Benny Lava

A few years back when we first saw the video of Benny Lava, we were greatly amused. My uncle almost spat out the tea he was drinking when the video reached the "I'd like to see you pee on us tonight" part. The Benny Lava fan following was so intense that someone even created a website exclusively for it. Prabhudeva (actor in the video) himself was said to be amused by the video.

While the original video is purportedly not available anymore due to Youtube deleting the account of the person who created Benny Lava, the person is said to have created a new account and re-uploaded the video here.

And for everyone who tried imagining the lyrics, here's a fan who brought the imagination to life:

You really know how popular Benny Lava is when you see even Croatians putting in quite the effort at imitating it :-)

But Benny Lava isn't the only one. There's also something that happened to Mark, but it didn't get as popular as Benny Lava:

Cost and where to get bird seed in Bangalore

As of 2018, the cost of yellow millet seeds for budgies is Rs.50 for 1kg.
The problem is, that when pet shop owners sell it, they give it to you in packets of 850g instead of 1kg, but they still charge you Rs.50 or Rs.60. Some even charge Rs.50 for half kg.
I carry a small portable weighing machine with me so that I don't get cheated.

The wholesale price they receive it at, is Rs.26 per kg. I got to know this from a wholesale seller in Bangalore.

Look around your locality in Bangalore, and you'll find pet shops. If you find it hard to find one or are looking for a place you won't get cheated, go to Pet Planet in Shivajinagar. I've been there once, and was happy with the courteousness of the staff and the variety of pet toys and pet food they had. They currently sell the budgie millets at Rs.50 per kg, and seem to have many more types of seed. I haven't purchased yet from them, as when they said Rs.50, I said I could get it for Rs.26 from the wholesaler, and didn't buy.

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All this being said, one thing I'd encourage you to do is to stop buying birds as pets. You are gifted with vision. How would you like it if somebody blindfolded you the whole of your life? Same way, birds are gifted with flight capability. You'd have to be a sadistic dumb-ass if you think it's ok to keep them in a cage just because you think it's cute or to show status or because you want to protect them from predators. How about if you are blindfolded the rest of your life because somebody wants to protect you and because they think you look cute?

Please, stop buying birds and other pets that need to be caged. It's a rotten, inhumane practice that insensitive people followed in ancient times. It's not necessary that we follow those practices. It's time to stop it in the same way that we outlawed sati, dowry and other silly practices.

How to apply for a smartcard RC book in Bangalore

If you have one of the old RC (Registration Certificate) books and want to convert that to a smart card, this is the simple procedure to follow at the Bangalore RTO's (Road Transport Office):

• Write a letter to the superintendent of traffic, stating your intention to convert your vehicle's RC book to a smart card. Mention your vehicle's registration number and your contact number in the letter.
• Take a photocopy of your vehicle's insurance certificate.
• Take a photocopy of your vehicle's emission certificate.
• Purchase a brown file available at one of the photocopy shops at the RTO (costs Rs.5).
• Purchase a speedpost envelope at the same place (costs Rs.30).
• Ask for the counter where you can pay Rs.200 for the smartcard fee. Pay the fee there. You'll be given a receipt for Rs.137 and a hologram worth Rs.63 will be stuck onto it. The receipt will have another sheet attached with it. Don't keep it with you; both of them have to be submitted.
• Take your original RC book (not a photocopy).

Now put all these things into the brown file.
Either pierce a hole in them and tie them up to the file or use a pin and pin them to the file.

Get the superintendent's signature on your letter.
Submit the file at the "Inward" counter.
They will give you a receipt (which is just a scribble and a seal on a sheet of paper) with your vehicle number and info that you submitted your RC book.

In a week's time you might receive your smart card.
If it takes longer than that, it's prudent to check again at the RTO. Chances are that they didn't process your file because some information or signature was missing.

Getting a new d2h installation

After searching for the best d2h provider in India and the best DTH providers in Bangalore, we finally decided to go for Videocon, as it was the cheapest (I'm surprised Tata Sky charges so much more). Little did we know about the hidden facts.
When you pay the amount online, they don't mention that you're actually only renting the set top box and dish. You aren't purchasing it; as mentioned in this post. Which likely means that if you cancel the subscription, they'll take back the dish and set-top box (customer care said we don't have to worry about that, but well then why are they calling it a rental?).

