Rise and Shine

Kenny from the block

2010-08-20T10:41:00.003+05:30

Invictus

2010-03-18T12:26:00.005+05:30

I was quite eager to see this movie just because of three reasons:

1. Morgan freeman - playing Nelson Mandela

2. Matt Damon - playing Francois Pienaar the captain of 1995 rugby world winning springboks team.

3. Director Clint Eastwood

I loved the storyline and both Morgan freeman and Matt damon did justice to clint's direction.
It is all about how Nelson mandela and Francois Pienaar turned around the post apartheid situation which was very well explained by a scene in which in a South Africa vs England match all whites were cheering for south africa but all blacks were cheering for england. And as far as rugby was concerned, South Africa was hosting the 1995 Rugby World Cup, that being the only reason the Springboks were even competing in the tournament as its years in isolation has not made it world ranked.

Good movie!!

Let the madness start

2010-03-12T10:22:00.004+05:30

It starts today!!

i have a liking for Rajasthan Royals.

i want Delhi Daredevils to win.

i am a big fan of Chennai Super Kings.

i admire Deccan Chargers.

Guess that's my line up for semifinals this year!! Lets see how it goes.

and i still wonder why Kolkata Knight Riders even playing? just to give the "fake IPL Player" a fabulous time?

The Hurt Locker

2010-03-08T11:15:00.004+05:30

Kudos to the movie that won oscars for:

Best Picture
Best Director
Best Original Screenplay
Best Sound Mixing
Best Sound Editing
Best Film Editing

The Hurt Locker Trailer

AMG

2010-01-25T11:38:00.006+05:30

They termed it as the car that can fly. This might look very familiar to many as it was showcased on one of the posters of Auto Expo 2010 and the poster was put up at several places across NCR.

Extreme looping!!not sure if any graphical tweaks are involved but looks very real to me.

Why so similar?

2010-01-18T15:56:00.004+05:30

now... as my wife asked:

"if it is from the director of the dark knight, is it necessary to have a poster similar to one of the posters of the dark knight?"

good question!! :)

Baker Street looked good

2010-01-10T00:13:00.003+05:30

Guy Ritchie couldn't have directed this better. Hans Zimmer couldn't have composed the music better. Robert Downey Jr. couldn't have played Holmes better.

The friday evening couldn't have gone better :) A 2 time watchable i think!!

Testing Indigo Manza

2010-01-09T23:58:00.003+05:30

Manza turned out to be a pleasant surprise.

it has almost everything expected in a luxury car, but its still under an affordable budget.

a 1300+ CC SAFFIRE petrol engine as expected had the punch. The interiors are as lush as it can be in an affordable sedan.

2-Tone Beige Interior Colour Scheme

Storage Tray Under Co-driver’s Seat

Glove Box with Lamp, Lock, Card Holder & Pen Holder

a huge boot...

etc..etc...

almost everything one can look for.

the drive was pretty smooth and the engine responded well on every throttle movement.

a good sedan i would say!!

a prospective buyer would be so confused in today's scenario, he/she can get an SX4 around the same price, add a bit more and Linea is there!!

interesting!!!

Another car in town is Chevrolet beat: On Thursday Chevrolet organised a road show in my office campus and it was a carnival setup. A Beat hoisted on a truck, a band playing, a group of hip-hop dancers doing there moves, few circus type artists showing there skills and lot of noise!! Didnt actually got the chance of taking a look inside the car but from outside with the car positioned on a bit of height, it appeared similar to A-Star, specially the rear windows. The front is still by favorite till date!!

Need a second look though!!

The "Beat" is up for AE 2010

2010-01-01T18:33:00.004+05:30

Chevrolet is finally coming up with the hatchback which actually packs the punch which i first experienced way back when hyundai delivered i10.

The front grill is one of a kind with the chevy logo!!

Auto Expo(AE) 2010 has few things lined up which are already stirring lots of questions/excitement/apprehensions:

R1 2010
Hyundai i10 eletric
Maruti Suzuki R3
and many more for sure.....
Exciting enough for a 6-7 day expo.

Idiots

2009-12-25T18:28:00.003+05:30

after the magical sci-fi pandorical experience of AVATAR, what doctor ordered was some high (aamir khan) level emotional dose!!

3 idiots....it was never going to disappoint!! and after a very long time some hilarious movie scenes actually made me laugh like anything.

that day of the week!!

2009-12-07T10:59:00.004+05:30

a brisk walk to the parking lot...

frantically putting on the riding gear...

reminding myself of all the top priority to-dos first thing in office...

turn the key and the ignition on...

finally putting the right glove on...

throttle away towards office...

reminding myself again of the to-dos...

hurling some very carefully chosen abuses to the traffic signal and then taking the "other shortcut"...

reaching the much popular traffic jam near the office...

hurling the next set of abuses on the traffic jam...

finally getting out of the jam and reaching the parking entrance ramp...

negotiate some very strange kind of traffic on the entrance and hurl the final set of abuses...

park the bike...

turn it off..

get out of the riding gear frantically...

hit the elevator switch to notice that all of them are actually going up...

wait for one and regret exhausting all abuses outside...

board an elevator when it arrives...

finally arrive at the floor and try hitting a piercing glance at the workstation hoping that it explodes...sigh!! it doesnt!!

Monday...managed to hit me again!!!

4

2009-09-13T23:10:00.003+05:30

that many years have passed by. Gurgaon changed alot, things around here changed alot...

personally...i think i have had enough of Gurgaon :) ..then again...thats just me at around 11 PM in the night!!

aahhh..may be i should sleep over it a bit and give it a thought tomorrow.....

after all..its a Monday tomorrow :)

Pelham 123

2009-08-31T14:58:00.002+05:30

One of the best ever if you are a John Travolta or a Denzel Washington fan. Most probably people are fan of both...at least i am.

don't miss the opening... don't miss the climax... hell..dont miss a minute!! Tony Scott directs a master piece again following the all time hits like Deja Vu, Man on fire, Enemy of the state, crimson tide and....who can forget days of thunder and top gun!! and now i know who the character was in one of my previous posts :)

Who's Coming?

2009-08-26T14:59:00.002+05:30

My wife sent me this mail with this link today.
The adventure is really on now :)

Being the fastest...

2009-08-02T00:00:00.004+05:30

It finally happened.....the fastest came home!!

Photo Credit: Wifey and her Nokia 6233

Odyssey 2009

2009-07-07T14:11:00.004+05:30

The sixth edition concluded. Some of the most amazing bikers making it through the odyssey with some of the most amazing bikes that can ever assemble in one group.

The route looks pretty straight but based on my brief experience with Himalayan roads, its staright only till chandigarh, after that, completing a single KM is a big task on the hilly terrains in a car, so one can very well imagine the magnitude on a bike.

An amazing article that describes the whole experience. A few lines from the article which highlights the real spirit of the Odyssey:

They comprised professionals from various fields, with the youngest biker 22 years old and the oldest 55.

Vishnu Vardhan Kuna from Bangalore and Raja Swaminathan from Delhi, among the motorcyclists who took part in the 15-day Royal Enfield Himalayan Odyssey 2009, were moved to tears.

"Those tears were of joy because after years of only thinking of reaching there, we felt content and happy finally when we made it there. We had a sense of achievement," explained Swaminathan, a marketing professional, who had worked towards the moment for five years.

"Due to some personal and professional commitments, we couldn't make it earlier, but it's better late than never," he added.

Pilgrimage for indian bikers... it sure is!!

Picture Courtesy: http://www.royalenfield.com

Jacko..forever

2009-06-26T08:32:00.005+05:30

never liked his dancing style but i still humm his songs every now and then.

RIP Jacko!!

