New year coming up n all

Well, 2008 is getting over and you all know that. This new year called 2009 is coming up and people have already started making all their resolutions like "I will reduce my weight", "I will study harder", "I will exercise more", "I will roam around less", "I will blah blah", "I will this crap, that crap..", etc... But you know what, they hardly remember their own resoultions by the time the first month ends (I took 1 month to explain my point here, and its pretty long trust me). Why all the resoulutions? Simply be what you are, and do what is right and what you think you should do. No guilt nowhere. Bindaas it will be then. Enjoy people, dont waste time in all this.

Computer games and real life

You know, after so long an era of gaming in my life, if at all it had a side effect on my life permanently is that I have started taking my life a little boldly. Now how is this related to gaming? let me explain...

In a computer game, you play a character (thats in a role playing, third person game) and as the game proceeds you get involved into it so much that you almost start believing that the character is you. When he fights, you roar like a lion. When he fails, you feel fallen. When he finds a new path, you see hope. When he succeeds, you rejoice as if you succeeded. I dont blame this, because its actually you who are in control of his moves. And when he dies, or meses up somewhere, you will have to start again from the previous check point or save point, and now this is precisely what I am going to talk about.

Computer games give you a second chance if you lose or die or mess up during the game, but life doesnt. You have a one shot chance at everything. But what computer games can teach you is how to strategise before making a move. let me explain. In a computer game you obviously dont want to mess up or die or anything, so before you make a move you think what will happen if you do so, hence you see your various options before a move. As you keep on gaming, you wont make a mistake making any move because you would have thought about it deeply and analysed the situation before making that move. And this experience helps in life. In life where you have to make difficult moves, you analyse the different possibilities, options etc and then make your move. You have the experience of thinking logically that way. And very little will you make mistakes. This even increases your level of boldness towards things. You also know where to take risk and where not to. 

This way, atleast I think computer games have made some impact over my way of life.. :)

Moodi

Moodi ... aahh... well I was there for the last 4-5 days. It was from 20-23rd december, cult fest of IIT Bombay, it was good. I aint a cult guy that much, I mean even though I practice veena, karate and guitar, except these I dont have that much interest in others. But at moodi there were so many awesome events that caught my eye and was damn enjoyable. 

But, the essence of this trip was not 'moodi', i mean not the events or anything. I have been to rock shows earlier, been to street performances earlier, been to such things, and this was not worse, was as good as them, so my point is that it wasnt these shows that were the essence of the trip, but rather it was those night outs I had with 'ladoo'. I dont know what was with others, I mean i wasnt with others all the time, we always used to miss. But me and ladoo were always together. Never could we be with the group, we tried but couldnt. It didnt matter, we had so much fun together. Never could I have imagined that this was possible, three night-outs together, was seriously awesome. She is my bestest friend ever. Never will I forget her, all the time we were together, all the fun we had, was it some dream? I cant express this in words. All literature are ashamed of their incapability to express what I want to say. But the thing is that, I never even thought that something like this would happen. I always thought that since so many people will come, we will roam around and all. But what happend was totally opposite. Me and ladoo stayed together and roamed around, and that was "awesome". It was as if all this was meant for to happen. It had to be this way. Probably if everyone were together, we wouldnt hav had this much fun at all. Its different you know. I am glad we were together all the time. I enjoyed Mumbai totally thanks to her. One company I always had when I felt left out, I never felt it again. I owe her big-time now.

The MATRIX that we are in...

Our world.... hushhh... my god. What a place. I mean have you ever had this feeling that, you know, you can change things around you magically if you just believe in doing it? I mean isnt this... uuh what do you say, magical of some sort? Dont you get the feeling that this world aint all that real? Or is it the definition of real in your perception? What is real? How do you define real?

"Have you ever had a dream you were so sure it was real? What if you are unable to wake up from that dream? How would you know the diference between the dream world and the real world?"

This is the precisely the question I am very much interested in and am eager to know the answer. Ok fine, its true that this is Morpheus's dialogue from the movie matrix, but Whatever it is, it has got lot of meaning to it. I mean isnt it so precise? The real answer you want to know in life. Where are we? What are we? How are we? and it goes on...

Well I am sure that there is no such guy who will answer this question properly today in this world. But nevertheless, I will try to answer it myself. 

This world is like a cocoon, and you are in it, enslaved, cant get out of it. You are still larval, and you are meant to be larval throughout your life. So basically you cannot get out of the cocoon. And thats how the world fools you. It makes you believe that this cocoon is the entire world. Thats because you have seen just the cocoon all through your life, and nothing more. So you dont know what or how it is beyond the walls of this cocoon. You cant even imagine it. Its almost impossible beacause you are made to believe so. 

Humans trust their eyes so much, and I mean so much you know, that people believe everything that they see. They wont rest until they have got a visual proof of things. Everyone wants to 'see' what goes on. But eyes decieve you most of the times. They play tricks on you. They adapt to 'what you want to see' and not 'what really is'. They manipulate you, manipulate to make you believe what you see. Fool you.

But beyond this visual world there is a huge vastness of the world thats not visible. The visible world is just a small 0.001% of the actual world. Its just a curtian thats drawn before your eyes to keep you away from the truth. But the other 'non-visual' world is certainly vast, and thats the world that we need to use properly to manipulate the visual world into what we want. And the door/gateway to that 'non-visual' world is "belief". 

This world is like a computer program. Not a perfect one, but with errors and loopholes. And to employ these loopholes into our benifit, we need to see beyond whats seen. So, to do it, we need to believe that it can be done, against the general perception or the belief we are befooled to that it cant be done. And this has interestingly +ve results in most cases, hence proving the existance of this 'non-visual' world. So, the rules of this world CAN be bent, some CAN be broken, some can be TWISTED, ONLY of YOU believe so.

The world is yours baby. Do whatever you wish to do. Its all in your hands, no-one else. Fate has no role. Its just a lie to make you believe again the matrix/unreal world. So, dont fall prey... rock on.

Cheers!!!

I AM WRONG!!!

Well, my last post proved itself wrong... the weight hasnt been lifted. Its back again, heavier than ever now... damn ... what a life... questions unanswerable even though the answers are right there, and questions unanswerable as the answers arent there, and probably never will... oh god!!!

Weight lifted off my head

ahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa....

A huge tension has been lifted off my head, atleast thats what I think so. I had been taking a lot of tension over an "issue" for long time now. But, I just felt that its over. I could feel it. Hehe .. maybe its true. But somewhere, it pains a bit letting it go. Maybe I let it go for the better. Sacrifice, perhaps. And is it really that big, that I dont want to admit? ... well, time will say, just like it said something after a long time. 

