Strong-Strong

Thats literally the translation of the name of a fish called "Mahi Mahi". Finally after some aeons, I had finished my lunch plate. While by no means striking to an outside observer, I have never enjoyed lunch dishes very much and simply try these dishes while making conversations. The end result is always the same. I never will finish my complete plate whereas the the folks around me usually lap it up pretty nicely.I kinda wished my lunch would be that way but never had that satisfaction. I usually found it convenient to categorise myself as a 'thair-saadam' boy( google thair saadam (a space between r and s is required) and see what comes up first, just like googling pwlah gives another blogger a similar rank). So for me today's lunch is an achievement of sorts : finishing the plate and that too made of fish. God save the species of mahi mahi now.

I finally have 36 hours to go before I catch a flight back home to India. Though not as excited as I should be ( I can attribute that to my burning out these days.) a vacation is of dire neccessity to me now. Its gonna be a fun trip with mumbai, bangalore and hyderabad in the circuit. In the midst of the excitement popped a lurking fear that I might be lost in a city like mumbai. Suddenly imagining myself in that 'maximum city', I kinda twitched and thank goodness for friends like Murali, who is close enough to host me till I get the work done. So strange that I get to become like this. A proper week of touring around the country should cure me. A lot of volleys on subjects like career, marriage, etc. need to be fielded with assorted folks.Hmm..The humdrum..Speaking of career, here's a little advice from the sage of omaha himself:

Q: What is your career advice?

A: If you want to make a lot of money go to Wall Street. More importantly though, do what you would do for free, having passion for what you do is the most important thing. I love what I do; I'm not even that busy. I got a total of five phone calls all day yesterday and one of them was a wrong number. Ms. B from NFM had passion, that's why she was successful. A few months ago I was talking to another MBA student, a very talented man, about 30 years old from a great school with a great resume. I asked him what he wanted to do for his career, and he replied that he wanted to go into a particular field, but thought he should work for McKinsey for a few years first to add to his resume. To me that's like saving sex for your old age. It makes no sense.

************************************************************

So I take it that he is simply saying "Live Life King Size". Amen.

The Gift by Hafiz

Even After
All this time
The sun never says to the earth
"You owe me."

Look What happens
With a love like that,
It lights up the
Whole Sky.

-(Khwaja Shams ud-Din Hafiz-i Shirazi, 1326-1390)
_________________________________________________

The author is popularly known as Hafiz and supposedly was the master of Ghazal and his sufi based poetry is supposedly far surpassing Rumi. Just discovered this guy in an office chat with a co-worker. So far so good.

Some Things That Fly - Part 1

* Keeping it Real
* Learning & Finding What You Think Is Cool (Hard thing is holding on to it)
* Exploring, Alone
* The Ocean, and How Long Since I've Seen It
* Not Opening Your Mouth and Responding with Silence
* Deserving my Fate
* Taking it to the Limit
* Swimming in the Rain and Eating Ice Cream later

Recos

Just finished watching "Coffee and Cigarettes". Left me thinking the same pattern that I thought after reading "Waiting for Godot". Someone wrote to me in an email about "Existential Angst", guess that person should go watch this movie.(Under my breath much like someone says "Useless Fellow" : Damn those Existentalists)

On the other hand I have seen an exactly polar opposite of this film is "Monsieur Ibrahim" which had some sufi stuff in it apart from some neat concepts.Though it had some parallels to a "Scent of a Woman", doesnt quite it make it to that scale nor the punch of it.Nevertheless this movie made me think(I still have it on my to-do list) of doing a dervish for an hour or so atleast.

On a different note, I had to drop a couple of priests to the airport during this week and man, it was ugly. I tried to poke them around theological grounds and all they wanted to talk was of immigration status,citizenship,home ownership, desperate housewives and the sort. Anyways wonder on what ground they claim the west to be materialistic when they themselves encourage nothing but materials in terms of asking for wishes.So much for Salvation.

Happy Thanksgiving to those residing in the U.S.

Lesson

Learnt to understand some things that I dont respect and by converse respect things that I dont understand.

Ruminations

Remember the first days in a new school? My pop used to get transferred every 3 years or so and hence became used to it. A New school and a New place. The last time I ever cried saying farewell to friends and got bitter for leaving a comfort zone was in Madras (Yeah! It used to be called that instead of Chennapatnam as in my grandpa's time or Chennai as in these days) circa 1987. I guess after that I got de-sensitized to those kind of issues.(some call that growing up and I call that loss of childhood). First thing you need to fight for (or rather wrestle out of people) ,is acceptance. Just like the fraternities having an initiation rite, there always exists an unwritten one. At the new residence you need to prove that to your neighbors and in school you gotta do something else that would be called kick-ass or "cool" as they say these days. (I love the way the flick "Anjali" depicts this situation of acceptance among an apartment community)

Switching Gears a bit, there exists a similar rite of initiation into a new job when you get in one. First off, its a bit more subtle because no one says it on your face about it but word gets around.ALl the screw-ups or anything that makes a good story instantly spread like a fire. Slowly, as people get some clarity of your charter at the workplace and everyone (well, not every one but most folks that work directly with you ) makes sure that you make it to their list of "approved" folks for the job. Yes. I think I can safely make the claim that now I have arrived at this new firm.

Ruminating about childhood seems very instructive these days (atleast for me). Given a new situation where you had to solve a problem never seen before, the very first thing I recollect is that when I was a kid there was nothing like "fear" but only "curiosity".Luckily when you are a new kid on the block there is no fear of making a fool of yourself and your curiosity (though irritating at times) helps people see some things in a fresh perspective. All you need to do is preserve your child like curiosity about the things the way there and play. The only difference here is that people play hard, work hard and the consequences also come down hard on you just in case you slip.So far I have never been this productively occupied and having fun at the same time.I'll drink to that.Just like music is something of a state between tension and release of strings, my life seems to flow in different tunes between a tense and relaxed situations.Its pure harmony in between.

When I was a kid, I liked to paint but couldnt do it properly. My solution to that was to draw something and instead of coloring it, I took a toothbrush, dip it into the water color and then do a spray paint. This has the defect that I couldt control the colors at the borders but the result was much better than me doing the colors the conventional way.

I am looking forward to my upcoming trip home. I have committed to buying a house back in hometown. I think that marks a clear transition of a boy to man.Hmmm...Not sure about that but feels great hearing some elated voices from home. It will be quite a trip that I will be looking forward to. Somehow things are just like the way Bob Dylan sings in

"Come gather round people wherever you roam
And admit that the waters around you have grown
And accept it that soon you'll be drenched to the bone
If your time to you is worth saving
Then you'd better start swimming or you'll sink like a stone
For the times, they are a changing"

Bob Dylan always leads me t think of Dylan Thomas.( I am told he was named after the welsh poet).Here's a nice excerpt from "And Death Shall have no Dominion"

"No more may gulls cry at their ears
Or waves break loud on the seashores;
Where blew a flower may a flower no more
Lift its head to the blows of the rain;
Through they be mad and dead as nails,
Heads of the characters hammer through daisies;
Break in the sun till the sun breaks down,
And death shall have no dominion."

I think I can utilize this "copious" free time in some other way as well. Adios!

All about Smiley's - Part I

Someone forgot that there are so many ways to express something using a smiley.In such a case here is a list of different ways to express a smiley.Imagine how many different possibilities exist in real world then?
___________________________________________
:) Smiling, happy faces; don't take me too seriously
Happy
Midget smiley
Cheshire cat smile
Happy
Salamander
User is a midget
Smilie without a nose
Normal face
Leper

:-) Smiling, happy faces; don't take me too seriously
or
Your basic smiley
Ha ha
Comedy
Willie Shoemaker
"We are all, each of us, alone"
Happy
Humorous
Smiley standard
The normal smiling face
User is an orator
Happy user
Just kidding or happy
I'm a gentleman
User is nosy

:> Smiling, happy faces; don't take me too seriously
Midget smiley
Hmm, let me think...
User is a midget
Devilish Grin
Sharp smile

;) Winking happy faces (something said tongue-in-cheek)
Midget Wink
Winking

;-) Winking happy faces (something said tongue-in-cheek)
Wink (or wink and a smile)
Winking smiley
"If you touch my daughter again, they won't be blanks"
A practical joker who played one too many and got beat up
Beaten up
Could be pirate smiling face??
Crying with happiness
Getting fresh
Sardonic incredulity
Smiling face gets his lights punched out
User is making a flirtatious and/or sarcastic remark
Hinting

;> Winking happy faces (something said tongue-in-cheek)
Midget wink
Saucy wink

B-) Smiling face from a person wearing glasses
Smiling and wearing glasses or sunglasses
Message from Batman
User wears horn-rimmed glasses
Horn-rims
"Holy trichinosis!"
"I pray daily for death"
"Let's do the beach, man!"
User is ready for the beach
Cool or sunglasses
Ski glasses

8-) Smiling face with a wide-eyed look
Smile with glasses
Smiling and wearing glasses
Wide-eyed look
User is wearing sunglasses
Smiley swimmer
Smiley with big eyes...perhaps wearing contact lenses
"I was the second gunman"
Excited
Bug-eyed smilie
Eight!?! (happy)
Swimmer

8-( Unhappy smiley
Wide-eyed unhappy smiley
Eight!?! (unhappy)

:D Wider happy face (or Minstrel singers)
Laughter
Big smile

:-D Wider happy face (or Minstrel singers)
Big mouth
User is laughing (at you!)
Big smile
Said with a smile
Talking too much
User is a blabber mouth
Laugh-happy user
Comedy

:-o "Oh, nooooooo!" (a la Mr. Bill)
User singing national anthem
Uh oh!
Surprise / shocker
"Oh, the humanity!"
Mr. Bill
Wow!
Shocked
Yawn
Talking/Peaceably
More versions of shouting
Bored

:-( Sad or disappointed face
Unhappy
Frowning smilie.
Boo hoo
Drama
"I will start with those you love most"
Has read too many 'smiley' articles
Mad
Sad face, 'that comment makes me sad (mad)'
Un-smiley
Displeasure
Sad user
Depressed of frowning
"Have an ordinary day"

:-P Tongue stuck out
Wider happy face (or Minstrel singers)
Nyahhhh!
Nyah nyah
"I have a longer tongue than Gene Simmons"
Has a secret to tell you
Telling secrets
Tongue hanging out in anticipation
User is wanting to lick your neck
Keeping a straight face (tight-lipped)

