A creative writing workshop with Ashok Ferrey ...

Hello.

About a week ago, I attended a one-day creative writing workshop organized by National Center for Arts of Maldives and Open Mind Workshops based out of Colombo. The workshop was hosted by Mr. Ashok Ferrey, one of the best English Language writers in Sri Lanka. He has three published books and is about to publish his fourth.

I was not supposed to be attending the workshop. I wasn't the least bit stoked about attending a lecture where almost everyone in the seminar hall could write circles around any tripe I could ever write.

I just went there in the morning to help out my friend Simon in arranging the whole thing. When Simon asked me to join in for a few minutes and listen to what this Ashok guy had to say, I reluctantly sat down hoping I could sneak out unnoticed when the attendees break out for morning tea. I was sleepy and I wanted to go home!

Ashok started the workshop informing us that he is old fashioned and that he would not have any slide shows or visuals up on any screens and he'd just use pen and paper. I chuckled silently at this and started mentally planning the shortest and safest route to the exit.

Half hour in to the lecture, after the introductions, Ashok started talking about and pointing out things that I didn't even know I did when I sat down to write something. Ashok had some insights about all the stages of the lengthly process of writing and he patiently dumbed it down and shared it with us. I was hooked.

He talked about professional writing techniques. How to tap in the the inner voices in our heads, how to control it and turn it on and off on demand. He told us it is a trick that every writer should try to master, and that some would master it sooner than others. I'm sure I'll be the last person to master this, if I ever do. Perhaps because listening to voices inside your head and trying to interact with them is, in my book, a good working definition for insanity. With a febrile imagination like mine, I'd definitely try this technique very carefully.

Ashok went on to explain how we should properly plan out our writing, how we should write something, bury it, and return to work on it after a few days. Ashok explained to us how we should break down our work to short manageable paragraphs, how we should try and describe people without using adjectives and how we should try to limit the commas we use in our writing because they have a tendency to slow the reader down.

I really enjoyed the workshop. After the Q&A session towards the end of the day, I stood in line to purchase his books. I picked up Colpetty People and The Good Little Ceylonese Girl, both collections of short stories. I also stood in line to get Ashok to autograph my books. It was a good day and I was one the last to leave seminar hall. I had an enlightening and fun time!

A well planned and well executed creative writing workshop can elevate your work exponentially. You can take away a lot from these kinds of workshops to help you improve your writing skills. I'd definitely recommend any of Ashok's workshop to any of my friends who wants to improve their writing. Be it journalism, magazine articles, business letters or novels.

If you think I've become slightly better at getting my point across to you in this blog, all thanks to Ashok. If not, I must have dozed off in class again. I really need to stop doing that.

Laterx.

PS: Ashok Ferrey is a pseudonym.

This service needs to go mobile ... now !!!

Hello.

So, you are riding your bike, wind in your face, probably enjoying the ride rather than being stuck in traffic. Suddenly, you feel that your bike is becoming a bit hard to maneuver and it starts to wobble. You dread to think, what are the odds of getting a … and bam, realization hits, you have got a flat! Every rider's nightmare. As lucky as you are, your luck is going to run out sooner or later. Mostly, Moore's law plays out really well in these situations, and your tires blows out at the worst possible moment!

This happened to me a few days ago. I was out to run some errands at 8 in the morning. I felt that it was getting difficult to pick up speed and negotiate turns. I felt something was not right, but did not exactly know what, so I looked down and checked my front tire. It was OK. After trying for a few more minutes I stopped and checked my rear tire. I had a flat. Darn it!

As incredulous as it may seem, I was stranded near the carnival area with no repair shops nearby, and I had no cell phone on me. It was so early in the morning and I've planned to be out for 15 minutes, tops, I had left my cell phone at home. Stuck so far  away from home, with no way to call for help, I weighed my available options, there were none!

So, with the rising sun behind my neck, I started to push my bike to the closest place I knew, a row of repair shops on a narrow lane behind ADK Hospital. I was kind of relieved it was not the front tire that blew out, that would have made it more pushing the bike more daunting a task, may be even a bit treacherous.

