Got the goose!

The title is of course, a reference to a post by falconer, here. The goose was a comet. Comet Lulin, visiting us for the first and last time.
I had been too tired to accompany Falconer and Abba when they tried to spot it a few days ago. Last night, I decided to give it a go myself. Too lazy to setup the telescope. I thought it would be easier to try and spot it through the viewfinder (which is basically a very small telescope, a sidekick of the big one). And spot it I did. A few degrees east of Saturn, in the constellation of Virgo. Looked to me like a faint blur. Not visible to the naked eye, just visible through the viewfinder.
Thanks to last night, I've come up with a new way to use the viewfinder. We tend to use it with only one eye, closing the other so we can concentrate on the view we see from the finder. Last night, I used it with both eyes open. The right eye at the finder eyepiece, looking at the magnified sky, and the left eye open to the heavens. If you have a suitable finder, this is a great trick to use. The left eye gives you a picture of the sky. The right eye can see the cross hairs of the finder. When you want to point at a particular object in the sky, just bring the object (visible in the sky, thanks to left eye) into the cross hairs of the finder (visible in the finder, thanks to left eye). And viola! You'll see it as clear as day bang in the centre of the cross hairs in the finder as well.
The human eyes. Quite amazing. Not only do the presence of two of them, as they are, give us a sense of depth, but the juxtaposition of images that takes place from both eyes lets us perform little tricks like these!

How to rob a superhero

It's childishly simple. Wait for a fantastic director to come along and direct one of the great movies of our time. Hype it up before it releases. Hype it up so much that people expect it not to live up to the hype. Watch it surpass the hype. Watch an ensemble cast deliver a great performance to a thought provoking storyline.

Then the simple part. Deny it even nominations for best movie and best director.

Damn.

To be loved

I don't mean romantic love. I mean respect, adulation, adoration, awe. It is the reason why I feel working in an office all day long is tiring. It is not fulfilling. Humans crave all of the emotions I just mentioned. This post has been in my head since the Brazilian Grand Prix (Formula 1) of 2008. The last race of the year. Felipe Massa - a Brazilian in a Ferrari was in with a chance to win the drivers world championship. It was a moving sight, even on TV, to see the crowd in the stands. I cannot imagine any experience in life better than to perform in front of such a large crowd that overwhelmingly supports you. That race had to be seen to be believed. The fan reaction when he crossed the finish line, the drivers champion if the order at that moment held. The deafening silence when the order changed and he lost the drivers championship by a single point. It's hard to describe.

I attended a metal concert a couple of months ago. Ensiferum, at IIT Bombay. I doubt more than 5% of the crowd knew what the band were singing or even who they were. I didn't. But they were fantastic. So much so that I (and if you know me, you'll see how this is a little surprising) landed up in the mosh pit. Took me on another thought voyage. Can you imagine what it would be like to be the band in this case? To have a huge crowd in your grasp, to see that people were having the time of their lives because of you? What would it feel like?

It's not only a showman who can feel this though. Even the lowly engineer can. If he is in the right place that is. (The author apologises for delving deep into graphics processing unit folklore) In the first half of 2008, ATI, the graphics arm of Advanced Micro Devices, came out with the Radeon 4800 series of graphic cards. This series, in way that cannot be comprehended fully, changed the computer graphics industry forever. For so many years, ATI and Nvidia tried to play better (metaphorically). In 2008, ATI stopped trying to play better. It changed the rules. The 4800 series captured the imagination of everyone who cared for this industry. A couple of months later, I came across an article on Anandtech, describing what went into creating the 4800 series. The design team took gambles, audacious gambles, and it all paid off. The comments to that article are relevant to this post. It was a public outpouring of admiration for the folks at ATI.

During a similar time last year, I also saw The Dark Knight in theatres. The first day and the first show. The movie had been hyped to levels I had seldom seen. And it lived up to the hype. In fact, it exceeded the hype. Most of this was thanks to a certain Heath Ledger. I have never seen a movie receive a standing ovation at the end of a screening. That day I did. I'm sorry that the people associated with the film do not get a chance to see this reaction (I'm sure it happened many times over across the world).

Life isn't about how much money you earn. It isn't about how much success you have. It isn't about how many promotions you get. It isn't about how many cars or houses you have. It is about being loved. The love of a small group of people close to you, and the love of a large group of people across the world. I wish that life takes me along a path that will let me achieve my goal in life. Indeed, there is only one. To be loved.

Pub Culture

This post was intended to be written shortly after the SRS attacked women for visiting a pub and their declarations that 'Pub culture' was wrong etc. Sadly, with my internet connection being down, I was unable to publish it.

So to the topic at hand. Pubs. What are pubs? Pubs are establishments which are licensed to serve alcoholic beverages. The word Pub is an english (as in from England, not of the language (though it is)) word. Okay. So we have the non Indian connection right there. Other than that, between a (insert word here indicating place that serves desi) and a pub, I beg to ask, what is the difference? The only one I can come up with is that the desi (serving) establishment is more likely to be frequented by the sort of people who waste away their money on alcohol and beat their wives. So, dear SRS, if you think so much about 'Indian culture', why not target these places and the males that visit them. Surely, not taking care of your family and beating your wife is not Indian culture? Or is it allowed because it is quite likely that half your miserable mob does exactly that?

Really. What is wrong with 'Pub culture' ? I've been to a pub a couple of times. I don't drink, but a couple of friends do. The first time, I felt a little awkward. After that though, I've realised that I quite like the atmosphere of the (solitary) pub I have visited. There are no men/women indulging in obscene acts (as the SRS would have us believe). There are merely a bunch of people having fun with their friends. How is that a crime, Mr Muthalik? Surely, your idea of having fun with friends (i.e. beating up hapless women) is more wrong than ours is? There are a bunch of people singing along with the music in the pub. Is that a crime? I didn't know that it was wrong (or un-Indian) to sing songs, no matter how bad a singer you are. If it were, you've got your public enemy number 1 - Himes bhai. What else happens at a pub? People drink - or to put it more plainly, men and women drink alcoholic drinks. So? Why should that be any of your business? If people want to get drunk, that's their personal choice. If they behave in a manner that is inappropriate, that is between the police and these individuals. Where exactly do you come in to this?

Face it, Mr. Muthalik. You are Nothing. Never were anything. Never will be. Take your insignificance, accept it, and live your insignificant life alone.
GO AWAY.