Bye Bye Blogspot

I'm moving 2 of my blogs (my personal one and my tech one) to wordpress... Bye Bye Blogspot

But my musical blog and my crazy one will still remain here...
The new ones are at...

1. My personal blog - http://walkoflife.wordpress.com/
2. My Tech blog - http://raghuonflex.wordpress.com/
   

Another great news... I've registered my own domain... You can get to all my sites now at

http://www.raghunathrao.com/

Its an Ant eat Worm world...

Saw this outside my door today... An struggling to chomp into the larva of some insect. Probably knowing well that if it doesn't strike now, in a couple of weeks, the hunter can become the hunted. The struggle for survival in this jungle called life !


Thankfully man has circumvented most of these problems using technology, but who will save him(or her) from the clutches of the rotten apples from his own kind. What i learned from the above situation is that,

Conquer your fear before it conquers you...

Its either an ant eat worm world or the bug (born from the worm) eat ant world...

LIfe...

We got Oranges for lunch today...
Some chose to eat them, some like me chose to ignore them

And some ended up as below.

The fruit(s) of Life...

I saw this while walking past a cube near mine...

17th March, 2007

A really awesome day for me it was, right from the word go...

At 2 in the morn, my buddies from Delhi arrived for the greatest rockshow in the history of India. The "Edd Fest". Joy and Arjun were looking forward to it as much as i was. We couldnt sleep with the excitement brimming in us and finally got ourselves to bed by 4 am.

Woke up at 9, time to feshen up and GET MY NEW BIKE !!!. Yep, i bought a new Honda Unicorn and this was the day when i would lay my hands on it :) Joy and Arjun tagged along and after a "self-pooja" (the pundit was missing in the temple, so 3 of us brahmins ourselves, decided to do it). Thanks Joy for the pics.

Honda Unicorn

The Man, The (NEW) Machine

Then off we went to "Purple Haze" where the guys had some Beer and got into the mood for the concert. With Ragul, off we went to palace grounds by 4.

The Concert - Oh... it was an experience for a lifetime. I couldnt believe that it was Iron Maiden who were playing in front of me. People headbanged to their life's worth in a 5 hour extraveganza that featured Parikrama & 2 non descript bands along with the Rock Idols.

The Venue

Parikrama on Stage

Sadly when Maiden came on stage, my camera battery ran out :(
So here's a flickr photostream i found...

Oh boy.. What a Day.

SEE YA ALL AT THE EDD FEST!!!

I have been meaning to post this for a while... I finally got my tickets for the Iron Maiden Concert in Bangalore on March 17th. I was never a Hard Rocker or a Metal Head, but Manipal exposed me to a bizzare array of music that i love it all now (except Girl POP, i hate that).

Iron Maiden are the Gods of Hard Rock, the greatest heavy metal /hard rock band that there is. And they are gonna be in town and I'M GONNA BE PART OF IT !!!!

My Ticket - I'm Defenitely Going

A lot of people has asked me where to get the tickets. Tickets are available at all PlanetM stores in Bangalore (I dont know how many are there). I bought mine from Marathahalli (near Brand Factory), I know tickets are running out fast at PlanetM Brigade Road. Dont beilieve if people say tickets are sold out, but rush, coz its gonna happen soon. Tickets are in 2 types, Rs.900 and Rs.1500.

SEE YA ALL AT THE EDD FEST!!!

oxyMORON

We just went for a team lunch to Umerkot in Komangala for a farewell party for Manish. Coming out, Swaroop spotted this poster stuck on the wall. One of the best oxymorons i have seen in recent times.

This should go on http://www.thisisbroken.com/

Afterthought: Now is it an OxyMoron?? Or is this a mass conspiracy by the police to guide the citizens into ruin... hmmm!!!

For all those who are obsessed with Vaastu & Feng Shui

A wonderful cartoon on a calender. It made me laugh and think too. Hope you enjoy it. For all those who do not know what Vaastu or feng Shui is... click the following links...

• Vaastu in Wikipedia
• Feng Shui in Wikipedia
  

Business101 - for Software Geeks

I was at the Web2.0 conference in Bangalore and overheard a "uber-Geek" declaring... "This technology is awesomely cool... I dont care if it can do any good to business". I have been thinking about it for a while now. A thought hit me while i was driving today...