BSA

2009-06-24T10:08:00.004+05:30

What to do when you find a bike in your place's parking lot, from once the largest motorcycle producer in the world, with history going way back to world war 1 standing next to your bike which has a less than 10 years of history?
Answer:
1. hunt for that camera phone in one of your pockets
2. click some photos
3. respect and admire the creation
4. feel humbled
one of the BSA creations:

An honor to have it in the parking lot!!

the newest divide......

2009-06-17T08:47:00.006+05:30

makes me nostalgic!!

One life...Why so serious?

2009-06-10T20:00:00.002+05:30

Why so serious......
the joker said that.....but this time around Honda is saying that......
Honda has delivered a cracker and have raised the standard to an altogether different height.
JAZZ came out in honda showrooms this afternoon and i dropped by on my way home to have a look.
The 1198 CC SOHC i-VTEC engine is a proven technology on indian roads. City has been with it throghout.
The dashboard is very close to city/accord and gives that big feeling, unmatchable. The steering wheel is right out of city.
Boot space, is the biggest i have ever seen for a hatchback. "MaGic Seats" are really a magic. The back seat's back can come down completey, the half of the back seat can fold upwards. Front seats back can fold down.
Two glove boxes and lots of other spaces in ever corner, there is space for pretty much everything.
One couldnt ask for any more leg room than this, both in front and rear. Integrated stereo with pretty much everything one can ask for.
I was itching for a test drive but one, test drives were not available today and two, since wifey was also looking forward to it so decided to do it later.
For what this car is providing, the ex-showroom tag of 6,98,00 is justified and makes sense. But on the second thought the price looks a bit on the higher side by at least Rs. 75 thousand as if you look around you can get a Linea on around the same price. So price is a debatable factor.
I figured out an amazing fact which actually highlights the amount of space used, Jazz has a wheelbase of 2500 which is just 50 less than the City!! Width is same as the city but there is significat difference in length which obviuosly is justified as City has a lengthy back/boot.
I am sure the driving experience will be unique and amazing!!

three stooges - down memory lane

2009-06-08T08:06:00.003+05:30

was working on some serious stuff this morning. suddenly this song popped up on my headset and it just dragged me back to those notorious days. It dragged me those high school to graduation days.
It took me back to the days when the three of us were not a single bit short of the three stooges.
I rememeber when:
- We used to take every problem by its neck and throw them in a gutter and watch it go till we enjoyed enough of its journey down the drain :)
- We used to behave like ultimate geeks and used to get that high kind of feeling after cracking an algo :)
- We used to search our pockets inside out for those precious 9-10 rupees for those blue moon special ultra yummy egg rolls..
- we used to go berserk in those dussehra matargashti...
- we used to check with each other after those crappy exams..and the check was used to be "You ok?" and not "how was the paper?" :)
- we used to hang out at "Candy's"..used to pakaofy those guys on the counter with our bakwaas...
- we used to make plans for a particular movie and most of the times ended up watching some other movie, becuase the one responsible for tickets overslept!!
- We dragged shwetank out of his hostel room and took him to lonavala with us :)
- we used to.......hmm...the list is long....but interesting!!
and yea..the song am talking about..from Dil chahhta hai - koi kahe kehta rahe.
remember the song guys?...essel world??:)
How about a reunion guys? Quite a few treats are due and quite a few bakwaas is due too.
and i still wonder..why of all places we went to mumbai for ghoomna-phirna? good question no?:)
and Sharad ..is vada pao still your favorite?? :P
.....................Time!!!...it flies for sure on Mach 3!

Coke Studio

2009-06-04T11:27:00.003+05:30

Was listening to some archived songs from strings and heard this particular song that strings actually reperformed at the Coke studio.

Coke studio is actually a pakistani TV show where top notch pakistani artists perform their songs which are generally fusioned with different kinds of music cultures. Ali zafar, atif aslam, Josh, Strings and many more.
The song i got hold of was "sar kiye yeh pahar" and it was recreated with some typical eastern flavor mixed with strings special rock. The song easily made it to the list of my all time favorite remixes/recreations. I have heard the original song before, actually i had a strings audio cassette sometime back with that song. :)

Coming back to Coke studio, i liked the concept and am wondering why this show havent made the debut in india yet. It reminds of MTV unplugged, which i used to watch regularly but it somehow vanished from MTV india.

A & D

2009-05-26T12:43:00.003+05:30

Was listening to the soundtrack of Angels and Demons and it actually turned out to be a typical hans zimmer product.

Hans hit the bulls eye with Chaveliers de sangreal in Da vinci code and he has done it again with 503 in this one.

I have already seen some glimpses of the movie (thanks to widespread piracy :)!!) but its gonna be worth watching when it hits the theaters (hopefully!!) on May 29th in india.

Wifey has read the book and says that if its anywhere near the book..its going to be a hell of a movie.

About reading books...i remember reading The Bourne Legacy a while ago (Yea..!!I actually read a book!!) and i have heard that the next bourne movie is due in 2010...lets see how close that turns out. Going by last three movies...they were never close to the book but turned out amazing.

Pretentions indeed!!

2009-05-18T14:14:00.001+05:30

I wasnt that sure about Ritz after a huge disappointment from A-Star but still dropped by the MS showroom on saturday on our way.
The car:
- The quick intital look at all 4 sides suggests nothing new. The headlights are getting bigger and deeper and feels like a design idea being pushed to its limits and its about time when it will get discarded by everyone.
- The rear looks like someone actually trimmed it using a chainsaw. I opened the rear door and top of my head was actually touching the top half of the opened door. Boot space? even i10 has a slighly bigger space.
- Cockpit/dashboard looks raw, very raw. Looks like assembled in hurry and without any thought behind it.
- Driver's seat, has same amount of seating and leg space as that of i10. I felt nothing new in the very short-inside campus-low speed-test drive, but did give the paddle a very short boost and the response was nothing extraordinary.
Eventually I got the answer to one of my questions:
Question: why so aggresive pricing?
Answer: its not aggresively priced, its actually worth that much only.
Nothing special, nothing at all!!
And that pops another question for me:
Question: whats the sense of having this car in market where a swift revamp would have been a better option?
Back home drive in my i10 and wifey says: for the first time after a test drive i feel my car being more spacious!!

Ritz!!...the Pretentious one?!!

2009-05-06T15:46:00.004+05:30

Pretentious display is the dictionary meaning of Ritz.
Ritz is the name of the newest A-2 segment hatchback which is getting launched on 15th.
Only after having a look it can be decided whether the displays are indeed pretentious or not :)

The car anyways has a first ever attached to it. It will be the first car in india with BS-IV compliance.
The diesel variant has the super-successful 1.3 litre, 16-valve DDiS, 75PS Diesel engine and the petrol one has the new K-series 1.2 litre, four-cylinder, 85PS Petrol engine.
Its the 7th horse in the stable for MSIL in the A-2 segment which has competition from i10,i20,fabia,palio,indica vista and fusion.
Dont know why it got renamed to Ritz from its original concept Splash.
It better not have a boot like A - Star and the rear windows better be ummm....larger!

Democratizing the life-cycle

2009-04-30T13:34:00.000+05:30

Jason Zander, general manager of Visual Studio, Developer Division, Microsoft Corp. claims so for "Rosario" (code name for VS 2010).
Well..Visual Studio 2010 TS is going to cover modeling, testing and collaboration while levereging the power of .NET Framework 4.0. As MS says, VS 2010 will help in developing next gen of next gen applications.
Got a bit of glimpse of its capabilities and user interface in one of the Microsoft Webcasts.
Well...the moment developers start getting hold of one product, there is already another in market making the other obsolete. VS 2005 is already forgotten!! :)
Parallel computing/programming is one area which still confuses me and am yet to recover from shock of hearing jargons like cloud development!!
The VS 2010 Page.

