Blog thru cell phone

This is my first blog thru cell phone. I am using cousin bro's card to access gprs internet. It works very well, even on my nokia 3110c. Pretty fast and convenient. I liked it very much.
- Mahesh

HAPPY DIWALI

To,

The Readers of "Life Ho To Aisee"

" I Wish A Very Happy and Joyful Diwali.

  May This Diwali Fulfil All Your Dreams. "

HAPPY DIWALI

- Mahesh Masurkar

A Mind Refresher..

AWIM (A World in Motion)  is an initiative started by SAE India for the school students to learn science principles thru fun. You can get more detailed information here. This weekend, I had been to ARAI for AWIM Teachers & Volunteers Training. I opted as a volunteer for Millennium School, Pune along with Girish, Harshal & Vikram. Two days training was really good & a nice experience to learn how to make the JetToy. It was like a mind refresher from the regular life.

Now the next task is to teach school teachers and more fun when we start teaching students. I am sure students will also have equal (or more) fun too.

I will upload the photos from the training very soon.

Read the news in Sakal Times here.
Thanks,
Mahesh Masurkar

Trek to Bheema Shankar - Part 1 (Plan)

Trek: Khandas Bheema Shankar Khandas (KBSK)
Dates:- 14-15 AUG 2010
Finally, only 5 people are available for trek as Anant, Kapil, Atul, Milind and Mahesh
We are going by Kapil's car.

Final Plan:

14AUG2010:-
1) Atul will come to Kapil's house in the morning
2) Kapil will pick up Mahesh at Pune Station at 6:45 AM
3) Then Anant will be picked up at Dapodi chowk at 7:00 AM
4) Finally, Milind will board the car at Nigdi Fly over at 7:15 AM
5) Reach Karjat by 9:30 AM, and have breakfast.
6) Reach Khandas by 11:00 AM
7) Start towards Bheema Shankar at 11:15 AM by Ganesh Ghat (Not going by Shidi chi waat?? .. may be)
8) Reach Bheema Shankar by 4:00 PM
9) Stay at Bheema Shankar

15AUG2010:-
1) Morning visit to the temple (one of the 12 Jyotirliga temple in India)
2) Roam around Bheema Shankar, visit gupta Bheema Shankar, Nag phani
3) Lunch at Bheema Shankar at around 11:00 AM.
4) Trek back to Khandas
5) Travel back to Pune
Plan to reach Pune by 7:00 PM


Individual Items to bring (MUST):

1) A haversack to put in all the things to be carried. So that one has free hands while trekking.
2) Good trekking shoes (& enough pairs of socks)
3) Sleeping bag/mat
4) Enough clothing
5) A good Torch, candle and match box
6) Minimum two water bottles 1 ltr each.
7) Cap (optional)
8) Camera (optional)
9) Wind cheater (optional)
10) Tent (Mahesh - Sneha's tent)
Its raining heavy these days, so pack your bags accordingly to save them from getting wet.


A) Food:
Everybody has to carry
-- Saturday lunch
-- Snacks items (plum cakes, biscuits, wafers, cream rolls, jam and bread etc)
B) Other items:
Mug/Glass, knife (optional)
Paper roll, napkins (optional)
C) Medicines:
Mahesh:- First Aid Kit
All:- As per individual requirement


Thanks,
Mahesh Masurkar

No more Fish...........

23Feb2003: Morning 9:00 AM, in Infotech office, waiting in a HR room, curious about what will happen next..very much anxious. There are 11 more like me, straight from the college. Here is the first time I met Vinayak, a small guy sitting silent.. little shy.

Next 2.5 yrs: This same Vinayak was my roomie with Sada. We enjoyed a lot. Our house was co-shared by other guttala members as well. Vinayak was open and mixed sometimes, sometimes reserved and locked in his room. This guy used to read a lot and to read anything.. don't have any restriction on the books. He used to read like an IAS preparer.

2Aug2010: 4:30 PM. In Casualty room at YCM Hospital, very much frustrated.. don't know what was the status of the mind. It was nowhere.. roaming from 23Feb2003 till date.. don't know. And I met him again.. ohh no.. not like this. One small mistake from the PMT bus driver had taken my friend miles and miles away from me.. it's unbelievable.

Life is unpredictable, but not for the close ones.. one of the worst post on "Life ho to aisee"

Vinayak, you will always be in my hearts.. no matter where you are..

