Hacking the A570

My good old friend Mirang owns a Canon A570.
A570+CHDK=Lots of Fun on an idle Saturday afternoon.
The term CHDK stands for the Canon Hack Development Kit....
I then asked one question-Why in the world does one buy a digital SLR?And then I realised that not everyone is born a techie.
If you own a Canon point and shoot and looking for the fun of a digital SLR(Mind it it gives you the ability to open and close the camera shutter for (1/100k) second.Now thats way cool)..Then the CHDK is a way to go....

I am completely in love with all the people who really are doing things that defy the rules of normal gadget usage.They have a different perspective on gadgets,and are looking for the next free hour to try something new.The world calls them "hackers".They mean something else to me...Something way more respectable....

I really did not want to write another post teaching how to boot the camera from the CHDK scripts..there are lots of posts and information out to search and easily accessible.
Go ahead..give your Canon camera some steroids!

Updates Since my Last Blog Post

Woah..That was a long time ago..I guess...
I have been places..Visited a Marriage in Mahuva,Ahmedabad last week,and then had been to Panchgani,Maharastra this weekend.Check my album here.

I had ordered a Lappy ,the DV6929 from HP.This serves as at replacement to my old machine which has served me since the last 6 odd years.
The lappy looks great,and I seriously hate Vista,which has come preloaded.I will transfer all the files and folders from the old machine to a portable drive, and then format both the machine.The older one would be handed over to my neice,and the lappy would have XP and Linux installed...Lets see if all goes well :).Need to also set up a wifi environ at my house, and setting up a new corner in my house where I can happily sit and enjoy chatting online with friends with my cup of coffee.
And yeah,I need to get an old lappy working to set as a Linux Server in some corner of my house...

I have had a stack of around 300 Gb of movies,which I am planning to watch one every night.

Work at office and home has taken a real slowdown now,and I am most of the time surfing new things at delicious or digg...

Heart Transplant

I am scheduled for a heart transplant next year...I was planning it since the end of my college,and finally I found a donor this March...the preprations for the same have being going since then itself..the final step would be most probably taken end of next year....I am advised to get in shape before the event...I am hoping this will go well...

Back to college

I had been to my engineering college today..casually..for some work also..
Well it has changed a lot..and a lot is an understatement..the infrastcuture has changed a lot..there has been a new MMS wing that has come up and functional

The work that I was supposed to finish,was wrapped up in a sometime,and Since it was a thursday,I got the eat the delicious Pav Bhaji at the college canteen.
I still remember that like a kid I used to run on thursdays to savour the treat..
The taste still hasnt changed a tad bit..
I also was a lot more hungry,so I also had a plate of Misal Pav, and just returned back to the good old days..Genuinely..I actually went back in time where I and my pals used to eat in the same cafeteria..

I had a lot of time at hand,and was sitting at the college ground floor,where we used to spend time together on the chairs kept there..
I saw people in a frenzy to complete their journals,and people just chilling out..
every scene and every moment that I had spent in those wonderful four years,I literally could live that..
It was an awesome experience...I throughly enjoyed it..

I really attribute all the fun to the food that I had there..

Missing my pal Viral Gala..We both used to share the lunch table in college..

Finally got it...Hurray!!!!

Well its the IPOD Touch..
Some time ago..January to be precise,my project manager declared a contest...The person who solves the most bugs as well as logs the most will be awarded a 16GB Ipod touch...
The contest was supposed to be closed on the 20th of February,but hey..this is project management one on one..
I did win it,with a whopping 36 bugs solved in 30 days,and this together with delivery schedules and project assignments on my head.
This was also the time when I had clocked two 80 hour weeks one after the other,and genuinely,I was motivated to an extent that I was never ever in my life.
Well yes,they did not give me my due on time,time when I most wanted it,to gift it to someone special(Yes,you are correct!!!).
It was a long chain of flame mails to my manager,and a complete "disobedience" movement of not to solve any bugs further.

And it did turn up to be fruitful,I finally have it..

I already was gifted an 8 GB one by April from the same "someone special".

Its kinda funny how silly the device is..
A 16 GB memory can store upto may be 30 hours of movie,and If you sit to see a movie on the Touch,with a full charge,it discharges at around 3 hours.

I find it rather silly,and yes the same applies to music too..
But hey..The interface rocks!!!Totally...
I already have hacked it,and playing around my gift so that I can put a GSM modem around it,so I also can talk with it..
More in latter posts!!

