Desi..

I hate the word `desi'. I despise it with every fiber of my being. Just hearing the word makes my skin crawl.

No, its not a "bad" word per se. It's not offensive in a conventional way, and yet, I *do* find it offensive. Why does `desi' have to replace Indian? Why is it than an Indian outside of India is called a `desi'? Is it not enough to be just Indian? Why `desi'?

So, the next time you meet me, call me Kaustubh, call me Gadya (that's what my friends call me), but please, do not call me a `desi'. I am an Indian. End of story.

Kaustubh

Colouring outside the lines..

Found this as Manas's "about me" on orkut..amazing poem!

Coloring
outside the lines
is scary business
Some days
I don't have the courage for it
at all

On my big, bold days, though
I let my red crayon
just streak across a line
Then I swirl my purple and orange
out there with it
in perfect freedom
no lines

Coloring outside the lines
is lonely, too
I'm the only one
who doesn't get
a gold star on my paper
The teacher frowns
the kids call me weird
or dumb
or retarded

Why don't they see
that I'm not behind them...
I'm out in front
running free
outside the lines

It would be nice
to have a friend
who colored outside the lines,
sometimes,
too...
Would you?

--Sarah Hall Maney

The God Delusion

Did something today that I had not done in a long time...read a book! Of course I've read the course books cover to cover, but that is not what I had in mind. Started reading "The God Delusion" by Richard Dawkins. This is the first book by Dawkins that I am reading, and I already his style of writing; clear, concise and simple. The book is exactly about what the title says, namely, the "delusion" that God exists and he/she is omnipotent and omniscient and benevolent.

Which brings me to my second point. Was reading Nadya's latest blog entry, and he talks about some people thinking that "faith" is important. Faith? Faith? What in the name of sam hill is faith? And why is it necessary that I have "faith"? Why is believing in something without proof so important? I have never seen the reason to have "faith" in anything or anybody! Ever!

Which brings me to my third point..God. Sumedh (Nadya's friend) has written a succint post of the idea of God, and I agree completely. And yet, it leads me to think...why all the killing in the name of God? Why the hatred? Why Godhra? Why the entire ruckus about the "blasphemous" cartoons?

Pensive,
Kaustubh

The Root of All Evil - Part 1

The Root of All Evil - Part 2

Richard Dawkins' interview on BBC

My Father's Eyes..

Found this great song by Eric Clapton on YouTube..Check it out.

India Night

Last night was India Night at CSU!

India Night is an annual social function organized by the Indian Students' Organization at CSU. And last night was it! And boy oh boy, was it fun! Had a complete blast! I was the master of ceremonies, along with Shweta and Arun. All the performances were fabulous. "Devdas - The comedy" was amazing. The bhangra was .. "Wow!"

After the event, went to a bar called "Old Chicago" in downtown Fort Collins. Had 3 beers, and some great pizza. Came home at 2 AM...still slightly hung over. :-D

Happy (hic!)
Kaustubh

Dancin' in the dark...

The Boss..Dancin' in the dark..Check it out!

Snow!

Its snowing! Played in snow for the first time in life! You gotta do it once atleast!

Happy happy joy joy,
Kaustubh

Midterms..Done!

Had 2 midterms today. I think I did pretty well on both, although that won't be known till I get the results.

Relieved,
Kaustubh

As the days fly by...

One more week gone, and its the weekend again. The only difference is, this weekend I'm alone at home. Subhash and Siva are out of town, which is leaves just me at home. There's plenty to occupy my time, though. Have 2 midterms on Tueday, and there's plenty of studying to keep me occupied. Sometimes, it just gets boring though!

Had called Manas up this week. That idiot fell down from his bike (again) and had to get stitches and staples (again)! And he thinks he drives better than I do! :-D Planning to call Aboli and Juhi up today..give them a nice surprise! It'll be so great to talk to them!

Peace out!
Kaustubh

Because some things change, and some things never do..

Phew! A month since my last post! I didn't realize that it had been so long!

A lot has happened since the last post. School has started in full earnest. Buried upto my neck in assignments and projects! But..enjoying every moment of it. Found a job, have to setup and maintain the network security group. So that rocks.

I have come to realize one thing. You never know how much a person means to you unless you realize that they are no longer just one phone call away. In my case, this applies to 10 of the most beautiful people in the world. Love you guys! (You know who you are; the others...well, tough luck!) And..I am sure that this period of being away from each other is gonna bring us closer, in the long run! (Cliched, I know. But they're cliches for a very good reason..they usually turn out to be true!)

