FSUGTSR: A Window to Freedom

Its the time of the year when all that happens, is for good- Its December. And December fourth shall also be remembered by few of us for being the day of FSUGTSR renaissance.

FSUGTSR , i.e, Free Software User Group, Thrissur made its first(citation needed) contribution towards the common goal- A Free and Open Source Software Society, today with the one day event " A Window to Freedom". COSTFORD, CenSE, P G Center and I C Software were the sponsors of the event.The program was held at Sahitya Akademi Hall, Thrissur and was inaugurated by HOD of Computer Sciences and Engg. Dept., Govt. Engineering College, Thrissur, Prof. K.V ManojKumar. Mr. Jayan from COSTFORD, sponsor of the event, presided. K. Venu presented an in-detail description about Politics of free software. Krishnanunni, delivered the vote of thanks.

Audience was a mixed lot, people from different walks of life- students, office-goers, teachers and lot many more. Talks followed the Inaugural session. Hiran spoke on the philosophy behind Free and open Source Software. The session by Mahesh was all about the Gnu/Linux Operating systems. Hussain sir followed with a talk on Malayalam Computing.Aswin, my junior at college, took the session on Compiz fusion and desktop environments( check out his blog to view some interesting visual effects supported by Gnu/Linux). Suresh sir summed up before the break after providing an insight into Malayalam Input Methods.The post-lunch session was initiated by Alex Poovathingal and myself on Installation of Ubuntu 8.04 Ultimate edition.Jain introduced Commonly used GNU/Linux Tools, especially Firefox, GIMP, Stellarium and so on.
The tail was Unni's session on Troubleshooting.Day ended with an open discussion on future proceedings of FSUGTSR. Pramode Sir from I C Software, Renjith Sir from P G centre and others participated in it. The Crowd response was positive and supportive throughout the days' events.

The whole concept of "Free as in Freedom, not Free Beer" registered well in their minds as we were charging Rs.30 towards copies of Ubuntu 8.04, Debian Lenny and Fedora 10 :) . BOSS DVDs were being given free of cost.
Join our mailing list at discuss@lists.fsugtsr.org for being part of FSUGTSR and its future ventures.

The media coverage was excellent as evident from the 400+ crowd which had gathered. All leading news papers had reported prior to and after the event as well. Here's the link to The Hindu’s e-news bit on the event.

http://www.hindu.com/2008/12/05/stories/2008120550580200.htm

In toto, FSUGTSR has made an impression in the minds of public in Thrissur which needs to be kept up by the works that should(read as would) follow....

National Conference on Free Software and protest against Novell Microsoft tie-ups

The natinal conference on free software was venue for a turmoil today when renowned Free Software activist Anivar Aravind and few other activists were man handled out of the venue by the organisers and police.

Anivar being dragged by the Security personnel

The cause, as I came to know, were the posters made by Anivar and colleagues against the Novell-Microsoft deal, by which Novell pays for distributing copies of GPL-licensed software and Microsoft gives the customers of Novell a limited patent licence which is conditional of them not exercising many of the rights that GPL gives them.


View the following links for more pictures and enhanced details on MICROVELL ( Microsoft-Novell)
Visit following links for more information:

• http://playingwithsid.blogspot.com/
• http://boycottnovell.com/

I Love Dogs!!

Was browsing through the pics I had taken so far since the time got my cell[Sony Ericsson K550i Cybershot], and I stumbled upon this- I have a general liking for dogs!! ( n bitches of course!! :) ). SO this post here is dedicated to all those of you who own/like the most faithful breed of beings on the planet.

well, here are those K9s...
That's my friend Safir with his pet - WILD DOG!! Yup, that's what he's named this poor lil thing.. And interestingly, wildy(nick name :) ) heeds to his owner's call, eager to get something to chew upon and take a lazy nap...

Well, here is someone i met on the road, taking a walk with her owner. Aged three, she is quite an uneasy in the chains and was showing her dislike by runnin n jumpin around her owner!!
somebody tell me her breed!


And now, Ladies and gentlemen, I proudly present, Kuttu...