We did an online booking on Sunday, and for two days nobody contacted us. When I contacted them, they gave me the area head's number who promptly sent two technicians (They weren't working in Videocon. The work of installation of the dish and set top box is contracted to these people).

We already had a DD direct plus set top box, which was connected using connectors as shown below:

 These technicians told us that the existing connectors won't suffice, and that we would have to purchase a coaxial connector from them for Rs.180, because using it would prevent signal drop (which is a bunch of nonsense). And so they made us purchase it by doing a bit of drama that the other cable wasn't reaching from the terrace.

When my Dad came home (he knows about these cables), he said that it was completely un-necessary to have purchased the connector. The old cable would have worked fine.
This is the picture (below) of the new connector they sold us:

So basically, we were cheated. The guy even wanted to keep Rs.20 as a tip when we gave Rs.200. Dad said that this is the way they make money, as they need a bit more income. Well, I call it fraud. We had a similar experience when we were taking an internet connection, and BSNL had contracted it to people who tried to sell us an ethernet card, saying that internet connection through the USB port is 'flaky'.

Take care when such people come to install hardware at your home. They'll try to sell you un-necessary things just to make some extra money. Before these people come, make sure you call up customer care before-hand and find out all the details of the installation and about whom you can contact in case you have a doubt. Chances are they're lying, if they say you have to purchase something extra so that the signal does not drop often (which is nonsense).

As for the functioning of the set top box, this is what you'll have to go through when you switch it on every time:

Screen 1 shown for 30 seconds

Screen 2 shown for 22 seconds

Screen 3 shown for 15 seconds

Takes a total of more one minute and 12 seconds just to be able to reach a screen from which you can start watching a channel. The third screen comes up every time and would keep people wondering what on earth is going on. Quality of signal reception is good.

Solving the problem of skin scaling off from the sides of the nose

If your skin keeps peeling off around your nose and on your nose; like at areas shown in the picture below, it's quite likely that it'll happen at your eyebrows and your mustache area too.

Start eating curd at least once a day. Add some sugar to it if you don't like it plain. In a week or two, you'll see a reduction in the scaling. In my case, it brought down the dandruff on my scalp too.

In the meantime, while the scaling is still going on, I've found that any anti-dandruff hair cream can hide the scaling for a day.

I realized that the scaling had to be because of a weak immune system. A bit of Googling showed that the immune system could be improved with curd (which helps with pro-biotic bacteria in the intestine), spinach, nuts and berries. Included these foods in your daily diet.

UPDATE: As of 2016, I've found that the scaling or peeling of skin from the sides of the nose and peeling of skin just above the nails happens when the food eaten is not properly cooked or even slightly burnt or if the fruits you eat are not ripe. Basically anything that causes the stomach distress when it tries to digest. Eat well cooked food and you won't have any trouble. The curd helps reduce the distress.

What it feels like to have chronic eye strain and what it feels like to get rid of it

How it began:
I remember it was around the beginning of the year 2011 that it began with episodes of feeling rather sleepy during the daytime and me in my usual hard-working style, ignoring it and continuing to work. By July 2011, my eyes would burn if I worked too long. By October, I felt sharp stabbing pain behind my eyeball and eyes burning. By November, the muscles below my eyeball begin feeling tensed and strained. This progressed to muscles all around my eyes feeling strained. By December, my upper cheek muscles and muscles just above my eyebrows started getting strained.

Searching for a cure:
My first visit was to a physician. His first question I remember, was whether I was getting enough sleep. I said yes (because I thought I was). He asked me a bunch of other questions and assumed it was dry eyes. He prescribed me ayurvedic eye drops. It didn't help.

By the end of December, when the strain got so bad that I couldn't even keep my eyes open, an ophthalmologist listened to my explanations, said the strain has reached a chronic stage, said it can't be dry eyes, told me not to use ayurvedic drops and suggested it may be due to allergens. She prescribed me a change in environment. She prescribed me drops with anti-allergic properties. Thankfully, the prescription for a change in environment helped me get a transfer to my hometown (colleagues and relatives thought this was my plan of going back home, but they didn't know the amount of pain I was going through).

