Question a Member: Mel81x

[Toinho]

Were you in Bangalore during August 2015?

If so, did you see me?

[Mel81x+]

15 minutes ago, Grizzly21 said:

Would you like to visit Peru? If so where? (try not to say Machu Pichu!)
If I did make my way out there I'd want to see more than just one place so I'd start in Lima and work my way wherever I wanted to go. But I do want to visit there someday and a lot of other places haha.

Where would you visit in Canada?
I've been to Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal but I want to go visit Calgary. Have some friends who live out there so I'd like to visit them and its a part of the country I haven't seen.

Do you like any Spanish/Brazilian songs?
I do. The music is something I studied a bit when I was younger and I like the way they use Bass and Rhythm patterns especially Clave rhythm patterns. I have recently been trying to learn classical Bossa a bit as well but getting western timing out of my head is a bit of a challenge.

What is your opinion on the Peruvian National Team?
From what I have read of your posts and the way you'll have actually ascended since your last appearance at the WC and your current Copa run as well I think its all on the rise. The biggest challenge now is sustaining it and I have to admit I am a bit clueless on how thats going.

Favourite sport besides football?
I enjoy watching professional Curling a lot. I also watch other sports but I'll always find time to watch Curling.

How did you get into Liverpool?
Long story short, Dad was a big fan and we used to hang out with people who watched them a lot when I was growing up too. Been following them a long time now from the mid-to-late eighties.

 

[Mel81x+]

13 minutes ago, Toinho said:

Were you in Bangalore during August 2015?

If so, did you see me?

Haha. Depends on where you went in Bangalore? We probably did run into each other somewhere. I was gigging a lot back then so if you went to a live music event theres a 50% chance we did see each other.

[nudge+]

16 minutes ago, Mel81x said:

Paul John and sure I can get you one just not sure how I'd get it to you as mailing that will ensure it never reaches you haha.

Let me know if you're ever plan a trip to Germany or Northern Europe/Baltics or SE Asia and maybe (hopefully) we can arrange something  I've been trying to get my hands on that bottle for years now; no success as it seems it's always out of stock in online whisky stores...

18 minutes ago, Mel81x said:

From a weird and niche perspective I build Gunpla models. I do it to relax and its been hobby of mine for almost 8 years now. Here's one just for reference that I built.

This is cool! What is the best model you built that you're the most proud of?

19 minutes ago, Mel81x said:

Hmmm. I am going to say Blender's Pride out of the lot or maybe Black Dog. The rest of them have an acrid taste unless you're already drunk and just want to continue.

How popular is Antiquity Blue in India? I was very surprised with this one and it's probably my favourite Indian blend (from the ones I tasted that is...)

 

Some more questions:

 

How many languages do you speak (not including programming languages haha)?

If you had a chance to go on a one-way trip to Mars (together with your wife) as part of the first coloniser group, would you do it? 

Best Star Wars movie?

If you discovered a time machine, where and when would you go?

What are the most promising emerging technologies, in your opinion?

How do you imagine the world in 100 years from now? 

What are the biggest problems that humanity is facing now or will be facing in the near future? 

What is the best and the worst thing about living in India?

 

[Mel81x+]

3 hours ago, nudge said:

Let me know if you're ever plan a trip to Germany or Northern Europe/Baltics or SE Asia and maybe (hopefully) we can arrange something  I've been trying to get my hands on that bottle for years now; no success as it seems it's always out of stock in online whisky stores...
Will do I will probably be in SE Asia before I hit Germany haha

This is cool! What is the best model you built that you're the most proud of?
https://www.1999.co.jp/eng/image/10204345/20/2
This one, it took me two months to finish as I was lining the plastic and running layers of paint to make it shine. Then I gave it to someone because their kid liked it a lot.

How popular is Antiquity Blue in India? I was very surprised with this one and it's probably my favourite Indian blend (from the ones I tasted that is...)

This brings back great memories of working with my old colleagues. We'd get two bottles and waste a night drinking and talking. It's good but I dont think its the best I've ever had from here.

