kinshuk sunilit aint no, dessert if therez no caek

After eight long months I finally travelled in a public transportation bus today. Don’t even ask how it felt!

Well, post-renal trouble, I have always been afraid of travelling in the Public Transportation Buses (Both DTCs and Blue Lines). Just a mental block, nothing medical you know. But today I had to travel in PTB (:D). Since I had to reach an obscure point (UP-Delhi Border) with no convenient medium for access (metro ends about 5 km early), and no money for a comfortable auto-rickshaw; hence stuck with the only option of a PTB. Hmm…

So I got off at the Shahdara Metro station, took a snap of the map of the proposed metro line coming to Vaishali (that would be close to my home). A sweeper observed me and came to me and said: “Video bana lo sahab par dhyan rakhna agar unhone dekh liya to fir 500 rupaye fine lagega” (Make a video if you want to but keep in mind if some one sees you, you’ll be fined Rs. 500). I explained to him that I am just taking a snap of the map, he asked me to go pick up a metro brochure. That was an intelligent idea, yes!

Anyhow, listening to my own music in my new N73M, I pranced out. “Welcome”, Midday Sun said. Agony! Pain blinded my soul. Ah well, that was just the heat and the heat-y feeling you get (if you know what I mean) when you walk in the sun. Prompt, I was, to take out my cap (always in my bag) and flash it on my head, hoping to get some respite. Only, I started to sweat. Sweet! Last thing I needed (don’t give me that sweat is body’s temperature control theory). I sweat as much as a hog hogs.

anyhow, now I needed directions. but the exterior of the station was devoid of any existence. Hell! It was Martian surface. Who wants to enjoy the sun, anyway? Luckily, to my aid a sequence of telecommunication shops “STD/ISD/PCO” booths. (Did you know PCO stands for ‘Public Call Office’? Note: Humans are strange, complex beings). After a quick interview I was given directions to the place i sought:

• the first dude told me the place is at least 8 km away and i have to take the bus from the near-end of a flyover on the road facing me.
• the second dude told me the place is 2-3 km far and a bus from the extreme-end is needed. the near-end won’t serve.
• on road, a third dude told me that both dude 1 and dude 2 were perhaps Neptunians (of course he used local words) for the place is only 15 minutes away and that i could take the bus from anywhere.

Funny, for a bus that would have started from the extreme end could go towards the destination only from the near-end. But well, i intend to stay away from my discourse on human behaviour.

Anyhow, finally I was at the bus stop. There was a bus standing at the stop. I asked the driver if it goes to Apsara Border. No was the prompt reply. I approached the rear of the bus and asked the conductor if the bus goes to Apsara Border; No came the reply. A rickshaw wallah humbly advised me to board the same bus since it was the only bus in the next 20 minutes that would go to Apsara Border. Flummoxed, I boarded the bus. The conductor amicably sold me the ticket. 15 minutes later i got down at Apsara Border, got an ETA 0000 message. Contact at 0005. Rescue at 0010.

End of story. Sweet, ain’t it?

Wishing you all a very happy Holi. May it be joyous and colourful for you and your loved ones.
In case you don’t know what Holi is Wikipedia to the rescue!

I am sharing some Holi Pics of this year with you. Quality of pics is regretted, most of them were taken from the safety of being behind a closed window.

Holika Dahan on March 21st 2008

Colourful Holi on March 22nd 2008

Johari window is a management concept which describes a person’s personality in terms of two variables: Attributes known to self and Attributes known to others. On the basis of these two, the personality of any individual is defined in terms of four specific windows:

1. Facade: Attributes known to self, not known to any one else
2. Arena: Attributes known to self, also known to others
3. Blind Spot: Attributes not known to self, but known to others
4. Unknown: Attributes known to no one.

It makes an excellent exercise to build one’s own Johari Window; it is also a useful tool for self-discovery and self-improvement. Read more about Johari Window.

During my graduation, we used to conduct a small exercise in class. On any given day, we would select a single student and for the next ten minutes the class would contemplate about him and then on a small chit of paper, write some positive and negative points about the individual. This is a primitive implementation of the Johari Window. Though an interesting exercise, it was not done on a regular basis and hardly beyond a frequency of about five times.

