Tuesday, July 31, 2007

The Sex-Position Playbook

"Smart ways to switch it up in the bedroom"

Ridik Factor - 96

Monday, July 30, 2007

Jen on Hell's Kitchen

Looks like a man, Yes? :)
And, she got thrown!!!

Sunday, July 29, 2007

What does 120 calories look like?

The Linked Article provides information on the serving size of many foods that add up to 120 calories. This is going to become my reference chart for the future. Quick summary - Apples good, candy bad!

Saturday, July 28, 2007

Riding Around, Singing a Song

I have been riding my bike to and from the Pro Club since this idea first occurred to me on Thursday. I am working towards a day when I ride my bike in, play an intense squash match, and ride my bike back without being completely destroyed. Where am I at this moment? I have an extremely sore arse from all the riding. Soreness or not - I ain't wearing no weird biker shorts!

The current routine is to bike the 5+ miles to the club, work a set of muscles in the weight room, and ride back. I played squash just once this past week, so I might play a match today. Actually, even though I had a great night's sleep, I am still feeling the after-effects of a tough week at work. The hours aren't grinding on me anymore, it's just the constant state of high alert that's bringing the fatigue on. The adrenaline constantly pumping through my veins through the day at work is exciting though.

We went to Trinity last night to "celebrate" Mitika's birthday. After multiple weekends of Ridik partying, last night was relatively chill. Threw a shirt on, drove in to Pioneer Square, and hung with friends. The music was inconsistent at best, the DJ seemed to have an identity crisis, or plain didn't know what to play next. Trinity has something for everyone though, so when the RnB section wasn't up to the mark, I'd walk over to the Trance floor to groove. My usual crew of crazies is in Chelan, so I got to hang with a mix of old and new folks - fun party.

Random notes from the week:
- Met Pant after a long time. We're gonna grab lunch this coming week; he has intellectual depth and I'd like to hang with him more often.
- Did I hear trench-coat dress?
- The Simpsons movie gets 4*'s.
- 'Rash is back and made me a new CD - yay!

That's all folks!

Friday, July 27, 2007

Use Google? Want to save Energy?

Apparently, tons of MWs can be saved every year if high traffic sites change from a white to a black background. Agreed that the site's readability takes a severe beating, but it's not a bad attempt at conserving power. I'd much rather prefer gray but for now, I've made Blackle my default search engine. So not only is Black cool, it also helps conserve energy - what are they gonna conjure up next? :)

Thursday, July 26, 2007

Just before we head out to the Simpsons Movie

If I were to write about the things I have been doing since the Legendary night this past weekend I'd be at a loss for words. I repeat, the night was Legendary, and if you missed it, you really missed something. Enough of this talk, instead of typing this, I should work on uploading the pictures from the party, shouldn't I?

Work has really become hectic, and it's going to be crazy like this for the next couple of months till we ship. I found out that the trip to NYC needs to be canceled because there is no business need anymore for me to be in the city. This is a good thing because it is one of my best friends' birthdays on the 3rd, and I'd be really bummed if I missed the occasion. I am also glad that I am not going because of the intense work pressure this week. Though the flip side of the coin is that the trip would present the ideal environment to decompress and recharge. Oh well....

A friend of mine leaves for Wharton this weekend, so I took him out to a celebratory lunch this afternoon. We talked about our expectations, our ambitions, our dreams, and what the immediate future holds for each other over burritos and salsa. It was interesting that both of us concluded that the kind of work pressure we are subjected to at Microsoft doesn't lend to a sustainable lifestyle. The hard choices we make always result in us sacrificing some aspect of our personal life for work, and at some point, that is infeasible. Since I don't think any amount of money is going to give me back these years of my life, I have decided to take matters in my own hands at the end of this release cycle, and seriously rethink my career. It's great to be ambitious, it's great to have aspirations, but it is all to naught if in realizing my dreams and aspirations, I lose out on the spice of life. Balance is an easy word to say, it's a very difficult state of mind to achieve.