Anyway, I made to the shop in about 15 to 20 minutes, and as luck would have it, it was too early in the morning, and all of the shops were closed. I asked around and found out that they opened around 9:30. I thought against waiting there for more than an hour, so I parked my bike, and walked home. Later that morning, I took the bus, went to the repair shop, and had my bike fixed in less than 20 minutes. Cost me MRF 145/-. Apparently, they don't do patching anymore, they just replace the inner tubes.

So, it got me thinking, wouldn't it be nice if we had a number to call in situations like these. Something like a towing, bike repair, road assistance service? Wouldn't that be great?

I don't know if a service like this exist in Malé, but I do know that this service is available in Addu and Fuah Mulak. I have used the service myself in Addu a few years ago, when I some how managed to puncture my tire riding on the famous Link Road. I called a number advertised all over town and two guys came on a motorbike with all the necessary tools. I had my tire patched up and my bike ready to go in less than half hour. I think that time it cost me MRF 25/-.

If this service is available in Addu and Fuah Mulak (and probably other atolls) I wonder why it is not available in Malé, with more vehicles on our roads, and seemingly more hazards on our roadways? Also, how about an insurance policy to cover unfortunate incidents and unplanned expenses like these? I'd definitely buy such insurance! Wouldn't you?

Your thoughts?

Laterx.

Calculating mileage for my Honda Wave S ...

Hello.

Being the curious type, I often wondered what kind of mileage I can get with my old Honda Wave S. With petrol prices sky rocketing (it has gone up 6 times so far this year), so I really wanted to know.

I set out to do a little experiment to calculate the fuel consumption of my bike. I am sure there will be more scientific and much more accurate methods to calculate a bike's fuel efficiency. I describe below the method I went with.

Step one. Log odometer reading with a full tank.
I filled the tank up to the brim. According to my bike's specification, my fuel tank capacity is 3.71 liters. I managed to pump around MRF 55/- worth. To log in my reading I took a picture of my odometer. It read 38,638.2 Kilometers.

Step two. Ride!
I rode the bike as I normally would, checking the odometer every now and then, and keeping an eye on my fuel gauge. On the 9th day, low fuel indicator started blinking. I wanted this test to be as accurate as possible, so I had to ride until the I completely ran out of petrol, but what if my bike runs out of petrol in the middle of main street? I rode out and bought a half liter PET bottle of petrol and kept it in my U-Box for emergency refilling.

Step three. Log odometer reading with empty tank.
On the 10th day, while coming back home from IGMH, my bike choked, stalled and died. I took a picture of the odometer again. It read 38,776.0 Kilometers. Lucky I had some emergency fuel supply, eh?

Step four. Arithmetics.
Previous odometer reading = 38,638.2 Kilometers.
Current odometer reading = 38,776.0 Kilometers.
Fuel tank capacity = 3.71
Using this data, you can calculate:
Distance traveled since last fill = 137.4 Kilometers.
Fuel consumption usage = 37.14 Kilometers per Liter.
Fuel direct expense = MRF 0.44 per Kilometer.
Fuel fill expense (full tank) = MRF 60.06.

My milage turns out to be 37.14 Kilometers per Liter, thats about 2.7 liters per 100 Kilometers.

My fuel consumption is 37.14Km/L while Honda claims 56 km/L for 125 cc fuel injection type. A difference of more than 60 percent.

This sucks!

There are a few things to be taken in to consideration here. First, I could not find the official mileage for Honda Wave S. The one I'm comparing to is Honda Wave S fuel injection type engine.

Second, for marketing reasons, Honda may have given the highway mileage. Fuel efficiency in urban environments tends to be much lower.

Anyway, my bike's performance seems to be really low. I need to service my bike more often and be more regular about it. Also, I think I need to read some fuel economy tips on this automobile sites and club forums!

Laterx.

Relocated:: Moving homewards …

Hello.

Happy New year! I know, its a bit late to wish you a Happy New Year, but better late than never, right?

