AN OPEN LETTER TO SHENAZ TREASURYWALA

Deepika Narayan Bhardwaj

IS MY COUNTRY REALLY SO UNSAFE? IS EVERY MAN OUT THERE A RAPIST?

Dear Shenaz,

I read your Open Letter to some of the most Influential Men in India asking them to do something “URGENTLY” to protect women of this country. The accounts you shared in your letter are horrific and no girl should go through an experience like that.  Easier said than done…I know. I am a woman and I can correlate with the pain but Shenaz I would like to draw your attention towards something that no one today talks about and also urge you to write few more Open Letters after reading mine to you.

You ask a question again and again in your letter. Why was the driver in Uber case let go when he was caught for rape last time? Don’t you think you should ask this question to the woman who compromised the case…

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Giving up Everything to move forward in Life!

Would you call me crazy if I said I don’t need a house, don’t need the TV, the car, the sofa, the dining table, the Fridge, utensils, cooler, suits, and a ton of stuff that we all keep inside 4 walls and rate our success in life with how much more we can stuff within those walls?

Would you call me mad, a lunatic, if I said life can be lived on a single backpack?

It’s 3:00 am, I’m awake despite being sick and short of breath due to Asthma.
Meditated for a bit, feels better now.

Dark room, silent surroundings with everyone asleep, good for thought process.
Two months, I’ve backpacked Malaysia and Singapore for 2 reasons.

1. To find investors for my start-up and
2. To assess if I can survive with one backpack.

A backpack with life’s essentials is all I seem to need. Pudu Raya Bus Terminal, Malaysia .. waiting for bus to Singapore.

As I reflect on my thoughts and feelings I went through while backpacking,  I do not seem to need my urban luxuries of life to make anything better of it.

My car, the TV, and the seemingly un-ending list of items stuffed in the apartment, I can survive without it.
With the goals I have set for my life, none of this matters.

All I need is a laptop, and few clothes.
Should an Indie game developer need more than that?

Working on my upcoming game. One laptop, a drawing tablet and access to Internet – thanks to a host who gave me shelter.

I always knew my life isn’t going to be about settling down at a place.
I’ll never fit in a society, a structure or an organisation, or the very nature of people to own more materialistic things of life to climb that social ladder, the society with it’s rules that I can’t find a logic too.
Quit my job 4 years ago to do what I love.
Toured quite a few places in India on my motorbike, but something is still holding me back.

Yes! the Possessions I have. Possession of things in life that needs you to stuff them inside 4 walls and call it home, are holding me back.
I need to let go to experience new things this world has to offer.
I need to make more friends, I need to meet more good people with positive vibes around the globe, see the world and immerse myself in the nature/beauty/history/stories that Earth has to offer.

This is it. I have to do this.
There is no reason to wait any longer.

I need to travel without boundaries,
I NEED to be FREE!

So, here’s a list of stuff that I’m giving up from my current life. (Click to go to the link)
A lot of “Free GiveAways to Friends” yay!, and a few things on sale. 🙂
If you’d like to see videos of my travels, you can subscribe to me on Youtube – click here.

Pantai Tengah beach, Langkawi, Malaysia.
Nice place to sit and think of game ideas.

My dear Laptop, looking for new Owner :/

Update: SOLD
With heavy heart, I have decided to part with my 3 year old ultra portable, fun to have and absolute bliss to use laptop for travels (1.6 kgs only!).
We’re talking about ‘Shenron’ (Shenron, is the name of my laptop derived wish granting dragon of Dragon Ball Series;  Yes, I name my gadgets, problem? :D).

 

The Cheezy Stuff:

Shenron is an HP DM1-Z, which I bought jumping with joy when the AMD APU Fusion Zacate platform blasted performance without eating battery life was released, 3 years ago.

It was and is still the best 11.6 inch laptop available, other than well MacBook Air… or it probably beats air in few areas easily (unless if you’re an apple fanboy).

This is a special model of dm1-z, which is equipped with a 7200 rpm speed hard drive (no other models of dm1-z or even other 11.6 laptops came with 7200 rpm to reduce cost.) Even my new 14” laptop has only a 5400 rpm harddrive, imagine that! 🙂

 

What’s EXTRA for you!

I have a NEW original battery on this(the battery cover is still on), which I purchased for INR 6500 after the stock one died.

I have only discharged the battery to 10% less than 25-30 times and just for keeping it maintained or calibrated. So basically you have ton of life left on it. (Unless you don’t know how to maintain a laptop battery that is 😉 )

DM1 has been known for its long battery life. The 6 cell battery, 65 W adapter .. this has got juice to give you 9+ hr of idle backup time and usage time of about 5.5 hrs (I’ve tested this with both the stock and this new battery).