Well, Kuttu here is my friend Rakesh's(he runs a bakery at Mannuthy, Thrissur) Rottweiler. Kuttu is just 6 months old when I took this pic. Though beastly, he is quite playful but make a mental note not to get anywhere near him... His daily diet:? Morning: A litre milk + chicken. Lunch: Pedigree biscuits( don't remember the count!) + Milk(a litre again!) + Protein tonic Dinner: More milk, more pedigree and more chicken!!( or beef!!)

last in the list, and the best, is my dear Puppy.. She is our pet dog. Six years old as of August, '08.. Breed: Pomeranian. No words to describe her love and affection. As my dad says" Puppy comes to me at my first call, where as you people(me and bro) don't! " One thing that she hates-Lightning...
and while I was writing this, here is a website that I stumbled upon:
dogsindia, a site all about dogs, breeders and A-Z of dogs..

and finally, I dedicate this post to Tippu, my Pomernian and Puppy's play-mate, which died last year, of anemia and medicine overdose.

Lost Dreams...

The outcome was expected. He had to make his choice. Two paths. Alike and akin they lay, for the man in him to make the choice. End was never a question, for when the brave set forth, they live today as there is no tomorrow.

Shadows loom overhead, of the predicted evil, seeking vengeance for a crime that was long forgotten. Reprimanding for what had already been sought for cleansing, the man in him lay shaken on the wet floor.

The wind carried with it her fragrance, revoking memories of the days gone, reminding him of the beauty whom he sought for two long years, a lifetime of memories that they were...

At the village opera, on a beautiful moon laden autumn eve, made he the glance at her, glance that changed his life forever. It was not her beauty, it was not her elegance, it was the aura of divinity in her which made best of the men bow their heads in unison as she passed by. The shine in her eyes, the shine that could lighten up the dark sky on a winter night, shan't be his. The smile, the smile that brought dimples of godly perfection, on her soft cheeks, shall always remind his lost treasure, that was her. Agreeing humbly to the will of god, admiring the Almighty's strength and dominance, accepting what he preached, for his creations to follow, was not something he had always done. Set to mark out his trails as footprints in the history of world, he had found his lost passion in her. She bound him to his destiny, and the desperation triggered him to accomplish his mission in earnest, for he thought she awaited, at the gates, for her beloved. But to her, Beloved, he was not!
Crest-fallen he remained, amber in him obliterated, moving from place to place without purpose, joy detached from mind and soul.

Rays of hope haven't left the partner they found in him, and they remain. Hence he lives, waiting for yet another golden moment, when he shall, added the strength of true love, seek out her hand, to be his companion,for the eternal binding called life...

Google Chrome Launched?! For Linux?

Google launched Google Chrome, the new face of Browsers, Today. Adhering to their policies of keeping the most powerful tools look the simplest( eg: Google.com). I downloaded it today evening. And yup, must say, its good!

Google Chrome has a new look with no menu bars on top. All the options condensed to two icons on the top right corner. Chrome has provisions for multiple tabs in the same window, similar to Opera or Mozilla Firefox, but the striking feature is the incognito window- a window that leaves no trace of cookies or history on your system of the sites that you visited. A hitch, however, that I found was that there is no facility for a master password in it. That is, I could see all the saved passwords on my personal computer without any trouble. I guess that was probably because I was logged in as Admin. Anyways its kinda creepy!

The simplicity of appearance and easiness to use is what I felt to be the most adoring aspect of Chrome. Ctrl+T opens new Tab and Ctrl+Shift+N opens the incognito window!

All in all, , Firefox and IE is in for a tough competition with the coming of Chrome,that comes from the workshops of Google, a trusted giant in the Industry!

Click here to download the Windows version here. Linux and Mac Os versions are still under construction! :)

Insignia '08, Hackerdom

...And thus began Insignia '08, Hackerdom.

Day: 28th of August, 2008
Time: 10.45 p.m
Location: Room No. C1, Govt. Engineering College Men's Hostel, Thrissur

Scene1:
The work on video editing progresses as the darker hours of night close in. Midhun, eyes swollen with lack of sleep, continues into what seems to be his eleventh straight hour in front of the system. Sailesh, assisting and intermittently performing the job of waking him up from brief accidental siesta, looked as alert and enthu-filled as ever. The job was getting on my nerves. It was our fourth day with the process of preparing a trailer video for Insignia 08, Hackerdom, yet it was where we had left it last evening. The mixing was taking helluva lot time, what with the format conversion of video files, cutting out clips for back ground music etc.

