Priyesh's Brain Drizzles

Initiate next phase

2011-05-09T17:14:00.000-05:00

The tracks of my life change yet again but this time they turn back slightly. On May 15th, I start my new position as Unreal Game Developer at the Virtual Heroes division of Applied Research Associates in Raleigh, NC. I've already moved out of my apartment in Texas and now I'm staying in Charlotte with my parents until my stuff arrives in Raleigh (hopefully by Thursday). The biggest reason for the move was I was tired of being out in Texas by myself. Well not "literally" by myself, I had my uncle Vasu and his family and I had some great friends. But it was too disconnected from all the family I have here in North Carolina. I couldn't really see myself settling down in Texas in the long term.

Now that I'm back in NC, I feel like I need to make up for lost time and spend as much time with family as I can. I have big plans for the future, so heres a breakdown:
- Buy a house
- Develop an artificial intelligence program to run the house :P
- Give it emotions, just kidding! NO EMOTIONS!
- Install touch controlled thin-client machines in each room
- Setup a server in the control room (basement?) to control the house
- Build an iOS application to remotely login and control the house (TODO: security)
- Most importantly! Get a very good security system!
- Oh and get a hybrid car that also has that AI in it :P

I think its very doable but will take a lot of time and more importantly, money. I need to plan way ahead if I want to pull this off. I believe I CAN pull this off, but I need to learn a lot about smart-homes and AI.

I better get started...
-Me

For reference, here is my last "track-changing" post:
http://priyesh.blogspot.com/2008/05/how-youse-doin.html (yea I know not the most informative title :P)

I Have The Power!

2011-01-22T11:16:00.000-05:00

The vacation went well. I got to relax, watch Netflix and spend time with family and friends. My friend took good care of Jackie while I was away. He was needier than usual for a few days after I got back but its back to normal now.

Some friends and I have been playing Dungeons and Dragons on Saturdays for the past few months. It was a fun campaign but it ended in December. We decided to do a mini-campaign before starting a new full campaign. We would take turns being the Dungeon Master (DM) and writing the story of what happens next. Unfortunately we didn't have the time to do a lot of sessions. Last week, we did one session which took longer than expected, so we are only going to do one more and I get to be the DM for it.

I've never DM'ed before so I'm really looking forward to it. It was a lot of work writing the story and planning the fights that would happen. In a way its like designing a level in a game. You have to decide where the players will be and what their options are. And you have to plan for what they might do but you can't always anticipate their actions. After the session I'll post a transcript of what took place, it should be fun.

In other news, I made good progress on Ball's Plight Remix during my vacation. I now have it working on iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad (iOS 4.0 only right now). I started implementing the Game Center features like leaderboards and achievements but those still need to be finished. Thats the biggest thing left to do, I already implemented the new powerup. I think theres one more special block I might implement but thats it. I think I will keep the online leaderboards on priyesh.org but you can't see those in-game. The in-game leaderboard will be Game Center only to keep it simple. So if someone is using a device without Game Center they can still submit scores. Also, score submitting will be done automatically now so they never have to worry about submitting them.

Well, like I said I'll post the D&D story once the session is over since the players are the ones who truly write the story :)

Bye,
-Me

In the air again

2010-12-24T10:04:00.004-05:00

My airport experience is going much better this time. Though its not hard to top the nightmare of my last trip. But thankfully it was mostly painless. The only problem was when I couldn't find a parking spot in the airport lot. I finally found a lot that had room and had to drive there and take a shuttle back.

I didn't bring Jackie with me this time, it was hard to leave him there but I know he'll be taken care of. My friend Brooke agreed to stop by my apartment once a day to take care of him. I'm going to miss him so much but its for the best. I did setup my computer with FaceTime so I can video chat with Brooke while she's there :P so I can see Jackie and know he's fine.

Now its time to wait for my first flight, Google is providing free onboard wi-fi which is pretty cool.

Beach Party

2010-09-12T13:25:00.000-05:00

Things have been really crazy the last few months. Our next game was announced, "Prejudice", the sequel to Section 8. Check out more info here: http://warisprejudice.com/

Yesterday, we had a company outing to the beach. It was a great party and I had a blast. I was having so much fun I sang Karaoke for the first time.

Now I just need to survive the next few months until the game's release and keep my sanity :P So far so good though, I've made some great friends and I'm having a good time and thats what matters.

Later,
-Me

while(bIsLayover);

2010-07-11T13:44:00.000-05:00

I've got about an hour left until my next flight starts boarding. I found my favorite spot at ATL (Atlanta Bread Company) and settled down with a sandwich and soup. Too bad the Wi-Fi is not free here but I decided to just back-date the entries and post them later. Genius!

Jackie has been a really good boy so far, no trouble at all. Even during security check, I held on to him tight and he didn't scratch me or run away (he tried but I've learned!). Now I'll pass the time by coding my iPad game. I love having this new laptop, I can do so much more while waiting for my flight now. I don't even need the internet to keep me busy.

[self endVacation];

2010-07-11T11:22:00.000-05:00

My vacation is now over, but I had a great time while it lasted. Jackie had a great time too! I could tell he was having fun in the big house with so much space to run around and play. Everyone got along with him great, even my brother's parrot Radhey didn't have any issues with him. We kept the separated of course, but even when they were both free in the same room they didn't bother each other. In fact, Jackie was afraid to go near her at first. It was pretty funny, a cat afraid of a bird.

My day on-campus went well, I had lunch with Dr. Youngblood and Hunter but unfortunately didn't get to meet a lot of others. At least I got to meet some of them at GDC this year. About to get on my flight now (on time this time!).

The journey

2010-07-04T22:53:00.000-05:00

A lot of stuff happened today, but I guess I'll start from the beginning. I got up at 6:45AM, double checked everything, put Jackie in his pet carrier (a lot easier than I thought it would be) and then we were off to the airport around 9! I figured since my flight was at 10:30AM I would be fine if I got there at 9:30, right? WRONG! I completely forgot that this is a holiday weekend.

So I get to the airport at 9:30 and the parking lot says FULL. I go in anyway thinking someone somewhere must be leaving and thankfully I was right. I found a spot in Area E of the parking lot but there were no shuttles around. So I throw my car keys in my luggage bag and walk to the terminal (about 5 minutes but it was hot and I was carrying a cat, a backpack and dragging a bag around). I finally found my way to the AirTran terminal (they moved it) and to my surprise, theres a huge line there! I waited from 9:40 to 10 but the line wasn't moving much (some people apparently had a bag that was too big). Finally they call people in my flight so they can get checked in fast. I think "Awesome! I'm ok". WRONG!

They say the flight is closed for baggage so my bag has to be sent with a different flight, its annoying but ok. I've got everything I need in my backpack anyway, I think. So after the guy gets done typing for 5 minutes straight, not saying a word, I'm finally checked in. I rush to the security line, and see that it is even bigger than the check-in line (like 3 times bigger)! Argh!

I finally get to the security checkpoint and I take Jackie out of the carrier and put it in the belt last (bad move). My bag throws a red flag because it has a water bottle in it. I tell the guy, please just get rid of it so I can go to my flight! As the belt starts moving, making noise, Jackie freaks out! He starts clawing at my shoulder and back trying to run (Oh, and I forgot his leash at home). He hides under a table and I snag him and put him back in his carrier like a pro (I was in no mood for playing nice!). I grab my stuff, put my shoes half on and run for it!

At the gate, I see some familiar disappointed faces. A few others passengers for the flight that were in line with me did not make it either. The flight is closed. The manager at the gate, however, was a very nice guy. I asked him to put me on the next flight thats connecting with Charlotte (that would be at 7:30pm). At least, I'll get to go home and rest and then come back later. I start walking back to my car and go to open the door.... CRAP!!!!

My keys were checked in with my bag, which was on its way to Atlanta already. My apartment key was also in that keychain. I was stranded with my cat at the airport. I called my uncle who lives nearby. He agreed to pick me up and let me stay at his place until my next flight. I was relieved, Jackie wouldn't have to be in the carrier all day. I went back inside the airport and found a family restroom where I could let him out without worrying about him running. Thankfully I had a bowl I brought with me to give him water. But he didn't drink it, he just sat in a corner the whole time. My uncle came and picked me up, we stopped by Walmart so I could buy a small litter box and litter for Jackie.

We kept Jackie in the garage because my baby cousin was sick and they didn't want the cat inside. It was a bit hot in there so I constantly went in to check on him. I tried using a leash but the rascal wiggled out of his entire harness to escape me and hide under the car. I let the garage door be open for a little while since it was raining and I knew he wouldn't run out into the rain anyway.

Finally at 5pm, I pack up again and we head off to the airport. This time there was no line at all and I only had to go through security. I put the pet carrier in first but Jackie wouldn't come out of it. Thankfully, the guy in line behind me helped me out by holding the carrier while I took him out of it. He still freaked out when the belt started moving and scratched me up pretty bad but I was ready for him this time and he didn't escape. I got some pretty big cuts though, thankfully nothing deep. I get on my flight with no problem and it went great. Jackie got scared when we first started taking off but once we were in the air he was fine.

In Atlanta, I had about 45 minutes until the next flight and since I was on standby they said I was not guaranteed a spot. I was really freaked out because there was no other flight for a while and I didn't want to be stranded overnight in Atlanta with Jackie. Thankfully, two people didn't show up for the flight and I got a seat. I don't know who you are, but thank you for missing your flight Melody Gold :P This flight was really short and I just played Chrono Trigger on my DS. Jackie was totally calm and quiet the whole time.

So that was the plight of my flight. I definitely learned my lesson now. I will always be there at least 2 hours early for any flight in the future. Never again!!

I'll try to update more often during my vacation. Since I quit using Facebook I'll post pictures on my blog. Its a bit harder to use but it works.

Bye for now,
-Me

Here we go again...

2010-04-27T16:33:00.007-05:00

So two weeks ago, I ordered a 17" MacBook Pro (which I have dubbed the MacBookPri). I knew I wanted one but I had to wait until Apple upgraded them with the latest processors. As soon as that happened on April 13th, I made my move! This will replace my 5 year old Powerbook G4 "Mak", it served me well but its time has run out. Its even leagues beyond my Mac Pro, "Sherr", which is not so much a sherr anymore. I'm using the new laptop right now to write this post. I would have written the post sooner but things have been weird lately. The past 2 weeks, I was busy with work and hardly had a chance to play with it. And this week I'm sick with a sinus infection thats giving me a major headache. But I gotta pass the time somehow, so here it is.

The specs you ask? Why certainly:
2.66GHz Intel Core i7
4GB 1066MHZ DDR3 SDRM - 2X2GB
500GB Serial ATA Drive @ 7200
Intel HD Graphics
NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M with 512MB
SuperDrive 8X DL
MBP 17"HR Antiglare WS Display
iWork preinstalled
Built-in battery (8-9 hour)

I ordered it with an anti-glare display so that it doesn't reflect light so easily. Makes it easier to use outside, it cost me an extra $50 though. The 1920x1200 display makes it easier to develop for the iPad since the iPad simulator can now fit on the screen (768x1024). Another really cool feature is it can switch between the integrated Intel graphics chip and the discreet nVidia graphics automatically as needed. Saves battery power that way. And speaking of battery power, holy crap! It can go for about 8 hours under normal usage.

If I wasn't feeling so terrible I would take it to some coffee shop and do some coding. But that will have to wait until I feel better. Hard to code when all I can think about is my headache. Hopefully I'm better enough by tomorrow that I can go back to work, I hate missing days because I just end up having to work more to catch up anyway. Its not like school when sick days were awesome because you got to stay home and play games. I don't even feel like doing that right now.

Anyways, I leave you with this montage of photos.

The treasure chest...

Still in its pedestal

Fresh out of the box, still wrapped in plastic

Comparison: top

Comparison: side

Comparison: Open

Both turned up to their brightest setting

GDC '10

2010-03-13T01:48:00.002-05:00

I'm in San Francisco, CA right now for the Game Developers Conference and its a lot of fun. I got here on Wednesday night and I'm leaving on Sunday morning. I only have one day left at the conference now. I came to San Francisco for a vacation and I came to the conference for information. Staying with my friend Rob is great, we've gone to a lot of different restaurants around town and explored the city even more than the last time I was here in 2008.

On the first night, we went to Marnee Thai on Irving St, not as good as Sabai but it was pretty good. Then the next day it was Udipi Cafe near Potrero, great dosas. And today, we went to Spices II on Clement St, I had the Bamboo Skin and Tofu which was OK but not very spicy. I've gotten used to the bus system here now, I can catch the bus to and from the Moscone Center with no problems. But walking up and down the steep hills is still pretty painful.

The conference itself has been pretty good so far. I've learned a lot from most of the talks, and met a few new people. I may post my notes from some of the talks on my blog if I get around to it. The most important things I've learned have to do with game design which is something I'm not that good at yet. Game design is not really something I would want to do full-time, I'm still an engineer at heart, but its something I'd like to be involved in. Especially with this next iPhone project I'm working on which is something my brother and I came up with together. I want to make sure we create a great experience so I'm learning from the best.

Well I should probably get some rest now. Hopefully I can meet up with some people tomorrow before I have to leave.

-Me

Year-end Review 2009

2010-02-23T09:13:00.003-05:00

Probably the shortest one yet (I only posted 5 times total in 2009). But I wanted to do it anyway.

So here it is, the year-end review for 2009 (first few sentences from the first post of every month):

January:
Well, today has been interesting. I made the decision that I would try to get out more during the weekend.
http://priyesh.blogspot.com/2009/01/interesting-day.html

February:
This is really a great moment. This is my very first officially published game.
http://priyesh.blogspot.com/2009/02/history-is-made-sort-of.html

September:
Its been many months since I last updated this blog. A lot has happened since my last post.
http://priyesh.blogspot.com/2009/09/back-again.html

Yea, I told you it was a short one! But I'm hoping this year is different. I've already posted once a month at least even though its only been two months :P

See ya
-Me

Welcome Jackie!

2010-02-22T00:34:00.004-05:00

A lot has changed since my last post. Someone new has come into my life and his name is Jackie :)
I adopted Jackie from the Homeless & Orphaned Pets Endeavor (HOPE) on January 2nd. He was 9 months old and now its been almost 2 months since I got him. I was really nervous about adopting a cat but now I can't imagine not having him. He is the sweetest kitty I've ever met, really friendly (99% of the time at least :P) and well behaved (98% of the time?). He was named Jackson by his foster mom after Michael Jackson (his brother is Tito :D). I call him Jackie though, and mom calls him Jacku.

