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| 23 August 2007
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| 20000
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Now what does 20000 have to do with this post? It obviously isn't the 20000th post by me on blogger
Well, I completed 20000 km on my bajaj pulsar 150 dtsi yesterday!
And 20200 km today!
And just two years from now it didn't even belong to me (hard to remember those time)
Well, now what's so great about 20000? For the geeks, earth's radius is around 6,356.750 km. Doesn't ring any bells? Well, the circumference comes out to be around 41071.6 km. Divide it by two and you get 20535.8 km (or approx 20000 km). Now what does this mean? This means that assuming the earth to be covered by land everywhere and that I can ride my pulsar over any terrain, I CAN REACH ANY POINT ANYWHERE ON EARTH FROM ANY POINT ANYWHERE ON EARTH IF I CAN TRAVEL 20000 km.
Anywhere to Anywhere!
Phew... that's a lot of traveling!
There's also something else which is special about 20000.
Assuming I walk for about 40 minutes everyday (a reasonable estimate, I believe), at an average speed of 4 km per hour (again a reasonable estimate), then on an average, I travel around 2.66 km on foot everyday (sounds reasonable). Now, let's assume that for one week in a year, I am ill, or just not in a mood to walk. So, I walk around 952.28 km every year. Now, if I have been walking since I was one year old (which is true), then I can say that I have walked for around 21 years. So, I can say that I've traveled around 20000 km on foot in my lifetime.
I've traveled the same on my pulsar.
A coincidence?Labels: bike, travel, zeal |
posted by Rohit Agarwal
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| 23 February 2007
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| more about europe (through the eyes of an intern)
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shorty: when u were in italy
me: i ws in france... went to italy only ghoomne ke liye
shorty: ok...
me: venice is v nice
me: and also paris
shorty: tell me smthing abt that place..
me: and amsterdam too ;-)
which city?
shorty: k..
all of them
me: amsterdam is v nice v different
shorty: k..
me: its the most liberal city in the world
many drugs like marijuana r legal
shorty: what!!
me: gays and lesbian marriages are legal
even prostitution is legal...... prostitutes pay taxes
apart frm there there is madam tussard's museum
bt entry takes 2-3 hrs
paris is v nice
v big
almost the size of delhi
good : ....
me : rest all european cities are walkable on foot
shorty: okkkkkk
me: bt eiffel tower isnt as good as it is supposed to be
louvre is nice nd v big
it is a heaven for an art-lover
good : okkk
n r u 1?
me: nd innumerable places to visit in paris
not much.......
i cant appreciate it much.... i like different type of art
it also has disneyland
entry is arnd 50 euros
nd going thr takes 10 more
shorty: okkkkk
me: bt its the best way to spend a day
all the amazing rides and rollercoasters
nd line is v long.... bt moves v fast
shorty: okkk
me: innumerable places in paris.... i went there arnd 5-6 times nd still dint see half of paris
shorty: hmmm..
me: rome is v beautiful nd impressive
it has such large building
huge and massive
and imposing
as in one can feel the power of the roman empire
nd the best thing abt rome is tht
old buildings nd modern lifestyle intermix
shorty: okkkk
me: its an altogether different part of the world
on every half a kilometer... theres a historical monument
shorty: mast!!
me: nd water is free
though it gets terribly hot in summers... as hot as delhi..... unbearable
shorty: ohkkk
me: going to venice one feels an out-of-the world experience
its a one-of-its-kind place
it doesnt hv road
any road
or buses
shorty: thn wat??
me: or cars
or even cycles
it has canals
nd water ferries in place of buses
shorty: wow!!!
me: its the best romantic spot.... or maybe paris...
its v beautiful
shorty: u r telling me all that i m missing i
me: gondola ride is a bit expensive... 60-100 euros..... bt its not sthg which is to be missed
shorty: k..
me: san marco in venice is v nice
v big place
u know wht.....
actually no one lives in venice the whole yr round
shorty: wat?
then?
me: it gets flooded heavily in winters
good : k..
me : so tourism is the only means of living there
nd tht too only in summers
bt then it gets too crowded
shorty: k..