Drives and Rides

2009-04-27T21:26:00.005+05:30

Three of my finest trips:

Jaipur 2008:

Jaipur 2009:

Kullu 2009:

Camera work Courtesy: some of the finest shooters i know!!

12..nice one..

2009-04-26T12:24:00.005+05:30

Good ad. Clear message. No nonsense!!

Heard about the 2009 editions pulsars lately. Increased power, increased wheelbase..technical patches and a bit of cosmetic. Worth a test i would say!!

LM's worst nightmare

2009-04-24T11:12:00.003+05:30

Well..the IPL boss never thought that this can happen..and in this way.
This Blog has already create sensation and has almost 20K hits in within April itself.
Couldn't help noticing the number of comments on each post.
Guess who actually owns the Blog!!??
Hilarious posts though!! :)

WTF

2009-04-24T08:49:00.003+05:30

What the hell bajaj was thinking!!??
They totally killed the free biking tempo they created earlier!!

1000 KMs - Gurgaon - Delhi - Chandigarh - Kullu - manali ...and back

2009-04-16T18:24:00.002+05:30

A long drive happens everytime we screw up some other plan. same happened again...the plan got messed up and we ended up with another long drive.
This time it was much longer.

we had a delayed start and were heading out of delhi by noon. Getting out of Delhi took around 2 hrs itself considering the huge amount of traffic on highway borders. A more than smooth cruise was required after that to have any chance of reaching manali the same day. Well...easy guess..it didnt happen :)

We reached chandigarh at around 5 and managed to head out of mohali by 5.30-6, but chandigarh is just half way through. So, it was already 6hrs till chandigarh and we were in for another 6 hrs, at least that what our calculation suggested.

Now, the event of the day, a 25 km off-course drive. We actually went straight were we needed to turn right, thanks to absence of proper signs. Well..an hour wasted.

Now after that turn, we realized something, its not just 5hrs remaining, its gonnna be much more than that, reason being "me driving on proper hilly highways for the first time..that also in night". Well..it took 10 hrs on the hills itself and our time of arrival in kullu was 2 AM of next day!!

A 16 hr drive, not what we expected but anyways it was a memorable experience when we fianlly saw the ice caps shining bright in full moon. The guidance from the guy from the resort in kullu was extremely valuable.

The resort's most amazing part was the view from it. It was facing the river beas and icecapped mountains.

Next three days included whitewater rafting in river beas, visit to the snow point in manali, a bit of shopping in kullu, a bit of local delicacies (siddu rocks!!), visit to a local art meuseum, a roll in the zorb ball, and a visit to the hadimba temple in manali. Rohtang pass was closed, which was a bit disappointing.

Return journey, well this time it was done in 13 hrs :) no wonder i can still feel the steering wheel in my hands!!

Anybody in urgent need of some adventure sport, try driving to kullu in one go and start from delhi around 11AM :)

Pics to follow soon!!

4th One

2009-03-26T18:35:00.004+05:30

Another one.....

cars..lots of cars!!:)

And i found out today that wifey is a big fan of VD :)

The Mania Arrives

2009-03-23T09:15:00.003+05:30

In approximately 10 hours from now.....

I can feel the media frenzy already!! :)

Roadies..Down Under!!

2009-03-20T13:59:00.002+05:30

finally MTV roadies in its 6th season has hit Australia as the new second leg destination.
this also marks hero honda karizma's debut on Autralian roads. Good to see that actually. Its a fine bike.
Coming back to the action: the faces changed dramatically in two episodes in australia and the whole bunch is packed with returning roadies.
Sufi showed some heart in the wrestling challenge and missed the finish line by just 5 seconds. I'll put my bet on him unless he pulls out injured with that ligament fracture.
Palak...well..in every season we get to see one such character and the character goes on to top 3-4 stage to get kicked out. She is that only, and i wont be surprised if she makes it to top 3 besides that she has received that warning also.
samraat also look good to make it forward. He is riding well on his luck.
Paulomi...what the hell shes doing there ?...and how the hell she is surviving ? Roadies.... throw her out!!
This season has quite a long way to go...my bet remains on sufi.

Up next...Rhinos and Crocs :P

Jai Ho..dolled up!!

2009-03-19T10:42:00.005+05:30

and A.R.R gets suited up!!

not bad!! :)

500 Kms - Gurgaon - Jaipur - Gurgaon

2009-02-18T19:50:00.004+05:30

After all the hectic and really mind choking work schedule..i felt an urge of breaking free and one fine morning from my office i called up my wife and she said yes. Well..i took a monday off..and the valentine's day roadtrip was on.
Itinerary:
Dep: 14th feb, around 10 AM
Gurgaon > dharuhera > behror > Kotputli > shahpura > Jaipur
Return: 16th Feb, around 10 AM
Jaipur > Shahpura > Kotputli > behror > dharuhera > Gurgaon
Vehicle: Pulsar 150
Rider(me) + Pillion(wife)

We started around 10 and after some in-city hussle-bussle we finally took up the NH8 and built up a cruising speed of 80 K. We miscalculated our breaks a bit and ended up tiring ourselves specially the final sprint after the last break was 1.5 hrs long which is definitely not recommended. About weather, i must say the condition right now is literally the last chance to have a trip like this. It can only get hotter after this. This factor was also in my mind when i made the call. Sun was heavy but air was chilly, an amazing combo. We finally reached our hotel around 4.30. Well, the average speed out of this equation can sound pathetic but there are many factors on highway and inside city that add to the equation.
Jaipur stay was fun. Amber fort, Jaigarh Fort and then Chokhi Dhani was amazing.

The Bike which was already 28 K KMs old on the start of the journey, didnt complain even a single time considering the fact that besides two people on it there was some amount of luggage too. So quite a bit of weight. And my calculation suggests that it actually rolled out a mileage of something between 35-40. Not bad for a 3+ year old 2 wheeler.
The pillion was the best any rider can ever have. She was even more excited about things than me. There are some awesome hill ride videos that she has managed to capture.
The return journey took almost the same time but there was one frustrating part of it when we were looking for a petrol pump which accpets credit card. There were always a bunch of pumps but hardly anyone with the card machine. Well...we finally found one after reaching manesar :). besides that our breaks were timely this time around and a very good lunch at A-1 resturant run by Reliance.

Overall a very well executed and thoroughly enjoyed road trip. Hoping for many more of such trips. Is my pillion listening? :)

Accord and Linea

2009-02-07T21:32:00.006+05:30

It was one lazy Saturday and we were thinking on what to do to make the day interesting. We actually ran out of ideas and simply headed out for a drive and an eat-out breakfast. On our way we crossed a TATA showroom and Eva noticed a shining new Linea demo car on its door. Well...here we go..something to do finally!!

The car is technologically a chartbuster. The nearly 1400 CC engine generates mammoth power. The interiors were a let down and disappointing. Much more was expected from FIAT when it comes to interiors. Anyways, the overall driving experience was amazing and its altogether a different experience driving a sedan. The experience's impact was very well felt when i came back to the driving seat of my i10. A cultural shock ;-)

It was time to move on!!

Later that day we came across Honda's showroom and there was this big banner saying "Test drive Honda Accord today!" Well...we promptly obeyed and very next moment we were there in the showroom and getting the keys of a "2009 Accord 2.4" to test. Driving expereince? well we are still recovering from the hangover. An even bigger cultural shock!!

I actually got both of the cars to drive on very improper roads and both of them were gliding over all those potholes. Linea very promptly beeped "Front Left Door" to let me know that its not closed properly. Accord beeped when on a very narrow section another car was passing by very closely. It also prompted right on the ignition for seat belts. Accord in its eighth generation has lots to offer as its the largest accord ever. The 2.4 litre i-VTEC Honda engine is a monster and it can easily take off if wings are given.