Actually when everyone in the world was celebrating new year, I was busy moving. It is not the best time for a move, I know, but these things cannot seem to be scheduled in your favor! When you got to move, you got to move!

The last week of December and the first week of January was a whirlwind of activities. I had no idea we had accumulated so much stuff over the past years until we started to pack it all. Sourcing empty boxes, categorizing stuff, sorting and packing. The sound of masking tape being unrolled was almost a constant background noise in our homes. Someone was always packing something. The final move was on December 31st and January 1st. Bad timing. Yes, tell me about it!

There was no way that all our old stuff would fit in to our new place, so we had to discuss the fate of each and every piece of furniture we owned. We had to part with several items, and that was, as always, a difficult decision. The furniture you have kind of grows on you and its always disappointing to see it go. Unless of course you get a way better piece to replace it.

After 5 truckloads, 3 to our new place and 2 to the yard, we had everything in our new place. Setting up the new place was easier than I thought, and we had some help. Luckily, everything we wanted here fit almost perfectly. That was a relief, to say the least. All the utilities and services has also been relocated and activated including cable TV and internet.

After living in rented spaces for almost a decade, coming back home felt really good. Lot of stuff has changed in my neighborhood. People have changed, buildings demolished and rebuilt. The old timers remember us, and fondly talk to when we meet on the street. They are as friendly and caring as I remember, asking us how we are, telling us how they missed us, and asking about our family members and how they are doing. Though I have managed to reconnect with some of my childhood friends, most of the people living on my street are unfamiliar to me. To them, I am the newcomer to their neighborhood. It seems around here, even parking spaces have to be earned! Mostly by repetitive usage.

The old mosque, which was a landmark and a favorite hangout when we were kids, has also been rebuilt. It is much bigger now and three stories high. There is no garden and sandy compound anymore. Every square inch has been built upon, and the devotees still overflow on the streets, and way past my  door! I have to walk not towards the mosque, but away from the mosque, when I attend Friday prayers!

Now that I am home, life has taken a new turn. Priorities and responsibilities has changed. I am still trying to settle in, but it is good to be back home. Elated! 

Laterx.

Got a Visa card? Good. Don't let it expire !!!

Hello.

Bank of Maldives Plc Ltd, the state owned bank, has issued a statement informing its customers that expatriates and foreigners with a BML Visa Electron debit card linked to local Maldivian Rufiyaa account will not be able to use their visa debit cards overseas from November 1st, 2010. No transactions can be made with the Visa Electron debit card outside of Maldivies, either on an ATM or at a POS terminal.

The statement goes on to say that Maldivians who has already been issued with a Visa debit card can continue using the debit card worldwide, with a controlled spending limit of US Dollar 600/- daily, until their cards expire. New cards will only be issued against a US Dollar account, even for Maldivians.

In short, if you want to use your old Visa or apply for a new Visa debit card, you should have a US Dollar account with BML, and sufficient funds in your US Dollar account.

Bank of Maldives says it was a necessary decision to survive the US Dollar crisis. It seems that the Bank just does not have enough foreign currency to settle foreign bank charges for increasing debit card transactions abroad.

Bank is having tough time, that is understandable, by why did BML issue this statement in local language Dhivehi, when almost all banking communications and services are in English? Especially when this decision affects expatriates and foreigners more than locals? Weird.

Everyone traveling to mecca this season for Hajj bought US Dollars in the black market for a highly inflated rate because the banks in Maldives could not keep up with the demand. Everyone who is traveling abroad for the year end holidays will have to do the same. Thousands of students abroad are going to feel the pinch as well.

Black market for US dollars has been expanding at an alarming rate for the past months, and this decision by the bank will make the market explode.  Maldives is a small country, she is not self-sufficient, and depends heavily (exclusively?) on foreign imports. This US Dollar shortage will further strain the relationship businesses have with Bank of Maldives, will take it toll on the business relation locals have foreign parties, and it will definitely drive up the prices of almost everything.

This decision by bank will not go down easily with the general public, not to mention the uproar in the business community. Some say this is the worst years in the Bank's history.

So what is the solution?