Because some things change, and some things never do.
Take care,
Kaustubh

Google earth!

Google Earth is now available for Linux. Got it to work on Ububtu Dapper. Actually, got it to work is being extremely unfair. It just worked!

For all those interested, check out earth.google.com

Elated.
Kaustubh

Ubuntu!

Finally, have got Ubuntu working on my laptop. After weeks of using Windows and nothing else, Ubuntu feels like a breath of fresh air on a hot summer's day.

For a KDE user, GNOME seems to be pretty good, actually. The interface is nice and clean. Lets see how this goes.

Take care,
Kaustubh

New laptop!

Finally, after almost 2 weeks of waiting, my new Dell is finally here! The model is the Dell Inspiron 6400, with a CoreDuo processor, 1 GB RAM, DVD burner etc.

Ecstatic!

Phew!

A long time coming, this post, thanks partly to my ISP seeing fit to block blogspot after the Mumbai blasts.

Well, a lot of things have happened since the last post. I have arrived at Fort Collins, CO. Said farewell to all my friends (we don't say goodbye, ever). Trust me..not the best feeling in the world.

Settling down in Fort Collins pretty well..found an apartment..will move in on the 15th. Classes start on the 21st..very excited.

Till the next time then,
Take care!
Kaustubh

pranu and rishi

pranu and rishi
Originally uploaded by kpgadkari.

Pranoti got married recently. 2nd of July, to be exact. And boy..did we have fun!

Here's wishing Pranu and Rishi a very happy and beautiful life together!


www.flickr.com/photos/kpgadkari

The right to free speech? Yeah, right!

The time has come to stop kidding ourselves. We do not have the right to free speech. I pains me to say this, but we really do not have that right.

All through school, we learned (nay, we celebrated) that we had the right to say whatever we want, because the constitution allows us. Today, however, I am forced to say that we really do not have that freedom.

You want to celebrate free speech? Then let's see you listen to someone taking centrestage and saying something that makes your blood boil. Let's see you acknowledge someone who supports a cause at the top of his voice, something that you would spend your lifetime opposing, at the top of your voice. Then talk about free speech. Let's learn about this in our classrooms. Let's celebrate this in our classrooms.

This blog comes from following the whole Fanaa hoolabaloo in Gujarat. Apparently, Aamir Khan offended the Gujaratis. Frankly, I don't care what Aamir Khan said, and neither should the Gujaratis. Atleast, that is the way it should have been. But no..this is India, isn't it? We have to make a huge issue out if it. If the Gujaratis feel so offended by Aamir Khan, let them not watch the movie. Heck, boycott all Aamir Khan movies from now on. You have the right not to watch a movie. Just as Aamir Khan has the right to say what he wants. Just as he has the right to get his movies screened everywhere permissible. And honestly, do all Gujaratis not want to see the movie? What about the Gujaratis who want to see the movie? Don't they have the right to watch what they want to?

This issue is not limited to Gujarat alone. We have Christian organizations wanting Governments to ban "The da Vinci Code", because their religious sentiments are hurt. We have Hindus wanting M.F. Hussain censured, because of his blasphemous paintings. At this rate, I guess all of us should just shut up, and not make movies, neither should we paint, nor write literature. We don't want people's sentiments to get hurt, do we?

No ladies and gentlemen, we do not have the right to free speech.

For my country to love me, as much as I love it

I am an Indian, living in India. That, it seems, is not enough to allow me to get into an educational institute of my choice. Not only do you have to be Indian, you have to be an SC/ST or an OBC to get into, say the IITs. That is what the new 27% quota means. It is a piece of legislation that needs to be fought, opposed tooth and nail, by any means necessary.

As you might have guessed, I am a part of the anti-quota "lobby". I belong to the so called "upper caste", meaning simply that I do not satisfy any criteria to get a reserved seat (not that I'm complaining). And currently, I feel betrayed. Betrayed, because my government chooses to ignore my concerns, because they want to implement Mandal II. Betrayed, because my Prime Minister assures me that my interest would not be compromised, and then announces the quota legislation that very evening. Betrayed, because not one minister thought it fit to meet the striking doctors for 7 weeks, because they were busy with the elections.

Elections..that's what this quota legislation is all about. The government is worried about staying in power. It wants votes, the striking students be damned. The opposition wants votes too, because they want to be in power next election season. Ergo, "upper caste" students be damned!