 

Some more questions:

 

How many languages do you speak (not including programming languages haha)?
Arabic (taught in school for many years and a lot of the programs I watched growing up were in Arabic too)
French (once again taught in school and I also spent a lot of time at a French school growing up because one of my music teachers worked there so I'd go and play football with a lot of kids and picked it up before I did it formally in school)
Italian (basic - I spent two years learning this but it never really stuck. Tried to talk more to get better at it in college but it just wouldn't stick. I can read it pretty well though)
Hindi (have to know it if you live in India but not necessarily Bangalore)
Kannada (Local language of Bangalore and probably a must if you live here but not truly necessary)
Konkani (This one is a weird language its from Goa but it also has traces of Latin in it as the Portuguese colonies came and had some influence on the language too)

If you had a chance to go on a one-way trip to Mars (together with your wife) as part of the first coloniser group, would you do it? 
Yep I would. It's odd but when there were talks about building a group of people to go to Mars this was something my friends and I would discuss too. Ultimately I said I would but then the possible fatality rate came out and we all said yeah thats just a death sentence haha.

Best Star Wars movie?
Return of the Jedi. Used to think Empire was better but I rewatched them recently and Return of the Jedi is my favourite

If you discovered a time machine, where and when would you go?
To the Mesopotamian Civilization era to see how things were back then. It's strange but I've had an itch for years to understand how they went about building things and what life was really like back then. 

What are the most promising emerging technologies, in your opinion?
Too long of a list in my head but I'll do top two

1. Advancement in Robotics and Prosthetic Science - So much has happened in this space in such a short time (less than half a decade) that we're starting to see companies and universities pouring money into the integration of robotics with AI/ML and Edge Computing to further things that will help us get better at the jobs we do or better the lives people with injuries. I think we may have spoken about in the AI thread too but the work that Elon Musk is using to read brain-waves is also a step in the right direction for Robotics. That kind of granular control is going to propel medical science in a whole new direction.
2. Gene Editing and Gene Therapy - We've both had discussions on this haha

How do you imagine the world in 100 years from now?
A lot more peaceful than it is now honestly. I think this much chaos has to eventually turn towards something good.

What are the biggest problems that humanity is facing now or will be facing in the near future?
I was talking with some friends over dinner about this but I think we're slowly becoming far too reliant on technology and while its expanding certain areas of our brain a lot of the things that we used to do without tech have slowly eroded away. Its definitely going to give rise to newer medical problems as well just because everyone is rushing to be the 'first' to do things and that's very dangerous because in all that madness you lose sight of stable solutions just to get out there first. 

What is the best and the worst thing about living in India?
The best - It's home and so much to see and do. I don't think a day goes by where I think its gotten bad that I need to leave. If that ever happens it will just be because of work I am thinking.
The worst - Traffic haha. 

 

 

[RandoEFC+]

I have to be honest I've always thought you were a female member as all of the Mels I know are either Melissa or Melanie or similar, apart from Mel Gibson, so I have two questions.

Are you Mel Gibson?

If not, what is Mel short for?

[Harry]

48 minutes ago, RandoEFC said:

I have to be honest I've always thought you were a female member as all of the Mels I know are either Melissa or Melanie or similar, apart from Mel Gibson, so I have two questions.

Are you Mel Gibson?

If not, what is Mel short for?

I always thought he was an Indian guy living in Melbourne that was born in 1981

[Mel81x+]

5 hours ago, RandoEFC said:

I have to be honest I've always thought you were a female member as all of the Mels I know are either Melissa or Melanie or similar, apart from Mel Gibson, so I have two questions.

Are you Mel Gibson?

If not, what is Mel short for?

Definitely not Mel Gibson but my mother did think of just naming me Mel but no my name is Melroy.

[Mel81x+]

4 hours ago, Harry said:

I always thought he was an Indian guy living in Melbourne that was born in 1981

Funny you say Melbourne because I did spend time in college in Melbourne, Florida and people always, naturally, think I went to study in Australia.

[Pyfish+]

My two usual questions:

- What statistic would you like to know about your life?