All eyes on Jazz due in Mid 2009.
Two "Luxury Sedans", two amazing drives. Not bad for a lazy Saturday!!

GT 500

2009-02-04T17:37:00.004+05:30

The Descendant from Eleanor.

She is back!!

Headphones are strongly recommended.

http://www.fordvehicles.com/the2010mustang

Slumdog....millionaire indeed

2009-01-27T17:11:00.005+05:30

We finally got the chance to catch the movie which is dominating pretty much every award ceremony these days. Screen Actors Guild, Golden Globe and has as many as 10 Oscar nominations. We had the option of choosing the hindi version slumdog crorepati..but we decided to stick to the original english one.
We never found a hollywood production so bollywoodish. A typical masala story with some genius work on Screenplay,editing and direction. A simple scene like two children escaping and jumping on a train, would have just felt like a ususal scene in any bollywood movie but it felt different in this one. Going by my wife's words, it actually showed what the world wants to see about india, not a dreamworld created by Karan Johar :)
Another hint of genius was music and background score. A.R.Rahman is setting standards to scary heights now :). Dilli 6 is going to prove it again!!
Reuse of tracks like paper planes and aaj ki raat have been thoughtful. Aaj ki raat finally got its due i would say :)

I won't be surprised if this scores big on Oscars too!!

i20 - Test Drive

2009-01-24T17:22:00.004+05:30

We finally got the the chance of test driving on this new set of 4 wheels.
We were anticipating a great experience and we were not a bit disappointed after the drive.
First of all, the driver's zone is very comfortable and spacious. Its so infectious that after just a 10 minute drive when i got back into my i10 it felt like a cramped dubba for a moment.
Now the handeling, very easy and smooth. The gearbox has improved quite a few notches in this version and gear change was almost effortless.
The navigator experience was also great if i go by my wife's words. She was very comfortable on the left front seat. She has also checked the driver's seat and am sure she would also enjoy driving this one.
I floored the engine for a brief duration and car was galloping in response. Fine bit of power i would say.
A U turn: no issues faced.
I also tried my right-hand steering style on it and i was as comfortable as i am in my i10. The steering wheel feels a bit less in radius, not sure about that though.
The suspensions and overall reaction to sharp bumps was quite good as the car sailed through smoothly.
All the little bits of navigation and cockpit items are stylish and sophisticated as per my preference.
This car is a sure shot blockbuster.

C.C.2.C

2009-01-09T12:28:00.002+05:30

Yo nikkerrrrr
This is Akshay Kumar
Gyarah sauu assi
Chatta madan gopal
Paurathe wali gali
Lal Killa Chandani Chowk Delhi 6

Thuwade saamne le ke aaye
Ek Romanchak Gana
Sunnn wale nu ek sau ek rupay inaam

suno...

Gaur naal sunna

Kithe chalniye gobhi da pholl ban ke
Kudiye badami Oye bad kar oye hip hop
Tera pop chalun kanjhra

.....
.......
Its gonna be real interesting!! :) A Warner Bros collaboration!!

i20 - First Impression

2008-12-30T10:11:00.005+05:30

Impressive..very impressive..!!

60:40 split folding rear seats, dual tone beige interiors, 2 DIN CD + MP3 Music System, front & rear power windows, refrigerated glove box, a multi information display. The top-end model ASTA optional comes with features like fully automatic A/C, leather wrapped steering wheel and TGS knob, steering mounted audio control (a first for this segment), foldable key with keyless entry function, alloy wheels, height-adjustable driver seat, electrically foldable and adjustable outside mirrors and the category first six airbags.

Phew!!..All this in one hatchback. Amazing!!

The moment i sat on the driving seat my reaction was ..WOW!! Its pretty much ..luxury blended with hint of Getz behind it. A wheelbase even greater that Verna is an amazing fact for a hatchback. The boot space is sufficient enough and much greater than an i10.

Sadly ..test drives are not on yet..so me and my wife were touch disappointed on that..but surely..we are gonna take it as soon as it is on.
we wanted to try i10 automatic also..but we learnt that automatic is delivered on order and no demo car is available.

HMIL Managing Director, H S Lheem

Looking forward to the test drive!!

Undercover

2008-12-26T18:08:00.008+05:30

When things came out from Underground...they went Undercover.

EA's latest release Need For Speed - Undercover.

I luckily got to try my hand on this one on one of my friend's laptop in Lunch Time. Well..this one has that good old fashioned NFS kick in it. Pretty much all the cars that you can think of, pretty much every kind of jaw dropping graphical genius work and pretty much everything that you expect from a NFS episode.

One difference being Brooke Burke getting replaced by Maggie Q and "Accomplice", a collaboration movie from NFS.

A Tribute

2008-12-16T02:31:00.001+05:30

Courtesy: NDTV

Roadies going down under....

2008-12-11T14:48:00.003+05:30

Well..the most loved as well as the most hated series is back in its 6th year. This time the destination is Australia.
The promos have been making rounds over the net and different channels and i spcially likedthe promo where there was one burning bike in he middle of nowhere. Scary but with the true
roadies spirit i would say.and i actually noticed that the burning bike is not the Karizma,it is infact a Pulsar :) The message is clear.....its not about riding and enjoy riding things...its all about that spirit and intelligence to make it through.

The auditions are having double trouble as Raghu is accompanied by his twin brother Rajiv this time around..interesting enough to start with!! every hell mate selected so far is one unique charcater...vicky, samrat, devarshi, bhanu, paulami, varisha and longkiri..totally different from each other.

Its gonna be interesting.

The Intruder

2008-11-30T22:32:00.004+05:30

Well...we found this one standing outside a gate in a nearby area. My better half did a few quick clicks and here is one of them:

A 1783cc, stroke, liquid-cooled, DOHC, 54° V-twin monster.

Heard a few days after the click that suzuki fianlly launched this monster for india and bookings are open.

11/26 - Mumbai - 2

2008-11-28T19:06:00.002+05:30

36+ hours and no one is sure even now that it is over.
Longest siege in india as i can remember.

11/26 - Mumbai - 1

2008-11-27T17:13:00.002+05:30

Its becoming the longest street battle ever. Hostage situations and Bombings are old fashioned now! Its simply a street battle!!
I am getting goose bumps whenever i look at that TV screen with a news channel on.
This is depressing!!
And yea...England cricket team takes the safe way out. Champions league is postponed. Almost all inbound international flights are off..and one of my client executives is asking.."do you think it's still safe to do my trip to India?"....i would need to answer that!!...Thats a shame!!

11/26 - Mumbai

2008-11-27T07:25:00.004+05:30

Blackest day for Mumbai and India. I Dont feel like writing on this more.
Well, where is Raj Thackrey and his Daredevil north india bashers now?
God bless everyone stuck in this.

A Star - not shining enough

2008-11-25T12:21:00.004+05:30

This sunday was another car service day. generally a car service takes double the time that of a bike service. And there is always some free time in between like workshop's lunch hours. So i decided to walk to the nearest Maruti dealer to check out the new A Star.

First Impression when i had a go at the driver's seat/cockpit....Cramped!! Rear seats...Cramped!! There are some serious space issues with the car. Boot...Cramped!! It is basically more of a Zen or a spark than an i10. Interiors are interesting but not lush. A popup tacho is good idea but sometimes can be a vision blocker.

Time for a test drive.

The engine is interesting and has good power not sure about its behavior on high speed though. Engine noise/vibration, negligible as expected from a new car.

Overall a good attempt by Maruti, but i honestly feel that something very similar to the original concept even with a slightly higher price also would have done wonders. The stripped down A Star might not create that big an impact.

I would love to write a detailed report but since i dont get paid for these reviews..and also by the average length of my posts you might have guessed by now that i generally dont get time for it... .so..this is it!! :)

Good ad..strange music

2008-11-23T16:49:00.003+05:30

Another member in the DTSi club.

