Sunday, January 11, 2009

Controller issues

Coming straight to the point, I just can't seem to play an FPS on the PS3 as fluidly as I could on my PC. The controller is just way too jacked up for me. I fail to understand why developers can't integrate the keyboard mouse setup to the PS3. There are exceptions of course like UT can be played with a keyboard,mouse setup, but for the most part this rule does not apply.

There is a device available 'FragFX' which supposed to map the Keybd,mouse combo well but since the damage is a 100$ I haven't had that much inclination to go and get one especially since V.2 of it is supposed to be even better but hasn't arrived yet.

For now I guess like most gamers I will have to keep getting used to the controller for FPS.:(

Saturday, January 10, 2009

Finger Workout.

This post comes after going thru SEV's post


105 Questions

1. EVER BEEN GIVEN AN ENGAGEMENT RING?

No.(And am in no hurry to get one either)

2. LONGEST RELATIONSHIP?

Almost a year

3. LAST GIFT YOU RECEIVED?

PS3

4. EVER DROPPED A CELL PHONE?

Yes, lots of times

5. WHEN IS THE LAST TIME YOU WORKED OUT?

Thursday(01/08)

6. THING(S) YOU SPEND A LOT OF MONEY ON?

Ps3 game titles

7. LAST FOOD YOU ATE?

Turkey Keema n Roti

8. FIRST THINGS YOU NOTICE ABOUT THE OPPOSITE SEX?

Hair.

9. ONE FAVORITE SONG?

Fade to Black - Metallica

10. WHERE DO YOU LIVE?

421, Saxon Rd, Apt 401, Lansing,MI, 48917

11. HIGH SCHOOL YOU ATTENDED:

AEJC (Atomic Energy JC)

12. CELL PHONE SERVICE PROVIDER:

ATnT

13. FAVORITE MALL STORE:

GAP, Panda Express(If you count that as a store)

14. LONGEST JOB YOU HAD:

1.5 Years (Chartwells Catering in Rolla)

15. DO YOU OWN A PAIR OF DICE?

No

16. DO YOU PRANK CALL PEOPLE?

No. Have better things to do.

17. LAST WEDDING YOU ATTENDED:

Loong time ago. Way too long ago.( I did attend an engagement ceremony tho the last time I was in India. July 07)

18. FIRST FRIEND YOU’D CALL IF YOU WON THE LOTTERY:

Hmm...maybe Gerard/Dhake/Mihir

19. LAST TIME YOU SAW YOUR BEST FRIEND?

Quite a while since I saw any of the three above. Met Dhake before I left Rolla in Jan(skiing), met Gerard in March (NYC), Mihir in July(Chicago). All in 2007.

20. FAVORITE FAST FOOD RESTAURANT:

BK....yeaaaaaah.....

21. BIGGEST LIE YOU HAVE EVER HEARD:

"My eyes are paining"....LMAO....

23. WHERE’S YOUR FAVORITE PLACE TO EAT WITH FRIENDS?

No Snooty n Snobbish places for sure....Maybe a food court in a mall...

24. CAN YOU COOK?

Well Enough (Nowadays)

25. WHAT CAR DO YOU DRIVE?

Mercury Cougar 2000

26. BEST KISSER?

Bishop (An Alaskan Malamute)

27. LAST TIME YOU CRIED?

Absolutely No Idea...

28. MOST DISLIKED FOODS:

Karela, Brinjal(Eggplant) for sure.

29. THING YOU LIKE MOST ABOUT YOURSELF:

Will do some very crazy stuff if need be for that at the moment

30. THING YOU DISLIKE MOST ABOUT YOURSELF:

Same as above. Some of the crazy stuff can be deemed stupid as well.

32. LONGEST SHIFT YOU HAVE WORKED AT A JOB?

All night while I was a GRA in UMR.

33. FAVORITE MOVIE?

Aaaaah a tough one...depending on the moment it can be Gunda, Memento, LOTR - ROTK, Deewar(1975), Lord of War....k...nuff said.....

