Category: Personal

I am no gamer as such. I am not into games really. But there was a time I was hooked to it! Back in the days of class 9, I was playing Age of Empires and later, Max Payne. Mainly these two kept me occupied. That apart, I also played the many demo games that came on CHIP magazine (now Digit) CDs. I also took generous doses of Fifa, Tropico and another RTS (real time strategy) game, not much heard of, called Zeus – The Master of Olympus.

The Payne Shot

Out of all these games, I loved playing Max Payne the most. Max Payne, arguably the best game of 2001, was a whole new FPS (first person shooter) experience where the environment not only looked real but also acted real, where it was not just about shooting but about getting involved with the story. 3 years in the making, Max Payne boasted of great graphics, superb music, bullet-time slow motion, cinema sequences (inspired by John Woo) and noir storytelling.

Overdose of Painkillers & Ammo!

Though I used to be a casual gamer and never a die-hard one, yet all the gaming hours took a heavy toll on my studies (with me sliding from 1st rank in first term to 4th rank in final term in class 9, and Maths score dwindling from 97 to a paltry 71), enough to make my parents alarmed! I had to get rid of games then. Afterwards, I lost interest in games whatsoever.

The Fall of Max Payne

Once again, I was tempted to return to game mode when I heard the release of Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne. Unfortunately, the desktop at home was replaced by that time and the new one had no graphics card and Max Payne 2 was quite demanding on the system requirements. Had to put my plans on hold for the time being. As soon as I got a laptop (in 2007) which is loaded with a decent ATI graphics card, I decided to complete my unfinished mission! So here I was, once again chasing down thugs in the streets of New York on a harsh winter night – enter Max Payne 2! It sure was a hugely satisfying gaming experience with all the greatness Max Payne is about. (It was somewhat easy gameplay though and less challenging than MP 1 in some way). After finishing the game, I wished it had never ended! My heart was heavy after the tragic ending and what better end credits track could it have been, to capture the mood, than the Late Goodbye by Poets of the Fall. It’s a fantastic track that I loved so much. I listened to it over and over again and learned the lyrics by heart. Soon my interest grew in POTF.

Poets of the Fall

This alt rock band from Finland shot to success after their single Late Goodbye of Max Payne fame (reaching millions of Max Payne fans) became a huge hit. Another single Lift featured in the popular benchmarking software 3D Mark 05. Soon came out 2 albums in succession – Signs of Life (2005) and Carnivals of Rust (2006) both of which hit platinum sales figures in Finland. One can get their songs from the all new POTF online shop or from iTunes. Last year, they released their third album Revolution Roulette. This one, I am afraid ain’t as good as their previous two albums. Okay, it does have some good songs. But has been a major disappointment overall. It just failed to live up to the expectations. Hope the poets will rock in their 4th album.

I have been hearing about it for quite some time. I was desperately hoping to lay my hands on it more than a year ago but it was still not available in the market. (So I had to buy the wireless data card from Reliance instead). Well I am talkin about the BSNL EVDO Card – the wireless data card solution from BSNL, the big momma of all telecom companies in India. Not long ago, may be a few months, I heard of its arrival in the market and Johnda got hold of one. Now I have borrowed it from him and all set to try it out.

First Thoughts

I run the installer to install the modem drivers – takes about just a minute – and the device is ready for use. I am pleased to see that the dialer software has a cool interface. On clicking connect and firing up Firefox, the pages start loading so fast that my jaw drops for a while! Man this is really impressive! Never expected such fast surfing speeds – almost like broadband – especially after my pathetic wireless experience before. I must say I am really impressed. 🙂

The Data Card

The USB card looks the same as the one I got from Reliance. The maufacturer is same too – ZTE. The model number is AC8700.

Speed

Siliguri: The connection is very stable and speeds are awesome. I am getting download speeds of 400-500 kbps which is just too good for wireless internet. Mind this is the speed I am getting in my medical college area where the signal is not that strong. The speed is supposed to be more. It can be upto 2.4 mbps but it depends on the signal strength. Also you need the EVDO signal which is not available in all places I am told. So what you can do is borrow from a friend and check if you are getting EVDO signal in your locality.

Kolkata: The speeds are not that great. The EVDO network has not rolled out yet, except some select areas of Sector Five and Rajarhat Newtown. The CDMA 1x network gives a speed of about 100 kbps and recorded a highest of 161 kbps.

Driver

A mini CD contains the necessary drivers for Windows XP/2000. There is no bundled driver for Vista or Linux. But fret not, you can get download them from ZTE website.

Price & Tariff

The BSNL EVDO modem is available for Rs. 3500/- The monthly tariff is 550/- Now that is good value for money considering there is no download limit. Billing is post-paid.- Effectively you have to cough up a sum of 4192/-at the time of purchase that includes an activation fee of 500/- and taxes.

How to buy

Go to your nearest telephone exchange and fill up a form. You need to produce some address proof. You will get the EVDO modem that day itself.

