Thursday, March 25, 2010

A Taste of what I read daily!

  I read a lot on a daily basis.  I regret not having the conviction to read books.  I try to make up for it by reading blogs, news posts, forums etc.  They are of course no substitute for a good book, but if you do neither, then you really are wasting all the facilities you have been provided with.  Anyway, I would like to share with you a few things that I came across today.

Harley Davidson in India
  Twelve Harley Davidson bikes were released in Delhi recently and I saw a post on a blog about one of those bikes.  Its called the FLSTC Heritage Softail Classic and it costs 20 Lakhs.  The bike weighs 335kg and it has a 1450cc engine.  On top of all this, the bike is a proper classic looking beast.


  I'm looking for a similar leather bag for my Avey!  Any help is welcomed..  :D

The Myths of Innovation
  Scott Berkun's is one of the few blogs that I follow.  He is a writer.  Though I haven't read his books, I love to read his blog posts. He posts regularly and his posts are usually just one paragraph or two.  But this time, he posted a speech that he had just made in an event about Innovation.  If you are even slightly interested in a good thought-provoking speech, do read this.  Here is a small extract, to give you a taste - Ideas are easy. They are cheap. Any creativity book or course will help you find more ideas. What’s rare is the willingness to bet your reputation, career, or finances on your ideas. To commit fully to pursuing them.

New Feature in Photoshop 5


  I'm sure that was pretty self-explanatory..  Its looks impressive!

Google Chrome - Last Man Standing
   Pwn2Own is an annual event where they test browsers for security loopholes.  This year's event has started and the popular browsers like IE 8, Firefox and Safari have been beaten (breached).  So far, only two browsers have survived.  One is the rare Opera and the other is the ever so famous Chrome.  Apparently, Chrome won the event last year.  That is one more feather in Google's hat.  For more info, check out downloadsquad.com

  Most of my friends complain that they are bored at home and that they have nothing to do.  Well, this may not solve your problem but its a good start.  Reading something new about something that you are interested is both fun and useful.  I'm interested in computers, bikes etc. and so, these were interesting to me.  I'm sure you too can find something out there in the World Wide Web that interests you, regardless of how crazy or insane you may be.  Just surf the wave!

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

The Special Something of a Team!

Have you ever wondered what the difference is between a bunch of friends and a team? Friends are people who just wanna hang out, chill, relax, have fun and spend some quality time together. Time spent with a bunch of friends is something that is supposed to give you sweat memories. A team on the other hand, is a bunch of friends who are working towards a common goal. A team is usually on a mission; a dream. They are expected to do something together; they are expected to perform.

Making friends is easy; forming a team, is not. A former teammate of mine said a couple of days ago that, the problem with our (gaming) team was that we were having fun but we didn't realize it. Today, I have a different take on that. I got extremely upset today because a certain partner of mine didn't do his work properly. The thing that bothered me the most was that, when I explained it to him, his attitude was like "Yea, yea, I'll do it!". He didn't exactly say that but what comes out of a person's mouth is only 10% of what he says. Your voice, facial expressions, body language etc. communicate the message more than your words.

When I get upset, I usually turn to movies for some relaxation. I saw this movie about a team who struggle against difficult odds to come out on top. I suddenly realized something Its not how good you are or how much fun you are having together that determines the bondage of the team. Its the ability of every member of the team to impress and inspire the rest of the team. The kids in the movies and my team, had one thing in common. We were both formed when we got impressed by the skills of every individual. That is how most teams come together and that is exactly what keeps us together, I think.

The day you fail to impress your team, is the day you start losing that special something which your team had. You can impress your team with your dedication, with your special talent or with just your ability to do some work. When I do a lot of work and when I don't see a reciprocation from my teammate, the team starts to fall apart. I really feel that, this is the secret to keeping a team together. A team needn't be a five-member team, it can be just two. A team isn't formed just for games, it can be for work or passion. Do your part to woo your team, or sit on your ass and turn into a friend.

Sunday, March 7, 2010

Changes in the Design of my Site!

I spent the past week working on the design of my website because, it really was dreadful to look at considering that I had just added two major features (login & shoutbox) without working on the design. I didn't get much time to work on the design but then again, if had got enough time, I'm not sure whether I would've utilized it to the full.. :P I've to turn my attention towards coding now because there are some key features still missing in the site, like comments and user uploads. The coming week will be spent on that.

Now, let me explain a little about the designing process I had to go through. The site is in php, which means that the HTML codes (which your browser understands) will be created dynamically by the server from a bunch of programming codes. This means that I can't work on the design of the website because all the content is stored in the database and I can't see anything on the screen until I get the output from the server. The output from the server won't come into the design application, it will open only in a browser. Thus, it was hard to make minor changes and check the sizes etc.

This is where the famous Developer Tools of Google's Chrome browser really came in handy. They say that there was a lot of commotion about this tool when the browser was introduced. Now I see the reason behind such interest in their browser. The Developer Tool was able to clearly reveal every aspect of my final output from the server and I was even able to edit the CSS values from the browser itself. I also came to know how it supports HTML 5 features which even Firefox doesn't support. I wish Chrome had been released sooner. I'm almost addicted to Firefox now and so, can't move away from it.. :(

Anyway, I would like to thank my friends especially Kaushik, Sanjit and taconite who gave some useful feedback on the change in the design of the site. And thank you Chrome for making my life easier.. :D You guys are also welcomed to give some feedback.. :) The website to check out is www.esportsindia.com

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Gonna Get an Avenger!

I received my first salary recently and I've found a way to put it to good use. Every time I get some money, I go out and buy parts for my computer because frankly, my system has been my world for long. This time though, I'm going to get myself a Bajaj Avenger 200cc bike. For long, I have loved riding bikes (even my 100cc CT100). So, it is high time that I get a proper bike and enjoy my long ride to the office.

When I told my friends about this decision, most of them suggested strongly against it. I can't blame them because our perspectives are completely different. Most people see bikes as a tool to get from Point A to Point B and that is pretty normal. For such people, any bike with a good mileage would do just fine. If the person is of my age group, then, speed gets added to the equation. Thus, they would look for a sporty bike which would get them from Point A to Point B in the shortest time possible.

For me though, its a bit more than that. In my eyes, a bike is like a pet, a living breathing playful friend. I would take the bike out for a ride for no apparent reason. To me, the destination doesn't matter, its the journey itself, that becomes the destination. Riding a bike is a joy in itself. To understand what I'm on about, check out my old post about our road-trip to Yercaud. After that trip, I really felt as if the CT100 had a little heart inside which never stopped beating no matter how hard I abused it.

A simple fast bike isn't what I'm looking for. I want a bike that I would enjoy riding. I don't want to sit in a racing angle and gun the throttle. I want to cruise the highway at high speeds without a care in the world. If none of the above made sense to you, then you are probably one of those who suggested against this bike. On the off chance that it did make sense to you, then you might understand why I chose Avenger, which is one of the best entry-level cruisers till date.. Thank you erodov for helping me with this decision..