me: i tuk a buss-pass for 12 euros
nd spent the whole day on boats
going from one place to other
it also has a lot of small islands
each famous for a special thing
shorty: u knw wat... u r making a drm 4 me...
me: connectd thru water
drm?
shorty: a plc in frnt f me whr i wud love 2 go
me: nd u knw wht.... there are lamp-posts on water.... which shine wen its night
shorty: a drm place
wow!!
me: dream?
its all too amazing....
good : hmm
me : nd theres burano... a small island near venice
it hs small houses
good : :)
me: of the same shapes tht we used to draw wen we were kids
shorty: wow!!
me: nd each house is painted with a different color
its famous for laces
theres another island murano
its famous for its glass work
shorty: okkkkkkkk
me: hv u seen my previous pics on orkut?
shorty: yes i hv
me: nd theres pisa
leaning tower of pisa
shorty: haan
me: fun place... u can tk lots of fotos there
shorty: i cud c that
me: i hd jst 3 hrs in tht small city
nd i still njoyd a lot
nd theres french riviera
shorty: thats so gud!!
me: nice in france
it has pretty nice beaches
nd the hotels are damn cheap
shorty: k.
me: startg 20 euros a night
as cheap as a youth hostel
shorty: hmm
me: hs great places to eat
shorty: k..
me: i ate in some delhi restaurant in nice
i also met a pakistani... who gave me his address nd tel. no.
good : k..
me : nd the beaches there are pebble beaches
shorty: delhi restaurant in paris??
me: in nice
i ordered shahi panner - the chef made it especially for me... coz it wasnt there on the menu
good : mast!!
me: bt way too expensive
shorty: hw was it?
me: it ws good
reminded me of india
bruxelles is also a v nice
shorty: :)
me: bt small city
it has one main city centre....
thts almost it
and han
shorty: ?
me: it also has "manekan piss"
its a statue of a small cute boy
who is pissing
nd theres a museum dedicated to it
shorty: :)
me: in which they put hundreds of costumes on this cute boy
luks v nic
bt no photos allowd :(
shorty: wow!! so cute
me: nd also belgian chocolates r really mast
i also went to stuttgart
shorty: what is that?
me: nd on tht day there ws this match for the 3rd place
FIFA
in germany
it ws germany vs. protugal
shorty: okkkk
me: nd the crowd was HUGE
literally huge
shorty: u had so much fun!!
me: i had lots
nd i spent lots of euros too
shorty: wo toh pta hi lag rha hai
me: the atmosphere ws amazing
i can never forget those days....
"those were the best days of my life"
shorty: :)
me: nd barcelona
shorty: summer of '69!!
me: the beaches are awesome......
v large beaches
huge crowd
shorty: okkk
me: u knw wht.... water is more expensive than petrol over there
petrol is 1 euro per litre
shorty: oh god!! so cheap!
me: nd water is 1.5 or 2 euros per litre
nd more so in the trains
good : ohkkkkk
me: whrever i went i carried atleast 2 lts of water nd 3-4 lts of juice
nd lots of bread
nd jam
aahh... i forgot rennes
shorty: :d
me: this ws the place in which i ws living
shorty: :D
me: nd if i have a chance.... ill settle in tht place
shorty: hmmm
me: it hs a crime rate of ABSOLUTE ZERO
ppl r v honest
shorty: nt a bad idea
me: nd extremely helpful
i luv tht place
no1 has any tension
every1 is happy
lively
shorty: wow!!
me: every1 is enjoyg
shorty: its sooo gud!
me: its the smallest city to have a metro
nd let me tell u... of all the european cities i went to (arnd 20).... rennes's metro is the best
good : mast
me : almost as good as delhi metro
shorty: ok...
me: metro in paris is the worst u can think of
its sthg like wht local trains in mumbai must be
bt still they usually dont get delayed
nd the metro network is amazing
shorty: coz they r metros
me: i never sat in a bus in paris
any place in paris is atmost 1 km from a metro station
or mayb 500 ms
its so well connected
it hs around 20 lines
shorty: gud hai
me: nd every line meets every other line.....
good : mast
me : so to go frm ny place to any place... i jst need to take a metro nd ill change atmost twice
once... not twice
thts jst abt it... all the big cities
good : k...