But, I am sure of one thing. I mostly have done the right thing, letting it go, free like a bird. I would have created more problem having it. Its all for the best, maybe not mine, but others. Atleast I dont have the guilt that I have screwed up someone's life. Nice. I ... just let it go... and this is not give up. Far away from it. A proper decision maybe from my side, an intelligent one perhaps. Whichever it is, I am back to myself once again ... or am I???

now-a-days

Well, to frankly say, the days which are going by are a little weird. I mean sometimes I go crazy, psycho type mad, and sometimes I go nuts, sometimes serious, sometimes I wont give a crap about anything, sometimes happy, sometimes screwed up, sometimes afraid, sometimes I feel I wanna kick someone's ass badly (birthdays are near, feel my wrath .. ), sometimes I am lost in thought, sometimes I stay blank, sometimes I feel like I have a doctrate in electronics (like thats true... hehe)... and so on ... and all of them happen in one day, the best part. Still, I dont give a crap (ok, maybe I am in the 'I wont give a crap' mood now..), still, I dont know what to say... All I can say is that its weird. My fate is cloudy. There are so much clouds that I keep wondering where all the water and dust came from.. hehe.. and its like me and my fallen fate are playing a game, and it seems like the game is fixed against me. I dont have any other choice but play just for the fun of it. crap! anyways, now I dont see a point in writing this thread, still I do it... well, let me get back to work (and work means studying, as majors are coming near... :P )... adieu!

the world, where it stands

The world today has many great nations. Every nations aimed at pece with every other. Diplomatic. The governments run a country, many democratic, republic, some communist, dictatorship, and some millitary. What ever be the type, everyone aims at peace ... or atleast try to.

But we fail to see the hard reality, how the world is standing on the edge of a knife. The world has always been unstable, since the new species came into being: the homosapiens. Its in our blood to fight, have hatred, go for war, etc. Homosapiens are different then other creatures, they are so called 'intelligent'. I wonder how is that only we are intelligent, and not any other species. The answer to that may be unknown, but I think its by chance or due to an error of nature that we are this way. Since man has come into being he has indulged in war. Since the ancient times, speak of it in hindus, the mahabharata, ramayana, or christin, of jesus, well I dont know much about others, but every tribe has been in war with any or every other. or let us come into the early medival period, we see the nine crusades, then the dark ages, and after that freedom struggle of america and a few other countries, then world war 1 and 2, then freedom struggle of India, then the thre wars India fought with Pakistan, and also Bangladesh, etc then we have the kargil war of 1999, and after that terrorist strike in US and many such in India, and not to mention the recent mumbai blasts.

If you look at the global scale, its been just 60 years since there has been a large scale war. Now, the time we are living in is actually probably the most peaceful time, god knows what will hapen later. Another large scale war and the world is doomed, considering we have lots of nukes this time. Presently all the countries are trying their level best to stop a world war, it may not seem so as they are getting involved in economic relationships and being friendly and all. But it comes down to the same thing. There will be a war, but everyone is trying their level best to postpone it. The reason for the war? .. well if you ask me to predict, it will most probably be another crusade. The first crusade was 1000 years ago, and maybe another may start. Why I am saying it is mainly because of terrorism. And the rest you can understand.

All the countries must try their level best to stop it at any cost. Be aware of whats happening, and well ... take correct measures. God knows what this world will come into. God created man one day, less did he know that this "man" would come to destroy the world someday... hope for the best!

Ads

well, these are some great ads ... I watch TV sometimes just for the Ads, they are awesome...

watch these...

screwed big time

ok I am screwed bigtime today. thats all! ... nothing more to say... :(

Comic strip

The best leasure timepass is reading comic strips. This one thing is surely the best since my childhood. I have always read Calvin & Hobbes, Garfield and Archie regularly. Well, they still remain my favourite, Calvin being the best of them all.

Well, here is a list of some famous comic strips with the links to the strips. Check it out.

9 Chickweed Lane by Brooke McEldowney. United Feature Syndicate.
9 to 5 by Harley Schwadron.  Tribune Media.

Adam@Home by Brian Basset. Universal Press Syndicate.
Agnes by Tony Cochran.  Creators.

Alley Oop by Dave Graue and Jack Bender. Newspaper Enterprise Association, Inc.

Amazing Spiderman by Stan Lee. King Features Syndicate.

Andy Capp by Reg Smythe.  Creators Syndicate.

Animal Crackers by Fred Wagner.  Tribune Media Services, Inc.

Annie Tribune Media Services, Inc.

Apartment 3-G by Brian Kotzky and Lisa Trusiani.  King Features Syndicate.
Archie by Craig Boldman and Henry Scarpelli.
The Argyle Sweater 
Arlo & Janis by Jimmy Johnson. Newspaper Enterprise Association, Inc.

Ask Shagg E. Dawg Phd. by Peter Guren. Creators Syndicate, Inc.

Auth, Tony

Baby Blues by Jerry Scott and Rick Kirkman.  King Features Syndicate.

Bachelor Party by Adam Millar.  Creators Syndicate. 
Bad Reporter 
Baldo by Hector D. Cantù and Carols Castellanos.   Universal Press Syndicate.

Ballard Street by Jerry Van Amerongen.  Creators Syndicate.
Barkeater Lake

Barney Google and Snuffy Smith by Fred Laswell.  King Features Syndicate.
Basic Instructions

Batetoon by Scott Bateman. National Student News Service

B.C. by Johnny Hart. Creators Syndicate, Inc.

Beetle Bailey by Mort Walker.  King Features Syndicate.
Ben by Daniel Shelton.  United Feature Syndicate.

Benson, Steve

Better Half, The by Randy Glasbergen (Personal Site).  King Features Syndicate.

Between Friends by Sandra Bell-Lundy.  King Features Syndicate. E-mail.

Betty by Gary Delainey and Gerry Rasmussen. Newspaper Enterprise Association, Inc.

Big Nate by Lincoln Pierce. United Feature Syndicate, Inc.
The Big Picture by Lennie Peterson.  Universal Press Syndicate.
Big Top 
Biographic
Birdbrains

Bizarro by Dan Piraro. King Features Syndicate. 
Bleeker: The Rechargeable Dog

Blondie by Dean Young and Dennis.  King Features Syndicate.
Bob the Squirrel 
The Boiling Point 
Boomerangs 
The Boondocks by Aaron McGruder.  Universal Press Syndicate.
Bloom County by Berke Breathed.  
Bo Nanas

Borgman, Jim

Born Loser by Art and Chip Sansom. Newspaper Enterprise Association, Inc.

Bottom Liners by Eric and Bill Teitelbaum.  Tribune Media Services, Inc

Bound & Gagged by Dana Summers.  Tribune Media Services, Inc.
Brainwaves

Brenda Starr by June Brigman and Mary Schmich.    Tribune Media Services, Inc.
Brewster Rockit

Broom Hilda by Russell Myers.  Tribune Media Services, Inc.