Scene2:
It was 1a.m. The video files and picture slides have been successfully blended in. BGM yet to be added. Midhun on the verge of calling it a day or calling it quit, two others(Sethu and Arun Rushdie) and me peacefully sleeping at one corner of the room, satisfied that our job of filming scenes for the video was completed in time. Krishnanunni, Convenor, Insignia 08, Hackerdom, walks in to view our progress. Anxiety was evident on his face, as he inquired the sleepy workers about the status.
Seeing that there needs to be another two or three hours of work needed on the video to get it completely done, manipulations happen ( :P) , an offer of Puttu and Kadala from Double-X the only hotel open at night in Thrissur. We ( the words Puttu and Kadala woke me up from the slumber instantaneously!) agreed and a half hour later, there it was, steaming hot Puttu and Kadala. Another two hours and lights off....

Scene3:
around 6.45 a.m, 29th.
I was the first one to rise( quite an unusual thing). Woke up the editors and mixers and blah blah and went about my chores. Two hours of sleep taking its toll, as they moved like zombies to begin where it had been halted.

Scene4:
10.45a.m, Seminar Hall, Govt. Engineering College
The Chief guest and other people presiding over the function- Curtain Raiser of Insignia 08, Hackerdom seated on the podium. The official welcome speech, followed by all the other speeches..


Scene5:
12a.m
Time to launch the theme music for the event, prepared by Jain. That was some music! A melodious mix of keyboard, saxo and drums, and many more that I couldn't comprehend.
Our video followed. Cheers from crowd....

Scene5 re-take:
Time to launch the theme music for the event prepared by Jain. Wait! what's happening? a sudden commotion in the rear end of the hall, and there drifts out a large mass of third years.
Reason: Results of Third semester exams announced. Memories drift back to last March-April, the time when we wrote it. Adam's Apple stuck half-way in my throat. The results couldn't have come at a better time than this. Tense faces all around. People scurrying around, searching for internet access. Dubious emotions settling around temples. Eyes glittering, water in them ready to pour out given the green signal...

I hate results!!

My Toolbar

I had been going through some of the blog add-ons available online that could be added to my site, when I stumbled on ourtoolbar.com. This site provides a platform to create your own toolbar for friends n readers who can get access to your favorite sites and keep track of changes to their inbox, and many other features. I created a toolbar for my blog.


Do download it and install for your Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox browser. Post your opinion and recommendations for further features that I can add on to this.

Comment if you wish your blog/site URL to be added in the RSS feeds.

Buzzing off

Living it out

Uncertain.... the feeling is that between total exasperation and hope. Realising that one's potential may or may not come in handy to tackle the situation at hand. Given the choice, I shall rather give the job of decision making to an Expert than myself.


Joy.... can't see the reason why I am writing this. Joyous for a reason. Can't help myself, for the position I'm in - perplexed with anxiety.

Advices flowing in, can't drink any.
Choices lay themselves in view, can't see any.
I go the way my heart leadth.
Its a blindfold. And I shall Unveil it.

P.S: Comment

Sushil Kumar: India Clinches Bronze

Another proud moment in the Olympics as India's Sushil Kumar wins the bronze medal in Olympics. The event was 66kg free style wrestling and the stakes were high. The youtube video is available.

bLOg CaMp hERe wE CoMe......

Its that time of the year, when event the rains can't hinder the best from advancing to you. The time when joys come with abound wonders, when depressions and desperation make way for hope and excitement.

Now that you've realized I really do know some adjectives, here's the news- Blog Camp Kerala.
The very first blogger's unconference to be held on a stunning house boat, in the charming backwaters of Alleppey(Alapuzha). And the crowd of bloggers on roll to attend the program is commendable, many of them being true masters at the skills of writing blog articles are viewed read by thousands.... Check out the list to see some known faces.

The Red Fort Govt. Engg. College is represented by a team of eight- Alex, Bristow, Arun Rushdie, Rohit Rajesh, Gokul, Denny and Aswin, Of which leaving Alex, Aswin and Gokul, rest of us are reaching Alapuzha on 14th eve itself.

That said, let me say why am I going there? I use bullets here:
1. Meet new bloggers.
2. Trip in a house-boat
3. Learn more on Campus blogging.
4. Learn more on increasing monetary benefits from ads on blogs and like wise..

The camp is scheduled to begin at 9A.M at Punnamada Boat Jetty.
I sincerely believe that the camp has great stuffs in store for us...
More details when we return....

warm wishes to the success of the Blog Camp and its Organisers for such a wonderful choice of location and themes.

Buzzing off.

Winamp @ fingertips

the circuit

Well, been seriously thinking of writing something geeky( or atleast semi-geeky :) ), and here I'm with something that's totally so un-geekish.