I have seen Geeks who consider technology as the "Be All and End All of Life". Technology is great, but only if it serves a purpose, which most often is business driven. But these geeks have a hard time digesting the whole concept of "Business". So here's my Business101 for Software Geeks, in their own language...

Business is the Framework
Technology the API... and
Management the Rendering Engine

Just a personal view... I know a lot of people will disagree and might think i'm too young to put forth these. But here's how I see it...

Business is the Framework within which all Technology and Management has to function. Any change in the framework will need considerable changes (possibly) in the API and also in the way it is rendered. Its the king which rules all and binds it all together.

Technology is the API... Without him the framework is redundant.

Management is the Rendering, putting into perspective what the APIs hav defined and the way it is used. It is the one that helps in finding the flaw in the flow. A kind of a high level QA infrastructure.

But just as in the Software Realm, They are all inter-dependent. Advancement in one forces the others to change. Innovation is possible at all the 3 levels, essentially taking the Business to greater heights of achievement.

I really want to hear what you think about this :)

NAS - I know I can

I HATE RAP & RAPPERS !!!
I always thought them as guys showing off that being a crackpot is cool! Till date, i have rarely come across any abberations to the above statement (there's Youth of the Nation by POD and Happy Birthday by Flipsyde, but you cant call them rappers in the true sense)

But i think i finally found a sensible rapper in NAS (Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones)... I found this very inspirational song called "I know I can"... Listen to it and check out the lyrics here.

Ignore the lady in the beginning
(if you want)

I came about this, when a friend of mine sent me a video of Ronaldinho's Sis (allegedly :D). This was the background score. Great Talent.

Valentine's Day Pains

I'm single, so I couldnt help laughing :)

Johnny's Dosa Corner

Today, though we have a holiday, owing to the Kaveri Tribunal Verdict. So today, all over Bangalore, all shops are closed. So the Onus was on us to cook.

That's when our Little Johnny took over and "Johnny's Dosa Corner" was born. Our very own Jonny was making tasty Dosa's for all of us.

"Johnny's Dosa Corner"

We invented a new stuff. Like "Domino's Cheese Burst Pizza", we had "Chutney Burst Dosa", courtesy Johnny & Kailas.

The Man (Mr. K, Johnny's Right Hand)

The Dosa

The Treat

Hey You(th), Create - We at Adobe are behind you!

I got a surprise packet at my desk today... A bag tagged "Adobe Youth Voices". With some wonderful gifts inside...

Adobe Youth Voices is a global philanthropic initiative that empowers youth in underserved communities worldwide to comment on their world using Adobe's multimedia and digital tools to communicate and share their ideas, demonstrate their potential, and take action in their communities.

Adobe Youth Voices shows the power technology brings to learning and enabling youth to think creatively, communicate effectively, and work collaboratively — critical 21st century skills.

Read more here...

I'm really looking forward to doing my bit in this :)

The J Factor

It seems that J's my favourite letter when it comes to music...

• John Denver
• John Mayer
• James Blunt
• Joe Satriani
• Jones Norah (yeah i cheated on that)
  
• James Hetfield,Jason Newsted (of Metallica)

The list can go on....

Can God open source relationships??

An interesting conversation i picked up in the corridors...
Someone trying to find a parallel between Marriage & Software...
Here are some terms that came up.

• Proprietary Licensing
  
• Trial Period
  
• Version Control
• Freeware
  
• Shareware
  

I couldnt help but laugh with them. But just a thought...

Can God open source relationships??
Or atleast provide Tech Support !!

P.S. No disrespect ment to anyone... sorry if you were offended

हम िहन्दूस्तानी

One of my favourite Tee's...

We Indians..

I always think... What do you mean by loving your country? Is it ?

• Sporting Tees like the one above (hmmm???)
• Saying a million times that "We are the Best !!!" (like a horse with its eyes blinded)
  
• Cheering your country along (see the way we treat our cricket team)
• Hating everything that's not Indian (hypocrites !!!)
• Saying "I wont go outside India" (no comments... personal preference)
• or... Just a Longing !
  