- If you could go to lunch with a goalkeeper, defender, midfielder and a striker who has played for Liverpool, who would be attending, and where would you go?

[Mel81x+]

2 hours ago, Pyfish said:

My two usual questions:

- What statistic would you like to know about your life?
How many hours I have actually slept with the hours I have missed. I value sleep a lot more these days as compared to when I was younger.

- If you could go to lunch with a goalkeeper, defender, midfielder and a striker who has played for Liverpool, who would be attending, and where would you go?
Alisson Becker
Andy Robertson
Xabi Alonso
Robbie Fowler

Think with a crowd like this I'd probably take them to a bar/restaurant have a meal and just talk about what they all like(d) about their time at the club. I also think this crowd would be quite lively as well from what I have read/heard.
 

 

[IgnisExcubitor]

1) How many hours do you lose daily in the famed Bangalore traffic?

2) Have you visited the foaming lake in your city? Thoughts on it. 

3) Does the weather ever get bad in your city? 

4) Do you watch Kannada movies? Favourites if you do? 

5) Your Indian celebrity crushes. 

6) Parikrama, Indian Ocean or Pentagram - choose your favourite Indian band. You can name others apart from the three, if you like someone else. 

7) Is the pub scene of Bangalore still good? 

8) What's the name of your band if you are part of any?

9) Thoughts on Mallu porn? 

10) Who from the forum can actually make it as a Bollywood star? 

11) Thoughts on Feni, and where does it rank compared to the other drinks for you? And who on this forum will like it?

12) Favourite sea food?

13) Do you miss Goa? And how often do you visit it? 

14) You seem to have had opportunities to settle outside India. What made you stay in India?

15) You seem to be big on gadgets. What are you five favourites from the ones you own?

16) Favourite gun in Contra : M, S, F, L or H?

[Mel81x+]

54 minutes ago, IgnisExcubitor said:

1) How many hours do you lose daily in the famed Bangalore traffic?
Just today, I spent 2 hours going to a place that normally takes me 20 minutes. I don't travel as much in the city as I used to and thank the lord for it too or I'd lose half my life in travelling.

2) Have you visited the foaming lake in your city? Thoughts on it. 
The foaming is a direct by-product of the idiots who thought it would be good to destroy the lake where they were dumping all their waste. In the long run I am glad the government stepped in and put an end to it. Shame really, as me and a few friends used to drive out there and sit around and drink as it was a nice place in the winters. That part of Bangalore however is a mess and will continue to stay so for about another 10 years till the community gets what they want.

3) Does the weather ever get bad in your city? 
Compared to where you live, no. Bangaloreans get into a hissy-fit if it rains for more than 2 hours haha. But they do that only because traffic comes to a stand-still and some of the underpass constructions get so flooded you can't move. A few years ago it rained all night and I remember a friend calling me saying his car was flooded under his basement. Shows how rain-proof this city is. Besides that the weather is fantastic, its 24C outside as I type this.

4) Do you watch Kannada movies? Favourites if you do? 
I do, I watched a really fun one a little while ago called Kirik Party as a friend was acting in it. I prefer Tamil cinema a lot more personally and even movies from Kerala are very good.

5) Your Indian celebrity crushes. 
Madhuri Dixit - Met her at a function once, really nice lady and man can she move her hips. 
Vidya Balan - Great actress and I think she looks nice too
Neha Dhupia - I met her with my sister years ago when my sister worked for Star. Really nice girl. 

6) Parikrama, Indian Ocean or Pentagram - choose your favourite Indian band. You can name others apart from the three, if you like someone else. 
Kinda like them all. These days I am listening to a lot of Malayalam rock but I have a soft spot for a lot of Lucky Ali's older stuff. Great stuff.

7) Is the pub scene of Bangalore still good? 
Ah, the infamous Bangalore pub scene. It's good but its diversified now. We've got places that are absolute shit-holes (the ones I actually like) and then we've got so many micro-breweries you'll get sick of beer. But, all in all, the traditionalists like to hang out at certain places for the charm and I live about a 10 minute walk from some of the best of them in Indiranagar. A lot of the crowd have moved from bars into more disco-ish scene places and we've also got a new weird trend of having a mix of both music scenes to allow people to try them out at the same place. I do a lot of bar visiting just because I play in a band and those places are ripe for live entertainment. If you're ever down let me know and I'll take you to a fantastic place that has a view and some great music.