The following circuit is to control the Nullsoft Winamp media player using push switches connected via Serial-port. I had an estimated expense of 30-40 rupees in setting up the whole circuit and getting it to work.

The idea is to control the basic functionalities of Winamp via external control. I was searching for the same for amarok and landed up with a plug in that allows interaction with Winamp directly from serial port.

Bought the necessary components and the soldering session began. Its my first attempt at soldering and thus it ain't looking all that good. But then what's insulation tape for! Assembled the switches on an old CD box and let the cables long enough so that the box can be placed conveniently at any location near my table. Test run came out succesful!

The circuit is as follows. One terminal each, of the four switches is connected to port 4 of the serial port connector.. Rest is shown in the circuit diagram.

Then comes the time to configure the plug-in which is, in my opinion, quite an easy job.
This is how the plug-in window looks.

And, there I have my own private music buttons to control my favorite music player!!


comment!!

Tagged at last!

Here is the reply to Priya's tag; Thought it would be boring but seemes interesting as I started doing it:

*Last movie you saw in a theater - Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Good movie in terms of Sets and camera, and some comedy scenes.


*What book are you reading - The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho..


*Favorite board game - My favorite would be Scrabble,then there is the native game of Kavidi played with shells and stones..

*Favorite smells - the aroma of fried fish.. preferably Karimeen pollichath(Pearl spot flamed)..


*Favorite sound - Back in Mysore, my day begins with the record " Thava Suprabhatham" by M.S Subbalakshmi.. I am quite fond of the whooshing sound produced by the tires on wet roads.. ever heard it, if not try next time!

*Worst feeling in the world - Loneliness/Boredom/Loss... Loneliness and boredom-two feelings that are quite interconnected. Former leads to the latter.
Loss of someone, something I like jostles my mind for a pretty longer time and than usual.

*What is the first thing you think of when you wake up - Am I early?!

*Favorite fast food place - Mukund Sweets Shop,Gokulam Mysore. Excellent Bhel puri and sevv puri!!
Hari(ma bro) at Mukunds'...

*Future child's name - something that starts with letters M or N... or S.The letter A is too risky( would be probably the first ten names of roll call in the class he/she joins and that means inviting trouble!!)

*Finish this statement. "If I had a lot of money, I'd" - pick up the best cruiser bike available and go on a world trip. And when that's done, Its time for a beautiful villa on the Atlantic shore with windows overlooking the sea, where in I sit on my recliner reading some books, taking sips from a mug of Cognac or Gin. For long term, I would invest some in shares of Google.

*Do you drive fast - Do I? Well, hmmm... yes! I do!! And the adrenaline rush that accompanies gives me the high!

*Do you sleep with a stuffed animal - how dare someone call my brother a stuffed animal?!( We share a bed..) :)

*Storms - Cool or scary - Cool.. and specially when I'm on my cruiser..

*What was your first car- Owned?- Not one yet!

*Favorite drink - Strong tea( Canteen special :) ), Gin

*Finish this statement. "If I had the time, I would..." - waste it so that I have just the needed time for the purpose of life.. I keep my spirits high, and believe that anything and everything is achievable even if the step towards it is taken at a late hour. But the success would come only where hard work shows!

*Do you eat the stems on broccoli? - What a question! I eat everything except Cabbage..

*If you could dye your hair any color, what would be your choice? - A light brown.. preferably near ear and temple.

*Name all the different cities/towns you have lived in - Thrissur, Thiruvananthapuram and Mysore.

*Favorite sports to watch - Football and Snooker.

*One nice thing about the person who sent this to you - A charming lady and a great friend to be..

*What's under your bed? - poltergeists!!

*Would you like to be born as yourself again? - Yup no doubt.

*Morning person or night owl - Night owl, more of night watchman!

*Over easy or sunny side up - Over easy.

*Favorite place to relax - My warm bed.

*Favorite pie - Greek.. sounds romantic..

*Favorite ice cream flavor - Vanilla with chocolate wafers.

Of all the people you tagged this to, who is most likely to respond first? - Wild guess, perhaps Remiletan, Bristow or Rohit..

Note: Photos are copyrighted to the respective genuine publishers.

Randy Pausch: The Enlightning Flame parts..

To all readers

Dr. Randy Pausch, the legendary Virtual Reality expert passed away on Friday, July 25th,08.
Express my true heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family.

