Moribund Trajectory

#140891388 / gettyimages.com

No matter how much we accomplish success or the money we earn, our life is still bound to the one moribund trajectory that we have been set upon since the moment we breathed our first. What I mean to convey by this metaphor is that any of our personal achievement will hardly be a influential factor in deciding where our course of life ends. No matter how much we struggle or go against our wish to achieve something in life, how long will that success last ? How long that achievement will remain valid ? Well, put in the cosmic metaphor, it will last till it is consumed by the ultimate black hole. 

But that is not true in its entirety. Well, it is true if the achievement is selfish, it will live and die with us, but what if we are trying to achieve something that affects other people's lives ?

Dragging the cosmic metaphor further, an asteroid or a planet floating through space will be unseen, unnoticed and uncared for in the dark oblivion. But what if it is a star, Brightly illuminating ? Of course, that star is still on its way to get sucked in by the black hole but its light will live on for a much longer time after it is once gone. A non-luminous object in the infinite dark doesn't stand a chance compared to this. Moreover, light can go on forever in a vacuum until it is absorbed, further, it is a single photon capable of carrying that light and being visible. So, long after the star has become invisible in its entirety, the light has already spread far beyond and unlikely to be ever consumed and die away.

So let us try to be light and bring some effect into the life of others in the best possible way, because that might be the only possible way to live on forever.

શિર કુર્માં / ખુર્મો

સામગ્રી : ૫ લીટર દૂધ, ૧૦૦ ગ્રામ ઘઉની સેવ (કાચી), ખાંડ જરૂર મુજબ, ૫ નંગ ખારેક ,(પાણી માં પલાળી ને નાના કટકા કરેલા ) ,બદામ ,પીસ્તા ,કાજુ ,ઝીણા કાપેલા ૧ વાટકી ,કીસમીસ ૨,ટેબલ સ્પુન (પાણી માં  પલાલીને નીતારેને ) ૧ ,ટી સ્પુન એલચી નો ભૂકો

રીત:

• સેવને હાથ થી ભાગી ને જીની કરી નાખો .
• તેને તપેલામાં સ્લો તાપે સેકો સેવ શેકવા આવે એટલે તેમાં બદામનો ભૂકો નાખી ૧ થી ૨ આતા લેવા. 
• તેમાં દૂધ નાખો (દૂધ વધારે ફેતવાલુ લેવું અને મલાઈ ઉતાર્યા વગરનું તાજું દૂધ લેવું ).
• દૂધ ને ઉભરો આવે ત્યાં સુધી હલાવતા રહો તેથી નીચે ચોટે નહી. 
• ઉભરો આવે એટલે ચૂલો ધીમો કરી નાખો તેમાં ખારેક નાખી દયો.
• દૂધ બદામી કલરનું થાય ત્યાં સુધી ઉકાળો (અદાજે ૧ થી ૨ કલાક ) લગભગ માવા જેવું થાય ત્યાં સુધી.
• થવા આવે એટલે એલચી નાખી.
• ચૂલો બંધ કરી સતત હલાવતા રહો તેમાં મલાઈ વળી ન જાય વરાળ નીકળી જાય ત્યાં સુધી હલાવો.
• તેમાં ડ્રાયફ્રુટ અને કીસમીસ નાખી ફ્રીજ મૂકી ઠડું કરી ખાવાના ઉપયોગમાં લ્યો.

On Friendship Day

On Friendship Day this year, my cousin brother and me tried something with the Time Lapse feature in my phone camera. The result was pretty amusing to us. There are plenty of videos out there like these on YouTube, but there is always some pride in our own creations.

Check out our experiment here.

1. The first one was a rough try that I did on my own. The biggest challenge is to keep the camera still at the desired angle without tripod or any sort of do dedicated equipment.

2. And it is the second one that displays my cousin brother's skills.
Enjoy!

Faces

Lost in spaces,

In the myriad of faces

Those sweet souls.

Where are they now ?

Are they still here,

Or have they not left traces ?

Faces is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License.

HTC Desire S ICS update now available as RUU.

HTC has finally kept its August deadline and released the RUU (Rom Upgrade Utility) for the Desire S. However the August deadline was meant to be for an OTA upgrade and not an RUU. But this is indeed a blessing in disguise for the advanced users who were willing to root their phones, update to custom ROMs and then switch back to Stock ROM.

Anyway, users of the HTC Desire S, willing to taste the ice cream sandwich can visit htcdev and filter the results through device name to find the RUU update file of size 404.0 MB and download it. Yup its that big!