:-J Tongue in cheek
Tongue-in-cheek comments
Surfer

:-# Message concerning something that shouldn't have been said
Censored
User wears braces
Braces
"My lips are sealed"
Mouth zipped
Punched in the mouth
Talking with Braces
Blowing a kiss


:-$ Message indicating person is ill
Put your money where your mouth is
Smiley face with it's mouth wired shut
"These braces sure do hurt!"
Mouth wired shut
Sellout (does NOT rhyme with zealot!)
Uncertainty
Jewish user

:-& Message indicating person is angry
User is tongue tied
Smiley which is tongue-tied
Perplexed
User eating spaghetti

:-* Kiss...
Oooops (covering mouth with hand)
User just ate a sour pickle
User just ate something sour
Smiley after eating something bitter
After eating something bitter or sour
Star-tled
Blowing a kiss

:-x Kiss kiss
"My lips are sealed" smiley
"My lips are sealed"
Not telling any secrets
User kissing
Blowing a kiss

:-(=) Message from a person with big teeth.
Message about people with big teeth
Bucktooth smiley
Big teeth

<:-) Dumb questions For dumb questions User is Vietnamese peasant Hero user Dunce Magician Skier -( Late night messages Nightmare. Smiley lost his contact lenses Asleep with nightmares Yawn :^) From a person with a large nose Messages teasing people about their noses User has a broken nose Smiley with pointy nose (righty) Smiley with a personality 3/4 view of person with elf-type sharp nose Broken nose Happy :*) Clowning around Smile with moustache I'm drunk User is drunk Ed McMahon Drunk smiling face Everyman Smilie with the nose of a clown :-{#} From a person with braces Messages teasing people about their braces User is sick of messages teasing people about their braces &:-) From a person with curly hair Messages from people with curly hair Curly hair User is Guinan Wig II @:-) From a person with wavy hair User is wearing a turban Smiley wearing a turban Indian (East/Asian) Elvis A turban #:-) From a person with matted hair Done by someone with sort of matted hair "Everything you know is wrong" For people whose hair is in a mess User has a crewcut Smilie with a fur hat Happy with Hair O:-) Angel For those innocent souls Angel smiley Acting very innocent (halo) With halo C=:-) Chef User is a chef Chef smiley Galloping Gourmet ;-)} Corporate-type guy (see the necktie?)

:-) )-: Masking theatrical comments

:-K- Formal message
User is formally attired
Evening dress

<:>== A turkey
A turkey emoticon

...---... S.O.S.

O­O A guy is mooning you

O:O A girl is mooning you

@*&$!% You know what that means...

2B^2B Message about Shakespeare
"Forty Seconal should suffice"

(O--<>-- A rose.

@>+-+-- A rose.

@>-->-- A rose.

---<---@ A rose. @}-,-'-- A rose. @}-;--`--- A rose. @>--->---- A rose.

@}--;---`---- A rose.

@}`,---------- A rose.

@}-^---,------ A rose.

@}-->---->---- A rose.

@}--)----)---- A rose.

@)--`---,----- A rose.

@}--<---<----- A rose. @}--`----,---- A rose. @}----`----^-- A rose. @}----->------ A rose.

@(---`--`------ A rose.

@},`----------- A rose.

@}--,--`------- A rose.

@--^--^--^--^------ A rose.

(-_-) Secret smile
User is happy (sideways)

(.)(.) Ms. Dos
User has big boobs

:/) Not funny

:-))) Reeeel happy, big smile
I'm overweight
William Conrad

:-> Alternate happy face
User just made a really biting sarcastic remark.
Hey hey
Sarcastic smiley
Biting sarcastic face
Deformed lips
Happy
Yet another smiley
Smug
User just made a really devilish remark
Very Glad/Pleased/Very Happy
Leer
Grin
Smiley walrus

:-c Real unhappy
Bummed out smiley

:-C Unbelieving (jaw dropped)
User is really bummed
Real unhappy smiley
Dracula user
Count Dracula

:-< o=" A" face =":-)="> Message concerning rubber chickens

>< ><>-< i="=">:-) Devil
Nasty user
A little devil

>;-) Devilish Wink

:-)## Guy with a Beard

@:-)## Guruka Singh Khalsa

&:-] Overly Handsome Self-Portrait of the Uploader w/Square Jaw

&8-] Overly Handsome Self-Portrait of the Uploader w/Square Jaw

@@B-) Bouffant Woman with Catseye Frame Glasses

(8-} Percy Dovetonsils

>-) Oriental Smiling Face
An alien

&B-]} Another corporate-type with aviator glasses, wavy hair &amp;amp; tie.

O!O A MALE moon

O^O A FEMALE moon

;8-) Hagar caught lying

7:^] I resemble Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan

*<:-) I'm Santa Claus Santa Claus (Ho Ho Ho) )-:<* Sanity Clause [:-) I'm wearing a walkman Smiley wearing a walkman Listening to walkman User has a flattop Frankenstein user Garibaldi from Babylon 5 (author says note the flat top) User is wearing a hard-hat A personal stereo Frankenstein's monster d:-) I'm a Braves fan Message about baseball Baseball smiley Baseball player Smilie with a cap Jockey A baseball cap :-\ Popeye smiling face Undecided smiley User is VERY sad Thinking Skeptical ;-\ Popeye gets his lights punched out Popeye beaten up :-s User after a BIZARRE comment Smiley after a BIZARRE comment Confused -:-) User sports a mohawk and admires Mr. T User is a punk rocker Has mohawk :%)% User has acne :n) User with funny-looking right nose Smiley with funny-looking right nose :u) User with funny-looking left nose Smiley with funny-looking left nose '-) User only has a left eye, which is closed Winking smiley One eyed man (-: User is left-handed Australian Don Ellis from Tektronix Left-handed (-) User needs a haircut (:I Egghead User is an egghead {:-) Smiley with its hair parted in the middle Kirk User wears a toupee Smiley wears a toupee New hair style +:-) Smiley priest Priest smiley Priest =:-) Smiley punk-rocker From a hosehead Smiley is a punk Punk rocker User is a dickhead %-^ User is Picasso Picasso User was painted by Picaso @:I Turban (><) Anally retentive :-! Foot in mouth Smiley bland face Bland face Malcom McUser Excited/Exclaiming #-) Partied all night Lt. LaForge Zombie :-(*) About to vomit That comment made me sick Sick of netnews articles, about to vomit %-\ Hungover :-)8 Well dressed Man with bowtie Thespian :-)-{8 From a big girl User is a big girl :x( Habe a code in by dose 8:] From a gorilla Gorilla (:)-) Scuba diver Likes to scuba dive Scuba diving (-::-) Siamese twins {:V Sounds like a duck %+{ From the loser of a fight Lost a fight d :-) Hats off to your great idea q:-) For those who wear their caps backwards Wearing baseball cap backwards User is a baseball player Baseball catcher Rapper >:- Spock
Trekkie

:-/ McCoy
User is skeptical
Lefty undecided smiley
Retarded user
Mixed/Apprenhensive

:-{)} Commander Riker

<>:{(} Lt. Worf

**:-) Counsellor Troi

]) Lt. LaForge

[:- Data

{(:-) I am William Shatner
Wearing toupee

} (:-( I am William Shatner in a high wind

8(:-) Zippy
Mickey Mouse
Mousketeer
Walt Disney

******:-) Marge Simpson

^^ Happiness (Japanese symbol)

^^; Embarrasment (Japanese symbol)

;; Sadness (Japanese symbol)

-- When it's the occasion to bow (Japanese symbol)

>:-> User just made a really devilish remark.
Devilish smiley
Devilish
User is leering

>;-> Winky and devil combined.
A very lewd remark was just made

[:] User is a robot
Robot smiley
Robot

B:-) Sunglasses on head
User has glasses on forehead

:-)-8 User is a big girl (partial body)

:-{) User has a mustache
Moustache
Normal smiling face with a moustache
Happy with Mustache

:-{} User wears lipstick
Smiley wears lipstick
Heavy lipstick
Mick Jagger
Big mouth

}:-( Toupee in an updraft
Bull headed

:-[ User is a Vampire
Un-smiley blockhead
Vampire smiley
Biting criticism
Blockhead
Pouting
Sarcastic
Count Dracula
Bad Mood/Grumpy
Severe Displeasure

:-E Bucktoothed vampire
Has major dental problems

:-F Bucktoothed vampire with one tooth missing

:-)~ User drools
Drooling

:-~) User has a cold

:'-) User is so happy, s/he is crying
Crying with happiness

:-@ User is screaming
Smiley face screaming
User is saying, "It's true, I swear"
Beard has permanent wave *or* was drawn by Picasso.
Extremely angry
Swearing
User about to barf
Barking/Tounge Lashing
Tongue ring

:v) User has a broken nose
Left-pointing nose smiley
Left-pointing broken nose
Big nose

-:-( Punk rocker (real punk rockers don't smile)

:=) User has two noses
Orangutan smiley

+-:-) User is the Pope or holds some other religious office
Priest

`:-) Shaved his right eyebrow off this morning

,:-) David Ogden Stiers' toupee
Shaved his left eyebrow off this morning

-I User is asleep
Sleeping

-O User is yawning/snoring
Birth
Bored
User is bored by the article you submitted

:-Q User is a smoker
Smoker
Smoking smiley
User smoking a bud
Talking or Shouting with cigarette or cigar

O-) Message from cyclops
Smiley after smoking a banana
Megaton Man, on patrol!
Scuba diver
Arc-welder
A Martian (happy)

O :-) User is an angel (at heart, at least)
Angel

:-S User just made an incoherent statement
What you say makes no sense
Sick smilie
Sheepish/confused

:-X User's lips are sealed
Bow tie
A big wet kiss
User with taped-up mouth
User is swearing

<-) User is Chinese Rickshaw driver A Vietnamese peasant <-( User is Chinese and doesn't like these kind of jokes/fortunes *<:-) User is wearing a Santa Claus Hat Santa Claus Smilie with hat and pompom (cold weather smilie) (8-o It's Mr. Bill! *:o) It's Bozo the Clown! User is a bozo Clown 3:] Pet smilie 3:[ Mean Pet smilie Pit bull smiley d8= Your pet beaver is wearing goggles and a hard hat E-:-) User is a Ham radio operator TV detector van operator :-9 User is licking his/her lips Smiley licking it's lips %-6 User is braindead <:-I User is a dunce K:P User is a little kid with a propeller beenie :-0 No Yelling! (Quiet Lab) Orator Smiley orator User can't find shift key ..-) User only has one eye ,-) User only has one eye Winking happy smiley One eye ... and winking Sammy Davis, Jr. X-( User just died Net.suicide You are brain dead Dead user 8 :-) User is a wizard C=}>;*{)) Mega-Smilie... A drunk, devilish chef with a toupee in an
updraft, a mustache, and a double chin