- MM

DiCAPac DIWP610: Waterproof Camera Cover

I lost one camera in one of the treks. So I always wanted to have one waterproof cover for my camera. Now the rainy and the trekking season is going to start, suddenly it striked my mind and I started searching for one for my SX110. I was browsing for it and saw a webiste for waterproof underwater covers for camera. I found it very much interesting, searched one compatible for camera. I found that DicaPac WP610 will be good for SX110. I had gone thru all the reviews available and decided to buy. Swapnil bought it for me and sent to India with his friends.
I decided to do the water proof (leak) test before using this cover. There are 3 point seals for this case, one like a air tight seal and other two are welcrows. I put cotton inside the case, closed and kept it under water for almost 10 minutes. Mru also joined to help me do the test. (Basically she wanted to play in the water) Once the test was over, I took the case outside and cleaned the outer surface with a cloth. (This is very very important.. this should always be done, before taking your camera outside the case.)
You can see all the test photos here.
Personally, I liked this case very much and I am going to use it from next trek onwards. One more gadget under my belt :)

Site where I bought this: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/
Price: $ 41.99


- Mahesh Masurkar

Walk of "The life"

Whats this post and whats its significance to my 'Life ho to aisee"?
Any clue, any idea.. what may be the correlation?
Some thing related to my trekking...
Think.. think..
Still not able to correlate.
No problem.. I am here to explain each and everything in detail.

Tonight, Mru and Anagha were sitting on the bed, and Anagha was feeding her "varaN bhat (वरण भात). I was sitting next to them,solving Sudoku and Marathi crossword (शब्दकोडे). (yes.. don't get shocked, I try my luck every night )
At the same time, we were busy watching Sa Re Ga Ma Pa (सारेगमप) on Z marathi. Mru was doing something behind Anagha, near to the wall. Mru came in front of Anagha, and suddenly Anagha shouted "अरे ही बघ, चालत पुढे आली !!" ("Look at her, she is walking"). We were very happy to see this moment. Mru was OK as if she did nothing. She fail down, got up again and started again. Anagha and I cheered .. ताल, ताल.. ताल ताल.. (ही मृ ची भाषा, बर का!) Then she realized that she started walking. She even took a 90 degree turn as well. I immediately jumped from the bed to get my cell phone to capture this memorable moment. What a moment to capture.. all parents eagerly wait for this moment. Normally, Anagha was the first witness for Mru's all developments and I used to hear it once I am back from office. But not this.. we were together when Mru started her 'first step' independently of 'her life'.. Isn't this the beginning of walk of the life?

Refresher trek to Lohgad - 17July2010

After a long wait, rainy season started and we decided to have some small fun trek. There was a gap of few months in between our trekking. This one was like a starter even though last month I had been to Sinhgad.
Initially, almost every member of our group shown interest to join for this trek. But as usual almost everybody dropped at the last moment, leaving 5 of us.. TeJa, Atul, Sam, Dusty & I. Initial plan of going by Car and/or Local was cancelled and we decided to go on bike. Sam did not manage to get a bike and he dropped out on Saturday morning.
So finally Dusty and I on my (BIL's) bike and Atul & TeJa on Atul's bike. We met at Nashik Phata and started for Malawali. Though there were enough clouds that day, but no rain at all, some drizzle on the way.. thats it. Even the waterfalls on the way were very very small, discouraging us to go towards it.
This was Dusty's first trek after really a long time and first with our group. Atul and TeJa took the regular route, whereas I took Dusty on the shortcut way. After some time, Dusty called me and asked to shout. I thought he wanted some fun and I did. Then he said ," I am able to hear you, but not able to see you." Then I realized what might be the problem. Dusty was on "low sugar" because of this sudden exercion. We had our break fast at the base, but I guessed it had not yet enrouted to the blood level. I asked him to lay down there, close eyes and take rest for 5 minutes. Within 5 minutes, Dusty was on his feet. After crossing the small hillock, we had energy nutribars to refresh ourselves. Apart from this, the trek was a regualr one. Lohgad is now easily approached from Lonawala with a good tar road. Hence very much crowdy.
The food at the base (bhaje) was awesome and delicious.
I did not take my camera, but Atul and TeJa did. As usual, both have not shared the photos yet :)

- Mahesh Masurkar

Coding, decoding & I

Shocked to read the title.. You might have thought .. whats this? An analyst doing coding rather than doing his regular analysis stuff. Yes..thats true. I was doing some coding after a long long time. I am little familiar with C & C++. This time I chose Python to work with as it offers great tools which I require this time.

We were in need of a code, which will reduce our work. Sneha and I started working on the same. She chose to work on C while I chose Python. (though we both used the same logic in writing the code !!) Recently, my colleague, Narsimloo did one code in Python and he helped me to start with. This was really a wonderful experience doing something new after a long time.

This is a small utility (called ProE Export Utility) to convert the output from ProE in Star CD format. I later enhanced it so as to export to Nastran format as well. It was fun learning the new language and doing programming. Obviously, google helped a lot when it comes to debugging or enhancing the code. Now the code is secured as well and nobody can use it without my permission. I own the copyright of the same. (Not going to sell it.. just for fun !!)

The next thing to be done is to give the code a good graphical look and a nice icon.
Hopefully, I will complete it very soon.

Thanks to Sneha, Narsimloo, Jayat and Bob for their help and encouragement in this small journey.