Final Word

This is the perfect product for those in the need of wireless internet connection. There is a huge market of wireless internet which has not been efficiently tapped by any company so far. Now BSNL has come up with something really great but they suck at marketing! Hardly anyone knows about this wireless data card option. There is almost no advertising. Any other telecom company would have got a product like this endorsed by SRK perhaps! I wish this was available for sale in computer shops. Who has the time to go to the exhange always?

Today I watched Dev D. It was the 6.30 evening show at Navina. The crowd was enthusiastic as ever. The cheers and jeers perfected with comic timing makes watching movies here all the more fun. As for the movie, well I liked it and I wrote a review of Dev D on Bong Buzz.

Sharatchandra’s works have not only translated the barrier of time, but have been translated in all the major Indian languages as well. He is equally popular in all these languages. It is said that he is so popular in South India, many there mistake him to be an author from there.

Sharatchandra himself attempted to translate গৃহদাহ into English. It was never complete. He could translate the first few chapters. I read the piece long ago. It is worth appreciating that Sharatchandra used French to translate the phrase ‘অভিমান ক্ষুণ্ন কন্ঠস্বরে’. He wrote – ‘in a tone of amour propre’.

I have read all the works by Sharatchandra, my favourite author. That includes all novels, short stories, plays, letters, essays, unfinished works, most of which I had read in school years. Whatever I was yet to read, I completed reading in the first two years of college. By the third year in my college, I had already read Srikanta 4 times, Pather Dabi 3 times, all his novels and short stories at least twice – with the exception of Grihadaha which I fully read only once, a fact that can be attributed to its huge volume, but I reread it in parts many times.

I remember reading Sharatchandra all the time. My teen years were full of his novels. Every vacation I would read his works, again and again. I have been out of touch for years though. I invite all fans of the great author to join the Sharatchandra group I created on Facebook. Sharatchandra Facebook group

Some folks from IIT Roorkee (2008 batch)  are doing a wonderful job of spreading awareness to save electricity and make the earth greener! Their campaign has already got a huge response from all over the world. Now it’s your turn to pledge for green! You can do so from this link – Pledge For Green.

If each one of us be more concerned about the environment, then this earth will be a much better place to live in. A green earth is impossible without a conscious effort of the masses, which is what Green 1.0 is trying to promote. My salutes to such a great human effort.

Finally the arduous exams got over and I got back home last Friday. Now that the exams are over, it’s time to sleep well and that I am home, to eat well! 😀 It’s also the perfect time to watch some movies. Watched 3 movies yesterday.

2 of them are Bond – Dr. No and From Russia With Love. I have watched all the other movies in the 007 series! I had watched all these movies in quick succession within a short span of time after the 5th semester exams. It is anybody’s guess that Daniel Craig is no match for his predecessors.Then again, Timothy Dalton was a disaster though his The Living Daylights was a big hit I am told. That leaves only Sean Connery, Roger Moore and Pierce Brosnan, not counting George Lazenby who had only one appearance in On Her Magesty’s Secret Service. It is very difficult to decide who is the best of these 3 men. Though I like all three of them, I think Sean Connery is the best Bond of all times. Connery scores more on the count of his suave manliness!

I also watched Slumdog Millionaire. I loved the movie! Brilliant storytelling and a story that touches your heart.

Today evening, I had a dinner at Ginger.

We all need them. Blank DVDs. There are many brands with Sony, Moser Baer, etc. priced a bit higher for their better build quality while Writex, Frontech and such cater to most run-of-the-mill basic tasks. Most stores will ask Rs. 14-15 per disc (Writex, Frontech) and some stores even more. But ideally it should be no more than Rs. 9. So you need to find out a decent store and stop paying more. There is this store in Jadavpur from where I buy my DVDs. Take the first left turn you come across on your way from 8B to Thana and you will see the store on the left side of the lane. They seem to be a speciality store on discs with all kind of discs from all brands stacked neatly with the price labelled on the case. Make no mistake – it is by no means any swank shop. Rather a very small shop, almost like a ticket-counter. You have to pay & collect your DVDs through the opening in the glass window.

While in Siliguri, I have got them a few times from a store called Computer Paradise for 11/- per disc. It is at Sevoke More, in the lane ajdacent to the medicine shop named Kolkata Medical Hall. A narrow staircase will take you to the store on first floor. It seems to be a godown basically. I have come to know of another store on Venus Road, in the lane just beside Citi Style where you get DVDs for just 9.

That’s so much for now. Where do you get your DVDs from?

I have been busy working it out in the gym! Thing is, for several months I used to only fool around in the gym until our trainer gave me an exercise chart which I have started from 1st of this month. This new workout regimen is proving to be quite back breaking for me.

I hit the all new Sports Bar Express today. I will recommend the chicken tandoori and the chicken kebabs. They make a mean American chopseuy too! The food is really great here, as is the ambience. Finally a good hangout destination in Siliguri.