34. CAN YOU SING?

Yes

35. LAST CONCERT ATTENDED?

Trapt/ Shinedown in Rolla

36. LAST KISS?

Great Song by PJ

37. LAST MOVIE RENTED:

Batman Begins.

38. THINGS YOU NEVER LEAVE THE HOUSE WITHOUT?

Keys.

39. FAVORITE VACATION SPOT:

Chicago (Of curs)

43. LAPTOP OR DESKTOP COMPUTER?

Laptop.

44. FAVORITE COMEDIAN?

Seinfeld, Rasssaaal Peters, Colbert

45. DO YOU SMOKE?

Occasionally.

46. SLEEP WITH OR WITHOUT CLOTHES?

With.

47. WHO SLEEPS WITH YOU EVERY NIGHT?

No one. I sleep better that way.

48. DO LONG DISTANCE RELATIONSHIPS WORK?

Difficult to make em work. But yes they can.

49. HOW MANY TIMES HAVE YOU BEEN PULLED OVER BY THE POLICE?

Once.

50. PANCAKES OR FRENCH TOAST?

Neither. A tall glass of orange juice plz.

51. DO YOU LIKE COFFEE?

I like it better than chai, but again I would prefer a tall glass of orange juice over both.

52 HOW DO YOU LIKE YOUR EGGS?

Boiled.

53. DO YOU BELIEVE IN ASTROLOGY?

No.

54. LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE?

Watwe

55. LAST PERSON ON YOUR MISSED CALL LIST?

Watwe. (I was just returning the call.)

56. WHAT WAS THE LAST TEXT MESSAGE YOU RECEIVED?

ATnT - Promotional Offer

58. NUMBER OF PILLOWS?

One.

59. WHAT ARE YOU WEARING RIGHT NOW?

Yellow UMR tee.

60. PICK A LYRIC, ANY LYRIC:

Aankhon kaa hai dhoka...aisa tera pyaar...tera emotional atyaachaar....- Dev D

61. WHAT KIND OF JELLY DO YOU LIKE ON YOUR PB & J?:

Doesn't matter. I hate PB.

62. CAN YOU PLAY POOL?

No.

63. CAN YOU SWIM?

Very Well. (I used to be a lifeguard once)

64. FAVORITE ICE CREAM?

Chocolate flavored anything.

65. DO YOU LIKE MAPS?

Yes. If they are useful

66. TELL ME A RANDOM FACT ABOUT YOURSELF:

I hate things with their pointy ends pointed at me.

68. EVER ATTEND A THEME PARTY?

No.

69. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SEASON?

Mumbai in Summer or Scorching Heat in Nagpur.

70. LAST TIME YOU LAUGHED AT SOMETHING STUPID?

Yesterday.

71. WHAT TIME DID YOU WAKE UP THIS MORNING?

8.30 - 9 am

72. BEST THING ABOUT WINTER?

Staying Indoors.

73. LAST TIME A COP GAVE YOU A TICKET?

Never.

75. NAME OF YOUR FIRST PET?

Never had one.

76. DO YOU THINK PIRATES ARE COOL OR OVERRATED?

Overrated.

77. WHAT ARE YOU DOING THIS WEEKEND?

Lazing around the house.

78. BIRTH DATE?

23rd Sept.

79. WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE:

I am human...does the above question mean I have a choice over here...??

85. ARE YOU ON A LAPTOP?

Yes.

87. ARE YOU SMILING?

No. I was smiling till Q79...and now I am NOT.

89. DO YOU MISS SOMEONE RIGHT NOW?

No.

90. IF YOU COULD GO ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD, WHERE WOULD YOU GO?

Chicago....duh...

92. ARE YOU IN HIGH SCHOOL?

No.

93. DO YOU HAVE A CRUSH?

Yes. Most of the time. They keep changing though.

94. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE NAME?

Hmm....Maya (cos it has to do with magic n supernatural stuff)

95. WHAT COLOR IS YOUR SWIMMING SUIT?

Navy Blue.