The short answer would be to simply find another bank. There are other banks in the country, where you can apply for a Visa credit or debit card, so switching banks does make sense. The problem is Bank of Maldives is the largest bank in the country, it is well established, its operation is wide, and they have a branches across the nation. The other banks cater mostly to a niche, and specialize in corporate banking. Visa may be by far the most commonly used debit card around, but there are other alternatives. MasterCard? Maestro?

If you must have a Visa card, I am sure there will foreign banks which can offer Visa cards to us Maldivians. The procedure may be a little disheartening, but you can get it.

Long term solution? I do know now enough to comment on the countries monetary policies. But I would like to hear your thoughts on this.

I have one question, this may sound stupid, but if US Dollar is on a decline and at an all time low, why is it becoming increasingly hard to buy it? Are people abandoning US Dollar and starting to trade in other currencies? That would be bad for us Maldivians, since in this country, foreign currency is synonymous with US Dollar.

Laterx.

Scary: sinkholes in the city ...

Hello.

I am sure you have seen the picture above in your local news feeds. Its all over the internet. You must have been shocked to see the picture. My reaction was this was photoshopped or something. When I read the article accompanying the picture, I was like, Holy Shit !!!

The picture is not photoshopped. It is not fake. It comes from the official channels out of Guatemala. Link to official Flcikr stream.

If by any chance you have not seen it, let me explain. What you are looking at is a sinkhole, a natural depression caused by the removal of underground soil by water. This particular sinkhole is 60 feet wide 400 feet deep sink hole. Three of them appeared randomly in Guatemala City few days back.

Most agree that these holes appear to have been triggered by the tropical storm Agatha. Others say, its a piping feature, a nicer name for an underground burst pipe. No matter the reason, one thing is clear, it is darn frightening. Nature can do that to you sometimes.

Living on an island that barely measures 2 square kilometers, and the highest point on land being 3 feet above mean sea level, our only concern has been sea level rise and big waves.

But lets venture a thought, what if a sinkhole like this appears in an overcrowded and congested city like ours? I cannot even begin to contemplate the consequences if something of this nature happens in Malé.

How would the people react? How would disaster management officials work to fix something like this. What would happen to the families who loose their homes, buildings and businesses. Do we have the manpower or technology to repair the damage done? It is a scary thought. Very scary. Not to mention passel of domestic and economic problems that would ensue.

It is not like sinkholes have not appeared in Maldives or in Malé. Sinkholes have appeared near IGMH and some near Nasandhura. Haveeru link here.

According to stories I hear, some have appeared in other islands as well. But as with most things local, our versions are always smaller compared to other countries.

We have always been able to fix most of the things like this that have happened here, and I hope nothing of massive scale ever happens to us. But what if ...

Am not trying to blow anything out of proportions. Am not even trying scare anyone. I just wanted to take some time and remind us how insignificant we are against nature. How unprepared we are for something of this nature and magnitude.

Laterx.

Get Caught ... Get Flipped ... Or Get Deeper ...

Hello
Started watching a new TV show ... action packed of course ...

Its called Dark Blue ... here's the official site ...

It stars Dylan McDermott heading a team of undercover cops ...

Show doesn't loose time but throws us right in to their world ...

About code among cops blurring the line between good and evil ...

The plot is fast paced ... but some times a tad unrealistic ...

Almost every episode has got that over-the-top thing going on ...

Anyways ... all those guns, drugs, girls and all things bad ...

Make a good cop show ... a dark one that is easy to enjoy ...

I'm on the first season ... getting to know the team members ...

Hope this show makes it ... doesn't get canceled mid-season ...

Check out the show if you can ... you might like it ...

The title of this article is a tag line for the show ...

Laterx ...

Call for the faithful … and the tap runs dry ...