Buckets, The by Scott Stantis. Hosted by United Feature Syndicate, Inc.

Buckles by David Gilbert.  E-mail.  King Features Syndicate.

By & Large by Vladimir Kolarov. .

Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson. Universal Press Syndicate.
Candorville

Carlson, Stuart

Cathy by Cathy Guisewite. Universal Press Syndicate.
Cats with Hands by Joe Martin.  Tribune Media Services.
C'est la Vie 
Charlie by Charlie.  Creators.

Citizen Dog by Mark O'Hare. Universal Press Syndicate. 
The City 
Clear Blue Water
Cleats

Close to Home by John McPherson. Universal Press Syndicate.

Committed by Michael Fry. United Feature Syndicate, Inc.

Compu-toon by Charles Boyce.  Universal Press Syndicate/ gocomics.com

Cornered by Baldwin. Universal Press Syndicate.

Crankshaft by Tom Batiuk and Chuck Ayers. King Feature Syndicate.

Crock by Bill Rechin & Don Wilder.  King Features Syndicate.
Cul de Sac 
Curtis by Ray Billingsley.  King Features Syndicate.

Daddy's Home 

Davies, Matt
Deep Cover 
Dennis The Menace by Hank Katchem.

Deore, Bill

Dick Tracy by Dick Locher and Michael Kilian.  Tribune Media Services, Inc.

Dilbert Zone by Scott Adams. United Feature Syndicate. 
Dinette Set by Julie Larson.  King Features Syndicate.

Doctor Fun by David Farley.
Dog Eat Doug 
Domestic Abuse

Doodles by by Steve Sack & Craig MacIntosh.    Tribune Media Services.

Doonesbury Town Hall by Garry Trudeau. Universal Press Syndicate.

This is an awesome site that really pushes beyond the comic strip itself. 

Doonesbury by Garry Trudeau. Universal Press Syndicate.

Drabble by Kevin Fagan. United Feauture Syndicate, Inc.

Dry Bones by Yaakov Kirschen.   Cartoonists & Writers Syndicate.

Duplex by Glenn McCoy. Universal Press Syndicate.
Eek! 
Edge City by Terry and Patty LaBan . 
The Elderberries

Family Circus, The by Bil Keane.

Farcus by David Waisglass and Gordon Coulhart. Universal Press Syndicate.

Farley on the Gate by Phil Frank. Hosted by The Gate.
Fat Cats by Charlie Podrebarac.  United Feature.

Ferd'nand by Henrik Rehr.   United Feature.

Felix the Cat maintained by David A. Gerstein.
The 5th Wave by Rich Tenant.  Universal Press Syndicate.

Flash Gordon by Jim Keefe. King Features Syndicate. Author background pg. 
Flight Deck by Peter Waldner.  Creators.
Flo and Friends by Jenny Campbell.  Creators Syndicate. 
The Flying McCoys

For Better or For Worse by Lynn Johnston. United Feature Syndicate.  Creator's site.
For Heaven's Sake by Mike Morgan.  Creators.

Foxtrot by Bill Amend. Universal Press Syndicate. 
FoxTrot Classics

Frank and Ernest by Bob Thaves. 
Frazz by Jef Mallett.  United Feature.

Fred Basset by Alex Graham. Associated Newspapers, LTD. Dist. by Tribune Media Services, Inc.
Frog Applause

Funky Winkerbean by Tom Batiuk.  King Features Syndicate.

Fusco Brothers, The by J. C. Duffy. Universal Press Syndicate.

Garfield by Jim Davis.  Universal Press Syndicate.  Also, syndicate site.

Gasoline Alley by Jim Scancarelli. Tribune Media Services, Inc.

Geech by Jerry Bittle. United Feature Syndicate.

George Toon by Mark Szorady. King Features Syndicate.
Get Fuzzy by Darby Conley.  United Feature.

Gil Thorp by Jack Berrill. Tribune Media Services, Inc.

Ginger Meggs by James Kemsley.
Girls & Sports

Go Figure by J.C. Duffy.  United Feature Syndicate.
Go Team Bob 
Grandfather Clause by Chris Wright.  Creators.
Grand Avenue by Steve Breen.  United Feature Syndicate.

Grin and Bear It by Fred Wagner and Ralph Dunagin.  King Features Syndicate.

Hagar the Horrible by Chris Browne.  King Features Syndicate.

Hazel by Ted Key.  King Features Syndicate.

Heart of the City by Mark Tatulli.  Universal Press Syndicate.

Herb & Jamal by Stephen Bentley.  Creators Syndicate.
Herman by Jim Unger.  United Feature Syndicate.

Heathcliff by George Gately. Creators Syndicate.

Helen, Sweetheart of the Internet by Peter Zale.  Tribune Media Services.

Henry King Features Syndicate.

Hi and Lois written by Greg & Brian Walker; drawn by Chance Browne.  King Features Syndicate.

Holbert, Jerry  United Feature

Homefolks by Vladimir Kolarov. 
Home and Away 
The Hots by Nina Paley and Stephen Hersh. King Features Syndicate

Housebroken by Steve Watkins.  Tribune Media Services. 
Hubert and Abby

I Need Help by Vic Lee.  King Features Syndicate.  E-mail.

In the Bleachers by Steve Moore. Universal Press Syndicate.
Ink Pen 
It's All About You 
James by Mark Tonra.  Universal Press Syndicate.
Joe and Monkey

Judge Parker by Woody Wilson and Harold LeDoux.  King Features Syndicate.

Jump Start by Robb Armstrong. United Feature Syndicate, Inc.

Katzenjammer Kids, The by Hy Eisman.  King Features Syndicate.

Kevin & Kell by Bill Holbrook. Compuserve.

Krazy Kat by George Herriman. The Coconino County Page

Kudzu by Doug Marlette. Tribune Media. 

Kit 'n' Carlyle by Larry Wright. NEA, Inc.
La Cucaracha by Lalo Alcaraz.  Universal Press Syndicate.
Liberty Meadows by Frank Cho.  Creators Syndicate.
Lio 
Little Dog Lost

Little Orphan Annie

Lockhorns, The by John Reiner and Bunny Hoest. King Features Syndicate, Inc.

Lola by Steve Dickenson and Todd Clark Tribune Media Services.
Loose Parts by Dave Blazek.  Tribune Media Services.
Love is... by Stefano Casali.  Tribune Media.
Lucky Cow by Mark Pett.  Universal Press Syndiate.

Luann by Greg Evans. United Feature Syndicate.
Maintaining

Mallard Fillmore by Bruce Tinsley.  King Features Syndicate.

Mandrake the Magician by Lee Falk and Fred Frendricks.  King Features Syndicate.

