GPRS with Nokia and Kubuntu

For the first time in years, my BSNL internet connection stopped working - for 4 days. So, I was forced to try out GPRS. Airtel has this nice plan which provides 50MB internet for Rs 5, valid for 1 day (midnight to midnight - dial *222*5#). Perfect for my situation!

I have Kubuntu on my home comp and have a Nokia 6300. I was wondering how difficult it would be to get my Nokia phone to work with it. But surprise surprise, configuration was a breeze, and I had internet working in about 4 clicks and 0 key strokes. KDE network manager rocks! \m/

Being used to a speed of 4mbps, well, GPRS felt SLOW. The connection was pretty stable. Gmail took 5 minutes to open (the basic HTML view). Google chat worked fine through pidgin and thunderbird managed to pull my office mail. All I could download in 5 hours was 11MB (so much for the 50MB per day offer).

In all, I learnt 3 things - Nokia modem works with Kubuntu, GPRS is a decent backup if the main internet connection breaks, and it is really really hard to use up 50MB!

Shopping in Bangalore, minus malls

I still haven't got used to malls. Having lived in Bangalore since the time there were no glitzy malls, having bought things in the places I mention in this post, I always get the feeling that the mall prices are a tad too high.

Alankar plaza

If you are looking for clothes at low prices, this is the place to go. A five minute walk from the majestic bus stand, this is one of the oldest shopping complexes in the city (I might have called it a mall 7-8 years ago). Though you have to bargain in most of the shops, these days I see quite a few shops with fixed prices too. The average price of a jeans pant is Rs 350, T-shirts start at Rs 125.

National Market

Located a block away from Alankar plaza, this place has many stalls selling cheap consumer electronics, cell phones and accessories, music systems, DVD players, speakers, pirated CDs, calculators etc. It is hard to find such low prices anywhere. Of course, you have to bargain. Since it is all grey, none of the shops will give you a bill, and the shop keeper is your warranty.

Avenue road

Located near Mysore Bank bus stop (once again, walk-able from majestic), this is THE place to buy and sell books. One side of the street is lined with book shops from one end to the other. Even the foot paths are stacked with books. Every kind of book for academic needs - be it engineering, science, architecture, philosophy - is available here. Most of the engineering books are available at a 20% discount at all shops. They buy old books at 60% of their selling price.

Bhendi Fry

Today, for the first time in my life, I cooked a curry (of course, under the watchful eye of my mother). If you don't mind handling gooeey stuff and washing a very stubbornly greasy kadai, I think Bhendi Fry is one of the easiest curries to cook. Below is the recipe :)

Ingredients:

Lady's finger - 0.5kg, serves 4

Garam masala - 1 Tb sp.

Ginger garlic paste - 1 Tb sp.

Turmeric - 1 tea spoon

Salt - 1 Tb spoon

Oil - Approx. 50 ml

Optional ingredients: My mum suggested Til and grated coconut. Add anything else that you feel like adding :)

Time:

Takes about 30 mins (assuming you have already chopped the bhendi)

Procedure:

Chop the bhendi into small pieces. Pour the oil in a kadai. Add a little salt (apparently, it prevents the bhendi from sticking to the kadai).

After the oil becomes a little hot, add the bhendi. Wait 5 minutes - mix well. Repeat this at 5 minute intervals until about 80% of the gooeey stuff vanishes. Then add salt, turmeric, ginger garlic paste, garam masala (and everything else that you want to add). Mix well. Turn off the stove after another 5 minutes. Bhendi fry is ready :)

It came out pretty well, dad said super (yay!)

That's all for now.

Suggestions, anyone?

-Prashanth

Update
Do not close the kadai with a lid throughout. Keep it open :)

Lost in translation

I saw this notice on Old Airport Road today. The kannada text reads "ಅತಿವೇಗವೇ ಅಪಘಾತಕ್ಕೆ ಕಾರಣ" meaning "High speed is the reason for accidents".

The honeymoon period

It's been 3 weeks since I joined Oracle and I have gone through 3 weeks of extreme joblessness. My manager calls it the honeymoon period.

Well, the honeymoon period officially came to an end last night with my first night-out at office. (It was actually fun working on a saturday night). This morning, I got a mail from my manager with my first assignment and deadline. All this while, I used to think that Prof. PB is the only person crazy enough to work on weekends and nights.

In conclusion, managers don't sleep. I finally have some work. Things look good :)

Last day at IITB

I leave IITB in about 3 hours. And I have a lot of people to thank :)

• The mess workers for keeping us well fed throughout. Though a few may complain about food, I feel that I've had the best food of my life here.
• The house keeping staff, especially at H12, have been excellent. I can't imagine how things would be without them. 
• The office staff who have been so kind and helpful. They have been so patient and such a great help during our final stages. I find it in stark contrast to the office staff at RVCE - ask 3 questions and you are shouted at.
• DC++ hub owners - thank you for the unlimited supply of entertainment.
• The man at the H12 printer shop for providing low cost, good quality prints; and also for the nice chats every time I visited him
• The excellent faculty who made us stretch our limits in every course.
• My guide, for giving me good grades and finally letting me go :)
• The government of India for setting up such wonderful institutions. I wish them success with all the new IITs.
• All my friends who made my life here so colourful.

I will surely miss my friends, the ambiance, the food, the fun, the freedom, the courses and everything. But I'm certainly not coming back for a PhD.

So long.
Prashanth

Navjot Sidhu's funny and inspiring talk on courage

Part 1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54UG-ILhRKU

Remaining parts are here