Just a bit

Just cleaned up 14GB of hard disk space that was used up by crappy windows installer cache. This was of great help http://thebackroomtech.com/2009/01/19/howto-use-msizap-to-remove-orphaned-cached-windows-installer-data-files-to-increase-free-disk-space/ 

It’s been more than 4 months since I blogged gee… life had its toll on me. A whole lot of things are happening got married, had lots of fun, started tweeting, catching up with the pace of work as usual, complete MS and got a driving license… Gosh not bad quite productive months … Yes … these few months have been very sweet.

BTW I just installed Windows 7 RC 1 and writing this blog post using Live Writer. Got to get ready for work … more later. Need to keep writing more… will try.

Yes I am a fan of Linux, but I do use Windows so I was keen on checking out whatz all the buzz about Windows 7 Beta. Finally I got a chance to download the Windows 7 Beta release, get the key and install it on my desktop.

As expected its a optimized version of Vista. When I clicked on one of the help buttons during the install it was talking about how to upgrade to Vista or how to clean install Vista. One of those copy paste bugs of documentation.
 
But folks of M$  seem to have got their install process on the right track finally. Since it just asked me on which partion to install and then completed the whole installation in less than 30 minutes with a single restart! Amazing for Windows. It also asked me about language preferences, the install language I left as English and there was another question about Time and Currency format I was searching for India I found Kannada(India) and its interesting to see how Windows in accomadating Kannada. I should say I am pleased. I can see the days and months now in Kannada!

So did they get it all right! Well they still have to get out of that DOS box! I have a 250 GB hard disk I ended up with 4 primary partitions when juggling around some space for trying out Windows 7 and it blames me for that and doesn't intsall! I ended up deleting one of the primary partions need to see if I can reenable it. Also it needs 14 GB space to install! I was thinking 10 GB would be more than enough for just an OS. It has used up 11.1 GB after install. Also its not recognizing my fat 32 partition! They got out of the wrong DOS box :)

The GUI is kool! They have got the transperency effects, clean scroll bars, nice progress indcator, neat task bar and appropriate start menu with search box. Impressive look for the file explorer and also interesting and useful organization of shortcuts. They have a default downloads folder and a shortcut to it , now  thats useful. Though there is nothing new in the feature set when compared to the kool features now available in Linux its good to see they have got the integration and organization of these features right. I have just enabled the express setting for IE 8 which hooks me up will all Windows world. Like I am using Live Search to google ;) I mean search.

So much for the first feel of Window 7 Beta. Overall experience is 7 on 10 mainly because I did not shell out bucks for this :) Need to get an anitvirus, just learnt that AVG is no more free trying Avast and Kaspersky. It has already downloaded an update and asking for a restart, it still windows :) may be its matures when it comes out of Beta.

Hmm.. thatz it for now A Very Happy Makara Sankranti to all.

Wishing you and your family a very Happy and a Prosperous New Year.

Today I saw the news of hotels at Mumbai are back in service. After all the media hype the terrorist attack is now a forgotten chapter. I think the root cause of the attack is corruption! Yes the terrorists were able to do what they did because of the corruption that prevails in every walk of our life. It's the bigger terror. At least in the forth coming years we should fight it with silent resolute and firm determination.

After 2 years of turmoil, the day finally came I had to rush to Pilani for my dissertation viva. As quoted by the Prof. Venkat in the orientation it was a "piligrimage".

BITS Campus is really beautiful the Sharada temple at the campus is very beautiful and I was lucky to be there to see it in full moon light. Wow what a sight!

The journey from Delhi to Pilani and back was horrible but being at VFAST hostel and meeting friends like Deepak, Tanmay, Ravi and Sudhanva made it bearable. I think I am done with my degree. One less thing to worry about.

Oh yeah it was a very pleasant trek... its already burried in the dreams. I still remember panting to reach the Sar pass after starting from Tilalotni and the slides down to the next camp! The walk there without guide and the camp fire. I still user the same shoes, a part of which was burnt in that camp fire. I should have written about it long bak I still have so much to write... its time to move on. I thought of just drafting a line to mark it complete. May be I will write more when I find more time. I remember reading somewhere ... "We always postpone the job for tomorrow, thinking we will have more time. But tomorrow just has 24 hours all the same". Not exactly the same quote but the same meaning ... How true!