Margulies Editorial Cartoons by Jimmy Margulies.

Mark Trail by Jack Elrod.  King Features Syndicate.

Marmaduke by Brad Anderson. Hosted by United Feature Syndicate, Inc.

Marvin by Tom Armstrong.  King Features Syndicate.

Mary Worth by John Saunders and Joe Giella.  King Features Syndicate.
The Meaning of Lila 
Meehan Streak by Kieran Meehan.  Tribune Media.

Middletons, The by Ralph Dunagin and Dana Summers.
Miss Peach by Mell Lazarus.  Creators.

Mixed Media by Scott Willis and Jack Ohman.  Tribune Media Services.
Moderately Confused by Jeff Stahler.  Newspaper Enterprise Association, Inc.

Momma by Mell Lazarus. Creators Syndicate.
Monkey House by Pat Byrnes.  Tribune Media.

Monty by Jim Meddick. Newspaper Enterprise Association, Inc.

Moose & Molly by Bob Weber.  King Features Syndicate.

Mother Goose and Grimm by Mike Peters. Tribune Media Services.

Mr. Boffo by Joe Martin. Universal Press Syndicate, Inc.  Syndicate site.
Mr. Housewife by Clayton Strohmeyer.  Creators Syndicate.

Mr. Lowe by Mark Pett.  

Mutts by Patrick McDonnell.  King Features Syndicate.
Mutt & Jeff 
Mythtickle

Nancy by Guy and Brad Gilchrist. Hosted by United Feature.
Natural Selection by Russ Wallace.  Creators.
Nest Heads by John Allen.  Copley News Service.
NEUROTICA 
New Adventures of Queen Victoria

New Breed, The by Various Artists.  King Features Syndicate.
New Yorker Cartoons by various.

Non Sequitur by Wiley Miller. Universal Press Syndicate.
Norm, The by Michael Jantze.  King Features Syndicate.

Off the Mark by Mark Parisi. Atlantic Feature Syndicate.

Oliphant, Pat 
On A Claire Day
On the Fastrack by Bill Holbrook.  King Features Syndicate. 
One Big Happy by Rick Detorie. Creators Syndicate.
Opus 
Other Coast, The by Adrian Raeside.  Creators.
Out of the Gene Pool by Matt Janz.  Washington Post Writers Group.

Overboard by Chip Dunham. Universal Press Syndicate.

Over the Hedge by Michael Fry and T. Lewis. Hosted by United Feature Syndicate, Inc.

Payne, Henry
PC and Pixel by Thatch Bui.  Washington Post Writers Group.
Peanuts by Charles Schulz. United Feature Syndicate, Inc.

Pearls Before Swine by Stephan Pastis.  United Feature Syndicate.

Penalty Box, The by Al Kratzer.

Penman by Gary Blehm. Creators Syndicate.

Peters, Mike
Pibgorn 
Pibgorn Sketches 
Pickles by Brian Crane.  Washington Post Writers Group.

Phantom, The by Lee Falk.  King Features Syndicate.

Pickles by Brian Crane.  Washington Post Writers Group site.
The Pink Panther 
Pinkerton

Piranha Club by Bud Grace. King Features Syndicate, Inc. Bud's site.
Piranha Club by Bud Grace.  King Features Syndicate.  King's site.
Pluggers

Pooch Cafe by Paul Gilligan.  Universal Press Syndicate.

Popeye by Hy Eisman.  King Features Syndicate.

Porterfield by Joe Martin. 
PreTeena 
Prickly City

Prince Valiant by John Cullen Murphy and Cullen Murphy.   King Features Syndicate.
P.S. Mueller by P.S. Mueller.  Universal Press Syndicate.

Quality Time by Gail Machlis.  

Quigmans by Buddy Hickerson. 
Raising Duncan by Chris Browne.  United Feature.

Rall, Ted Universal Press Syndicate.
Randolf Itch 2 a.m. by Tom Toles.  United Feature.
Red and Rover by Brian Bassett.  Washington Post Writers Group.

Reality Check by Dave Whamond. United Feature Syndicate, Inc.

Real Life Adventures by Gary Wise and Lance Aldrich. Universal Press Syndicate.
Red and Rover by Brian Bassett.  Washington Post Writers Group site.

Redeye by Bill Yates and Mel Casson.  King Features Syndicate.
Red Meat

Rex Morgan, M.D. by Woody Wilson & Graham Nolan.  King Features Syndicate.               

Reynolds Unwrapped by Dan Reynolds.  

Rhymes with Orange by Hilary Price.  King Features Syndicate.  Personal site.  E-mail.  
Rick and Rack

Rogers, Rob 
Ronaldinho Gaucho

Rose Is Rose by Pat Brady. United Feature Syndicate, Inc.

Rubes by Leigh Rubin.  Creators Syndicate.

Rudy Park by Darrin Bell and Theron Heir.  United Feature Syndicate.
Rugrats by Nickelodeon.  Creators.

Safe Havens by Bill Holbrook. King Features Syndicate. 

Sally Forth by Greg Howard and Craig MacIntosh.  King Features Syndicate.

Sam & Silo by Jerry Dumas.  King Features Syndicate.

Sargent, Ben

Schorr, Bill

Scribbles by Gary Mouri.  Creators.
Secret Agent X9 King Features Syndicate.

Sherman's Lagoon by Jim Toomey. King Features Syndicate.
Shirley and Son by Jerry Bittle.  United Feature.

Shoe by Jef MacNelly. Tribune Media Services, Inc.

Shoecabbage by Teresa Dowlatshahi and David Stanford.  uclick.com
Slowpoke

Six Chix by various.

Slylock Fox and Comics For Kids by Bob Weber, Jr.  King Features Syndicate. 

Slylock Fox and Comics For Kids by Bob Weber, Jr.  King Features Syndicate's Slylock site.
Soup to Nutz by Rick Stromoski.  Newspaper Enterprise.

Speed Bump by Dave Coverly. Creators Syndicate.

Stahler, Jeff

Stein, Ed 
Steve Roper and Mike Nomad by John Saunders and Fran Matera.  King Features.

Stone Soup by Jan Eliot. Universal Press Syndicate.

Strange Brew by John Deering.  Creators Syndicate.
State of the Union 
Stone Soup 
Strange Brew

Sylvia by Nicole Hollander.  Tribune Media.

Tank McNamara by Bill Hinds and Jeff Millar. Universal Press Syndicate.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird.  Creators.

They'll Do It Every Time by Al Scaduto.  King Features Syndicate.
Tina's Grove by Rina Piccolo.  King Features Syndicate.
Tiny Sepuku

Tiger by Bud Blake.  King Features Syndicate.
TOBY

Today's Cartoon by Randy Glasbergen.
Tom the Dancing Bug by Ruben Bolling.  Universal Press Syndicate.
Trevor

Trudy by Jerry Marcus.  King Features Syndicate.

