Competition

Posted on March 24, 2013 by The Nameless One

What activity, task, or game most brings out your competitive streak?

I’m not much of a competition hungry person. I just like doing what I like with a varying degree amount of passion. I ~~like~~ love playing video games, though I’m more of a story and experience person than the again typical competitive multiplayer ones.

My most favourite game till date is The Witcher 2: Assassin’s of Kings, you can read my review of it from last year.

As I said I’m not the type into competitive or spectator sports or such activities, but when it comes to it I’m more of like:

The life saver at 2 AM

Posted on March 23, 2013 by The Nameless One

Here is perhaps (one of) the best examples of a 2 AM photo.

Pardon me as I’m not much of a social climber you see, and hardly get communication in the day let alone at 2 AM, well except for when some have some work to get done by me in that case you can make the scenario out.

Besides since it’s phoneography month going on, and since I still haven’t able to figure out how to take a screenshot in my relatively new phone Lumia 920, I decided to go with something more realistic as usual. As I already stated above, this is well suited for it. It’s a picture of Maggi noodles (the most common/standard one, Masala flavour) which I cooked around that time last night as I was extremely hungry out of not eating anything the whole day which wasn’t great in any case.

In India if there is something and probably if it’s the only thing that a person knows to cook, it must be this. It is such a huge part of food here in India, that people just consider the word ‘Maggi’ as the instant noodles (and adding prefixes/suffixes for the other flavours) despite the fact there are other branches of food stuff like sauces etc. available too. Heck I can easily say 90% to perhaps even 99% if I may that barely someone even knows it’s manufactured Nestlé. Many might even think it’s a national or even local thing. It is perhaps in the heart of every Indian, because of being relatively cheap and extremely handy, it stretches out even in small parts of the country. There are so many recipes using this.

I’m no exception here. When I was in another state in a crap of place for 2 years of study, Maggi was the safe haven for me and millions of other students even today. Even at home right now when there is nothing and whether it’s in the afternoon or late at night when nothing is available, no money, Maggi comes to the rescue for the hungry. Especially for a ~~hungry demon~~ person like me who can manage to eat the equivalent of three regular people and at times is usually hungry! Just like it happened yesterday among countless other times. In the packets, behind they print small stories of people with their various stories which they have to say, like how it has come to the rescue late at night at work, or for preparing something for unannounced arrival of guests. Stories of daily life with Maggi.

Cooking Maggi is one of the most done things by me (and so many like me) perhaps in my life. And especially after sort of literally living on it for 2 years, I’ve become the Maggi expert who can measure and put together the ingredients and water just with a glance (getting the amount of water wrong, more or less is the biggest pain in the ass which can totally ruin it you know). Heck people specifically make me cook it at times. Thank you Maggi for being for the hungry stomach all these times. And writing this has made me even hungrier now, I might just go and cook another bowl for myself!

My room at age ten

Posted on March 23, 2013 by The Nameless One

Okay so the title is just partially true, as technically I never had a room of my own so far, and the living room was always ‘my room’ (except when the kitchen and toilet were required that is)

When I think about over a decade ago, my home didn’t have over half the things there is today, and yet seemed messy. Here is a previous post specifically on my living room.

As you can see from there, except the bed with a different thing on it back then, nothing was is present now was there. Since it’s phoneography month going on, here is another picture.

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The folding table which is now loaded with my sister’s laptop and junk was on the opposite side of the room and only used when we had guests over for dinner in the house. And one thing I recall, despite having a big bed in the bedroom and another one in the (which I currently crash in) hall (the more common word here for living room). The (almost) entire family used to sleep here on the floor (with the mattresses and all that stuff of course). Only my grandma used to sleep in the bedroom as she used to get up at times for various reasons. I didn’t quite understand why, despite having enough room leaving only person to crash on the floor, which no minded or actually cared about then.

Well as years rolled by, when I was 14 or so, she became bed-ridden and was present in the hall while I stilled crashed on the floor and the rest three viz pops, mother and sister slept in the bedroom as it was enough for three. She died in June 2011, and now I sleep in her bed since then. Guess now everyone have grown too old for sleeping on hard surfaces too. 😛

Earth Hour 2013

Posted on March 23, 2013 by The Nameless One

Be a part in coming together as world citizens. Proudly doing since 2009.

