अवधाने

१. दोन दिवे लुकलुकणारा सिग्नल
२. समोर नागमोडी डोलणारी बस
३. ज्याना डोह म्हणता येईल असे खड्डे
४. उलट्या दिशेने येणारी चारचाकी
५. आपल्या तीर्थरूपांचा रस्ता समजून दुचाकी चालवणारा कार्टा 
६. स्वतःला पी टी उषा समजून दुचाकी पळवणारी कार्टी
७. डोक्यावर कोसळणारा पाउस
८. आपल्याच तंद्रीत फिरणारा पादचारी

आणि या सर्वाना एकत्र सांभाळत गाडी हाकणारा मी गाडीवान….

सामान्य माणूस अष्टावधानी बनतो तो असा….

Myths

From time to time, one feels the need for a mythology. I prefer Tolkien's because

a. It's rich, unlike most others.
and
b. No one has killed in the name of it, again, unlike most others.

New developments

It's happening again. Just like my engg. folks, now with M and C moving, except for one minor (haha) exception, the entire old office gang will now be residing in US/Canada. While I feel good that the members are moving on to better things and was never great with keeping in touch anyway, the loss of the occasional meeting to bring me out of accumulated lethargy is something to miss. The time with the gang was certainly one of the happiest periods of my life (see towards the end). Apart from the outings, books, blogs and puns united us. I hope the members will go on to more bashes there if not here. People, if you are reading this, Thanks and may you all live long and prosper \\ //.

The partial bash list:

Birthday party

Tekadi

Diveagar

Water Kingdom

Vapi

Kaas valley

Sinhgad

Existence

Breathe in.
Breathe out.

Painfully simple.

Surprise.js

A random collection of surprises after a couple of days of wandering.

>> var a = [1, 2, 3];
>> 3 in a   // returns false
 

 

>> var a = [1, 2, 3];

>> delete a[0];
>> a.length; //returns 3

 

>> var a=1; 
>> function f() {console.log(a); var a=2;}; 
>> f();  //prints 'undefined'


>> var aa = new Boolean(false);
>> !! aa; // returns true

2/3rd of a marathon

Because it takes three movies to make a marathon. Without further ado, here is the आँखों देखा हाल..

First movie: After Earth. Seems this movie is getting a bashing it doesn't deserve. At least going by a couple of newspaper reviews I read. Here is setting the record straight

a. Will Smith has little role and is not expressive - Jaden, not Will is hero. And Will Smith is as expressive as a stiff military general, which he portrays, needs to be.

b. The film is somewhat naive - Though it talks about such unfashionable things as courage and discipline, I'd rather that not everything be devoted to reminding ourselves how corrupt and smelly from the inside we are. 

The movie certainly could have been made better, but that is no argument against it. Certainly worth a watch.

Break: Had our lunch at Rajdhani, which was my first visit there. They have these elliptical plates with 12 bowls inside, and at least 20 items. As is natural in such settings, I actually ate very little.

Second movie: Now you see me. Was waiting for this one for long. Interesting but somewhat complicated and patchy. Performances are good, especially from Woody Harrelson. And I am fan of Mark Ruffalo's diction. Michael Kane should have been given more scope though. The movie reminded me of Talaash where piling mysteries finally resolve into a surprising conclusion, but it was better integrated than this one. Nonetheless full पैसा वसूल. 

The Invisible Man

Over the weekend, instead of doing something that would result in career advancement, a gas connection or at least some clean clothes, I read H. G. Wells' The Invisible Man. I liked it even better than The Time Machine. It was a while since a book gripped me so strongly, and all the better for it.