True! by Daryl Cagle.
Tumbleweeds by Tom K. Ryan.  E-mail.  King Features Syndicate.
Watch Your Head 
We the Robots

What A Guy by John Reiner and Bunny Hoest. King Features Syndicate, Inc. E-mail only.
The U.S. of Play by John Marshall.  United Feature.
Wee Pals by Morrie Turner.  Creators.
Willy 'n Ethel by Joe Martin.    Universal Press Syndicate. 
Winnie the Pooh

Wizard Of Id by Brant Parker and Johnny Hart. Creators Syndicate, Inc.
Working It Out by Charlos Gary.  Creators Syndicate.

Yak's Corner.   Tribune Media Services, Inc.
Yenny

You Can with Beakman and Jax by Jok Church. Universal Press Syndicate.
Zack Hill by John Deering.  Creators Syndicate.

Ziggy by Tom Wilson. Universal Press Syndicate.

Zippy the Pinhead by Bill Griffith. King Features Syndicate. Hosted by The Gate.

Zits by Jerry Scott and Jim Borgman.  King Features Syndicate.

Best timepaas buddy. Enjoy! for more details visit http://www.stus.com/ :P

what the CRAP ??!

I just Wikied the word crap, and this is what I found. Take a look ... pretty interesting crap.. hehe..

Rock!

The break in this stupid monotony ... ROCK!!! Hell Yeah! 

Bloody, when it gets so monotonous, bloody listen to some heavy metal, hard rock, thrash or something at full volume bloody. Dont give a freck if the windows or the mirrors shatter in your room, and dont care if your house is vibrating so much that it may collapse, let it, and dont care about those stupid neighbours who yell at you, you cant hear them anyway. Just bloody freckin listen to the music, bang your head top to bottom, go insane and jump all over your freckin bed.You are MAD, thats all now. Nothing else can bring you back to your freckin life. This is pure energy!!! RAW FORM!

Blank

Have you ever had that feeling of emptiness?, nothingness?, dark, void, black,  ... total BLANK!!! never?? ... well thats one feeling you will never experience because you are just not ME!

I dont say its positive not being me, (even though it is, cuz that makes me alone and unique, and uuh ... special n all ... get my point?? ;) ) ... still the point is I dont say it in THAT sense. What I mean is that you wont understand how it feels like being empty, because most of the people are not, and I am generalizing YOU as any other common homo-sapien. Still, my point is that there are many things about being blank, MANY ... trust me!

Staying blank is like being filled with a whole of nothingness entirely. Its not being 'dumb'. there is a difference. 'dumb' is different. thats when you dont have the capacity to think, so you dont think. but this is different. You just jont know what to do, what the freck to say, even though you have many things running through your head, insane. I mean how can the human mind be blank? There is a difference between blank and idle mind... as they say: "an idle mind is a devil's workshop", but "a blank mind is noone's workshop" ... god, I mean not even a devil's?? Atleast an idle mind is a devil's workshop, but this ... come on.

By blank I just dont mean just 'blank'. Its blank in every sense. Sometimes, I jus sit on the terrace or on top of a hill and jus look. Thats all I do, 'look'. Its like I have that weird feeling that my body is seperated from my mind or something. Its just that 'nonthingness'. The brain refuses to do any thinking work. I will be like "come on", and my brain like "Piss off". What the hell? I usually dont care and just 'remain' there. Else sometimes when I am supposed to comment on something, like when someone said something, or someone looks good (or just ok, but they are expecting a comment from me), I stay blank. Actually I dont want to say anything then. But this is also a kind of 'blank'. Third, is when I stand in front of some girl who looks damn beautiful or hot or something, my mind shuts down. I freeze, and the interesting part is that I dont know what to think also. I mean, nothing runs in my brain. I just keep looking at her, staring rather. Thats weird. I know and I have to get over with this really fast.

So many weird things happen in my life. Or rather is it that I am weird. I dont care anyway, it doesnt matter because I dont give a shit! I live my way. Thats all. Still why did I say that now? Anyways, thing is that there are many dimentions in one's life that are, like weird, they dont matter much in the purpose of your life, they are not worth talking or thinking about, but still people like me blog about it not knowing what to do about it. Yet, nothing matters you know... they are just things. 

Adieu!

more complexities of life

As I said earlier somewhere in my blog, that life seems complex but is actually simple, we just fail to "see" it in reality. Every issue as actially very simple, but its we who make it look complex and hence make it complex. Its like in mathematics: There can be many solutions to a given problem, and many methods to a given solution, but the most efficient one is the one which has the most relevant and precise solution and as well as the shortest method. Its the maxima of both these parameters, viz. Precision and shortest method. Well, too much mathematics there to explain a simple funda. See how I just made simple things more complicated... haha! 

The twisted uncertainity principle

Life is so so complicated. Or is it so so simple that we just fail to see its simplicity? We start believing that its too complicated to make it complicated. Which one? Uncertain. That is the kind of uncertainity I am dealing with here.

Many people are certian in what they are going to do in their life, further. They have got it all planned like a long term business contract. They go about their life with a certain goal, with a certain aim, plan and sequence. There is no uncertainity anywhere. Others are a bit different, have some element of uncertainity involved. But the point is whats the heights of it? is it good or bad? again I am uncertain. A planned life is "boring". An uncertain life is thrilling. But an over-uncertain life is a big question mark, and thats my life.

I dont know what to do. I never knew if I had to do B.Sc or B.Tech. seriously, until the last moment I was uncertain and somehow I took B.Tech. I dont know what to do in my life further. Many have decided with CAT, GATE, GRE, job etc. I have no clue about me yet. 

I believe in miracles. Not that they happen often in my life. But I like the idea though. Why cant a wonderful miracle happen in my life? give me all my answers? Where will I end up? What job will I get? What position will I be in in the next 5 years? Or am I just wasting my time thinking about all this nonsense? Should I be doing something more worthwhile? You know Heisenberg, when he theorised his uncertainity priciple, he didnt just mean the scientific meaing. He had a hidden meaning to it. And thats relavent to my life. "The more you try to know your position accurately, the more uncertain will be your momentum with which you drive your life. and vice versa."

New Hangout

Well... Today I was getting damn bored. Was studying ICs all day. Was fed up and needed a changed, so like always I called up amit and well asked him to hang out with me. So we went to that "lala's" place in the campus. There is nothing great about the place but it is AWESOME! I mean, today I discovered a great hangout place. Whenever you get bored, its one best place to hang out and is cheap too.

I like places where there are a lot of people. And here we just dont have people but college junta hanging around. What fun. Gets rid of boredom instantly. Was refreshed a lot. Well, I shall be paying visits more often here from now on. haha.. nice!

