Holi

Holi is coming again. It's not a festival that I particularly look forward to. It's definitely not one of my favorite festivals. Heck, it's not even one of my 'tolerate-enough-to-say-nothing-about' festivals. I dislike it a lot.

For starters, it's very messy. I don't mind the water at all; that's even fun sometimes. The colours are just about bearable. I'd endure them for one day. It's the rest of the muck that people start playing with that really disgusts me. Folks start using grease, paint, rotten eggs, cow dung and lord knows what else. I'd just don't get the point of that; I mean, its supposed to be a festival of colours; not a festival of filth.

Then there are the people themselves. They have just no self-control. For days before and after they'd be throwing water balloons and colours at passersby and motorists. Why force someone to take part in something they clearly don't want to? If you're enjoying yourself, that's just peachy; but don't force me to join you and have fun because I won't. If I want to I'll do it on my own terms, in my own way.

The worst part is that some individuals ( guys, actually ) interpret the occassion as permission and a pretext to get in touch ( literally! ) with girls. I've been told that guys freely feel up females while celebrating and that the girls don't really mind it. I think that's nonsense. No occassion warrants such blatant violation of someone's personal space. And the idea that it being a festival makes it ok just shows you how perversely people think.

Well, come Sunday, I'll be sitting, locked up, at home, as usual.

Invention

"Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration."

- Thomas Alva Edison ( 1847 - 1931 )

But in the end, it is the 1% that really matters. You could slog at something for weeks or months and get nowhere. Actually, you probably wouldn't even get started if it weren't for the initial 'A-ha!'.

There are so many inventions that are taken for granted but are just so wonderful. Take the safety pin. It is such an amazing design; simple, elegant and yet infinitely useful. Whatever would hold nappies together if it weren't for these little things? Consider also the stapler, paper clips, key rings, sticky notes, clothes pegs, band-aids and uncountable other things that make life so convenient. It's all about finding a niche to fill.

So I've been doing a little thinking about what I'd like to see created. You know how, with computers, you can change your desktop and visual themes to suit your mood or preferences any time you like? It great that when you get tired of looking at the same wallpaper everyday, you can choose another. Now, OLEDs seem to be big. And one possible application I see is in t-shirts. I know it sounds weird, but think about it. You could have a chip and the OLED embedded in you t-shirt and have some way, possibly Bluetooth or maybe through a cable that plugs in to the shirt at one end and the computer at the other, to load an image ( or even images so you have a choice later ) to be displayed as your t-shirt's 'print'. I think that would be really cool, to be able to select what your t-shirt looks like everyday; maybe even many times a day; to reflect your mood or your preference.

But this is something that I feel is more or less bound to happen soon. It's just waiting to be developed, what with clothes embedded with electronics being showcased all over and chips getting smaller in size and larger in capacity and just cheaper everyday. What I'd really want; what I really need, is some sort of contraption that will give me a way to manage my earphones! Something that will allow a quick-release from the 'put-away' state so I can just plug them in and put them in my ears without having to untangle the wires; and also vice-versa - when I'm done, I should be able to roll them up or wind them back or whatever, quickly and easily. Now that would be an invention. :D

I dream about inventing these things and being lauded the world-over. But, alas! I'm more dreamer than inventor. And I certainly am incapable of putting in the required '99% perspiration' !

Contentment And Resentment

Why is that every time I start feeling that I'm working hard enough and not a complete idiot, and lull my self into a ( false ) sense of security; someone has to come along and reaffirm my only slightly weakened belief that I'm useless, incompetent and a fool who doesn’t put in enough effort?

I don't want to be the best at everything. But I don't want to be constantly reminded of my shortcomings. I just want to be content being who I am.

Cold Milkshake Tip

I prefer cold coffee or a cold milkshake to a hot milk drink. But as we all know, Bournvita or Horlicks doesn't quite mix well with cold milk. It all just lumps together and floats on the top. It is fun to scoop it out and munch on but it leaves the milk rather insipid with only a very faint flavour. You could spend some unproductive minutes trying to crush the lumps but that doesn't really help.

Now, what I've discovered is this ( and ignore me if you already knew and carry on with whatever it is that you were doing, but those of you who weren't aware of this and wished for an easier way to mix cold milk with a mix, will thank me ) - If you make a paste of the additive, Horlicks or Bournvita or whatever else with water first, it will blend like a dream!

You could add just a little bit of water and the mix to your glass first to just make a paste or you could add more to make a sort of syrup. Stir firmly and crush all lumps to get a smooth paste/ syrup. Either way, when you add the milk, there'll be no more frustration and cold, smooth milky goodness.

This is how I start my mornings now; and so can you! All for the cost of having visited my blog and read this post! Not such a bad deal is it? :D

Intelligence

Ever since school, I've wondered if it really is possible to quantify intelligence with the myriad of tests and examinations that most of us end up taking through the course of our lives. There are tests in schools, tests to clear to get into college, tests to get through college, tests to get a job, tests to certify proficiency with something, tests to test soundness of mind; it’s maddening.

Most of these tests don't really test how well you can handle the knowledge you have or what you can do with it. What they do test is how well you can remember stuff that you've mugged up. Application of skills or intelligence is pretty limited. And I hate that.

I don't have the patience to learn up facts and figures listed in tables for some subject. I hate having to cram up arcane details of some chip or board. I have no need to remember that the range of a byte in Java is 0 to 2¹⁶. If I want I can either calculate it or look it up somewhere. I feel that all these things should be in reference books and not memorized. If it does happen to get imprinted onto your mind in the course of using it then that’s great. But you shouldn't be forced to have to learn them.

And it really bugs me that people who know nothing about nothing manage to put in a few hours of hard work ( alright I'll give them that, they work hard at it ) to mug up the required stuff and then manage to excel at the afore mentioned exams. I know that I'm better than quite a few of them at figuring out problems and troubleshooting and understanding what is going on with a program; but I also know ( found out the hard way actually; through experience ) that in a straight test, most of them would beat me in the marks department if given sufficient warning and relevant material.

I know I'm not stupid. I can manage quite well with most stuff. I'm not brilliant or a genius, but fairly confident that I lie between average and above-average. But I have no patience with these tests. Which is not to say that I perform poorly on them. I do pretty well on most; but again, not brilliantly. And quite a few times the people who do do better, manage it because of some unfair advantages. However, other times, it’s my fault. I'm just too lazy to put in too much effort on the exam; especially if it is just some stupid test that doesn't really matter. At college and school, since the clearing exam was the primary goal and we were excused from all else to study for it, I'd do just that. But that was because that was all that was supposed to be done. I can't really handle multitasking too well; if I'm supposed to be working on the project at work, then by God that's what I wanna be doing! Not studying for some test or managing my finances or doing some other secondary thing.

I guess in the end it comes down to this: life itself is a test; but it doesn't matter much how you perform since everyone ends up the same way.

Rains

I like it when it rains. Not all the time; but every once in a while. And only on holidays or days when I don't have to do much travelling around!

I love the way the way the sky darkens as clouds start gathering in the distance. The whole world looks so surreal; the sky is dark but there is this weird ethereal illumination that seems to be radiating from everywhere. It gives the sky an orangish colour and makes everything look so different.

As the storm builds up you can see people scurrying around; rushing to get home and finish their business before the downpour starts. Soon, with flashes of lightning and peals of thunder, the rain starts. The smell of dry earth that is suddenly wet by the water from the heavens has got to be one of the most wonderful scents ( even though it is caused by bacteria! ).

Sitting cozily at home and watching the storm break is so much fun. You involuntarily crave hot samosas and/ or soup to counter the chill in the air. Or maybe after coming in after getting caught in the rain, you could use the nutrition and warmth.

The medley of sounds that accompanies the rains is very soothing; the low, deep, distant rumble of thunder that follows the sudden cracks of lightening; the steady pitter-patter of raindrops on the roof and windows; the water dripping from the roofs; the relaxing gurgle of water flowing into the drains. And what makes it special is the silence otherwise. It drowns out everything else and makes the world seem so private.

After the rain stops, everything seems so much brighter and cleaner. All the colours seem different. The green of the trees and plants seems to be glossy and dazzling. The world seems cleansed and reborn; free from sin. The air is clean, crisp and cold. And falling asleep to the sound of rain falling outside is so relaxing. You feel so warm and protected in your cozy bed while the elements rage outside.

But, as with everything else, there are certain drawbacks to it raining too. If you happen to be travelling when the storm hits, it's very frustrating and irritating to be wet and cold. The worst is when you're get caught on the way to work; if you're heading home, it's not that bad because you know you can have a nice warm bath once you reach, followed by a hot meal. I've spent hours squelching around in wet clothes and shoes at college so I know how bad it can be.

But I think the worst aspect is that we have to suffer power cuts! I hate that when it rains and its the best time to turn off the lights and make some popcorn and sit down for a movie, you can't because there is no electricity. And that my downloads at night get interrupted. Though they can be fun too. It gives you an excuse not to study ( if its not too urgent of course. I remember many exams that forced me to sit up on a cold, rainy night with a candle when I'd rather be tucked into bed with a good book! ). It's much quieter too, without any TV's or music.

But nothing lasts forever, not even cold rain; which is good because after a few days of incessant rainfall, things tend to get a little musty and damp. Clothes don't dry and food left out for a couple of days has a tendency to go bad or get soggy. Going out is severely restricted, especially if, like me, you travel around on a two-wheeler; and that can seriously cramp your style :D

So, I guess, as with all things, moderation is the key. Rains are welcome but only for a short while.