It also has a RAM upgrade by another 4GB stick, so that makes it a 6GB RAM fucking awesome machine! 🙂  [ Extra chargeable for the 4GB stick, read at bottom of the post ]

Also I am meticulous about stuff, so I maintained the laptop pretty well, including I’ve got it cleaned twice inside out for dust, cleaned heat sinks, the bridges, the keyboard, replaced thermal paste with new improved ones so that it contributes to cooler running and better throughput.

 

The Tech Specs:

With AMD APU E-350 Zacate, integrated ATI Radeon 6310M, 2GB 1333Mhz memory (one slot free to expand.. and can upto 8GB), 320GB HDD (7200 rpm), Altec Lansing speakers – Dolby Advanced Audio, HD LED HP BrightView display, this laptop was making waves when it came in.

And I haven’t still seen a 11.6” that comes close to this. 🙂

For buying my laptop, you get the new battery (so you’re not buying old battery which doesn’t have life left), and can opt to buy the extra 4GB of RAM at lower than market price from me. (Else I can totally use the extra ram on my new laptop)

 

Oh look, I love the almost 180 deg tilt!

 

Why I’m being cruel :

The laptop certainly didn’t deserve to go away from me so soon. I love it, it’s beautiful, thin, super portable and I’ve used it for my game design, made video games on it for almost 1.5 yrs now, running VMWare, Virtualbox, playing HD videos, playing games, editing videos.

I could still happily keep using it. It’s got the power I need, it feels very happy to carry around while travelling, and its got long battery life.

However, I have a new 14” laptop which I bought for one of my programmers and unfortunately we decided he should leave.

Now that leaves me with 2 laptops, and the new one has been lying in shelf. It has way less battery life (3 cell) when compared to the one I’m selling away. And keeping it in shelf means unused battery, means screwing it up.

The only +ve of it above this laptop is that it has 14” screen and I thought, for someone who writes games for a living I do need a bigger screen.

 

 

Shut Up and Take my money!

I am currently living in Hyderabad, India and I’m here still for the next 20 days.
So if you live here, or even if you live in another state but have the means to get this laptop to you (I’m not delivering/posting) and want this baby to be yours, then do email me at
das (dot) srikrishna (at) gmail (dot) com
You’ll have to give me 2 days time to back up my data to the other machine. I’m still using this, and infact writing this blog post from it.

It came preloaded with Win 7 home, but I’ve used Linux on it for 2.5 yrs and using Windows 8.1 since 0.5 yrs.
I can either install ubuntu linux for you or give you without OS (since the windows 8.1 is licensed to my company), however if you have a windows 7, you can happily use the product key which is written underneath the battery compartment… so you have a genuine windows license. 🙂

I spent INR 26,000 on laptop, and INR 6500 on new battery, INR 500 for matt finish screen protector.
Monetarily that brings the price of this beautiful machine to INR 33,000
Not to forget tons of time for careful handling and love!

I’d like to let go of this lovely hardware for just INR 15,000 only. (that’s less price than your 10.1 inch slow netbooks of these days)

The extra stick of 4GB RAM, 1333 Mhz costed me INR 3100 which you can opt to buy for INR 2,200, if not I can give it away to someone else or just use it in my other laptop.

So there 🙂

Femen Quebec Protests Montreal’s Grand Prix | My Thoughts on it

In response to this article
https://news.vice.com/article/in-photos-femen-quebec-protests-montreals-grand-prix?utm_source=vicenewsfb

My thoughts:
May be Grand Prix time increases demand for paid sex; so does football time.

But for the whole point of “sexism” made by this article and the protester, I was wondering how on one side you protest against sexism and on the other side you write like only males enjoy Cars and racing.
That is sexism too right there. There are many women who like cars and racing.

It seems like feminists only like to “consider” only part of womens’ preferences to fight against.

Also, about the security guard dragging her out, and being called as “enjoying his job” .. THAT IS his job; as in the pic I don’t see him groping or anything (so IMHO, he is doing his job and not ‘enjoying’ per se) … Someone standing on a multi-million dollar car which he is assigned to protect… I think he needs to do what he needs to do (just like the protester has her thing to do) … so stop trying to drag in sympathy by blaming someone else.

As far as Grand Prix or MotoGP having pit/crew/paddock girls, I would say it is entirely their wish. They get paid, and it’s upto them if they want to take part or not. No one is dragging them by their necks to be a crew girl. It’s a job, there is money (and probably more benefits), they want it, they take up the job.

Besides, so much for feminism that says no one should mind even if women run naked on streets, and then raise hue and cry over outfits of grand prix.