:] Gleep...a friendly midget smilie who will gladly be your friend

=) Variation on a theme
Chinese smiley
Interested smiley (big eyes)
The "cute" smiley
A different smiley

:} What should we call these? (what?)
The Grinch
If the user is a frenchmen and he has a curly mustache

:@ Screaming

:I Hmmm...
Hmmm, not funny!
Bored
Cute guy
Pensive
Bad joke, but since I like you, I'll try to smile
Happy

:( Sad
Sad-turtle smiley
Frowning

:[ Real Downer
A vampire
Very unhappy

:< face =":-(">:-I Net.startrek
Trekkie

3:o[ Net.pets

-P Yuk!
Reaction to unusually ugly C code

<:I Dunce :-8( Condescending stare >:-<>- Female

8-# Death
Dead smiley
User is dead

8-O "Omigod!!"
Took too many nodoz to work on thesis
User just before doubling over with pain

;-( Crying smiley
'That makes me so mad that if I ever see you I'll punch your
lights out'
Beaten up
Sad face gets his lights punched out
Sad or mad and got beat up

;^) Smirking smiley

:-)8<>:-l Klingon smiley

@:-} Smiley just back from the hairdresser

X:-) Little kid with a propeller beanie
User is Aunt Jemima

l^o Hepcat smiley

}:^#) Pointy nosed smiley

:-3 Handlebar mustache smiley

: = Beaver smiley

P-( Pirate smiley

:8) Pigish smiley
Pig

:/\) Extremely bignosed smiley

([( Robocop

&-l That made me cry

l-O Smiley is yawning

l:-O Flattop loudmouth smiley

$-) Yuppie smiley
Alex P. Keaton (from "Family Ties")
Won big at Las Vegas
Won the lottery

:----} You lie like pinnochio
Pinnochio

8<:-) Smiley is a wizard :#) Drunk smiley H-) Cross-eyed smiley User is Geordie LaForge ]-I Smiley wearing sunglasses Very cool sunglasses (so smirks) V^J Smiley with glasses, seen from left side (portrait, talking) +-( Smiley, shot between the eyes ~:-P Smiley, thinking and steaming Having only one single hair `' Cat's eyes in the night L-P Totally scrambled smiley BI A frog -( Always should wear safety glasses, especially in the laser burn-in room User with gouged-out eyes !-( Black eye !- "I-am-a-Cylon-Centurian-with-one-red-eye-bouncing-back- and-forth." Cyclon Centurian Popeye User !.'v Flat top (profile) !:-( ) Being brained by a baseball bat #(,'%/) Slept too long on one side and didn't have time to wash hair #:o+= Betty Boop &:-o-8-<> Drunk with laughter

%-{ Sad variation

%- Been working all night
I've been on the computer all night

%-} Humor variation

%-~ Picasso
User was painted by Picaso

%\v Picasso
User was painted by Picaso

&- Tearful

&.(.. Crying

':-) Accidentally shaved off one of his eyebrows this morning
One eyebrow

'~;E Unspecified 4-legged critter

( Unhappy Cheshire cat

(!) Reference to non-Vanderbilt SEC football
A tight ass

($) Speculation on why Vanderbilt is in the SEC

() Reference to football

(,'%/) Slept too long on one side

(-.-)Zzz... Sleeping (sideways)

(-::-) Siamese twins
Putting heads together

(-E: Wearing bifocals

(-o-) Imperial Tie Fighter ("Star Wars")

(00) Mooning you

(8-) Wears glasses
Homer Simpson
I'm an Owl
Swimmer

(8-{)} Glasses, moustache and a beard

(: (= Wearing a ghost costume (mini whole body)

(:+) Big nose

(:- Unsmiley frowning

(:-# I am smiling and I have braces (watch out for the glare!)
Said something he shouldn't have

(:-* Kissing

(:-D Blabber mouth

(:-I Egghead

(:-\ VERY sad

(:-{~ Bearded

(:=) TWO noses (?)

(H f Robocop in a hydraulic press

(V)= Pacman champion

(X0) Double hamburger with lettuce and tomato

(^^)y-~~~ Smoking (sideways)

(x) Reference to Vanderbilt football

(- F Robocop

(}-8] Left-handed bearded smiley with glasses and headphones

) Cheshire cat

*!#*!^*&:-) A schizophrenic

** For winter sports generally

**-( Too many shocks

*-( Cyclops got poked in the eye
Cyclops after meeting Odysseus

*-) Shot dead
User was shot for the last posting
Cross-eyed smiley

*8-) Beaker (the Muppet lab assistant)

*<.'v Wearing snow cap (profile) *<8-)x>- For airline tickets going cheap

->=:-)X Zippy the Pinhead

'! Grim (profile)

'" Pursing lips (profile)

'J Smiling (profile)

'P Sticking tongue out (profile)

'T Keeping a straight face (profile)

'U Yawning (profile)

'V Shouting (profile)

'Y Whistling (profile)

'\ Frowning (profile)

'r Sticking tongue out (profile)

'v Talking (profile)

'w Speaking with forked tongue (profile)

-( Always should wear safety glasses

-] One eye

.---... ABBA fan
SOS

...( Wile E. Coyote after attempt on Road Runner's life

\/ Duck variation

^v Pointy nose (profile)

_) Suffering from Lorentz contraction (they're coming every
ten minutes now)
Suffering from Lorentz contractions

/8^{~ User has a lopsided hair line, glasses, moustache, and goatee

/:- Mr. Spock

/;-) Has one big thick cockeyed eyebrow

/\ For camping and backpacking

0-( Scuba diver with a broken mask

0:-) Angel

3 :-) Bart Simpson

3:*> Rudolph the reindeer

3:-o Cow
Bull

4:-) George Washington
Sailor

5:-) Elvis Presley

6\/) Elephant

7:-) Fred Flintstone

8) Frog
Wearing shades
Real cross eyed
User wears glasses

8-* Just ate a hot pepper

8-O --* Just before doubling over with pain

8-P Reaction to College Cafeteria Coffee

8-S Sees all evil

8-] "Wow, maaan"
User is FDR

8-o Mr. Bill
Shocked

8:) Pig

8=:-) Galloping Gourmet
Chef

8P Bullfrog in mating season

8^ Chicken

8_) Don't get your nose out of joint
User has his nose out of joint

8b Bullfrog in mating season

: ) Leper
Happy face

:###) Jimmy Durante

:$) Donald Trump

:%) An accountant

:'( Crying

:'O Bob Hope

:'} Richard Nixon

:(=) Jimmy Carter

:+( Punched nose, hurt

:+) Carl Friedrich Gauss
User has big nose
Teddy bear smiley

:-' Smoker
Chewing tobacco
User is spitting out chewing tobacco

:-' Has a cold

:-( ) You backed your car over my toe

:-( :-( :-( :-! Taylor Caldwell

:-() User has stubbed toe
Negro user
Shout
"I stubbed my toe"

:-(0) Yelling

:-(>~ "I just washed my goatee, and I can't do nuthin' with it."

:-(O) Yelling
Mick Jagger

:-) , Outie belly button

:-) . Innie belly button

:-) 8 Dolly Parton

:-) ... :-( ... :-) ... :-( ... Manic depressive

:-) :-( :- :-? Edgar Cayce

:-) :-) :-) Loud guffaw

:-) :-) :-) :-) Shirley MacLaine

:-)!!! Sam Kinnison

:-)' Drooling

:-)) Double chin
Very happy
Al Jolson

:-)* Speaks Esperanto
User is man with a bowtie

:-)-- 98-pound weakling (showing partial body)

:-)-O Smiling doctor with stethoscope

:-)== Arnold Schwarzenegger

:-)X Wearing a bowtie
Sen. Paul Simon

:-)} Has goatee/beard

:--) Jamie Farr (Klinger from M*A*S*H)

:------------) Big liar

:-.) Madonna
Marilyn Monroe
Cindy Crawford

:->X== Smiley formal wear
Formal wear

:-G- Smoking cigarettes

:-M Speaking no evil

:-O>-o Smiley American tourist (with camera)

:-Q~ Smoking

:-R Has the flu

:-Y A quiet aside
User is talking after the no yelling smiley

:-bill Zydeco Bill, with harmonica in mouth and washboard on chest

:-d~ Smokes heavily

:-p~ Smokes heavily

:-{ -__-: After slamming the toilet seat

:-{~ User has read too many toilet paper articles previous to lunch

:- :- Deja' vu

:- Angry

:/7) Cyrano de Bergerac

:3-<>) Big nose

:?) Philosopher

:@) Pig
Smilie with a pig nose

:P Sticking out tongue
Blowing a raspberry

:Q) John Q. Public

:Ui Smoking

:Uj Smoking and smiling

:V Woodpecker

:V) Woodpecker

:X Lips are sealed
Sworn to secrecy

:X) Hearing no evil

:^( Has had his nose put out of joint
User has a broken nose

:^D "Great! I like it!"

:^{)> Moustache and beard

:b Sticking out tongue

:c) Big nose variant

:c<>X Mustached chinese man with a toupee, goatee, bow tie

<-(= Chinese and doesn't like this article Chinese and unhappy <-)= Chinese Chinese with a beard =):-) Uncle Sam Happy in Cowboy Hat or Yippee =-O The Enterprise =-O * * * The Enterprise firing photon torpedoes =-O~~~ The Enterprise firing phasers =.'v Has mohawk (profile) =0== Mexican on a railroad! =8') Smiley with glasses and a mohawk (?) =8-> A nerd smiley that's unbearably pleased with itself

=:-#} Punk rocker with a mustache
Smiley punk with a mustache

=:-H Football player

==#== Railroad crossings

===:[OO']>:=== Has been railroaded

=====:} Snake

=^) Open minded smiley

=t== Mexican run over by train

=:-) Abe Lincoln
A top hat

>%) Wile E. Coyote

>-<>-> China man
Chinese
Illusionist

>-^);> Fish

>8o!... Bugs Bunny with carrot

>:) A little devil

>:*) Bozo the Clown

>:-( Mad, annoyed
Sick and tired of reading this nonsense

>:-b Left-pointing tongue smiley

>:^( Headhunter (Amazon style)

>>-O-> General Custer

>[I Television

>w Nose-thumbing gesture

>( Robocop: "Thank you for your co-operation."