I've droned on for longer than I should, and it's time for me to head to the movie hall. Before I leave though, I must say that I am excited for my workout with Amruta tomorrow morning at 8. Hopefully, we can make a habit out of this, and not only will we get fit, but we'll fix our busted sleep cycles as a bonus. Peace!

Monday, July 23, 2007

Ridik Productions Present - 3 Pieces Only

Snacks for the Party - $40
Alcohol and Mixers for the Party - $200
Party Costumes - $25
3 Pieces Only being a huge success - PRICELESS


Friday, July 20, 2007

A Week of Firsts

I usually miss Nikhil's presence in America, but never as much as I did this past Tuesday. Around 7pm on 17 July 2007, I strapped on a helmet, and walked out to bat at the first cricket nets session in my life. Nik and I have been talking about me trying out for one of the many Microsoft Cricket teams, but I hadn't applied myself to the task. All that changed this past Tuesday when I received an email from Santy about the evening's practice session.

I'd say that I played confident strokes 50% of the time I was at the crease, my right thigh is still fresh from the hit it took while I was batting, but this is just the beginning. If I can apply myself, practice often, and concentrate while I am batting, this could be a lot of fun. As regards the other players - they all seemed friendly and accommodating enough to make the entire experience pleasurable.

Spent Monday evening with Karan, Monu and Nikko Aunty; we talked about politics, religion, work, Apple and its ability to be on the cutting edge of innovation, etc. I didn't sleep much that night, but the yoga session with aunty in the morning powered me through the day. I have woken up a little earlier every day since so I hope the trend continues.

Random Stuff"s":
- After listening to Amru ramble on about not eating carbs at night, I gave it a shot today, and my stomach is rumbling right now
- I drove on 520 today and they have done a great job repaving the freeway. Kudos WSDOT
- My car is street legal till 2008 now, what with the shiny new tabs affixed to the license plate
- I played 2 squash matches this evening, both against Erich. The result was the same in both
- Work is fun, but will be very hectic the next couple of weeks. The furious activity and the long nights will culminate in a Marketing trip to NYC. I am hella excited about that.

And finally, ZJ Manoj takes over the booth this evening at 4 for two hours of hip hop, trance, reggae, and some rock. I'll put up a list of the songs I played soon.

Peace Out!

Thursday, July 12, 2007

Should A-Rod stick around while the Bronx burns down?

Question is no longer whether Alex Rodriguez is good enough for the New York Yankees...

The Yankees, with one of their worst seasons in recent history, have played themselves into a corner. With a record of 42-43 at the All Star Break, their performance begs the question - Will the Yankees make it to the playoffs this year? If they do, how far will they go? With such speculation rife in Baseball circles, A-Rod, the lightning rod for the Bombers this year, must be rethinking his place in the Yankees lineup. It is no secret that after having received almost every accolade possible for a baseball player except a World Series ring, Alex is a man on a mission to augment his case with this last elusive trophy. Turns out, he might have to wait another year (and maybe find a new team) to accomplish his mission. To quote the article:
The Yankees, you see, no longer offer him the best chance. Seriously: Does anyone believe the Yankees are any closer to a title than, say, the Cleveland Indians? Or the Detroit Tigers? Or the Los Angeles Dodgers? Or the Milwaukee Brewers, for heaven's sake?

Over the next three or four years, those teams should contend better than the Yankees, mainly because they're not on the verge of crumbling anytime soon. They don't need an immediate and expensive makeover, unlike the Yankees, who must address serious issues in their starting pitching, bullpen and outfield, all of which are failing and getting old on them.
I don't for a second doubt Alex's smarts, and his savvy. To be making 26 million a year, you need more than baseball skills to land that contract. It remains to be seen what the rest of the season has in store for the Yankees; Yankees fans, its detractors, and now A-Rod are all going to microscopically examine how the season unfolds. It might just be that A-Rod quits mid-season if the team continues to let him down, and that will definitely end all hopes for a Yankees post-season. Stay tuned...

