor indicators), than an actual quiz, but anyways give it a shot, and be sure to post your name and score in the comments. You can link to a full screen version here.


Wednesday, December 06, 2006

Droolmaal

Santa, I've been really good this year. Pls pls pls shove this down my stocking.



Alienware Area-51 7500

Mmmmmm look at all the pretty colours...


Zhubaiynyzdin aty-zhene kim?



My friend, Harish, who had gone to the United States a few weeks back, got a real shocker of a news recently. Apparently his company wants him to go to Kazakhstan for some troubleshooting. Now I’m sure that Kazakh is a very nice place to visit, and Harish is eager to go, and I quite envy him. But all the same it doesn’t have a really good human rights record does it?

And apparently, you cannot get a visa for Kazakhstan from the US, so Harish will have to fly to Israel where he’ll get a Kazakh visa. Even stranger, supposedly, if you have an Israel visa on your passport, you cannot visit other middle-east countries later. So the plan is now to get a visa stamped on a separate piece of paper and then pin it on the passport.

So, anyways, when I heard about his trip, of course I advised him to watch Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan. That should get his attention !! I really need to see this movie. Sasha Baron Cohen is a comic genius, and I was absolutely in splits when I used to watch his shows on TV. He pokes abundant fun at Americans for their misogynistic, racist views and ignorance. Just have a look what wikipedia says about him –

Borat was born in 1972 in Kuçzek, Kazakhstan. He is the son of Asimbala Sagdiyev and Boltok the Rapist, who is also his maternal grandfather. He is also the former husband of Oksana Sagdiyev, who was the daughter of Mariam Tuyakbay and Boltok the Rapist. …

Borat has a sister named Natalya, regarded as the fourth-best prostitute in Kazakhstan (and best sex-in-mouth), with whom he often fornicates. He also has a younger brother named Bilo, who is mentally retarded and must be kept locked behind a metal door or in a cage. Bilo also has a pouch were he stores all the porno he looks at inside.

What did I say – hilarious! Just don’t get offended. The funny thing is that the Kazakhstan government has taken this all seriously, and have condemned Sasha Cohen in a press release and stated that his portrayal of Kazakh's people is totally untrue. Borat responded in kind -

"In response to Mr. Ashykbayev's comments, I'd like to state I have no connection with Mr. Cohen and fully support my Government's decision to sue this Jew. Since the 2003 Tuleyakiv reforms, Kazakhstan is as civilised as any other country in the world. Women can now travel on inside of bus, homosexuals no longer have to wear blue hats, and age of consent has been raised to eight years old. Please, captain of industry; I invite you to come to Kazakhstan where we have incredible natural resources, hardworking labour, and some of the cleanest prostitutes in whole of Central Asia. Goodbye! Dzienkuje!"


Anyway Harish, have a great trip and send us some pictures for the blog.

Sunday, December 03, 2006

500 Twisted hits


Sometime today morning Mine Darke and Twisted Life clocked up 500 hits. Understandably, I’m pretty pleased with that, and my metrics are showing that I’ve managed to get some readers at least. But, I’ve not yet found my niche, and till that happens I won’t get any regular revisits.

I’m happy I’ve managed to be half regular at posting, at least. Usually, I take up things just to leave them half way down the path… like mildly rotting roadkill. Don’t get me wrong; many people have remarked about my determination and stick-to-itiveness… how little of each I have, that is.

So what’s with people and cars? Every person I meet nowadays seems to advice me to buy a car. Now, even though I can afford it, I prefer driving ‘round on my motorbike. Why would I buy a car? When I tell them this, they point out that with the amount of cash I spent on ‘useless’ gadgets in the last year, I could’ve bought myself a half decent car. At this point, I usually fly into a rage, and after the red mists clear from in front of my eyes, he/she is no where to be seen. Useless gadgets indeed! Hmm.. I wonder why the land behind my apartment seems freshly dug….

It’s getting a bit nippy here in Noida. Winter is on its way. I know it never gets really cold, much better than the winters I spent in the UK, but the difference is that houses in most places in India are designed to keep you cool rather than warm. High ceilings, marble floors and no central heating. Brrr.

This reminds me of the second winter I spent at Nainital. I had my pre-boards, and studying kept me up late. One night was exceptionally cold, and as I looked out of the window, I saw flakes floating down in the moonlight. It was magical. Next morning, there was a frosting of white everywhere. My dogs were quite perplexed, and left dark tracks in the snow as they gingerly walked about. It was the heaviest snowfall in a few years that winter, and when it snows in Nainital, everything comes to a standstill. Traffic stops, most shops close, and worst of all, the power lines went down and it was three days before electricity was restored.

My dad decided that the massive fireplace in the bedroom should be put to use, and he bought a load of firewood. As he confidently stepped up to the fireplace my mom and I diplomatically retired to the next room. Half and hour later, he came out; looking rather frazzled, and picked up the bundle of newspapers we had been saving up for recycling. Another half and hour, and most everything flammable in the house, from the newspaper snatched from my mom’s hands to a box of toothpicks, was in cinders while the firewood stubbornly refused to light up.

As my dad emptied his last bottle of Chivas into the fireplace, the wood grudgingly lit up, at which point we realized that the chimney was blocked solid with varied junk. As we emerged coughing, our neighbours must have thought they had new African neighbours, as we all were covered with a fine patina of soot.

We had a good time that winter though, especially since my exams were postponed. Nainital is beautiful, especially if you live there. Go visit.