Sumeet's Autohypertextbiography.

Sorry, this journal has been rotting...

Sat, 20 Jun 2009 22:32:48 GMT

There are lots of things to write about from the last couple of months. Will do so, someday. Till then, a quick note to say hello to all of my friends on LJ. This is still my blog, and will remain so. Meanwhile, blame Twitter for the ADD.

Six for a t-shirt...

Fri, 30 Jan 2009 06:03:37 GMT

This journal, and the nickname 'teemus' as a consequence, completes 6 (yes, six) years of existence today!

To mark this occasion, I've launched my t-shirt brand 'teemus', something which I've been trying to do since late 2006.

Shop online at http://teemus.info/ now! There are currently two designs available, I ♥ ⌂ ♫ (go figure) and who is teemus?.

Doing this for the heck of it, and because I've always wanted to, and not to make money. There's hardly any money involved, in fact - I just get a cut out of it!

Thus, today marks the day when my nickname got converted into a brand...

My LiveJournal friendsCollage...

Mon, 15 Dec 2008 19:02:49 GMT

Did some Python hacking over the weekend followed by Monday, and revived an almost four year old hack, woohoo! This time, it's slightly more fun - if any of your friends changes his/her userpic, you do not need to regenerate the collage.

Check out LJ friendsCollage v7.0 now! Powered by the Google App Engine.

teemus's friendsCollage

LJ friendsCollage
Brought to you by pratibha75 and teemus

Silver arrow...

Sun, 14 Dec 2008 13:53:54 GMT

Today, we complete two years together. The first year, we took it slow, so to speak, being new to each other. There were moments of sheer blinding speed, though. I wasn't with her for her first birthday, so promised to not repeat it this year.

The second year was marked with a crazy need for speed. Every time we were on (the now old) Airport Road, we went faster. Turn after turn flowing into each other, without even touching the brake pedal, as though it were poetry in motion, so to speak. Don't even get me started on the grip levels on Inner Ring Road - it's like driving on rails!

In a world full of heartbreaks, she was one of the constants in my life. Always there. Always the same. Always ready to take on the so-called better cars, and emerging faster, be it a turn, a straight or under braking for that matter.

Happy second birthday, Stacy! I love you loads.

Photograph by code_martial.

Rise of the Indian startup...

Thu, 11 Dec 2008 20:19:28 GMT

There are two websites that I want you to check out, since they deal with things that I'm interested in - gadgets (cameras, to be more specific) and movies. There's books involved too, but to say that I read books would be an insult to anyone who reads books.

Here we go. WisdomTap Shopping is at your service if you plan to purchase a camera, be it for photographing F1 cars, a Sindhi wedding or that hot chick who agreed to a photoshoot. Moreover, there's http://m.wisdomtap.com/, the mobile version of WT, for on-the-go-shopping as you hunt for a bargain in the malls of Singapore, or Hong Kong for that matter.

WisdomTap is the kickass effort of my former boss vijayr, with added code_martial awesomeness.

Next up, ReviewBag. Get book and movie reviews over SMS by sending a text message to 56677. The name of this product was thought of by yours truly. ;) Tried it out when I accompanied a friend to the friendly-neighbourhood bookstore (while I felt lost in the bookstore, really), and it's fun. It's more fun when you are at the multiplex on a weekday, trying to figure out what movie would help kill time without killing you.

ReviewBag is brought to you by my buddy and roomie, Mahesh.

Your feedback is highly appreciated, so don't forget to comment here or over at WisdomTap and ReviewBag respectively.

Gadget lust...

Sun, 07 Dec 2008 22:01:38 GMT

As you all know by now, my gentle readers, I name all my gadgets, being the weirdo that I am. The past three months have been a mixture of bad gadget karma at first, leading to a lust for newer gadgets, which in turn lead to great difficulty in choosing names.

In September this year, Marisa, my Nokia 6300, faced a short-circuit as she came in close contact with water. Spent some money to get the circuit-board replaced, yet the volume of the microphone was quite faint. While she was getting repaired, I bought a Nokia 1200, "the truck driver phone" as one of my dear friends calls it. Didn't name this phone, since it's fugly! A week later, Marisa was exchanged for Elsa, a Nokia 2760, gratis, no questions asked. Elsa was used to send all those Diwali text messages!

The first week of November dawned, bringing with it a new credit card billing cycle. After much waiting, and even more thought, and a lot of budget planning, I couldn't contain myself any longer. Gave in, and indulged. Fell in love, not with a human of course, but the sexiest gadget known to mankind till date - the Apple iPhone 3G. Paid a small fortune for it, but trust me, it's worth every Indian National Rupee you pay for it. My real first name (and it's not Teemus, contrary to popular belief) begins with an 'S'. The iPhone had to have a name starting with an 'S' as well, justifying its 's'exiness. Ladies and gentlemen, whistle out to Selita, ooh!

End of Chapter One.

The past three months have also yielded something productive away from work. My love for house music started a year ago, and it had to lead to the natural path, something which I've been wanting to learn all my life - deejaying.

Enrolled into NXOS DJ School (run by DJ Sean) in early September, and completed the two-month long deejaying course a fortnight back. Got to work on some amazing equipment from Pioneer, and discovered the awesomeness of progressive house music too.

Deejaying equipment, namely mixers and CD machines, are expensive. I've been looking for something to hook up to a computer and practice/perform. Found the Behringer BCD3000 MIDI controller on Amazon for a steal, and decided to go for it. It was delivered to me late in October.

Been practising a bit on-and-off with the BCD3000. Verdict - Excellent value for money, excellent feel while mixing! It marries well with Karolina II, my Macbook Pro. What's her name, you ask? Been running out of names of late, and Miranda sounded like a great name, so that's what it is!

There's a long way to go with my deejaying, but I'm getting there. DJ Teemus does house music along with a bit of hip-hop. So if you plan to throw a house party and want something other than Bollywood to shake a leg to, look me up!

End of Chapter Two.

Boys will be boys, yes. We need our gadgets to live with. They not only define us, but also stick with us as long as we desire. ;)

Colours et al...

Sun, 07 Dec 2008 16:27:11 GMT

Noticed this on code_martial's blog.

Your rainbow is strongly shaded violet and red.

What is says about you: You are a passionate person. You appreciate beauty and craftsmanship. You get bored easily and want friends who will keep up with you. You are patient and will keep trying to understand something until you've mastered it.

Find the colors of your rainbow at spacefem.com.

"SMS Merge" using Ruby, flat files and a Nokia phone with Bluetooth...

Sat, 01 Nov 2008 17:33:33 GMT

Over the last couple of years, I sent out 200+ personalised emails on Diwali day to wish friends and family. It was done using the DiwaliMailer PHP script that I hacked up in 2004, and then ported it to Ruby to be used in the subsequent years.

Everybody does not check email as frequently as we do. Ergo, the medium of communication had to be different this year. One word - SMS.

Then again, SMS messages get quite impersonal when you compose a generic one and send it to everyone listed in your mobile phonebook. Nah, not my style. If emails can be personalised, why not SMS!

A quick search led to me to an article that explained how to send SMS using Ruby on Mac OS X with the phone and Mac connected through Bluetooth.

Modified the script, made it read a CSV file containing name and mobile number, threw it all within a loop (most computer applications are bloody-for-loops anyways), place some sleep() calls in there, and voila - SMS Merge!

Here's all you need to do. Read the article on NSeries.com for more details on the first couple of steps.

Install the Ruby/SerialPort library.
Make your Mac and Nokia mobile phone shake hands.
Figure out the path to the Bluetooth port to your phoe. Keep it handy.
Download DiwaliSMS.rb from my website.
Modify lines 12 and 33 of the script accordingly.
Create a text file with Name,Mobile Number on each line.
Run the script providing the name of the text file created in the earlier step as a command-line argument. Something like:
```
$ ruby DiwaliSMS.rb friends.txt
```
Grin as you get all those replies via SMS. ;)

Situation - Normal.

Mon, 27 Oct 2008 19:07:38 GMT

There have only been three years thus far when I've been away from Hyderabad on Diwali. The first one was 2003, in the sixth semester of engineering, when I couldn't get bus tickets from Shimoga to Hyderabad. That was a sad day for Karnataka. Learnt three-item-juggling that day.

Next up, two consecutive festivals of light missed in 2006 and 2007. Tried going for a road-trip in 2006 with yathin, hitesh and t3rmin4t0r, but it turned out to be rather unfortunate - The car suffered some damage and we returned back to Bangalore.

Thinking nothing could be worse than 2006, 2007 proved me wrong. If you want to realise how awesome this festival is, stay away from India on this day! For work-related reasons, I was in California last Diwali, and trust me, it was the suck. All I remember was calling everybody up to wish them, at late night Pacific-time.

All this lead me to believe - There's nothing in this world that can lead to a happier Diwali, than being at home, in Hyderabad, with family. It's only then when one can feel that festivity in the air. Promised myself that come Diwali 2008, and I would land up here. I don't burst crackers, I don't play cards, I am not even uber-religious, but there's something magical about this festival which draws me towards home.

Have a great Diwali, wherever you are. I'm trying out an interesting way of greeting friends later in the day...

Soaking in the F1 atmosphere...

Thu, 25 Sep 2008 07:20:55 GMT

These days, blogging is priority number three, after Twitter and Facebook, simply because a blog post is so heavyweight in nature. Meant for big things.

The destination for this year's F1 pilgrimage happens to be Singapore. The first night race in the history of this most-awesome-sport.

The atmosphere here is el-ec-tric! Can't wait for the first free practice session tomorrow, which begins shortly after sunset.

Word of the month - passion.

Bleeding purple, episode 3...

Fri, 22 Aug 2008 13:50:56 GMT

Three years at Yahoo! completed today. I still remember my first day on August 22nd, 2005, the first sprint task assigned to me on August 23rd, and my first product launch two months later. ;)

The third year brought about a lot of travel, more money, a lot of fun, a lot of change in the office (fewer friends) and an equal amount of nerve-wracking, disappointing situations at work. Nevertheless, it's been a great year. My motivation levels are getting back to normal.

Alright, Teemus 6.0 needs to go back to getting a life...

GrabbaTwo!

Fri, 08 Aug 2008 09:00:23 GMT

The YouTube FLV Grabba bookmarklet written by yours truly quite a while back doesn't work anymore.

Fear not, for GrabbaTwo! is here. Use it and let me know whether it works for you.

Haffun!

fcuk

Wed, 30 Jul 2008 19:09:15 GMT

Willing to buy dinner for anyone who gives me good suggestions on how not to be uber-fucking-bored in life.

I've fallen away, to be back again...

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 22:55:48 GMT

Girl is it not enough that you took my heart
That you took my life, that you took my love
Some kind of boy, some kind of girl, some kind of song around the world
You gave it to me, you gave it away
I wish I was back where I belonged
Some kind of girl, some kind of boy, that you were the one

If you're not the one, I don't know who is
If you're not the one, I don't know who is
I don't know
I don't know
I don't know who is
I don't know
I don't know
I don't know who is...

- Sharam feat. Daniel Bedingfield: The One (Original Mix)

This number has to be the biggest floor filler of 2008!

Mid-year, say cheese...

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 19:31:55 GMT

Here are photos from the four international trips I've done so far this year. Three to the shopper's haven HK and one to wonderful California.

There's no difference between you and me...

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 22:42:55 GMT

The music plays at full blast. You know the tune. You know the lyrics too. Everyone screams and hits the dance floor, while I stand there, mesmerised. It's not that I don't like dancing, it's not that I can't dance, but it's just that I do not want to dance, for I've been dancing in my head all this while, and I continue to do so.

Seeing everyone shake a leg, I admire their passion as they pay utmost respect to the music. They are in a trance, just like me. A higher state of consciousness, if you will, just like yours truly. Probably I'm tapping my feet, or head-banging in accordance with the beat, and scribbling down a note on my cellphone when I hear an unknown monster tune.

"Don't you dance?", somebody asks. "I like making people dance," snapping back. Dance is for you to worship, while I enjoy and play the music that makes you do so.

I keep thinking about the sequence of the numbers. A pause here, a cross-fade there, trying to learn every trick that the deejay is upto.

You stop dancing once the party has ended, but my mental dance continues long after that. Every number has to be revisited for its awesomeness, as I work, and when I drive. Crank up the bass. Let every thud hit your eardrums like there's no tomorrow.

Am I different from you? Essentially, no. The only difference is that you can get onto the dance floor anyday, while I long to be off it, on the console. Will my fingers be able to work the same magic? I don't know.

Some day...

Don't Just Exist...

Wed, 18 Jun 2008 15:05:47 GMT

Learn. Play. Earn. Shop. Speak Out. Don't Settle Down. Money Schmuney. Follow Your Passion. Seek A Hobby. Music. Work Smart. Give Till It Hurts. Move On. Stop Being A Geek. Look Good. Think. Do As You Please. Drive With A Vengeance. Respect. Flirt. Be Thankful. Don't Care. New Interests. Travel. Plant Trees. Hate Yourself Sometimes. Tweet. Risk. Pray. Get Bored. Don't Stop. It's Not Worth It.

Leaving on a jet plane...

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 12:02:16 GMT

Off to HK, again, tonight. I swear I am not visiting that place for a long time to come after I am back on the 21st of this month.

87...

Mon, 02 Jun 2008 15:19:01 GMT

My grandmother passed away on the Wednesday of last week. She was bed-ridden for ten years, as far as I can remember, and she'd been ill for the last two weeks of her life. But she breathed her last in her sleep, rather peacefully, being all of 87 years of age.

