Author: thisduck

From Larry O’Brien and Bruce Eckel in Thinking in C#:

Computer programming is tremendous fun. Like music, it is a skill that derives from an unknown blend of innate talent and constant practice. Like drawing, it can be shaped to a variety of ends – commercial, artistic, and pure entertainment. Programmers have a well-deserved reputation for working long hours but are rarely credited with being driven by creative fevers. Programmers talk about software development on weekends, vacations, and over meals not because they lack imagination, but because their imagination reveals worlds that others cannot see.

(via Trustin Lee)

asking for… a human touch

though we asked for just a letter,
from you, we had expected better
we want words
that will make our minds drift
and our hearts blink
but please, not words
from a printer’s ink

jab tak haathoon mein hai jaan,
un haathoon se likh meri jaan
lafz jo dum se likhe ho
tere khalam se likhe ho.

(p.s. we’re not asking for
a song or a tune,
but now you must scent
the letter with perfume)

letter

it’s a mac yo!

The iPod Touch (hereinafter referred to as itouch) arrived last Friday, and the macbook (hereinafter referred to as macbook) arrived Monday. Which was great because I got to spend Canada Day with the macbook.

About the itouch, I had been researching eReaders for a while. The Kindle was not a possibility because it’s only available in the States, plus it’s extremely expensive and doesn’t natively read PDFs. The iLiad? Also very expensive. The Cybook? Decently priced, but still pricey. At some point I was seriously considering the Sony Reader. But with all the research I couldn’t still justify spending hundreds on another device to carry around. So I looked into the itouch, to see whether it would could be used as an ebook reader. I was skeptical since it only has a 3.5 inch screen (compared to 6 to 8 inch screens on the ereaders). I knew the pain of trying to read PDFs on a small screen when I tried it out on a Sony Erricson PDA. You have to scroll horizontally forward and backward for each line. Not fun. And I still couldn’t justify purchasing another MP3 player.

But as fate would have it (it always does), my laptop screen broke and I had to make a decision. I had also been researching tablet pcs for a while and was really high on getting one. I eventually went with the macbook.

“Why macbook?”, you ask. And I’m glad you did.

Well, for many reasons. While the tablet would have been a great play toy, and great for taking notes during work or school, the macbook’s benefits outweighed the tablet’s.

First of all, going from PC to Mac is like changing religions. It’s not a small step. It’s not easy at the start and has its bumps.

You may be distracted by the fancy exterior and the shiny graphics of the Mac, but I’m more interested in what’s inside. Mac hardware is known to be rock solid when it comes to personal PCs. They recently switched to an intel based processor (more on this later). The operating system, Mac OS X, is a Unix based OS and written/modified specifically to work with Mac’s hardware.

I extremely dislike Windows’ navigation system and much prefer to use the command-line on a Linux machine, specially when it comes to software development. So to keep my sanity I was having to keep source code files on a Ubuntu Linux VMWare install, and I would SSH into it to access and manipulate the files and using IntelliJ or Zend Studio on the Windows end. With the macbook, I get the best of both worlds, I can use my IDEs and access the command-line whenever I want. Unlike the other Unix environments, Mac can actually run programs like Photoshop and the like. Win-win.

Now, if there is ever a moment where I need to run software that will only run on Windows and not a Mac, I can use VMWare or Parallels (haven’t decided which yet) to install a Windows virtual machine. I’m using VMWare’s trail version and it’s much better for the Mac than it was for windows. I still want to give Parallels a shot. This is where the Intel chipset comes in real handy, the Windows virtual machine runs really well on the Mac. Really really well.

I want to delve into Rails development, and most of the Rails world uses Mac and they recently started using git as their SCM tool. And git really works well with Unix based systems. Most of the Rails books use a Mac as a default platform. Macbook, win-win.

I really like the desktop navigation features, the F8 to F11 keys help me easily get to any window I want without having to plow through Alt-Tab selections. It’s really good.

But the macbook is not without its quirks. The keyboard is fine, but I still need to get used to the trackpad mouse. Particularly dealing with the speed at which the mouse pointer moves, and the size of the trackpad: it’s huge! I also don’t like how when I’m filling out forms the tab key takes me to the address bar instead of the next form element. I don’t want to have to flame my carpal-tunnel having to reach for the trackpad every time I fill out a form. The Firefox theme on the macbook is just… no. It’s not right. I still haven’t found a theme I like yet.

But getting the Unix features with a great GUI trumps all of that. This is not a toy, it’s a real heavy-duty machine. I could use it for pretty much anything I would use a PC for, except gaming. I don’t play games much anymore.

Oh yes… the itouch. This is an exciting device. What makes it different from all the previous iPod versions is that it has Mac OS X installed on it. Which really makes it a mini-tablet computer! After hacking (or jail-breaking as it’s called in the itouch world) into it, I can load up a shell prompt and play with the command-line. The wifi allows me to SSH into it from another computer, and it can even run a web server. Madness and awesomeness, for a device so small. So deceptive, yet powerful and strong. I can check mail on it and download Google Reader feeds onto it and browse through them on the subway.

Reading full-sized PDFs on it is still a pain, but reading properly formatted PDFs is fine. Just getting properly formatted PDFs is hard. I need to find a way to convert normal PDFs to iPod PDFs. But HTML/text based ebooks are fine. In fact, they’re great. The itouch is a great e-book reader! I downloaded a bunch of books from ManyBooks.net and will make my way through them.

I was originally excited about the itouch because it’s 3.5 inch screen is great for watching video. I have yet to transfer a single video to it.