For those who are not sure how to upgrade their Desire S here are a few basic guidelines and tinsy-winsy warnings.

Guidelines:

1. RUU or a Rom Upgrade Utility is windows executable file (.exe). Meaning that it will need a Windows OS (XP, Vista or 7) to run it.
2. Backup the Messages, Contacts and Calendar entries. (Leave a comment if you need guidelines on how to backup)
3. Now, once done with the backup, to start the upgrade process the phone needs to be connected to the PC via USB.
4. Run the .exe RUU file and follow the on-screen instructions (They are really simple, don't worry.)
5. Oh and yes... keep the battery charged to atleast 30%.

Warnings:

1. RUU is not the same as an OTA (Over The Air) upgrade. OTA upgrades preserve your personal data, i.e. your Messages, Contacts, Calendar entries installed Apps to name a few. Whereas upgrading your phone through RUU is like resetting your phone. YOUR PERSONAL DATA WILL BE ERASED, but it will leave the SD Card alone. So don't worry about the songs and camera photos stored on the SD Card.
2. Do not interrupt the phone by pressing any buttons or removing USB while it is in the process of update. The progress bar may stop in the process but have patience. In case the worse happens... like a power outage.. you should be able to recover your phone without much problem.
3. And lastly I shall not be held responsible in case things don't work out for you as intended. This is just a standard disclaimer, don't worry.

Hope you find this informative. If you need any help leave a comment. To share your thoughts on ICS for Desire S... for that too leave a comment.

ENJOY!!!

Once upon a time in the future

Kids in the school bus were returning home. A group of three kids were amusing themselves at what the teacher had told them that day in class.
One of the boys named Anand said, 'Hah! Can you believe people those days thought that the universe had no boundaries, stars were infinite and  if they were to reach the nearest one it would take years if they travelled at the speed of light. And that's not all they thought light was the fastest. Ha ha ha.'

Another boy added, 'My Mom once said that people used to consider 80 km/h speed 'reckless' and used to crash into each other at these speeds.'

Anand: 'Of course they had tiny roads back then, could move only sideways to avoid another vehicle and relied too much on their reflexes.'

A quiet boy named Mohan, who was dreamily gazing at the stars zooming by from his window said, 'Atleast they enjoyed a quiet, worry free life. Kids our age were not given assignments to build a working model of a frog, constructed cell by cell.'

Anand said in his usual air of a genius, 'Quit complaining, you know that you can just print out the frog from wikipedia, besides cellular paper are cheap now a days.'

Mohan retorted saying, 'Oh come on, then what is the point in doing the homework if you aren't going to do it on your own?'

Anand: 'We can make human bodies in a matter of minutes. What is the use making things on our own? This whole idea of education is cynical.'

Their bus landed at their neighbourhood planet and they got of the bus. They walked a little distance where they had parked their self driven pods. On their way as they reached their pods, they exchanged sources to complete their homework and initiated print jobs. As he sat in his pod Anand jumped his pod over Mohan's and disappeared from the view before the blink of an eye. Mohan's frog would be printed and ready at his desk when he reaches home... unless the frog decided no to stay.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Some fun Android Apps

I upgraded to my Android device HTC Desire S from my Symbian S60 running N73 and it changes the way you interact with the mobile. I am now making deliberate efforts to not let my phone become an inseparable obsession. 

Over the course of few months that I have had this device I have installed and deleted plenty of apps, many are productive and others are just fun. I am listing here some of my favourite apps with links to Google Play (formerly known as the Android Market)

So here it goes:

1.    BitTorrent Remote:

First of all you must have your computer running with BitTorrent to make use of this app. With this app you will not have to email the link of any torrent you had found on internet the internet. Simply get the link in this app and the download begins right away in your PC. Setting up the remote functionality is easy too.

Download BitTorrent Remote

2.    CamScanner: 

This is a life saver app. Take a photo and convert it to a pdf file. This app also auto-enhances the photo saturating the blacks and whites of the document making it appear more clear. There is also in-app function to upload the scanned files to DropBox.

       Download CamScanner

3.   DiceShaker 3D:

This is just for fun app that would be practically of no use unless you wish to play a Board Game and don't have dices to play it. This is the best Dice Rolling app on the market. The looks are pleasing and the soft sounds are soothing to the ears. Plus it can make use of the G-sensors to let the dices roll and fall with the gravity.