Hello ...
Okay … so this is the problem I’m having …
Every Friday ... around 12 noon or there around …
When I wanna take a shower befor Friday Prayer ...
The tap would just run dry ... and stay dry ...
On weekdays ... the same happens around morning 7 …
Guess everybody who lives in the building ...
Wanna take showers at the exact same times ...
I've talked to some of my friends about this …
Especially those who live a few floors up …
And it seems they have the same problem ...
I dunno about you ... but for me ...
Its kinda frustrating when I have to ...
Run around in the toilet ... trying to get wet ...
This is like the smallest city in the world ...
Seriously ... how hard is it gonna be ...
To up the water pressure ... at these times ...
I can understand that a pulsating shower head ...
Or an aerated water stream may be difficult ...
But come on guys ... open up those valves ...
Give us more water ... we do pay for it right ???
Laterx ...

Okay ... lets give twitter a try ...

Hello ...
Its hard to stand still and do nothing ...
When something kewl and apparently revolutionary ...
Is happening and everyone is getting all worked up ...
So it seems like everyone is twittering these days ...
I do like the idea of being always connected ...
I think I'd like to stay informed and be updated ...
So I’m giving this twitter thing a try now ...
If you think I’m any good or interesting enough ...
Do follow me ... I promise I wont spam you ... hehe ...
I've only been twittering for a few hours ...
And now ... I've like a dozen people following me ...
I could be found at www.twitter.com/subcorpus ...
Lets see how this web/IM/phone thingy rolls out ...
I see some good in it ... also see a bit of evil ...
But hey ... facebook status is almost the same ...
And nobody seems to be complaining about that ...
So … lets do the twitter thingy … shall we … ???
Laterx …

Blog updated … and moved … whew !!!

Hello …
Been waiting to find time to upgrade my blog …
This week ... I finally managed to do it ...
I updated wordpress ... to version 2.5 ...
It wasn't as easy as I expected ... it never is ...
I had some broken links after the upgrade ...
Had to manually fix them ... thats messed up ...
I've mixed feelings about this latest version ...
When you first login ... its amazing ...
The admin area is well done ... its really nice ...
The dashboard is really kewl ... and makes sense ...
I like the new stats feature built right in ...
I also found a liked the fullscreen mode ...
What i did not like was ... media management ...
Everything was ajax'ed and changed ...
I still dunno my way around most of it ...
Hell ... I had to reupload most of my images ...
Just to get my thumbnails to work ...
May be I need some time getting used to it ...
Also ... I changed my hosting ...
This blog was previously hosted on site5.com ...
My new host is the Grid Service at MediaTemple ...
It all the rage these days ... with positive reviews ...
Let me know how this blog works for you ...
If its unusually slow or anything like that ...
I'd also like you to drop in a comment ...
If you find any broken links ... thanks ...
And a call for help goes out to the local IT crowd ...
If you've managed to get lightbox working in 2.5 ...
Please let me know how ... thank you ...
Laterx ...

Earth Hour … what hour ??? whatever !!!

Hello ...
So everybody was talking about earth hour last week ...
It was like all over the web... even on mvblogs ...
I thought to myself that this is a good initiative ...
I wanted to do my part in the conservation/awarness program ...
So I set my cell phone alarm to remind me the day and the hour ...
I was doing some work in my room when the alarm went off ...
So naturally... I switched off most of my electrical stuff ...
Thinking that many in the city would be doing the same ...
That Male' would be different somehow... may be even dark ...
I headed out to my balcony to have a cigarette ...
Too take in the scene... and see how people were reacting ...
I was amazed that I didn'e see anything different ...
I didn't see any buildings powered down ... not a single one ...
The city didn't seem to given a damn about it ...
I had my cigarette... flicked it off ... came back to the room ...
Turned everything back on ... and started working ...
So much for tokenism... I kinda knew that it wouldn't work ...
It would've worked... if all power stations in the country ...
Shut down at a pre=determined time ... if not ... sorry no way ...
The sun comes up... the sun goes down... the lights remain on ...
Some darkened their blogs... and some darkened their websites ...
I've mine darkened year round... thats my bit... make do ...
Laterx ...