Speaking of which, my mom is also visiting me in Texas right now. She is here for 17 days total, and only 6 days are left. I'll miss having her around and I think Jacku will too.

I haven't done a "year-end-review" for 2009 for my blog but really there isn't much to work with. I'll do one anyway though a little later just for fun, even though there will be many months missing.

Well thats all for now,
Bye
-Me

Back again

2009-09-23T07:54:00.003-05:00

Its been many months since I last updated this blog. A lot has happened since my last post. For one thing, Section 8 is officially out on store shelves becoming my first "shipped game"! I have my copy here next to me signed by everyone at TimeGate. I also sent a few copies to some friends but I had to buy those, they only gave us each one free copy.

I haven't been working on my iPhone projects much, mostly because I've been too busy. But I will fix that soon. I'm trying to decide which one to work on first but I will definitely do something soon. I will plan out the schedule and follow it this time.

Something hit me this weekend, when I was getting ready to go to work on Saturday I had a revelation. I have to change the way I am. I can't just be passive about everything and be afraid to say what I'm thinking. Its going to take a while to get there but I will get there. I am tired of living my life one day at a time without thinking about the long-term plan for the future.

Of course, any plan is going to have setbacks but at least I will have a plan. Though I don't know what that plan is yet, I'm still working on it :)

All in all, life is good.
When I have a plan I will let you know :P
-Me

History is made... sort of

2009-02-25T01:20:00.003-05:00

Current mood:ELATED

Download Ball's Plight:

This is really a great moment. This is my very first officially published game. Even if it is free, thats ok. Now my next goal should be trying to get one more in before Section 8 even comes out :P That would be awesome.

Now I'm just plain tired.. I should go to sleep.

Good night!
-Me

Time flies

2009-01-27T13:22:00.002-05:00

Current mood:relaxed

To pick up where I left off.. Slumdog Millionaire was really awesome! At its core, its a love story about a man triumphs over his circumstances to be with the woman he loves. A lot of it was in Hindi which was no problem for me :P but they did a good job with subtitles.. it was like Heroes where they placed them where it was easiest to read in the frame and not always at the bottom in tiny text. I highly recommend it to anyone, and make sure you watch the credit sequence ;)

This weekend I didn't really go anywhere, I just stayed at home and watched Sliders and Wanted. Wanted was alright, an entertaining movie with some serious flaws but nothing I couldn't get over. I also worked on my iPhone game quite a bit, I implemented suggestions made by my friends. I think its getting closer to being done, I just need to come up with a brief "How to play" screen. I want to keep it all on one screen, which shouldn't be that hard since its a simple game. And of course, I need to put in my obligatory cheat code.. something that usually involves calling me the ruler of the universe :P

By the way, the Section 8 media coverage has begun! A new trailer is out and can be seen at http://www.joinsection8.com and there are a lot of previews out too (which are linked from the official website as well).

Quick link to trailer at IGN:
http://xbox360.ign.com/dor/objects/746148/section-8/videos/s8_trailer_012009.html
Also their preview:
http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/946/946467p1.html

Anyway, I should get back to work.. lunch break is nearly over.

Bye
-Me

Interesting day...

2009-01-17T22:04:00.002-05:00

Current mood:tired

Well, today has been interesting. I made the decision that I would try to get out more during the weekend. So tonight around 6:30 I left to get some dinner before going to see Slumdog Millionaire at 7:15. First I tried P.F. Chang's but there was an hour long wait! Then I went to Cheesecake Factory, the wait wasn't too bad so I thought I could make it. But by the time I finished eating it was 7:25 :( I decided I would try to make it to the other theater which had a 7:50 showing.. it was only 10 minutes away so I thought I could make that at least.. right?

Wrong! I got there on time but there were about 100 people in line.. and there were 2 lines that big! This is when I realized why I don't go to see movies at night anymore. I found the automated kiosks and the line was not as bad for those. By the time it was my turn it was 8:05 or so. I clicked Slumdog Millionaire.. and the 7:50 showing was no longer available! I went all the way out there for nothing!

Well at least it was an interesting day :P On the way back I thought I'd grab a cheesecake slice from Cheesecake Factory but on my way there I changed my mind and went to Panera for a Frozen Mocha. I love those things :)

Now I am waiting for the 10:05pm showing at the theater thats right here. I won't be late this time! I'll leave at 9:30 to make sure I don't miss it!

By the way, I got Windows 7 Beta installed on my Mac Pro. I'm using it right now to make this post. On the surface it looks just like Vista (except the new Apple-esque taskbar), but its definitely "snappier".

Anyway, I'll post a review of Slumdog Millionaire once I see it. I can't wait!

-Me

Year-end Review 2008

2009-01-14T15:35:00.003-05:00

Current mood: great

I haven't done one of these since 2006, but here it is again! Its year-end review time! :)

Some months were skipped because I was especially ~~busy~~ lazy last year. But heres what was there. You know the drill, the first sentence from the first post of every month is posted below.

February:
I am now at the airport on my way to San Francisco, CA to attend GDC (Game Developer's Conference).
http://priyesh.blogspot.com/2008/02/gdc.html

March:
I've been pretty busy lately, but I'm still around.
http://priyesh.blogspot.com/2008/03/still-alive.html

May:
I have come to another point in my journey where I can see the tracks changing.
http://priyesh.blogspot.com/2008/05/how-youse-doin.html

June:
Its already June! Time flies when you're having fun.
http://priyesh.blogspot.com/2008/06/recap.html

July:
The long weekend is going really well so far, yesterday I cooked some more Seero (cream-of-wheat pudding) which I burned.. but its ok it was still good.
http://priyesh.blogspot.com/2008/07/this-was-triumph.html

August:
So the reason I haven't updated in a few days is because on Thursday afternoon, I bought an Xbox360 :)
http://priyesh.blogspot.com/2008/08/wii60-again.html

September:
Ike just passed through here last night (Hurricane Ike that is).
http://priyesh.blogspot.com/2008/09/i-am-alive.html

October:
I made major updates to my website.
http://priyesh.blogspot.com/2008/10/still-alive.html

November:
I finally got my laptop fixed this week.
http://priyesh.blogspot.com/2008/11/i-3-mak.html

So thats that, January and December were both skipped but other than that I tried to post at least once a month. I'm going to try and post more often but who knows if I'll actually do it.

In other news, I finally got a real bed a few weeks ago when my parents and brother were visiting. Needed help getting it up to my apartment :P Its nice to sleep on a real mattress. My Mac Pro is also fully functional now thanks to a new hard drive. Hopefully it stays that way! I also started my first role-playing game with some friends.. no not a video game. The kind with a Game Master and dice rolling.. its a sci-fi "Sliders" like theme where we are going to different dimensions. My friend Christian is the GM (Game Master) and he came up with a pretty good story to bring us all together. My character is Ramesh Shah, one of the freedom fighters in Bhagat Singh's crew from 1946. Can't wait to see how this turns out.. we play every Tuesday night.

So far 2009 is shaping up to be a good year :P

I <3 Mak

2008-11-28T21:45:00.002-05:00

I finally got my laptop fixed this week. So now I at least have that to use while I continue testing my Mac Pro. I did a fresh install of Mac OS X and it still died after a few days of use. This time I won't even update it or even USE it. I'll just turn it on and leave it for a few hours every day. If the partition still dies I know its a hardware problem for sure. Wonder how much a replacement hard drive would cost.. I really dont want to have to do that but I think I will :\

Anyway, my trip to NC went great last week. It was fun to see everyone again and Kunal got me an early birthday present: Mortal Kombat v.s. DC Universe for Xbox 360! Its a really fun game once you get past the campyness :P

As for Thanksgiving, I just made some chilli paneer :P yes I know, its not a thanksgiving-y thing to make but who cares?! It tasted GREAT! I didn't buy much today from the Black Friday sales. I just ordered two games from Amazon: Personal Trainer Cooking for DS and Wario Land Shake It for Wii. I hope theres some good recipes in there for me to try, its like a virtual cookbook. And Wario Land is a hardcore platformer with some nice motion control twists.

Maybe now that I have my laptop I can do at least some work on my game. I can't code it but I can fix up some graphics and screens. And maybe do some design work.

Anyway, thats it for now. I will try to work on my recipes section for my website too, I'm sure you guys miss them right? :P hah

-Me

Still Alive

2008-10-24T11:42:00.003-05:00

Current mood: triumphant... and hungry

I made major updates to my website. Added an "About Me" section and a Recipes section. The Recipes is under construction though, I have been neglecting it lately. I've got the photos on my camera, all I have to do is upload them and write some javascript. But I want to make it sorta fancy with PHP and MySQL. I'll probably make a temporary javascript solution until I can do the fancy stuff.

I've been working on my game too, "iP'Zong". But I can't call it that anymore, I am trying to come up with a new name. Its coming along quite well and I think I know exactly what I want it to be like when I release it. I can do a pro version later if I get a certain amount of downloads.

And my trip to NC is now confirmed. November 18th - 23rd is when I will be flying over there. And my parents and brother are coming here December 31st to January 6th. Can't wait!

Gaming-wise, I've been playing Dead Space and I am slowly working on my 3rd play-through of Mass Effect. I've been using Wii Fit regularly only missing a few days a month. And this weekend I am splurging on Guitar Hero: World Tour. I originally really wanted to get the Wii version since it has all the same features and I wanted to support them. But it seems everyone else is getting it for Xbox 360 :\ If thats the case then I have no choice in the matter.

Anyway, I think I'm gonna go have lunch now.
Bye,
-Me

I am alive

2008-09-13T15:24:00.002-05:00

Current mood: annoyed

Ike just passed through here last night (Hurricane Ike that is). Other than knocking out power it didn't really affect my area much. Now all I can do is eat junk food and play with my iPhone until power comes back. Feels like I'm in India again :P Maybe I'll take a nap or read my book again.

So long for now
-Me

The eagle has landed

2008-08-27T21:54:00.002-05:00

Current mood: great

Mom is here! I picked her up from the airport a few hours ago. Then we went to Berry Hill's for dinner (mexican grill). I was going to cook this recipe but we were both starving. I will probably make that tomorrow.

Speaking of cooking... :D of course you didn't think you were gonna get away without another photo album.

Actually I also have my photos from my trip to NC up! Enjoy!
PriPri goes to NC

Pasta take 3: Lo Mein edition

Kadhai Paneer

I also got my Mac Pro memory today! I now have 3GB of RAM, next stop 8800GT graphics card! I won't get that until next month probably.

Also, P'Zong development is going well! I have high score recording and sound and now I just need to add obstacles and polish the experience.

Bye bye for now
-Me

Stuff

2008-08-24T17:16:00.002-05:00

Current mood: relaxed

Overall I got a lot done this weekend! Which is good, because usually I've been wasting the weekends by just staying in most of the time. I got my car inspected in Texas, so now I have to pick a day and go to the county tax office to get it registered in Texas. I cleaned my apartment.. looks much better now! Lets see how long that will last :P I also worked a lot on iP'Zong (my iPhone game remember?). I think I'll try to post a video of it sometime soon. I think its about ready to be sent to Kunal for new graphics. And I need to polish the sounds up. I should be able to get high score recording in by tonight and I'm gonna look into incorporating a leaderboard thats stored on my server.

The pictures are coming! Facebook is being annoying and not letting me upload.. I managed to get one album published though:
Tindora: Take 2

Uploading my trip photos (for the 4th time) hopefully it works.

I'll have new photos to post tonight too :) I'm making "Khadai Paneer".. yes its paneer! But I have been avoiding it lately so I can have some now :P
-Priyesh

I CAN HAZ EYEFON NAU?!! kthxbye

2008-08-18T22:12:00.002-05:00

Current mood: EXCITED

I finally have my own 16GB iPhone 3G. And I love it so far, except that I had to exchange it one day after getting it. The WiFi completely stopped working.. oh well this new one works great! And I can now finally deploy my apps to it! I took a video of it too which I will upload soon.

The trip to NC was great! I got to see my family again after a long time and just had lots of fun! The facebook album will be up soon I promise.. I'm just a bit "busy" right now :P

For some reason Blogger is having problems with uploading photos. So you'll just have to wait.

See ya later
-Me

Rewind

2008-08-14T23:57:00.002-05:00

Current mood: excited

Tomorrow night I'm flying back to Charlotte for the weekend. For a couple of reasons, mainly to attend a wedding reception but also so I can see everyone again! I kept myself busy most of the time with movies and video games but it really does get a little lonely out here. Sadly I won't have enough time to visit my friends but I guess I can do that next time I go.

Oh and here are the pics I promised:

Chick peas with gravy (aka Chhole)
Pri's New Toys!
Chili Paneer.. my way!

My next big purchase will be an iPhone 3G sometime in the next few weeks.. and then a TV in September! Yayz

I better get some sleep. Tomorrow will be crazy

Bye
-Me

Wii60 (again)

2008-08-03T21:30:00.006-05:00

Current mood: great

So the reason I haven't updated in a few days is because on Thursday afternoon, I bought an Xbox360 :) Along with a 500GB Apple Time Capsule (basically a wireless router with a 500GB harddrive in it). I've been playing the heck out of my 360 with Mass Effect, Geometry Wars 2 and Soul Calibur 4!

Heres my setup:

One thing thats really bugging me is that my monitor only supports 16:10 resolutions (basically widescreen but slightly smaller). This means a little bit is cut off on both sides! This is really annoying!!
Examples:

Exhibit A: Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2

No, thats not supposed to say "Core" and I don't just have 69,745 points.

Exhibit B: Mass Effect

I can't see how many skill points I have to distribute!!

So the only solution so far is to play in 480p until I get a real TV :\ Its not too bad, Mass Effect still looks really good. Just not as sharp.

I did do a few more cooking experiments but I will post them in a little while. By the way, my Xbox Live gamertag is on the sidebar of the blog.. be sure to friend me!

-Me

More pics..