8) What's the name of your band if you are part of any?
I used to play with a school band that was all woman and me the only guy haha. Almost ashamed to say this but they were called Peri-Peri Fries and did a lot of pop numbers. I also play with a band called Briar Patch who do cover songs mostly progressive and rock. Lastly, play for a guy in studios doing jingle work whenever the time permits and his project is called Optic. 

9) Thoughts on Mallu porn? 
Its a love-hate relationship. Kerala is a special place for me because a lot of kids in school were from there growing up and I understand a lot of Malayalam too. As for the porn, it can be good and then at times you really wonder why you bothered watching it at all.

10) Who from the forum can actually make it as a Bollywood star? 
There is no doubt in my mind its @Berserker. The man knows the culture, is totally fascinated by our women and would kill it with his South American accent. I can imagine him being a villain (comic-relief of course) and totally causing a riot among our audiences. I'd also throw @Stick With Azeem in there, after seeing his pic in the members pics hes got the look to cut it in Bollywood.

11) Thoughts on Feni, and where does it rank compared to the other drinks for you? And who on this forum will like it?
Two things you never ask a Goan. "Do you want more Feni?" and "Did you know the pork is over?". Feni that we sell commercially is horrible but if you want to get a proper high and keep it going I'd say start the night with it and wash it down with the drinks you like. Now, the stuff we make as part of family traditions I kind of put in the same class as non-commercial tequila. The stuff we get commercially tastes like gasoline but I have had some really good tequila and I'd put stuff like Coconut Feni in the same class. I can mix that with some fresh Orange Juice and it tastes heavenly.

12) Favourite sea food?
Fried squid and rava-fried-clam insides. I sadly dont get to eat as much over here as the seafood is rather bland tasting. I was in Mumbai recently and went to Ministry of Crab that was very good and it actually reminded me of home eventhough it was mostly Sri Lankan cuisine.

13) Do you miss Goa? And how often do you visit it? 
I am in Goa thrice a year and I miss it all the time. This is the longest I have ever stayed away from the ocean.

14) You seem to have had opportunities to settle outside India. What made you stay in India?
The opportunity actually presented itself when I worked at IBM. I was told I could stay in India and travel and I figured it would be good and it turns out that it was. Plus, they are kind of paying me a lot as well to work here as our clients need resources to run in their off-times as well. It was a win-win situation so I took it. I'll probably move again (maybe the last time) but I haven't figured out when and more importantly where.

15) You seem to be big on gadgets. What are you five favourites from the ones you own?

• My Sony WH-1000XM2s - Best wireless headset I have ever used. Travel a lot with them
• My Rickenbacker Bass - I wanted one for over a decade and it took me a long time to get it
• My Darkglass Pedal - They are hand-made and it was a gift but I never thought it would be as good as it was when I got it
• My Monitors (I know) - 34UC98 LG x 2 - I like a lot of real-estate when I am working so it made sense and was probably my best investment over a year ago
• TC Electronics Polytune Clip - This thing has been lifesaver when I am gigging and its so small it fits in my pocket quite easily too. I recommend it to a lot of people because it hasn't failed me yet.

16) Favourite gun in Contra : M, S, F, L or H?
I think its between H or S. H allows you to run and gun while S is just a good all-rounder. I'd probably say H because I can actually spend more time dodging than anything else.

 

[Dr. Gonzo]

1. What was the first thing you ever grilled?

2. What made you want to start playing instruments?

3. If you could punch one person in the face with no repercussions whatsoever, provided that you were giving it your hardest possible punch, who'd you punch in the face?

4. Whereabouts in California were you living?

5. What's your favourite metal band?

6. What's your favourite rock band?

7. What's your favourite funk band?

8. What's the best Frank Zappa album?

9. Victor Wooten v. Les Claypool v. Thundercat - which of these ultra talented bassist do you like the best?

[nudge+]

Do you have any pets?