Save Electricity. Save Earth.

http://earthhour.org/

Update: Earth Hour India successfully over some time back with a tremendous response.

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Local Flavor

Posted on March 23, 2013 by The Nameless One

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There’s this place called Fizzy around the place I live, it’s a local cafe which serves a variety of soda, juices, (great) cold coffee, hot beverages, ice-cream, grilled sandwiches, frankies and stuff like that. The cold cappuccino is my all time favourite. If this place ever became a ‘tourist attraction’ or if you’re not from here and simply come around this part, this place you should go. Would make for a great destination.

WP_20130403_004 While it’s not a big place run by a multi-national corp of some sorts, this is the big happening place here. I’m coming to this place since literally the first day it came up about 10 years ago! Time flies so fast. I remember being a school kid coming up with some friends and witnessing the opening which was a small shop back then which is now a big cool cafe where for people, friends to hang out, for couples to make out and that sort of thing 😛

I still come here almost everyday, and have my cold coffee before heading home. ~~Sometimes~~ Many times I just head out there to have one. Even the owner of the place knows me very well, well that was in a way a no brainer. ~~And dam I mentioned this place before in a previous challenge post and still don’t have any picture of this place. Time to rectify it!~~

Stranded

Posted on March 22, 2013 by The Nameless One

You’re stranded in a foreign city for a day with no money and no friends. Where do you go; what do you do?

Would be really odd if I get into such a situation. I dealt with both scenarios ie no friends and no money each individually, and both at the same time, but the catch was that it was here in my home city. I remember once I didn’t even had a cell phone, no money at all in my wallet and well I’m the sort of sociopath with no friends most of the time. I remember once many years ago I got ‘separated’ from my mom, and boy was she so dam worried, well I remember we had a quarrel and she didn’t care about me having no money or a mobile that time as I was only the ‘carry boy’. All guilt rushing to hit her. Made me kinda chuckle (I know, call me evil) I just manage to walk distances and get in a train and travel back home without a ticket (nothing new here, and hey that wasn’t a major crime, in fact a pathetic way for the ~~corrupt~~ cops to prey on, as if they needed something really wrong to happen for earning extra bucks). Even if I got caught, I got literally nothing on me so wasn’t much bothered either. Now this was as I said in my home city, making it bit more ‘comfortable’ for such a scenario. In a foreign city in another part of the city it would have been much more trickier, and exponentially more if it were another city in another country. I might have just gone to a restaurant, hotel or an industrial building whatever nearby and ask for help depending on where I’m. Well hoping people know english and are kind enough to offer aid to a foreigner.

Bedtime Stories

Posted on March 21, 2013 by The Nameless One

What was your favorite book as a child? Did it influence the person you are now?

the-dark-knight-returns-cover Although never had any ‘bedtime’ stories said to me nor I liked any, I did read a lot of books and especially comic books, which as a matter of fact still do today. Particular, if you know me or follow this blog you’ll already know Batman was my hero growing up. Comics, TV and the old movies were a part of my growing up among other things. And yes, very much influenced me into the person I’m today.

Although I don’t have any absolute favourites, The Dark Knight Returns is one of my most favourite books of all time. Recently made into an animated feature in 2 parts which I recommend you must watch apart from reading as it’s not only one of the greatest Batman stories ever told but also one of the greatest pieces of literature ever.

Partying Peace

Posted on March 20, 2013 by The Nameless One

Today’s daily prompt is an interesting one. So the question goes – Do parties and crowds fill you with energy, or send you scurrying for peace and quiet?. I lie somewhat in the middle. I enjoy spending my time outside, but after a certain limit I enjoy solitary peace. Either too much can drive you tired and crazy.

It also mentions in the title INTJ. It stands for Introversion, iNtuition, Thinking, Judgement. It’s one of the 16 personality types according to the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) assessment. (You can look up on it for a reading and here is the their own site)

So according to that, I’m an ENTP. Extroversion, iNtuition, Thinking, Perceiving. So lets see how is my category:

The ENTP is one of the most inventive and enthusiastic personalities of the 16 types of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). ENTPs account for approximately 2-5% of the total population. They are often referred to as the visionary, innovator, inventor, or explorer. Which means I have a lot of shit to do and still haven’t figured yet. As my role model Steve Jobs said, “Keep looking. Don’t settle.”