2008-07-26T18:00:00.002-05:00

Current mood: stomach...hurts

I need to think before I make some of those wacky dishes. I thought I had the best idea ever to combine cream-of-wheat and rice pudding... boy was I wrong. Now I am a bit sick but I'll be fine.

Here are more pics:
Something I actually did right!

Fried okra with peas, it is really good.

And then I made...
Brownies!

And for my next trick..
Pri's special chinatalian indo-rice with veggie chik'n strips!

And of course the infamous
Disaster Pudding

More later.. when I'm not on a sugar low
-Me

And here... we ... GO!

2008-07-19T23:47:00.002-05:00

Current mood: excited

So, Dark Knight was AWESOME! Don't really need to say more about that I'm sure everyone is sick of hearing how awesome it is from everyone. I decided to rent Batman Begins on Thursday so I could see it again before I watch Dark Knight. I had to drive to some little town called Rosenberg (about 10 minutes south) to a Hollywood Video that had copies. But when I got home and put it in my computer it wouldn't even work! It didn't even recognize that there was a disk in there. When I went back to exchange it the next day the guy used a disc cleaner and then put it in the PS2 to try it. It worked then but its unclear if it was the cleaner or the PS2. He was kinda rude, heres a sample of the exchange:

Dude: It didn't even do that? (referring to the FBI warning showing up on the screen)
Me: No, the computer didn't even recognize there was a disc, it just spit it out
Dude: Did you try it in a dvd player?
Me: I don't have one, I just moved
Dude: You didn't have a dvd player where you moved from?

I should have had a witty comeback to set things straight.. but of course I didn't.. I just said something lame about using the 360 usually. Anyway, I got the new copy and so I watched it tonight while enjoying the pasta I made :) Speaking of which, heres an album:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=48206&l=62cc7&id=646355347

So bye for now,
-Me

E3 was Wiik

2008-07-16T19:38:00.002-05:00

Current mood: hungry

It took a while but I am finally posting pictures of my Ginger Paneer experiment :P I finally made it on Sunday and it was quite good! It just needs a little gravy to make it just right. Its way too dry to be served with rice as suggested, at least for me.

Anyway here it is:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=47767&l=f37ed&id=646355347

Now its time to finish the Pau Bhaji leftovers. Tomorrow I'll "take care" of the rest of the paneer :D by making a ginger paneer wrap!

Ok, see ya next time!
-Me

More updatez

2008-07-13T01:20:00.002-05:00

Current mood: tired

I can't remember the last time I updated my blog this often :P Anyway, I wanted to let everyone know I finally got around to redesigning my main website. Its not done yet and I will still be working on it tomorrow but take a look when you get a chance.

Its at Priyesh.org

I also made a new logo, you can see it on the right side of this blog. Its just "Pri" in hindi! :D Leave any suggestions for the site in the comments.. I plan to integrate this blog into the main site eventually too.

I saw Hellboy II today, it was pretty awesome. Theres too many awesome movies this year. And the best is yet to come! Next week we get The Dark Knight!

Once I left the theater I went to Walmart to pick up supplies for my next cooking experiment :P and then ate some lunch at Quiznos. They have an awesome Brocolli & Cheese soup!

My cooking today was Pau Bhaji, pics here:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=47070&l=e3d87&id=646355347

It went pretty well but it was a bit dull in taste. I probably needed to add more spices. Oh well, I'll fix it next time I eat it. Tomorrow's experiment will be a recipe sent in by my friend Rachael.. Ginger Paneer! :D

If you have recipes you want to share, please do! I love to try new things.. if its a chicken recipe.. thats ok because I can probably substitute paneer.

Bye bye for now, I'll post the results of tomorrows experiment later :P
-Me

"Pri-3"

2008-07-11T21:09:00.003-05:00

Current mood: relaxed

E3 is just around the corner (Electronic Entertainment Expo) and even though its been reduced in size by almost a factor of 10, it still holds some excitement for gamers. The big 3 console manufacturers, Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo, will each hold an hour long press conference with big announcements for the upcoming year. Just giving some background as to why I'm so excited! Microsoft kicks things off on Monday afternoon and then Nintendo and Sony take the stage on Tuesday. I'll be (hopefully) watching the Microsoft and Nintendo conferences live during my strategically taken lunch hour :)

Besides that, I will be laying low and relaxing this weekend mostly. I plan to go watch Hellboy II tomorrow morning (11:30am show) so I can get cheapo tickets :D

I posted more pictures today, here they be:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=46860&l=d89d7&id=646355347
My (successful!) attempt at making Kheer! It turned out great!

And of course, heres the T-shirt I was talking about last night:

Thats it for now, time to relax and work on a new look for my website.
See ya,
-Me

Video Games Live... WOW

2008-07-10T23:16:00.002-05:00

Current mood: exhausted but satisfied :)

So tonight, I went to see Video Games Live at the Houston Symphony Jones Hall. It was even more incredible than I had imagined. They put on a fabulous show right from the start! It kicked off with a Metal Gear Solid segment and then each one was better than the last. They did the segment where the orchestra plays the music as someone actually plays a game on stage, but there was an awesome twist this time! The person was playing Space Invaders but instead of a joystick his movement was controlled by motion sensors that detected where he was on-stage! He lost pretty badly but that was mainly because he has no idea how to play Space Invaders :P Then in the second half there was a Guitar Hero: Aerosmith segment where someone was playing Guitar Hero while the orchestra played along and Tommy Talarico himself played actual guitar along with the song :P

And then afterwards.. they were selling T-shirts! So of course I had to get one :) I bought a cool Legend of Zelda T-shirt! I don't feel like taking a picture but I will eventually.

Anyway, since I didn't get home until almost 11 I decided to stop by Walmart to pick up dinner :) And I saw... PIZZA! My favorite: spinach pizza with white sauce!

And Snickers Icecream :D

I'll make some "real" food this weekend :P

Anyway, bye bye for now
-Me

More picz

2008-07-06T13:12:00.002-05:00

Current mood: great

So the 4th of July weekend went really well. Unfortunately its almost over and tomorrow begins another work week. Thought I'd bring you yet another dosage of PriPri madness with some Facebook albums to enjoy :P

I get internetz

Lazy-man's butter paneer recipe

Time to try some Corn Pudding!

My trip to Houston for a day

Today's plan is to go get tickets to my first live Bollywood concert! :D The "Unforgettable Tour" with Amitabh Bachchan, Abishek and Aishwarya Rai and many more! Its $85 for a ticket (YIKES) but I'll count it as one of my graduation presents. I've still got some of my gift money left over (Thanks!).

Ok, bye now
-Me

This was a triumph...

2008-07-05T10:57:00.002-05:00

Current mood: great

The long weekend is going really well so far, yesterday I cooked some more Seero (cream-of-wheat pudding) which I burned.. but its ok it was still good. And finished off the pasta I had leftover. I also watched "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" again. I love that movie and I wish they would make the sequel :( but the chances are way low.

Having internet at the apartment is definitely a huge plus! I can now skype with people :D My skype ID is madgamer7 by the way. I was talking to my friend Patrick and he recommended a recipe for Tee's Corn Pudding which I made and loved it! It just needs a bit spice to make it just right. I can make it better next time. I watched "Lage Raho Munna Bhai" again as I ate the pudding. That movie always brings tears to my eyes.. both of uncontrollable laughter and sadness. Which is quite a feat!

I also watched "Hancock" on Thursday night. That was a pretty good movie, not amazing like Iron Man or Hulk but I liked it overall. I did some research and realized this was never a comic book! But I bet there will be comics based on it and a sequel will surely appear. Word of warning, DO NOT read the Wikipedia entry on it until after you see it. They totally spoil everything in the movie in the synopsis. Just go watch it, its better not to read too much about it beforehand.

Anyway, today I'm off to my uncle Vasu's place in Houston. Should be fun, I think I met him before but I don't remember.

More pictures are definitely coming, including the steps to make Corn Pudding :D

-Me

More pics

2008-06-29T15:41:00.002-05:00

Current mood: exhausted from heat

Its unbelievably hot in Texas... I didn't think it would get this bad.. but a 2 minute walk from my apartment to the mailboxes is like an eternity. I can't wait until I get internet in a couple of days, then I don't have to come to this "business center" anymore.

Anyway, more pics!
My attempts at making spaghetti:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=45067&l=dd4ad&id=646355347
It didn't go horribly wrong, but it didn't go right either. I have to fix it today so its more edible. I bought basil and oregano so that should help.. and more spaghetti sauce should help too :P

Also, that top secret project I was talking about yesterday:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=45069&l=9c7a4&id=646355347
Its a hindi wall clock! It turned out pretty well actually :) once I get a color printer I'll make it look a little better but for now it works. I do need to get another clock for my bathroom though :P

I can't stand it here any longer so I am going home. Tonight I am going to the FunAsia Bellfort Theater which is a pure Bollywood (and Tollywood) theater. I'm gonna watch "Mere Baap, Pehle Aap". Should be hilarious!

Alright guys, enjoy the new pics! Thanks to those that have commented :P *ehem* others could learn by example :)

Bye!
-Me

So its been a week...

2008-06-28T15:06:00.003-05:00

Current mood: relaxed

I'm enjoying it here so far, work is off to a good start and my apartment is slowly becoming more and more awesome. Next week I'll finally get internet and then next month I will probably splurge on a TV and Xbox360 :P

I've posted pics here:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=44081&l=afe4e&id=646355347

And yes, thats the public link so you don't need an account :) be sure to hover over things with your mouse because I tagged those pictures like crazy.

Right now I'm "borrowing" the internet at the apartment office computer lab. The computers they have there are junk, so I plugged my laptop in. They are supposed to have wifi but it doesn't work. I'm probably gonna head back in a few minutes, I'm working on something that will either be a waste of time or AWESOME. I'll post about that later.

By the way, I wanted to make one thing clear. Due to the nature of my work and the confidential information I may or may not be privy to, I will refrain from talking about my job on this blog altogether. What happens during my lunch breaks, however, are totally ok :D

Bye,
-Me

I'm HITHER!

2008-06-22T16:20:00.002-05:00

Current mood: awesome

I am now a resident of Sugar Land, Texas! My new apartment is pretty nice, perfect for one person with some nice amenities. I get a washer/dryer, full size fridge, electric stove and a cool programmable thermostat.

Made lots of purchases since I got here, but I should be ok next month once I start getting paid. For now, I'm gonna lay low for a while and not spend too much.

I am working on the photos.. it just sucks to not have internet. The public computers at the apartment complex STINK! :P I am trying to decide on an ISP.. I think I'll just pick Windstream and be done with it. If you have a protest.. let me know.

Questions? Comments? Thats what comments are for!
-Me

Teh move

2008-06-16T23:50:00.000-05:00

Current mood: anticipatory

My graduation party was a huge success! We had a lot of fun and everyone loved the food :) I will post my pics later, don't feel like it now.

I start the journey to Texas tomorrow afternoon. I've got all my things ready to go, almost. Except my laptop (which I am using now) and my speakers and iPod because I am listening to music. I decided to just take the Wii and leave my retro systems home. I can get the PS2 later if I want, the Wii is what I want to play anyway. Especially, once I buy Wii Fit!

I am going to drive there with my dad, taking turns at the wheel. Mom isn't feeling well so shes staying home with Kunal. The plan is to drive to Atlanta tomorrow, then drive as much as we can and stay overnight in Louisiana somewhere and finally drive to the apartment on Thursday morning. Theres a lot that we will have to buy over there... thankfully I got lots of cash for my graduation :P I'll probably use my Gamestop gift card for Wii Fit on Saturday (Thanks Keith!). And the iPhone 3G will be my parents' graduation gift to me! But thats not until July 11th.

Things I will have to get, in general order of priority:
- Internet :P, gotta call the cable guy to install the modem
- Computer Desk
- New laptop bag.. mine is broke'd :\
- Time Capsule (WiFi router/backup drive)
- TV stand
- 1080p HDTV! Maybe a 42", not sure yet
- Xbox 360 60GB model? this is rumored to come out in August

Obviously this is not all going to happen this weekend :D By November it should all be in place though. Feels good to have a career!

Gotta get some sleep now.. Once I have internet installed in my apartment I will post pics and update!

-Me

And I'm back..

2008-06-10T09:41:00.003-05:00

Current mood: exhausted

We're finally back in the US and our vacation is over. The plane ride was ok.. I watched Harry Potter 1 and 2 which was pretty cool, I managed to miss the whole series so far (except for seeing parts of the first 2 movies on TV). There was a girl sitting next to me on the plane who was pretty chatty at first, but then I did something really dumb. When I fell asleep I had a dream where I was talking to my brother, but he was being his usual arrogant self and I went to punch him... I woke up as I punched the seat in front of.. not me.. the girl sitting next to me! :D it seems funny now but I must have scared her pretty bad. And then I go and try to "explain" it by telling her its because I was punching my brother in my dream.. too late though. Never said a word after that.. and avoided me the whole time. Its pretty hilarious when I think about it now... :D

The flight had really good food and I did sleep some (as mentioned :P). Unfortunately my parents and brother somehow ended up with the "special veg" meals.. which are the "no eggs, no onions, no garlic" meals (jain meals). Dad must have selected something wrong or something :P I got the normal veg meal which had paneer! :D hehehehe

Now its time to clean up and prepare for my graduation party on Sunday. So many people coming we need to be prepared! And I need to pack for my Texas move. I'm not taking much furniture with me.. gonna buy most of it when I get there.. except maybe my bookshelf and the TV stand.

OH and pictures.. there has been a lot of confusion about needing a facebook acount to view my albums. Thats because I accidentally posted the non-public link for album 2. Here are the PUBLIC links for my facebook albums:

India Trip part 1
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=39652&l=c66b4&id=646355347

India Trip part 2
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=41831&l=02d7c&id=646355347

And I posted all my pictures without commentary here:
http://priyesh.org/IndiaTrip2008/pics.html

I will be making a part 3 with commentary but I have no idea when.

Sees ya later,
-Me

मह टाइटल हूँ

2008-06-08T02:24:00.002-05:00

Current mood: sad and happy

So today is our last day in India for this trip at least. Next time will be a few years later. It was fun to meet all the relatives and see all the places from my childhood. During the final packing my parents realized one of our bags had a broken chain :P So we had to give it for repair, the guy said it will be ready by 3pm.. thats cutting it kinda close. Our flight is at 11pm but since the rain has started here there will probably be a lot of traffic.