Good ad though....but the music sounds kinda funny!!

The Mayhem so far....

2008-11-22T21:51:00.002+05:30

Well.... its been happening in bulk lately result of a doldrum called recession. It started long back but the real trigger happened with Lehmann Brothers episode. It has many names: job cuts, layoffs, downsizing etc..etc..

Bodycount so far:

Pepsi Bottling Group: 3,150
HSBC: 1,100
Citigroup: 52,000
Fidelity Investments: 3000
RBS: 3000
Sun Microsystems: 6,000
BT: 10,000
Morgan Stanley: 19% of 44,000
Virgin: 2,200
Nokia-Siemens: 1820
Volvo: 6000
DHL US: 9,500
NNC: 1,300
GM: 3,600
Ford: 2,600
Corus: 400
American Express: 7000
Bank of America: 7,500
DBS: 900
New York City: 3000
AMD: 500
Goldman Sachs: 3200
GlaxoSmithKline: 1000
Jaguar Land Rover: 400
Nokia: 600
HP: 24600

TCS: 1000
IBM: 700+
Wipro: 1000
Hewitt Associates: 200+ (rumoured)
Accenture: 150+
Capegemini: 700

The list is long.
Survival of the fittest as they say...!!I Hope the situation improves soon.!!

A star has arrived.......

2008-11-20T15:25:00.005+05:30

Maruti Suzuki launched an i10 & swift cross with a price tag between 3.47-4.12 lakhs, named A Star. Powered by a 998cc K10B petrol engine, it has looks very similar to i10.

Initial reviews on different TV shows are pretty much same and from inside everyone is saying that its too cramped space wise..but alot is being said about its almost 1000 CC engine.

It looks very different from the concept that was showcased at Auto Expo earlier this year. The most sad part of the car so far..the rear door windows!!

Well..this one might qualify for a test drive :)

F1 at Rajpath

2008-11-17T16:42:00.003+05:30

The occasion was the world famous prestigious ING-Renault Roadshow.

The Venue was Rajpath, New Delhi.

The stars were Nelson Piquet Jr and fellow teammate and test driver Luca De Grassi in their F1 cars, the special Renault Megane Trophy cars, the icing on the cake was the Renault F1 cars setting the tarmac on fire at over 300 km/h on the same stretch of road.

Well, there has been many speculations about the stretch on rajpath that goes right through india gate and turns near Rashtrapati Bhawan being considered as a F1 track as and when F1 debuts in india.

I gave the event a miss considering the fact that there were traffic diversions for the half marathon as well on the same day. Here is what i actually missed :(

There was one hugely popular stunt done by Piquet where he just jumps out of the F1 car waving towards the crowd leaving the car burning the track on a 360 spin and then jumps back in it and drives away.

I hate the damn marathon!! :(

Solace...

2008-11-10T12:49:00.004+05:30

QOS starts from the point where CR ended, Bond introducing himself to Mr.White, and it starts on a very high speed, a car chase with an aston martin and and a alpha romeo tearing each other apart. The intensity ends only when the movie ends.

Daniel Craig lives upto the expectations but the line between Bourne and Bond is getting thinner with every bond movie.

3 Years

2008-11-05T16:01:00.005+05:30

Its been some time since i last posted. I had to do this today as it is an important day for me. Recently i completed three years here in down town Gurgaon. Its been quite hussled up three years, lots of goods, quite a few disappointments...success...losses....victories..defeats..everything. So what next?
Next can be anything!!...last three years have been very fruitful and learnt alot..personally and professionally. But a time comes when one needs to move a bit to the next step..move ahead and i think i also might get the urge to move on for better things..for more stuff to learn..for better future for me and my life partner. Its just a little thought in a corner of the mind right now..but might grow big and become a decision.
I might sound like...i have changed or something..but am still that irritating one with a special attachements with Bikes...with a special liking for cars.....with an unbeatable inclination towards chinese cuisine....with an attitude that sometimes crops up (no regrets on this).
And with that ...on this important day on behalf of everyone i know...i wish myself..a very happy birthday!!

And here is another 4 wheeler that i test drove in recent times...

Dont ask about the top speed, the mileage and the horse power. it just had 4 wheels a steering and a crappy engine!!

Gurgaon - Agra - Gurgaon

2008-10-12T21:07:00.004+05:30

Me and Eva drove for a weekend trip to Agra, actually original plans were a bit different but eventually in last minute decision we switched to this one and we just drove off. The drive plan was basically Gurgaon - faridabad - Mathura Road - Mathura - Agra and included one tea break in between. The Gurgaon - faridabad leg took some time as it was a working day and morning traffic was still on, plus the roads in faridabad are no better than gurgaon. Once we crossed faridabad and reached NH 2 it was pretty smooth with very good road conditions.
The stay in Agra was nice, thanks to May and Man, Eva's very sweet friends, who made sure that our stay in Agra remains hassle free and very pleasant :)
Taj Mahal and Agra fort were the first two things early morning next day and we really enjoyed the early morning atmosphere and we were back before the heat gets going. Some typical evening hanging out at the nearby sadar market and the dinner at the fast food joint in the market were real fun.
We decided to visit Sikandra on our way back. An hour or so there and after that it was the drive back to Gurgaon which was also pretty smooth and hassle free.
Overall a fun filled drive and a very pleasant stay at Agra.
Also, technically the drives so far on my i10 has been without a single glitch, touch wood. Looking forward to some more of such drives :)

When the sun goes down....

2008-09-26T18:36:00.003+05:30

The lights go up and the Marina Bay Street Circuit is set for the first ever night F1 race. Italian Giancarlo Fisichella steering his Force India car onto the streets of Singapore started free practice session followed by his team mate Adrian Sutil.Now the drivers will get to know what happens under street lights specially when its raining :)!

Delhi...

2008-09-14T09:18:00.004+05:30

Delhi got shaken and stirred last evening with 5 bomb blasts within 30 mins at top notch places like barakhamba road, ghaffar market, central park, GK1 M block market. After bangalore, jaipur, surat and ahmedabad Delhi was always on radar as suggested by earlier alerts sounded in capital. On that basis, it was about time!
Heart goes out for family members of those 30 who are no more and those 90 injured, who will think more than twice before entering any market place.
Get going Delhi!!!You have done this before!!..question is how many times you need to do it all over again!!?

Rock On concert...

2008-09-10T12:09:00.003+05:30

The FM channel BIG 92.7 decided to cash on the mania and organised an all star concert of Rock On at Select Citywalk, Saket this Staturday. Got to know about this on Friday only since am not a regular listener of 92.7, so obviously didnt get hold of those " entry passes", however on the concert i realized that it would been lot more frustrating if we had passes, because there was some major miscalculation from organizer's part and many people with passes didnt get to enter the designated area. Now since the whole thing was open air, the balconies and other places were put to good use, and Eva actually got hold of a really good place with a good enough view on the front balcony.

It started with Shankar, Ehsaan and Loy getting the crowd on their feet and then the start cast joined in. As expected crowd was going nuts for Aditya, Joe, KD, and Rob :). Every inch was jam packed and in that Eva somehow managed to capture some videos and pics, everything shaking though, and i dont blame her, you cant get a stable video or a pic if you have jumping and screaming and dancing guys and gals around you. The above one is the only "still" picture available :P.

Over all a fun filled evening :)

Rocked...Totally!!

2008-08-31T00:26:00.003+05:30

If you ever liked Bon Jovi with long hair, with his guitar on full song and fire blazing in background on a high mountain and singing blaze of glory, go watch this movie.....
If you ever enjoyed Bryan Adams putting that guitar to good use and creating an all time smash hit, Summer of 69 , go watch this movie...
If you ever enjoyed banging your head up-down on realy hard beats of Limp Bizkit, go watch this movie...
If you ever enjoyed Dil chahta hai, go watch this movie....
If you ever enjoyed real campus flavour rock, go watch this movie...
If you ever liked any kind of freshness in any movie ever, go watch this movie.....