I love my country. Is it too much to ask for my country to love me too?

Kaustubh

The da Vinci code

That's what everybody is talking about nowadays, apart from the reservations issue of course. And frankly, I don't get the whole hoolaballoo about The da Vinci Code. The way I see it, Dan Brown wrote a book, Ron Howard made a movie on that book. End of story. If people think that the movie is offensive, they would do well not to watch it. If they think that the book is offensive, they'd better not read it. Me? I read the book..it sure is a good read. Have I seen the movie? No. Do I want to see it? Oh hell yes!

There is one thing that sticks in my craw..how can people's faith be so brittle so as to be shaken by one frikkin book? Does the "The da Vinci Code" mean more to the Christians than the Bible? Does that reach out more? Do Hussains paintings mean more to the Hindus than the Ramayan?

Disturbed,

Kaustubh

Visa!

Got my F1 visa yesterday! Happy!

Kaustubh

And then, there were none...

Gave the last oral of my engineering student life on Saturday..and what an oral to give! Went very well..guess it does pay to study, after all! ;-)

Went and saw 36 China Town yesterday. Full time pass movie..great comedy, the plot is not bad too...good way to spend 3 hours on a Sunday evening. Then went to Shveta's place..saw the videos Bharat and Vinu made for us..they are really touching!

That's it for now,
Cheers!

Kaustubh

The game's afoot, my dear Watson!

Well...two games, actually!

1. The CLP oral scheduled for Saturday has really taken a turn for the worse! The oral will now start at 1630 hrs IST, to go on till god-alone-knows-what-time! And...apparently..the examiner works in the field of Systems Operations and Maintenance..a subject that everyone (and I do mean everyone) loathes doing! Arrgghh!

2. The bigger game, is of course obtaining the US visa. The preparation are almost complete..fees are paid, the required documents are ready. All that remains, now, is to actually apply for the visa interview. Fear not..for that task shall be accomplished before the sun sets on tomorrow!

Excited,
Kaustubh

Fort Collins..here I come!

Accepted Colorado State University's offer of admission. So, Fort Collins, here I come!
I sure hope that you're prepared for me! LOL!

Happy happy joy joy,

Kaustubh

I have one nerve left, and USC is getting on it!

Hmm..have been waiting for ages for USC to give me my admission decision. Everytime I call (and this is an international call, mind you), they give me "You should hear from us in about a week." Come on guys!

Frustrated!

Kaustubh

Down in the dumps..

Just melancholy today..for no particular reason. So, will post nothing more.

Kaustubh

Perspectives

Perspectives
Originally uploaded by Ordinary World.

This snap was taken by one of my friends, Deep Pai. Loved it..so posted it here.

Kaustubh

A mixed week...

Hmm..

Following up from the last post...Had an absolute BLAST at the farewell party! Check out the snaps at Flickr.

Unfortunately, on Saturday, the 8th, got news that one of my classmates, Vivek Sayaji, passed away in a road accident. He was a great person, a loyal friend. He will be sorely missed. Here's to you, Vivek!

Desolent,
Kaustubh

Sunset

Sunset
Originally uploaded by kpgadkari.

Observed this sunset from the parking, while coming home from the farewell. Loved it..took a snap. I love digital cameras!

Farewell...

Got the `official' farewell from the department today. Everyone got a memento and a red rose :-).

Check out the snaps here!

Coming back home

Back to Debian! It rules...it feels so nice to be able to do an apt-get install! Yippee!

Project report done - should I be happy?

Hmm..

Got the project report done (not saying anything about the project, mind you ;-) ). Gave it for binding. A BIG relief! Yet..it's not without a tinge of sadness...Finishing the report just brings me closer to the end of my life as a student at SCOE.

Anyways, will submit the report sometime tomorrow. And then..back to finishing my project! LOL!

Live long and prosper!

A natural flirt!

You Are a Natural Flirt

Believe it or not, you're a really effective flirt. And you're so good, you hardly notice that you're flirting. Your attitude and confidence make you a natural flirt. And the fact that you don't know it is just that more attractive!

What Kind of Flirt Are You?

Open mouth, insert foot..

Looks like my previous post was a tad immature. Find myself drastically short of time! Writing this post merely because got bored of writing out the project report..Yawn!

Suddenly today I remembered this poem..I think Manas had put it up on Adotout..Should ask him to put it up again..