This Week in Photography …

Hello ...
Since a lot of us are into photography these days ...
I wanted to share a very kewl resource I've discovered ...
Its called ... The Week in Photography ... or TWIP ...
It a weekly audio podcast ... with some video tutorials ...
They have a blog at www.twipphoto.com ... check it out ...
The show comes from Pixelcorps ... in San Francisco ...
These are the same guys who bring us famous stuff like ...
This Week in Tech (TWIT) and MacBreak ... among others ...
TWIP is a fairly new show ... only two months old today ...
It debuted number 1 in tech category in iTunes ...
And quickly rose to top 100 ... and remained there since ...
I listen to the show almost religiously ... and I can tell you ...
For amateur hobbyist photographer like most of us here ...
Its a very good show ... informal ... informative and fun ...
Check it out if you've time ... take a listen ... be a TWIPer ...
Also ... if you listen to or know of any other shows like this ...
Let me know what they are ... I'd like to give 'em a listen ...
Laterx ...

Why is Focus ROL banning me … ?!

Hello ...
Its been more than three days ...
And this blog is still not available on ROL network ...
It works fine on dhiraagu netwrok ...
It works fine for everyone abroad ...
But it just doesn't seem to work on ROL network ...
I dunno what I am doing wrong here ...
Did I pluck a sensitive chord ... ???
Or someone is playing a trick on me ... ???
Either way ... I don't know how to fix it ...
And apparently ... nor does the support at ROL ...
Anyways ... I hope they resolve it soon ...
Coz not being able to access one's blog ...
And getting emails and texts about it ...
Is not that great a feeling ... trust me ...
Laterx ...

Update:: March 19th, 15:10pm
it seems to be working now ... kewl ...

Daily Photos of Malé … a photoblog …

Hello ...
I've always been amused by good photography ...
The amazing shots we see can have that effect on many ...
I've always wanted to go out and shoot a few shots myself ...
But all i did was procrastinate... as I had no reason to shoot ...
Few weeks ago... while surfing the internet ...
I came across several daily photo blogs of cities ...
I liked the idea of having a daily photo blog ...
To display images of one's city ... a photo a day ...
I thought may be I could have a photo blog for Malé ...
As photos of Maldives were everywhere on the net ...
But Male' was at best... under represented ... right ... ???
But I was skeptical ... I had my doubts if I can pull it off ...
Especially when they say that its not as easy as it may sound ...
Later that day I met up with nazeeh ... and talked it over ...
He was as excited as I was ... probably more ...
He wanted a reason to go out and shoot as well ... to practice ...
And having daily photo blog was an interesting commitment ...
So we began working on it together ... and here it is ...
We welcome you to www.dailyphotosofmale.com ...
Have a look ... let us know what you think of it ...
The idea is to update it every day with a fresh new picture ...
With an explanatory... descriptive and a helpful caption ...
We know it'll not be easy maintaining a photo blog like this ...
Some even say Malé is not big enough for 365 pictures a year ...
But we'll try our best to do this... am sure its worth a shot ...
So far we've both loved and hated the challenges of the project...
Constantly discovering ways to present our small city ...
Most of the pics are by nazeeh ... most writings are mine ...
Wish we were more adventurous ... hehe ...
Laterx ...

I definitely did not order this …

Hello ...
I went to one of the stalls in the carnival today ...
It was early morning and I ordered a nescafé milk coffee ...
And what you see in the picture above is what they brought me ...
It was cup of milk (apparently not ordinary... but powdered) ...
With a spoon of nescafé coffee dumped on top of it ...
I called the waiter ... and had a chat with him ...
Below is how our little conversation went ...

Me: I ordered a nescafe milk ... what is this ... ???
Waiter: This IS a nescafe milk ... this is how we make it here ...
Me: No this a cup of milk... i can still see the coffee on top ...
Waiter: Give in some time... the coffee will eventually sink ...
Me: Can you bring me a regular cup of coffee well stirred ???
Waiter: No ... this is the only type of coffee we make here ...
Me: What if i ordered a black coffee ... what'll you bring me ???
Waiter: A cup of hot water with a spoon of coffee on top ...

There are lotsa types of coffees going around these days ...
Some distinctively creative in methods of preparation ...
Others not so ... giving the same coffee cooler names everyday ...
So beware what kinda coffee you order when in a café ...
You may be surprised with what you are served ... hehe ...
Laterx ...