Strangely, even after being at home, I wasn't getting enough sleep and the eye strain continued. Visited numerous ophthalmologists for the subsequent two years in Bangalore, and they said it could be astigmatism (I couldn't wear the astigmatism lenses for more than 5 min), they suggested dry eyes, they said it might just be psychological and referred me to a neurologist. One ophthalmologist thought I was faking it just to test him, since he couldn't see any problem with the eye. During this time, I've had to use lenses of lower and lower power and finally figured that I didn't have any strain if I didn't wear spectacles.

What it feels like:
During this entire episode of more than two and a half years, I've been through the trauma of not being able to do any proper programming. As long as I was handling short modules of programming I could manage it (it reflected in good appraisals), but it was a torture because I couldn't focus on the screen for more than 15-20 minutes at a time. The real trouble came when I was promoted and put in charge of a completely new project with a technology I had to re-learn. The eye strain started taking a toll, because I had to work hard at office and come back home and learn too. What made it worse, was colleagues who thought I was making up a story of eye strain. I found only two ophthalmologists among the twelve whom I consulted, who really cared about curing me. For the others, it was just a job.

I know what it is like to work hours at an end on the computer. That's what I used to do during my student life and the early part of my career. Being able to focus for hours at an end is how I became a good programmer. Software programming isn't a choice I made because of the good pay. It's a hobby. It's what I love doing.
I hated not being able to focus and always wanting to keep my eyes closed because of the pain.

The progammer that I am, I was constantly trying out things to solve my problem too. I figured that I wasn't getting enough sleep and solved it. There was a direct connection between the amount of sleep I got, and the amount of strain I experienced. I also figured that since not wearing spectacles wasn't giving me any strain, it could be because of the visual acquity of the fibre/plastic lens. Tried glass lenses and was surprised that there was no strain.

I sit at home right now (holiday), wearing my glass lenses, happily typing away at a screen I've been staring at for almost the entire day, taking breaks in between. It's such a relief to be my old programmer self again. Being able to concentrate on programming is such a blessing! My eye muscles are still in the process of healing completely. It's not a joke, recovering from chronic strain and continued strain for more than two years at a stretch.

Am grateful to my managers for being understanding. Although during my time of weakness a few greedy, uncaring colleagues have taken advantage, pretty much like vultures. I guess the best thing to do is to forgive them and move on.

Conclusion: The ophthalmologists couldn't diagnose it correctly. One of them said it might be a rarest-of-the-rare case when I went back and told her of the cure. Trial and error with logical reasoning (or let's call it debugging) helped. I believe what happened to me was a lack of sleep, the sleep debt accumulating over a period of months and my sleep cycle being locked at six and then at four hours (by Oct/Nov 2011 I used to suddenly wake up at 4am for no apparent reason and couldn't go back to sleep. When the sleep cycle gets locked like this, you will no longer feel sleepy during the day, but your eyes won't get the necessary rest). So the Anxit pill my brother gave me (credit goes to him too for his House MD style ddx) seems to have broken the sleep cycle. Trial and error showed that I needed at least seven hours of continuous sleep at night to have no strain. I still can't understand why the glass lenses don't give me any eye strain, when the fibre/plastic lenses are giving me strain although I've worn them for many years earlier, without any problem.

Hope this post helps anyone with a similar problem.

Hoping for better skydiving facilities in India

I was to go skydiving next week. Had got my doctors certificate, made all the confirmations with the skydiving team and had just arranged for the fees and the next morning, the front page of the newspaper showed the death of a skydiver.

Such an unfortunate incident is 1 in 75000 and it happens abroad too, no matter how many safety precautions are taken. What shocked me though, is that the instructors fled the scene and there was no ambulance. Moreover, reports said that during the week-long training that the skydiver received, they didn't teach her how to open the emergency parachute.

People had told me of skydiving being unsafe in India, and this incident showed me that it was because of a need for discipline and acceptance of responsibility. This applies not only to skydiving but to a lot of other matters. The "chalta hain" attitude is something I personally dislike.

Although people don't give up travelling by plane in-spite of the number of plane-crashes, the one reason I believe they continue travelling is because of the trust that the pilots and engineers take all necessary precautions. I had planned my tandem skydive for quite some time, and although this would be the best time to skydive, it looks like it'll be better to cancel it until the skydiving community can assure people of safety.