       Download DiceShaker 3D 


4.   GPS Status & Toolbox:

Know your GPS co-ordinates with the help of this app. It has a small number of important features besides just displaying co-ordinates which come in handy to keep records while travelling. Note that you will have to rely on some other app to keep the records since the above app tells and shares co-ordinates only.

       Download GPS Status & Toolbox 


5.   Instant Heart Rate:

Place your finger before the lens of your phone's camera and this app can calculate your heart rate. Besides it also displays a graph that moves to your heart beat. Now do remember that this is not a medical device and the score could be a little inaccurate. Still this is a fun app to impress your friends and family.

       Download Instant Heart Rate

6.   Shake-Screen Off:

This app has received poor ratings because users couldn't figure out how to uninstall it even though the app's description clearly mentions the procedure. Now this app can switch off your screen by just a shake of your hand. It also has option to set the sensitivity level to suit your needs. This app saves a button press to switch off the screen and also looks impressive. Word of Caution: This app has AirPush Notification ads. Still it is worth installing despite the spammy ads.

       Download Shake-Screen Off 

7.   Smart Measure:

A bit complex to set up but the measurements of height and distance this app can make are fairly accurate. Try this app and other cool apps from this developer.

       Download Smart Measure

8    Ulysse Gizmos: 

Many attractive gadgets including a compass and GPS co-ordinate display. Has a clean and attractive interface. However, I haven't been able to put this app into any productive use.

       Download Ulysse Gizmos

9    Ulysse Speedometer:

An Android device could scan documents, measure heartbeats, measure length and distance of objects, tell GPS co-ordinates & now it can also function as a Odometer. Ulysse Speedometer can measure your speed & distance covered while you are driving your car with the help of GPS. Select the HUD option and place the screen facing skywards to get the car odometer to reflect the display. 

       Download Ulysse Speedometer

10. Wordnet Dictionary:

A simple dictionary with offline access, which many dictionaries don't offer. If you are connected to the internet, this dictionary will offer a voice clip enunciating the word.

       Download Wordnet Dictionary

Well that's it folks! I hope you guys will enjoy these apps like I do and do leave your comments below.

The Grand Thakker, Rajkot

Including Google Maps link to the Hotel as respecting the number of hits from Google Searches: The Grand Thakker, Rajkot


The Grand Thakker is a newly constructed hotel near Jubilee Garden. The owners previously ran Thakker Lodge which was famous for the Gujarati Thali they offered. The newly opened Grand Thakker is lavishly furnished and completly modern compared to the Thakker Lodge and in every way The Grand Thakker is an attempt to lure the cream class of Rajkot.

Now, even though I write reviews on restaurants, I am not a foodie and I don't even frequently visit restaurants. So whenever I do visit, it would be usually on some occassion and likewise this visit was an occassion as well. My father takes the whole staff of our shop at some restaurant once in a year, usually to celebrate the anniverssary of our shop. However, the date on which the anniversary is celebrated variable and so my it was on occassion of the anniversary celebration that I visited the The Grand Thakker with my Dad and the staff, total of nine people, on a Saturday evening.

On reaching the hotel, we found the waiting area full of customers awaiting their turn. The waiting room was beautifully lit, large sofa seating with comfortable hand rests. Overall the waiting area's interior was beautiful, and so were the people seated inside.

I approached the person making the spot reservation and booked a table for us. I asked him how long will it take for our turn to come and he replied in an annoying fashion that it would take atleast an hour. The guy made no attempt to be polite during the brief conversaton which left me with the feeling that indeed the staff has been shifted from the good old Thakker Lodge. 

It took exactly one hour before our turn came. On entering the restaurant area of the hotel, we were finger pointed to the direction of our tables. A group of nine people would definitely need two tables joined. However, it took us some time to explain the waiters two join the two tables and get extra chairs. It took some five minutes before we were seated, and yes no exaggeration here. My father even went to the restaureter to direct the clumsy staff but received a curt reply instructing him to ask the captain, who could not be located at the moment.

The captain was a polite man and took our order. The ambience of the place was great. It was a high ceiling hall and the size of the restaurant was no small. However I did notice that the sounds echoed all over the hall and made the hall feel noisy. We merrily chatted till the food arrived and it arrived within some fifteen minutes time and was served hot and gave out mouth watering smell. We had ordered three saags, all punjabi.