What is the weirdest thing you've ever eaten?

What is something you're terrible at but wish you could do well?

What is the most trivial thing about which you have a strong opinion?

What was the happiest moment of your life so far?

What is your least popular/most controversial opinion?

Motorcycles - yay or nay?

What's the coolest project you've ever worked on?

Have you ever been arrested? What is the most illegal/criminal thing you've done?

What's the craziest thing you've ever done?

What expensive thing is absolutely worth the money?

What is the dumbest purchase you’ve ever made?

If you could live in any fictional world, where would it be and why?

[Bluewolf]

1 hour ago, nudge said:

Motorcycles - yay or nay?

The answer to this question is obviously yay, Why did you even put an option???? 

The answer to this question is Yay @Mel81x 

[nudge+]

1 minute ago, Bluewolf said:

The answer to this question is obviously yay, Why did you even put an option???? 

The answer to this question is Yay @Mel81x 

This is just a control question to catch him off-guard, I need to know who am I dealing with here...  

[Bluewolf]

If you could bring someone famous/infamous back from the grave and give them 20 more years of life who would you pick and why?? 

What is your favorite topic of conversation when you are out socializing?? 

What was the best bit of advice you have ever been given?

Do you think it's too late for mankind to save itself from it's own self destruction or do you think there is still hope yet?? 

How many rounds do you think you would last in a boxing ring if a fight was arranged for tomorrow?? 

 

[Mel81x+]

Sorry had a bit of a family emergency so wasn't really online. I'll start replying now haha.

[Mel81x+]

On 25/07/2019 at 23:43, Dr. Gonzo said:

1. What was the first thing you ever grilled?
Mutton and it was glorious right up until I overdid it and it became a bit too chewy haha.

2. What made you want to start playing instruments?
My father, he spent a lot of time taking me to school and getting me stuff to listen to. Plus, he played a lot of guitar when was younger too.

3. If you could punch one person in the face with no repercussions whatsoever, provided that you were giving it your hardest possible punch, who'd you punch in the face?
Punch in the face ... hmmm. Tough question, I dont think I have ever really wanted to punch anyone in the face. 

4. Whereabouts in California were you living?
I lived in LA with a friend up in Rolling Hills when I was out there. If I do go back I'll be in San Fran for work.

5. What's your favourite metal band?
I really like the older Metallica a lot. I listen to a lot of stuff now but can't really say I have a favourite band anymore.

6. What's your favourite rock band?
Zeppelin - You can really pick any of the bands from the same time period and walk out with a winner but for me Zeppelin were doing things in the music space at the time that non one else could or wanted to. They created ballads that were rich and even pushed boundaries with vocal harmonies too. 

7. What's your favourite funk band?
Easily Chic. I spent a lot of time learning their music which isn't as easy as it sounds. They've created a very unique sound that isn't easily replicated either.

8. What's the best Frank Zappa album?
Sheikh Yerbouti - I think it stuck just because of the name and I heard it when I was really young too.

9. Victor Wooten v. Les Claypool v. Thundercat - which of these ultra talented bassist do you like the best?
This one is a stumper. All of them have pushed the sound in different ways. I used to like Victor Wooten a lot when he first came on the scene but now it seems more of a show-off kind of thing versus true technical prowess, but tbf to the man he has the chops and the skills. Then you've got Thundercat, the sounds he has created are so funky and have the weirdest integrations into tracks as well but no not my scene. And then that leaves us with Les who I like the most out of the three mentioned. His sound is rich and raw at times plus I think he has metal for hands or something of the sort.
 

 

[CaaC (John)+]

5 minutes ago, Mel81x said:

6. What's your favourite rock band?
Zeppelin - You can really pick any of the bands from the same time period and walk out with a winner but for me Zeppelin were doing things in the music space at the time that non one else could or wanted to. They created ballads that were rich and even pushed boundaries with vocal harmonies too. 