me : luxembourg is a v small city
i coverd it up in only 2 hrs
bt theyve still tried to attract tourists over there
haan... lille also
its a small city in north of france
i liked it v much
i went there alone......
it has such huge shopping malls
amazing
shorty: it really is
me: gurgaon ones are nothg compared to it
bt in germany.. its nice..... coz its totally computerized.... nd the software they use is good
shorty: mast hai...
me: now ive bored with u with all my memories
shorty: no u hv nt
i m loving it
:)
me: nd im missg it
shorty: obviously!!!!!
me: french wine is awesome.... it comes at atleast double the price in india.......
shorty: k...
me: u knw wht
shorty: wat?
me: italy is like the bihar of europe
all the trains are late
good : :))
me : frm 30 mins to 2 hrs is usual
nd it can b more than tht too
shorty: hey bhaggu
me: nd ppl spit here nd there
in italy
bargaining there also
shorty: oh mast!
me: pretty much like in india
tht gongola ride i ws tellg abt
initially tht person will say 100 euros
good : badiya hai!!
me: bt on bargaining he can cum down to 60
vatican city....
its inside rome
its a walled city
shorty: k..
me: it hs the biggest church in the world
pope lives there
shorty: i love 2 go 2 a church
me: its v huge
if u go there... ull get bored
shorty: i hv been 2 1 in kasauli
its so serene
n calm
me: ya
i also lov the atmosphere inside
good : peaceful
me: pretty much like rennes, i shd say...... ;-)
shorty: :)
me: salzburg is also nice
mozart ws born over there
shorty: who is this nw?
me: mozart's garden is v nice nd colorful
shorty: k..
me: its in austria
mozart... u dont knw the name?
never heard of it?
hes a v famous music composer
nd v old
shorty: ok...
me: some 17th or 18th century
fort is also v gud
bt entry is expensive
nd buses are most expensive in salzburg
2 euros sthg for one trip
shorty: k..
me: heidelberg, germany is also similar
shorty: okkkkkk
me: i found a 1 euro shop in heidelberg
everythg thr ws for 1 euro only
shorty: mast
me: nd i took item worth 20 euros
shorty: :D
me: i got 3-4 tshirts
shorty: gr8!!
me: a small toy-fan
shorty: cute!!
me: u knw wht... theres no fan in europe
nd it does get hot over there
so ppl jst go on vacation
mass vacation.... no one is there to work
banks also almost close down
shorty: kya baat hai1!!
mast hai...
me: they hv to hire interns to work in summers... coz real employees go off for vacation
even my prof ws on vacation in july
shorty: :))
me: it gets v hot nd stuffy
shorty: vaah!!
me: bt theres no sweating
so its like u r being roasted
nd sumshine lasts till 10 in the night
*sunshine
during summers
so it gets even hotter
nd without any fan around..... it gets horrible
good : soch kar hi ghabrahat ho rahi hai
me: i used to take a bath twice everyday atleast
shorty: lena padta hi hoga
me: the office i ws workg in
it ws v modern
the corridor lights turn up automatically
wen u step on the floow
shorty: mast
me: or wen the lift door open
u knw wht... europeans dont take the lift... they prefer to climb the stairs
even if the office is on the 4th floor
nd water is drinkable everywhere
shorty: mast hai... waise kis khushi mein?
me: even in the sinks
god only knows
ive seen europeans sunbathing inside the office complex.......
wearg u-knw-wht kind of clothes
ive also seen them jogging
shorty: hey prabhu!!
me: at noon, at 2 pm, even at 3 pm
sometimes i think europeans are crazy
shorty: evn i do nw
me: bt hey... its their lifestyle
shorty: hmmm
dat is also thr
me: some europeans jst dont drink water
shorty: ????/
me: they never drunk water for many years
some who do drink water.. drink only aerated water....
soda, in short
nd some who do drink plain water
shorty: kyun??????
me: drink only of one brand
as in only aquafina... no bisleri.... no kinley
they take wine or juices
they hv a wine with every meal... even kids take it
shorty: gaah!!!!!!
me: even with their families
shorty: hadd!!!!!!
me: they love their pets
they take their pets for a walk
bt most of the time... the roads are deserted
shorty: k..