I already beat Phoenix Wright 1,2 and 3 and I forgot to bring Apollo Justice :\ But I will just play Puzzle Quest :D I am officially readdicted to that game! I'm level 27 now and rising!

See ya later!
-Me

So many updates!

2008-06-06T04:13:00.003-05:00

Current mood: great

I finally finished transcribing my journal entries, I also uploaded some of my pictures. I took LOTS of pictures and I didn't want to upload them all at once. I did manage to do some of my photo-biography. I took pictures of the place I used to live and places of my childhood. I'll post that later. For now heres part 2 of my India album:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=41831&l=02d7c&id=646355347

I'll also post an update with links to all my India updates in it for those that missed them.

-Me

Edit: I accidentally posted the non-public link.. this link will now let ANYONE view the photos without logging into facebook

Recap

2008-06-06T03:34:00.004-05:00

Its already June! Time flies when you're having fun. This is our last week in India, no idea when I'll be back here next. Could be next year, could be another 6 years. Heres a quick recap of my entire trip!

Arrived in Mumbai (May 13)
Shopping and staying at Aunt Usha's
Staying at my cousin Tinu's place (YAY Wi-Fi!)
Stayed at a rented flat in Kandivali
Gujurat trip with Aunt Usha

Train ride in first class to Rajkot
Rajkot, visited my cousin Jignasha
Virpur, visited the famous Jalarambapa temple
Gondol, stayed at BAPS temple and visited Bhuvaneshwari temple
had an awesome dinner at a road-side "dhaba" called "Parotha House"
Saranpur, stayed at BAPS temple, visited Bajrangbali (Lord Hanuman) temple
Rajkot, stayed at cousin's in-laws' place
Train ride in first class back to Mumbai

Back to Aunt Usha's for a day... electricity goes out on a hot Mumbai night -_- couldn't sleep until lights come back at 2:30 am
Gujurat trip by rented car

Dahanu, visited Mahalaxmi temple where I had my first ritual hair-cut as an infant (the custom is to let the baby's hair grow until a certain point when it is all shaved at a temple)
Bilimora, stayed at Uncle Prakash's place, visited my childhood memories
Sachin, visited mom's uncle
Surat, visited dad's older sister Madhu and lots of other people
Navsari, stayed at Uncle Anil and Naresh's place, visited my mom's tutor from the college days
Khadsupa, visited mom's older uncle which is also where my great-grandmother lived until she passed away a few years ago (at the age of 104). I met her last time I came 6 years ago
Vapi, visited my aunt's old place and Babukaka who is the caretaker and also took care of my brother and I when we were little

Goregaon (Mumbai), visited my dad's older brother Mahendra
back to Aunt Usha's

Stayed at Aunt Usha's for the week until Friday (lights didn't go out this time!)
Visited my dad's older brother Chandravadhan (who is over years older than him!) and then had an awesome dinner at my dad's close friend R.F. Sawant's place
Visited Evershine Nagar which is where we used to live, I asked nicely and the watchman let me in to take pictures :P
Then we visited InOrbit mall in Malad, had lunch at Ruby Tuesdays (VERY expensive =-O). We watched Indiana Jones 4 (they ruined it) and then went home to have dinner with Aunt Usha.
Went shopping on Linking Rd for shoes that match our new outfits, we had lunch at Subway.. but electricity went out so we had to eat cold subs -_-
Travelled with all our luggage in a taxi to Chembur district to my cousin Tinu's place again.
Used the Wi-Fi to upload pictures and transcribe my journal entries :P

Wow, that was a long update. But I had to write it all down
-Me

Gujurat trip part 2

2008-05-30T23:30:00.000-05:00

Our second trip to Gujurat is about to end. This time we hired a driver from Mumbai to drive to Bilimora (my mom's hometown). There we stayed at my uncle Prakash's place (my mom's cousin). I remembered my childhood memories of that town. It was fun hanging out with my cousin Ankit. Then we left from there this morning for Surat (FYI: my Animal Crossing town is named after this town!). I got to meet one of my dad's sisters there (aunt Madhu) and I also got to meet another one (Aunt Ratna) on our way to Bilimora. We met lots of people in Surat and everyone insisted we eat or drink something :P Its just the Indian way... never let the guest leave without feeding them something even if they might throw up :D Now we're in Navsari at my other uncle's place (Uncle Anil). We'll be leaving for Mumbai in the morning. I'll probably get internet again next weekend before leaving.

-Me
(backdated)

Choo choo again

2008-05-27T21:00:00.000-05:00

I'm on the train again on my way back to Mumbai. Our trip to Gujurat was a success. It was fun to go to the famous temples and visit the villages. It was really nice to go out of Mumbai finally and see another side of India. It was also great to be able to bond with my aunt Usha (my dad's elder sister). Kunal and I both got along with her really well. After our road trip we stayed at my cousin's in-laws' place in Rajkot. They had Wi-Fi there but it stopped working when I tried to upload pictures today. Oh well, I'll get another chance later.

Theres another thing I did in Rajkot before we left. See below

-Me

Gujurat trip part 1

2008-05-25T10:22:00.002-05:00

Yesterday went pretty well, we did lots. After arriving in Rajkot we went to my cousin's place. Shes married now with a son but he doesn't get along with new people much :P Then we drove about an hour to Virpur to visit the temple there. then we drove to Gondol to the B.A.P.S. temple. They have rooms for people to stay in (as long as you have a reference) so we rented two rooms (free) for the night. After that we went to another temple and then to the Bhuvaneshwari temple. We spent most of our time at that temple because we had to wait for the prayer session to start at 7pm. I sat cross-legged for about 15 minutes straight and I thought my legs would fall apart! But I endured and prayed. The big deal about this temple is that the bells hanging above the statue of Goddess Durga shake and vibrate during the prayer ceremony ("aarti"). I think its probably because of the loud drums, but it could still be magic ;)

Then we went to eat at the "Parotha House". Wow. That was awesome, I had Butter Paneer, parathas (like thin naan) and buttermilk ("Chaas"). I truly felt like I was on vacation.

Now we're on our way to another temple in Saranpur, we'll eat lunch at some place along the way.

-Me
(backdated)

Choo choo 2

2008-05-24T08:06:00.001-05:00

That went pretty fast, only 2 more hours to go now. Until the train arrives at Rajkot. They serve breakfast (for a fee of course) and tea (Rs. 5/cup). Not bad though, it was good breakfast. Now we just have to wait...

-Me
(backdated)

Choo choo!

2008-05-23T21:00:00.000-05:00

The train is pretty nice, at least in first-class. We have a plug, cup holders, and best of all air-conditioning!!! I'll read some and then go to sleep. We're not sure if they serve food or not, so we quickly ate some sandwiches. They weren't all that great but better than nothing. Oh well, sleep tight.

-Me
(backdated)

Moving

2008-05-23T09:50:00.001-05:00

We just moved out of a temporary flat in Kandivali (West) and are getting ready for the long train-ride to Rajkot. Its about 9 hours on a train! But thankfully we are in the A/C first-class compartment. I need to take more pictures. I plan on doing a photobiography of the places of my childhood. We'll see if I get to that.

-Me
(backdated)

हिन्दी update

2008-05-19T04:22:00.003-05:00

Current mood: बहोत अचा

मैंने अभी देखा के इस में हिन्दी में लिख सकते है। में अभी "कैश" फ़िल्म देख रहा हूँ। अभी तक टू बुन्दले लग रहा हैं ये पिचुर।

एसीहा अब मैं रक्त हूँ, बादमे बात करूँगा

-प्रियेश

Lots a pitchuz!

2008-05-19T01:56:00.007-05:00

Current mood: good but sick

As a wiseman once said, "pics or it didn't happen". So here ye go:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=39652&l=c66b4&id=646355347

I got sick in the past few days, had a sore throat and cold. The sore throat is pretty much gone now, but I still have a cold. That should go away too soon.

I went to see a movie yesterday, I watched "Bhoothnath" in the Adlabs cinema in Mumbai. Its a huge multiplex with a food court and bookstore inside. Its pretty awesome, I highly recommend it (both the movie and the theater). They have english movies too, I don't think they were showing the hindi dubbed versions. I really want to see Iron Man in hindi :P Its called "Loha" (iron in hindi).

See you guys later,
-Me

India se dusra update

2008-05-16T12:42:00.002-05:00

Current mood: awesome

So far this is an awesome vacation! India is definitely different.. not really any different than last time I came here though (6 years ago). Mumbai is definitely a huge city though, I never realized just how big it is. And I have gotten used to the way people drive here, I still couldn't drive here :P but I don't freak out anymore. In fact, I really want to make a game where you can drive an auto-rickshaw. I think it would be awesome :P like Crazy Taxi but better! I was also thinking how cool it would be if GTA4 had been set in Mumbai instead of New York. I know this would never happen, but it would be cool.

Anyway, I think I'll play some more Phoenix Wright 3 and then go to sleep
Good "night", though its afternoon in Charlotte :P
-Me

India se pehla update

2008-05-14T07:00:00.002-05:00

Current mood: awesome

I am now officially in India. The trip was kinda boring, 15 hours in a LONG time on a plane. Though they did have free movies-I watched Juno and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Both were enjoyable, but Juno was awesome. Baggage claim was crazy... 8 bags is not fun. Once we had our bags, my dad's friend picked us up and we were driven to my aunt's place. The driving... how should I put this :P

Imagine how an expert drives in a GTA game (going around red lights, squeezing through in a 2-lane road), now imagine if every car drove like that and the roads are PACKED. Thats Mumbai driving! Lane markers mean nothing, cars drive anywhere there is room. But to their credit, I witnessed no accidents in my 45 minute ride.

Today's plan is to relax, the plans start from tomorrow. But by the time you read this, the rest of the entries should be done. So read on!

-Me

Meh Aah Raha Hoo! :D

2008-05-12T08:30:00.003-05:00

Current mood: great!

Today I am flying to Mumbai, India! I will try to post some from over there but I am definitely going to twitter during the trip. I'll have to check what the text messaging situation is when I get my Indian cell phone card. You can see my twitter updates here. I also syndicate twitter on the sidebar of my blog (not my livejournal).

In the meantime, enjoy these graduation pictures!

Just me and my silly outfit!

My brother and I!

My family and I with Dr. Youngblood.. my advisor and the reason I am a game developer today (well in June, but you get the idea)!

So thats it for now, keep an eye on twitter and wish me a safe journey :)

-Me

How youse doin'

2008-05-04T11:49:00.007-05:00

Current mood: excited

I have come to another point in my journey where I can see the tracks changing. This Saturday (May 10th) I will graduate with a Masters of Science in Computer Science with a certificate in Game Design and Development. I remember when I graduated two years ago with a Bachelors and imagined what it would be like once I finally had my M.S. degree. I was a bit scared and uncertain about my future after that, finding a job was a scary thought. At the time, I didn't really think I would get a job in the Game industry. I thought I would end up doing computer graphics work at some Visualization center or something.

But that graduation was not really that life-changing experience, because I knew I was just going to get back to school the following semester anyway. No, the moment the tracks started shifting was when I met Dr. G. Michael Youngblood. I was taking his Artificial Intelligence in Games class just because it had "game" in the title and I knew I would like it. But then I found out he had some really cool research ideas that seemed as though they were made just for me! Then I found out that there was going to be a Game Design and Development certificate and I could get it! But wait a sec... if I had this certificate... I could ACTUALLY get a job in the Game industry!!!! WHOA! It was a huge revelation and I have never been so excited!

So I talked to him about how I wanted to do a thesis (an extensive research paper outlining what you did during your Masters) even though it was optional to do so at UNCC. He told me about this project that he wanted to do that visualized a player's activity in a game world. As soon as I heard this, I knew this was it... this was for me! It combines my two biggest passions: games and information visualization. I knew I had to do this and I could already see how big it could be. This work is now pretty much finished and you can read my thesis if you so choose here or watch a five-minute video summarizing some of my work here.

During this last semester of my college career, I was searching for a job along with finishing my thesis (who am I kidding.. writing my thesis). I started by searching online and submitting my resume to game companies that were looking for programmers. Most places required at least one shipped title so I avoided those most of the time. Then I had the chance to go to San Francisco in February for the Game Developer's Conference (GDC). This was an excellent place to meet with recruiters and find a job in the industry! I learned a lot during the sessions and handed out plenty of my resumes. But none of those prospects from GDC worked out in the end.

One day in late March I was checking my email when I saw the title "Game programmers wanted" (or something of the sort). It wasn't an email.. it was a targetted google ad! So I clicked on it.. and it was legitimate. TimeGate Studios in Sugar Land, TX was looking for software engineers. The requirements listed matched my experience almost point-to-point! So I applied online and continued working on my thesis. Then all of a sudden I get a phone call from a 281 number. I was shocked to realize that it was actually TimeGate Studios calling me about my application! So a survey and phone interview later I was flying to Texas for an on-site interview. I saw some cool stuff while I was there and met some great people. I knew I would love working at this company and felt confident about my interviews.

A week later I had my first offer for a job as a Game Developer! I accepted the offer and I will be starting on June 23rd. I had to wait until then because from May 12th to June 9th I will be in India. I remember the last time I went to India was after graduating high school in 2002 and it was a similar transition period for me. So six years and two degrees later I am going back. Its going to be quite interesting to see how things have changed (or haven't).

I will try to update from India as much as I can, though I am not taking my laptop so it won't be happening all the time. I will probably use twitter some but I'm not sure about the texting charges :P

Hope you enjoyed this long update.. because its probably going to be a while before I do another one :D Maybe once I'm settled into Texas and have some time.

Bye
-Me

Still Alive

2008-03-20T13:27:00.002-05:00

Current mood: N/A

I've been pretty busy lately, but I'm still around. I've got lots to do between now and April 17th (and then some). I need to do finish my thesis by next Friday and then I am doing my thesis defense a couple weeks later. Actually, its not that bad now that I think about it. I have a few job prospects in progress to take care of too but it shouldn't be too bad.

===============
Its been two days since I started the post :P I guess this has become common now. Anyway, I never did a year-end review of 2007 but I just don't feel like doing that. There wasn't much posted anyway. Maybe I'll do it next month.