For an old man like me they were the Bees Knees with Nazareth, saw the Who also live in Australia in the late '60s when Townsend smashed his guitar up at the end of the gig I thought "FFS man, that must have cost you a bomb..."  

[Mel81x+]

On 26/07/2019 at 00:27, nudge said:

Do you have any pets?
I do. A 10 year old Labrador. Think I posted his pic in the pets section a while back.

What is the weirdest thing you've ever eaten?
https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/m/innermongolia/2013-12/26/content_17198841.htm

What is something you're terrible at but wish you could do well?
I can't really wake-board too well and I try it once every three years. Wish I lived closer to an ocean and I think I'd get good at it.

What is the most trivial thing about which you have a strong opinion?
Hmmm. Trivial ... I'd say the whole super-virus creation from taking too many meds. I find it trivial because as people what are we supposed to do? Stop taking meds to get better?

What was the happiest moment of your life so far?
Finding out that my mother's cancer treatment was actually working. She got a little depressed about the whole thing and it was nice to see her back to her old self.

What is your least popular/most controversial opinion?
Honestly don't believe I have one. I'd have to explore this one in a discussion.

Motorcycles - yay or nay?
Easily yay for me. Prefer them over cars as well.

What's the coolest project you've ever worked on?
Worked a project with a Google Glass style product that could be used in server rooms to detect defective parts and then report back to the parent company for replacements and show engineers possible solutions as well. i only thought it was cool because I figured it would have gone places and done far more useful stuff but they haven't really moved on since the proto-type for the software was built.

Have you ever been arrested? What is the most illegal/criminal thing you've done?
Never been arrested. Drove something illegal down to a city with a friend in the back of the car and dropped it off with some really shady people. I only did it because I didn't know what was in the back till I found out on the way back.

What's the craziest thing you've ever done?
Gotten shit-faced and bought a ticket to Sri-Lanka and flown out the same day. Then found out my friend wasn't in Sri Lanka and bought another ticket to fly from there to Goa via Chennai only to realize we were playing tag with each other and he came to Bangalore while I was busy running around places to find him. So, I caught a bus to go down to Bangalore while he was making his way up to Goa. In the end he sobered up and told me to stay where I was and we finally caught up. 

What expensive thing is absolutely worth the money?
This is a tough question. I don't know honestly but I'll go with headphones. They are easily the one thing I would say work as "money invested is directly proportional to quality of sound"

What is the dumbest purchase you’ve ever made?
An iPhone as an experiment. Easily the worst purchase of my life.

If you could live in any fictional world, where would it be and why?
I really liked the Rama books when I was growing up so I'd like to live in that fictional world and spend time exploring. Those kinds of books and spaces really fascinate me.

 

[Mel81x+]

On 26/07/2019 at 01:01, Bluewolf said:

If you could bring someone famous/infamous back from the grave and give them 20 more years of life who would you pick and why??
Don't think I'd bring anyone back honestly. They've contributed whatever they have to and their time is up so I can't see any reason to bring them back.

What is your favorite topic of conversation when you are out socializing??
Anything that isn't work related honestly. I dont mind talking sport or who is doing what in the world to make things better. One of the conversations I had about two weeks back was about how we have a restaurant in Bangalore that is trying to re-capture people's concepts of local food culture so that was a good discussion.

What was the best bit of advice you have ever been given?
Fail as much as you need to. My boss in my internship told me that every time we failed to get something to work and its stuck with me. I think we're all scared of failing but it really does make us better in the long-term.

Do you think it's too late for mankind to save itself from it's own self destruction or do you think there is still hope yet?? 
There is hope. A lot of people, who arent making the news, are trying to do things to help the environment. We don't have to do much, just a few things everyday and we'll get to see it reflect in our environment. The best example is this, even if its not your trash and you see it on the beach pick it up and put it in a trash bin. Why let it go back out into the ocean and kill an animal out there.

How many rounds do you think you would last in a boxing ring if a fight was arranged for tomorrow?? 
If you let me drink a little before it probably two to three with a non-professional haha. If you put me up against someone professional probably half a round.

 

 

[Toinho]

Thanks for participating @Mel81x!