Learning Adobe Flex 3

I attended a 2 day hands-on training on Adobe flex by Harish .
The training was so much fun to attend,and also the entire Flex thing is so much more advanced and above the typical HTML/Javascript that I handle at work..
It seamlessly integrates with XML based systems,and is a complete visual treat to work with.
Athough the licenses are a little on the higher side(~$700),so for the time being for my own aquaintance,I am working with OpenLaszlo.
It seems that the latter is somewhat a little less mature than the former,but since it is fed by the Open Source community,there would definitely be a lot of adding to it..

I have move to a more fun and happier life since my last post..more about the events in future posts!

Some thoughts on Coins!

Seriously, life has become a tad bit complicated...
There have been issuance of newly minted coins on Re.1 and Re.2 in the Indian Market.
Trouble is they look the same.They are round with minimal physical features that can distinguish the coins by touch,and to add to the confusion,they also almost look the same.

The only way to distinguish is to actually look at the denomination.

It was a little while ago that the Re.1 was circular and the Re.2 was in shape of an octagon.


Its OK for me,I have good sight.What about the blind beggar?
You must be kidding to design such coins...I am not sure what went behind the design of those coins,but they are an absolute nuisance..

My argument points to the fact that people with some kind of disability have to taken into consideration when a particular design is expected to touch their life.If its is money,you cannot expect to single out a particular group of people that will not come in direct contact with it.

The icing on the cake is:
The 50 paise coins and the 5 Rupee Coins are also same in size shape and almost same in weight.
It is a terrible fact that the difference of denomination is so huge,and yet the two are almost the same.

May be now I have to really play with coins to have a feel of them,or always be cautious!

Working with LAMP

I have been recently entrusted to create a website on the LAMP stack.It is my first experience of being the admin,the DBA and the programmer all bundled in one.
I already have a prior experience working in ASP,IIS and Oracle,that happens to be my work with GE.
I am totally amazed at how good this new found experience is.The scripting language is so much more fun to work with.There is already a built in function or a utility somewhere that you can really stitch together and create pages.I dont think I have ever come across such richly documented procedures and so much reference to peep into,If i am stuck.Me thinks ASP sucks big time.

To top it all,PHP happens to be object oriented also,and that adds to the fun of working with it.

Did I mention that it was free!

I have set up WAMP on my local machine here,and when the entire site is ready,I will just sync the shared space on the real environment and my local machine settings.

Kinda cool!

China Mobiles

I had been to the Manish Market in CST,Mumbai and I am staggered at the variety of Mobile phones that are available there.

They are reffered to as china mobiles,and the variety is endless.So much is the variety that it is impossible to find two shops that sell the same kind of device.

The features are rocking,you can actually watch TV on the mobile,and by default the mobiles are all touch screen,and run a home grown operating system.




I saw a phone with a camera,and it had lenses fitted to it,just like the same kind for telephoto.
The image quality was good,and the optics were average.



Darn cheap is an understatement.



These cellphones are available as less as 3000 rupees(around $75) .



The only down side is that they are guaranteed to for 10 days,and there is no one who can bail you out if the thing konks off.

But it justifies that.Why would i spend 300-400 rupees on a phone that cost me 3000 rupees.

I brought a new toy.
It rocks.Absoloutely.




Here is the photo from the top view showing the Laser pointer at the bottom edge of the gun.



I actually konked this off,by using a bearing ball,but managed to clean it up and make it work by actually opening the entire thing.


I think this was the most successful operation of any thing that I have ever possesed,coz this time there was not a single part that remained outside and all was back in the toy.


Otherwise it normally happens that something or the other does not find its place back in the toy.

This thing shoots something so hard that it actually can damage paint and can dent tin cans.

The accuracy fades at a distance of 10 feet,and a more heavier projectile is requiste as the plastic bullet tends to spin.
It has got a nice hold to it,and it fits snuggly in my arms,and rests well on my shoulder.


I had an idea..That I am going to spend time around.
I am going to divert the Laser light from the left to around the barrel using fiber optic cable,and the arrangment would be to create an "+" within a square.
Lets hope it works.

April Fool's Tragedy

Would have lost a good relation,and the prank was so successful that I am staggered as to how successful it went.Cant delve in the details,but I was saved by hair's breadth.

Its a good day to find out what people think about you,in general and specifics too.
You can propose to that girl that you think u like,and test it.If it goes sour then u are saved from embarrassment that she refused,and its good if she agrees.

What I did was pinged an announcement to all my colleagues at office saying that I have sweets at my desk for my six sigma certification being successful.Lo and Behold! 70 people fooled in a jiffy.