I'm just gonna post this because I can't think of much else to say
-Me

GDC

2008-02-19T14:13:00.002-05:00

Current mood: soo excited!

I am now at the airport on my way to San Francisco, CA to attend GDC (Game Developer's Conference). Its my best chance at finding a game development job so I've come fully prepared with lots of cards, resumes and a portfolio.

Also, I finally joined Twitter.. so take a look at the box on the side that shows my twitter updates... its much more convenient than blogger.

See ya later
-Me

Insert creative title here

2007-12-03T17:17:00.000-05:00

12/3/07:
Current mood: relaxed and panicked all at once

Lots has been happening lately but I won't be lazy and do another list update. I'm actually going to try and write it out.

......................................
12/31/07:
Current mood: relaxed

Haha, a whole month went by since I started this draft with those two sentences. And 3 months since I actually updated this blog. I'm still alive though.

For the past week I've been in lazy-town. On Sunday I had my friend Sam over at my house for a get-together. I mostly showed him some of the games that he hadn't seen yet such as Portal, Oblivion, Bioshock etc. Partly because they're cool and partly because they have gameplay mechanics similar to what we have been discussing for our game idea. What idea? Sorry its top secret :P But maybe one day it will come out and I can talk all about it on my IGN developer blog as Matt Cassamassina tries to convince people to buy it because it rules.

But in the mean-time, I will be searching for a development job at some other company since I am graduating in May. It seemed so far off before but now its only months away. I really need to work hard on my Thesis to finish it and move on.

Sam also let me borrow the Season 1 & 2 box sets for Avatar: The Last Airbender. And I only have one word for that show: wow. I didn't expect it to be that great since its aired on Nickelodeon. But its pretty action-packed and has elements I wouldn't expect a Nick show to have. I guess thats why they show it at night. We watched the entire two seasons (40 episodes) and then all of Season 3 that has aired (12 episodes) in a matter of one week. Thats 52 episodes, which at 30 minutes each makes for 1,560 minutes or 26 hours!

Now we have to wait until January 11th to see another new episode :\ Oh well, gives me time to get some work done :P

Lets see... what else has happened? Oh! I will be going to the Game Developers Conference in February. I don't know if I'll get the scholarship but regardless of whether I do, I will go anyway. It should be a great opportunity and a great way to meet people and make contacts.

I better publish this before I lose it or something... otherwise I won't even bother retyping it and there won't be an update :P

Oh and Happy Early 2008!

Yargh

2007-10-31T16:26:00.000-05:00

Current mood: tired, fo realz

I haven't updated in a while because things have been CRAZY. With Gamers' Alliance, ACM, the game project and my research things get hectic pretty fast. I'm not gonna attempt to fill in the blanks because that will take forever.

Just some highlights:
- I played Portal and its amazing
- I submitted a paper to the I3D conference, which is in California in February.. hope we get accepted so I can go!
- Gamers' Alliance had the second game night which was TEH FUN
- Super Smash Bros. Brawl is delayed :(
- Super Mario Galaxy is almost here! :D
- Halo 3 came out :|
- I'm running out of list items

Anyway, if I had some food I might be able to do a better update :P

Tired

2007-08-06T02:25:00.000-05:00

Current mood: good

So the summary of my first two days in San Diego:
Day 1 (Saturday):
- Freak out when phone rings in the morning and badly hurt my right hand
- Become left handed :P
- Attend the keynote and paper presentations for the day
- Participate and lose in Wii Tennis tournament (pretty much the only game I can play without pain)
- Get back to the room really late and stay up really late preparing my presentation
- Get so tired I can't think anymore but still have to go on
- Pass out around 2am (which is 5am Charlotte time...)

Day 2 (Sunday):
- Not freak out when phone rings this time
- Get up and practice my presentation
- Get breakfast at McDonalds
- Attend keynote and presentations
- Give my own paper presentation which went well! yay!
- Help clean up the gaming room after the conference is over (it ended around 1pm)
- Go for lunch in Little Italy with Dr. Youngblood and Eve
- Go to San Diego Zoo! it was pretty nice.. lots of walking but the animals were active and it was fun to ridicule some of the names (like the Dik Dik :P)
- Drop Eve off at the airport and then search for dinner
- Finally end up eating at a chinese place which was pretty good
- Eat a dark chocolate sundae at Ghirardelli's which was WAY too dark and made me feel a bit sick
- Update blog with another list because I am too lazy to actually write
- Go to bed

So the plan for tomorrow is to drive down to the Mexico border and then hang out in Mexico for a while... should be interesting since I've never been to Mexico before. Then I leave for Charlotte at around 10:30pm so I should be back home the next morning.

Anyway, I'm gonna go to sleep. Oh and my hand feels much better now :) still hurts like crazy when I apply pressure to it but I can type!
See ya!
-Me

In Diego!

2007-08-04T01:44:00.000-05:00

Current mood: tired

I have now arrived in San Diego, CA for the Sandbox Symposium, after a 5 hour flight. The flight wasn't too bad, they were showing Spider-man 3 though :\ I just watched parts of it that I didn't hate and did something else the rest of the time. I read a lot of "Into the Looking Glass" which is an awesome book so far, and I watched some of the movie Krrish :) both on my DS :D hehehe

Tomorrow I am stationed for volunteering to help with Registration for the symposium. Then hopefully after that I get to go watch the keynote and speakers. My talk is going to be on Sunday, 1:35pm Eastern time.

You can watch web streams of the conference too.. the links are here:
http://sandbox.siggraph.org/program.html

Mine will be on the Sunday stream probably.. since theres only one thing going on at a time I assume they are showing it all. So you get to watch me give my awesome presentation! And check out the schedule because there are some very interesting talks about games in there! Remember theres a 3 hour time difference between here and Charlotte.. so add 3 hours to all those times.

For now I think its time for bed.. perhaps

Bye
-Me

Tired

2007-07-26T20:43:00.000-05:00

Current mood: exhausted but excited

I finally got my M3 DS Simply in the mail a few days ago. Its a device that looks just like any ordinary Nintendo DS game card but it has a slot for a MicroSD card in it. Using this I can make my own games and play them on the DS! So of course, I made one.

Introducing.... P'Zong! Its Pong but with a twist.. you control the paddle with the touchscreen and the goal is to bounce the ball with your paddle enough times to move to the next level. But.. the ball gets faster at every level! Not to worry though.. there is a special feature of P'Zong that makes it a little easier. You can slow down the ball by making noise into the microphone! :D

If you have a way of playing it then the game is available here:
http://priyesh.org/portfolio.shtml

You can also play it with a DS emulator if you know where to get one.

In other news, I have been extremely busy lately. I'm running a research study on-campus and we need at least 150 subjects. Thankfully it only takes a few minutes to do the study (just play a game and answer a question) and we already have about 135 people. I have to finish it by tomorrow so we can update my presentation for Sandbox Symposium with the new data. If you may be oncampus tomorrow then let me know :) you could participate and help me reach my goal.

As far as gaming goes, I've been playing lots of Guitar Hero on PS2 and Resident Evil 4 on the Wii. We already sent our 360 to Microsoft for repairs so hopefully we get it back soon.

Well I need to do a bit more work then go to sleep.. I'm tired and my fingers hurt

See ya
-Me

ITS IN!

2007-07-08T14:35:00.000-05:00

Current mood: relaxed

So we finally submitted our game to the DreamBuildPlay competition and now I can finally relax for a little bit. My top priority now is my research work. You can download and play it by going to darkwynter.com, the Downloads page has instructions on what you need to run an XNA game.. its not as easy as I would like but its not that hard either. Just need to install a couple of things. Please play it when you can and give me feedback :) the team plans on expanding it even more for later competitions.

I also wanted to share something cool, I was on TV!! :) But the reason is not so good.. my Xbox360 finally succumbed to the ring of death :( A news reporter came to the UNCC game lab to find someone to talk to and Dr. Youngblood sent him my way. He was a cool guy and the written story and video link can be found here:
http://news14.com/Default.aspx?ArID=584522

I am trying to capture the video and put it on YouTube but their site is extremely slow.. I will let you guys know when I get it.

Not much else to say.. we got a barbeque grill and its awesome. I had grilled paneer and it was TEH YUMZZ :D

See ya
-Me

Teh trip 2

2007-06-22T22:39:00.000-05:00

Current mood: exhausted

This day in list form:
- Got up early
- Went to Food Lion for breakfast.. ate chocolate muffin! :P
- Went to Wake Tech and found Digital Games Expo
- Setup our booth and presented our games and research
- Got free games! though I missed getting Dreamfall.. I'll pick it up tomorrow
- Got to meet cool people
- Gave my card to a Development Director at EA's new NC studio (thats hiring!)
- Went to a boring presentation on using a Java 2D game engine
- Stopped by Walmart to pick up swim-trunks
- Returned to the house and helped cook spaghetti for dinner
- Went to Dr. Barnes' friend's house who has a pool! (hence the swim pants)

Tomorrow should be just as exciting.. more on that later
See ya
-Me

Teh trip

2007-06-21T22:59:00.000-05:00

Current mood: anxious

I am now in Raleigh, NC for the Digital Games Expo (dgxpo.com). I wish I could go visit my family in Cary but I don't think I will be able to since I didn't drive and I'll be busy all day tomorrow and Saturday. But oh well... I will get to see them some other time. The expo has lots of industry people and is meant for students to show off their work in game development. We brought lots of laptops and a desktop for our games from the Games + Learning Lab at UNCC. We are showing Modabu which is a game I worked on last year, EleMental which is a game I'm working on currently with my team, and my game analysis research work. I even printed business cards :) Though I only have about eight of them.. I'll have to be selective about who I give them to.

Things have been really hectic lately but I feel like I haven't been getting much done. Its going to get a lot MORE hectic next week because EleMental needs to be finished for the XNA contest by July 2nd and Dr. Youngblood and I need to have our chapter finished for Game Programming Gems 7 by the first week of July too. I was going to work on it before he got back but I didn't really do much :\ Need to do concentrate on that during my work hours next week! Working on both is going to be a killer

But I don't want to give up either :) Can't wait to attend a few lectures during the conference tomorrow and Saturday.. should be very interesting

More on that later,
See ya
-Me

Back!

2007-06-02T15:17:00.001-05:00

Current mood: no clue

So now I'm back in Charlotte and I wish I could go back to Florida :P Let me fill you in on the antics.

We left from Ft. Lauderdale on Wednesday morning (early morning), got to our hotel in Orlando and found out we have to go to YET ANOTHER Time share presentation. I really hate these.. they take 3 to 3.5 hours at least and the salespeople are so good at being nice that its hard to refuse them. But you HAVE to refuse because its so dang expensive and not really worth it. If you really want to know what a timeshare is then google it :P I really don't want to talk about it anymore.

Anyway, after we FINALLY finished the timeshare presentation (around 2pm.. we started at 9). We got our free tickets (only two) to Islands of Adventure at Universal studios. Once we got there my dad bought two more tickets and we went on the rides. The four of us went on the following: Spider-man, Dudley Do-rights Ripsaw Falls (NOT a kiddy ride.. very fun and wet), Jurassic Park River Adventure, and .. thats it. But the real fun part was when I went on the Dueling Dragons (I rode on the Ice dragon) and the Hulk coaster. The others were too scared but I went anyway and had a blast! I kinda wanted to ride them again but I was way too tired and decided not to. I didn't even have to wait in line much, especially for Hulk. Since I was a single rider they let me go through the Express line which was empty.

Anyway, so now I'm back and I have tons of stuff to do! I am mentoring an undergraduate student in the gamelab for a project which is pretty cool but I don't feel like explaining.
Go here: http://serenity.uncc.edu/REU2007/
The second project is the one I am primarily overseeing. I'm really looking forward to using the Wiimote in an XNA game (even if its just a PC version)

See ya later,
-Me

Party time!

2007-05-29T09:13:00.000-05:00

Current mood: relaxed!

I didn't post as often as I thought but at least I am posting! My parents are now on the cruise ship and will be back tomorrow morning. Mom didn't sound like she was having fun yesterday but I hope that has changed. My brother and I plan on having fun though! We are going to go see Pirates 3 at a theater nearby after lunch. Maybe we'll hang out at the beach later as well.

The past few days have been a lot of fun. We went on the beach and hung out there the first day we were here. And then we went on an airboat tour of the everglades yesterday.. that thing is loud and fast! But it was a lot of fun to ride on. Although in order to get the vouchers for the cruise we had to sit through a sales pitch for Timeshare. Its a vacation package type thinger that lets you permanently "own" vacation time. You just have to pay an upfront price (in the high thousands) BUT you have to also pay maintenance and taxes every single year for the rest of your life (or until you sell your time share). The annual fees are pretty high too.. Not worth it in my opinion. They didn't let us off easy but my dad knows how to handle salesmen..

Anyway thats all for now, I'm gonna go now
Bye bye
-Me

Backdating rocks

2007-05-26T15:00:00.000-05:00

We are now almost in Ft. Lauderdale.. just a few more hours maybe. We spent the night in Savannah, GA last night and left around 7 this morning. The hotel was pretty nice, it had free WiFi and a great breakfast in the morning. The long drives would have been boring if it wasn't for my trusty DS Lite :) Though I ended up playing Pokémon Emerald mostly which is a GBA game, not a DS game. And no I'm not ashamed to say I play Pokémon, its a fun RPG game with lots of strategy involved. I already have all eight badges and now I have to get to the Elite Four and beat the game. I'm a bit upset that I haven't been given the chance to catch a legendary pokémon yet. Theres 3 legendaries in this game, and I can't remember their names at all. Anyway, I've also been addicted to Puzzle Quest recently. I'm a level 15 wizard!

Hopefully the hotel we are staying at will have WiFi so I can post this entry the same day I write it :P
(^^Yea that didn't quite happen.. but lets pretend it did^^)

Trip.begin()

2007-05-25T08:19:00.000-05:00

Current mood: excited

I'll be leaving for my trip in about half an hour. Where am I going? Great question!
Friday: Savanah, GA. We make a pitstop on the long trip to Florida

Saturday/Sunday: Spend time in Ft. Lauderdale, FL

Monday/Tuesday: This is the part where we were supposed to go on a cruise. But unfortunately my dad found out my brother's passport expired a few days ago (just a few days!). Getting into the Bahamas is no big deal, but getting back in might be a hassle. We can't cancel since they charge a lot just for cancelling. So instead my brother and I will hang out at the beach in Florida while our parents go on the cruise.

