Some thoughts of Wisdom

"Life is not about waiting for the storms to pass...it's about learning how to dance in the rain."

 Written By Regina Brett, 90 years old, of The Plain Dealer, Cleveland , Ohio

1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.

2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.

3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone..

4. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and parents will. Stay in touch.

5. Pay off your credit cards every month.

6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.

8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.

9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.

10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.

11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.

12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.

13. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.

15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never blinks.

16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.

17. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.

18. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.

19. It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.

20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.

21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.

22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.

23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.

24. The most important sex organ is the brain.

25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.

26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words 'In five years, will this matter?'

27. Always choose life.

28. Forgive everyone everything.

29. What other people think of you is none of your business.

30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.

31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

32. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

33. Believe in miracles.

34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.

35. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.

36. Growing old beats the alternative -- dying young.

37. Your children get only one childhood.

38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.

39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.

40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's,we'd grab ours back.

41. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.

42. The best is yet to come.

43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

44. Yield.

45. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift."
 

Warhammer 40000: Dawn Of War II - What a waste!

So what do you do when you wanna buy a nice new state of the art game to waste ur precious time on?
After doing my research on the kind of game I wanted I decided to buy Warhammer 40K Dawn of War II. High ratings on picky sites like gamespot and ign gave me the impression that this new "unique" concept would be an interesting play, something that is out of the ordinary.

While I decided to pick this over Red Alert 3, which I'm sure wouldn't have caused as much drama as this one. Not to mention, this game was 300 bucks cheaper, why? I guess I was to find out soon enough.

I got home excited, ready to play the game that, hopefully, could become my favourite pass time over the next few weeks or months.

Here is where the problem really starts... Once you try to install the game, it asked me to update Windows Vista to SP1. Alright I said, a long wait, a 400mb download, and a few restarts later I was geared up once more, to engage in the battle that was so highly spoken of.

Obviously, I was mistaken. Now, upon trying to install the game, the STEAM client (a launcher used for games produced by ValvE entertainment) needed an update. Using steam for any game, even if it is valve, is nothing less than a irritating, and frustrating experience.

So, another long wait, a big download an a steam update later, I was for a third time, hopeful.. that this was the start of the gaming rainbow.... Wrong once more!

Once steam was installed, it proceeds to update the GAME! Frustrated yet? I sure as hell was. I still am.

Sigh, you think, this has to be the end. No, no, not yet.

Once you launch the game, yes, you guessed it, ANOTHER UPDATE. This time, it was Windows Live for games. Which by the way, could not update itself from within the game, as most other windows products that "automatically" do things. I think microsoft should say they "automatically" screw things up.

Ergo, I found the update on line, another download, another install, a longer wait.

Now once all is updated, you try to log in to your Windows Live ID.. only to find that you have to PAY TO PLAY ONLINE! After all that freakin shit you have to pay these people money to continue frustrating you.

This is by far the worst game experiance anyone should be put through. There are a hundred companies that produce game, in a highly competitive market. Frustrating your customers isn't the best idea for repeat sales.

Are you listening THQ, Microsoft, and Relic?

The gameplay wasn't bad, but you really, really, really messed up the process. 4 updates, 4 different accounts to play online and in addition to the price of the game, there is a price to play online. Oh by the way, did I mention of the 3 races available, you can only use 1 if you play single player. Hence, to play with the other 2, you must pay them. Again.

In comparision, I look at my PS3 - albeit the games are more expensive. But a few bucks more means you can take the game, put it in your console, download 1 update (this time it really is automatic) and play online as much as you want - no more hassle.

The big confusion

Of late there have been some serious allegations against Australia for being racist toward Indian students. It's all over the place - on TV, in newspapers, on internet blogs, everywhere. Is it true, is Australia racist?

Since the incidents, more than a few people asked me about my time in Aus and if I faced similar situations - well I'm still alive and scar free ain't I? Each time i get asked this question I'd like to say - I did see a difference toward my race, but I also made some great friends there, who are in fact Australian. This lead me to my initial view point which is that there must've been some provocation from the Indians, or the attack was random and not targetted at a particular race.

However, I did some reading and found some interesting figures - 90,000 Indian Students in Aus, 5 attacks in the last month, 70 in the last year, and according to police, 30% of Melbourne suburb residents are anti-Indian.

Then, I heard about the rally at good ol' Fed Square, which ended badly with police getting involved. Even though the OZ police says no excessive force was used, cops apparently beat up people, and videos were quickly being broadcast over national TV channels all over India.

So one of the confusion points becomes - is media doing a good thing or bad? On one hand it gives us a chance to support our own kin, on the other, it could be seen as creating panic.