After leaving Zirmi we encountered few snow patches which were ideal for snow war and one nice slope where we had the first experience of a snow slide. We spent sometime at these places playing with the snow.

Then when we moved on it was a little late and it started raining. The climb now became very challenging because of rain. We somehow managed to reach the lunch point and were shivering with cold and panting for breath. At the lunch point there was a small tent put up by the sherpas (the local people of the mountain ranges). They were there as they knew people trekking will be on that path and will need some refreshments. It was a mobile canteen which sold tea, coffee, maggi and omelet. It was a small tent where 8 to 10 people could fit in. Since it was raining all those who climbed sought shelter in the tent. Soon more than 15 people were there. And then, the rain God wasn't pleased. The little shower changed into a heavy rain accompanied by freezing cold wind that could easily blow a man off the mountain. This made all the 52 of us, along with the guides and the sherpas who had put up the tent crumble in that small tent. After 20 minutes or so the rain and hailstorm became snow fall. From within the tent we couldn't see anything outside expect white curtains of snow. It was so damn cold that some guys had to smoke beedi to warm up! The snowfall lasted long enough to remind everyone of their little prayers to the Almighty. Finally it was over! The sky cleared up and we crawled out of the tent, alive!
One look around us took away our breath. The land the we just walked on which was green and slushy due to rain was all painted white, Snow White! The view of the surrounding mountain ranges and the sight of the clouds floating below us, just can't be explained in words! We were standing above the Clouds! Everything that we had to bear till now turned into an adventurous happy memory, by this sight.

After this little adventure, we walked to our next higher camp Tialotni. It was the highest camp of the trek. Tents here were pitched in snow and one could see nothing but snow clad mountain peaks from here.

I have already described how the Sar Pass trek began, continuing into the adventure here. As we started off from the base camp towards the first higher camp the entire group was excited. The excitement was so high that we sat on the top of the bus to reach Shila village.

People ignored the high tension wires and were fighting to find place on the bus top. That drive was very good, watching out for branches, wires and rocks the extended from the mountain added to the fun.
After reaching Shila we began to walk towards Guna Pani. Our first higher camp. The walk started. Most part of the walk was up hill, though we had to get down initially quite a bit. Since it was the first day and the energy levels were high, the walk was a cakewalk. On reaching the camp most of them felt it wasn't exiting enough. That is when the camp leader Himmath Sir, assured us that the trek on the next day would be the most difficult one.
Guna Pani to Faul Pani, it was a very steep climb. Every single person was panting and some of them felt it very tiring. The walk was in the pine forest and we did not encounter any snow or ice. Though we crossed many streams on our way. I still love the chill feeling of these streams and miss their bubbly song. Every one was delighted to see the banner of YHA as it meant the camp was close by and the climb was about to end. The smiling face of our camp leader Raju received us and we reached our tents. These tents were different from those of the lower camps as they were pithed on a slope, amongst the pine trees in the forest!
Next day we headed towards Zirmi. On the way we had to cross a patch of hard ice! This was my first experience walking on hard ice, I still feel the urge of digging in my heels when I think of it. That's the way you walk so that you get a good grip on the slippery snow. I think, now I have a hang of it, but not then. I remember slipping at times, was fortunate enough not to fall. But some of them did fall, one person went sliding down and was completely shocked so he did not even try to stop himself from sliding down. The guide was on top of him trying to dig his feet and hands in the ice and stop sliding, still they went sliding down a bit and had to climb up. Fortunately not much! Now that was some adventure.

The whole group had started getting the feel of a trek in the Himalayas. There were ice patches on the way after this, but they were small patches. Some of us had fun ice-fighting at a couple of places, that was fun.
Finally we realized that whoever had said that previous days trek was tough was kidding. The group was waiting to reach the camp. When we saw the banner we were very happy that we reached the camp. But here was the trick it was just there to kindle our hope and the camp was further away at least a couple of miles! The camp leader Shanmugam was there near the banner to receive the group, he was not very happy as the group had divided and the last bunch arrived after about an hour or so. Well then it was in the character of this person and he reminded to every member of the group some person whom they wouldn't like a lot.
Zirmi was cold, freaking cold. Arun, one of our tent mate called our tent Zirmi-ki-garmi (the heat of Zirmi) as we had great time in the tent, cracking jokes and laughing until we fell asleep.
Tilalotni was our next destination. We would partly be trekking on snow this day. That turned on the excitement and we started off without realizing what lies ahead.

