here are a few:

1. In America, aeroplanes can create clouds!

This is perhaps one of the first things I liked about this place. At any time during the day when you look upto the skies, you can find one or more airplanes heading somewhere leaving behind a trail of clouds!

I dont know what phenomenon this is, too lazy to read it up. Perhaps the air is so cold at that altitude, and the pressure created by the moving plane condenses the moisture into ice? huh?  bah …. www.google.com … and I was correct, well more or less. Interesting.

2. Google Maps

The sense of independence with GMaps on an E71x. Go anywhere, when you want and alone if you want. Absolutely a must have for any new person comming to US.

Cant think of more, this post has been in draft for a long time, so sending it out

Is it possible to share with someone your thoughts and feelings with a touch?

How different would things be if you could just touch someone with your finger and upload all that you had to say.

I am illogical. I like to believe in energy transfer. We all are made of an indescribable energy. If you put in enough human energy, anything is possible. Yes, I think you can heat a glass of water by just looking at it.  The trouble is the the water won’t heat up on its own or just because you want it to.

(*tags the post as Random*)

Inspire is the annual technical extravaganza organized by the Division of Computer Science, CUSAT. The rhapsody involves emphatic participation from a myriad of students within and outside the realms of CUSAT.

With diverse but nevertheless riveting, ingeniously plot and intellectually invigorating events, the participants are presented with an opportunity to earn accolades and benefits in terms of prizes worth over 1.6 Lakh rupees.

Inspire 08 is going to be the biggest ever.

Please find event details on the website http://www.acesinspire.com

Register Online for hassle free participation.

Special feature: Guest Lectures by Manu Zacharia(Ethical Hacking & Information Security), Mani Karthik(Blogging), Linux by LUG Kochi, GIS, and Video blogging event by Digit.

Our Co-Sponsors:

Our Media Partners:

Our Education Media Partner:

Charles Bukowski, Factotum

I presented a seminar on eka – the fastest supercomputer in asia and 8th fastest in the world. I barely had two days to prepare and somehow pulled it off. Apparently it was pretty good and everyone liked it!

Im uploading my presentation:

and resources I referred for the presentation:

• Eka supercomputer(PPT)
• HP Cluster Platform 3000BL(PDF) ,4000BL & 6000BL(PDF)
• The making of a Supercomputer, Businessworld(PDF)
• CRL India eka Brochure(PDF)
• infiniband_software_and-protocols(PDF)
• Building eka @PuneTech
• Project Manager, CRL Interview

This is the new Miss Universe 2008 Crown and the 57th pageant will be crowned with this masterpiece which was designed by CAO Fine Jewelry, Vietnam. Vietnam is also this years host for the event.

“The curved design creates a natural rhythm and a stable structure for the crown, symbolizing the spirit of unity. The crown combines the beauty and the character of each nation, accomplishing the goal of the pageant, which is international unity”, explained designers Ms. Kim Lien and Rosalina Lydster.

Valued at $120 thousand dollars, it is made of 18K white and yellow gold. It is comprised of over 1,000 precious stones; including 555 white diamonds (30 carats), 375 cognac diamonds (14 carats), 10 smoky quartz crystals (20 carats) and 19 morganite gemstones (60 carats). The colors of the jewels chosen for the crown have great significance. The yellow luster of the gold represents the prosperous thriving economy in Vietnam. White, light pink and cognac are the main hues in the crown which represent inspiration and feeling.Each piece of the crown was designed to represent an important attribute of the Miss Universe Pageant. The curves of inlaid precious stones represent the strong development and potential of each country. The image of the crane (Lac Bird) symbolizes Vietnamese spirit and culture. The image of the heart represents unified breath, rhythm and vision, which are powerful internal forces that stress faith, hope and unity.

It reminds me of the movie Man cheng jin dai huang jin jia(Curse of the Golden flower)? The design of the crown is distinctly eastern and seems like one of the organic(?) ones worn by Gong Li in the movie. I highly recommend the movie, its amazingly beautiful!

And here comes the real motive behind this blog post. Its a grouse. Why doesn’t the Mr World guy get a crown ?? :/

I think guys should get crowns too … or something. A nice watch? or Koenigsegg CCXR? How about that years Miss World ?

The winners would be declared at a gala event on 13th July, 2008. Bets put Miss Venezuela as favourite by FAR yet again. Miss India also has strong chances. Checkout betting rates!(lower the better)

Evolution of the Crown over the years 1952-2008

I was finally on my way back home to Jamnagar, Gujarat. On the train, it was not like last time (:D) Only some boring old people. Happily holding on to their newly issues blankets and white sheets and eagerly checking and shouting out if they had a faintest stain. Come Baroda station and at the adjacent local compartment, there was a sight to see. Not less than 40 young gujarati businessmen, trying to get in through the poor door. I wondered how would a lady passenger board that compartment.

I washed my face and then suddenly a young lady dashed into the compartment. In the yellow light of the bulb her face was shining from perspiration and she was violently gasping for breath. A fear gripped me, was I concerned? Is she all right? Is she putting up an act? I was caught for a second. And in that one second I captured(and assumed) her several details with such efficiency that id have made an instructor at CIA proud. She was wearing those faded orange tshirt and traveling pants like those foreign tourists wear. Her golden complexion and thin brownish hair. I walked back into the compartment but my thoughts left behind. Her huge brownish eyes looked so terrified. Is she all right?