Driven by their dominant extraverted intuition, ENTPs have a wide range of interests and love to explore the world. They like to learn through give-and-take discussions and by questioning and challenging others. ENTPs view limitations as challenges to be overcome.

Because ENTPs use introverted thinking as their auxillary function, they can sometimes appear quite introverted. This drives them to reflect and logically organize their ideas. Though their intuition drives them to absorb information, they are quite rational and logical in making conclusions.

ENTPs are attracted to areas where their creativity and innovation can thrive. They are drawn to areas such as engineering, law, acting, sales, marketing, investigator, education, and more. ENTPs will commonly be seen as entreprenuers.

To the ENTP, ideas mean change. When they meet people who have interesting ideas or talents, they want to get to know them and help them be successful.

ENTPs like to keep their options open to new ideas and possibilities. Therefore, they may have difficulty implementing their projects.

To others, ENTPs can appear enthusiastic and fearless. They like to have fun and can sometimes appear to be a big kid. They are not easily offended, which can sometimes appear as insensitive to feeler types.

When an ENTP is involved with conflict, they feel a compulsion to resolve it. However, when they are personally involved they find it difficult to initiate discussion. Sometimes they feel inadequate.

ENTPs see the world as a puzzle that has yet to be solved. They enjoy striving to overcome new challenges.

An almost near if not complete accurate assessment of me as far as I know. Though the accuracy and reliability is always questionable, still gives an (pretty good I say) idea.

And lastly, some famous ENTPs include: Voltaire, Leonardo da Vinci, Niccolo Machiavelli, Richard Feynman, John von Neumann, Walt Disney, Steve Jobs and Tom Hanks. Quite a list to look up too. 😀

You can take the personality test here for yourself.

Extended family out there

Posted on March 19, 2013 by The Nameless One

I technically never had any animals as pets (yet) in my life. I always wanted a dog(s). I even ~~like~~ love cats and turtles. Well although I might have never had ‘pets’ but my home has been a ~~breeding place~~ home for hundreds of pigeons and sparrows for over a decade. A good part of the family income goes into feeding them you can day! 😀 Here some images from 2007 which I dug up from my hard disk.

Here is a sparrow family. At the same place outside the window, a sparrow family is always there even at the moment as I type this. They make a pretty dam mess though with their nests and shit (I mean literal shit, but not as much as the pigeons).

Aren’t baby sparrows so adorable? Pardon the low quality pics, all of these were taken by my ‘smart’ phone as it was known back then (now just a joke right?) good old Sony Ericsson W580i. It’s phoneography month too so that serves well. And here are some photographs of a pigeon family. I know, here pigeons (and crows) are more of an annoying sight as you find them everywhere, but not the same as watching them hatch and growing up 🙂 (also I feel like belonging to the order of the assassins from the Assassin’s Creed games) 😀

If you’re wondering why in some the bird(s) is fluffed up, well they inflate like a balloon when they feel cold or frightened. Even after seeing and eating from me everyday, those ungrateful bitches 😛

The final image is the babies fully grown up. And as a bonus here is me back then.

Back in the day with less hair and well, less fat 😛

I ought to take more now since I got a good camera phone. In the recent years squirrels have taken a liking to my home too, lets see if I can manage to get some pics in their state of harmony.

Probability of (Im)Possibility

Posted on March 18, 2013 by The Nameless One

“Why, sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.”

– the White Queen, Alice in Wonderland.

What are the six impossible things you believe in? (If you can only manage one or two, that’s also okay.)

I saw the daily prompt just when it came up when there was zero responses. After several hours now and reading all the responses, with some I also have agreement with, overall the conclusion is I can’t even think of one. What came into my mind initially and which made most sense is what defines possibility and impossibility. By that, I don’t mean sitting or jumping inside a volcano, mind you. The question is to what extent is an issue dealt rationally and the possibility of something happening or not. It becomes a matter of time in most cases, and I don’t believe in predicting the future.

Heck for the sake of not scoring a zero, this is the best one I can come up with:

– People will stop using the quote “Nothing is impossible. Impossible itself says ‘I’m Possible’.” Dam I get annoyed every-fucking-time when people bring that up simply in the context of this subject.