It feels good to be sitting on a couch and typing into a Laptop, the weather outside is very pleasant and the aroma of the coffee that I am sipping is just perfect. But it felt better a couple of weeks ago. It was, when I crawled out of my sleeping bag, into the darkness of our tent. I stumbled on a log, sorry it was my friend who was sleeping like a log. I was trying to locate my mug, with the thick wollen gloves covering my hands its was not easy to touch, feel or grip anything. I unwillingly pulled the gloves off, when I felt my hands were instantly dipped into a frozen chamber. I found my cup and jumped over many more sleeping logs towards the sound of 'Bed Tea'. That cup of tea, it was more needed for my hands than my stomach. As my hands were frozen and the warmth of the tea cup felt so cozy. It really felt great as I sipped that cup of tea and stepped out side my tent on to the snow. I turned my head around and exclimed Wow!!! this is Heaven! A few golden rays spurting out from behind the silver mountains and the star lit sky above, it was bliss. And there I was standing on the snow and sipping a cup of hot tea. It just can't get better.  I loved it, enjoyed it... I will savour it for the rest of my life!

What did you expect me to say that I slipped on the snow and then tumbled down the mountain to wake up on my bed, out of my dream? Well it now sounds like a dream but it was for real. I was on Himalayas. I had been to trek Sar Pass. This best cup of tea I had was at the highest camp site of Tilalotni.

It was the first trek of my life. Me and praveenkumarg went nuts one day. So went and signed up for the Sar Pass trek from YHAI. I think it was back in Feb. Neither of us had never gone for any trek and we had read and heard a lot about it, it sounded exiting and we thought we could do it. Well let me confess we were not really sure that we would complete it even after we signed up for it. But that was not the case we did it. We managed to get the leave for 11 working days and charted a schedule for about 20 days.

On 30th April we boarded Karnataka Express at Bangalore City Railway Station that is when we were sure that we are going for the trek. After 40 hours of evenful journey with intresting co-passengers (none too interesting to be worth a mention here tough) we reached Delhi on 2nd May. This itself would be an adventure to many who had told us that we would be roasted alive in our non-AC compartments due to the soaring summer heat. Yes it was hot but not enough to roast us alive and considering the 'heat' in the AC cubes that we work this journey was very pleasant.

There we were at Delhi knowing only that we need to reach Kasol, but had no idea as to how. Yes thats how well were prepared. We had no idea where Kasol was! We took a pre-paid rickshaw to the ISBT and some agent of a private travels tricked me to book two expensive seats on a bus to Manli. We were supposed to get down on the way and reach Kasol. It was in this bus we met Harshad and Yogesh. Two great guys who ended being our good friends.  One more valuable earning! They had been on these treks before and knew how to get to Kasol, we joined them, got down at Buntar and then caught another bus to Kasol. The view all thought the journey was breathtaking. The whole of Himachal Pradesh is full of mountians, valleys and streams.

First three days were at the base camp, getting acclimatised to the altitude. First day was all for ourselves with no schedule. Roming around Kasol and experince the first day of life in a tent along with getting to know other fellow trekkers ate up that day. Introduction of Iyer's and the entry of the Adventura group happened on this day. Interesting events as the first opinion about them were formed. There was also the first camp fire of my life, though there was no real fire (as its a rule at YHA no to use real fire) it was fun to see the kids (yes it was full of school going kids from Bangalore along with some of their teachers I guess) of  the previous group (SP2) perform. Next day the schedule was bed tea, physical exercise, campus cleaning, orientation and acclimatisation walk. It was great to be early to bed, rather into the sleeping bags, and up early. I found that I had enough stamina for a 2 km jog ... wow! The execrsices reminded of school times and many people actualy went back to that era with their behaviour. Before setting out for acclimatisation we wished Good Luck to the first group heading for Sar Pass (ours was the third - SP3). Then we went on to climb for another 1000 ft and have a glass of orange squash before descending. This was the first experience of a treak, with a back pack walking up hill along with the group, panting at times felt good. Next day was rappling, rock climbing and river crossing. The last two activites were washed out by rain but I enjoyed rappling. Its not as difficult as it seems, with proper gear and instructions is as easy as climbing down the stairs. After all this we were all set to trek on... thus began the most memorable adventure. The snaps can be found here more posts of the trek to follow.