>-> Chinese

?:) Single curl of hair

@%&$%&$\&*@%$#@ You know what that means

@-( "Ulysses! Bring me Ulysses!"

@-) Cyclops
Space... The Final Frontier
Seeing stars
Hypnotist

@.'v Has curly hair (profile)

@l@ Too many hours at terminal

B) Frog wearing sunglasses

B-(8 Sir Robin Day

B-D "Serves you right, dummy!!"

B^) Hornrimmed glasses

C:# Football player

C:-) Large brain capacity
I'm an Egghead
"Bonjour, Monsieur..."

C=>8*) Devilish chef with glasses and a moustache

C=}>;*{O) Mega-smiley... a drunk, devilish chef with a toupee in an
updraft, a mustache, and a double chin

C:-= Charlie Chaplin

EK( Frankenstien

Ic:() Pygmy with bone in hair

L:-) Just graduated

M-) Sees no evil

M-),:X),:-M Sees no evil, hears no evil, speaks no evil

M.^.M Nirvana or the failure of a chiropracter

M:-) Saluting

O 8-) The angelic halo look

O+ Appropriate for women's messages, surely?

O-&-<>-<= Of interest to women Q:-) New graduate R-) Broken glasses [8-{) Bearded smiley with glasses and headphones [:-] Square head Robot [:] Robot (or other AI project) [= For messages about housing in Arizona \.^./ Lotus position, seen from above \/\/\/\,8-O Really should fix frayed line cord on terminal \:-) French hat A beret \:^) Gumby smiley User is gumby \o/ PTL (praise the lord, or pass the loot?) (sideways) ]:-) The Devil Smilie with a nurse hat Member of the Royal Family ]:-> The Devil
User is devilish

^(^ Happy variation (sideways)

^)^ ^(^ Two people talking (sideways)

^L^ Happy (sideways)

^v^v^ Mountains
User is near the mountains

_:^) American Indian

_\\// Vulcan salute

__! Enough for now

__. Properly chastised and/or chagrined, or is merely asleep

__/~`-'~\_/ Line of thought isn't quite a line

__Q~`__ Cat on a wall

Q~` Cat

_______ Wile E. Coyote under rock
A He-Ne laser line
Student EEG on Saturday night

`-_-' Have you hugged your wolf today?

`^J Smiley

d :-o Hats off to your great idea

d.'v Wearing hard hat (profile)

i-=<*** __. CAUTION: has flame thrower and uses it! i-=<****** o-(==<> Kissy face
Blowing a kiss

-{ "Good Grief!" (Charlie Brown)

:-) Heavy eyebrows
User has the one eyebrow syndrome
Teacher

:-O Open mouth smiley (?)