Go watch this movie....and you will start believing in Magik...
I bet you will come out of theatre humming...tum ho toh

Rock On!!

R1 - Dreams

2008-08-08T19:35:00.000+05:30

when u were a kid u wanted to fly
u wanted to go faster
u dreamt of speed
of wind and know how one can touch it
when ur young ur told to stop dreaming
but you still dreamt'
now u've grown up
and all those dreams have got u this far

where you go now is upto you!!

Coming soon..Fireblade

2008-07-29T18:15:00.003+05:30

India Debut in Honda Showrooms...Q4 2008. R1 should watch out.

Bad Review

2008-07-28T12:56:00.003+05:30

I have never written a bad review ..ok let me rephrase this as , i have never written any review if it is bad but i have to write this one and i will keep it simple...
Don't watch Mission Istanbul, its horrible!!
Thank God my card gave me a 100 Rs discount on the tickets.

Happy Birthday Jim

2008-07-25T17:38:00.003+05:30

To Someone who lived under the shadow of man-eaters and enjoyed it....
Happy Birthday Jim Corbett !!

A click from my last trip to JCNP

The Great Road Trips

2008-07-24T10:50:00.007+05:30

My plans for road trips...well..i always planned..but somehow-someway...everytime at the last moment roadblocks appear. But there are many people who actually succeed and hit the roads for a trip...a road trip..long one.
Was going through the XBhp site and found these three fascinating triplogs:
The Great Indian Road Trip 2006-
18,780 Kms, 108 days, 4 bikes, India all the way.

This pic is my personal favourite
The Great Australian Road Trip 2007-2008-
3 Indian, 2 Bikes, 1 Van, 20,500 Kms, 72 Days
The Great New Zealand Roadtrip 2008-
23 Days, 1 Bike, 1 Indian

Talking about plans...there is one more roadtrip planned with a friend in furure..lets see how that goes.
Image Courtesy: http://www.xbhp.com/
Links Courtesy: http://www.xbhp.com/

why so serious?...

2008-07-20T22:16:00.005+05:30

Have been in a unsettled frame of mind lately...so decided to unwind a bit and we decided to catch "the dark knight" on sunday.
It turned out to be one very fine Batman movie, and i think the best i have ever seen.

Heath ledger raised the bar significantly as far as "Joker" is concerned, infact the person sitting next to me in the theater was talking to his friend and i overheard it, he said "Jack Nicholson is nothing", and i second that. Jack played the "Joker" last time the character appeared on the screen.
Action sequences are getting better and better on Batman standards and that was awesome.

Rock On!!

2008-07-09T01:27:00.002+05:30

Was listeing to the songs of "Rock On!!" last night. Its a Farhan Akhtar movie...this time he is Producer/Actor of this movie not director.

Two songs caught my attention.."Rock On" the title song which actually reminded me of the rock climbing sequence of Farhan's Hrithik Roshan movie "Lakshya". Another song was "Yeh tumhari meri baatein". These two songs actually score higher than the "janne tu..yaa jaane naa" soundtrack for me.
Lovely!!

Parking...going hi-tech

2008-07-07T09:52:00.006+05:30

necessity is the mother of invention.......

Problem: too many cars..space crunch in the basement parking of my office building!!

Solution: increase parking space...

How:

They deployed these!!
these are six slot two level parking bays. One unit provides 5 parking bays as one slot is blank to move the cars around...yes...they can move the cars around in a circular fashion. it is similar to that number shuffler we used to play with in which one slot was always empty.

What they achieved:
Now we get 10 cars parked in a space of 6 cars. There are slots of separate dimensions for large sedans. SUVs dont fit anywhere..so they go on different basement level. Small cars like santro and i10 with extra height go in the middle slot or on the upper level of the unit.

Peregrine Falcon

2008-07-05T14:03:00.003+05:30

It is a bird capable of achieving speeds over 200 mph (322 km/h) -- and predator of (perhaps not coincidently) the common blackbird. In japanese its name is translated to Hayabusa. For our reference we will take it as suzuki hayabusa.
Now what about the blackbird?...
well that was clear reference to Honda's hawk models and this war goes back to 1999 when hayabusa was launched and it overtook Honda CBR1100XX Super Blackbird as the fastest production motorcycle. Now as Peter Parker says..."with power comes the responsibility"...and i rephrase it as.."with power comes the response". The power and speed war amongst the super sport bikes eventually led to Government response and that prompted use of timing retard and rev limiter to reduce the max speed and limit it to 299 Km/h from the earlier 319 Km/h (what!!!??..319??..nuts!!??). In 2008, competition again saw this falcon raising the bar and engine size went to 1340 CC from 1299 CC.

The Click from the auto expo:

The rivalry between the falcon and hawk..moves on.....but i must say one thing...people (including me) with machines in category of 125-225 CC....names like devils, hellraisers, beasts....doesnt suit on our machines!!

William Arthur....or should i say

2008-07-01T22:12:00.004+05:30

From a really funny looking design in 1907

to a really serious design...muscled up and with lots of attitude..fat bob.

starting from 1902...William Harley and Arthur Davidson....105 years of pure genius...and glory....!!
That's Harley Davidson with 105th Anniversary!!

Revenge of the fallen...

2008-06-26T15:31:00.004+05:30

Its a sequel.....
First one was called...The Transformers....
No trailers available....
No pics available....
Script...a well guarded secret.....
Transformers 2 - Revenge of the fallen!
June 2009!!

can you hear me..

2008-06-21T21:35:00.005+05:30

was driving back from delhi today....this song popped up on one of the radio stations.. caught my attention...nice video also whn i checked it.. It is also the official anthem of Euro 2008. This one stands right up there with Ricky Martin's old one..."the cup of life"

Don’t you mean that you’re my vision
I gotta make a decision
Do I go, do I stay?

You’ve gotten into my system
You are in control of my mental
I need to mean for a stay

I’m on a coaster-collision
Am not about to give in
Can’t explain my position or the condition that I’m in.

Where I am is no limit, no walls, no ceilings
No intermission, so let
Let the party begin

Hey.. Hey.. Hey all the way
DJ let it play.
Hey Hey Can You Hear Me?

Hey.. Hey.. Hey all the way
DJ let it play.
Hey Hey Can You Hear Me?

Band of brothers

2008-06-19T14:06:00.003+05:30

Got hold of this Tv mini series few days ago...one of the finest i have ever seen.
This 10 episode series went on-air in 2001 and was a huge hit at that point of time. Story of "E" Easy Company, 506th Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division from their initial training starting in 1942 to the end of World War II. They parachuted behind enemy lines in the early hours of D-Day in support of the landings at Utah beach.
They also participated in the liberation of Carentan and again parachuted into action during Operation Market Garden. They were the first to enter Hitler's mountain retreat in Berchtesgarten.

This high budget series had some high profile Directors and Producers including Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg.
10, 1 hour episodes, a perfect war epic.

Respect..

2008-06-16T12:43:00.002+05:30

It was another bike service day.
Considering the last two horrible experiences at Bajaj service centers this time i tried a third party one since all warranty-guarantee issues are finished ages ago for my bike.
Center's name : Bike Care
Customer care: Better than bajaj
Turaround time : 2 hrs, however the heavy rains and some issue with there electricity circuit caused delays on that particular day.
What was wrong at Bajaj service:
I think they are concentrating too much on 200-220 segment and in that they are ignoring the 150-180 segment specially when it comes to giving attention to customers at service center. 200-220s are obviously getting the attention they deserve but the kind of careless attitude that comes out for others is totally rubbish and unacceptable. Last time they delivered my bike 1.5 hrs behind estimated delivery time and that also with half the work done. I think they lost one Bajaj fan that day :)
well, today its 200-220 which are getting the attention, tomorrow they might be among "others" and a 350 or a 500 will be enjoying the attention. Quite natural i would say, but still..others also deserve some respect.

Lets do this....

2008-06-12T10:45:00.002+05:30

Encouraging....

2008-06-11T22:44:00.003+05:30

Name: Barack Obama
He is most likely the next US President.
He said something in one of his recent election campaign speeches:
"Revolutions in communications and technology have sent jobs wherever there's an internet connection, that have forced children in Raleigh and Boston to compete for those jobs with children in Bangalore and Beijing!"
This is definitely encouraging for India.
Full Story

Why....?

2008-06-09T22:30:00.002+05:30

Question is.....Why?

Why R1? -
May be because....
-Size does matter...
-Weight counts..
-A 998 cc, liquid-cooled, 16-valve, DOHC, inline four-cylinder machine means something..
-6 speed transmission has one above the rest..

Why R15? -
May be because...
-errr....
-ummm...
-hmmm...

I'll again try tomorrow....!!

Debut....in 6 Days

2008-06-05T16:41:00.004+05:30

Called up a prominent Yamaha Dealer in Delhi today. My queries were regarding the YZF-R1.

My Findings:

Booking amount: That guy said...it wud be good if you can pay 3 Lc...down.

Total Amount: 11,16,000. (Round figure)

Delivery time: within one week from total payment.

bahut mehnga hai bhai!!....:(

but not impossible though!!....:)

Now....coming to the R15....6 days to go to its debut .....the teasers on Yamaha's site are looking good..!!

Exhausted

2008-06-02T21:04:00.001+05:30

Totally....
Mentally....
Physically....

Going Black

2008-05-26T17:11:00.002+05:30

I got inspired by this

Driving vs Riding...

2008-05-26T16:19:00.004+05:30

Riding :
The uncomparable 360 view,
the feeling when the boot touches the ground after an hour of continuous riding,
raindrops dripping through while riding in rain,
that one irritating bug on the neck in night,
feeling exhausted after that long ride in that 40ish temprature and feeling that the vision is going blurt due to that exhaustion but eventually finding that the helmet visor was dirty,
feeling the heat of the engine near your ankles,
riding on the footpath when stuck in a dead jam,
taking the splash head-on when a car speeds past on a rainy day on a waterlogged street,
turning blue after a ride on 2 degree winter day,
never need to worry about parking as there is always space for one more bike,
using that well kept vocabulary when forced to drag the bike on foot for a couple of kMs in case of a puncture,
cursing yourself for not taking the car along..when it comes to adjusting all the stuff after a good shopping spree,
suddenly realizing that you forgot your wrist watch at home then confirming time to the biker standing next to you on the traffic stop and finding that even he forgot the same.

Driving :
The safe and secure feeling,
rain...potholes....splashes....heat...winter...who cares.
Scorching heat? ...AC rocks!!
Freezing winter?...Heater rocks!!
...the luxury....but you cant feel the ground anytime you want.....
...the space....but you cannot drive on the footpath when in a dead jam.
...the comfort..but you cant just drag it along when its puncture.
...cursing yourself for not taking the bike along instead of car when forced to get in the long parking queue,
...listening to dozens of FM channels and that particular favorite MP3 CD...but you still have to get in the queue on the toll counter...
...

Damn ...i confused myself...!!!

Diamond..is forever?

2008-05-22T09:41:00.007+05:30

Competition..Competition everywhere!!
People thought that the Apple iPhone will just be a one-off breed...and will die like that only....but i guess they were wrong. It has got company now...and its called Diamond

With Qualcomm processor and Windows Mobile 6.1, this one is pretty much poised to shine.

Processor: Qualcomm® MSM7201A™ 528 MHz
Operating System Windows Mobile® 6.1 Professional
Memory
ROM: 256 MB
RAM: 192 MB DDR SDRAM
Internal storage: 4 GB
Dimensions 102 mm (L) X 51 mm (W) X 11.35 mm (T)
Weight 110 g (with battery)
Display 2.8-inch TFT-LCD flat touch-sensitive screen with VGA resolution
Network HSDPA/WCDMA:
Europe/Asia: 900/2100 MHz
Up to 384 kbps up-link and 7.2 Mbps down-link speeds
Tri-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE:
Europe/Asia: 900/1800/1900 MHz
(Band frequency and data speed are operator dependent.)
Device Control TouchFLO™ 3D
Touch-sensitive navigation control
GPS GPS and A-GPS ready
Connectivity Bluetooth® 2.0 with EDR
Wi-Fi®: IEEE 802.11 b/g
HTC ExtUSB™ (11-pin mini-USB 2.0 and audio jack in one)
Camera Main camera: 3.2 megapixel color camera with auto focus
Second camera: VGA CMOS color camera
Audio Built-in microphone, speaker and FM radio with RDS
Ring tone supported formats:
MP3, AAC, AAC+, WMA, WAV, and AMR-NB
40 polyphonic and Standard MIDI format 0 and 1 (SMF)/SP MIDI
Battery Rechargeable Lithium-ion or Lithium-ion polymer battery
Capacity: 900 mAh
Talk time:
Up to 270 minutes for WCDMA
Up to 330 minutes for GSM
Standby time:
Up to 396 hours for WCDMA
Up to 285 hours for GSM
Video call time: Up to 145 minutes for WCDMA
(The above are subject to network and phone usage.)
AC Adapter Voltage range/frequency: 100 ~ 240V AC, 50/60 Hz
DC output: 5V and 1A

hmmmm.....HTC is not that bad after all!!:)

Specifications Source: HTC Corporate Website

Guess whos this....

2008-05-02T16:54:00.001+05:30

You know him very well.....:)'

21

2008-04-21T15:12:00.004+05:30

winner winner chicken dinner....

blackjack players know what the above line is all about.

Caught this movie named 21 a couple of weeks back. Its about a bunch of MIT students..a group of card counters cracking the game of Black Jack and robbing the vegas casinos on weekends.

They did well till the time they faced another counter :)

...A very fine movie with some really good background score and fine performances from everyone including Kavin Spacey.

Snow, T5 and FA Cup

2008-04-08T15:24:00.003+05:30

There was this confusion of terminals for BA when i took off on saturday. BA used to work from Terminal 4 at heathrow and they are shifting it to the new terminal 5. The news is that its pure chaos at T5..flight cancellations, baggage misplacements etc. So not surprisingly my co-passengers were also worried and not sure which terminal we are heading to, but cabin crew confirmed that its going to be T4 till this month end. Another thing that added to the T5 problems is the snowfall. My first experience with the snowfall has been amazing....but its sometimes scary to see cars covered with snow :)..

another big news in this part of the world have been Cardiff city making it to the FA cup final after some 70 years..and i thought only the indian cricket team takes years in doing things.

Street Kings

2008-04-08T15:16:00.001+05:30

KR is back!!

The Jag comes to india...

2008-03-27T10:41:00.004+05:30

TATA goes shopping and brings home...Jaguar and Land Rover from Ford.

Now can we expect a hatchback Jag??!!! :)

Image Courtesy + More Details: Economist

Good Enough II

2008-03-15T01:37:00.003+05:30

Good Enough

2008-03-13T02:06:00.003+05:30

Good Enough to qualify for my next bike!

Engine and transmission

Displacement:346.00 ccm (21.11 cubic inches)
Engine type:Single cylinder
Stroke:4
Power:18.00 HP (13.1 kW)) @ 5600 RPM
Torque:27.50 Nm (2.8 kgf-m or 20.3 ft.lbs) @ 3500 RPM
Compression:7.3:1Bore x stroke:70.0 x 90.0 mm (2.8 x 3.5 inches)
Fuel system:Carburettor.
CVFuel control:OHV
Ignition:Digital TCI
Starter:Kick
Lubrication system:Dry sump
Cooling system:Air
Gearbox:4-speedTransmission type
final drive:Chain
Clutch:Wet mulitiplate

Physical measures

Dry weight:163.0 kg (359.4 pounds)
Ground clearance:140 mm (5.5 inches)
Wheelbase:1,370 mm (53.9 inches)

Chassis and dimensions

Front brakes:Expanding brake (drum brake)
Front brakes diameter:178 mm (7.0 inches)
Rear brakes:Expanding brake (drum brake)
Rear brakes diameter:152 mm (6.0 inches)
Speed and accelerationTop speed:110.0 km/h (68.4 mph)
Power/weight ratio:0.1104 HP/kg

Other specifications

Fuel capacity:14.50 litres (3.83 gallons)
Color options:Black, red
Comments:Available in India. Optional electric starter and front disk brake.

Twin Wins

2008-03-02T20:27:00.004+05:30

Congratulations to both the teams, Under 19 and the senior team for their wins on this real super sunday.

Sachin finally showed his capabilities in a final against Australia, in Australia. 1 down, 2 to go!!

The Under 19 skipper Virat ("Why-rat" as an oz commentator calls him) Kohli, is quite at-your-face kinda guy. South africans were quite zapped by the whole indian team going after them...verbally i mean to say!!:)

Image Courtesy - rediff.com

Vantage Point

2008-03-02T20:03:00.003+05:30

Caught this one on saturday..had no idea about the storyline etc so took a chance basically. It turned out to be real cracking one. Nice strong crisp storyline and a "8 Strangers. 8 Points of View. 1 Truth." thing going which actually creates a certain kind of suspense.

It was nice to catch a near perfect thriller after a long long time..!! Dennis Quaid and Forest Whitaker creating magic as usual..!!
And by the way, just in case if you have just been bitten by the "Jodha-Akbar" bug recently, this one is only 90 mins long. :)

A Long day....

2008-02-26T00:31:00.003+05:30

The day started just like any monday. the expectations were also just like any monday. There was a meeting planned for monday which was supposed to stretch over 4 hrs...and it actually stretched to 8 hrs...longest meeting ever for me. It was supposed to be more of a fusion meeting that we generally do for Requirements Analysis and after that design starts. My head is still ringing with that meeting. Someone called up in the morning..i said "am in a meeting" ...same person called up in the evening..same status "am in a meeting"....in came reply.."how many meetings you guys have?"....answer "thats the same meeting!!".....

Damn... its tough to lead five tracks....3 websites... 2 web apps...1 CRM tool and few (forgot the count actually) microsites!! Insane!!

GrandCentral

2008-02-24T11:51:00.003+05:30

not the station in New york..no not even the London one.....its Google's newest acquisition!!
So what is GrandCentral ??......
its a free service from Google, through this we can receive phone calls and post voicemails right on our blogs. GrandCentral is currently in a private beta test, and also within US only, however an invite regsitration is on with Email and Country so whenever its up for a particular country, an invite will be sent.

An accident and a vote out

2008-02-24T11:33:00.004+05:30

For the first time in 5 seasons there is an accident on Roadies. Rider - Ayaz, Pillion - shambhavi.....injuries - bruises and scrtaches nothing serious..damage done - immense on Ayaz's part as people are questioning his riding skills and riding is a major part of Roadies. I won't be surprised if moving onwards or may be from next season they introduce proper riding gears which is missing right now specially considering the fact that they are using HH Karizmas, pretty fast ones right?
Right at the time of accident is became almost certain that Ayaz was going out next..but Roadies is never that predictable and Snehasish along with Sonel played a game which came down heavy on someone least expected to go out this early, Vikrant (Vik, as they call him). There was an advantage task played and 5 of the roadies, including Vik, got the advantage. the advantage actually was that only those 5 will vote in the vote out, others were not allowed. Vikrant got 3 of those 5 votes. Vik, not my favorite kind but also a very overconfident kind, even i was surprised of this vote out.
This season is going right along with roadies theme:

ghar se hum chale
bas ek backpack aur ek guitar
paison ki fikar nahin
bike pe hum sawar

raahon ki hai khabar
na manzil kaa hai pata
phir bhi chal diye
jaane ab hoga kya

woooho
ohhhh..yeah
okkk....
jeet lenge aaj

ab kisi bhi baat kaa mujhe darr nahin
mushkilon se hi toh hai himaat meri
khelni hai aakhri baazi yahin
humsafar hi ban gayi manzil meri
raaste wahi..raahi naye
raatein wahi.. sapne naye

jo chal sako..tum bhi chalo yaaron
choo lenge hum assman
h
wooowho ohyeah okkk....
jeet lenge aaj

At 23....

2008-02-22T19:38:00.003+05:30

am not talking about someone's age...not even some batsmans's score. yesterday my bike clocked 23Ks and my car clocked 2.3K today.

Hows Bike doing: the way a P150 is supposed to do. kicking B**t!! One Km of warm up lap in the morning and then ready to rumble. Amazing mileage added with a smooth ride. Even after numerous servicings spanning over 2.5 years the service center guy always tells me "sir, this time you must get that leg guard up" ..my reply as always remains "kidding me?"...that reminds me..its service time again!! Someone suggested, its high time to sell your bike....get a new one..may be go for a exchange...i somewhat agree with that.....lets see how it goes. A phone cam pic taken in 2005:

Hows Car doing: the way a new hyundai i10 machine is supposed to do. kicking B**t!! Few meters of warm up and its ready to make my day!! After first service mileage actually improved a notch as expected, amazing balance and dynamics are worth mentioning. Went out on a trip to jaipur with that and that also straight after first service......a memorable drive!!

I hope both of them keep kicking....:)

the heat is on....

2008-02-18T10:41:00.002+05:30

The heat is on and blazing in Roadies 5.0.

This time Vibhor ended up on the receiving end..and Prabhjot got lucky...whatever they plan..whatever they decide .....eventually every individual does whatever he/she feels like. Thats the beauty of roadies. An interesting conversation from the latest episode:

Host: Vote out is the worst part of roadies ..right?

All contestants: Yes.

Host: Get used to it... :)

another hike...

2008-02-14T22:06:00.003+05:30

well...another one....this one is a bomb....real one.....petrol price hiked by Rs.2/Litre :((

Now am seriously considering to take the "Fill it up" approach and that also from delhi not in gurgaon where the prices are higher than delhi. Another factor supporting my thoughts are the quality of fuel in haryana. There is a distinct performance difference, i sometimes actually feel my bike/car coughing when fuelled up in gurgaon and the case is totally different when fuelled up from delhi.

memories....

2008-02-14T22:00:00.001+05:30

a song very close to heart....some very sweet memories attached with it....

A very happy Valentine's Day to everyone.

Roadies 5.0 ..The journey begins...

2008-02-11T15:33:00.000+05:30

The Roadies were in for shock of their lives even before starting their journey on those new sparkling HH Karizmas. They have been divided in two teams, Blue and Red. Blue team lost heavily in the activities and lost the immunity. That meant..someone needed to get voted out from the blue team. All types of typical Roadies groupism and regionalism happened and right at the time of vote out...the roadies got shocks..2 to be more precise.

First, someone came back to haunt them......none other than Raghu.....

Second, Raghu then disclosed the news, 2 to be more precise: Good news - There will not be any ONE voted out. Bad News - There will be TWO to be voted out........and that cracked the whole scheme up. ...

Man!!its getting crazier than ever...!!

Now the two voteouts: First a guy, and i dont remember his name .....second, my favorite ..Ankita Sehgal...:(.....damn she got thrown out in the first vote out itself. .......