Read more:
A page at thanksgiving.com

Signs of Monsoon

Rain, rain go away come again another day!... goes the rhyme..
Its been about a month since Monsoons have started in Kerala and yet the downpour has been on a drastically low scale. The cold mornings of July n Aug are yet to come it seems!
The first rain brings with it the eruption of numerous cute little towers in and around, fondly called mushrooms. Well, frankly I hadn't been able to sight even a single mush till today, this season.
Today was the lucky day, I guess.
The pics show a large group of tiny mushrooms I found near steps to my friends' hostel. These looked real cute and were quite fluffy to touch!
Don't know why, but sometimes the smallest and the least significant things make us feel good, and makes one feel and admire the diversity the One above has bestowed on the planet. I don't know how many of you share these thoughts, but I, for one, somehow felt quite cheerful seeing those new lives taking shape abiding the law of nature.Imagery of clear guilt that came to my mind was how we, humans, were destroying this perfect harmony and balance between life and still...



Message: When thoughts haunt you, and mind succumbs to waves of depressing gusts, look around you for the tiniest form of life- something that strives to make others happy, something that perishes in moments yet does what its purpose of living was... to enchant those who can feel the pain, and the joy imbibed in every pain, the ones who could still laugh after every sad moment and those who could carry a gleam of hope resident in the most depressing of moments... seeking out to let the good happen...
Buzzing off

Red Ribbon Express: A Welcoming Initiative

The day began with all the noises of daily chores. In case you've forgotten, I've my parents and family living with me now! But does that mean I am gonna change what I've been for the last two years? Nah!

Ready and reached college for the news that classes have been suspended. And the reason was the arrival of Red Ribbon Express at Shornur Railway Station, about 40 km from Thrissur.The Red Ribbon Express was launched by the ministries of Health and Railway to travel across the nation and throw light on the causes and treatment for HIV and AIDS.

We reached Shornur Railway terminal by 12 noon. And whoa! The queue of visitors to the train was about a km long - twisting, turning and spiraling across the entire platform. The patient wait began as we were determined to see the train and the stuff inside after having travel over 40kms just for it.

At about 1p.m our end of the queue reached entry doors. There were volunteers from various non-profit organizations ,devoted to the treatment of AIDS, distributing pamphlets and stickers on general awareness about the most dreaded disease of this century.
What amused me was the street play by some professional artists who were also volunteers for the cause. Presented with a gist of humor, the play highlighted ignorance of our society regarding safe sexual practices and birth control. The play went on to female foeticides and I could see some faces surprised to hear that foeticide is an criminal offense punishable under law.

The train was totally Malayalified(all writings and explanations were being done in Malayalam). There were illustrious banners and posters on contraceptives, family planning and birth control. While one section dealt with the importance of checking quality of blood while undergoing a transfusion, another was about the safety of disposable syringes.

A map of our nation with red, white and green LEDs on it indicated the concentration of HIV/AIDS patients in various regions. The map was a clear indication of how education is related to health conditions and social outlook about a disease, that could be prevented if necessary precautions were taken.

Also under display were some medical specimen a glimpse of which i leave here.
Blessed are those souls(like mine!) who aren't doctors!
The train was definitely a new experience, and a look at the crowd could easily make one comprehend the results of such an initiative. kudos to the Railways and the Ministry of Health for this venture..

The Duck Tales

Set for the leap..

It had always been among my simpler dreams to rear a paddle of ducks. Its something of a wish that you tend to procure wacthing all those lush green fields and ducks swarming into water pools in unison, often a sight from some movie. A few days ago, the day after my lab exams to be precise, I had a chance to be with such a paddle.
A rather peaceful lot

The ducks were reared through a feet deep muddy fields, now water-logged owing to the monsoon rains. I stepped off my bike and went with the paddle for about a kilometre or so. It was pure fun, making the ducks run one way to the other, always doing so in a group. Two men on both flanks assured that the gaggle always moved in single general direction despite their helter-skelter runs.
Can you see the other end??

Upon being asked how they could manage to cage every single duck everyday, the men confessed that its damn tough to get near ducks if you are a stranger, but not so once they know you. Ducks have a tendency to follow the one in the front, and hence, marching the leader in the direction the men decide gets the others humming to the same tune as well!!! Interesting, isn't it??!!

Just another view, nothing big!!

There were about 200+ ducks in the swarm. The men walk with them everyday from noon till twilight before closing them in the pen. It was a remarkably unique experience and a bouquet of everlasting freshness..

One Dream fulfilled...
Many to go...
Buzzing Off...
P.S: being a stranger to the ducks, I couldn't get close enough to take better pics.The above pics are good when seen in zoom mode.