:- Excessively rigid

:[' Groucho Marx

For messages about cars or other four-wheeled vehicles

~( "Someone just busted my nose"
User just had nose busted

}(:-( Wearing toupee in wind
A Viking

}-) A wry grin

}:-<> Person in a transporter beam

~~~~> Photon

-( ) Yawning smiley

-(= =) Yawning smiley from Vietnam

IIII8^)X Cat in the Hat

: .) Cindy Crawford

((: =)X Charlie Chaplin

: =) Adolf Hitler

<+-< : ) Pope C:\> MS-DOS Programmer

^_^ Basic smilie (Japanese symbol)

;_; Crying smilie (Japanese symbol)

@_@ Boggled eyes smilie, or glasses (Japanese symbol)

(_o_) Kowtowing (bowing) person (Japanese symbol)
An ass that's been around
This ass costs you a lot less

~\\ (^o^) /~/~ Octopus (Japanese symbol)

(oo) Ultraman (Japanese symbol)

(Y)oYo(Y) Barutan, a monster from "Ultraman" (Japanese symbol)

*^_^* Blushing smilie (Japanese symbol)
Cute little girl

^_^;;; Embarassed smilie; cold sweat (Japanese symbol)

^^;;; Embarassed smilie; cold sweat (Japanese symbol)

- User is asleep (boredom)

:-)x User wears a bow tie

=:= User is a priest

*) Mutant smiley
Here's Thor Hi-y'all.

]B=8} Dragon smiley
User is a dragon

`@_____ User is writing about snail mail

`\=o-o=/' User wears eye glasses

())=( User is drinking wine

<0__/\__/\_>[]I User is watching television

:^X^C User is an emacs user saying "How do I get out of this damn
vi editor?"

(OO) User is mooning you (sideways)

)*( User is an asshole (sideways)

oo---oo-Bo User is a truck driver

i-=<*** User is applying flame thrower ~~~c___ User is at the beach ,,,^..^,,, User is a cat peeking over a fence (sideways) ~M`'~ User is camel (sideways) `AR~ Baby elephant (sideways) (^o^) User is joyously singing (sideways) (^.^)/ User is waving hello (sideways, Japanese style) (;.;)/~ User is waving goodbye (sideways, Japanese style) (>_<) User is furious (sideways) User is hurt (Japanese style) (=_=)~ User is sleepy (sideways, Japanese style) {{(>_<)}} User is cold (sideways, Japanese style) @L@ User has spent too many hours at terminal ` ' User is a cat (at night) (sideways) (*_*) User is in love (sideways) ($_$) User is being greedy (sideways) Yuppie (x_x) User is dead (sideways) (u_u) User is sleeping (sideways) (OvO) User is an owl (sideways) (g_g) User is sleepy #!^~/ User is kissing and wears shades (profile) * User is happy (3/4 view)

/\/:/\ User is the Mummy

(Z(:^P User is Napoleon

:-8p User is Dizzy Gillespie (puffed cheeks and trumpet)

IIIIII8^)X User is The Cat in the Hat

`,`,`,`,`: User is a Mrs. Frankenstein

(:-O ==> User is Rush Limbaugh (note loud tie)

=[8]-O User is Spaceman Spiff preparing to land

C8<] User is Darth Vader [:=I] User is Frankenstein (>:^F) User is Count Dracula

=B-{### User is from ZZ Top

(8=X User is Death (Mr. Death to you) (skull & X bones)

(-( User is "Good Grief!"
User is Charlie Brown

(- F User is Robocop

*:O) User is Bozo the Clown

*<:-)> User is Santa Claus

3:-) User is Bart Simpson
User has curly hair
Smiley cow

7:^) User is Ronald Reagan

7:u) User is Fred Flintstone

:##) User is Jimmy Durante

:-) 8 User is Dolly Parton (partial body)

;-p User is Popeye

]:-)} User is the Devil

]B-) User is Batman

C:-=) User is Charlie Chaplin

(:- User is Captain Jean Luc Picard
Soldier

}}:-( User is Worf

=:) User is a bunny
Smiley with raised eyebrows
Skull

=:x User is a bunny

{:<> User is Daffy Duck

>>>>>:============ User is a vegetable (asparagus)

(:= User is a beaver
Skull

:=8 User is a baboon

>:-3= User is Bugs Bunny

(:<> User is a duck

:8] User is a gorilla

.\/ User is a duck (profile)

#B<> User is a duck, with a spike haircut & Ray-Bans, quacking.

) User is the Cheshire cat

(:-) : 8- User is a male

{:-} 8 > User is a female

(:-) : ==8 User is a male on the make

:-o : ^^: User is a male after zipping up fly too fast

{:-} 8 X User is a female wearing chastity belt

$:-) : 8- User is a male prostitute

$:-} B > User is a female prostitute

(8-( : -8 User is a masked rapist

(:-) ? User is having a sex change

(:-) : 8=== User is John Holmes

*:-} 8 8- User is a transvestite

[:-) 8 > User is a gay female (butch)

{:-( : > User is a female with small breasts

*:-} : 8- User is a gay male (fem)

:-( : :~ User is an impotent male

:-) : , 8- User has an outie belly button

:-) : 8-^- User is in need of some corrective surgery

:-) : 8-... User is taking a leak

:-\ : 8o User after a cold shower

{:- 8( )> User is a pregnant female

:-} : =M8 User is taking matters into his own hand

>:-( 8 > User is a female after reading sexist opinions on feminists

{:-) 8 > <>d-: Users are engaged in cuninlingus (showing body)

@O=E<= User is a woman in skirt wearing turtleneck sweater (mini whole body) B-)-[<>--<>8<= User is writing messages about interesting women (mini whole body) oO:)& User is a grandmother *-=8-D User is a clown #:o\:o/:o\:o/:o User is a totem pole >[:^) User watches too much TV

[]:-{o User is a Barbershop quartet singer

<*(:-? User is a Wizard who doesn't know the answer ::-bd-:: User is has glasses and is sticking out tongue at mirror (P- User is a Borg X^o User is trying to focus on ASCII random dot stereograms K%*} User is very drunk with lampshade on head {-) User is needs a haircut (:-)>+ User is a Monk

:-... User is heart-broken

(:-)} User is bald and bearded

(D:-] User is a General

*!#*!^*&~ >:-( User is very angry after losing hours of work

*(H-) User is a downhill skier

*8=(: User is a blubbering idiot

.-( User should have worn safety glasses

._) User is suffering from Lorentz contractions

G-( User is a scuba diver with a broken mask

8-{) User is has glasses and a moustache

8===> User is a dickhead

: ( User is a leper

:-( ) User has had toes stepped on
Shocked
"You stepped on my toe"
User is SHOUTING VERY LOUD

:-(= User has buck teeth

:-) :-( :-) :-( Manic depressive

:-)>-o User is a doctor with stethoscope

:-)K- User is wearing shirt and tie

>:-@ User is extremely angry

:-@%$# User is swearing

:-G-~ User is smoking cigarettes

:-O>-[o] User is an American tourist (note big mouth and camera)

:-P* User is spitting out its chewing tobacco

>:-t User is cross

>;-(' User is is so mad that s/he is spitting

%-( User is a practical joker who played one too many and got
beat up
Broken glasses

={:-)] User is in a bottle

=:-#( User is punk rocker with a mustache

(:-H User is football player

==:%(== User is has been railroaded

=>B=) User is a punk rocker

>:w) User is making the nose-thumbing gesture

?:-) User has wavy hair, parted on right

C:H User is a football player

I8${} User is a Ubangi (bone in nose)

K:-) User is a little kid with a propeller beenie
Smiley with a graduation hat
A propeller hat/beanie

R-( User has broken glasses

@@@@@@:-) User is Marge Simpson (Homer's wife)

~(:-) User is Homer Simpson
Tonto

:-. User has 'no comment'
Wispering/Talking Quietly.

~:o User is a baby
Teacher

~:@ User is a baby with a pacifier

:-C===8 User is giving or receiving a blowjob

:-) (-: + :-o o-: + :-Pd-: Users in a kissing sequence

=-) Sideways smily face

:-o zz z z Z Z Bored

:^U Turned face

:^Y Turned poker face

:^r Bleahhh (sticking tongue out)

:^y Turned smiling face

:^W Turned face with tongue out

:^" Pursing lips

:-[] Robot face

:-[#] Smilie with braces
Eating

%) Artistic face
Here's a racing yacht
Cross-eyed

C:-) Smilie with a bowler hat

:-)= Smilie with beard

-Q Smoking and yelling chinese

!8-) Nerd with combed hair

B-] Batman smiley

K-[ Batman with eyes poked out

=^-^= Cat smile

[:~~~~>)##### Jewish guy smiling

[:~~~~>o##### Jewish guy reading tora

:/ Constipated

:-+ User with too much lipstick
Exhausted

:-* User with moustache

:-=( Hitler user

8-(:-} Matt user with propeller beanie

:-h User with forked tongue

:-)B User with large breasts
User is a big girl

(*): I Cyclops user

*8-I Nerd user

*X-I Dead nerd user

=(:-) Punk user

:::-) ElephantmanUser
The Elephant Man

._/ Squashed user

-: User up-side down with a brick in his mouth

:-)I User on the town

8-)*--- Miami Vice user

{{:-) Klingon warrior smiling after victory

}}:-) Klingon warrior smiling after victory

@:-\ Elvis

___m_oo_m___ Spying at the wall

___m_OO_m___ REALLY spying at the wall

___m_+o+_m___ Clown spying at the wall

^^m^^oo^^m^^^ Spying at the wall with nails

__mmmm_oo_mmmm__ Octopus spying at the wall

__\/_oo_\/__ Crab spying at the wall

____V@_____ Snail spying at the wall

__m_(-O-)_m__ Koala spying at the wall

__m_.(%)._m__ Yet another pig spying at the wall

______,________ Yet another ant spying at the wall

_____,P________ Ant with banner spying

___,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,___ Ants marching and spying at the wall

___,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,P,___ Ant Platoon marching and spying at the wall

____________ Invisible Man spying at the wall

__m__(((..)__m__ "Monica" spying at the wall

___m_--_m___ Chinese spying at the wall

__m____m___ Dwarf spying at the wall

___m_O_m___ Cyclops spying at the wall

___m_@^@_m___ Man with glasses spying at the wall

_m_oo_m_m_oo_m_ Twins spying at the wall

_m_oo_mm_oo_m_ Siamese Twins spying at the wall

--m--xx--m-- Dead cartoon spying at the wall

__m_oo_?__ Cap. Hook spying at the wall

__m_oo__ One-handed spying at the wall

&-r Tearful user sticking tongue out

<8-*>*b Drunk user pointing the tongue out

@0-( Scuba-diver-sad user wearing a turban

(:-~I Egg-head user with a cold

(B:o# Egg-head user with sunglasses on head and wearing braces

*.-) One-eye-only user smiling

~~0{ Scuba-diver user using a mustache and burning

<:-} Happy user OOOOBc~ Marge Simpson-unhappy user using glasses and drooling OOOO:@[ Pig-nose-Marge Simpson-vampire user (8*<>- Female user smiling

*( Crazy user frowning

>8-< frankenstein="==:-D">A fish (?)

>-",",","-)D> A fish (?)

__/\o_ A swimmer (?)
A caterpiller (?)

/\o/\ A spider (?)

/\_/\ A mountain range (?)

^+^ Sideways Smiley Variation (?)

\,/ A grin (?)

/'\ A mountain (?)

/~'v'~\ Girl with pigtails (?)

(~v~) Sideways Smiley Variation (?)

=^.^= A cat smiley
Callsign of KingKat

-,- Sleepy smiley (?)

-.- Sleepy smiley (?)
Resigned

\/ A grin (?)

(^_^) Ear to ear smile
Asian smiley

~=o oOo oOo o@=< (?) ooo O\O ooo KILROY! ooo *\* ooo Maybe; (probably needs a wall) __m_(OuO)_m__ With a wall. (some tty has nice 0's) --ooo-------ooo-- Hanged at the other side of the wall ... c=: Phallus C===: XXL size c=. Phallus of a Cyclop =: Eunuch's phallus c=; Eunuch's phallus with a crushed testicle c=//=: Bobbit Phallus c=#=: Bobbit Phallus after operation. c=:: Four-engined ~: Child ,: Powerless I Frontside . Powerless in frontside c=3 In abstinence for a while c=B Clergyman (y) Pubis 8x Scissors (8x) Bobbit`s wife {y} Old pubis [y] Military pubis ((Y)) Fat lady (((Y))) Very fat lady (..(Y)..) More fat isn`t possible (x(Y)) X weighted lady (in Kg) (x) Gay =r) Big nose smiley =o) Big nose smiley (==) Kosh from Babylon 5 Cotton reel [-:-) Garibaldi from Babylon 5 ("Male pattern baldness") (o:-) Sinclair from Babylon 5 ("hole in your mind") { :-) Minbari from Babylon 5 &:-)> Narn from Babylon 5

{8-> Bart Simpson

{8-* Maggie Simpson

{8-) Lisa Simpson

=O) Stimpy

>>>>X-O>>>> Roadkill Smiley

///:-) "Nest" haircut

<:3 )~~~~ Mouse/rat <:3 Rat/Mouse/Ferret :I) Smiley with septum pierce (flesh of nose between nostrils) (^-^) Smile <^O^> Laughing loudly

(@_@) Stunned
Grin

(o_o) Shocked
Smile

m(_ _)m Deep bow used for apologizing or expressing thanks

O_O Shocked (Japanese style)

^_- Winking (Japanese style)

^_~ Winking 2 (Japanese style)

\ ^_^ / Joyful! (Japanese style)

\(^o^\)(/^.^)/ Happy! (Japanese style)

(*^_^*) Shy! (Japanese style)

/.#( Adolf Hitler

:-) >=> Smiley reading a book

vH) Here's a drakkar (Viking longboat?).

v##) Here's a largish boat with more sails than a schooner.

v+)____, Here's a boat weighing anchor. Hmmm... .5 tons.

<) Here's a house boat. v- Here's my life raft. *<<<= A Christmas tree. *%) A punk after the big booze. *8D A punk wearing glasses. ______2_2222_________ Ducks spying at the wall. _________@@__________ Imperial AT-AT spying over the wall of the Hoth rebel base (pun intended). _________0-n_________________ Key forgotten for someone that was spying at this wall. __________p^o_________ One-armed person using a binocular for spying at the wall, being far away. <+:') The pope <+:'@=== The vomiting pope /:-=( Adolf Hitler (=(:->* Uncle Sam

((:- =)X Charlie Chaplin

: - = Hitler

(----( : - ) The Pope

[ : ] Frankenstien

\:// George Bush

]:)--< o="=" 0="=">]} A dragon wearing sunglasses

87) Cartoon character with a long nose and happy..

~87( Cartoon character unhappy that he has only one hair on
his head

%87) Cartoon character happy he has his curly hair

87D Cartoon character with a long nose.. and VERY happy

87P O>w Cartoon character enjoying eating his ice cream cone

87P`` O>w Cartoon character REALLY enjoying eating his ice cream
cone with drops of saliva dripping *smile*..

<:-EXB Vampirella :p :q :d :b :D User is licking his lips (sequence) ^) Chink smiley face (oj Smiley scuba diver with snorkel q; Mean baseball-cap wearing Smiley x:<> Smiley Edd the Duck

#/\/:) Smiley with cantilevered toupe

}:8 Far Side cow smiley

~(:) Smiley playing at being an Indian

<) Chinese smiley #(: Left-handed user wearing a goatee Left-handed user has a really bad tie on :)> Basic goatee smiley