On a particular day, I was made subject to this exercise. Out of a class of 60, I got a total of 43 replies of which I have been able to preserve about 9 chits (it has been over 4 years since this exercise was conducted). It was quite true to what I was then, to an extent it is true for what I am today too. I share these 9 chits with you today (I have added my own remarks in parentheses with every chit):

1. The first chit lists my positive attributes as: “Very helpful during exams, down to earth, and helpful”; while my negative traits are: “shakl achchi nahi hai (does not have a pretty face), chashma bahut bada hai (wears glasses of a big frame), shave nahi karta (does not shave)”… Okay, a bad chit to start with…
2. The second chit does not see any negative in me, it says Kinshuk is “good in studies and hard working”.
3. The next chit also doesn’t see any negative traits in me, strangely it doesn’t see anything positive either. it simply states some of my behaviours. Kinshuk is, it says, a “man of principles and values, always talks of philosophy, and has a different perspective to life”. Hmm….
4. The next chit is a wise one. according to it, I am a “typical bihari, our own joker, and very intelligent”. That means either I have a good sense of humour, or an extremely pathetic sense of humour so as my follies make others laugh; silly me.
5. The next one stays true to the exercise, a bit. It says, my positive traits are: “punctual, intelligent, and helpful” and my negative traits are: “hairless (??), too outspoken, and always raising questions”. Now, outspoken-ness has always been a big problem of mine.
6. The next one again skips my negative traits (I love all my classmates). My positive traits, according to it are: “computer mechanic (must mean skilled in computers), always lives in technical world (trying to be geek), sentimental towards Bihar and —– (knowing my classmates, must be ‘girls’; how and why, escapes me), and motivator (a-ha!)”.
7. The seventh chit is critical of me and also tries to state facts about me. It says: Kinshuk is “argumentative, changes words very oftenly (I am quoting the exact wordings from the chits), is mad for something he himself doesn’t know, is very rational and logical, and wants to be a very true human being”.
8. The next one finds me praiseworthy: Kinshuk is “decent, helpful, soft spoken, good in studies, jolly, and small in size (err…)”.
9. The next one looks like a person who didn’t know me well, for they attempted to copy what the person writing the 8th chit had to say: Kinshuk is “decent, helpful, soft spoken, good in studies, and [some scribbling]“. Perhaps, they ran out of time.

I would recommend such activity to you but with some alterations. An effective Johari exercise should be conducted:

• In small groups. Don’t go for a huge sample of 60 students. Do it with a group of 4-7 friends. Repeat it with a number of such groups.
• Prefer people who know you well, but do not exclude people who have just got to know you. First impression, after all, is the last impression.
• Be honest and sincere. Take all criticism positively.
• Don’t try to suck up to people; Don’t try to impress them or be in their good books; Don’t try to be too harsh or over-critical. You are ruining the exercise.
• Document all results.

I found an online solution that simplifies this process to an extent. There is a web application developed by Kevan Davies (at Kevan.org) that provides you your own Johari Window. In fact, Kevan went a step further and created another application of Johari Window, which he calls Nohari Window. The first application is your Johari Window for your positive traits or Virtues. The Nohari Window is your Johari Window for Negative Traits.

You can find my Johari Window and Nohari Window at these individual locations.

Feel free to share your experiences with Johari Windows, suggested exercise, or anything else for that matter.

Internet Explorer 8 Beta 1 is now available for PC users to try, though Microsoft specifically says that the beta is targeted at Web Developers and Designers. I am neither, but I like to try new stuff when I can.

So IE8 is sleeker and smarter. I have used it for half an hour now and have faced no problem yet (but then I haven’t even thought of looking under the hood). What is new this time? Activities, WebSplices, Automatic Crash Recovery.

“Activities give users ready access to the online services they care about most from any page they visit, and developers gain an easy way to extend the reach of their online services. It’s as simple as selecting text to get started with an Activity.” (Microsoft.com)

“Developers can mark parts of webpages as “WebSlices” and enable users to monitor information they rely on as they move about the web. With a click in the Favorites bar, users see rich “WebSlice” visuals and developers establish a valuable, persistent end-user connection.” (Microsoft.com)

And just in case you don’t like the way IE8 works, you can shift back to IE7 ‘mode’ with the click of a button. IE8 features an ‘Emulate IE7′ mode with a nifty ‘7′ icon on the standard tool bar. Though I haven’t still faced a scenario where I would like to do that (chances are I’ll never face one either).

This time “Internet Explorer 8 includes built-in tools that work well for professionals as well as those trying CSS and scripting for the first time.” (Microsoft.com) These tools include a JavaScript Debugger, a utility to work with the DOM,  CSS 2.1 Support, Data URI, AJAX enhancements and more.

Automatic Crash Recovery will help you during your ever-so-frequent crash experiences with Microsoft Software (though I must agree that in the post-xpsp2 world I have faced these crashes rarely).

IE8 has even got one of those cool bookmarks toolbar that we are so used to in Firefox, Opera and all the other browsers. And needless to say, IE8 is the most reliable and secure IE-edition to date.

All in all IE8 looks good first hand, but yet it is Internet Explorer. Will I switch from Mozilla Firefox 2.1 to Windows Internet Explorer 8?

No. Will you?

I have just published my first album through Lulu.com titled “In My Dreams”.
It is a collection of short instrumentals that blend to various moods; with a strong electronic blend ‘In My Dreams’ was originally developed as soundtracks to my various games. The album has 15 tracks.

The album is available at Last FM for listening. Check Here.
The album is also available for purchase at my Lulu Storefront. Check Here.