The menu was not very pricey, if not cheap. The food quality was good. However, I would expect more from a place of this sort. One thing that left a negative impression on me was that we ordered for sweet khoya kaju and what we were served was spicy one(the good old Thakker Lodge). However, the captain came to our table, as per his duty, to ask if eveything was alright and we drew his attention to the mistake which he quickly corrected by serving us the sweet khoya kaju. However(once again a however) the Kaju (Cashew Nuts) used in the were roasted and they tasted different from the delicious gravy. But that is just a small mistake to me, the other two saags were delicious and flavoured nicely.

One more thing that left a negative impact was that the waiters were not very well trained. They moved around clumsily, their uniforms were not tidy. One of the waiters couldn't understand what we said to him, since he was a tibetian and must have newly arrived here. But there was noticeable commotion amongst the staff of the hotel again a sign that the good old Thakker Lodge rested in the heart of the The Grand Thakker. However, as any businessman would know, it is not easy to acquire new employees in Rajkot anymore and it is even more difficult in Hotel business.

In the end we left the hotel happy faced, happy for the food and happy since the bill didn't burn a hole in my dad's pocket as he had expected, judging by the hotel's interior. In short if you are planning to dine out with your family on a saturday night, you should consider visitng the The Grand Thakker next time. That said, I'll rate The Grand Thakker with 3.5 stars out of 5. 

Only Parathas, Rajkot

There must be very few places in Rajkot city where I'd love to visit again and again for its food, and Only Parathas is one such place.


As the name suggests, only parathas serves parathas mainly, if not 'only'. The menu card of the restaurant is considerably large and offers many combinations of paratha stuffing to its customers. To say, only parathas offers wide variety of stuffings filled in between the crusts of parathas. This stuffing consists of garlic, peas, spinach and what not... 


On my visit to this restaurant with my family, we ordered for Chaats, Tikki Tokri and Delhi Chaat to be specific. These chats were garnished in an edible bowl. Edible when I say was made up of eating ingredient. Then there was the chaat recipe and the bowl was covered with a layer of curd, it was a treat to the eye before it could be a treat to the taste-buds. Now all the ingredients used in the chaat were freshly cut and lip-smackingly delicious.


Now came the main course, the Parathas. Although I no longer remember our exact order, but our ordered parathas were aromatic and tasty to justify the flavour. In other restaurants no matter how much masalas are used to make the food tasty (or to overpower the rotten veggies) one would never be satisfied with the food. It would leave you with a feeling as if something is missing. However, here I was satisfied, and I bet anyone visiting this place would be. The taste of the food suggested the use of best quality of ingredients in the making. Moreover, the captain was a warm and efficient man on the job.


We ordered for three parathas, after devouring the chaat, to be shared amongst five of us, and I must say they were sufficiently sized to satisfy a famished person. 


To conclude this review, if I were to rate this restaurant on a scale of 5 stars, I would go with 4. A must visit place to satisfy your taste buds.


★★★★☆

Spread some Fragrance

It is pitiful to watch an old man lying on his deathbed. That man traveled places around the world, met wonderful people, read books & gathered a lot of knowledge throughout his prime. But it would have been meaningless had he lived it for himself and kept all these for himself. He spread his knowledge among other curious beings, curious for information, curious to know the culture of distant countries, curious to know what books have to say.


While we are busy toiling hard, accumulating heaps of insignificant material for ourselves, why not stop and think about this ?
We all are set on the same path as the old man. We know our destination and we know we have begun our journey but the distance is unknown, unknown till the very last moment. So why not wander off a little and pick some flowers along the way and let us collect them in a basket for while we travel, the fragrance can refresh some travellers, old and new.


ફૂલ વીણ સખે! ફૂલ વીણ સખે!

Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life.

The above line was quoted by Steve Jobs in his famous Stanford commencement speech in 2005.
At almost 22 years of age I feel old and paralyzed. Not physically of course, but the burden is something not visible, not understood, nor deserving of sympathy.
At the age when my friends are putting in their efforts to clear exams of a professional course with possibly the lowest pass percentage, I am wasting my time sitting at my home, pretending to study. Hardly calculative in my approach to life, I am unsure how I could survive this calculative profession.
I don't know my passion, nor have I come to recognise my talent, if any. I don't know what I love and I don't know how to find it. Where my future lies I am unsure.
I am not hungry but I surely am Foolish.

The Sun & The Clouds

I sat on the plastic chair in my porch for a moment to enjoy the weather. It had rained last night and it was probably going to rain today. The sky was overcast and and the roads were wet. I could see the distant buildings and trees, dull as the sun was blocked by the thick clouds but clear as the rain had soaked in the dust from air. 