Our Sensex!

India was once proud of hitting the 20000 margin and this was not long ago. It was just last year. And now it has dipped under 8000. My god, what a crash. The graph beside this text shows the crash. Still what does sensex signify? How is it important to our country?

Sensex is the meter of any country's health. It is the cummulative impact of the belief of the people of a nation in their country's industry.
With a kind of faith and trust in the country's industrial growth. When the people invest or buy the shares of particulars, it signifies the trust and faith of people in the developement of country.
so when more and more people invest or buy shares at higher price rises sensex showning good faith and trust in current economy of the country and better future.
So for any country sensex is an identical sign of its health, strength and people's faith and trust in the current political status also.

Well, so now It seems that our people hav lost faith in the market. Investments are low. Its due to the fact that they dont want to take any risk involving their money much into the market. The US' market crash has impacted all the other markets in the world big time. This is a very pure example to show how big a super power US is. Everyone depends on them. India too.

But comparatively India has taken the bullet shot pretty well. The damage is certain but was not immediate, it was gradual. And this matters a lot because a sudden pit fall deals a great damage to an economy. Unlike other countries, Inda has managed well. But this doesnt mean we have nothing to do. Of course we have. The sensex is dipping everyday at an accelerated pace. Every effort should be put in to prevent this disaster. Just that we need the people's trust back into the market. But how? Surely no answer for that. But one thing is for sure. By using 'game theory' ( by. Dr. John Nash) we can say that it will surely take some time, a year probably, as people are not that dumb. Look at it this way. Share values are at a real time low. Its time to invest. India is a developing country, we have got the nuclear deal, are progressing awesomely in our moon mission. Infosys and Reliance have BIG plans, not to forget kingfisher. Kingfisher hasnt given up even under these situations. Mallya just wants to grow grow and grow. My god what a man. All these indicate towards one thing: Markets are bound to improve a lot. It may even cross the 20000 mark in 2 years. This should push some clever investors into investing. But the real question is where to invest now, and that needs to be decided by the individual. Cant still rely on mutual funds.

Our country is set to grow. Invest!

REAL FUN!

aah ... after so many days ... REAL FUN! ...

Today was the eve of diwali... and my mood wasnt that great. I was "off". Was sitting with my lappy the entire day, bored. Didnt hav breakfast, lunch nor dinner. And wasnt hungry also. Was depressed about recent events that had happened. I am that way, I worry about little things, and just dont give a damn about most of the others. No one had called me nor messaged me the entire day. Well, anyways, so here I was sitting lonely and bored. And sometime around 10:50 PM, I decided 'chuck this'. So, I called Amit and said "abe CCD chal!". He got excited too. So we drove at top speed on my 'apache' to New Market's CCD. Didnt hav much cash, so had an 'espresso' (I like it). Lazed around there for an hour or so, and then went off to roam around new market. Lots of people, markets still open as it was festive season. Amazing. So, we loafed around a lot there too. That feel of diwali.. Superb. That too at night 12:30 AM. Cracked so many jokes, laughed around a lot. I tried to flick a balloon from a shop, but amit stopped me. cracked down my motivation. Chuck it. So, we loafed around even more. I didnt want to go back to hostel. Still it was too late, it was 1:30. So Amit forced me back. I drove my bike like anything on my way back. Hitting top speeds on empty roads. Amit behind me was making his last wishes, writing his will.. lolz.. Came back to campus, drove at top speeds near all hostels, and we even recorded the bike ride... man pure fun! Ya, mind it, it was damn cold outside, and we had jackets :). Whatever it is, this may not be described properly (If I were william shakeappa iyer, I would have found a way to do it :P), still its these little enjoyments that make your college life memorable.. Pure awesomeness, Pure Fun... REAL FUN! ...I wrote this just as I came back. You can even check the time tag (uuh... server time is lower than the BST ( bhopal standard time)).. finally my mood was allright. I was back to "rocking" state :) ... haha!

cheers!

Trust part 2

This world if filled with so many people who are just "any people". But what I am lookin for is someone who can be trusted whole heartedly.

It looks like trust finds a way to break itself everytime. But what is the condition for everlasting trust? When is the next question. Will I ever find anyone whom I can Trust the most? As of now,  a few look mere candidates for it, "can-be"s, possibles. But as its in mathematics, every problem must have a specific answer. And I am wrong again. Even mathematics has a division called "probability". The results are never certain.

Its looks like life is decided by a probability. Either this should happen or it shouldnt, and according to the environmental and mental factors the most favourable event is decided. But why am I talking "probability & mathematics" now?

Still whatever. I started on a different topic, and ended up with something else. This is what that goes on in my head. Sometimes I like it, and sometimes not. Guess thats how things are. cheers!

P.S. I dont know for real why I wrote this. Trust me!!! ;)

TRUST!!!

Three important elements that drive this world are Trust, faith and hope. But what if one of these are lost?

Well, nothing great has happened to me. Its just that many things have changed. Since I came back into my hostel, after holidays, It looks like the world has changed around me. And I am totally positive that its the world and not me that has changed. This world I talk about includes luck, people, things, situations, etc, you name it, but most importantly people. I dont know what happened to them during the holidays, but the response has been fairly negative, or if I cant say so, It is looking negative, I dont know for sure. When something is wrong, you can smell it, feel it, and hence cant live with it. So you step in to change things back to the way it was, the way you liked. And thats what I tried to do. Yet without fruitful results. It seems like those people are shouting at me in their minds "why do you care idiot. Mind your own business". Or maybe I am just being a bit pessimistic about their mentality. So, I havent given up yet. But yet, Its like people dont tell me things, which they used to do earlier. They arent behaving the same. Is it with me or with everyone, I dont know. The trust has fallen. Or it seems like it, I aint sure. But, there is one thing that needs to be considered: "When times change, people change, environment changes. Grow up and be mature to live with the change. There is no world without change. Change is one constant thing in this world." Believing in this philosophy, maybe I have to move on. Whatever I do, I hope I will know later, but not surely now.

change of language

Well... something abt my blog is that I have been using the 'sms' type text language. I think its time to change that into normal 'readable' type text language. Even while typing this text, I typed many words in the 'sms' way. hehe... anyways you got the point I am trying to make here. Its just that, I am changing my ish-tyle.

One small error of GOD and a gaint leap for mankind!

Yeah ... isnt it true? well...? ok ok ok ok ok wait. srry, u don hav an idea watt i m spkin abt... haha!

lemme xplain:

Tell me hw many planets r dere near earth? nd hw many hav life? atleast the possibility?