Wednesday: Leave for Orlando, FL

Thursday: Go to Universal Studios! I can't wait to go there again, it was a ton of fun last time around

Friday: The long journey home from Orlando, FL to Charlotte, NC

Once I get back I have a meeting with Dr. Youngblood about my summer work. I got a Research Assistant position over the summer in the Game Lab. Should be interesting, I get to work on some cool projects.

Long term schedule:
July: XNA Competition Deadline.. we gotta get this game done.. mostly
August: Sandbox Symposium, start Fall semester, GET METROID PRIME 3!!!!!, XNA contest results are in

I may choose to graduate in May 08 instead of December 07. Depends on where I am with my research at that point. Not having to worry about finishing the thesis as much would definitely make it easier

Anyway, thats all I got for now. I'll update more while on the trip maybe. Might type blog entries in my laptop offline and then post them like I did last time.
See ya,
-Me

Almost over

2007-05-12T23:33:00.000-05:00

Current mood: exhausted

Yay! The semester is near an end and I can almost relax (not quite but almost). The game I was working on was a success and we managed to get almost all the features we pitched into the final turn-in (though we are going to work on it more over the next few months). You can download and play the PC version (as long as your graphics card supports Shader Model 3).

Download here: http://chaos.uncc.edu/GDDS2007/DarkWynter

I know I didn't post at all in April but I was just so busy. Don't know if I posted this but I have my first published paper! The paper I worked on with Dr. Youngblood about Information Value surfaces in game environments (where people are most likely to look in a game) got accepted to the Sandbox Symposium. Its a gaming conference in early August, its held in California :P I will most likely get a student volunteer position there so I may have the entry fee covered. I still have to pay to go there though.

In other news, my niece Ria has a new baby brother! Say hello to Ritik!

I guess thats it for now, I need to finish my online portfolio to turn in tomorrow and I'll be almost done. I still need to do the final draft of the paper for the Sandbox symposium, fixing all the things the reviewers mentioned and adding more sources. The original paper can be found here: http://chaos.uncc.edu/ResearchGroup/dixit/sandbox2007.pdf (in case you're bored :P)

I also bought some webspace finally.. so priyesh.org is always up now. The only problem is I've been too busy to update the site so its still full of broken links :P Kunal also got a website.. kustudios.net and even a podcast Knights Of Nintendo (http://knightsofnintendo.blogspot.com/) Its actually not a bad podcast :)

Ok, I better get back to work.. see ya later
-Me

Stuff

2007-03-06T20:08:00.000-05:00

Current mood: tired and relaxed

I haven't updated in a LOOOOOOONG time. But I have been quite busy. Our game for the Game Studio class is coming along very nicely! Our website for it is here: http://chaos.uncc.edu/GDDS2007/DarkWynter

I have been mostly working on that and my thesis project for Dr. Youngblood. For the past few days though I have been doing almost nothing. I feel like I'm wasting time and not getting anything done but I just couldn't get into the groove for some reason. I think I've finally snapped out of it though and now I'm back in action!

Tomorrow night we're having a movie night for our game design team. I think we deserve the break! For a while I was really confused about what movie to take (hindi obviously). But I think I'll just take a few and see which one gets more votes there. I tried emailing them yesterday with a list of candidates and asked for an opinion. But that didn't work well, I think we are just too busy with the game right now and reading about a movie isn't going to help someone decide if they want to see it (especially if they are new to bollywood).

So I have the following that I am going to take:
- Bluffmaster
- Lage Raho Munnabhai
- Krrish
- Sholay
- Gangster (VHS)

My choices are limited since I don't feel like going and renting something and these are the only good ones I have that have subtitles (that I can think of). I'm also baking brownies to take with me.

It doesn't even feel like its spring break right now :P But thats ok, I'm having fun working on this game. Its already fun to play with our physics engine just gliding around the world shooting particles while in the air.

Thats it for now.. seez ya
-Me

Bunnies don't have blogs

2007-01-16T00:58:00.001-05:00

Current mood: tired

~12:00pm:
So this post was SUPPOSED to be made a few days ago but blogger lost my entire post because it crashed... weird I know. Anyway, things have been pretty busy lately with the Game Studio class and my Master's thesis research. We did our game pitch today in class and we were caught off-guard because only the leader of the team could present. We had planned on having all five of us up there and so things were left out that confused people.

~5:30pm:
I guess I forgot I was updating :P So anyway we are going to be redoing our game pitch on Tuesday and this time we will be do a much better job. I'll do a more detailed post on the game blog. Speaking of which...

The URL for the gamedev blog has changed to: http://darkwynter.blogspot.com
I decided to turn it into a team blog and invited all the other members

In other news, I finally have Rayman Raving Rabbids for the Wii. Kunal bought it since its on sale for $30 at Circuit City. If you have a Wii you NEED this game. It has to be the most underrated launch title. If you like playing Wii Sports then you will have even more fun with Rayman. Its basically a mini-game compilation where you have to beat three of the four mini-games that you are presented with and then beat the "boss game" to win a plunger. I still have no clue what the plunger is for but oh well. My favorite game has to be the dancing one where you have to flick either the nunchuck or wiimote (or both) as soon as a bunny reaches the circles on either side of Rayman (like DDR only with your hands). Its hilarious!

Anyway thats going to do it for me today. This post has been delayed so much I am glad to finally post it :P If you use blogger on a Mac, do NOT press Cmd+A while the focus is outside the text area of the post page. For some reason, this crashes Firefox and you have to start all over again.

Bye bye now
-Me

New blog!

2007-01-09T08:08:00.000-05:00

Current mood: tired

I started a new blog for my Game Design Studio class:
http://priyeshdev.blogspot.com

If you are curious about what I've been working on and how our game is coming along then add that blog to your favorite RSS reader :) I recommend netvibes.com, it rules!

See ya
-Me

Happy New Year!

2007-01-08T23:16:00.000-05:00

Current mood:relaxed

So I guess I'm a little late huh? :D For the past 3 years, by sheer coincidence, I have always posted my first January entry on the 3rd. I guess it just didn't happen this time. I guess I should do my annual year-end-review. For those that don't know, this involves taking the first entry from each month of the last year and posting the first sentence (with a link to that entry). But I'm going to break this formula a bit and add a new feature. For some of the months I will add another entry that I feel is very significant even if its not the first of the month. So here it is!

Year-end Review 2k6:
January:
First of all, the obligatory Happy New Year!
February:
So I haven't updated in a while, sorry :P This weekend went by SO fast, but it was a good one.
(Notable entry: I get a very mysterious valentine)
March:
I guess I haven't updated in a while, so I will update now..
April:
N/A
May:
Wow, its been TWO MONTHS since I last posted here!
(Notable entry: Long detailed entry about my vacation)
June:
I guess I should update for real now :P
(Notable entry: Why Krrish rocked)
July:
We got back from Cary, NC this evening and I was pretty tired :P
August:
So all that hooplah about being productive and junk didn't work out :P
(Notable entry: Priyesh buys a shiny new toy and the video)
September:
N/A
October:
Its been a LOONG time since I updated hasn't it :P
November:
So I FINALLY touched a Wii remote..
(wow, I actually didn't update when I got my Wii.. but yes I got it on launch day)
December:
So I haven't updated in about a month now.
(Notable entry: Wii60! and the video)

So as you can see this year was low on updates. Although I kinda made up for it in August with a plethora of updates (although they were mostly just me whining about my Mac Pro not getting here sooner). The new semester has started and I only have one regularly scheduled class: Game Design Studio which is TR 9:30am - 10:45am

I am also working on my Master's thesis and I will also be the T.A. for that class :P I wonder what TA's get paid.. I'm sure its more than enough for me but it would be nice to know. I guess I should ask someone who is a TA. Well thats it for me, I need to go to sleep. Gotta wake up early tomorrow.

Bye bye everyone
-Me

Modabu

2006-12-27T18:29:00.000-05:00

Current mood: geeky

Besides working on the visualization app I also worked on the game that my team made for the GameAI class. Now that I have an Xbox360 and a subscription to XNA Creator's Club I can start developing Xbox360 games. I was able to convert Modabu quite easily from PC to 360 but there were a few issues. First of all, the screen resolution is not right so the picture looks screwed up. Also, the BitmapFont library from XNAExtras does not work when deploying the Xbox360. The resolution problem is still unsolved but its bearable. I was able to fix the font issue by replacing the library with another BitmapFont from openxna.net. Although I had to do some serious fixing to get it to work with the deployed version. So finally the result of my efforts can be downloaded here:

http://webpages.uncc.edu/~pndixit/gameai/Modabu1.1Deploy.zip

Heres proof that it works ;)

-Priyesh

Wii60

2006-12-26T22:33:00.000-05:00

Current mood: good

My brother picked up Gears Of War for the 360 at Target today for just $40. That game is lots of fun, but not easy. I think the main reason I'm having such trouble is because I've been spoiled by the Wii-mote. I just want to point and shoot! :P Once I get used to aiming with a stick again I should be fine. I'll probably be a lot better at Resident Evil 4 too and then I can finally beat it. My favorite game for Xbox360 so far though is definitely Kameo. The visuals are nice, the gameplay is fun and I love the transformation magic.

Heres the setup we have right now:

Pretty sweet huh? No, I doubt that the PS3 will ever join them (not that theres any room for that beast anyway). Also my Xbox Live gamertag is madgamer7. I've added it to the sidebar of the blog so you can keep track of my progress in various games :P

It looks like this:
madgamer7

I may not keep the Xbox Live gold subscription after my free trial though since its a lot of money but I will probably join the XNA creator's club.

Thats it for now
Seez ya
-Me

Xbox360

2006-12-25T18:57:00.000-05:00

Current mood: great

So we finally got our Xbox360! My parents and I got it for my brother for christmas, watch him get confused as we make him think he got deoderant instead!

hilarious!

-Me

Whats this?! An UPDATE?!

2006-12-23T11:35:00.000-05:00

Current mood: Relaxed

So I haven't updated in about a month now. And its not that I've been busy either.. just lazy ;) Lots has happened so I will just make a short list:

Modabu has reached 1.0 and it rocks! (get it here)
I got my birthday present! (see video here)
I FINALLY got our Wii unpacking/setup video online. I had to turn down the quality to make it a reasonable size and I cut out all the gameplaying stuff. (see it here)
I cooked some dessert this afternoon that totally rules (Carrot+Squash "halwa" aka pudding?). I will have a detailed recipe with pictures later today

So those are mostly the highlights of the past few weeks. I am quite happy and I think the next few weeks will be good too :) I've been working mostly on my Masters thesis project and playing various Wii games. I beat Zelda a few days ago (amazing game) and now I'm sad that its over :( But theres still a lot of side quests to do and I could always just beat it again

So stay tuned for my detailed recipe later on. I think I'll add a recipes section to my website too :P I plan on doing my year end review later on since this is my first post in December. Also..

MERRY CHRISTMAS! And a happy new year!

See ya later
-Me

PS: the new version of blogger totally rocks

Filler

2006-11-28T03:17:00.000-05:00

Current mood: exhausted

Yes, I am really updating at 3 in the morning. I just got back home around 2:30am and we still didn't finish the project. Thankfully we have time tomorrow...

Also quick Wii update, I have one. And yes, it rules.
Pictures: http://picasaweb.google.com/madgamer/Wii
Thats my brother playing the Wii.. I forgot to take pictures of me playing :P

I will have a more fleshed out update when I have more time. But in the mean-time you can also check out the GameAI project I am working on with my group:
http://webpages.uncc.edu/~pndixit/gameai

See ya later
-Me

I PLAYED IT!

2006-11-11T21:21:00.000-05:00

Current mood: happy

So I FINALLY touched a Wii remote.. and played with it :) I went to three Gamestop locations in Charlotte and all of them had a playable Wii. But the only game available at the kiosks is ExciteTruck (probably since it only needs minimal movements and only uses the remote). I did get to play with the Mii channel too. My brother and I both made a Mii that looked like us. Afterwards we met up with our parents at Taco Bell.. yum. After that we decided to go to the mall where we saw yet another Wii kiosk! My parents thought it was pretty cool but didn't stick around that long. I made a Mii caricature of my dad.. it was pretty easy.

We were still so excited about having played the Wii so we decided to go to yet another Gamestop. There was a Wii there too! But we didn't play it because someone was already playing and ExciteTruck gets boring after a while. My brother bought a wireless Gamecube controller (a silver WaveBird) and we went home.

So if you are curious about the Wii I recommend that you head to a Gamestop (or EBGames) nearest you. Just one more dang week and I can have my very own Wii! Yes, I am obsessed, and I don't care :)

7 days and counting...
-Me

Wow...

2006-10-19T01:11:00.000-05:00

Current mood: ok

Its been a LOONG time since I updated hasn't it :P Its been about 2 months now since my last update and a lot has happened. And as usual I have no idea what to write. First of all, I am now (hopefully) guaranteed a Wii on November 19th! I also pre-ordered two games (and my brother pre-ordered 2 more). Here are the things I will be getting!

Pretty nice eh? Its pretty amazing that I am getting FOUR games at launch (DBZ comes out a few days after launch). They are all so awesome and exciting :D

Next week, I'm going to the ACM Programming contest again. It will be in Radford, VA like last time. There were a lot of problems this time around with getting the fee sent on time but thankfully its been resolved.

Dang, I totally forgot I was posting this update.. anyway I wanted to say one last thing before I end this update. I will probably be quitting my current job after this semester is over. I talked to Dr. Michael Youngblood (the GameAI professor) and I will probably be working for him as a Research Assistant starting next semester. It should be very interesting and I get paid while working on my Masters thesis which is great! I really like the people at my current job and I will miss them a lot :\ Anyway, I know they are hiring new full-time people right now so if you want to work as a Data Entry analyst for Axa Equitable you should apply! Let me know and I might be able to do something.

Well, thats it for today folks.. I'm getting sleepy now..