Wednesday, July 11, 2007

ZJ Manoj spinning tunes on Friday

I have been asked to man the DJ booth this Friday evening in the Zune Atrium starting at 4pm. I have a list of tracks that I'd like to mix for first 45 of the 90 odd minutes I'll be a "ZJ", so I need your help. Here's what I need from you:

1. Do you like ZJ Manoj? If not, what should it be - ZJ Jhatax? :)
2. I need song recommendations from you. If the songs you recommend make the cut, I'll make you an mp3/wma/aac cd with all the songs I spin on Friday.

Peace!

Sunday, July 08, 2007

Want to give an Impactful Presentation?

If yes, then the linked article contains 5 tips that will get you started on the path to creating audience tension, and excitement like only one man in the Technology World can - Steve Job. Here is a list of the things to bear in mind when you want your presentation to be memorable:

1. Build Tension
2. Keep your slides simple - stick to one theme per slide
3. Modulate your voice, and use emphasis at the opportune moments to engage the audience
4. Practice, practice, practice
5. Be Honest and Show Enthusiasm

Good Luck!

Friday, July 06, 2007

iPhone cracked: You Don't Say?

Lo and Behold, the iPhone has been cracked; I sure as hell didn't see that coming! Here is a breakdown of how this "hole" in the iTunes-iPhone partnership can be exploited:

1. Get Hex editor - easy (if you're thinking WTF is hex, skip to Step 8)
2. Open iTunes in said Hex editor - easy
3. Look for some magic codes - duh!
4. Re-write some values - it's not rocket science dunce hat
5. Save changes
6. Find and edit your hosts file
7. Install some .Net framework
As easy as "Lather, Rinse". If something goes wrong, "Repeat" else goto :next-para

8. Hello normal, non-geek person. Welcome to my blog!

:next-para
No article is complete without a post-mortem of sorts so let me keep with tradition, and ramble on. After going through all this hassle, you can't use the iPhone as a Phone anymore. What's left after activation is a WiPod(TM), a wireless iPod (yes, that's my term). It's a shame that the Jesus Phone will be reduced to a mere shadow of itself, those heathens I tell you.
"I think it's bit, shall we say, 'expensive' to buy the iPhone and not use it as a phone. But if you're looking for a widescreen iPod and a small web surfing device that you can use at WiFi hotspots without having to worry about a monthly bill, then you might want to check out what DVD Jon has in store.
Stupid Apple - they didn't think of this earlier, and start a similar gimmick themselves. Come to think of it, they are potentially making a $400 loss on their current iPods, at the current retail price of $250 (+tax). Considering that people are willing to pay $650 for an iPhone, and then downgrade it to a WiPod(TM), I am sure these individuals wouldn't mind paying the extra money to Apple directly if they were saved the headache of the aforementioned "Lather, Rinse, Repeat" cycle. For once, Apple has missed out on a real cash cow, it's a real shame. If I was a powerful person in the world, this analysis would result in Apple's share price falling a few points, but that's a pipe dream so Apple's shareholders can take pause, and heave a sigh of relief.

Here's the true rub - I wonder how these people who have so proudly "hacked" their iPhone into a WiPod will feel when Apple will release the Real McCoy WiPod(TM) for $299. For the rest of us budget-constrained folks looking for a Wireless music player that you browse the Internet with, the PSP is a great option at $169.

PS3 $499 on July 12

I'm IN

Wednesday, July 04, 2007

The 4th of July 2007

The American Independence Day is often celebrated with friends at a barbeque, or sitting around in a park waiting for the fireworks to go off. Some of us are lucky enough to have the privilege of hosting a bbq in the evening, and follow it up with watching the fireworks go off. Thirteen of us got together at #18402, cooked, ate, and had a jolly good time this evening. It was time spent with my inner circle, and not for a minute did I think about work from the moment we started preparing for the event. Jugz and I came up with a list of things to buy, the purchases were made, the grill was fired up, and we were away.

It took about 20 minutes to clean up after everyone left, and this exhaustion feels so sweet. It is days like these that make life worth living, and if you were here this evening, thanks for making this day memorable. Peace to all!