As a small frog hopped into view, hopping a step at a time and then still for a while before it hopped again on its little feet slipping on the wet cement, I drifted into my thoughts. I was unsure of the day ahead, had a lot to do and didn't know where to start and how much time should I spend doing a job before I took up another. As my eyes followed the frog I saw a slug moving slowly, leaving behind a slimy trail. Well, I could even do nothing and relax reading a book or watching TV. When was it the last time  I did nothing ? It took a short time for the slug to get me bored and I looked back to the skies when I heard quick steps hitting the tiles as if determined to break them one day. My Mom bolted out of the house carrying a pot of water for the plants. She quickly turned without wasting a moment to water them, without observing the weather, the clean air, or even the floor to not accidentally crush the frog or the slug in her way. She had to hurry after all she had all her morning chores to do, like everyday, that demanded speed. Well, I guess that's the key, I'll start and work as quickly as possible and complete all the work. No backlogs for tomorrow. I might crush an oncoming opportunity in the rush though. Today, Now, focus and no straying.


My senses moved towards the obvious humanly activities now. My next door neighbour came out of his house wearing dull coloured iron clothes adding to the dullness this morning carried with it. With aTiffin in his hands, he kicked his scooter, and he did this everyday on the same time. His hair still wet and face bath fresh, but had no aura or freshness of the morning. He carried fatigue of yesterday's work at office, he seems to have been carrying over that for months now. I wouldn't get into rut like this when I'll start earn a living. No way. I'll earn few bucks less then he does for my own good.


As his scooter hummed away into the distant there was a moment of absolute tranquillity and I forgot about all the work I had to do. And then as if the heavens had overheard my thought, the clouds opened a hole and drifted to get the sun down on the earth. For a moment the sun shone brightly. Brightening up the Trees and the Buildings and all the plants washed cleaned by the rain. As the sun warmed my feet, I stood up and started the work that came in hand. After all if wouldn't start anything, I am definitely not finishing it.

The Blame Game

If you are from India and have recently cleared HSC/12th Grade/Standard Exams then you like many other students of your age has spent time talking to your parents, teachers, friends and to yourself about selecting a graduation course that will help you shape your career. And for some of you this must be a tormenting period as to what you'll be doing. Should you select the course that interests you or would you select the course that pays well (and your parents advise you to take this one up) or the one that your friend has selected? I don't have any advices as to which one should you select. But I have an experience of my own to share.


Four years back in 2007 when I cleared my 12th Standard from General Stream, I had a 'feeble' conviction that I wanted opt for BCA (Bachelor of Computer Application) completing which I'll go for the masters (MCA). However, since I had scored decently high percentages, it was my parents' wish that I opt for Chartered Accountancy as a course taken by the people who scored good. But I had aptitude for Computers and I knew I would do fairly well when it will come to programming. I was smart, I loved computer troubleshooting and could learn almost anything that interested me (everyone of us can).


But it was an important decision to be made, and since no one from my family were well informed as to which course I should pursue, outside help was taken. A well known professor of a college in my city (of whom I later learned was well known for his aggressive behaviour and his dork-iness.) was consulted. He, in his usual air of a genius, told my Dad that MCAs can be hired for Rs. 1,500.


This was it. The closing chapter. I was convinced by my parents to drop the M from MCA.


Today. My Dad met a guy who did MCA after completing his CA. His earning are over Rs. 1 lakh per year, employs 18 people to work and to top it all he says its no use doing CA. Yes, he earns income from developing software now and he is earning more that Rs. 1,500 every month.


Although now I am a CA Final student, I have reached here only marginally. I am certainly not satisfied with the course that I have taken, and I am frustrated. I feel like blaming everyone for setting me up here. But then I can't blame my parents for this, they only wanted me to earn good money and be happy. Neither can I blame the cracked professor. Well, God made him that way. I guess I should take up the blame for my own misery. I am to blame my self because:

1. It should have been Me who should have had the information of the courses and its scope in earning. I shouldn't have been ignorant about it. I can't expect my parents to inquire and survey this for me.
2. Stronger conviction, something that I lacked back then and I lack till date. I was unsure if really wanted to do this or that, either of them.
3. Courage: I didn't have enough to take up my choice and stand to whatever consequences. After all no degree holder of any sort dies of hunger.

I had made my choice and my time is now gone and I can't win it back whatsoever. But if you still have your options at hand... you now know what NOT to do.