The contents on the left ... sure is a lot to say in one breath !

But seriously, I am always looking out to have some fun, or people who I can have a good time with. Outdoor sports are a big hit with me and till date I have had the opportunity to go Kayaking, Canoeing, White Water rafting all in the himalayas ... maan that's an awesome experience ! Now that I live in California, a few of my friends and me once headed to Santa Barbara where we got to do some canoeing in the sea !

Well canoeing might not be the right term here, but yes we went in a small-long-little-red-boat and had lotsa fun with a few seals poking their heads out of the water to say `what's up ! Get out off my waters maan`

Even quiet night drives are fine with me. Quite often me and my friends just drive up to Malibu and park by the road and just sit there either having a few beers or ... well just sit there. Sometimes such moments of solitude are great after a really noisy week of work.

When I am not involved in any of the above activities ... I take to reading tech-books, do some coding and read up on some new happenings in the e-world. one example is this site which was a result of wanting to have my presense on the web ! Coding is done to build up my portfolio.

My bachelor's computer science degree was from `Nowrosjee Wadia College`. Then I followed it up with a MS program from Symbiosis Institute of Computer Studies & Research (S.I.C.S.R.) where I focussed on J2EE technologies. Currently I am pursuing my MS program at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles

I dont think I was ever the topper-at-school types, but I used to read up on my material and implement it too, so my fundamentals would be pretty strong. Somehow my examination results would never reflect it. Honestly, I don't think grades & marks really matter to an employer since all he/she wants is someone to do the job properly, so IMHO how does it ever matter that the grade is an A or a B-. Hence ... with all due respect, I dont really consider someone with very high grades to be `actually` very intelligent unless they have actually proved their worth. Someone with a zest to learn is more beneficial to an organization than a know-it-all who really knows nothing !

I love to eat, but somehow it does not reflect on me. My doctor says my `body metabolism` is high which explains why I dont put on weight ! ... but even then I pack enough energy most people don't have !Well ok ... whatever that meansLA is a nice place to try out lots of various international cuisines (it does however put a serious dent in the pocket sometimes). I have spent a few years in a city called Pune (in India) which boasts of the Osho Ashram amongst other tourist attractions ... ummm ... hey this section does not cater to the tourist sections ... it caters to the stomach.

I'll be including a list of great places to eat in LA and in Pune very soon.

I happen to have an extra monitor at home ... so I connected that to my laptop's video port, extended my desktop on the monitor ... wheeee I have a viewing area that is 19" wide ! Anyways to cut a long story short ... I watch movies on the monitor while working on my laptop side-by-side. Well it's just a little distraction I allow myself to avoid getting my eyes glazed over from extended hours of working ! ... so basically this is how I watch a lot of movies. Work also gets done and so does my movie watching !!

I know ... I know ... how can anyone ever watch movies like this .. but these are movies I have watched several times over. Ok I can sense you think I am a freak !

I love comedy ... Comedy Central is probably one of my favourites, but then Mr. Bean probably tops the list. That guy (Rowan Atkinson) is absolutely amazing ... his antics, facial expressions etc etc. allright enough. I could go on and on about him. Then there are the comedy movies which I cannot list them here due to their looong list ! War movies from the past from that neo-nazi era, stuff about Hitler, russians, germans, british spies (aah James Bond) are great to watch. Last but not the least ... bollywood hindi movies ... well I am Indian and have been brought up a dose of hindi movies with song-n-dance routines in them.

For all you non-indians ... you absolutely MUST watch a few hindi movies ... you'll know why is Bollywood the only film industry in the world that produces more than 800 films a year. Well my statistics could be skewed a little here and there, but yes get in touch with some Indians and watch some hindi movies !

Ok now moving on to music ... remixing tracks is also something I like doing. I would love to get my hands on a turntable and do some `real` mixing. Right now I use my laptop with an external sound card to simulate 2 decks. Software: Goldwave, AtomixMP3, Virtual DJ. Of course a lot of people prefer others as well. I am good with software, but then 2 hands with 10 fingers on a console is probably way better than 1. hundreds of combinations & shortcuts on the keyboard and 2. one mouse with 2 buttons.I will post some songs here which I have mixed. That'll take some time though.