Good night.
-Me
PS: Theres a new website for Red Steel called "Dojo of Pain" and I get points for referring people to this link

Its an interesting site.. with contests and videos :)

Hellos

2006-08-26T22:25:00.000-05:00

Current mood: relaxed

So life has been moving along I guess. I saw "Click" tonight and it was an amazing film. I was biting back tears at one point too (so all you sensitive dudes beware! ;P). After we got back we finished watch "Omkara" which is a bollywood movie based on Othello. It was pretty sad too, blah! Oh well, at least I get to listen to the GoNintendo podcast Webisode something-or-other tonight (or tomorrow morning heh). That podcast is always so full of laughs and it always makes me smile.

I also went and bought an Xbox 360 USB controller from EBGames on Thursday. It took me a while to find the right software to download but I finally got it working! Its amazing that even with a console controller I couldn't find enough buttons to do all the things I needed to in Legacy of Kain: Defiance! I had to download a program that lets me reprogram the triggers (the back ones.. the shoulder buttons do work fine) and D-pad to keyboard keys since the game won't recognize those as mappable buttons. Its pretty ironic seeing a Microsoft Xbox 360 controller plugged into an Apple Mac Pro :) Can you imagine? Well you don't have to because its right here:

Isn't it awesome? :) I also took the liberty of taking a screenshot of my Mac Pro's stats using the iStat Pro widget!

Click the image to enlarge obviously :) And yes, I blurred out my IP address. Although I'm sure its not hard to find that out I thought I shouldn't take any risks.

If you notice that priyesh.org is going on and off (or my shoutbox too) then its probably that I rebooted into Windows (probably to play Legacy of Kain ;P). I have been thinking of whether I should also install the webserver on Windows but I probably shouldn't. It would be pretty unsafe to have a webserver running on WinBlows :)

Anyways thats it for now!
Ciao pplz :)
-Me

Classes = Cool!

2006-08-23T19:32:00.000-05:00

Current mood: excited

So my classes are going to be pretty interesting this semester. Lets have a rundown shall we?

Mondays @ 6:30pm
ITCS 6114: Advanced Data Structures - The professor knows what hes talking about (he designed a very smart computer program that plays the game "Go"!). He writes all his notes, which is good because hes not just reading slides but bad because I can't read what he wrote sometimes (I guess I'll sit closer to the front from now on).

Tuesday/Thursday @ 5pm
ITCS 5010: AI in Games - This is the most interesting out of all my classes. We are actually going to use the XNA framework from Microsoft to develop content that could run on the Xbox 360. Or at least thats the goal, and I think we can definitely do it as long as theres no really major issues with XNA. The biggest challenge is going to be having to use C# (thats "C-sharp") and DirectX. Both of which I have never used before in my life. I have always been a C++/OpenGL fan so I will have to adjust. Theres even an official blog for the class and even a forum! Found here: http://serenity.uncc.edu/GameAIClass/

Wednesday @ 6:30pm
ITCS 6140: Data Visualization - Pretty self-explanatory title. We get to visualize some data :) I have done visualization before many times so it shouldn't be too hard. And I already have a project partner to work with.

So thats the rundown of my classes this semester (3 classes is full time for grad school). I am really looking forward to starting the projects. And in other news, I need to start planning the ACM stuff too. Being president can be tough.. but I will try to do some cool things this semester, like maybe another one of those wildly successful bake sales.

Thats it for now,
Seeya!
-Me

MacPro+Linux != Happy

2006-08-18T23:44:00.000-05:00

Current mood: satisfied

So the Linux install didn't work.. no matter which Linux I tried. But its all good I can wait until someone somewhere fixes the problem. In the meantime, I will get my programming tools setup in both Mac and Windows and play a few PC games while I'm at it ;)

Here is the video that I promised and theres some more to come later.
Enjoy:

I can't believe that my summer will be over in just a few days. I guess I should start getting ready for it. I already requested a different schedule for work (MWF 11-4pm). I'm going to work 15 hours a week which isn't too bad and is better than my usual 12 hours during school. It should give me some extra cash.

Well thats all for now folks.

See ya!
-Me

YAY!!

2006-08-16T18:42:00.000-05:00

Current mood: EXCITED!

So I take back everything that I said :) The mac arrived just minutes after I posted my previous (somewhat angry) entry. Here it is! In all its glory:

Beautiful huh? Just wait until you see the videos that I plan on posting. Its gonna be awesome! But I won't reveal anymore ;)

And also, heres the iPod Nano too:

Well, I have a lot of work ahead of me.. triple booting a Mac Pro is going to be attempted! If all goes well I will do my next update from Linux

Ciao!
-A very happy me

Grrr..

2006-08-16T17:51:00.000-05:00

Current mood: infuriated

Ok, so my Mac Pro was put on a vehicle for delivery at 3:58am this morning. And I still have not received it! This is getting really annoying now and I have no clue whats going on. I even called customer service and they said it was still out for delivery and should be here by the end of the business day. Well, it is most definitely the end of the freakin' business day! Its already nearly 7pm and I don't have my computer!!! That makes me VERY upset! :(

So the possibilities are:

It never left the FedEx office. "On FedEx vehicle for delivery" could mean that its on the vehicle but the vehicle hasn't even left. This is highly unlikely because why the heck would they just leave the package sitting there all day! Especially if today marks the 5th day that it has been shipping and 5 days is the guarantee!
The driver is lost. This is also highly unlikely because, after all, he or she a PROFESSIONAL DELIVERY PERSON! I'm SURE he/she took directions somehow before venturing out. And even if he was lost he should have figured it out by now.
The package was stolen. This is impossible because its too horrible to even imagine! :( My Mac Pro better NOT have been stolen or I will be very angry at FedEx and won't stop calling until I find my #@*$ing COMPUTER!
The van had an accident or was otherwise horribly delayed. This is probably the most likely situation...

If it doesn't come today, then FINE! I will just wait for it tomorrow.. and if it doesn't come tomorrow. I will have to call FedEx and yell at someone.

I WANT IT NOW!!!

2006-08-15T17:03:00.000-05:00

Current mood: impatient

So I checked the FedEx tracking site and it says:

So go YAY!!!! I WILL GET IT NOW!!111 But NoOOO! FedEx doesn't want to give it to me NOW, it wants to give it to me LATER. GEEZ! I WANT IT NOW! And I can't even go get it myself because they closed by the time I got home from work! :( So now I have to WAIT until tomorrow to get it! Am I impatient? Of course not :)

I guess theres nothing I can do about it now, I'll just try to get the things ready that I will need in order to triple boot the computer with Mac Os X, Linux and Windows. I need to get the latest Gentoo Linux installation disk ready and I already have a (legal) copy of Windows. I think I need to create an SP2 disk for Windows or something though. I'm glad I have my laptop to use the Internet from during the installations so I don't screw anything up. Although I have already installed Linux and Windows before but not on a Mac.

In other happy news, I finally uploaded the video of my Taz cake!
Check it out here: Ria's Cake Surprise

I also posted it on Ria's blog

And in case you missed it, heres the previous Ria video I uploaded: Cute baby alert!

So if all goes according to plan, tomorrow I will update from my beautiful Mac Pro.
See ya!
-Me

Screw it! I can't think of a title...

2006-08-11T17:55:00.000-05:00

Current mood: anxious

You know that nagging feeling you get after buying something expensive that you were perhaps a little too hasty? That you wish you could go back in time and change a few things? I got this same feeling after buying my PowerBook G4 and when I bought a copy of Windows XP online (a full version NOT an upgrade for about $180 was a bargain!). The main thing that I wish I could change is the harddrive.. I totally didn't realize that I could have just added another harddrive later instead of paying $200 extra for a 500GB hard drive instead of a 250GB one!

And another thing I'm nervous about is that some people are saying Bootcamp is not working on the Mac Pro yet. This is very bad, although I guess if I can just get Linux working it will be OK. The triple booting is making me the most nervous. I don't want to screw anything up and what about iLife 06? I may have to reinstall Mac OS X to get triple booting to work and I don't know if they provide a CD for iLife 06 or its just built into the OS install disk.

I wish I could have it sooner :( it just left Anaheim, CA this morning according to FedEx and its ground shipping so it will take a while. I probably won't have it until next week and the longer I have to wait the more nervous and anxious I will become. I guess I should just enjoy my iPod Nano until then :)

My parents were so surprised by its small size and quality. My mom even wishes she had one to take to work. Hm.. maybe I can get her an iPod Shuffle for christmas ;)

Thats all for now folks, tell me I did the right thing :P and if you don't think I did then you can say that too I guess.

Bye bye
-Me

Charlotte Sting FTW!

2006-08-08T21:23:00.000-05:00

Current mood: relaxed

Today, I went to my first live professional sports event. And it was... Charlotte Sting v.s. Houston Comets. And Sting won 68 to 57! You're probably wondering, "what the heck was he doing at a women's basketball game?!" Well, my friend Sam had some free tickets so he invited me to go with him and his siblings. At first I wasn't sure about going because I don't know my way around downtown Charlotte but he offered to give me a ride so I agreed.

Here are a few pictures I took with my cell phone:

It was actually a lot of fun, I was rooting for the home team! Well, not really.. I didn't actually yell or anything :P I mostly laughed at the mascot and some of the horrible singers and dancers in the audience! :D

Status on my Apple purchase: My iPod Nano has been shipped! It might be here as early as tomorrow but I don't know for sure. Sadly, my Mac Pro has not been shipped :( I guess it will take a while to get here.

Anyway, thats all for now.

See ya!
-Me

Ria video is up!

2006-08-07T20:51:00.000-05:00

Current mood: happy!

Watch it here!

Enjoy! Make sure you check out the other videos on the blog too.

-Me

Oops, I did it again!

2006-08-07T18:08:00.000-05:00

Current mood: excited!

Introducing.... The Mac Pro!! And its all MINE! MINE MINE MINE! :D

My configuration:
- Two (yes TWO) Dual-core 2Ghz Xeon processors (thats FOUR cores!)
- 500 GB harddrive (kinda required if I want to triple boot :P)
- 1 Gig of RAM (standard.. I can expand later if needed)
- Nvidia GeForce 7300 GT graphics card (also standard.. and awesome!)

I also took advantage of the iPod Nano deal so I bought a 4GB white Nano which will only be $50 after mail-in-rebate! What did I engrave on it, you ask? See for yourself:

I couldn't really think of anything else and I didn't want to just put my name because thats lame.

It all cost me a total of $2,620.88 (tax included.. stupid TAX!!) I know its a lot of money just like when I bought my PowerBook G4 but I saved some money this time by not buying that Apple Protection Plan which is pretty useless for a desktop anyway. I have less than a thousand dollars in my account now (well its 900-something) but I get my next paycheck on Aug. 18 and it should be easy to save money and get back in shape eventually. Thankfully, my car payments are deducted at the beginning of the month so the $209 for August is already done with.

So yea.. needless to say, I am EXCITED! In fact.. thats the biggest understatement in the universe! I know I won't get the Pro until after a few weeks but the iPod should get here sooner to make the wait easier.

I should start looking into how triple-booting works so I don't screw it up on my Mac Pro later. Anyway, thats all for now.. just me bragging :)

I will update with videos of Ria very soon!
Bye bye,
-Me

That didn't last long...

2006-08-03T10:38:00.000-05:00

Current mood: bored

So all that hooplah about being productive and junk didn't work out :P I am back to my old schedule of doing absolutely nothing.. besides checking GoNintendo and Apple rumor sites. I guess this weekend I will get to hang out with family and then the next week I will get my new computer and I will be playing with that until its time to start my classes. I have pretty much given up on the whole resume thing for now. I will work on it later I guess.

Anyway, on a happy note here are some clips of my little niece Ria:
http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=dntopiwala

She is ADORABLE :)

Bye bye
-Me

Trying to be productive

2006-07-28T19:41:00.000-05:00

Current mood: relaxed

I cleaned my room yesterday.. no I mean CLEANED it. I put the Gamecube, Dreamcast and N64 back in their respective boxes and stuffed them in the closet. I also put my Gameboy Advance and Nintendo DS in a box in my closet. I got rid of my Nintendo related bookmarks in Firefox and even my RSS feeds (except for Slashdot and Joy Of Tech of course :P). Why did I do all this? I realized that I am wasting away my entire freaking summer vacation obsessing over videogames. I should be updating my Resume or working on a programming project. Anything!

I have also resolved that I will NOT check GoNintendo.com during the week at all.. instead I will listen to the podcast and surf the page during the podcast. I also turned off my server which means that Priyesh.org is down again. Thats mostly because I don't really need it right now.

I have tried several times to finally finish my Resume but I just couldn't think of what I should put down for my internship. I did so much during those months that its hard to think of what I should write down. I will probably just write whatever I can think of and then condense it later. And as far as programming goes, I might finally start working on Pentomino again. I need to fix a few bugs and add a high score saving feature.

Anyway, I'll let you guys know how it goes.
-Me

Priyesh.org for teh WIN!

2006-07-10T21:59:00.000-05:00

Current mood: excited!

I have done it! I have finally created Priyesh.org. I have had the domain since last year but I haven't really done much with it. I don't know how but I finally got the inspiration I needed to create the logo and layout yesterday. I decided to go with a Wii-style logo, very simple yet elegant. Yea, even though I haven't talked about it in a long time.. I am still utterly OBSESSED with the Wii!

I have integrated this blog into the main site, I have just added a few extra things to the side bar like the archives. I still have all my old stuff like downloads of my latest projects but I also added a Music page for my hosted playlists. Of course, the music is password protected and you will need to ask me for the username and password if you want to listen to it. This is mainly so that random online freeloaders don't start mass downloading my songs and gobble up my bandwidth! I have come up with a very simple hint for the username and password: "If you are a friend, you know how much I rule." :D

Life has been pretty routine lately. I will DEFINITELY do the ACM Annual Report tomorrow. In fact, I will go to bed after this update so I can get up as early as possible to do it in the morning. I have been putting it off for too long and the longer I wait the harder it will be to remember what we did last year. I also need to update my Resume.. I have graduated already and I need to find a more suitable part time job. I hope I find one, although its scary to have to go through the whole interview process again.

Anyway, thats it for now.. good bye and good night!
-Me

And we're BACK!

2006-07-05T00:34:00.000-05:00

Current mood: tired

We got back from Cary, NC this evening and I was pretty tired :P Some of you may have noticed (ie. nobody :D) that I originally said in my last post that I was going to Cary but then I deleted it. This is because it was supposed to be a birthday surprise for my cousin and it worked :) He thought we weren't coming, and I surprised him pretty good! I got to play with my niece Ria too and that was lots of fun. Shes so CUTE! I should have taken pictures but I am silly and didn't...