Barely 2 minutes had passed. I had to go back. But I just came from there … humm … TOILET! … so I went back. She was still there, talking to someone on phone. Entered the bathroom, took off my glasses (nice greenish brown eyes dude, i winked) splashed water on my face. Came out, she was still talking … OOPS! … in not leaving. She kept staring at me while talking on her phone for some 5 minutes (or was it a second). Abruptly she hung up, and I asked her immediately…

AO: “Are you Okay?”

Gal: “Yes i …”

AO: “You really looked breathless, so i thought of asking if you were okay”

Gal: “Im fine, was just trying to get into the general compartment, but it was so crowded. I have this problem of heavy breathing when I get tensed”

AO: “Is your ticket on wait list? you can pay these Ticket guys and get a seat in Sleeper class or AC. They will consider your case cos ur not too well” (i thot she was from abroad, with a waitlisted ticket)

Gal: “hum middleclass ke log hain, nahi afford kar sakte“

She said this in a way that I have not been able to figure out to this day.

Should i speak in english? hindi … what does she …

AO: “Are you in college? cos usually (me smiley) college people get into trouble like this, last minute reservations and stuff” (she smiled back)

Gal: “No”

AO: “Ah, I thought you were, so wanted to offer you help or advice” (oh was I indeed!?)

A middle aged guy wearing glasses, standing right beside her all this time, who from his looks was undoubtedly was a gentleman who spoke only when required, interrupted our one sided conversation.

“She is not going far, will get down at Rajkot”

AO: “(me blushing) Oh okay! Take care then!”

I was still red. Dont know why. Did the AC guys turn down the cooler.

Rajkot passed 11:00pm. Its 11:30. She is still on the train, sitting inside the compartment now.

I felt so excited, yet I dont exactly know for what reason.

A quick search led me to the original poem The Highwayman by Alfred Noyes,1906 on WikiSource.

“The Highwayman” is a narrative poem by Alfred Noyes, published in 1906. The poem was written when Noyes was a young man, and brought him immediate and long-lasting success. It tells the story of a nameless highwayman who is in love with an innkeeper’s beautiful daughter named Bess. Tim, the insanely jealous hostler (stableman) betrays the highwayman to the authorities; an action which paves the way for the brutal death of the lovers.

I listened to the audio narration of the poem. It was spellbinding. Absolutely fantastic. I highly recommend the narration by David Shaw Parker and the female voice on WikiSource page. My favourite stanzas of the poem

The wind was a torrent of darkness among the gusty trees,
The moon was a ghostly galleon tossed upon cloudy seas,
The road was a ribbon of moonlight over the purple moor,
And the highwayman came riding—
Riding—riding—
The highwayman came riding, up to the old inn-door.

Tlot-tlot, in the frosty silence! Tlot-tlot, in the echoing night!
Nearer he came and nearer! Her face was like a light!
Her eyes grew wide for a moment; she drew one last deep breath,
Then her finger moved in the moonlight,
Her musket shattered the moonlight,
Shattered her breast in the moonlight and warned him— with her death.

Check out this animation on the poems imagery! I really liked it

• Here is a version narrated by David Shaw Parker. I liked his narration best.
• Here is the version of The Highwayman beautifully sung by Loreena McKennitt.
• Check out these wonderful illustrations of the poem from the book Volume Two, Storytelling and other Poems with clips of the song by Loreena!
• Here is a video adaptation of the imagery of the poem by Fleetwood Mac in their video Everywhere. It does not quite convey the mood and the song doesn’t help either.(included below ^_^)

Its so much fun to find connections! Am i wasting time :p ?

If you liked this post, drop in a comment !

When Gods Own Country is hosting a BlogCamp, then its has to be very special. The Event will happen on a huge house boat. This is going to be the first unconference to happen on boat. The Event is hosted by Kerala Tourism.

Date :- 16th August 2008

Venue :- Alappuzha

15th is a holiday and 17th is a sunday. So 16th is the perfect date to be on a boat in Kerala with blogging friends. This is a limited entry event. So if you are planning to enjoy a blogcamp on the backwaters of Kerala add your details to the following form.

Url : http://www.blogcampkerala.com/ (brand new website!)
Shared Key : godsowncountry

You will be contacted to confirm your attendance.

Also Visit

http://www.contactvirus.com/blogcampkerala

http://barcamp.org/blogcampkerala

http://groups.google.com/group/blogcampkerala

Join the wiki!

Here is the list of the bloggers that I know personally:

Kenney Jacob – Disruptive Technologies

Im relatively new to blogging and would love to interact with the blogging community of Kerala. 2nd Barcamp of Kerala and the venue was sponsored by the Association of Computer Science Engineering Students (ACES) of School of Engineering CUSAT. It was a great success! Thanks to Kenney Jacob, an avid blogger, an entrepreneur, a technology evangelist, I got to meet and learn from many techies and entrepreneurs. The event was like homecomming! I cant wait for the BlogCamp and hope the event will be a resounding success in the tech circles of Kerala.

So do create a post like this and link up the bloggers you know.

Other bloggers who are talking about it:

BlogCamp Kerala – Kenney’s Blog
BlogCamp Kerala - technoparklive.blogspot.com
Kerala Blog Camp – TheAnand’s Ripples
BlogCamp Kerala - DailySEOblog.com
BlogCamp Kerala August, 2008 - andback.wordpress.com

More photos from the venue: