Coming soon...2008!!

Its 1.00 AM, 31 st december 2007, when am posting this on. In all probable cases this is the last post of an eventful and fruitful year 2007.
Achievements wise the year went by quite nicely. Work has never been an issue for me so professional achievements take care of themselves. But the actual achievement is felt when people around you at workplace look upto you for guidance, advice and help. This increases reponsibilities but i think you need responsibilities to keep raising the bar.
Another small achievement is actually related with this Blog. Its now over 2 year since it went online. 2 year and 4 months to be more precise. Wow!!..it survived the lack of creativity that i usually suffer with.
The year actually flew by, very fast. A home, a car, increasing responsibilities at work, feel like everything just pounced upon me. Still, there is a feeling of restlessness...may be there is more to achieve, more to conquer.
Talking about the car...first 400 Kms went by pretty smooth. No hastles, no fuss. Got the registration no. couple of days back. The driving experience is amazing, specially the electronic power steering. Fuel consumption is pretty neat and the car as whole is living upto my expectations so far.

Watching heads turning towards the car is becoming a daily routine, since the model is new on india roads. A couple of days back i was waiting for my turn on a fuel station and a girl waiting in the next bay was looking quite curious about the car. she got off her santro (same company, different model), walked upto my car and asked about the fuel efficiency of the car, well..she got the answer but that was just one of the incidents. There have been quite a few of them and everytime a new question from every person. One funny example:

the person: How is this car doing?
me: very good
the person: shall i buy one of these?
me: what are you waiting for...??!!


Now few questions:

1. Do you follow Formula-1?

2. If you follow, then do you know there is now and indian team on the circuits?

If you dont know then you should know and be prepared to back

force-india in the 2008 season.

Wishing everyone a very happy new year!!

COMING SOON, YEAR 2008!

Splash

Maruti is launching this in the upcoming Auto Expo in January:

Its named "SPLASH". There is also another concept car launch from Maruti itself. Its Called "A-Star".



Its an A-segment five-door hatchback equipped with new Euro 5-compliant 1.0-litre aluminium petrol engine with CO2 emissions lower than 109g/km.

The production is scheduled to start in October 2008.

Now!!Do i see some "inspiration" in SPLASH?, i mean something like this is already on indian roads!!

taare zameen par

Planned to catch a movie yesterday...and had options like "welcome", "jab we met" and "taare zameen par". Picked the last one and i really didnt regret choosing that when i came out of the show. For the first time i saw some other actor really acting much better than Aamir himself and that also while acting opposite Aamir, a child actor, Darsheel Safary playing the character of a dyslexic boy named Ishaan Nandkishor Awasthi. Hardly any masala and pure touching emotions with a very sensitive theme.

The songs are good, and Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy does a kickass job, as does lyricist Prasoon Joshi. One can actually feel the frustration of little Ishaan when he goes through his daily ordeal while the song Maa plays in background, touching really touching!!

No wonder there was a small round of applause from audience in the end!!

Aamir the Director actually makes the audience wait for Aamir the actor and then he bursts on the screen with Bum Bum Bole. Not bad!..not bad at all!!

This one is going for Oscars...and i cant help being a bit over-optimistic..TZP can actually bring an Oscar home!!

w00t!!

Thats webster's word of the year!w00t!

used very heavily by Gamers and originally has the meaning as "we own the other team"!

2 Bikes....Indian Roads.....and The Indian Pocket...

I can easily say now that hitting the top gear will never be the same again.....or..?

Yamaha in a desparate effort to really have a firm ground in the passion and emotion driven indian market, unleashed its two warriors on indian roads.

The YZF - R1 : Talking about expert opinion, Rossi tested the 2007 R1. And you can't have a better expert than the "Doctor" himself.

Displacement 998cm3
Maximum horse power 177.5 bhp @ 12,500 rpm
Maximum torque 112.7 Nm @ 10,000 rpm




There is a certain buzz in the air about both of the machines. I would say a good catalyst that was much needed for indian market which was waiting for something like this to happen to really get going and really get at par with the 4-wheel market.

The MT01

Engine type Air cooled 4-stroke,OHV
Cylinder arrangement V-type 2-cylinder
Displacement 1670cm3
Maximum horse power 88.9 bhp @ 4,750 rpm
Maximum torque 150.3 Nm @ 3,750 rpm




Talking about high expectations, both of them have already been termed "flagship" ones for indian market as far as Yamaha is concerned and are supposed to change the face of the 2-wheel market, or at least try to do that. Technology wise, you can hardly quetion Yamaha's specifications..both having displacement range of 1000+ CCs and everything that a indian bike enthusiast dreams of having in his/her machine.

Now here comes the ultimate factor that eventually drives the market, Price Tag. Both as far as i know have a 10+(Lacs) Price tag on-road. Now,what instantly flashes in anyone's mind is that "Bloody Hell!!in 10+ one can own a Honda Sedan or a Hellraising SUV!!" Again, as far as am concerned, buying something or even planning to buy something of that range is out of scope. Even for buying a small car with an on-road price half of my annual CTC, hell lot of planning goes in. But being a biker at heart, i would still make an effort to someday own one of those pieces and that will need saving over the savings.....sigh!!

Even after buying one of those...its hard to think about the effort and money that will be spent on maintenance. This makes me think, is the indian market ready for theses machines?, well..you would say, Hell Yeah!!....But still you might rethink on it.

So to really buy one of these, as Rearset once said...GO OUT AND MAKE POTS OF MONEY NOW!

dhan dhana dhan...goal!!

Hardly had any expectation from this movie, i guess thats why i really liked this one. Two lead characters..an indian and a pakistani......a team consisiting of indians, bangladeshis and pakistanis fighting to save one football club, a coach with memories of a horrible night before a final....nice mix for a good movie!! ......


Go catch it!!Halla Bol!!

Think!!

Think slow..!!

Slow is smooth!!

Smooth is Fast!!

Think about it......

Dodge this!!

One of the 2008 models is actually named "Dyna Fat Bob".

i10 Magna

Had a test drive this morning on this little powerhouse.




This one is already been said as a replacement to Santro and i think Hyundai might close down shutters on Santro eventually. i10 is really interesting: a little lower on RPMs and higher on torque in comparison to Santro xing and almost at par with Getz 1.1 GLE. Wheelbase and height is more than Getz and body is much lighter also. the catch in the end is lower RPMs and higher torque, and it actually showed up when i tested it. I also tried a tight U turn with it and it actually made it clean without any stop-back-stop manouver. Electronic Power steering makes it even more effortless. The mascular and sporty looks are creating quite a craze.

Overall....quite a Car and is priced interestingly too.




Only problem with this beauty is its Website. A bit too flashy i guess.

ENGINE - iRDE 1.1

Configuration
Displacement (cc) - 1086
Maximum Power (ps/rpm) - 66.7/5500
Maximum Torque (Kgm/rpm) - 10.1/2800
In-line, 4 cylinder

Old Old...Classic Rock

Irritating camera angels, irritating hair styles.....but some really cool music....nothing 2 minutes of pure fun!! thats Creedence...

Happy Diwali

A very happy and rocking diwali to everyone

Thats the diwali snap-shot from my floor. Actually that was the day before diwali.

And this one is my favourite...

whats the point?

Hero Honda rolled out "Hunk" from their stables......

a 149.2 CC air-cooled engine...

alloy wheels...

front disc.. rear drum

5 speed manual

hydrolic shocks....

what comes in my mind instantly is..."whats the point?".....i wud call it a twin to CBZX....the only "old is gold" factor comes into play when you actually get the 2-1 combo of speedo- rpm-fuel gauges...no not the digital ones...the dial ones!! its a different feeling looking at the dial going wild on a twist of a bar in your right hand!!

prices around 55,000 INR.....will there be many takers....when we have CBZX (which is altogether a different mistake from HH stables) standing next to it in the showroom??!! look wise it reminds me of P200 but its hard to beat P200 designs.....

really..."whats the point?".....

talking about P200..a collegue in office bought it the other day and in the morning next day whispered in my ear..."dude...there is a P2....down at B3" ...in my biker gang we actually have short names for bike models..P2 = Pulsar 200, P1.5 = Pulsar 150..getting the drift??

it was time for a mandatory welcome ride on the high way.it was my third ride on P200..after the ride....i realized...its a biker's bike...you really need to know each other well..to ride well. That friend of mine is already worried about "winter morning blues"...lets see how the winter goes on P2s.

Descend

Love this sequence.....specially the background score....

break?...speed up??

was one heavy traffic monday and i was in that traffic...on the MG road towards delhi. Other than heavy traffic the last thing you actually want is a 350 CC Royal enfield with a rider with some very bad attitude come falling over you. and when this actually happens and before your mind goes numb...only option you have is to avoid it.

Speed was a smooth 60 at that time...i was over taking a sedan which was on the slowish side and gave me way the way it should do. I took a glance on my rear view mirrors and went ahead with the over take. half way through the overtake my left mirror showed a noisy electra 350 moving very dangerously towards me and that sedan. i thought of trying the only easily available and quick communication medium.. "telepathy" to tell the bastard that "you better not be trying to take the narrow space between me and that sedan!!!". Obviously there was a connection error and he didnt get my message. He actually went for that narrow passage!!

I completed my overtake and after overtakes i generally change lane and let faster vehicles go by but since this bastard was in the middle, lane change was temporarily not available. Meanwhile i somehow avoided a pothole and that bastard didnt have any room to avoid it and went through the pothole and lost his balance eventually and came dangerously close to me. His front wheel started brushing my rearsets. This impact actually made my rear skid a bit sideways and i felt "few more moments and this one is gonna lock my rear". Breaking was also not an option otherwise he could have crashed into me. So i just hit the topgear and let the throttle roll. Few noises from my rear and i was away avoiding the lock. When i moved off i heard sound of metal crashing and few words of concern (swearing) from behind and my left mirror showed and electra down on road. ...

...i was on my way!! did a quick damage check after a while..couldnt find any!!
phew!!..damnnn that was close!!

breaking is not always the right option!!you see what i mean!!??

Goal

Chak De..went pretty well.....and i get the feeling that this one too might go the same way...

There are cars and..

Have been going through some car specifcations....found this little one from chevy family...

with...

Cylinder count - 4

Max. Power (PS) - 76/5500

Max. Torque (Nm) - 110/4400

Valve and Camshaft type - 8V SOHC

Fuel Injection system - Sequential Electronic Fuel Injection

Transmission - 5 Speed Manual

and of course good enough ground clearance and wheel base. On one hand you have cars like these...and on the other hand you have these...

and again..there are people like Gaurav jani who inspire you for something else...

INXS

Love this one!!

Facebook....the story

Quite interesting...

Play

Blogger Play

It keeps showing the recently updated images on public blogs, click on the image if you find it interesting and it will take you to that blog. Nice concept actually!!

NFS 2008

Why am posting this..?..well...this one actually had 1,022,030 views and 1303 comments before i saw the video. Sheer popularity!!

Like that...

Found this ad on a popular social networking site.....quite cool...


WANT A JOB

We need a solid PHP developer or two to help us build some cool stuff . Knowing how to code for PHP/MySQL is good. Knowing how to code for PHP/MySQL and have the application not crash when it gets 5 million page views per day is great, and exactly what we're looking for. Our two apps have 750k+ users, and the ones you build probably will too. So, if you've never experienced the feeling that comes with building an insanely popular web site/application, give us a ring. It's quite the rush...

6 Years

We are with you baba!!

A Profile

Profile of the Helmet:

1. To achieve extra stiffness, extra magnesium layers were 'baked' into the corners of the helmet

2. Steam up resistant. Works just like the heating of the rear window in a car.

3. The metal fittings for the strap are made of super light titanium.

4. The rev counter in the helmet. Five green LED's, two red ones. Connected to the rev counter on the steering wheel.

5. An active carbon filter saves driver from inhaling the exhausts. He can always inhale clean air. Can be switched off if necessary.

6. Plug for the pit to car radio (headphone and microphone). Extra wiring for the rev counter and the cable for the visor heating.

7. Also fire resistant. No flames can enter the helmet from the top.

8. An invisible funnel (size adjustable) catches the oncoming wind, which is then distributed via channels beneath the helmet (blue arrows). 50 little holes are cooling driver's head. The rest of the air is directed to his nose.

9. The outer shell was aerodynamically adapted to the new 2002 Ferrari F1 ca. The helmet consists of 12 layers in total.



and yea...by the way..thats Michael Schumacher's helmet!!

Courtesy: http://www.theprancinghorse.co.uk

Hows Life....

always a good question....

so..how it is actually.??..let me see.

kick myself out of bed somehow someway at around 7.30-8 in the morning....rush to office by 9-9.30....take care of daily stuff at work...few breaks in between in which go downstairs with other teammates...smokers grab their sutta ..they actually always remind me of the world famous sutta song..non-smokers enjoy nimbu-paani.

somehow someway get the work completed by evening...rush back home....cook some food....tired like hell....try studying for a while..and then drop dead again....

repeat telecast next day!!same routine..!!

so how is life actually.??...

...yawwwwwwwwwnnnnnnnnn..!!!!time to drop dead!!

Overtime

gotta be kidding me!!

This is insane...for sure!!

http://machinist.salon.com/blog/2007/07/12/return_iphone/index.html

back in time!!

was riding back home after work.....went into a traffic light....timer showed 60 seconds to green....a car came by....music on...volume on top....but i didnt mind this time around...heard that song after quite a long time.....took me back in time for those 60 seconds.....

One love for the mothers pride
One love for the times we cried
One love gotta stay alive.... Oh I will survive

One love for the city streets
One love for the hip hop beats
One love oh I do believe
One love is all we need

the light goes green.....am home!!

Bourne Again!!

He lost his identity......



He got it back and proved his supremacy!!



Now he is issuing an Ultimatum...and we are going to receive it...SOON!!

The Crippler is gone!

He will be missed in the ring!

Creativity at its best...

was going through two TV ads, they are quite contrast in nature.....but beautiful in their context.

One is like many years old......and one is the latest one!!

The caliber one was quite filmy....and the free biking one is inspired from a sport called free running!Remember that on-foot chase sequence in Casino Royale!!

Caliber



Pulsar 200 (shot in malaysia)

Same Story....Same Story!!

Came across this article ......

http://www.rediff.com/getahead/2007/jun/12marks.htm

felt like someone is repeating a very familiar story for me..!!

Shrek on Linux

DreamWorks Studio - > Linux on 3,000 CPUs - > 20 million CPU render hours = Shrek The third
The hair movement, detail and lighting knocking everyone's socks off and making them dance around the theater.

http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/9653

A Famous Crash ( No bikes involved)

Windows 98 crashing on Live TV

A Crash

The biker checks in at the security counter.....gets his token......puts it in his pocket....gives the throttle a little twist and helps the bike into the curvy ramp...enters first basement......approaches the straight ramp to get to the second basement.....nice and easy......no aggressive moves.....gets to the ramp....moves down smoothly..reaches the second basement....one more floor to go......takes a sharp U after landing on second.....approaches another straight ramp to get to the final basement , the third one.....the one he calls ...devil's basement......turns into the ramp....no one in front ....nice and easy....smooth.......completes the ramp...makes a slight turn to get to the parking bay.....on finish of the turn suddenly a car comes in his vision....something happens.....brakes hard......the front wheel totally dies.......the front part of the two wheeler sways with an angle.....the bike makes a nose dive....the biker goes down with it.....lets the bike go...falls flat..eyes closed.....the bike drags itself a bit and collapses next to him........

he doesnt remember what was he thinking at that time......and the car that appeared in his vision was some 50 meters away from the point of crash.....may be he was not paying attention....may be he was lost in some other thoughts and did what a biker should never do, grabbing the front brakes....
he survived....
minor scratches here and there......
on the bike too!! damn!!

WWE Experience

Haven't been writing about my last trip to UK...so here it is.....
me and bro went for a 1.5 day trip to London....well...actually there was no plan of that traditional site seeing ...on a double decker....but something else........

Venue : Earls Court Arena, London

Event : WWE RAW

Atmosphere: have to feel it yourself, and after couple of pints....well.....you know what i mean...

and there is a very big difference in what we get on TV for two hours and what actually happens in the arena.

Super Jumbo in Delhi skies

The super jumbo A 380 makes its debut in Delhi skies. Its on a feasibility test flight on indian skies and airports....its scheduled to fly to mumbai after this.






Its Huge!



Its Very huge!!

Honestly...!!would love to make a trip on it some day. And the news is that Kingfisher airlines has ordered 5 of them...

Its only these lensmen who can dare the blazing summer sun of delhi to take these really good long distance clicks.

and by the way pics courtesy: Hindustan Times

more about super jumbo : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airbus_A380

Harley Unsure.......damn!!but....

http://www.rediff.com/money/2007/may/02harley.htm

good news though....suzuki is positive!!

Tere Bin

A lovely song.....quite an old one .....was a part of rabbi's first album along with the "bulla" song....but recently has gained some poularity with release of "Delhi Heights"....doesnt sound like a deep song....but it actually is one....

tere bin /besides you
sanu sohnia /my love
koi hor nahio labhna /i shan't find another
jo dave /who'll give
ruh nu sakun /peace to my soul
chukke jo nakhra mera /and indulge me
ve main sare ghumm ke vekhia /i have gone and seen it all
amrika , roos, malaysia /america, russia, malaysiana
kittey vi koi fark si /there wasn't any difference
har kise di koi shart si /they all had some condition
koi mangda mera si sama /some asked for my time
koi hunda surat te fida /some were fascinated with my face
koi mangda meri si vafa /some demanded my fidelity
na koi mangda merian bala /none wanted my demons
tere bin /besides you
hor na kise /no one else
mangni merian bala /wanted my demons
tere bin /besides you
hor na kise /no one else
karni dhup vich chhan /shall shade me in the sun
jiven rukia /(the) way you paused
si tun zara /slightly
nahion bhulna /i shan't forget
main sari umar /all my life
jiven akhia si akhan chura /you said, looking away
"rovenga sanu yad kar" /"you shall weep in my memory"
hasia si main hasa ajeeb /i laughed a strange laugh
(par) tu nahi si hasia /but you didn't
dil vich tera jo raaz si /you had a secret in your heart
mainu tu kyon ni dasia /why didn't you tell me
tere bin /besides you
sanu eh raz /none shall tell this
kise hor nahion dasna /secret to me
tere bin /besides you
peerh da ilaaj /what druid
kis vaid kolon labhna /has the cure to my ills
milia si ajj mainu /i found today
tera ik patra /a note of yours
likhia si jis 'te /on which you had scribbeled
tun shayr varey shah da /a varis shah couplet
park ke si osnu /upon reading which
hanjnu ik duliya /a teardrop fell
akhan 'ch band si /what was locked in the eye
seh raaz ajj khulia /was revealed today
ki tere bin /that other than you
eh mere hanjnu /these tears of mine
kise hor /won't be kissed by
nahio chumna /none else
ki tere bin /that other than you
eh mere hanjhu /these tears of mine
mitti vich rulnha /will wither in the dust


Lyrics translation courtesy: a fellow blogger shubhigupta

Kosi

Thats the river bed of Kosi. Had never been so close to that river. It flows right through the jungle i.e. Jim Corbett National Park and as the locals say, it closes down everyhting in rainy season.




Would love to see this river in rainy season, but its not advisable, you see!!

A Morning!

.....it was a sunday......!!..... couldn't sleep properly that night....i dont know why...?!!...so woke up at around 5.30 AM.......its hell lot of early on my standards...:-)......!!......had nothing to do .........so just took off for a early morning spin on the highway...!!.......





Empty roads....

......

Much Less Traffic

.....

Newly opened flyovers

.....

chilly wind

.....

street lights are still on

.....

and then......

.....

i can see the sun rising on the horizon.......

.....