Fact for the Day 13

Part 1
Some time back I was troubled by a strange problem. My keyboard started behaving in a strange manner on which a number of keys got interchanged, most notably the "@" and the " (quotes) key. I thought it was due to some software problem since the Windows version I was using was a pirated one. I tried to find a solution to this problem but in vain, and sometime later got used to this "different" keyboard. A few months later, the computer was formatted and now Windows XP was installed, but after some time the problem appeared again. I was confused as to why it was happening because I was the only one amongst my friends who had faced such a problem. I asked a few of my "geek" friends the reason for this anomaly but even they were clueless.

Part 2:
I have always been fascinated by British English and prefer to use it over its American cousin. It always irks me when I see people using "color" and not "colour" or when I see a red line appearing under "defence" while using MS Word. Probably it's the way I have learned it and don't want to change.

Now my room mate Anurag uses a Linux machine instead of a Windows one and falling for my obsession of using British English, I changed the language settings of this computer from English (U.S.) to English (U.K.).

Lo & Behold!!!!!!

The problem in Part 1 appeared again. I immediately wiki'ed for different types of Keyboards and got my answers immediately. You can read about it here.

Random Musings...

As a child I always used to believe that nothing bad can happen to me. In the end, I'll be successful, that I would fare better than others and that eventually it would be a happy and comfortable life. Come what may, I'll be a winner in the end. That belief, is now shaking. I've come to realize, that I will have to "make" those things happen. And to "make" those things happen, it would require a lot of effort. Now, I actually am the Master of my own destiny. I know these thoughts sound very cliched. I've read similar stuff all my life and never gave a second thought to it. But only now I feel the depth of these thoughts and understand what they actually mean.

*****

India plays Australia, and like many other Indians, I want Sachin to score those two centuries as soon as possible. I hardly care about anything else regarding cricket these days. India will tour South Africa sometime in December, and again the only thing I want is that Sachin, Dravid and Laxman should play the best innings of their lives there. I might be sounding unpatriotic, but I am not concerned with India's win or loss anymore. Sachin should be ahead of Ponting, ALWAYS...Dravid should retire on a high, so should Laxman...My passion for cricket will retire with these greats...

******

So much has been said and written about Commonwealth Games. And we were supposed to feel proud about them. In my case, they have made me feel the exact opposite.

******

Time seems to be running out very fast right now. Few of my friends(both college and school) have got married, a close friend, Prashant will marry in January next year, so would Jyoti and Shivpriya. Gaurav Dugar has already fathered a son. Another friend Shashank has set up a business in USA. Most of my batchmates from school have completed their studies and are all set to lead a well settled life. They have laid down the road map and are all set to build upon it. People have been places and here I am, still considering myself a kid, fully uncertain about my goals and aspirations, questioning about Life, Universe and Everything, doubtful as usual, indecisive, perplexed, confused....

*******
Babri Masjid case has arguably been decided in favour of Hindus, in spirit if not in name.If communal forces like RSS, VHP, Bajrang Dal etc. are happy about it, then it's a cause for worry. I don't know every nitty-gritty of the case, but if a Judge can rule in the high court about the place being the actual birth place of Lord Ram, I can't help but question the credibility of the appointment procedure of the High Court Judges. Was he in the right frame of mind when he made the ruling???? He seems to be talking as if in his previous incarnation he christened Lord Ram himself. Maybe he really did....I am waiting for a detailed report on India TV.

*******
ESPN Cricinfo has come out with the concept of an All Time XI Test Team. The jury will decide on that but you can make and vote for your own team. You can check it out here ...

My team is

(openers)
Sir Jack Hobbs ,
Sunil Gavaskar ,

(middle order)
Sir Don Bradman,
Sachin Tendulkar,
Sir Viv Richards,

(wicketkeeper)
Adam Gilchrist,

(allrounders)
Sir Garfield Sobers,
Imran Khan ,

(bowlers)
Wasim Akram,
Shane Warne and
Curtly Ambrose .

Given a choice, I would have kept Brian Lara as my twelfth man and Imran Khan as my Captain. What would have been your team??

Happy Gandhi/Shastri Jayanti by the way :)

Guilty

Do you ever feel guilty for being more privileged than others????

Purity...

can be a religion in itself.....

Narcissists all around

Do we love anybody else more than ourselves?? Or for that matter, do we ever really love anybody else ...
Mothers....well, they are an exception :)

An anniversary of different kind

Today, it's 19th May, a day which is somehow difficult to forget.
Today I spent almost 12 hours in my office, doing something I am not very good at, devoid emotions, just working like a machine, completing the task at hand. A day, just like the other days I have gotten used to. A year back, around the same time I had made 3 trips to the railway station, taken food at two restaurants, and bid farewell to 6 very good friends of mine.
Mayuri, TP, Mishra, Bansi, Malli and Chuggi, all left within a span of 24 hours. Jain, Goutam, Prachi had already left earlier, but this day almost marked the end of college. I returned home almost at midnight, after Ankush left.
A year has passed and time, literally has flown by. A lot has changed in the past one year. A number of batchmates (both from school and college)have got married or will be married in the next few months. A few of us got committed, some tried, but failed...:).
Howsoever hard we may try, but now we are distanced from each other, a distance, which unfortunately, will only increase...
Something was gone, that will never come back.

Dhanno, La Poderosa and Rampyari
Together for the last time... 18th May, 2009.

Ambitious

Why are people Ambitious???

After a lot of thinking, applying my super duper analytical and observation skills and wisdom acquired through experiences of life, I could think of four possible reasons...

1. They love what they do. The ambition is not to get anywhere but to remain immersed in the work they do. They work not for themselves but for something they love doing, kind of selfless service. In the process, they move ahead and inspire others. The most suitable examples I can find are those in the field of art.

2.Because they are ambitious. There don't need or seek motivation from external sources. They don't care where others are and just want to move ahead for their own selves. Great businessmen belong to this category.

3. They have to survive. If they don't move ahead, they will cease to exist. Most common of them all. They can be found everywhere around us.

4. They don't want to be left behind. It is not a survival problem but a fear that their contemporaries will move ahead of them. If asked, they'll cite above three reasons for being ambitious.Given a choice and an ideal scenario(for them, that is), they will continue to lead their life in present condition.

I believe most of the people belong to the last two categories and I, specifically fall in the last one..:) . It's those in the first two categories who actually create something beautiful and leave a mark. The rest....well they are just a part of the rat race.

PS. I had nothing to do and this is just an example of one of the stupid things I do to kill time....