There r so many planets in this universe, nd yet, lifez on earth. rare. or is it an error?

error in the sense, nature jus wanted planets, nd some molecules nd complex chemistry, everythin wuz random, cuz the way everythin wuz formed wuz different, different environments, conditions, etc. So, for every such random event, we can describe a gaussian distribution function between the no. of planets and possibility of life, where the mean is around zero. the small area to the extreme right is the total no. of planets that can hav life. ... or take this entire theory into a probability version, its all the same.

Point is that, we are here by chance. An error that has occured in the process of jus creating mass, a complexity in science, has created smethin called life. And so life, as protozoa, viruses, to bacteria, to insects, reptiles, mammals, etc thru complexities in bio-chem, hav come into existance. There wuz again a chance fr sme intelligent humans to exist jus as explained above fr life, nd here we are, humans, so called intelligent life forms. And above this humans have developed such technology, dat it has started to challenge natude in its very ways... humans have developed genetics, we can now change the organisms itself, suit our needs. we have developed space shuttles to venture into space, to see what we were, lets say 'forbidden' to (cuz therez no atmosphere in space, nd obviously, biologically we hav this limitation dat we need atmoshphere to survive)... i mean, wen will this end? we may even go ahead to control time. Slowly man is gaining control of nature itself dat created him. Man is trying to overpower nature itself.

One small error of god .... and a gaint leap for mankind!

My battle with the OSes

Vista ... It sucks! ... true. And surely I had to start my thread with the "vista sucks" phrase, cuz it deserves it. Vista is Microsoft's blunder .. I mean what wer they thinkin? wer they even serious?? The world's one of the most richest company comes out with a piece of crap and expects people to hail and like it... how stupid... whats more stupid is that there are people who 'hail and like it'... there are fans of vista too ... sheesshhh!!

Microsoft messed up their shares big-time with windows vista. This is what they did: They made the windows NT kernel sometime arnd 2000 A.D, it was good, so they put some overheads to it to make windows XP, which surely was a big hit. Since XP (which was made by putting a little overheads upon NT kernel) was a hit, they thought why not keep putting a lot of overheads over this kernel (..screw it up!), and get a new OS? .. WE can make easy money that way ... (stupid idiots) ... so they came out with 'VISTA', the supposedly revolutionizing OS that changed it all. They fooled the common man with its glassy effects, aero effects nd etc etc crap. So, people bought it, since it luked good. Its the early market gain that has helped microsoft gain that trust of the people. So now people started trusting Vista, many hav hailed it on the internet, just as I am de-hailing it. People dont know, many dont, nd they arent expected to. It aint their fault... well partly it is. But point is, look what microsoft did. They were desperate. They knew the limitations of vista, they knew how screwed up it is. But they didnt have the time. Apple had come out with OS X in 2002, which was a billion times better than XP, in front of it, XP was 'trash', a shame for microsoft. And also, we had beryl linux, ubuntu, and many others, which wer more efficient and better lookin than XP, so even the opensource community was growing. Microsoft was desperate. It needed something, else it would lose its so called 'monopoly' over the OS market. So out of desperation (not skill, or smartness, or intelligence) they came out with VISTA. They knew its limitations, so they started paying companies like HCL, HP, DELL, etc to sell laptops and desktops with vista compulsorily. I duno Y these companies signed it (they must hav been offered a great deal of money), but now they are pullin away. HP already is gettin ready for an OS of its own, it started promoting linux... well ... thats whats been happening.

For me, I can work well with XP, no problemo, but VISTA, I cant stand it. I have been messing around with OSes lately. One thing that many wouldnt hav tried is installing macintosh on an intel based system. Or in other words, I installed MAC OS X Leapord on my HP laptop. How? Ofcourse its cracked. Its called JaS Darwin MAC OS. Its available on torrents. Visit www.osx86project.org for details... awesome. Try it out.

Will put up more threads on MAC and linux nxt time ... until then, If u still are a fan of microsoft windowes, chk out their plans of a new OS, whose kernel they are changing (...applied brains this time!). Its called 'windows cloud'

astro stuff

Well... things seem a bit refreshed now-a-days. Refreshed in the sense, things r changin... the environment is changing. Things hav started seeming to look better. Hopefully they get better, they will, I kno.

How do I kno?? well... lemme explain.

I have been following the astrology section in the newspaper daily, since last week (during minors). Actually what happend is that, on the morning of my 2nd paper, DSP, which I had studied quite a bit (but nuthin had got into my head, I duno why, din hav interest to study, even my brain gave up, it said "see ya later pal"), so what happend is, lik that morning I go to the mess to hav my breakfast, and I take the newspaper and start reading. Nuthin interestin wuz there, nd smehw ... i say smehw my eye caught the astro section. With nothin else interesting to read, I start readin this crap. Under pisces, he says "If you are a student, then your exam will go badly today" ... I wuz lik shocked. My 6th sense got activated, and I felt it... My minor is gonna get busted big time... But I wuz lik "NO! I don believe this shit". So I walked away sayin to myself that I will 'rock the paper'. Eventually, I had to literally "rock" the paper. Din solve the paper comfortably at all. Frgot everythin. Brain already went to switzerland on a vacation, nd its callin me frm there "haiiiyyaa pal! hw r things?? Managin well without me?? the weather is awesome here... how relaxing!"... dats it, I was done. Blank! Nothing! ... 1 question started buggin me... how the hell did the astro guy know??  some1 has been spyin on me... still hw wld he kno?? my god! ... I asked a few astro ppl how they predict such things nd they said the stars affect our lives, their arrangement n all... then I thought, the only long range force is 'gravity'. If so then such minute level of gravity is affectin us?? sounds bullshit! so I asked him, If its gravity, then why doesnt the gravitational force of the 10 storied building next to me doesnt affect my luck? the math is simple... the stars n planets are huge in mass, but are far away, so the force over here is less, and the mass of this building is small, but it is right next to me, the force is less due to its small mass. So both shd be equally affecting me... He din hav an answer, nor did the other astro ppl... I still wonder how it works. They know the math, but they duno the science. They know how much ever they need to know... our ancestors hu discovered this phenomenon are very clever.

So back to the point. I started believing in astro stuff since then, and I kno that things will get better cuz my astro thing said so fr this month...

hope its true!

cheers!

Technology ... obsession

How much do u depend on technology everyday? think abt it ... mixers, grinders, TVs, juice makers, miccrowaves, cellphones, lappys, deskis, DVD players, A/Cs, ipods, bluetooth ... (huff puff) ... shd I go on listing 'em out or will u do dat urself and prove my point?

No doubt they are very useful n all... but its lik we are so much dependent on dem ... we hav become slaves of machines (jus lik the matrix movie thing) ... I mean I use my lappy, cell, gamepads, etc a lot... everyday ... I cant imagine a day without the lappy ... nd talk about the internet ... hav faced hard days without it...