me: u go thru a colony... densly inhabited... bt u think tht u r in the middle of a desert
coz theres no activity
no1 is moving
no1 is there on the roads
shorty: hw boring!!
me: theres no sound of tv... or even cars
u knw wht... once i ws roaming
nd i found a guy....
shorty: ??
me: who was apparently lost
for 30 mins
nd he cudnt find ny1
for these 30 mins... to ask for directions
bt wen theres some festival or occasion..... lots of ppl cum out
shorty: k...
me: nd usually there r more girls than boys
i hv lots of memories
i can bore u the whole night.....
bt i guess ill let u go to bed...
shorty: m nt bored
me: nd go to my bed tooLabels: europe, travel, zeal |
| posted by Rohit Agarwal
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| 02 February 2007
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| Epic Journey to the Core (Updated)
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Long since, man has been fascinated by the journey to the core, to the centre, the focus, the essence, the substance. And he has always succumbed to the painstakingly gruesome desire to fulfill his wishes. More often than not, though, he returns disheartened and with a sense of being cheated and betrayed. But, still, not undermined by his failure, he again undertakes the 'custom', or rather the 'tradition', as it eventually becomes.... but what happens exactly during his sojourn?
I met with a similar experience lately, in fact less than 12 hours ago. My laptop, now prediluvian, was once purchased in July 2003 from a showroom in posh Dubai. After some initial hiccups, exclusive ownership was passed down to me. Since then, it has been subjected to eclectic stresses, testing it to its limit, and a few times, to an almost catastrophic results. The reasons for the same were my experimental nature and probably the first full-time laptop running only Windows available with a B. Tech student in Nilgiri since his first year. The list of the almost-fatal hardships would definitely include the transportation between the hostel room and exhibition hall on a typical monsoon day, the trip to France, besides the usual stuff. Inspite of all this, it pretty much stands (or rather stood, till about 12 hours back) just as it once did, the petty differences include the complete failure of CD writer or DVD reader and the special functionality of detecting only home-made CD's (piracy?), physical bruises, LCD coating infringement, spilling of liquid (dont ask me which) on both the keyboard and the touchpad (more than once) causing rather atypical consequences, breakage of the SD card slot (or whatever it is), expansion of the RJ45 slot, phenomenon battery backup of 67 seconds (unmatchable?), But still, it stood much the same, that was until I let curiosity overcome conscience. I dint realise that it was curiosity which had once killed the cat.
So, I had this great new idea to open up my lappie to clean the interiors, and particularly the fan, which I had just now noticed making unacceptable level of 'noise'. So, I tried to arrange for a set of screwdrivers, but it just wasnt my day. Having wasted around 1000 precious seconds on the same, I settled for a knife, which was pitted against a metallic strap of watch, a plastic scale, a staple pin, a pen cap and a couple of other similar stationary stuff. It worked quite fine, as though it had been optimised for this functionality. I took a random guess as to where to start first, and luckily luck was by my side, if only for this moment. As I progressed, I almost wrecked another smartly concealed screw. Sanity overcame, and saved the screw from further destruction. As I removed the plastic flap, what I saw I could not have expected.
It was so mesmerizing, so beautiful, that I cannot explain it in words. So, I took pictures, which I shall "hopefully" update in another 24 hours. I did not know whether curiosity is good or bad, but decided that the decision can be postponed for now. So, I opened even more screws, It was like the peels on the skin of an onion, one concealed beneath the other, and all so beautifully.
So, here I was, staring at the dust. I blew it away and wiped with a soft cloth. But how could I let this moment go away so easily. So, I decided to proceed with my basic instinct, ignoring any premonition that I could encounter. There lay the keyboard, an assembly of around a 100 something buttons all rolled in a plane with white symbols on a black background. I took it out too, practically ripping it off the trunk of the laptop. But what I got in my hands I can not compare with any mortal object that I have seen in my 20+ years of existence. A thin sheet of aluminium or two, pasted together, and on top of those were pasted this set of buttons. So thin, so delicate, so light, I felt like I could literally roll it up and carry it around in my pocket. Just holding it in my hands gave me the pleasure of thousand orgasms (ok thats a little bit of exaggeration). It was a touch no femme fatale could equal. It was a sight no caricature could compare. It was a smell no lily could rival. All this in my very own hands, what else could I have asked for? Thank you ACER. Thank you very much.