<(: Basic goatee smiley (left-handed) :))) User is real fat :-) A guy with a bad tie on

<\\\\>(-: A left-handed guy with a bad tie on

>-COD User is "floundering" for something to say

___(member '(A B C D 1 (A B)) A)___ LISP code spying at the wall.
(but it returns `t')

*---E Santa Claus (?)

=B-) User with spiked hair and sunglasses, smiling

=B-( User with spiked hair and sunglasses, frowning

)-: Bass-Ackwards smiley.
Left-handed frowning smiley.

o:-) Smiley with bullet hole in head (a.k.a. Dain-Bramaged Smiley)
[*>-] Philippine Flag

o>-<= For messages of interest only to women. ~= A candle, to annotate flaming messages. >:-* Angry

@=) Dan Quayle smiley

@@@:) Marge Simpson smiley

: Data Smiley
Indifferent

v) Star Trek "The Traveler" Smiley

@:O Mr. Bill smiley

-(:-) German soldier from WWI

^j Profile, smiling, wearing those long, rectangular
sunglasses thingies.

/O\ User is ducking.

/oo\ Male user cringing from an (expected) below the belt blow.

.^, Looking Sideways/Happy

:-L Blank with cigarette or pipe

=-o Surprised

<=-O Frightened/Scared =-<> Mouth Gaped Open/Awe Struck

)-[ Tired and Grumpy and Very Unhappy.

(]:-) Happy in Soldier Hat or Gung Ho

$-> Happily Excited or With Greedy Selfish Tone

-o Squinting while Talking

:-, Quiet/Hushed/Not Talking/Zipped Shut

%+\ Messed Up/Spaced Out/Effected/Scrambled/Out-To-Lunch

-.zzzzzzzzzz Snoozing/Snorring/Sleeping Deeply/Knocked-Out

(c: Smiley with big nose, seen from left (?)

(c:) Bald smiley with big nose, seen from left (?)

>^..^< boat ="=" cigarette ="<:o)" chef ="="> Pencil

(]====[) Dumb-bell

====[] Mallet

.,*~`~*,..,*~`~*,..@ Worm

. . . @ Snail

Object of Desire

Most of us know some or the other variant of the Frog Prince story. The princess really wanted her "golden ball" so bad that she promised the frog anything to get her it back.

Recently I finished reading "Still Life with Woodpecker" wherein the protagonist asks the question "What Happened to the Golden Ball?" after the girl narrates him the fairy tale of frog prince. Hmmm..It never struck me as odd but somehow the question makes sense and seems like it was answered in another work. Now consider the following excerpt :
*********************************************************************
What can the Object of Desire possibly be in Byzantine law?"
"Oh, you can slip it in. If there ever was an Object of Desire in Byzantine law, of course, it wasn't what this guy says it was. It never is."
"Never is what?"

"What you think it is. Once-I was five or six-I dreamed I had a trumpet. A gold trumpet. It was one of those dreams where you can feel honey flowing in your veins; you know what I mean? A kind of prepubescent wet dream. I don't think IVe ever been as happy as I was in that dream. When I woke up, I realized there was no trumpet, and I started crying. I cried all day. This was before the war-it must have been '38--a time of poverty. If I had a son today and saw him in such despair, I'd say, 'All right, I'll buy you a trumpet.' It was only a toy, after all, it wouldn't have cost a fortune. But my parents never even considered such a thing. Spending money was a serious business in those days. And they were serious, too, about teaching a child he couldn't have everything he wanted. 'I can't stand cabbage soup,' I'd tell them-and it was true, for God's sake; cabbage made me sick. But they never said: 'Skip the soup today, then, and just eat your meat.' We may have been poor, but we still had a first course, a main course, and fruit. No. It was always: 'Eat what's on the table.' Sometimes, as a compromise, my grandmother would pick the cabbage out of my bowl, stringy piece by stringy piece. Then I'd have to eat the expurgated soup, which was more disgusting than before. And even this was a concession my father disapproved of."
"But what about the trumpet?"
He looked at me, hesitant. "Why are you so interested in the trumpet?"
"I'm not. You were the one who brought it up, to show how the Object of Desire is never what others think."

"The trumpet...My uncle and aunt from *** arrived that evening. They had no children, and I was their favorite nephew. Well, when they saw me bawling over my dream trumpet, they said they would fix everything: tomorrow we would go to the department store where there was a whole counter of toys-wonder of wonders-and I'd have the trumpet I wanted. I didn't sleep all night, and I couldn't sit still all the next morning. In the afternoon we went to the store, and they had at least three kinds of trumpets there. Little tin things, probably, but to me they were magnificent brass worthy of the Philharmonic. There was an army bugle, a slide trombone, and a trumpet of gold with a real trumpet mouthpiece but the keys of a saxophone. I couldn't decide, and maybe I took too long. Wanting them all, I must have given the impression that I didn't want any of them. Meanwhile, I believe my uncle and aunt looked at the price tags. My uncle and aunt weren't stingy; on the other hand, a Bakelite clarinet with silver keys was much cheaper. 'Wouldn't you like this better?' they asked. I tried it, produced a reasonable honk, and told myself that it was beautiful, but actually I was rationalizing. I knew they wanted me to take the clarinet because the trumpet cost a fortune. I couldn't demand such a sacrifice from my relatives, having been taught that if a person offers you something you like, you must say, 'No, thank you,' and not just once, not 'No, thank you,' with your hand out, but 'No, thank you' until the giver insists, until he says, 'Please, take it.' A well-bred child doesn't accept until that point. So I said maybe I didn't care about the trumpet, maybe the clarinet was all right, if that's what they wanted. And I looked up at them, hoping they would insist. They didn't, God bless them, they were delighted to buy me the clarinet, since-they said-that was what I wanted. It was too late to backtrack. I got the clarinet."

Belbo looked at me out of the corner of his eyes. "You want to know if I dreamed about the trumpet again?''
"I want to know," I said, "what the Object of Desire was."
"Ah," he said, turning back to his manuscript. "You see? You're obsessed by the Object of Desire, too. But it's not all that simple...Suppose I had taken the trumpet. Would I have been truly happy then? What do you think, Casaubon?"
"I think you would have dreamed about the clarinet."
"I got the clarinet," he concluded sharply, "but I never played it."
"Never played it? Or never dreamed it?"
"Played it," he said, underlining his words, and for some reason I felt like a fool.
__________________________________________________________________

-Excerpt from Umberto Eco's Foucault's Pendulum

The Mentor

When we we were all Mayakovskis he was a Zhivago among us.You could always fathom that there was a certain melancholy deep inside him, behind all the sarcasm and criticism. Some kind of a abyss which he alone knows that he will never be able to cross. He needs to bid adieus from one end of the cliff.

His Philosophy has always been that if he thought of something then someone must have already done it.I recollect those days when he was literally in tears seeing someone else breath life into his thought form. (Incidentally holding a job like that of a programmer seems to inculcate a God-complex in most fellows I know.I mean this about the good ones.Not your average-run-of-the-mill-mediocrity-loving fellow who should have no such qualms because paycheck comes first for them and then their creation thus taking away the disease with it)

I am not sure how we came together to be mates. Despite the age, he probably belongs to my lost generation who feels a camarederie with other lost and lonely folks.Probably not.Its hard to tell because he always has this veil of a vision that was focussed on a far off oject, probably leading this general impression that he is a traveler in this planet and his home lies somewhere else.But I kind of know whats behind that veil.Its something to be discovered through smoke and mirrors.

I have seen him through his many moods : childlike exuberance,youthful irresponsibility, mature hesitation, conservativeness of an old hag and a supreme indifference.Almost like a Kaleidoscope plugged into his cerebrum. Some brilliant, Some naive and Some curious but all of them were original.They never lost my interest. The one I see now has come a full circle. Probably he reached the end of vanity of all things that leads to a resurgence of interest in him.

No. Its not over. What I see now must be the twilight of a new dawn and not the hangover of an old sunset.Whatever it shall be, it is worth looking forward to..

A New Motto

My new motto these days is "Work shall set you free". (Didnt something like Karma Yoga say something like that? )Whatever...Its a Friday and I cant complain..

Moment

One day on the street

I saw you

And your smile took my breath away

Though you were not looking at me

The girl on your arm

Bathed in its glow

I knew in that moment that my life would change

Now the longing of years

Had crystallized to take

A beautiful shape



You haunted my dreams

Though to forget I tried

Laughed and mocked

At that look in my eyes

But still they searched

Every hour, every street



Now, many years later

We sit across the table

And I look at you

Your smile, still special

The waitress preens, a delicate flush

You turn to me

And it washes over me

All over again

My life seems to have rushed

Toward this one moment


"So, we'll settle at 500 million?"


--PM

_______________________________________________________________________________

Since I am challenged blogwise these days a friend syndicated me some content to be published here. Somehow I like it.

Labor Of Love

There was a popular joke among nerds that goes like this :

Windows: "Where do you want to go today?"
Linux: "Where do you want to go tommorow?"
FreeBSD: "Are you guys coming or what?"

That in essence sums up a partial truth of where different operating systems stood.The gap is closer but the distinction still exists.Anyways my access to the outside world has been say, rather limited, because I dont have my lapyop anymore and I have been trying to make do with an old relic of a machine and hence the installation of FreeBSD and the usual process of building the browser related stuff.
FreeBSD is really a labor of love and I had to labor hard to get it up and running here .( Had to go through a minor period of instanity doing the same thing over again and expecting different results)

Finally here I am with a machine to access this world again.Need to send a couple of important emails, so will be back with normal dispatches soon.

Something to Chew On..

Here is a story dug out from old links. Very refreshing to read it again..

Question?

Can Fate be tempted? or not?

Havent been doing much apart from blowing up a grand since the last week started on various things and dining experiences. Cool to know that lunar based Saka Era calendar intersected with the solar based Gregorian calendar this sunday. Oh ! that reminds me to spread the word for all ye readers to go and watch Maine Gandhi Ko Nahi Mara. Really good movie.

Returning to the question the greeks had an interesting concept of the three fates (their weaving is what the french would call fait accompli :)

Reminiscences of Indian Ads

I am not much of a TV person per se but somehow I have this feeling that ads back home had much better appeal for me than here in the US. Just a trip down the memory lane yields me the following in no particular order for the concept part of it.

(a) Ericsson: Remember the punch line of "One Black Coffee Please..". Awesomely cool one.This one even one got the bronze lion (one of the first indian ads to make it so high on the internationally acclaimed list).
(b) Nestle Polo - The Mint with the Hole : The famed "Beta- Sweater Pehno" kind of ones always leave me laughing after its rendition.
(c) Hyundai : When they launched a new car (I believe it is the Accent model) they had this amazingly thoughtful ad which goes like this :

"Ask Anyone to draw a star"
[A Blank Black Screen hovers for less than a second]
"Most of the time you would see this"
[ The standard version of David's Star appears on the screen]
Then the screen goes blank.
[A bright sun appears tearing away the black blanket and exposing a metallic red car]
"Because Reality Differs from Perception"


Of course there is always the jingle part of it that appealed to me too.The top of the list would be the humming for Nestle Sunrise coffee followed by Rexona's initial jingle (supposedly AR Rahman's first commercial music after the initial foray into Dyanora's Madras TV Show..Remember Dyanora TV?) which would be closely followed by Chakra Gold Tea.The oldest jingle I remember is that of Close Up toothpaste's early 80's ad with a couple listening to the sound of waves in a conch. Even the relaunch of coca-cola at Taj Mahal had this oldie tune "Share my dream..share my coca-cola..always.."

Apart from this there is this particular genre of MTV ads which are in a class of their own. The spoofs, the concept is simply on a different scale to be compared to mainstream TV.

There are a lot more in this but this is just a sampler to note down ones that come to mind as cool ads.I am not sure how the scene is these days with regards to ads.

Club 55