- Mahesh Masurkar

My nomination for the first Lufthansa A380

My nomination for the first Lufthansa A380: "The A380 the new Lufthansa flagship, a special experience, the Lufthansa A380. Find out more about the fascination of a new era in air travel. Take part, Raffles, Downloads, Photos, Video, Gallery, First Flight in 2010."

Pls click on the link above and vote for this name. We can make this A380 named by great Indian name. Ashwamegh is a horse of a Chakravarti Raja and symbolically A380 will be the flagship of Airbus :)

So pls pls pls vote for this name and make the Great India History a part of New Era.

- Mahesh Masurkar

Plan: Harishchandragad trek via नळीची वाट

Trek Dates:- Friday 29 Jan 2010 to Sunday 31 Jan 2010
Total count = 10 with 2 cars

Meeting place:- Nashik Phata
Meeting Time:- 6:30 PM on Friday 29 Jan 2010

Final schedule:-
Day 1: Friday 29 Jan 2010
Two cars by Nikhil and Gauss
Car # 1
Nikhil, Mahesh, Sam, Sachin and Anant
Mahesh is responsible for this car.
Car # 2
Gauss, Amol, Atul, Swapnil and Kapil.
Swapnil is responsible for this car.
Except car onwers (who are initially fuelling their cars), everybody else pls pay Rs. 600/- to me.
(Cost details:-Approx. Rs. 600/- per head
including tea, snacks/break fast, lunch, dinner, travel etc)

Both the cars will meet at Nashik Phata at 6:30 PM.
Then start towards Bail pada, have dinner on the way.
Reach Bailpada and hault.

Day 2: Saturday 30 Jan 2010
Wake up early in the morning (before sunrise), fresh up and start for the trek at 7:00 AM
Snacks/bread break fast at 8:30 PM
Reach top at Kokan kadaa by 11:30 AM.
Reach the caves by 1:00 PM.
1-2 PM is lunch/break time.
Start for descend at 2:00 PM. Visit to temples.
Reach Pachnai by 4 PM and then base camp by 7:00 PM
Then camping at base, dinner and rest

Day 3:Sunday 31 Jan 2010
Return back to Pune by 12:00 PM.

Things to carry:-
A) Individual Items to bring (MUST):
1) Good trekking shoes (& enough pairs of socks)
2) Sleeping bag/mat
3) Enough clothing, including warm clothes
4) A good Torch, candle and match box
5) Minimum two water bottles 1 ltr each.
6) Cap (optional)
7) Camera (optional)
8) A good haver sack to carry.
9) Soap, toothpaste, brush etc
10) Tent (Mahesh & Nikhil)
11) Bed sheet, kambal, shawl etc
B) Food:
Atul:- 4 Breads, Jams, Pickles, Chutney. Cakes, Biscuits, knife, Glucon D
Amol can share this with Atul (after their discussion)
Anant:- 1 Paatele, kerosene, maachis, men batti, rope, zaaraa/daav/paLi
Mahesh:- Paraathe, khichadi mix, paatele 2 (small), zaaraa
Sweet Lemons
Sam:- 2 kg onions
Swapnil:- All items required for chicken. (including onions and lemons)

C) Utensils:
All:- Plate, cup & spoon
Mug (optional)
Paper roll, napkins (optional)

D) Medicines:
Mahesh:- First Aid Kit (band aids, cream, spray, tabs)
All:- As per individual requirement

Thanks,
Mahesh Masurkar

Natarang and I

A new Marathi movie 'Natarang' is released thin January, rocking and getting house full all over the Maharashtra. Natarang is the story of GUNA, a farm worker from the backwad community, with ultimate dreams of playing the King in the traditional Marathi folk art Tamasha. He starts the Tamasha, but finds difficult to get the character of नाच्या (dancer). Then he has no other option, but to do the role himself, which he did.

When I read the story,it took me 6 years back, right in 2003. That was our 1st year in Infotech1 and we did a skit at Infotsav2 2003. Nikhil was the brain behind the skit. The final script, practise was done in our house. The skit's name was "Ramayana Reloaded" which was the biggest hit of Infotsav 2003. My part was overall management and songs collection.. kind of backstage. There is one female character named Shurpanakha (शूर्पणखा) in the skit and nobody was ready to do this role. So ultimately everybody convinced (or managed) me to do this role. I even had to remove my mustache. That was a last minute change which I did. It was fun doing that role.

Have a nice time !!
- Mahesh Masurkar

Note:-
1. Infotech Enterprises Ltd, Hyderabad => My first company
2. Infotsav - Annual Function of Infotech.
I just remembered this when I read about Natarang.. thats it !!
So no comparison/offence is meant to the Natarang story or the actor Atul Kulkarni.. he was superb in the movie.

Happy New Year 2010

To,
All the Readers and Fans of "Life Ho To Aisee"

A Very Happy, Healthy and Joyful New Year to YOU.

Thanks,
Mahesh Masurkar

Note:- This Photo is taken from the John Deere internal publication. Pls do not copy this photograph.