Kaushik Gopal's Personal Blog

Moving a blog can be possibly one of the biggest pain in the rear existent for webkind. But It’s 90% complete (couple of glitches here and there). I’ve moved my domain-hosting plan from Netfirms to 3ix.com. I had no issues with Netfirms (they were quite prompt with the support email replies), in fact I think they are just swell, it’s just that for such a popular blog like this one. Netfirms can be a tad bit costly (120$ a year). I mean seriously no freaking way can I shell that much. So I moved to this awesome domain hosting plan with 3ix.com called Expert scheme, courtesy my big bro. Their support live chat feature has been amazing. Moreover it’s perfect for my requirement of hosting 3 independent websites.

Oh yes, did i forget to mention my “glog” a.k.a Geek Log has been made a tad bit more professional and moved to TechCroon.com. The theme hasn’t been setup, but most of my posts from glog.kaushikgopal.com have been imported there. Please feel free to step there and comment to your heart’s glory.

So the HAWT news is how India has Kick Butt at the Oscars this time with Slumdog Millionaire. A couple of things I feel appropriate to highlight.

I always had this notion that the Oscars was more of a social-movies-award. They gave Russel Crowe the Oscar for Gladiator. He truly deserved it for a Beautiful mind. Denzel Washington got it for Training Day(beating Beautiful mind) which seems illogical and we all know it was more for the whole African-American sensitivity issue. You see Will Smith should have won it for Ali, but he didn’t and in my humble opinion they didn’t want to seem racist the next year and thus gave it to Denzel (Irony being they got caught in the racket they tried to avoid).Don’t get me wrong all these actors are spectacular (DW being one of my favorites), it’s just that sometimes performances shouldn’t unduly be deemed oscar-winning.

This time around, in the 81st Academy Awards , A.R.Rahman won two Oscars and I’m sure the world would agree when I state boldly that he truly deserves the honor. Again if Slumdog millionaire deserves it for the best motion picture is highly doubtful (Let’s face it my desi-brothers, the movie was good but not mind blowing), it was a simple-warm-cozy story and that’s about it. Nothing earth-shattering. Again I think the hype of the underdog getting somewhere and the hope for it winning the oscars enabled Slumdog to bag the best motion picture oscar (Mind you, again I’m talking only of the best motion picture award).
I’m ecstatic that ARR bagged two. I hope this shoves those moronic critics who kept saying ARR uses too much technology, he doesn’t have that “genuineness” in his music. Ahem, I believe I strongly opposed these yahoos back then(Allow me this gloat).

I’m a music enthusiast and I truly relish ARR’s music. Some of his compositions even to this day remain the best in the world. Buzz me if you want a list of must-listen-to-ARR songs. If you’ll excuse me now, my boss is wondering why the hell I have this 42 teeth smile on my face.

I was swept of my feet with this movie(get it :P). It has this typical-frustratingly-awesome ending of concealing what really happens. Check out my review of The Wrestler at reelsuave.com. If you’re a film buff, you’ll LOVE the site…. has loads of hot-stuff, content and updates. I plan on doing all my movie reviews(1 and counting :P) there, Feel free to contribute and comment!

A similar movie I wrote about once which has this indefinite story-telling pattern is No Country for Old Men. Also two movies that taught me to appreciate the Romance genre: Before Sunrise, Before Sunset.

I usually don’t go about brazenly posting pictures of myself but If I am to serve, as any minor authority or a credible voice regarding the matter, these pictures should stand me some good stead.

After completing my board exams back in 2006, I was a whooping 100kg. My immediate chair-bound sitcom-loving life in college didn’t help one bit. I’m a decent 73 today. I’ve done a tonne of research regarding the matter and continue to research ways on getting fitter. The following series of posts is what worked, what didn’t, what I needed to know and what could have been done differently. Most of this is a compilation and largely taken from reliable sources. That being said, you have to understand there are quite a few areas where contradictions are plenty. I have tried my level best to resolve such matters and make the most sense out of it all.

I plan to split this into a series of posts on fitness cause one jurassic post with all the information would serve no purpose, there are tonnes of them out there already. I want these posts to serve as both inspiration and proof that getting fit and in shape is both possible and more importantly realistic. I plan to split my posts as follows (I’ll link to the posts from here as and when they’re complete):

• Fitness 101 - “De Equation”

  I gave a toastmaster’s speech once, regarding this topic and after researching/drafting/pruning my speech to the 6 minute time-limit, it boiled down to 3 things:

  1. Diet
  2. Exercise
  3. Attitude

  But since I have the luxury of space on my blog, I’m penning everything that I’ve learnt through the journey. So brace yourself for sporadic spews of self-help make-yourself-feel-better stuff as well as concrete scientific evidence to proven techniques/tips.

• Fitness 102 - Know your terms

  As always it pays to research what your up against and that is precisely what I had to do. For the benefit of the world and the lazy few who would like a single go-to location for all the terms and information, I’ve posted most of the stuff you’ll need to know to burn ‘em jigglin wigglies.Oh yes lot of Science Stuff here :P.

• Fitness 103 - Round up/Post its

  This is the must-read post if you just want a cheatsheet for the “learnings” of all previous steps. This is basically a round up of what you should/shouldn’t do. Take a print out of this and pin it up on your door until you have this ingrained.

• Fitness 104 - Sample Workout Routines

  This is just a compilation of the workout/routines that celebrities, health-coaches and others have posted.

• Fitness 105 - Action Plan (TFT style)

  I was successfull with my previous regime(check Fitness 103) in drastically shaving off the blubber, but I recently noticed, that while I look fairly thin, my body fat percentage seems relatively high. I’m a 23 year old male who’s 5′11 and weighs 73 kg (as on 28th January 2009). The BMI charts say my weight is perfect. I did a couple of rudimentary Body fat tests though and found it to be between 20% and 22%. The handheld-electric-current-through-fat device thingy gave a reading of 21.7% and the tape-measurement method yielded 22%. Another test came up with around 20.5%. The accuracy/inaccuracy of these tests aside, it’s pretty clear my body fat levels (what I should REALLY be worrying about) is a little on the higher side (I blame my mother’s unconditional love and ridiculously tasty dishes). Anyways quite clearly a major revamp in my diet/exercise-regime is in order (again).
  Even if I had to do it all over from the blubber-stage, this would probably be the better way to have approached it. I’ll post exactly how I intend to approach my diet/regime here TFT style. This is probably the best post to read if you too are looking into reducing your belt-clamp-size intelligently.

When I was a kid, Republic day only meant “one more holiday in School”. Adolescence and immaturity taken into account, I could probably excuse myself then.
I’ve been an NRI for a large part of my life, and many of my friends from college days have strongly criticized me for being hypocritical in my patriotism for India, (citing my NRI-status). Boy are you fellows mistaken. How NRIs contribute to India is reserved solely for a different post, but what you have to realize is, this physical distance from the nation merely strengthens the link. I know how it is not freely roam the streets of a mother-land. I know how it is to not be able to criticize the government and voice your opinions freely. Before you retort with any accusations let me remind you what Mark Twain has said on Patriotism, “Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it.” I will always be able to appreciate the freedom we so royally take for granted in our nation. Something I doubt you few who haven’t had the fortune of staying/visiting abroad will be able to revel in.

I’ve stated elsewhere, I will never forgo my Indian passport and have every intention to have my ashes buried in my motherland. Call it a superstitious hope of being re-born only as an Indian. And to make sure I don’t end this joyous occasion on a depressing note, a quote from Churchill: “When I am abroad, I always make it a rule never to criticize or attack the government of my own country. I make up for lost time when I come home.”

Happy Republic Day and Jai Hind brothers !

P.S: Many ask what the difference is between Independence day and Republic Day? After attaining independence on August 15 1947, a Constituent Assembly was set up to draft a constitution for India. This constitution came into effect on January 26, 1950.

A good friend Nishal from my IIT-lan-warcraft days recently did an interview with ahem…..guess who….. (I have no clue what he was on for that brief period of time, my theory is that he accidentally filled the wrong email address in the gmail “to-form” section and hit Send.He had to then appear polite and publish the interview ;) )

and Nishal…dude… you really have to check out Gmail’s “Mail-Googles” lab feature. My theory is that you’ll appreciate it :D.

Headless Horseman stage

So we had the Obamaugration yesterday and I sat glued till 1 a.m KST (Kuwait-Standard-Time) today… following which I was inspired to read “Dreams from my father“…following which I saw my brother play a couple of warcraft games….following which I was inspired to read Kasparov’s book “How Life Imitates Chess“… following which I realized it was 4 freaking a.m and I had to sleep…..following which I realized I would never get sleep if i thought I had to get sleep…….following which I decided to tire myself out physically by doing 30 push-ups in a row….following which I dropped dead on the bed…..my mind kept racing(was Obama really going to achieve what his hope audaciously claims to? How awesome would it be to work on the team of Story-writing for Blizzard? Was Kasparov after all just a simple man with absolute focus and dedication? how should I tailor my workout to get the body of a Governor who can never become President?) ….. which is finally when I dosed off…..It’s 5.45 and my iPhone promptly irritates the hell out of me with the blues tone…..I realize the whole point of setting my alarm with the blue tones is for this purpose…. purpose achieved…… I’ve essentially slept for 1 hour and successfully completed stage 1 of Sleepy Hollow.

Sleepy stage

I’m debating whether to get up and brush my teeth or sleep for those precious “5 more minutes”. I drag myself off the bed and flop straight on the ground crawling to the bathroom. I finish my ablutions which unfortunately includes a bath. Enter Hollow stage!

Hollow stage

That “refreshing” bath just yanked my ass off sleepy stage and into the most dreadful stage of SH. Nations can fall or prosper depending on the one’s actions in this stage. I decided this is all bollocks and thought of going back to sleep blissfully allowing Rome to burn. But you see that’s when my mom came and smacked Nero some, which essentially shoved me into the Undead stage.

Undead stage

I drive to office. There’s this retard Kuwaiti driver on the road shouting at me for going at 80kmph on an 80kmph road. Really what was I thinking! But you see in the undead stage it doesn’t matter, you’re oblivious to whats happening around you (I presume this is how one feels when high, only much much lower). I enter my office sit in my cube and furiously start typing away. I’ve submitted a report to my boss and I’m not yet fired…. I’m assuming my sub-conscious has taken over. He tells me something and I nod blankly looking at the pretty angels dancing on the tip of his pen. My god how many really are there?

Shutdown phase

The exact description of what happens thereafter, can never clearly be documented, because at some point during the undead stage, your body just doesn’t take any more and you’re literally doused with sleep.

The problem with Sleepy-Hollow is that you’re seduced into the Headless horseman stage without actually realizing it. Once drawn in, you’re doomed to follow the stages!

After much desperation,depression and waiting, GCal-SMS alerts is back for Kuwait cellphone users. For those unaware of this feature, sign in to Gcal –> Click Settings (RHS top) –> Click the Mobile Setup tab –> enter your mobile number and wait for the verification message. The rest is self-explanatory (make sure you pick the right country, the ISD code gets prefixed appropriately).
What this gold nugget of a feature does is essentially send you a reminder of any event by way of SMS. I practically lived with this feature up until 3 months back when the wonderful state of Kuwait decided to convert all telephone numbers to 8 digits. Gcal took sometime to reflect these changes. It is now back and I am a marginally more productive man as of today :D. Surprised the Google help group didn’t notify us of this update earlier!

If you spend 10 hours a day on your PC, these things can have a catastrophic effect on your productivity. I partition my drive diligently according to this guide.(I did a lot of homework and came up with that guide, so it’s trustworthy).

But if you have 3500 assorted files with names like “Woork xcFgvB1.pDf”, “iphone User manual.PDF”,”address Book.Icon.Drawer.dld free bts_128.png” or god-forbid “Gmail Contsfor-Kbefore SYNC with Iphoneon5Jan.csv”, partitioning would only get you so far. Apart from frustrating the hell out of productivity enthusiasts it would require you to necessarily do a “Search” for your files. Do I need to remind you of the problems of searching in XP? Let’s not forget how a general search can eat into your system resources if you don’t have your drives indexed.

You can reduce these issues to a large extent with adherence to a little diligence in file-naming. These are some of the tips I personally recommend.

word of advice: most of the reasoning should have been pushed to my tech blog, but these file-naming practices have helped me so greatly in terms of productivity in general, I thought this would be a better place :read if you just want the best practices read these rules and move on

• Avoid using “.” (fullstop/period) other than or file extension
• Avoid spaces like the plague
• Case Sensitivity : Use init-caps to separate logical words
• Underscore for change in context, hyphen only for versions/dates
• Use the YYYY-MM-DD format for dates in file names

Read the rest of this entry »

The buzz word today is “Change”. Everyone’s embracing Change:-

• Change we can believe in - (yup you know who)!
• How to Change the World
• Change your pricing
• Change is hard change often

Notice that? politics/marketing/sales/gaming ! you can apply change to any field. The outcome is always positive.
I have vehemently concurred with the saying,”Variety is the spice of life”*.

*I agree variety and change are quite different, but in the context of this famous quote I believe variety is used to mean change.

Change keeps things fresh. Change begets ideas and ideas beget success. I have gone as far as incorporating change in every aspect of my life. I love re-arranging the furniture in my room every new-year. I love re-arranging things on my desk every couple of weeks. I love taking a different route to office everyday. I love trying out new-dishes at restaurants (before my brother starts to mouth off I’ll come out clean and agree this is a recent change, one that i’m thoroughly enjoying).

The beauty with Change is that it will never go out of fashion. It is, by definition, always in vogue.

Change is good, Change often my friend!

I recently read this article on Write-To-Done (nice blog on writing). The article recommends Merriam Webster as the must-have online dictionary. I would like to differ.
I’ve reviewed 4 of the most popular “free” online dictionaries:

• Cambridge Advanced Learner’s*,
• Merriam Webster,
• Dictionary.com and
• The free dictionary.

Read on if you want to know why I think the Advanced Learner’s is my winner.

Read the rest of this entry »

As part of my new-year-resolution I’ve started delving into the world of sketching and vector illustrations.

While the outcomes of my recent efforts have all been competition to only 4 year olds, the knowledge I have gained through research is encouraging. One particular designer whose work I’m an ardent fan of is Veerle . Take a look at this blog-post where Veerle explains how she came up with her company logo, TFT Style.

So I suddenly got on this high yesterday night to get my very first moleskines (New Years…. Resolutions… ToDos…. ). Me and my brother header out at 1a.m today morning to get the goodies. For the similarly inspired your voyage ends at Sultan Center, Salmiyah. They have a very nice pretty stand just for moleskines. I wouldn’t have found this, if not for this really cool Kuwaiti-blog 248a.m, which ironically happens to be the time I got back home this morning. I’ll put up pics of my moleskine as I start to fill ‘em up (Oh did I not mention? I bought 3 : the plain squared notebook (soft cover), the reporter style-plain and the mini-3 book squared varieties). Be warned though, a moleskine is ABSURDLY costly. The damn thing costed me KD 3.350. That’s Kuwaiti Dinars btw. Google “3.350 KWD to USD/INR” and you’ll understand what I mean.

Why the moleskine is so great? Absolute hype. I don’t see anything that a mini-spiral pad off the counter couldn’t satisfy that a moleskine can, except the ultra cool feeling of actually having a moleskine :P .
Will I buy another one? Hell Yeah!.

Wishing all you good folks out there a happy, pleasant and exciting 2009! Stay Safe…

It’s New Year’s Eve and I’m all set with my resolutions. Until I started seriously blogging (which-if you believe-would be around mid 2008), I never really saw the point in drawing up these lists. It felt lame, pointless and a waste of time. But with the advent of my blogging ways, I realize that maintaining a resolution-list would help keep check and achieve my goals/ambitions much faster. Besides, 365 days from now it will be nice to see how my priorities and views might have changed.

Brace yourself:

 

• Start Regularly Gymming again
  
  2006-2007 I morphed from a whooping 100kg couch potato to a 70kg cardio-freak. From the start-mid 2008, I was diligent with my gymming and en-route to my distant dream 6-pack. Time to start putting up Arnold posters again.

 

• Read the gazillion books just bought
  
  One of the many good habits my brother passed on to me, is a love for reading books. What the bugger also passed on was an insatiable need to purchase all the awesomest books around. 2008 gave us Reality Check, Outliers, Tribes, Presentation Zen… all of which I already posses a copy of. This is apart from the many books I purchased in 2007 but never got the time to fully read.

 

• Get Sketching
  
  
  I was at one point of time(sometime between the 7th and 9th grades) quite a decent artist. After my 10th (board exams), I completely left this and continued only to pursue my musical inclinations. I want to revive that lost interest and talent. Vector Graphics is also something I’m seriously looking at.

 

• Learn Arabic
  
  I love learning languages. I’ve spent a major part of my life in the middle-east and it’s a shame I haven’t picked the language up yet. The fascinating thing about Arabic is that the script is really easy. I can in fact read and write Arabic pretty well. Each time I try to speak though, my bakala owner thinks I’m a retard.

 

• There is no later, only now!
  It is my ardent belief that the number one productivity-killer is procrastination. I’ve fallen short of quite a few of my goals this year primarily for this reason. No more!

It’s a modest list, one that currently seems doable. Time will tell…