I may post tweaks and tips that I’ve come across for the macbook to make it more comfortable.

movies you should watch

After attempting to watch a number of movies that just didn’t work out, I barely watched any movies up until a few days ago.

This reminded about the good movies out there that people generally don’t watch because they’re not popular. I hate it when people make blanket statements about Bollywood films all being crap, as if Hollywood makes better movies. People just don’t watch the right films, and don’t stop watching the wrong films.

Iqbal – On the surface it seems like just another sports movie. Which it is. It seems to follow the same formula for the most part. But it’s filmed and paced very well. My favourite character was Khadija, played by Shweta Prasad. Shreyas Talpade was very good, but Shweta Prasad was fabulous! Wonderful acting all around. 9/10.

Khosla Ka Ghosla – I enjoyed this movie a lot. Loads of fun. Real people with real issues. Good songs as well, “Ab Kya Karenge Bhai” by Adnan Sami taking the cake. It’s extra good because the song applied to both the father and the son in the movie. This is one of those movies you know in the first 10 minutes that it’s going to be good. If nothing else, there is one particular scene that makes the movie worth watching. 9/10.

Ramji Londonwaley – Hahahahahhaa. Enough said. But I’ll say some more. The movie is rough around the edges, but still has a dreamy quality to it. There are multiple hilarious sequences, but then there are also sequences where you doubt the director’s abilities. Almost as if it was directed/edited by two different people. All in all, a very fun movie. 8/10.

Main, Meri Patni Aur Woh – Another fun movie. Rajpal Yadav actually having to act more than his usual roles, and he comes through. Good songs as well. 8/10.

Waisa Bhi Hota Hai Part II – Generally I would feel odd about a movie like this. Because it seems to have been heavily inspired by Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction and Guy Ritchie’s Snatch. But WBHHP2’s film makers come out and acknowledge their inspirations (the mention the Coen Brothers). All the parts that you need to see are in the same movie, so don’t worry about the part 2 tag. It’s a very well made film, with great performances by all the main actors. Prashant Narayanan was great in his role, but needs to appear in more movies. Sandhya Mridul (Rani Mukherjee’s sister in Saathiya) was great as well, I think she’s a very good actor. Arshad Warsi was hilarious. This really was a well made movie. 9/10.

Dor – Another one by Nagesh Kukunoor. Must watch. 10/10.

Kaun – I couldn’t walk away without throwing in a Ram Gopal Varma movie in here. I loved this movie because of the situation it was made under. Just three actors and one location. A great story that was very well directed. Manoj Bajpai has to be my favourite actor. 9/10.

There are a bunch of movies I’m missing here. But if there are any here you haven’t seen, then this is a good start.

neeli chatri – blue umbrella

The Blue Umbrella, directed by Vishal Bharadwaj, is too much fun.

How does one write the screenplay, compose the music and direct the movie? Fascinating!

I thought the cinematography was very interesting, although dizzying at times. But it plays part in the storytelling process, which I thought was masterful. That’s the aspect I enjoyed most about the movie. The way it tells this story. All this for an umbrella, haha, but the setup and the follow through were really well executed.

Pankaj Kapoor was brilliant. The kids could have been a bit better.

I enjoyed the movie a lot.

9/10

voices that rise

this one’s for you

these are the voices that rise
that come in on a tide
on top a wave
to make you cave
under the pressing weight
of your absurdities
can you hear
the voices that rise?

these are the voices that listen
even against the ticking clock
they sit down and talk
but when time runs out
they stand up and shout
when will you listen
and stop ignoring
the voices that rise?

it comes as no shock nor surprise
your attempts to criminalize dissent
your minds bent
upon keeping at bay
thoughts that resent
your illusions of progress.
this, reflected on the faces
of the cops that you rent
meant
to keep silent
the voices that rise.

lord knows it’s a shame
when you can’t hold fort
you run for the courts
manufacturing lies
that ruin lives
to serve the few
you bend what’s true
so fuck you
as you try and subdue
the voices that rise.

broken

i did, i knew it was coming. and the day has come.

my laptop screen has gone kaput.

now i must make one of the biggest decisions, perhaps the biggest decision, of my adult life.

mac or tablet pc?

update: i ordered the mac (upped the ram to 4GB). also got a itouch to go with it (100% rebate for students going to school this sept).

gulzar ke nazm

These are two interesting Gulzar poems.

The first one is “Maut”(Death) . It’s from Anand, my favourite movie, and it’s recited in my favourite scene in the movie.

maut

[direct audio link]
[audio:http://www.jaaduhai.com/tunes/adnan/bol5/kavita1.mp3]

maut tu ek kavita hai
mujhse ek kavita ka vaada hai, milegi mujhko

doobti nafzoon mein jab dard to neend aane lage
zard sa chehra liye chand ufak tak pohnche
din abhi paani mein ho, raat kinare ke kareeb
na andhera, na ujaala ho
na abhi raat, na din
jism jab khatm ho, aur rooh ko jab(*) saans aaye

mujhse ek kavita ka vaada hai, milegi mujhko

(*) The word “jab” is in the actual poem, however I left it out while reciting.

The second poem needs no introduction.

naam tera

[direct audio link]
[audio:http://www.jaaduhai.com/tunes/adnan/bol5/naamtera.mp3]

nazm uljhi hui hai seene mein
misre atke hue hain hothoon par

urte phirte hain titliyoon ki tarah
yeh(*) lafz kaagaz pe baithte hi nahin

kab se baitha hoon main jaanam
saade kaagaz pe likh ke naam tera

bas tera naam hi mukammal hai
is se behtar bhi nazm kya hogi
——

(*) “yeh” is actually not in the poem. It made it it a lot easier to recite with the “yeh”.