I think I will update more later though because I can't think right now.. I am trying to install Windows XP on a virtual PC on my Mac and its nearly done. I want to see if I can play the PC games I bought well enough on it :D I doubt it but its worth a try, at least until I get my new computer later this year.

OK folks, more later..
Bye
-Me

Super overload!

2006-06-29T23:04:00.000-05:00

Current mood: tired

So I saw both Krrish and Superman Returns and I have to say I really loved Krrish a lot more. People may think I am being a Bollywood fanboy but theres just something that was missing in Superman that I can't quite figure out. Maybe it was because its meant as more of a sequel to Superman II and so the story seemed incomplete. The movie starts out when Superman returns to the earth after going in search of the remains of Krypton. Hes gone for 5 years and things have changed since he left. The villian is Lex Luther and I won't reveal his evil plan but its sort of lame. The climax was kinda cool but it just felt wrong and incomplete.. I was like "thats it?!!"

I think the main problem with Superman is that hes TOO perfect. Theres a very good blog post about this subject by none other than Matt Cassamasina (Editor in chief of IGN-Wii): http://blogs.ign.com/Matt-IGN

So onto Krrish then. That movie was freakin' awesome! Ok, so the first half had some not so awesome parts that were a bit cheesy and boring but after the interval was over it was all uphill! Krrish was actually a sequel to a very successful movie called "Koi.. Mil Gaya" (I found someone).

The premise of the first movie was that an indian scientist is researching life on other planets by sending a sound pattern into space and one day he gets a response! He goes to tell other scientists but they laugh at him. When hes driving back home, an alien spaceship suddenly appears above him and hes so excited he swerves out of control and the car crashes. His wife, who is pregnant, manages to survive because she fell out of the car just before it hit but he dies. The accident causes brain damage to the child (Rohit) and he becomes mentally retarded with the mind of a 7-year-old even though hes an adult. One day, that spaceship comes back and an alien is left behind. The alien makes friends with Rohit and uses his powers to heal his brain and give him super abilities. Rohit becomes extremely intelligent and strong and he can jump really high.

Krrish starts where Koi.. Mil Gaya left off. Its about the Rohit's son, Krishna, who inherits his fathers abilities. His grandmother is afraid that the world would try to trick him and take advantage of him like they did to his father. She takes him far away into the mountains and raises him there. Eventually, Krishna goes to Singapore and while hes at a Circus theres a freak accident that causes a huge fire. He has to save the people but he has to hide his identity, in order to do this he picks up a broken mask that he finds on the ground. And thats when Krishna.. becomes KRRISH! The mask is probably my favorite part of Krrish, its so unique and new. As can be seen in these images:
Krrish mask side
Krrish mask front

In fact, I loved Krrish so much that I am inspired to make my own little game based on the movie :D It will be nothing huge but I have started scripting the levels and figuring out the controls and powers that the player will have.

Anyways... enough about Krrish! I have to go to work tomorrow at my normal time of 1pm.

OH!! I almost forgot! The trailer for the Spider-man 3 movie is out!!
Watch it HERE!

Anywho, bye bye!
-Me

I iz edumakatd!

2006-06-23T20:11:00.000-05:00

Current mood: accomplished!

Its here! Its finally here! I can't believe its been four years already since I graduate high school and now:

I am now OFFICIALLY BS in CS! :D I already signed up for classes in the fall for Graduate school. They are as follows:

Artificial Intelligence for Interactive Computer Games
Data Visualization
Algorithm and Data Structures

I am unsure about the AI in Games class because it may not fill any of my requirements (my concentration is "Computer Graphics and Visualization"). But I will just take it for now... I don't have much other choice right now.

Life so far has been sort of boring because I have been so lazy. I have a lot of things that I need to get done before August like the ACM 2005-2006 financial report. I was also thinking of buying a Dell XPS700 but I decided to wait to see what Apple reveals at their big conference in early August. If they release a new intel based PowerMac computer I will probably just get that :D That way I can have the best of all three worlds! Mac OS X for its awesomeness, Linux for programming, Windows (yea I know) for games and cross-platform releases of my projects.

I guess thats all for now, tomorrow I am working from 9-12pm and then on Sunday we are going to go watch Krrish at Regal Cinemas. Krrish is a really awesome movie and I can't WAIT to see it!

More here: http://krrishthemovie.com there is a theatre listing there so see if its coming out near you! And if you are in Charlotte then let me know and maybe you can come with us!

Thats it for now (for real)...
Bye bye folks!
-Me

Weirdness

2006-06-18T13:27:00.000-05:00

Current mood: geeky

I feel like I should have scored higher :P but maybe I should be thankful.. theres still hope for me yet ;)

Being lazy...

2006-06-04T11:15:00.000-05:00

Current mood: relaxed

I guess I should update for real now :P Not much has happened since we got back from our vacation. I finally got my video uploaded to GoogleVideo. So if you want to see it here it is:

Direct link

Its about 14 minutes long and shows almost all the Nintendo World Store and then some video of the Smash Bros. tournament that I participated in.

I did see a couple of new hindi movies but only one is worth mentioning.
Gangster: This was actually much better than I expected. Its not just another movie about gang wars. Its a love story and the main character is a girl who falls in love with a big gangster who is actually not so bad. She finds another guy who she starts falling in love with because the gangster is always away because he doesn't want to get caught. Its only an hour and a half and the songs are well integrated into the movie in a way that doesn't interfere with the story.
My ranking: A

So yea, if you want to see the Nintendo World Store or just enjoy watching me get beat-down then watch the video! Also if you missed the last update here is my Flickr link:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/57676556@N00/sets/

Bye for now!
-Me

Vacational Media Galore!

2006-05-30T10:27:00.000-05:00

Current mood: great

I have uploaded my photos to Flickr and they are here:

http://flickr.com/photos/57676556@N00/sets/

Theres two sets there: Graduation2006 and Vacation2006

I don't have many vacation photos because I used the camcorder most of the time. I did manage to upload my visit to the Nintendo World Store to Google Video though and I will post it once it gets verified. I'm not about to put an 80MB video on my server :) I will try to upload more videos from my vacation as well.

Bye for now
-Me

Vacation.end();

2006-05-29T18:14:00.000-05:00

So we got back from our vacation yesterday. I didn't get a chance to post until now so I will just put it all into one massive update! If you are reading this on my LiveJournal then each one will have its own LJ-cut. Sadly blogger has no way of doing cuts and I don't want to waste my time developing a way :P

In more recent news, I saw X-men 3 and I was disappointed. It could have been much better if it didn't have that cheesy dialogue and some other useless things. Brett Ratner let the comedy director inside get the best of him :P Oh well, it was still fun. And by the way, if you haven't seen it then make sure you wait until after the credits! You'll see ;)

And now the updates:
=====================================
Wednesday May 24th, 8:30pm

So now I'm in Atlantic City, NJ! Washington DC was pretty cool, I'll try and upload some videos and/or photos later on. We saw all the important places like the Lincoln Memorial and Union Station. We took the orange line trolly tour. Atlantic city is pretty awesome too. Its basically a mini Las Vegas with some cool casinos and stuff. Since I'm 21 now I can gamble too :D I went last night and hit a HUGE jackpot.. I put in $10 and got $177 :P I knew I shouldn't keep going because I would just lose it all, so I cashed out.

Today we walked a lot. Theres a boardwalk that connects all the casinos and we decided to walk to the Tropicana which was about a mile or two away. We saw Deep Sea 3D at the IMAX there. I thought it would be a movie with talking animals or something but it was a documentary about sea creatures. It was still fun though. Walking back was pretty tiring though, we were starving. We decided to go to the indian restaurant inside the Trump Taj Mahal casino but after walking all the way there we saw that the prices were INSANE! $17.95 for ONE curry and thats not including the naan. So we went to the Hard Rock Cafe instead and that place was great. The service was great and the Grilled Veggie Sandwich was teh yumz! :P

So now I'm here in the hotel room typing this entry into a Text editor :P I will post this when I get internet access and backdate it. But if I don't get to post it for a while then I will just post them one by one and just put the date at the top. And now I think I'll go to sleep!

Friday May 26th, 11:15pm

So now I'm in Clifton, NJ! We're over at my mom's uncle's place. We visited some other family we have here in New Jersey while we were here. And tomorrow we are going on a journey to the Nintendo World Store! The Mecca of gaming! (well ok so not quite). I can't wait to go there and probably not even buy anything :P Today we went shopping for indian groceries. There was a sale at a new store that opened and of course there was a big line to get inside. They could only let a certain number of people in the building because of a fire hazard. I took pictures of the mayhem and will post them once I can download them from my phone. After getting through the madness we went to yet another store that was right next to that one. It was pretty tiring and there was a line to get into that store too! We must have bought at least $200 worth of stuff total.

I will probably have a bigger update for tomorrow and I hope the Nintendo World Store has Wi-Fi so I can go online right there.

Sunday May 8th, 8:53am

Its over... we are now in the car driving back home from New Jersey. But yesterday was a lot of fun in New York City. We took the bus from Clifton, NJ to NYC and then we walked to the Nintendo World Store!

The store was a lot smaller than I thought, and not as "magical" as I thought. I saw the Gamecube kiosks that were setup as stations for the Super Smash Bros. tournament. And they had the Wii trailers playing on the screens (if you don't know what the Wii is then I've got 3 words for you.. wii.nintendo.com!) At first I didn't know where the Super Smash Bros. Brawl music was coming from :P I was like "Thats the Smash Bros Brawl music! wheres it coming from?!!" I looked at the T-shirts and most of them were lame and expensive. And nothing was cheaper than you would get from other stores. I asked about the Pokemon Mystery Ticket that you could supposedly get from the store through the GBA Wireless Adapter, but they didnt have that anymore.

I wasn't sure what else to do there but then they announced that anyone who was on standby for the tournament should go sign up. I wasn't going to sign up but my dad said I should do it. I went and stood in line and I got in easily. The place was PACKED for the tournament. There were nearly 100 participants but they had 12 stations for one-on-one matches. After a while it was my turn and I was up against a little asian kid. I thought "I might actually win..." but boy was I wrong :D He used Yoshi and kept butt-stomping me and I was Link and couldn't beat him even once. I guess I need more practice... Kunal got the entire match on tape.. watching me get beaten up :P But it was a double-elimination match so I had one more chance. After some more rounds of watching others play it was my turn again. This guy was older than the last and a lot more arrogant and talkative. He used Capt. Falcon and I used Kirby (who I thought I was good at). I got owned yet again.. not beating him even once. And it didn't help that throught the match he kept going "COME ON! IS THAT ALL YOU GOT! YOUR NOT EVEN TRYING!" Stupid kid.. and then he gloats to his friends and points me out like "Theres the guy!"

Well I was feeling tired and hungry so we needed to leave. I just HAD to buy something so I went upstairs again and found a cool blue Nintendo World New York T-shirt so I bought that. And I even bought a copy of Tetris DS. So then we went to eat and it took me a while to tell the guy what I wanted. I could hardly understand what he was saying and he didn't seem to hear me. After we finished eating we took a taxi to Ground Zero. Thats the site of the World Trade Center and seeing the pictures and stuff is still very depressing. I took some video of it and we took the subway back to the bus station to go home.

We were all pretty tired when we finally got back to the house and after resting we went to my uncle's place for dinner.

So back to today... We've been driving for about 2 hours now. In fact as I type this its 10:53am.. exactly 2 hours since I started this entry. Why did it take me 2 hours? Because I stopped writing to watch Mr. Nice Guy on DVD. We got it for $5 at the $5 or less store while driving to New Jersey. I think thats enough for now.. I may update again later. Bye bye folks.
======================

So those are the unedited updates from my trip! I will probably try to YouTube (or GoogleVideo) some of my videos from the trip. Especially, the Smash Bros. Tournament!

edit: yes, thats supposed to be May 28th not May 8th :P I must have been tired...

Bye bye for now!
-Me

mVacation= new Vacation();

2006-05-21T21:11:00.000-05:00

Current mood: relaxed

Wow, its been TWO MONTHS since I last posted here! Well I've just been so busy (ie. lazy) these past few months but now its all over. Lets do a quick recap shall we?
- We lost the programming contest
- I came back
- I waited until the last week to start on my project for 3D displays and couldn't finish it
- My group finished Burst Wing with a few cutbacks, I'll put up a download for it when I can
- I got 3 A's and a B (in 3D Displays)
- I GRADUATED! I am now officially B.S. in C.S! (No BS! :D)

I am now in Silver Springs, MD. Its funny that that last time I posted I was in Tennessee and now I'm in Maryland! Well we are actually here to see Washington DC which is very close to Silver Springs (hotels are cheaper here!). We went on a Duck tour today, it was quite interesting. A duck tour is when you go on both land and water on the same amphibious vehicle called a "duck". Its like a combo Bus+Boat! Personally I think Busoat or Boatus is better... ok so no :)

Plans for the week:
- Take a trolly tour of DC and visit the Smithsonian
- Leave and go to Atlantic City, NJ
- Visit family in NJ
- Go to New York City
- Visit the Nintendo World Store!

Thats the plan as I know it. I'll keep you updated.

Good night for now!
-Me

Memphis update

2006-03-31T12:31:00.000-05:00

Current mood: relaxed

I am currently in the Marriott hotel in Memphis, TN. Its pretty cool, but nothing too special. The bus ride was LONG and I played plenty of Pokémon and Metroid Prime on my DS. :P We left around 9am and got here at 9pm, but we made two or three stops on the way though. I got up early this morning (8am) and got my ID badge along with my ticket for the awards dinner at some famous place I don't remember the name of.

We went to IHOPs for breakfast and I thought it was WAY too expensive. It was like $5.99 for the chocolate chip pancakes. Although I got like 4 or 5 pancakes stacked together they were normal size. Oh I totally forgot to say WHY I'm in Memphis :D Well GOOD QUESTION! I am here for the IEEE Southeast Conference to participate in the Programming contest. It starts at 4pm today (5pm Charlotte time) and its very similar to the ACM contest.

I guess I'll update more later.. bye for now
-Me