I personally think GrandPrix and MotoGP girls look beautiful and they help encourage the riders/drivers to perform better (very basic male nature is to outperform and bring best out of them when the ladies are around). I would call them part of “encouragement” team and view their job “no less” than anything; it is “part of the team“.

Sadly extremist-feminist seem to try to see “lowness” in this.

P.S:  Pretty sure our extremist feminist friends didn’t find anything wrong in this protest that included gestures with dildos in front of “kids” that were at that event?
This world is full of people that want to get their way work out, raise hue and cry about their preferences not being met but aren’t open enough to consider other’s issues.
Bravo, Bravo! (sarcasm) -_-

“Don’t marry a Muslim”

Reminds me, just a couple of hours ago.. I was sitting in a Cafe run by Muslims and sipping on Irani tea, when a 15 yr old boy working there as the tea-boy, asked me “Are you telugu? or Are you Christian”

I replied “I am an Insaan-ian” (aka .. believer of humanity)

He asked again “No I mean who is your God!”

I said “BIRYANI” 😛

Blackberry WebWorks 2.0 on Linux!

Okay!, so first some history.. was working with Webworks 1.x to get my game Baka – The World’s Hungriest Frog packaged for Blackberry 10.x platform.

Ran into quite some problems … not finding debug tokens to missing author.p12 files were just some of them.
To much dismay, suddenly all the docs links I was referring to on the developer url on blackberry site changed to Webworks 2.0 (Yay! RIM released BB Webworks 2.0 based on Apache cordova)

Wasn’t much “yay!” for me as I spent over a week figuring out why my debug token wasnt generating or why I couldn’t package a simple bar file… all in between making trips to hospital for I was under treatment for typhoid (still under medicine as we speak).

rants on twitter

more rants

Anyway, I was super pissed… shot couple of mails and tweets and thankfully Erik (@WaterlooErik) mailed back quick…. and with quite a sensible reply. Very kind of him 🙂

3 lines from his email got me the root of the problem

When testing with the new WebWorks 2.0 SDK, you should actually only have to run the following command when your device is connected:
webworks run

This will automatically generate a debug token for you if need be, upload it to the device, and then deploy your project in debug mode to the device.

Have you registered your BBID code signing keys and generated a new author.p12 file already? (If you are using your old CSJ code signing keys, that may be where the issue is coming from.)

My Problems:
1. What he mentioned as “automatically generate a debug token for you” wasn’t happening.

2. So, I was trying everything manually to create those debug tokens… using csj files with the old webworks debugtokenrequest commands and csk with new debugtokenrequest… wait.. in short I had both stuff installed in a big mess.

3. I was using Webworks setup inside a Windows VM running on a Linux host.. so the device was connected via host to guest.. and somehow that pretty much doesnt work. “No Blackberry device found” 🙂

I definitely didn’t want to dual boot my laptop with windows for this (although I could have used my desktop .. I wanted to have this on the move)

Then I found this https://github.com/badtoyz/BB10-WebWorks-SDK-2.0.0.54-Beta

Decided to do a clean install on my laptop/Ubuntu host … so here I take you through how it was done along with some pitfalls.

 

 

INSTALLING WebWorks 2.0 BETA on Ubuntu Linux:

– PREREQUISITES

\\ Install Git, ia32-libs, Java Runtime Environment
krish@shenron:~$ sudo apt-get install git ia32-libs openjdk-6-jre

\\ Update Repo and install python stuff and build tools
krish@shenron: ~$ sudo apt-get update
krish@shenron: ~$ sudo apt-get install python-software-properties python g++ make

\\ Get Nodejs from Chris’s ppa – there is a nice updated build for lucid lynx, so didn’t have to compile from source
krish@shenron: ~$ sudo add-apt-repository ppa:chris-lea/node.js
\\Accept the freaking ppa adding warning 🙂

\\Install Nodejs
krish@shenron: ~$ sudo apt-get update; sudo apt-get install nodejs

\\Install Cordova via npm
\\ Note: I didn’t have to install npm via my package manager. Infact it apt-cache policy npm shows its not installed. Probably comes packaged with nodejs
krish@shenron: ~$ sudo npm install -g cordova

– WebWorks 2.0 Beta

\\ Get from Mike’s (@badtoyz) repo
krish@shenron:/opt$   git clone https://github.com/badtoyz/BB10-WebWorks-SDK-2.0.0.54-Beta.git
krish@shenron:/opt$   mv BB10-WebWorks-SDK-2.0.0.54-Beta    BadToyz-BB10WebWorks

 

– Start UI and Try to create a Test Project

Open a tab on your browser to http://localhost:3123, this should give you WebWorks 2.0 UI
Try creating a project and Build it.