So much dependency is bad, very very bad! dats y, I am tryin to reduce the obsession, and I have been very effective in my approach... else it 'ld make u robots ... machine like, monotonous.

Sometimes I picture myself in a green  hilly region, cool, sheep all around, no piece of technology, jus a hut with a fire place and amazing chicken for food... aaahhhh... dats paradise!

my dream - to live atleast 2 days that way! ... hope a day lik dat comes... I ll be satisfied!

twists and turns

Well, life now-a-days has been little too confusing... I am stuck up with a question that has been buggin me for long and it has started irritating me now. Its as if the question is laughin at me, "hahaha ... u cant figure it out ... here I am ... come nd get me.... blah blah" I m wonderin, shd I or shd I not?, I think before every move, nd yet smehw get the feelin dat I made a mistake. Some people are jus too "?" type ... cant figure dem out... jus impossible. Watever I try doin abt it, .... its lik it doesnt fail, not it succeeds, there is no response.... null value... nothing! atleast a response wld be gr8 ... man....I m goin mad...
Its the people...they hav changed a lot... I wanted them to be the way they were wen I 1st met them ... so cool, awesome, open ... nd masti ... but nw, its changed, they seem to be under pressure. Duno wats buggin dem, never tell.. many hide important things that need to be said and matter the most. The world is cruel, so fight ppl, dont adjust to cruelity. I wish things get bac to the way they were. 3rd yr has seen many changes. Unnecessary, unwanted and destructive changes. Maybe I lost what I had, what I wanted to always be. I hope fate gives me, my world a second chance... :|

idli

"idli" my nick in college ... I duno Y I got this nick, even if I knew, I forgot, but i sure do remember hu named me this ... >> "ladoo" ... huz ladoo? ... figure dat out urself... (ladoo = my nick to her)

Nyways, this new nick has spread lik nythin, even ppl I dont kno properl call me by this name... I am lik wat d hell, hw does he/she kno? ... I don care btw... I am used to it.

I was never called by my real name "vivek" by my close frends ... always it has been a nick ... even at home I am called by a nick "vicky" ... nd wen in skool, I wuz called "sidey" (god knos y they choose that nick ... I hav been known by dat name since 6th std if I remember correctly ... nd I thot it dies in 11th, but ppl reincarnated it ...hehe) ... still, its ok! I am used to it nd I like it kinda...

so Idli it is, my new nick ... doesnt sound dat cool but is nice fr a few ppl to call me by it... cheers!

Bloody...

Its minor time... I duno y, I aint feelin even a bit intereted in studyin ... damn it! even if I force myself to study, by brain is unwilling ... it straight away says NO! wat d hel? ... wat shd I do? .... crap! whats more interesting was dat I read the astrology section in the newspaper yesterday morning, nd he says "If u are a student, you wont do well in your xams" .... crrraapp!!! hez right! how?? damn it... hw do these ppl kno dat I will screw up? sme1 spyin on me!

Ok fine, I am screwin up, but wats more annoying is the 'airtel' signal... bastards, since I came bac from home the airtel n/w has been "poor" ... I havent spoke on fone properly with any1 yet. I was in bad mood, nd wanted to spk to sme ppl, but airtel din allow me to .... bullshit!... I wrote a hardcore hate letter to them, lemme c hw they will respond to it ... bastards!

So this week will entirely go in frustration... damn it.... time is bad ... sooo many problems in the past 1 month ... well, I ll keep up the hope nd stay as "calm" as possible! :)

My bike ...

Well, Its been jus over a month now since i bought my bike "TVS Apache RTR 160" ..> one awesome bike ... gr8 performance, power, looks... ulti bike ... I love it!
well. wat more to say? ... u wanna test drive? ... frget it ... hehe ( attitude... :P )

Peugeot Concept Cars of Tomorrow

If Gundam mated with Will Smith's Audi in I, Robot, the offspring would resemble these futuristic concept cars from European brand Peugeot. The cars car-like vehicles were all entries in the 2008 Peugeot Design Contest. Designers were asked by organizers to create vehicles for that ambiguous but tantalizing "city of the future." Areas of focus included environmental awareness, "social harmony," interactive mobility and efficiency. As you can see in the "Blade" vehicle above, efficiency is improved with the wind turbine that designer Ying Hui Choo added to charge an on-board electric battery.

The 888, designed by Oskar Johansen, pivots at the center and reduces its size for "easier parking, maneuverability and increased visibility."

Emre Yazici's "EGO" has two wheels and is controlled Atari-style with a joystick. The windshield doubles as the door.

Wireless guitar and drums

Another interesting thing I found ...

Just like the actual Rock Band 2 game, the new Rock Band 2 peripherals work more at refining the experience than redefining it. The wireless guitar and wireless drum kit add a bit of freedom from tripping and crashing into coffee tables, as well as minor design decisions that only improve your fake rocking out. The improvements aren't different or better enough for Rock Band 1 owners to throw out their current gear and buy these versions, but they are a great bonus for people who are buying the Rock Band 2 set.

The Guitar: The differences between the wireless Rock Band 2 guitar and the wired Rock Band 1 guitar are minor. The most obvious one is the fact that you can now, as Bruce Dickinson advises, "really explore the studio space" without yanking your Xbox 360 onto the floor. It may sound like nothing special, but it's one of those things—like getting waxed—that you have to experience for yourself to understand.

The strummer is almost exactly the same as the first, but has a slight bit more firmness to it. Nowhere near as clacky like Guitar Hero's, but Rock Band fans like it that way. The fret buttons are also exactly the same, with five up on top and five down below for solos. These are also slightlymodified to feel better to the touch.

The exterior design is modeled after the Fender Stratocaster, with a faux wood finish look (the guitar is still plastic) that's nicer than Rock Band 1's. It's also slightly shorter by a couple inches. It's not an amazing upgrade, but definitely improves on the old version in every way. All these miniscule changes made our playing better. Not incredibly better, but just enough that we notice a difference. Still not good enough to pass Green Grass and High Tides on expert though.

The Drums: Rock Band 2's wireless drums are also slightly changed from the original, including a reinforced kick pedal to address breaking issues and velocity-sensitive drum pads. The target smack in the middle of each head makes it a lot easier to hit the center of the pad and not the edges because there's a subtle difference in sound when you hit compared to the rest of the face. The wireless on these drums isn't a huge deal because unlike the guitar, you're not roaming around your living room while drumming. It is useful for keeping the area between you and the TV clear, which is always great for clumsy drummers and singers. We didn't get a chance to test the cymbal add-on, which should add an extra layer of complexity for experienced drumsters.

Just like the guitar, the minor changes found in the drums aren't worth upgrading for if you already own a set. Instead, you can think of these as a bonus for people who were patient enough to wait for Rock Band 2 before joining the rhythm music craze.