A computer table saga :)

After 2 topics on "How to", namely "How to White Water Raft" and "How to Ski", this one is relatively simple. How to build a computer table :-p. I am serious! I am writing about how to build a computer table (referred to as CT from now on :-p) from scratch. Err, well, not from scratch, but from a few planks. So what are we waiting for? Lets start :).

Requirements:

1) $80-$90:

To buy a CT from any of the office furniture stores. Hehehe. This is not a prank, this is what you need. It doesn't come assembled and you get it in a carromboard like package :-p. So we got a CT worth about $140 on a deal and got it at $80 something.

2) A vehicle to transfer it to your house:

This is essential as the store might charge extra dollars as shipping if they have to transport it.

3) 2 Hefty people:

Absolutely required. In the store one single hefty guy will transfer it to your car with the help of a pushing cart. But don't be fooled. You need 2 hefty people to do the carrying from the garage to the interior of your home. And a woman doesn't count :-p. I couldn't lift even one corner of the damn package. It was only later we came to know that it weighed a total of 345 pounds!! That's almost 2.5 times my weight and believe me I am heavy :-D.

4) 2 screwdrivers:

Yeah you need one plain one and a star one. And don't let children, if any around, anywhere near this whole setup ;-).

Step 1:

Take out the planks from the package. As I mentioned before, since we were not hefty guys, there was no way we could carry the package inside. So Sri said he'd open the package and move the planks individually himself :).




Step 2:

Put screws into the planks as per a manual included in the package. I actually wasn't included in this activity as I was busy doing something else (actually loafing away :-D). So again Sri did it all by himself.





Step 3:

Assemble the planks into structures as per the manual again :). This is where I came in. We both searched for the previously marked planks and had a gala time fighting over what goes where. It was like putting a big puzzle together :).






Yup, I admit it, I was posing for the photo. What to do? My hubby didn't get the idea of taking a photo while I was unaware of it, so I had to force him to :-D. Very bad, I am >:).

Step 4:

Make sure each and every plank/part goes exactly where it belongs. Yup, we did a mistake and had to disassemble some parts to get back in the right track. Nevertheless that was also fun :).

Step 5:

Thats it. Follow all the instructions and merge all parts together to get a beautiful CT :).




So now I am the proud owner of a CT. Well, I have been for more than a month now, but just never had the time to write about it :-p.

Anyways thats the end of another "How to". Next? Niagara falls folks. Yup, had been there on the July 4th weekend and a hugggggggggggge post is coming up. Its so huge that my head is already reeling just thinking about how much I have to write, err type :-D. Well I just hope I'll be able to complete it within next week :).

Addicted to notpron :-D

Hey hey wait. Don't go!! Read the title again! I am not addicted to porn :-p. Nor is this an April fool's day post :-p (though I really thought of continuing the tradition from last year and posting one ;-) :-D). I am addicted to notpron. Does it mean that I am addicted to anything that is not porn? Hehehehee. Though, Pron is slang for porn, "Notpron" is an online riddle game and yup, I'm totally hooked. I just can't get enough of it :).


What's Notpron?

Notpron is not a point and click game, as the creator David Münnich says. It is about 138 levels(!!!) of pure riddling fun. You can learn more here.


How exactly do you play it?




This is how most levels look like. A picture in a webpage. The above is the first level by the way and no, the above picture won't lead you to it ;-). If you really want to play, the first thing I'd suggest you to do is check out the Notpron official forum and read the FAQs first.

The main aim of the game is to get to the next level, no matter what (as if other games have other aims :-D). Each level is a riddle which you have to solve. Only then can you make it to the next level.


Tips and etcetera...

This paragraph is only for those people who are a bit interested in this. Sri saw me solve the first few levels and he was plain not interested ;-) :-D. Yaara huchchu avarige (this means people have their own madness and notpron has become mine for now) :-D. If you are interested, then go on :).

Again as David says, don't give up too early. Its damn hard, accept it and move ahead.

Basically in a level, the Picture itself, the URL, the Title and the Source of the html will have clues (lets call it PUTS). So the first thing to do when you see a level, would be to do a scan of these :-D. Sometimes its good to check out a level page for other hidden stuff too ;-).

If there is a google bar in a level, it means that you may need some help through search. One thing to remember is that there are spoilers all over the internet for this game. And a spoiler is no fun, believe me. A spoiler spoils all the fun of you solving the riddle, the game will then become just crossing levels which is precisely not the point of the game!! The fun is when you solve a level on your own. Thats when you have a sense of accomplishment and can appreciate the genius mind of the creator :). So be sure that you add "-notpron" at the end of the search criteria whenever you are searching for anything in google :-D. This makes sure that all the sites with a notpron mention in them are eleminated.

If the level requires an userid and password, then you need not register anywhere. In fact the userid and password are automatically revealed if you solve that level, i.e you get 2 words instead of 1. First word will be the userid and the 2nd one will be, obviously :-p, the password :-D. Well, if there's no userid and password in a level and you do end up getting 2 words then the combined word will lead you to the next level ;-).

Next thing is that you might require to download a software for solving a level. Study the PUTS first and they might let you know which software you might require. Again read the FAQs in the forum.

Each level has a background music. Sometimes, even the music might turn out to be the clue ;-) :-D.

Another very important tip is, please note down how you cross each of the levels, the urls and userids/passwords if any, after you solve a level. You never know when you might require those ;-) :-D.

If you need more hints/clues even after studying the PUTS (basically, if you are totally jammed), then you can check out this thread at the official forum again. But be sure again, not to search for clues on internet without the "-notpron", cause you might again end up getting a spoiler you don't want. The official forum usually has hints given by the people who have already solved notpron completely. It might contain some spoilers, but it is monitored closely and spoilers are removed asap.


Where am I?

Darsh first introduced me to the game and I have been totally hooked ever since. If I am stuck in a level, I think about it day and night. So my brain is literally working overtime :-D. I think about it during my work hours and sometimes even solve a level :-D. I've tried out 100 different things for each level and chided myself after solving it. Because thats when I usually discover how wrong my previous attempts would have been and how foolish :-D.




I am right now in the 36th level and going strong (Darsh and me are not collaborating, so he is on a different level. Moreover he's not as much addicted as I am :-D). I have an idea on what to do currently, but I've decided to take it easy today on account of April fools' day. Just for one day, let me be a fool and enjoy my foolishness :-D. Not that I'm a genius the other days :-D. Just that unknowingly I might have been a fool many times, today let me do it knowingly :-D.

"A common mistake that people make when trying to design something completely foolproof is to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools. " - Douglas Adams

Hehehee. As for you, what are you waiting for? You can start playing the game here. Go on, get addicted!!