the eternal question: like vs. love

i've had quite a few friends who have had their moments of confusion: do I love so-and-so?

while there is no rule in general, I don't recall this question ever giving me much grief. and strangely enough, it's due to my past experiences with "love at first sight".

i've liked plenty of girls, but I knew who I loved even before I had a chance to realise that I liked them.

maybe that's what my confused friends need to learn: like doesn't imply love. not even if it's a whole big lot of "like" :)

either that or I need to fall in love at second sight. now that will truly leave me confused!!!

my meandering ways

i stop for a chat, or maybe just a hi
a word or two before i go about my way
for though something seems to draw us apart
in this noisy silence, you're always in my heart

(dedicated to all my awesome friends...past and present :))

the opposite of congress

after months of growing discontent, and frequent bouts of "something should be done"itis, I finally bit the bullet last saturday. and became the proud new owner of a sony ericsson xperia x1 (or the SEX1 as some people call it).

for those of you who have been eagerly awaiting a review, i'm very sorry to announce that your wait shall be prolonged.

this post is one of introspection.

my phone has finally overtaken:

my first computer's resolution (800 * 480 vs 720 * 350)

my fouth computer's cpu clock speed (528mhz vs 500mhz)

my sixth computer's ram (256mb + some unspecified gfx memory vs just 256mb)

my sixth computer's hard disk/storage (8gb + 256mb vs 8gb)

my seventh computer's internet connection (EDGE vs dial-up)

my seventh computer's network speed (56mbps vs 10mbps)

the only catch? I also paid more for this phone than i've ever paid for a computer (of course, that's only because i've never brought the entire computer at one go - it's always an upgrade)

cheers to progress!!!

ps: post typed on my phone. on blogger's standard posting screen. i'm happy as can be :)

memories in a sea of forgetfulness

first off, i brought a new phone. i'm not gonna speak much about it now, cos there's gonna be a nice full post on that sometime soon.

so after a bit of figuring out, i managed to get my texts transferred from my old phone (yeah, all 7700+ of them!). only catch is that the first time after importing, the phone has to do some sort of reorganization of all these messages. skipping the dry details, the end result is that i had to patiently wait for over an hour (and still counting!) while each text flashed on my screen for a fraction of a second.

i can't think of an adjective to describe the experience.

among the thousands of texts that flashed by, i read ones from a friend who subsequently passed away, texts from a person who i didn't know a few months ago who turned into one of my bset friends, a relationship that was budding at the start of 2008, almost made it, and then died, friends who i had such great times with but don't speak to any more, friends who have mysteriously drifted apart, vacations and road trips being planned and executed, birthday/christmas/easter wishes and the like, and so much more.

i almost relived the past 16 months in an hour.

ps: yeah, i skipped the last 2 months of texts cos i had to type this out. but i guess that's not too bad :). and the post title is inspired by the BT song with the same title :)

google adsense EPIC #WIN!!!

at first glance, i thought it was someone's idea of fun. but then i realised the ad has been carefully selected by google. an epic win of the most epic proportions, if ever there was one.

ps: screenshot taken 20 minutes ago from my google reader. only photoshopping done was to blur my google id :)

the (r)evolution will be televised

a few days ago, i was checking linkbacks to my site (yeah yeah, i have these occasional moments of vanity) and i found one on tim ferris' blog. surprised (tim is quite a celeb blogger in his own right), i clicked the page. half expecting it to be some sort of mistake on technorati's part, i was pleasantly surprised to see the linkback was from my own comment (technorati's wizardry at work, i guess).

i read my comment. and was fascinated. i then read the entire post and all the remaining comments. and was fascinated even more.

the post was about ways tim uses twitter and why he doesn't do some things people generally do with twitter.

my comment made me realise how much my use, and interestingly, my approach to networking in general (both online and off-) has changed.

here's my comment:

i guess i’m the exact opposite when it comes to twitter use - although my extreme is also quite practical for me.

i follow everyone i know in real life, on twitter. i also post random things about my day (okay, not “just bit into a muffin…mmmmm!!!”), but things like what i’m doing, what i’m feeling, an observation, a thought that someone might appreciate…it goes on. most of my friends (with a few irritating exceptions) also do the same. that way, i’m always in touch, without actively being in conversation with everyone. if someone’s having a bad day, or if i have something to say that won’t fit 140 chars, i pick up the phone and call/text. i dislike links because they force me to fire up my phone’s browser (or leave whatever’s already on it) to complete the picture of what my friend wanted to say.

twitter is different from phone or text or im, because it’s a sort of selective broadcast. it’s also more timely than a blog. twitter is also not the sort of medium where i’d post something i’d want to recall a month from now. that’s going straight to my blog.

twitter helps me stay in touch with friends who might have otherwise drifted apart due to geographical/time zone distance. compared to the friends who aren’t on it, the contrast is stark enough to be black and white - if a friend lives in another city and isn’t on twitter, it’s almost guaranteed that we’ll be out of touch in a few months :D

and what's changed since then:

most of my then friends have left twitter. their accounts are still there, but they seldom use them. and i mean less than once in 2 months, or worse even.

on the other hand, i've embraced twitter as a platform for meeting new people. i now add people on twitter and if i meet them and they turn out to be the sort of people i want to associate with, we swap numbers, facebook accounts and the works.

and i now use facebook to keep in touch, almost the same way as i used to use twitter back then.

strange but true. and a full circle in (online) social media.

ps: title inspired by "the revolution" by bt. one of my favourites!!!

happy easter!

lent just got over, and it's (finally!) easter today. this year was a different one for me, as i decided to give up alcohol for the last 42 days. it was pretty hard at first, but i finally got used to mocktails and juices (and i love fruits anyway).

so finally, lent is over. easter started with a good tipple, more than just good in fact.

but you know what, it's not that big a deal. it wasn't even worth it. because abstinence hasn't brought me any closer to god.

i need to start earnestly praying again instead.

happy easter, everyone!!!

white is black...sorry, back

i remember last july, when i was so bored that i decided to finally eschew one of my long-standing design principles, and go for a black background for this blog.

several months later, i've decided to go back to my roots. this time it was one of the free templates blogger featured on their layout screen, but not without a fair bit of tweaking. it'll be fun if you could spot the original too :D

if you see this in a reader,
step over to my blog for a while.
you can leave with a comment,
or perhaps even a smile :)

talk like an egyptian...