96. DOES YOUR SCHOOL START IN AUGUST?

Most schools in India start in Aug. What a dumb Q.

97. DID YOU GO ON VACATION LAST MONTH?

No. $$ issues.

8. HAVE YOU EVER BEEN ON A CRUISE?

Yes.

99. DO YOU HAVE A SISTER?

No.

100. ARE YOU UPSTAIRS?

No. (Again stupid Q)

101. ARE YOU IN LOVE?

Of curs.

102. HAVE YOU EVER BEEN IN THE HOSPITAL?

Yes.(Several times)

103. DO YOU WISH YOU COULD SEE ANYONE PARTICULAR RIGHT NOW?

Lots of ppl.

104. WHO IS IT?

Like I said a whole lot of ppl.

105. WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO AFTER THIS?

Watch some TV probably.Drink Water. Laze some more.


Woohooo...i finally got through this list....

Saturday, December 27, 2008

Photogenix

Photography is a hobby that requires a tremendous amount of interest and patience. I have a ton of friends who are into this and purchase all the required stuff for it like lenses, tripods, filters etc. I myself have never been 'into' this hobby much. I would much rather be in front of the camera rather than behind it. Its not that I do not enjoy taking pictures. But as long as they are of some occasion rather than just abstract shots then its fine.

People take pictures of random trees, flowers, scenery etc. etc. and I will end up just looking at something like this for a moment or two and then forgetting all about it. Its not that it don't like the picture its just that the picture is absolutely pointless. Maybe a really good picture will end up being on someone's desktop wallpaper someday.(I have a picture of the Golden Gate bridge from SFO on my desktop at work right now). But other that its 'just a picture'. There is nothing in that pic which will have me looking at it 10 years from now and getting all nostalgic about it. Sure if I was the one who actually took the picture then definitely it would be a hell of a story to tell.

Probably my situation is same the reverse as well where I am more interested in car mods like intakes,exhaust systems that won't appeal to all my photographer buddies.

P.S. I did own a canon basic digicam sometime back but now that I have sent it away to India I make do with my cellphone cam.

Sunday, December 7, 2008

Driver's Choice


While driving depending on the mood I usually put on some music. Most of the music I have burned on CD's is bollywood and there are a couple of cd's which are floyd,led zepp, ACDC and the like. But I preferably try to listen to bollywood dhinchak tracks. This is because you never ever hear bollywood stuff anywhere else. I mean I can always listen to Death Magnetic (Metallica's latest outing) on the radio but never ever will I get to hear 'Sundara sundara' from Rakshak on the radio(not even in Dallas,TX with its desi radio stations).

But one genre I avoid while driving is ghazals. I do listen to some occasionally during an extended booze session but never while driving. I believe there should be a specific genre known as 'roadtrip' with songs like 'Turn the page-Metallica','Barracuda-Heart','Chick Habit-April March' and of course 'Roadhouse Blues-The Doors'. (Here's some more)

Driving with songs like these on brings something else to the entire driving experience altogether. Also songs which one may enjoy in a party or at a rock concert do not necessarily translate back into being songs one can enjoy while driving.(I can only listen to Indian Ocean/Lucky Ali these many times but not everytime man...)

An open,clear road, the wheel, good music (and of course cheap gas) and that is a combination that can also be called your 'Stairway to Heaven' (Pls do not take the 'Heaven' term literally over here. Drive Safe.)

Monday, December 1, 2008

Apna Hollywood

A lot of hollywood movies are dubbed into Hindi for the mass audience in India where an American accent is the stumbling block. Subtitles are too distracting and take away from the 'action' ;) on screen.