Jingle of Pulp Fiction in the background wakes him up. Suddenly it strikes him that his cell phone is craving for his attention. Crawls out of his bed and gets to the ground floor with his eyes half open searching for the phone. Finally he takes the call and hears a different language.

Wrong Number.

ps : Venu has inflicted this popular viral fever of writing a story in 55 words and hence this post.
Mera bhi number aayega Venu :)

Have a Cigar

"Come in here, dear boy, have a cigar. you’re gonna go far, fly high,
You’re never gonna die, you’re gonna make it if you try;they’re gonna love you.
Well I’ve always had a deep respect, and I mean that most sincerely.
The band is just fantastic, that is really what I think. oh by the way,
Which one’s pink?
And did we tell you the name of the game, boy, we call it riding the Gravy train."
-Pink Floyd
______________________________________________________

Tommorow is my last day at the current employer. As usual I would drive home with mixed feelings and look forward to this new adventure which begins a week later.

As is required of a good exit, I have given my current employer notice of my departure 2 weeks back. In the meantime there was another big online payment service company that iIinterviewed with, who got suddenly interested in me and with a dogged persistence are trying to steal me.

They wanted to know what would make me change my mind as does my current employer. Assuming they were bidding low, the hiked the compensation to 20% above my offered package. Then he turns the 'godfather prop' on me saying if I were to compose an offer that I couldnt refuse, what would that be? I tried to explain him that there is this something called 'integrity' which precludes me from accepting his offer no matter how hard he tried. I cannot go back on it. Nope.Doesnt cut the cake. I have told them fair and clear that I have given my word to another company albeit that the monetary benefits being offered were compelling to hear and does boost my ego a bit.(Its very hard to resist such temptations being human but signing on something and commiting yourself to something holds you back nicely).

A 100 years back if you were to ponder over literature of the day these 'intangibles' like honesty, honor, integrity, grace and the likes adorned the everyday aspect of life but suddenly they seem to be in a very far off-distant-idealistic-impractical zone of this modern life that they are not even taken seriously when someone swears by one of those qualities. We have to talk in action verbs and tangibles like numbers, specific benefits, etc in order to sound 'real'.But some things do not neccesarily change just because we dont use the concept frequently in our life or a majority of people dont believe in it (From when did 'truth' start depending on the number of its believers?)

Anyways talking about such things like 'pursuit of excellence' in front of my folks makes me feel weird like I was broaching about some 'taboo' subject. Dont know if its me or environment around me but just doesnt feel right. I hope it is me because that would be easy to fix. I think I have to rent out "The Scent Of a Woman" again just to feel normal (just like some folks do shopping when they are angry). One of my fave quotes in the move that applies to this situation is

" You've been the sugar business for so long, you've forgetten the taste of real honey! "

Speakin of the movie, it would be sad to part with a co-worker who shares many qualities of the character Lt. Col. Frank Slade in the movie.

Anyways I made up my mind in this aspect and I will stick to it and the consequences thereof.

Self Reckoning

I dont have anything to post and hence would ramble on regarding what kept me busy these days.

First off, its time for me to move jobs again. I wonder how people usually decide when is enough enough? I am moving just after 6 months of work at my current employer.See, I blame it entirely on the schooling. At schools, they never tell you when to stop applying their own teaching in their teaching.(Knowing when to stop something is a critical skill that comes with experience, I guess). Anyways I have decided its time to stop what I have been doing, shift gears and do something different with another startup.Its very exciting time for me because it involved my first brush with a real valley kind of startup. For those of you who are technically inclined to see what excites me please peruse this link.

Now after battling a fortnight of interviews,schedules and stuff, I have another online payment services company (Cannot divulge the name as I signed the NDA with my blood, just kidding) who were interested in talking to me despite knowing that I am already taken. In a typical auction fashion they topped my previous package and asked me to join their team. Gee, my weekend was ruined in deciding where to go.Interestingly it took me only a few hours to decide what I have chosen was ok and I was gonna stick to my guns. (Have some reasons for it which only time will prove if correct or not).All that apart its kind of sad, as always, to leave some folks out here who seem to be kinda seeing something that I cant see in myself. Great to be working with such folks and no matter what this experience definitely helps in making my future choices.

On the fun part, I had stepped into a club after a long time (something like an year back) . Got Sloshed properly and took the dance floor only to reconfirm the fact that I have legs that kinda freeze in the lights.Neverming, had truckloads of fun doing what I did. Plus, it gave me a good breather apart from these day to day stress inducing events. Also found enough time to catch up with old pals. One is getting married soon, one hates to get married, one is looking forward to paternity and one is enjoying his newly married life. As one said "every one is in his own rut"..
Quite True. As if we were Elephants (rut always reminds me of those pachyderms).Probably Once we were..but right now we fellas are just growing old despite our resistance.

Felt like going to India over the weekend. Occasionally overpowering Homesickness is a syndrome I got used to it because I dont get to do anything about it.Particularly when I went to visit the Consulate in SFO to renew my passport.That reminds me of another disease which bothers me these days called "The Lonely Inbox Syndrome".No matter how many times I refresh it, there seems to be no one wanting to email me.So I started subscribing to junk email lists just to get my inbox to go "tring..tring.."

Finally it was time for one of those bi-annual calls to sis.and check things out with her.One Happy Housewife she is...err...make that a home maker. Usually keep in touch with my brother through email and he caught on the fever of blogging and has something to write too. Fair enough. Mom and Pop seem to be totally engaged in a house hunt which seems to drag forever. Of course, me changing jobs every once in a while makes them nervous regarding the commitment to a mortgage as well as sad that their plans of getting me hitched are thrown back a little.Dad had this nice concept of me going back home and settling down. Thanks to the move I have pushed that atleast half and year. Of course they are nice and dont seem to be in a hurry or applying pressure.Thank goodness for some life's small pleasures.

Its time I opened up a book and read it straight through as I am already losing the habit of a reading which leads me to be cranky.(the rut thing is true after all). Now that I filled this post with things in my head, I assume that head room could be used for something else....

Decoding Names

There seems to be a great joy in decoding something.Almost an exclusive feeling of being privy to something the coder intended upon. If you are like me given a city/county name you would take it at face value.So while I was driving around the San Francisco are I saw a lot of counties starting with "San ...." . I knew "Los Angeles" meant City of Angels and hence a nearby town called "Los Altos" meant the City of Heights (made up.yet to confirm).

Now, San Mateo is the county where I work in and a colleague was trying to correct my pronunciation when it struck me that San Mateo is spanish for St. Matthew. Voila! Immediately the bricks fell in place.Everything around here is curiously named "Mission ..Blvd..St...Ct....."The Spanish Catholics were on a mission to proseletyze the heathen folk around here and named the cities/counties around here after the canonized fellas. So, it immediately dawned upon me that San Fransisco is named after St.Francis of Assisi. San Carlos is St.Charles, San Lorenzo for St.Laurent , San Andreas for St. Andrew, San Leandro for St.Leander.The mother of all San Jose was a tough one to crack till the oyster gave it up as St.Joseph. Of course the county I live in is called "Santa Clara" which should probably be St. Claire but I cannot understand the difference between "San" and "Santa". Of course there is more fun in decoding these rather than getting a compiled list like last time.

Techie at an Airport writing this Poem

Baby Eyes

I did not see you standing there
still and quiet as a bronze soldier
beneath the folding of the papers
and the mumbled chorus of strangers

The cuffs of long pants whispering by
Leather and silicon in every hand
Worry, the only mask worn here
Where only faces of time are seen

Silence grabs me like gravity
As if you have dug a well of still
In this land of the moving lifeless
Where nervous men wait for wings

You are so out of place, little girl,
I remember thinking as I looked down
to see you staring up at me
with eyes that asked no questions

I resumed my reading, or my talking,
or whatever it is that wingless men do
when they are in between here and there,
not knowing that your stare was for me

But there you stayed, still as a stone
with eyes as soft as children's hands.
Startled, I looked around for your parents
For children should not be left alone.

No one came to claim you,
No one even seemed worried,
And least of all you,
little girl with soft eyes ..

Soft eyes as deep as depthless chasms,
wide as the breadth of grand canyons
and trusting as playful puppies,
eyes that bring me back ..

I know these eyes! Whose eyes are these?
I have seen you before
In someone else's eyes,
At someone else's time

Where is she, your mother?
Is she here? She must be,
for you are surely she
and your eyes cannot deny it.

Your gaze never travels, never moves.
Why do you stare at me?
What is it about me,
that you have never seen before?

.. never seen before ..

And then I know
Why I have never seen you before -
My breath is gone
And I do not know if you are real

It hits with the weight of the universe
of a billion suns created from nothing,
the weight of words that spun the worlds from dust,
the weight of losing one's own child

Slow realization creeps over me
that I will never see you again -
This my only chance to see
Those beautiful eyes, those beautiful eyes.
- Cameron Purdy
___________________________

For those in the know, Cameron Purdy has a decent technical reputation among the server side engineers. I thought that was very well written from a guy who thinks about cache coherence on middleware systems.

The Elysian Fields

Homage to the city founded by the french, conquered by the spanish, sold to the Americans and populated by the Africans. I didnt realise this would be this worse.

Mr. Tumulesh Solanky, wherever you are, I pray you and your dear ones are safe. I practically dont recall anyone else that would be near and dear to me in the city of New Orleans.

Ohh! Those Deceptive Elysian Fields...

Plato On Love

Over the weekend, my friend Parvez has given me a treat by recommending me to the work of Plato which has a particularly non-platonic exposition on the matter of "Love". The work is titled Phaedrus and is a free form conversation between the fabulist Phaedrus and the greek philosopher Socrates. To gain a flavor of the work, consider the following statement on the definition of love by Socrates before he goes on to express anything related to it :

"Every one sees that love is a desire, and we know also that non-lovers desire the beautiful and good. Now in what way is the lover to be distinguished from the non-lover? Let us note that in every one of us there are two guiding and ruling principles which lead us whither they will; one is the natural desire of pleasure, the other is an acquired opinion which aspires after the best; and these two are sometimes in harmony and then again at war, and sometimes the one, sometimes the other conquers. When opinion by the help of reason leads us to the best, the conquering principle is called temperance; but when desire, which is devoid of reason, rules in us and drags us to pleasure, that power of misrule is called excess. Now excess has many names, and many members, and many forms, and any of these forms when very marked gives a name, neither honourable nor creditable, to the bearer of the name. The desire of eating, for example, which gets the better of the higher reason and the other desires, is called gluttony, and he who is possessed by it is called a glutton-I the tyrannical desire of drink, which inclines the possessor of the desire to drink, has a name which is only too obvious, and there can be as little doubt by what name any other appetite of the same family would be called;-it will be the name of that which happens to be eluminant. And now I think that you will perceive the drift of my discourse; but as every spoken word is in a manner plainer than the unspoken, I had better say further that the irrational desire which overcomes the tendency of opinion towards right, and is led away to the enjoyment of beauty, and especially of personal beauty, by the desires which are her own kindred-that supreme desire, I say, which by leading conquers and by the force of passion is reinforced, from this very force, receiving a name, is called love."