...computer :D

winnie the poohi recently tagged everyone to chat with a certain bot and post it.

i decided to dig up something from my own chat archives instead :P

P: hey dude u there?
K: no
P: :)
K: this is kris' coomputer
P: ohh ok
K: how can i help you?
P: but who is there on Kris' computer?
K: right now, nobody
P: I dont believe
K: i can answer some of your questions.
P: What is my tomorrows horoscope?
K: that's not a question i can asnwer.
P: will india win test series tomorrow
K: that's not a question i can asnwer.
P: what no. will be there in tommorows maharashtra rajya lottery
K: that's not a question i can asnwer either.
P: ok
P: 2+ 3 = ?
K: 5
P: ok
P: 5 / 0 =?
K: not defined.
P: by whom?
K: i don't know the answer to that question.
P: what all you know?
K: i've been programmed not to answer that question.
P: who programmed you?
K: he calls himself kris.
P: hu kris?
K: i'm sorry, i don't understand that question.
P: were is kris?
K: he is at home.
P: ok I got u kris
K: i'm sorry, i don't understand you.
P: can you say bye?
K: yes, if you ask me to.
P: ok say bye
K: bye
P: i cant here you, say loudly
K: loudly
P: hahahaha
K: i'm not very sure of what you're asking me to do.
P: that was cool
K: no it wasn't.
P: why?
K: i'm not aware that it is cool.
K: it could be.
P: OK do u understand PJs?
K: i have limited understanding.
P: Do u know marathi?
K: no.
P: Do u know sachin tendulkar?
K: no.
P: do u know kris?
K: yes.
P: who is that?
K: he programmed me.
P: ok do you know, answer to life, the universe and everything ?
K: no, i don't know that.
P: I know that, it is 42
P: can you google anything?
K: i'm not allowed to
K: is the answer a fact or your opinion?
P: I dont know, google knows that
K: i'm sorry, i don't understand.
P: how come u answered 2 times to this question
K: i answered your previous question last.
K: you were asking me questions too quickly for me to answer.
P: I dont think so it is artificial intelligence
P: this is human intelligence
K: ok
P: ok anyways
P: I have some work to do now
K: ok
P: it was nice to meeting you
P: what is your name
P: ?
K: it was nice meeting you too, Prasad
K: i'm kris' computer
P: ohhh, please tell him to give you a better name
K: ok, i will.
P: and say hi to him from myside
P: bye
P: goodnight
K: is myside a person?
K: bye
K: goodnight
P: hey, bye the way do u sleep?
K: no.
K: but i stop working when someone is using the computer,
P: ok so then have a nice time
K: thank you. you have a nice time too.

---

(chat silence for a few minutes)
K: :D
P: :)
P: it was a nice conversation
K: how's you man!!!
K: yeah...good fun
K: i was prepared to answer more questions
P: hahaha, I was not prepared to ask more

the triumph of social media (or do you want a girlfriend?)

Do you have a girlfriend?

Stop looking and find a sexy girlfriend at Lexamore.NL. Join them now free!

Yesh, based on my usage patterns, that's what facebook thinks i want. A (cute) Norwegian girlfriend. spot on!

ps: translation via google, but i guess i should start learning a bit of dutch if i wanna take up this incredible offer :P

pffft!!!

on sunday, around 4pm:

an insurance salesman just farted loudly at my place cos no one else was in the room and he thought i was fast asleep...ROTFLMAO!!!

yes, seriously. i'm not sure how i managed to stay in bed without bursting out in a fit of laughter, but i did.

horh

disclaimer: adult theme/content. read at your own risk.
this post will not seem funny at all unless your read my previous post and found it funny too.

the two "a"s from both posts are different women, whose names coincidentally both begin with a.

---

k: surfing porn on my phone got boring in 5 minutes flat...wonder if my attention span is fucked or the medium isn't mature enough :D
a: height of bein a despo.....watch this http://tinyurl.com/c7bhtz
k: it was some stupid snake and kid video. what's so despo about that?
a: u r really a joke.u watchin porn on phone is bein despo
k: alright, if you insist. so where am i supposed to watch porn then?
a: on ur deskstop
k: but my desktop is in the hall with bright lights and all! i prefer watching porn in the dark. plus i was traveling at the time.
a: hahahaha wht u hmmmm while travellin :P
k: oh cmon. i was bored and nothing interesting was happening on twitter. plus it was dark :D
a: horh

"horh" is the sound of a startled grunt

k: hello
a: hi
k: how con i piss you off today?
a: hahaha
a: it wudnt so easy to piss me off today i think
a: m in a nicish mood today
k: horh.

btw, i was tying to write haha. my handwriting sucks, as does my phone's deciphering of it. and i laughed so hard for the next 5 minutes that i cried. :D