As I proceeded more, I wanted to go deeper and deeper. So, I took out the whole fan and the heatsink. The fan was ugly, a blot to the intricate atmosphere, or maybe a complement. Under the heatsink was hidden the heart of the computer, the CPU, so small, so tiny, so cute, and yet so dusty. Contended, I cleaned it up.
Somewhere down the line of disassembly, I accidently pressed the power button. The laptop getting started was the only predictable part, what was unpredictable was the dominant reddish tint all over the LCD screen, virtually replacing every pixel of black and leaving its impression on all others. Scared to death, I turned it off immediately, OK not that immediately.
It was then that I recalled I had a meeting to attend, so I ran out, leaving my beloved in a complete state of mess. I came back a couple of hours later, to find her in the same state as I had left her in......Labels: laptop, travel, zeal |
| posted by Rohit Agarwal
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| 13 January 2007
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| Egalitarianism is a utopian dream in India
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So it might be, but is it true for the rest of the world too?
Does a utopian society exist anywhere? Is there any country/city in the whole mother earth where the spirit of kalyug hasnt touched upon? Is there any community which believes in happiness by sharing and caring, and loves to be loved? Is there any region, where inspite of diversification, there is unity? Where crime rate is ZERO and police stations empty? Is there any city where the sun rises in the east and sets in the west? Is there any place where honesty and generosity is the applied policy? Is there an area where people are more willing to help than to be helped? Where when the sun shines in full bloom the people come out on the streets? Where when it rains it rains like the mother nature is crying with joy? Does this utopian society exist anywhere?
If yes, where could it be? Certainly not in the US, where the president himself admits having an affair with his secretary, where niggers are still fighting for equal rights, where the residents are so ignorant? Could it be in any arab country? Certainly not, women rights are inexistential.
Could it be in China? I dont think so - firstly coz they are communists and secondly coz they dont have the rights to freedom and thirdly coz their society is so much like our indians'. Where else?
I will not claim about the rest of the world coz i havent been there. But i can write about this little city i lived in for around 11 weeks. 'Rennes' as it is named is in Northern France, to the west of Paris, takes about 2 hours and 25-50 euros one way (depending on various factors which i consider irrelevant for the moment), capital of Bretagne (or Britanny). It is, coincidentally, also the smallest city in the world to have a metro (i would cite the reference but it would mean another 15 minutes of googling).
Now you would be wondering what makes me choose a little city from the whole world. It is, purely coincidentally, the place where i did my internship. I choose to call this relationship purely coincidental because I fell in love with this place, not because it was my alma mater for the 11 weeks, but because of the reasons listed below.
1. Crime Rate - It has a crime rate of absolutely zero. That means no crime at all. No thefts, no burglary, no murders, no rapes (and thts really good), no kidnapping, no extortion..... no nothing. One can leave his jacket on the bus stop in the morning and come back in the evening to find it still there (I tried that).
2. Generosity - Saying "Bonjour" in the morning and "Bonsoir" in the evening, as done in whole of france, is one thing, it doesnt sum up to generosity, neither does saying "Bon appetit" before each meal. What really matters is that when you are standing in the line of the mess deciding what should you pick and what should you leave, the person behind you gives you a big smile and helps you out. What matters is that when you are on your first day to office and you dont know the way, a cyclist gets down from his cycle and walks 2 kms with you, asks a couple of other people too, and escorts you to your office before getting up on his cycle again. What matters is that when you are confused in the bus as to where you should get down to go to the 'Beradarie', a fellow passenges senses your discomfort, gets down with you, and walks you to that place. All this without even asking for. Similarly i tried to reciprocate but i guess my indian instincts held me back.
3. Honesty - Honesty is not just about being truthful, even though if it was Rennes would still top the list. Honesty is about sincerity, about keeping promises, about trusting the other person to be honest. And its all over there.
If ever there was a heaven on Earth, it would be RennesLabels: europe, kindness, travel |
| posted by Rohit Agarwal
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