The Cruel Dilemma

The "India Poised" Campaign i wrote about some days back reflected the rising India. The India of the Future. I was at home last week and a news paper phot0 like this strongly reminded me that we still got to tackle a lot of evils before we get to the Golden Age.

A mother struggling between her want to provide Maternal Love and her need to fill and her's and her child's stomach. The poor Indian. A stark contrast to the Mittals, Tata's, Ambani's, The Infys, Wipro's & Satyam's of the Neo India.

The title says "മണ്ണിന്േട താരാട്" meaning - "The Earthen Lullaby"

iJigg :D

I always have had problems with posting the songs that i have tried to sing. I always longed for a solution as simple as youTube for video. Finally i found one on an RIAPedia blog post. Its called iJigg.com. Thanks to iJigg, i can continue my musical escapades. I just uploaded some of the songs that i gauge are the best. I would like to jigg on iJigg :)

Tears in Heaven by Eric Claption


Imagine by John Lennon


When You Say Nothing At All by Ronan Keating


If you like what you hear... Jigg Me!, by clicking the Jigged button the player :D

Who colors there house like this?

I was walking down Madiwala road yester and I saw a new house painted like this. I wonder what was going thru his mind while choosing the colors... or was it the only ones left in the shop... Anyway, here it is.

What the Heck !!

Matrix Ping Pong

I had seen this a long time back... Glad to see this on youtube...
Amazing. All done by hands, no effects. I'm sure you'll love it

I Wonder.. !

I Wonder...! If this cartoon in today's TOI is like a prophecy...
[or prophesy - I'm never really sure when to use what :) ]

Baba Dubya

FLEX Card Layout

I did an implementation of the Card Layout, somewhat like i always wanted it to look, right from the Java AWT days. It looks like a stack of cards and can animate between views. This is just the first draft. I want to finally write it as a reusable FLEX Container.

Check it out here...

Loneliness

Loneliness is actually a way of loaning time for yourself.
A chance to go in retrospect and introspect about the person that is you. Your priorities, your passions, your possesions & your life itself...

Just a thought that came to me as i was wandering alone today :)

तन्हा सफ़र, the Walk of Life continues

तन्हा दिल, तन्हा सफ़र,
ढूँडे तुझे, फ़ीर क्यू नज़र...

(Lonely Heart, Lonely Road,
But why does my heart still search for you)

The above words from a hit Indian pop song by Shaan kinda defines my state now. With the whole crowd around me, i still feel lonely, alone (but not sad mind you). People have become busy and distracted and so has me. So slim chance I'll find one.

For now new horizons beckon and I've to explore them alone. Here I come road! (Hope to find someone enroute). Walk of Life continues...

self.life = rand()

I just finished my lunch at the office cafeteria. I was on the way back to my cube when i glanced (just to confirm.. not a voyeuric gesture) at a colleage's cube only to see his Laptop locked but a text hovering as a screensaver.

Randomness

The "Walk of Life" is always uncertain. You may chalk your path, but detours are always a FOL (Fact Of Life). How much ever you might plan to make your life toe a line, it always has a certain degree of uncertanity. And I personally believe this is what makes life exciting. This incident was one "geeky" reminder of that fact.

Addendum: My camera phone does not have an image stabilizer (a mere K750i), so the picture quality may not be great :)

India Poised

Yes.. It is our time now. India had long risen like a phoenix from the ashes of the "British Empire", only to be bound by the shackles of poverty, religious rage and corruption. But our time of recokning is at hand. We are rising in the minds of the international community, from a under-developed nation of babas, elephants & snake charmers to a developing nation, trying to break free, to one of the world leaders in economic development.

The west is looking at us in awe about the leaps and bounds that we have taken in the last 2 decades. First with the financial & industrial sectors, to Information Technology & Enabled Services domain, to telecom. India is defenitely poised to fly high...

INDIA POISED is a campaign launched by TOI (Times Of India) to celebrate India's christening of 2007 as the 'Year of India'. Sweeping aside the euphoria and headiness surrounding Brand India, it takes a look at what we have done right & wrong and how we should move forward. Do log onto http://www.indiapoised.com and sign in to receive your very own India Poised Badge. Here's mine (sadly their picture upload didnt work properly and i had to settle for this)


Here's TOI's inspirational video with Mr.Big B as the face of the New India.