Got a call from my mom early that morning, and upon speaking to my uncle after that, he told me to take the morning flight to Hyderabad from Bangalore, as the funeral was about to begin at 1615 that evening.

I couldn't get a cab immediately to the new Bengaluru International Airport, as all cab operators asked me to wait for at least thirty minutes. Managed to catch the non air-conditioned bus off MG Road, and got to the airport by 1015 - I missed the 1030 flight by 45 minutes. They wouldn't allow me to buy a ticket for the flight that departed in 15 minutes, understandably so.

God bless Jet Airways, for they are the only carrier to run an afternoon flight from Bangalore to Hyderabad, albeit an ATR at that. The 1320 flight landed at the new Hyderabad airport at 1500, and I got into a cab within ten minutes, and prayed that I'd be able to reach in time for the funeral.

I miss the HAL and Begumpet airports in Bangalore and Hyderabad respectively. It'd have been much easier to get home that day. An emergency situation becomes worse when you have to commute to and from airports which are 40 km away from the cities.

Reached my house at 1605, and the first thing I saw was my grandmom's body being carried into the hall. That was the first time I saw and touched the dead body of a near one. It was as though she would open her eyes then, in spite of her nostrils and mouth being filled with cotton wool. Later, I learnt that her eyes were donated.

The barber was waiting to shave my head, since I was the fourth "shoulder-bearer", in addition to dad and my two uncles. This is customary in Hindus. As my head was being shaved, grandma's body was carried out of the house for the last rites, before taking her to the funeral pyre.

Amidst chants, my uncles, dad and I carried the body, with neighbours lending a shoulder too, to the hearse, and sat inside to proceed to grandma's final worldly destination.

We placed her on the funeral pyre. Saw her for the last time, as the last rites were performed. They covered her body with logs, and the same four sons who carried her, set fire to the body. I broke down for a bit.

We waited there for half an hour, and left at 1815. During that time, we heard two loud "booms", which happened due to the skull of the body cracking.

Two days later, at seven in the morning, we arrived at the pyre again, to find and gather the bones amongst the ashes, which were still hot.

On Thursday, my uncle and I will be flying to Delhi and travelling to Haridwar from there, to submit her remains to the holy Ganges.

Rest in peace, grandma. I'm glad she lived to a ripe, old age, and bid adieu to the world with little suffering.

NorCal...

Thu, 08 May 2008 14:52:23 GMT

Off to California on Saturday night, for two weeks. Been looking forward to this visit for quite some time, so let's see what gives.

It takes me exactly 22 days to get sick of Bangalore.

T-8y and counting...

Sat, 19 Apr 2008 20:22:17 GMT

X

Wed, 02 Apr 2008 21:01:52 GMT

A Macbook Pro is now my weapon at work. Suffice to say that everything on it Just Works^TM, which makes you more productive.

Apple sells you an experience, not hardware, software and other such geeky things. It's like using the Porsche equivalent of computing. (yathin, accept my apologies in advance.)

Can't wait to buy a Macbook for personal use later this year.

For the second half of last month, I was in Hong Kong (again), and this time around, it was not too much fun, but fun nevertheless.

Badly in need of a vacation, and how.

Crank those speakers up...

Fri, 21 Mar 2008 20:22:22 GMT

All those posts on house music will now give way to something that can tickle your aural senses, at last.

A lot of time and effort has gone into finding house playlists, and in trying to glean the best out of them. Many of my friends have also liked the numbers that I've been listening to, and that leads me to believe that house music can be liked by a wide variety of people.

Presenting the playlist that rocks my socks. Will try to keep it up-to-date with the most awesome tracks out there. Give it a listen, and if you start shaking a leg, let me know.

What I miss most about Hyderabad...

Sun, 24 Feb 2008 12:56:09 GMT

The fact that I can go clubbing almost every weekend, with zero planning. Bangalore messes me up no end in this regard.

var_dump($house_february_2008);

Sun, 10 Feb 2008 18:23:00 GMT

HotMix (Radio Indigo 91.9 FM, Saturday nights, 1900-2200 hours) is awesome. Big respect to DJ Ivan and DJ Rohit Barker.

Singapore Airlines has an audio channel dedicated to house music, sourced from the Ministry of Sound.

Without further ado, here are some numbers gleaned from the above sources and some more, leading to pure aural pleasure.

Dirty South feat. MYNC Project - Everybody Freakin'
Dubfire - Roadkill
Global Deejays feat Technotronic - Get Up (General Electric Version)
Pryda - Muranyi
Samim - Heater (Claude Van Stroke Remix)
Underworld - Crocodile
Underworld - Crocodile (Pete Heller Remix)
SE:SA - Like This Like That