Making web sites is fun and it's another way to release the `creative creature` within me ! My websites have a nice simple feel to them, with not too many bells & whistles. AJAX is a great new web development technique which I like to use it at every possible instance. AJAX interfaces are just so cool, it gives a complete desktop feel to a web application. Like every new technology, it has it's pros and cons.

All websites require some kind of image work, so I am learning photoshop these days. You know ... just fiddling around with something. Trying out some effects using tutorials on the internet. I can definitely draw my image on paper, Photoshop is just a technical handicap I have. Also styling is very important to make a site look professional. Hence I am putting my CSS knowledge to better use. This site is a decent example of my CSS abilities.

Well this is one area that really intrigues me. I really wish I could learn how to hack. I just feel ... well I dont know how to explain it. Unfortunately in the US, getting such jobs means you have to have some experience in the area or have to a US citizen. Experience ... well how does one propose I get that without `trying` to hack. Not to mention the inherent risk of getting traced and having the LAPD behind me !

I mean there are hackers out there, but they are not all bad guys you know. White-hat hackers are the ones trying to block existing flaws in the system and also on the lookout for more holes to plus. Black-hat hackers are the bad guys who tend the abuse the system either for fun or profit when they find flaws. More detailed explanations are available on Wikipedia for White-hat hackers & Black-hat hackers. I would like to be a white hat hacker, but for that I need some experience and that will only come when I work in such an environment and anyways ...Lesson of life: #196439: one cannot have all what is wanted ... period.

This gives me a BIG high and hence being a responsible driver that I am ... I try not to drive after watching a race. Maan, I still remember there was a time I was so crazy after this sport that I actually drove all of 15 kms to a friends place just to watch the race because my area had a power outage during the last 20 laps of the race ! I bet that evening I drove those 15 kms faster than the winner of that race. My mom thinks all F1 racers and superbike racers are idiots out to end their lives in a hurry ... you should see her squirming when those bike riders lean into curves at 100 kmph. It's a really expensive sport ... and I just want to have a few sessions around the track to learn the intricacies of driving `really fast`.

When I was in the 12th grade, I joined my astronomy club at college and quite often we used to go out on star gazing trips with telescopes, star maps and what not. We even went out during the period the comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 was in the skies. That was an experience I'll never forget. I drew up a physics project on this with lots of photos and all that, it was adjudged the best project at college. Unfortunately I dont have it today with me, what a shame. Another reason I really was into it that time was because my parents really encouraged me on that by asking questions, letting me go to more nightouts, etc etc. Now of course ... different priorities have taken over, but I would still like to pursue this as a hobby. Believe me ... it's very interesting and fun too.

Allright ... now we are talking. Well I cannot handle too much drink and I get tipsy `very` easily. Unfortunately whenever I went out I always ended up driving back home a bunch of boozies back so I `had` to remain sober lest the cops pull me over. A DUI is not something I want on my squeaky clean driving record. I prefer Vodka to anything else like Whiskey or the like. I am not a regular bar-tender types, who can turn out cocktails like a pro !, but yes I always try out new drinks whenever I go out. My current favourite is a Mango Mojito !I know Mango Mojito's dont contain Vodka, but I still like it.

My interest piqued when I went to this family gathering here in LA and I met someone who could make drinks and he was really good at it. He taught me a few things here and there about drink making like say the salt used for Margaritas, glasses to be used etc

Not drinking and not getting drunk has it's advantages too you know. It's really fun to see people who get stoned do really funny things, say even more funnier things. There was once this guy here in LA (when I was studying at USC) who climbed a tree and thought he was on the Eiffel tower ! Were we all laughing our asses off that moment ! Most dont have a clue of the previous night's incidents and this is really a good opportunity to pull a fast one on someone. You tell them anything the next morning and they'll in most probability believe you.Yes, I know I am being mean here, but it's fun you know.