Of course he later even concedes that certain forms are madness are a heavenly blessing and it is better to be in that state than make sense. If this whets your appetite, please consider reading the full text.

This definitely requires 2 dictionaries and a bottle of scotch :)

Admiration of Joyce

Came across this today written by Borges in his admiration towards James Joyce

What does my lost generation matter
That lovely mirror
If it was justified by your books
I am the others. I am all those
That your obstinate rigor rescues
I am those you do not know and those you save

Curiously enough,. Umberto Eco remarks that whats common to both these authors is the fact that the universal culture is their playing field(for their salvation or damnation).

Bharat GanaRajya

Thats what the text beneath the Sarnath emblem on my passport says. (literally means Union of India). Its one of those days where I peruse each of the pages in it.That reminds me to renew it as it expires this October.Being removed by a couple of oceans from your homeland can do wonders.

I called up my pop to greet him greetings and I gather he wasnt so happy to be a recepient of my I-Day wishes. In fact he seemed to be disillusioned.He quoted an incident where a local MLA was ambushed by so called Maosits in that area and asked me how what the heck do my wishes mean?

Our family history is a nightmare that I have woken up from but I guess it still stuck to him. My grandpa was a Pearl trader headquartered at 7 Thambuchettiar St, Chennapatnam(Chennai).Then the clarion call for Independence struggle was given by whoever that resonated something in him. He left his primary occupation and took to the road.(Of course the fact that he studies "tarka-sastra" for quite a while in Benares doesnt seem to help here)Now there was no Companies Act in those days that limited your liability in case of liquidation and this fella had to forefit everything he acquired. Local contacts or head honchos had to pull strings to yank him out of the occasional jail.Promptly he came back to the Coromandel Coast and settled down as a clerk at a temple writing satirical plays and a 3-volume magnum opus on The History of Kalinga ( Modern day Orissa where my granny is from).A few heirlooms that were passed on to my childhoos were a mahagony bed and a mirror made in belgium.(my dad used it as an aid for shaving, I guess). So that was in short how the stakes were played out w.r.t to my family. Yeah! The Nation gained independence but the net worth of a fella like my grandpa went to zero. I am glad he did what he did. Its kind of liberating to know that there are some folks out there who follow Mark Twain's sayin "Always Do Right! This will gratify some and astonish the rest". I guess I am among the astonished.

That being said I am glad that things look bright atleast from my perspective. I see a progressive evolution in the country's attitude and I am not half bit as disillusioned as my pater-familias would. I am sure it could always be asked as "Kahan Hain Kahan Hain Mohafiz Khudi ke, Jinhe Naaz hain Hind par woh kaha hain.." and my answer would be that they are there where we left them and they are there where we look for them.

ps: BTW I am truly shameless to come back after calling it quits. Its something like you can take x out of y but you cant take out y out of x where x=me and y=blogging.

pps: I guess this also underscores how far I have travelled from my last year. I love August.

Over and Out

Its been a heck of ride but I guess I am running out of steam. As some of my readers might have observed the quality of my posts has been exponentially dropping close to zero. Its a nice point of inflexion to hang up my boots before I start hitting the negative values.( I have just confirmed this for a fact with an objective third party observer).I started out with a Fugue but I guess I ended with a Toccata with a bit of Allegro thrown in occasionally.

Adios!

Accounting

You dont need to take a Management Accounting class to understand the terms "Profit Center" and "Cost Center". Your organization could be broken down into business units that either are revenue generators or revenue sinks. For example Sales is always a profit center since they solely focus on their quotas to generate revenue ( as a side effect commisions) whereas HR is always a cost center because they dont generate any revebue but cost the organization some revenue to do whatever it is that they do.(While it is interesting to compare the mentalities of people working in either center, I shall refrain from that digression - for example cost center folks are usually content, laid back , easy going versus hectic, hungry, aggressive profit folks)

In a recent internal company meeting one of the directors nailed me as a "non revenue generator",( that translates into not being one of his folks, who are consultants billed at an hourly rate). I was doing Sales Consulting in my previous life and I do understand the luxuries of being one of them. At the end of the day given the pressure to meet targets, some things would be sacrificed. While this sacrifice is Okay to some and are very happy as to what comes with that territory, I couldnt actually come to terms to a job partially done. Something essential to the work-well-done-feeling is taken away, thanks to the negotiations on the deal.Sorry. I cannot be one of them and Hence my move to this new job where I could do what I want to, to my heart's concern.I have become an accidental engineer because I could not become a scientist or a mathematician :(

Half a dozen retorts came to mind but I resisted ( My favorite one was that we are a profit center with a profit target of zero and we are consistent with that.Beat That!). Luckily to my rescue one of his own team called him their "pimp" (there's a certain element of truth to that :) and we'll lay matters to rest here.

Thinking about this on my way back, I could picture my economics instructor at high school explaining me an isomorphic (read: similar) concept of certain profit and cost curves and their intersection. This was in those days when whiteboards and sketches werent common and good old chalk piece with a blackboard was the standard display medium in schools. While the economics teacher rambled on, I could see the chalk particles from the writing slowly come off.
Have you ever seen that the fall of chalk particles observes a certain parabolic trajectory? ( Incidentally she was talking about the breakeven point of some sort). The particles at the vertex of the parabola take the most air-time. Similarly there seems to be some other "____ center" which could be defined as neither profit nor cost but nevertheless gives us the best of both worlds. Till I figure out that part, I'll have to carry this cross.

Bliss

is to do nothing
on a sunday afternoon

watching clouds move
leaves waving
paper flapping

a plane glides through
a fig incense burning
my favorite song playing

book open and unread


-Anonymous

Kalakshepa a.k.a Timepass

Hurrah! Long Weekend is here.After days of chasing bugs, playing heck of a lot more sports than I am used to and constantly being occupied by something or the other, I finally find some time for myself. Feels like paradise.Sleeping at 4:00 am in the morn, waking up and walking to starbucks followed by a "tiffin" (as desis are wont to call it) and having a dip in the pool just makes the cut.

Now I am suddenly at a loss to do something.Nature abhors a vaccum,right? But then wait, rushing myself to do something is only gonna take away the flavor of a vacation.Having offloaded something like 300 odd Hindi MP3s to the Pod, my mind wanders at a time when none of the things I am used to in this world were around (like pools, chaat bandis, iPod, etc).Wonder what people used to do..Lets see what my mind seems to dig on that score

(a) Recitation of Stories, Some peccadilloes of certain gods followed by some eccentric sages cursing the crap out these immortal gods and their opponents trying to get the throne,etc

(b) Some Music possibly with some earthy tones.

(b) Lectures on Metaphysics , pondering over philosophical questions and solving them by adding a layer of metaphysics to justify them and playin with some imaginary structures

(c) Possible some time studying the cattle and other miscellaneous domestic animals or in the course of domesticating some other wild animals

(d) Alchemy : Assuming some metalheads were present in the ancient society, somebody trying to convert somebody's gold to dust.(Later it was supposedly reverse)

(e) Finally among other unimaginable pleasures probably there's a place for a hearty roll-in-the hay sex.

Anyways there's one particular form of entertainment that struck my fancy in my childhood. That being called "HariKatha". In this particular medium you need to write your own narrative based on some popular story, have some music, make people laugh, make sure the lyrics carry with the music, etc to completely engage the audience with the performers' own creativity.Ok.Here I go to get my Violin to do something like that..Till then you folks have a wonderful and a fun-tastic weekend.

Recommendations

Since so many folks out here were bibiliophiles, just wanted to pass on a couple of titles that I have found to be of extremely high caliber with some outrageous wit and subtle sarcasm.

• The Late Mr. Shakespeare by Robert Nye
• Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut

Monsoon

Last weekend over the usual call home, pop used the word "monsoon". A shot of vodka later, the word began revolving in my head. (Still cant get it out and hence this vent).

There is something very distinctive about Monsoons back home. Something haunting. Something very tied down to the place. I did visit Southwest US (Arizona, New Mexico) to catch the same phenomenon, its just not the same. Home is Home.

Meanwhile my pop rambled on saying that if we dont get the monsoons on time, the city will have water problems which in turn would result in power cuts and so on. I believe C.V. Raman once said that "Indian Economy is a gamble in the monsoon rain". How true!

Tag, You're It

I have been introduced to the concept of of memes through programming lessons and later in viral spamming campaigns like if you done send this devotional email to another bunch of 5 people, God is personally gonna strike you down or something like that.But this one's appealing because it's about books. I was tagged by a GeeBaby on writing about books as per a set template. I didnt know about this till this morning but anyways let me take a stab at it.

Total Number of Books I Own: Never counted. Approximately 1,000 or so geogrphically distributed over the places I have been living or travelling. In my last move to CA the only 4 cartons I relocated were 5 boxes of books.Currently have only 100 odd books with me.

Last Book I Bought: Wandered into a book store before Dinner yesterday. I bought Sum Of Our Discontent by David Boyle. The book deals with the fact that sometimes in the process of counting and measuring we miss out on some important facts about the thing itself. (Just like the previous section about volume of books says nothing about the quality of the importance). Just done with the first chapter but sounds like a very promising read.

Last Book I Read: Been more than 3 months since I finished my last book "The Mammaries Of the Welfare State" . Wait a minute. Thats wrong. Actually the last one I read was Andy Kessler's "How We Got Here"

One Book I Couldn't Finish:- Ulysses by Joyce. Just wasnt mentally prepared nor had enough perspective to understand it. I also couldnt finish "You Shall Know Our Velocity" because I forgot it in the plane seat in Canada.

Five Books That Mean a Lot to Me: Only five? Beware, the smaller the sample size, the greater the need to be selective and thats so tough.Anyway let me take a dive (nowhere representative of the entire spectrum but popping off my head at this moment)

• All About H. Hatterr: A Novel by Govindas Vishnoodas Desani
  
• English, August by Upamanyu Chatterjee
  
• Samskara by UR Ananthamurthy
• When the Kissing Had to Stop: Cult Studs, Khmer Newts, Langley Spooks, Techno-Geeks, Video Drones, Author Gods, Serial Killers, Vampire Media, Alien Sperm-Suckers, Satanic Therapists, and Those of Us Who Hold a Left-Wing Grudge in the Post Toasties New World Hip-Hop

• FlatLand by Edwin Abbott Abbott

Phew! I am hungry now, so let me grab some grub. Oops! I got to spread the disease by naming five innocent souls whom I wish to harass. So here is the ist of Honors : Hirak and Sumedha ( You knew that was a no brainer, right?) , Priyanka,Venu and Bonnie. All the best to you guys

ps: If you seriously wanna know how cool tagging is, try http://del.icio.us