The Police brush

It was a big white canvas.

Not a spot of guilt.

The first encounter was within their borders.

Documentation and I was in order.

But they dipped their brush in a pot of grease.

Wanted it coloured gold.

Cause the pages had a little crease.

Painted it with a silver speck.

So that it won’t show on the white deck.

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Still, the canvas was now jaundiced.

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But they say the cure could only be more plush,

Not just a stroke of the paint brush.

Greed overcame the Lord of this prey.

I tore my canvas and walked away.

Not a spot of guilt (on them)
Not a spot of guilt.(on ahem)

The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga

I read this book some time ago, though it has been topping the reviewers list for a longer some time.It begins nicely, with the language in which it is written almost like that of a driver from a small town..the simplicity of the language adequately portrays the complexity of thoughts. However, there is no real story here. The Chinese connection seems a little too trite. The turn of events seem to be dealt with very simply,without much ado, that it makes it a little unbelievable. But I must admit I kept turning the pages in a feverish pace. Good one time read. It also gives a newbie some confidence to go and attempt writing a book!

Of what use is an engineering degree in electrical sciences if you did not know that you have to put the plug in the socket for an electrical appliance to work?

I am not going to write here about this very obvious oversight on the part of a haughty engineer I know. This post is about more complicated things.

With half the family of the above mentioned engineer in la-la land, it was high time a web cam was bought and monkey faces sent over the high seas, like Hanuman’s lanka trips. So are web cams sold by any Spider branded companies? Wish they were. .I digress.

After what seemed like Vanavasa, a web cam was bought for a little less than a grand, and positioned as delicately as stacking eggs in the fridge, over the monitor of the desktop computer.

Before this, it was debated, for a good half hour, how good is a soundless movie to one’s kith and kin, especially with a face that does not hold the interest of even the neighbourhood dog.The microphone had completely slipped the engineer’s mind and it was not bought. You ought to overlook that, for the engineer is not a sound engineer but an electrical sciences engineer.

Then, it was noticed a tail hung from near the USB connector of the web cam, and it fitted well into the microphone socket of the computer. Whoa..this definitely ought to be capable of carrying a few decibels of sound atleast. (see see..the engineer knows all about decibels and is not a fake one)

Having got this far, the rest was easy or so the engineer thought. Plug the cable into the USB port, and wait for the lights to flicker on, and surprisingly not, the engineer sees a hazy but the famous silhouette of self. (Yeah yeah..the engineer knows all about putting in the disc, and installing drivers for the computer to recognize the new hardware as a web cam) With a pat on the back, the lens focus is adjusted to reveal a more interesting portrait of self. Grinnn.

Skype was then inaugurated in the house with as much fanfare, as the superstar’s Friday release. Mustard spluttering et al. (Cooking in the kitchen simultaneously pa) to remove evil eye.

Then came the test…ENGINEER..ARE YOU TRUE BLOODED?

The microphone carried the voice through perfectly over the web messanger. Alas, if only it was a more melodious voice, the world on the other side would have been content.

Show us your face, they demanded.

The haughty engineer shyed away at first..no, its ok, it is late in the night..it is dark here…were the pleas.

Out you come, they cried hoarse.

But how????

The camera was showing off the perfect face to self, but refused to transmit over the web as though it did not want to inflict the same on others.

Off and on the web cam, camera test, works fine.

No transmission on the web.

Plug it out and plug it in, camera test, works fine.

No transmission on the web.

Plug out the microphone, camera test, works fine.

No transmission on the web.

After several hours of the Indian standard time, and Greenwich mean time having elapsed, the bulb flickered. In the mind of the engineer, silly. (FYI, the camera lights were flickering alright)

One mighty pull and push of the USB wire into the slot again, skype on, no camera test.

EUREKA…it went through.

The famous face was splashed across the globe, making it more famous. (Loud applause like in Oscar’s)

The problem was that the web cam did not know how to function in two places, 1) over the local machine and 2) the internet. Was this the engineer’s fault?

Everyone else thinks so.

You tell me.