Life in Pixels

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  • Presenting the Mars Colonization Talk

    These last few weeks have been a whirlwind for me. That’s not to say it wasn’t exceptionally interesting and exciting – it certainly was.

    It all started with a presentation for English class, where we had to present a 5 minute talk on any (interesting) topic of our choice. One of the requirements was  to utilize digital media to enhance (and subsequently not overpower) the talk.

    Being me, I went all-out, and the resultant presentation was quite hi-tech. I will post the transcript of the speech after this Thursday, when I have presented it at a speaker’s evening.

    But I’d like to share the intricacies of the talk, since I thought it was quite interesting to see how all these technologies came together to create a powerful presentation.

    What I Used:

    • Apple Unibody MacBook (Late 2008 edition)
    • Apple iPhone 3G (2008 edition)
    • Ad-hoc Wi-Fi network (to interface the Mac and iPhone)
    • Apple Keynote presentation software
    • Keynote Remote

    As you can see, I’m an Apple fan 😉

    So, the presentation was designed and created in Keynote. I didn’t “auto-time” it, so it could be controlled manually.

    Then, I set up an ad-hoc Wi-Fi network to interface the MacBook with an iPhone. This allowed the MacBook to “talk” to the iPhone via a Wi-Fi network, over a secure connection (so no-one in the audience could interfere with the presentation).

    Keynote Remote, an iPhone App, was then used to control the presentation. It displayed the current slide that was on-screen, as well as my speaker notes. This allowed for me to only have one item, the iPhone, up with me, which gave an “uncluttered” look.

    At the end of the day though, as I’ve mentioned in previous posts, it’s not about the technology, but the way it’s utilized, that makes a presentation. Thus, there was certainly a lot of practice put in to ensure the entire process was seemless.

    In a future post I will include the transcript of the presentation, as this topic (colonizing Mars) is something I am quite passionate about.

  • “Give Me Music” and Book Update

    Wow, it’s been such a long time since I last updated! The past few months have been a roller-coaster ride for me. I’ve been to Switzerland and back (in July, shortly after my previous post) and I’ve managed to notch up to over 10 000 words for my novel.

    I’ve also been busy with a number of video presentations for various people – those have went very well. My final video project for the year is our annual SKDSA Awards Evening, and this year the audience will be in for a treat. Over the past three years that I’ve been involved with this line of work, I’ve learnt a great deal and worked with a host of different technologies. This year I’m going to combine all my acquired knowledge and expertise in the field to deliver the best presentation yet!

    I’ve just finished my latest music project – it’s called “Give Me Music” and its five cool tracks of awesome electronic music, just in time for Summer ’09 in South Africa! Look out for it soon – I’m hoping to break into the “underground” music scene in Durban with this CD and I’m hoping it’ll go down well.

    On the subject of my book, I must say that it’s going very well. There is still quite a bit to do, but I’m slowly getting to the finish mark and I hope to finish that by the end of this year – we’ll see how things go.

    I’m running two “commercial” blogs now (don’t worry, Life in Pixels will always remain my “personal” home on the web) and these blogs are: Byte Lounge (www.bytelounge.blogspot.com) and ThatGuitarBlog (www.thatguitarblog.blogspot.com). Go check ’em out!

    Also, don’t forget to follow me on Twitter, which I update constantly from wherever I am: twitter.com/RahulDowlath.

  • Three Weeks On… And the Tale Continues

    About three weeks ago, I began work on my latest ambitious venture – writing a full-length novel that I hope to get published once completed.

    Well, three weeks later, I’m glad to report my first update that I’ve promised to chronicle here on Life in Pixels. At the latest word count from last night, I’m currently sitting at around 4140 words. This is the most I’ve ever written on a single narrative in my life! I feel that this is a greatachievement in my young writing career, and I strongly believe that this project will definitely improve my skills at telling tales.

    Unfortunately, whilst I’m dying to tell you all what this novel is about, I can’t. What I can tell, though, is that I’ve decided to divide the novel into three parts. This will make it easier for me to write it, as I can focus on setting smaller, more achievable goals to accomplish this momentous task. But it will also provide for a vastly entertaining, gripping read for you, if ever I get it published…

    You can follow me on Twitter to get the latest updates on my progress. My link is: twitter.com/RahulDowlath.