I have managed to come across several recently including:

1.Indiana Jones aur Chamkili Kapaal ki Saltanat (Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull)
2. Mahashaktimaan (The Matrix)
3. Mita Doonga Naam-o-Nishaan (Eraser)
4. LOTR - Anguthi ke Hifaazatgaar (LOTR - Fellowship of the Ring)
5. Mayaawi Talwar (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon)

I could go on and on about these titles. Now we are speechless when titles like these come up because we, desi junta are more used to the sugary sweet titles like K3G, KKHH, DDLG, Mohabattein. This is where Bollywood distributors have got it all wrong. You don't see movies like 50 first dates, Knocked Up, Amelie getting translated into Hindi, thats because we can dish out equivalent romantic comedy types but when it comes to action, now that's a different story. Even the most well executed stunts end up looking hilarious (of course there are exceptions) and we end up splitting our sides.

I wish there comes a day when Hollywood will translate our fare into English and see for themselves how mutilated this whole dub-redub process becomes and that day we get to hear the immortal dialog
"Children of Pigs. They were two and you three !!, even then you returned !!. What did you think, the ringleader would be joyous and shower praises on you !!! " (Any guesses about this masterpiece in its original form)

Saturday, November 22, 2008

Discovery Channel updates

I keep getting these updates in my gmail inbox which keep me updated with the 'latest news' around the world. Quite a few of which happen to do with discovery channel.Now I fail to understand who even keeps abreast of this stuff. I have a ton of other crap in my head already without the need for more nonsense to cram into it.

Who does even care about news like "Ancient chariot found in Bulgaria" or "New remains of CroMagnon discovered". I fail to understand even the least amount of importance 'news' like this has to my life. I worry enough about the economy and gas prices and my next set of tickets to India to even get into this crap.

Which brings me to the point that Indiana Jones may be the most dashing archeologist but except for treasure hunting I really doubt am ever going to be interested in digging around old bones and sculptures.How would the Indy movies ever work if he was just shown to be digging around scavenging fossils and finally ending up as an old foggy museum curator.

Yes, yes I know that keeping in touch with the past allows us(mankind) to know ourselves better. Well then keep it out of the news unless something really relevant happens(Maybe they discover an AIDS cure in trillion year old insect DNA preserved in amber). Until something really ground breaking comes along am still going to be bothered about the economy, gas prices and other mundane activites of the day.

I can picture a scene from FRIENDS in context of this where Ross(PhD in Paleontology) goes into the nursing ward with Rachel to see Dr.Green(Rachel's Dad) and introduces himself as Dr.Gellar and Rachel reminds him that they are in a hospital and the prefix 'Dr.' really means something over here.

P.S. Its great to be back :)

Saturday, August 16, 2008

Linux'd (again)


Very few people other than active developers are into linux and use it as their main OS. Even those who do use it occasionally do have the dual boot feature with Windows just so that some features are easier to use in Windows than Linux.

This is aversion to linux is also unfortunately something for which the development dept is to blame as well (atleast partially). One of the biggest things being video rendering related s/w. I did a lot of that during Diwali Night at Rolla, making those presentations for the show but haven't seen anything like Adobe Premiere,After Effects on linux (yet). Not to mention the loss of gaming since then too. Very few games are out there which are fully supported by Linux and those that do run do so on WINE(Win Emulator :P).

Dhake and myself were having a discussion yesterday on s-video capture through linux since that was one of the few things for which he still had a Win dual boot on his system. Finally after some poking around I suppose he got through to it and hopefully will now ditch Win totally :). Later when Alok (handy Linux quick ref guy) and myself were chatting about situations like these and he came up with a situation where one day if a couple of linux guys started a company then they would no doubt use Linux for everything. However the kicker is that today most companies (atleast all the application/service provider ones) do NOT use Linux.

This is mainly due to the fact that Linux is restricted to the techy guys rather than to the mainstream eg. Business Analysts, Sales, Marketing, QA, Conversion, Customer Service Rep, App Analyst, so on and so forth. Also until someone can effectively demonstrate that business can be as usual in Linux as in Windows the scenario will still never change. (and Microsoft will continue to reap their millions).

It may take time and patience to wade a bit through various Linux forums to come up with quick answers to even the most basic things but it definitely is worthwhile in the end. Unfortunately both time and patience is something that very very few people have today and the same translates to the corporate environment as well.