Most of these beatings seem to be muggings where the victim isnt cooperative which leads to their unfortunate fate.

The govt in Oz is guaranteeing adequate laws will be put into place, lets hope they live up to that promise. I did see my share of being treated differently there, but not by all. There is a video in the links below which says the exact same thing - Just because a few are bad, doesnt mean all are.

So are the attacks rasict? I don't know, but I'd like to hope not...

Here is what people are saying, and the news reports I read:

http://blogs.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/ruebarbpie/entry/paradise-lost

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Attacks-on-Indians-Oz-plans-hate-laws/articleshow/4606876.cms

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Indian-students-relive-horror-stories-in-Australia/articleshow/4606234.cms

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Another-Indian-student-attacked-in-Australia/articleshow/4608367.cms

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Australian-cops-punch-stomp-on-peaceful-protesters/articleshow/4606057.cms

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Racial-element-in-Australia-attacks-India/videoshow/4593166.cms

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Attackers-will-be-met-with-force-Australian-PM/articleshow/4604422.cms

Video Games - Yesterday and Today

The other day, I was talking to a friend about the fact that I am a die hard gamer and soon realised that I've been playing video games all my life - or atleast the part of it when Video Games were around.

I remember the first system that was out there - The Atari.

The Atari was a simple system, and played all the old favourites - starting with ping pong!

Ping pong was an instant rage. Moving those flat lines up and down the screen to to catch the ball was exilirating at the time.

Aside from Ping Pong, the Atari system had many other games that were worth playing, amongst racing little bunnies across a traffic-filled road avoiding cute death at every turn to boxing games with stick figures.

If you wanna see real progress, look at what the current Boxing games (Fight night round 3) look like:

I guess sports games were the first ones to make it to the gaming market. What came next you ask? Why I would guess it was the 8 bit consoles, which introduced a game that would become a household word in years to come. That game was - Mario Bros. 

The franchise was so popular, that it even inspired movies, and other games such as mario cart racing. Mario actually took a turn from Adventure to other genres with the advent of the N64. 

Now, Mario appears in various game titles, primarily made for Nintendo's proprietary system - the Wii. I beleive its Mario that inspired the genre of Adventure video games.

Another incredibly popular 8 bit video game that still exists to date is - Street Fighter.

Street fighter started in the arcades but quickly found its way into the homes of many on 8 bit consoles.

Street Fighter itself was a pleasure to play. Never before has you been able to pick a charector and pound the daylights out of a friend before. Especially no game where you could do flying kicks and throw fire balls.

This game too sparked a new genre of Beat 'em up games like Mortal Kombat.

But street fighter evolved too, and is still in the Game.

Heres what the newest street fighter looks like:

Another game that sparked the creation of one of the most popular genre's out there is a game called Doom. The first of the FPS breed (first-person-shooter) which was actually a computer game. 

I loved this game to bits. Doom I was legendary in every way, and Doom II was even better. The two came on 3 1/2 inch 1.44MB floppy disks.

Doom has opened doors to a variety of new games.

Every FPS and Horror Shooter finds it roots in Doom (and another game called Wolfinstien - both made by id Software)

Now days shooters are in my opinion one of the most Hyped genres in gaming. For example, Microsoft hold exclusive rights to it's shooter Halo to ensure continued loyalty to the Xbox(360) system. Sony's answer to this was to release a shooter called Resistance: Fall of man. The XBOX also has games such as the Gears of War series to increase the allure of said system.

The new kid on the block is KillZone 2.. 

Yeah. I'm a gamer. And I love it.

G

EDIT 30/3/2009: In a GDC talk Friday, author and Georgia Tech professor Ian Bogost explained how the iconic (Atari 2600) 1970s- and '80s-era video game console can be used for inspiration by today's game designers.

Slumdog Millionaire

Anyone who watched movies like Blood Diamond and Lord Of War was in awe at how poorly Humans are treated in that part of the world. Each one of us gasped when families were separated, men shot by child soldiers.

Each one of us that felt these emotions left with a sense of sympathy toward Africa. Those movies won awards too. Were they African films though? NO. They were American.

So the next time you watch Slumdog Millionaire, remember somebody in some other part of the world is probably feeling sorry for us.

We (India) did not win any oscar, except perhaps the Music score of A.R. Rehman. The oscars were won by the the cast and crew of the movie, who are mainly British.

Seriously, stop celebrating the fact that we won an award for having some of the worst living conditions known to man. Instead maybe find a way to fix some of the problems brought out by the movie. Or you can choose to revel in the pity of the world. Your choice.