For me, it didnt 🙂 .. It got stuck at a dialog called “Creating…” or something and hung there.
So did a little debug via command line, found where the problem step was, reported it on an issue
https://github.com/badtoyz/BB10-WebWorks-SDK-2.0.0.54-Beta/issues/2

I thought I might now have to wait another week for this, but Mike was kind enough to fix this fast (as you can see from the replies on that issue)

 

 

– Pull in latest from Repo + Couple of more changes I figured was necessary

\\ Stop the UI by Ctrl+C on that term you were running it on.

\\ Pulled in Mike’s fixes. You may not have to do this because you will get latest fix from HEAD
krish@shenron:/opt/BadToyz-BB10WebWorks$ git pull origin master

\\ Install npmlog, graceful-fs and clean .cordova
krish@shenron: ~$ sudo npm install npmlog
krish@shenron: ~$ sudo npm install graceful-fs
krish@shenron: ~$ rm -rf .cordova

\\ Extend PATH variable .bashrc to add /opt/BadToyz-BB10WebWorks
\\ and /opt/BadToyz-BB10WebWorks/cordova-blackberry/bin/dependencies/bb-tools/bin

Add to your PATH in .bashrc – Sorry for the small screenshot. Resized by mistake 😦

\\ Now startui again and try to create test project
krish@shenron: ~$ cd /opt/BadToyz-BB10WebWork
krish@shenron:/opt/BadToyz-BB10WebWorks$ ./start-ui

Go to that localhost:3123 again, and try… it worked this time 🙂
Was able to create the project.

 

– CONNECT Your Blackberry on LINUX

I was using z10 dev alpha B.. you might have a z30.

Well, this doesnt work so seamlessly as it does on Windows, aka.. it doesnt connect via usb as a recognizable device.. this is the reason I couldn’t forward the usbdevice into my VirtualMachine windows.

Anyway here’s the work around

1. Enable Dev Mode
– Go to Settings -> Security and Privacy -> Development Mode
– Give a password, remember it. This is your DEVICEPASSWORD
– Set an IP. Default is 169.254.0.1 (I used 169.254.1.5)

2. Connecting via USB on Linux
– Got to Settings -> Storage and Access
– Set USB Connections to “Connect to Windows” or “Connect to Mac” instead of the default “Auto detect”
Now you’ll see the device will be available as a network connection on your network-manager
Note: I renamed it to BBz10 to remember so.

BlackBerry z10 in dev mode on Linux as a usb network.

3. Test the connection
– You should be able to ping your z10 via its dev mode IP (169.254.0.1 or whatever you set it to)

 

 

– Try to BUILD test WebWorks Project

Tried to build and install the project via UI
– FAILED 😦

Debug Token, Where are Thou? 😦

What the!!! Same old error. Now I dont want to use that blackberry-debugtokenrequest script again?
Oh wait, Remember Erik said, “When testing with the new WebWorks 2.0 SDK, you should actually only have to run the following command when your device is connected: webworks run”

Let’s try that

 

– Creating a DEBUG TOKEN 

\\ Go to a project directory
krish@shenron:/opt/BadToyz-BB10WebWorks$ cd ~/WebWorks Projects/test1
\\ Run webworks run.
\\ This will ask you for your DEVICEPASSWORD (which you entered when switching on debug mode)
\\ And your KEYSTOREPASSWORD (which you set while generating bbidtoken.csk)
\\ If you did not generate bbidtoken.csk, please do it via
\\ http://developer.blackberry.com/codesigning
krish@shenron:~/WebWorks Projects/test1$ webworks run
[ERROR] The Specified CSK password is not valid.

Whaaat!!!

Pretty sure that I had my csk password correct.
Let’s try verbose mode
\\ Trying Verbose on webworks run
krish@shenron:~/WebWorks Projects/test1$ webworks –verbose run –devicepass DEVICEPASSWORD –keystorepass KEYSTOREPASSWORD
Generating config.xml from defaults for platform “Blackberry10”
[INFO] Target Z10-MYDEVICEPIN selected
[INFO] Generating debug token
[ERROR] The specified CSK password is not valid.
An error has occured.

At this point I could see fumes out of my head. This was back to square one. :X
Atleast, it shows MYDEVICEPIN correctly, so unlike earlier, it is able to connect to my device this time 🙂

Did I mention I was making trips to hospital the whole last week? and then working late nights (probably half drowsy) on this with Webworks 1.x
So I thought, what the hell.. lets just try to ensure we have all files correct

– Files you need under ~/.rim or your /home/user/.rim

You’ll need the bbidtoken.csk and author.p12
I backed up my author.p12 from the windows VM from “%HOMEPATH%\AppData\Local\Research In Motion”
and put in under “~/.rim”

I’m pretty sure I had to generate that author.p12 on Windows. Just can’t remember at the moment.