Our Thoughts Are Free

Die Gedanken sind frei
My thoughts freely flower,
Die Gedanken sind frei
My thoughts give me power.
No scholar can map them,
No hunter can trap them,
No man can deny:
Die Gedanken sind frei!

I think as I please
And this gives me pleasure,
My conscience decrees,
This right I must treasure;
My thoughts will not cater
To duke or dictator,
No man can deny--
Die Gedanken sind frei!

And if tyrants take me
And throw me in prison
My thoughts will burst free,
Like blossoms in season.
Foundations will crumble,
The structure will tumble,
And free men will cry:
Die Gedanken sind frei!

Neither trouble or pain
Will ever touch me again.
No good comes of fretting,
My hope's in forgetting.
Within myself still
I can think as I will,
But I laugh, do not cry:
Die Gedanken sind frei!

*Way* too much time on my hands!

Another one of those internet quizzes!

Your #1 Match: ISTP

The Mechanic You are calm and collected, even in the most difficult of situations. A person of action and self-direction, you love being independent. To outsiders yous eem impulsive, surprising, and unpredictable. You are good at understanding how all things work, except for people. You would make an excellent pilot, forensic pathologist, or athlete.

What's Your Personality Type?

The Fog

Went for a movie with Sudha and Dexter yesterday evening. Wanted to see Rang De Basanti (actually, Sudha and Dexter did), but no tickets. So saw a movie called `The Fog'. The movie joins the ranks of all those movies that purport to be scary, but end up being hilarious. But, to be fair to the movie, Sudha was scared initially, so *maybe* it did something right! ;-)

Met Shivani today. Felt good seeing her after such a long time. Had coffee with her, after ages.

Have a deadline tomorrow to show a draft copy of our project report. So..have to work on it a bit. Till then..ciao!

Another one of those stupid quizzes..

Had some time..so took a quiz on what Star Wars character I am. Still don't believe in little green men? ;-)

Which Revenge of the Sith Character are you?
created with QuizFarm.com

The futility of religion

Was going through Bain's blog. Got me thinking..do we really need religion? What is religion? What does it achieve? Why, in this universe that is ephemeral, do we insist on believing in something that is defined (and vehemently defended) as being permanent, unchanging?

As you might have guessed..I'm an atheist. I don't believe in God, and I believe that religion does more to divide people that to unite them. Don't believe me? Just stop and think..most of the strife in human history has been over "My God is better than your God." Could I be wrong? In the words of ``Stone Cold" Steve Austin, "Oh hell yeah!". Do I think I'm wrong? Oh hell no! Yet, I'm open to ideas...

Nice guys finish last, and other random thoughts

Re-read this article today : An Ode to the Nice Guys Why do the nice guys always finish last? Why do girls chose the wrong guys to go out with? And, knowing that there are some girls in the same boat, why aren't the nice guys asking the nice gals out? Troubling, isn't it? ;-)

It was holi today. All of India, people revelled in playing with colours. Damn my cold! Missed the last holi I would have at home in a long time! X-( But, in the evening, went to Sagar's house. Dhananjay gave a `wet' birthday party! Had vodka, from a tea-cup! =)) The whole gang from college was there : DJ, Sagar, Sahil, Pranav, Bharat, Shveta, Purva, Rachana, Sheetal, Namrata and Toni. Had a blast!

Have to fill up the exam form tomorrow. The last exam form that I'll ever fill out for the Univ. of Pune. Sigh! These past 5 years have flown, and how! Bunked lectures, all the vada-pavs in the canteen, all the coffees..all of them, I can remember (well, *most* of them). Come April end, its all going to be gone. No more bunking lectures for movies, no more lukkhagiri on the steps..nothing! Ah, well! As this door closes slowly, other, bigger ones open.

Happy holi!
May you be able to destroy the demons that haunt you!

Fresh as rain on a summer's day

No more fever! Yahoo! ( Oops..this is blogger, so Google! ;-) )

Nadya started writing his blog today. The first article was..thought provoking, shall I say? It hit me right at bulls eye! No more coffee at Rupali, no more vada pavs in the canteen, no more `cold's at Durga, no pani puri, no bhel..NOTHING..And all of this in a matter of few short months. And boy, doesn't time fly when you *know* you don't have enough of it! Doesn't that suck?

On a lighter note, saw a fantastic movie called `Saw' tonight on Star Movies. One of the best thrillers I've seen in a *long* time. A must see!

And the illness continues..