    All for now! 😉

  • On Ambition (and other things)

    Ah, life. Recently, my perplexing mind has been preoccupied with thoughts on this chaotic thing that we all encounter everyday. More specifically, I’ve been thinking about ambition – after all, I do say that I’m an ambitious person. However, I’ve begun to question the true nature of ambition and come to a clarifying conclusion (don’t you just love the alliteration?! 😉

    Ambition is perfection. And the real truth is that you can never practice to be perfect; only perfect practice makes the cut. I’ve decided to take this philosophy at heart, and implement it into my life. After all, to be an ambitious person you need to work hard.

    So, over the last week I’ve practiced my theory by, well, practicing guitar for around an hour everyday. I’ve always wanted to play stunning lead solos, and so I’ve been practicing pentatonic scales over a hundred times in the space of five days. Guess what? I’m starting to create some stunning, sweet music!

    But this isn’t going to stop here – oh, no! Like I’ve mentioned in an earlier post, I’ve been wanting to write a book for quite some time now. Whilst my plans on this book have fundimentally changed since that initial post, I’m going to be practicing writing on a far more frequent level than previously. I hope to update this blog on a more regular basis, but the only problem lies in the face of one vicious, vile villain (ah, sweet alliteration…)

    June Exams.

    To decrypt this conundrum, I unfortunately cannot keep a high frequency on the Internet, as a lot more time is needed to be devoted to my studies. But I am trying my best to manage time more effectively; after all, perfect practive makes perfection achievable. And that’s what I intend to do.

    Watch this space.

  • Book Review: “Q & A”

    “I have been arrested. For winning a quiz show.”

    From these opening lines to a masterpiece debut novel, I was kept riveted. Vikas Swarup, the deputy High Commissioner to India in South Africa, and also the author of Q & A, seems to have articulately captured the essence of what true India is between paperback covers.

    Swarup’s novel tells the rags-to-riches story of eighteen-year-old orphan boy, oddly named Ram Mohammed Thomas, and the events in his life that led to him winning 1 Billion Rupees on an Indian quiz show spin-off to Who Wants to be a Millionaire?

    As the story unfolds, the reader is taken on a rollercoaster ride through India, a country whose true side has rarely been shown to the outside world. When most people think of the country, images of rich cultures, vibrant colours, film stars, and songs and dance come immediately to mind. However, from the point of view of one that has travelled to the country previously, I found Swarup’s portrayal of it to be incredibly accurate, right down to the large, grimy slums, corrupt red-tape-ridden politics and heart-rending poverty.

    The adventure begins when the protagonist describes his arrest and subsequent maltreatment at the hands of crooked police, tortured until he will tell them how a simple slum child was able to know the answers to all 12 questions on the show. However, he is rescued just in time by a woman claiming to be his lawyer. Just as bewildered as the police are, Ram Mohammed Thomas leaves with the woman, Smita, and at her apartment reveals his life story, swearing to “tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.”

    Q & A has a very unique way in which its story is delivered: each chapter is an episode of Thomas’s life, as told to Smita, and at the end of each chapter, they both watch a question from the taped episode of the quiz show that relates to how the protagonist knew the answer to that round’s question. However, the chapters are mixed fragments of Thomas’s life, and this is where the genius in Vikas Swarup’s writing is evident: the suspense is created not only at the end of the chapter (as is traditionally delivered by most authors), but by the reader wanting to know how all the pieces of the jigsaw puzzle fit together, and the reason why Ram Mohammed Thomas didn’t go onto the show for the colossal prize money.

    This book takes the reader through one of the most populated, poverty-stricken countries in the world, where, for most citizens, each day is a struggle to survive in the dense slums. From soul-consuming, fast-paced Mumbai with its cosmopolitan flair and deadly underworld, to the beauty of the Taj Mahal in Agra, and a dacoit duel on a train ride in-between, we are taken on a vivid journey with Ram Mohammed Thomas, revelling in his quirky wit and straightforward manner of telling his life’s story. At times funny, at times incredibly sad, Q & A has just the right balance, the right panache, to certify it an amazing, entertaining must-read that deserves every accolade it gets.