Thank you Facebook … for dropping the IS …

Hello ...
Am still grappling with a cold ... damn the flu ...
So am spending as much time indoors as possible ...
Just wanted to point out this facebook thingy I noticed ...
Remember how you had to word your status carefully ...
Cos you had to start something like "Subcorpus is ... "
Well ... the IS has now been dropped ... thanks facebook ...
Its a bit more flexible now ... with more room for creativity ...
Rather than saying "subcorpus is enjoying bond movies" ...
I can write "subcorpus enjoys watching bond movies" ...
Am sure the smarter lot among us is gonna mess with this...
Laterx ...

You wanna buy an iPod nano … ???

Hello ...
We all know nobody wanna part with any of their iPods ...
But sometimes you want the sell the old to buy the new ...
So here I am selling ... its a 2nd generation 2GB iPod nano ...
I bought it a few months ago ... when I lost my old iPod ...
I'll give the iPod loaded with all kinda songs and podcasts ...
So you could check out the kinda freaky stuff I listen to hehe ...
I'll even throw in a brand new pair of iPod earphones...
If any one is interested in a buying my iPod ...
Please let me know here so that I can contact you ...
I wish you all, but islamic extremists, a happy hijri new year ...
Laterx ...

Update 13/01/08 ::
Sold to Nimal for USD 80/- ...
For all who showed interest through this blog and texts messages ...
Thank you ...

Hello oh-eight… been waiting for you …

Hello ...
So... oh-seven has left... time just flies eh ???
But thats okay... coz I've been waiting ...
I've some good things planned out for oh-eight ...
And I was kinda waiting for it to come ...
Here it is already (kinda fast and without fireworks) ...
So lets see how the stars align for me this year ...
If half the things I planned for the year works out ...
This is gonna be a good year... a really good year ...
This years resolution... do i hear you ask ... ???
Well... someone told me this the other day ...
And it kinda stuck with me ... so here it is ...
"Dream like you'll live for ever ...
Live like you'll die today ..."
It sounds kewl... but i dunno if i can do it... hehe ...
But hey... who sticks by their resolutions... eh ??? hehe ...
I wish you all a happy new year and all things good ...
Laterx ...

Born ready. Born perfect. This is Artificial Life …

As a kid ... I was fascinated with science fiction novels ...
I read stories set in fictional future worlds ...
About near-impossible human achievements ...
And huge technological advances ... time travel and stuff ...
Not that I understood much then ... but it sure was intriguing ...
But I never actually thought I'd live to see this day ...
Fox has reported that Craig Venter ... a genetics specialist ...
Has created artificial life ... yes artificial life !!!
With synthetics chromosomes from laboratory chemicals ...
This is like huge ... I mean really huge ...
I can't even begin to wrap my mind around the impact ...
This discovery would have on our world as we know it ...
On life as we know it ... or on propagation of human kind ...
I'm sure there is gonna be like heated debates over this ...
I'm sure there will be like more than a few opinions ...
Especially between scientists and religious people ...
Life is supposed to be a gift from God himself ...
And if we human learn the ability to give life ...
Someone somewhere is gonna have serious problems with it ...
I dunno how far or where this would take human kind to ...
I dunno how far down this road we should venture ...
I dunno who would control this ... or who wouldn't wanna control ...
But I do know ... that there might come a day in the future ...
When an unborn fetus will have the right to be born perfect ...
Laterx ...

Could this be the power of blogging … ???

A coupla months go ... i wrote a blog post ...
It was about prevalent spelling mistakes of signage ...
They say blogs have the power to sway public opinion ...
I don't think thats true ... and I'm not sure I wanna do that ...
Some even say blogs can make you rich and famous ...
Haven't seen a single buck my way yet ... hehe ..
But may be ... just may be ... I might have made myself heard ...
Cos they actually have corrected a spelling mistake ...
I guess may be i could think of thisas a small victory ... ???
And i guess my blog hasn't been totally useless after all eh ... ???
Laterx ...