BAD fever yesterday. 103F. The doc says its some viral infection..so on antibiotics! Arggh!

Rain!

Its raining! Unseasonal, yet welcome rains today! A *big* respite from the sweltering heat.

Ill today. Fever, cough etc. Need to go see the doctor tomorrow.

See ya later!

Result!

Got the result of the 7th semester exams today. Managed to get a first class with distinction! Yippee! Every one in the group did well.

Ecstatic!

Arthur's Theme

The gang met up today. Sudha had to give out gifts that she got for everybody from Sydney. She got T-shirts for all the guys, ear-rings for all the girls. Asmi got a boomerang! Lucky girl! Then we went to Arthur's Theme for dinner. I got lost along the way! Anyways, had a nice drive with Sudha, so that's ok. The food was very nice. The names of the dishes were all the names of some historical characters.

Had loads of fun! Wishing that Bhalu and Pranu were there.

Its a wonderful world!

Dunno why, but in a great mood today! I feel like I can do no wrong today! :-)) Met Sudha day before, after 6 whole weeks or so. It felt so good! And the jacket she got for me is amazing!

Have the final code review tomorrow. We're supposed to show the complete code tomorrow! LOL! My project partners are coming over..will see what to do.

Till next time, keep rocking!

Ramblings of a frustrated mind

The standard 12 exams began on Thursday. First, the Marathi paper..CONTROVERSY! Apparently, there was a passage about Sant Tukaram, which `hurt' some peoples' sentiments. Now, that's ok..if their sentiments are hurt, there are means to get them redressed. But what do some people do? They barge into the office of the head of the HSC board, and beat him and his peon up. And these are the `followers' of one of the most influential Marathi saints ever! Ridiculous!

UTLK 2.6

Got my hands on a copy of `Understanding the Linux kernel, 3e'. Problem is..it was in the compressed HTML format, which is proprietary. So, had to find a reader that does the job in GNU/Linux. Tried FBReader, but it didn't work. Then decided to try xCHM. Turns out..it requires wxWidgets! So..back to square one..download and compile wxWidgets. Then got xCHM to work. The interface is GTK+ based..but I guess I have to configure wxWidgets to work with Qt. But currently, it works. Funny thing was that after a long time I wished I was on Debian. Instead of all the compile stuff, would have done an apt-get install. Maybe..in a few months..after Kubuntu Dapper is out.

I'm back!

My internet connection was out over the weekend. :-( Finally up and working!

amaroK

Compiled amaroK today. Tried downloading the slack package, but somehow that didn't work. I liked the interface. Plus, it seems to be able to do a lot of cool stuff, like podcasts etc. The behaviour is still a little erratic on my box, but I should be able to iron that out. Had a bit of trouble getting the xine engine to play realmedia, but the solution turned out to be a simple symlink.

Will post more on amaroK when I get the time.

A great day!

All in all, today was a fantastic day! India kicked Pakistan's butt in the match! Bowled them over for a mere 161 and then knocked the runs over with ease!

Got my 3rd admit today, to the Colorado State Univ., after UTulsa and SUNY @ Binghamton! Yippee!

Nadya cracks UCLA!

Kaustubh Nadkarni, one of my friends, got admitted to the University of California at Los Angeles! Hooraay! Congo!

Ecstatic!

Taxi No. 9211

Listening to the music of Taxi No. 9211. The tunes are very nice, especially "Ek Nazar" and "Boombhai Nagariya". I've been humming them for quite a while now. Go and get it!

India - Pakistan Cricket Match

This is the big one! India will try to make it three in a row, to win the series!

College bunk! Will stay home and watch the match!

Me..a nerd god!

He he..Apparently I'm a nerd god!

A matter of faith

Was watching the news. Heard about the protests about those `blasphemic' cartoons of Prophet Muhammad. Got me thinking..why is people's faith in religion so fragile? How does it matter that one paper somewhere in the world printed some satire? I see no reason why streets half way across the world had to burn. Why? What does that brand of violence achieve?

Makes me glad that I'm secular (read:atheist).

Troubled!

Mutt rules

Just started using Mutt with my gmail account. Was extremely apprehensive about setting it up, but finally got it done, with thanks to Shantanoo . I have to say, mutt rules! Extremely cool, easy to use. And very very fast! Use it! Google for gmail + mutt. And check out dotfiles.com for some good .muttrc. Me? I just plagiarized Shantanoo's!

LOL!