Its very difficult for me to stay mature on this day.The "kid" mode is on by default.

The "Bhaang" Experience

Trust me its fun....

Its ok...I had Bhaang! and others did to..,But the entire experience was worth it.
As ever friends had joined in at my place for Holi.This includes Jugal and Kennedy.So it by default includes a "bhaang". So what happens after you have it..Here are some of the symptoms that u are up for a joy ride.
1)Headache(Most common)
2)You can laugh as much as u want to,because that is what u are doing for the last half hour.
3)Heaviness and sleep.
4)Ignorance of nearby events
5)The courage to get up and write what u are feeling.
6)You agree to Einstein that other worlds exist,coz you can see the "other" of your world,next to it.
7)If you are a first timer,you would not even know that the effects have already started,you tend to think that you are very strong and still in your senses.Other disagree.

What happens after all this
1)Vomiting
2)Apologies for things u havent done,nor said.
3)Crying for reasons that people will have a different opinion about you when they meet you next.
4)You will listen...Forever..

The best way to keep away the negative effects is to have a glass after you have done with your holi cleaning,in the relaxed state of mind.You will be astonished how deep a sleep it can induce.

So pick up a glass next time,and dont eat after that.If you eat,then you are gone.The effects actually will be more prononuced.

IIM v/s ISB

Just read this in DNA .Could not resist keeping a copy on my blog
This was written by R.Jagganath

The Hyderabad-based Indian School of Business (ISB) has done the country proud by figuring in the Top 20 of the Financial Times ranking of B-schools.
The surprise is not that the ISB made it in just about six years of existence, but that the much-hyped Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) are nowhere in the pecking order. Perhaps, they didn’t participate; perhaps they couldn’t care less; but it’s a shame.
The broad reason for this is clear: being owned by the government is like the kiss of death. The IIMs are dying a slow death, though this is not apparent from the numbers still dying to get in every year.
There is little innovation or research coming from the IIMs despite 45 and more years of existence. I wouldn’t expect much from them unless they manage to get the government off their backs.
The ISB, on the other hand, could go one-up precisely because it’s a free agent. It is not accredited to the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) — which tells you a lot about the council’s competence.
In recent years, the council has approved hundreds of B-schools that ought not to be allowed to exist. It is neither equipped nor eligible to undertake the task of judging B-schools and their curricula.
It is at best another manifestation of the licence-permit raj in education. It needs to be scrapped. B-schools would probably be better off letting the market decide which ones perform a useful function and which ones don’t.
The ISB is succeeding because, unlike the IIMs, it actually has to compete for students. Especially given its high fee structure (annual costs of Rs17-20 lakh). The ISB did two or three things that are unconventional. One, it placed a premium on work experience, with the average work experience of its students being five years.
At the IIMs, most students wouldn’t even have seen the insides of an office before enrolling. How can you teach management to someone who hasn’t managed one single person in his life?
Two, by making the course a 12-month affair, the ISB opened up an entirely new market for experienced professionals who can’t afford to hang around campuses for two years.
The IIMs are now scurrying to fill this gap in the market. Three, the school deliberately chose autonomy by rejecting the AICTE’s accreditation. It took some courage to cock a snook at the babus, but it also made sense: the AICTE brings no value to the institutions it approves. Its dhobi-mark is no guarantee of quality education.
As for the IIMs, they are unlikely to hit the big time — never mind their larger-than-life presence in India — as long as they have to kow-tow to babus and visionless bosses like Murli Manohar Joshi (HRD minister in the NDA government), and Arjun Singh (the present incumbent).
The IIMs still produce hundreds of MBAs who get picked up by the corporate sector for mouth-watering salaries, but this has little to do with what the IIMs themselves do.
The IIMs, and the IITs, to a lesser extent, produce great alumni because they have developed a fantastic sieving process to keep out all but the extremely gifted. After selecting the best among the best, it would take a really lousy institution to subtract value from them. Put another way, it is the students who add value to the IIMs, and not the other way round.
If I were an Indian (or multinational) business house, I would recruit people immediately after they pass their CAT exams; what the IIM does to their job market value after CAT is minimal. By recruiting after CAT, companies would not only get cheaper products, but also less inflated egos.

Kaipoche!

Three days of kite flying has never been done in my life,and it was a lot of fun.
It was rather painful flying this time,because there was intermittent wind and my kites did not fly high due to lack of flowing air.

What is left is a darker me,a paining arm and more learning to fly in no wind conditions.
Gobbled a lot of "Chikki" and more delicious foods.