As for bbidtoken.csk, I generated a new one by going to http://developer.blackberry.com/codesigning and requesting a new token for SDK 10.2 for WebWorks 2.0 Beta
AND remember the KEYSTOREPASSWORD you set here 🙂

 

 

– Try to CREATE Debug Token Again

W00t! … it also deployed the app to my z10? 🙂

Yippie! Finally… webwork run also deploys if the app is connected.
Also it created debug keys and pushed it to the device. I could see that on the “Settings -> Security and Privacy -> Development Mode” screen.

But wait, I want to see this working via UI too.

\\ So fire up the ui again
krish@shenron: ~$ cd /opt/BadToyz-BB10WebWork
krish@shenron:/opt/BadToyz-BB10WebWorks$ ./start-ui

\\Try to Build and Install the project via the UI

Building BAR file success!

Huaaaaaaa!!! 🙂
You’ll see your the app fire up on your phone screen and also an app icon installed 😀

Your test WebWorks 2.0 app

Hope this helps someone 🙂

You can tweet a thanks to @WaterlooErik , @badtoyz and may be me if you want to let me know that this worked for you! 🙂
Or if it didn’t, feel free to either tweet to me @srikrishnadas and/or leave your error in comments 😀
Thanks to ダニエル for his nice write up on prereqs for the old Webworks. It did help 🙂 I wish I knew his twitter id to include in the above thank list 😀

An hour past midnight now.. time for BattleField 😉

Btw, You can LIKE our game page – https://facebook.com/HungryBaka to keep updated on the upcoming fun adventure non-endless jumper .. the story of The World’s Hungriest Frog – “Baka” 🙂

How to uninstall Intel XDK from Linux!

This differs depending on the distro you use.

I was on Ubuntu 12.04 LTS, and had installed Intel XDK earlier for a game development; decided to do away with it.

So here it goes

STEP1: Launch javaws viewer and remove the xdk

Use javaws to remove the XDK

STEP2: Find the cache location and Remove Cached xdk files

Find the cache location and delete cached xdk jnlp

STEP3: Happily do away with the shorcut

Bye bye shortcut.
Neaten up your desktop a bit 🙂

I get Flowers?

So umm…. someone delivered flowers with a “Get Well Soon” note at my home when I was away.

It’s a nice gesture… thanks whoever it is…..but but but… couple of things run through my mind..

1. I hope it’s not a man sending me flowers! And if so, I hope its just a ‘friendly’ gesture.
If not, Sorry dude, I’d have to break your beautiful heart. 😉
But thanks though 😀

2. I have no idea what to do with flowers?
If it was Biryani or Beef Steak… I’d stuff my face with it. 😛
Or may cans of RedBulls. Umm… What exactly do I do with flowers?
Oh, there were quite some fruits with the pack too… like a ton of them.

3. There’s no name on the card.
Now, that’s kinda my style. No named Gifts/souvenirs – the anonymous signature has been my style for so long.
COPYCAAAT ! -_-

4.  My mom thinks it’s from my ex. And I’m like facepalm. Oh no mom, that doesnt happen.
There was only once in her life she had to take care of me when I was in hospital and guess what, she packed her bags and ran the very next day 🙂 .. while I remember being there for her in almost every sickness she had since I knew her.
So I had to chill down my mom making her understand that some people do not have a ‘reciprocation’ nature when it comes to caring.

5. Can I give these flowers to other beautiful girls? 😛

Woot Flowers?

Health Update!

Health took a beat down like crazy and I tugged myself inside the blanket shivering crazy as hell.
Mom had to call up friend ‘Yaseen’ to rush me to hospital almost midnight.

Two days with glucose/saline infusion and I could come home.

And then two days at home and I become sick again, although not like the same intensity as first time.

So well, trip to hospital again and they put in this thing in my hand.
It’s supposed to stay in there for couple of days and I have to go twice everyday to the doc to get injected on that wrist via whatever that thing is 🙂

Ok there is a needle inside?

Also, the nurse asked me not to work.. didn’t think that’d be serious.
I was just pumping my head due to headache and blood started squirting out of it. Yikes 🙂

10 Marriage Tips Every WIFE Needs to Hear

Pretty awesome write up.
Some things that most parents don’t tell their kids.
Click Here to read, I am just reblogging it because it’s worth it – 10 Marriage Tips Every WIFE Needs to Hear.