There, the perfect start to the new year...!! BTW, how about copying my last post on the online performance management system? ;)
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
There! Comes dissapointment...
There, the perfect start to the new year...!! BTW, how about copying my last post on the online performance management system? ;)
Introspection and Retrospection!
I've successfully lost some weight (close to 7 Kilos) this year. Not with a lot of effort though ;) This is what is quite surprising! It jus happened with my shift to Bangalore (The larger part of it). Initially some Cycling/Jogging did help me focus on loosing weight. But then as usual I did not stick to it for long. Surprisingly, after moving to Bangalore i did no exercise and i lost weight! Might have to do with the food habits. But then it helps. ;) I miss my bicycle here as i have left it behind when i shifted jobs in June. Now i need to bring it here or atleast think of buying a new one soon.
I've shifted jobs after working with my previous employer for a good three and a half years. A mixed bag of experience. I miss my friends from that place and i love my job profile here. I would not say that what i got from my previous employer was bad, but something was amiss. That is what i feel. Or maybe i did not grab the opportunity that was coming my way there. No use contemplating on it now as I've moved on and it is better.
Another notable high is the point that I've started playing again. With the corporate cricket matches organized every now and then in the weekends with the other companies, every weekend becomes somthing that i look forward to on a otherwise boring and low monday. It's something that I always craved for last 4 years since i graduated. The leather ball hitting the meat of the willow sounds music.. :)
More than anything, i loved my decision this summer to start with this blog. I'm happy I did this. I wanted to write on something and i did hold on to a decision of mine (which i rarely do!). And the best thing is, i'm still writing pieces into it. I'm not sure why i started this in the first place. Initially started off anonymously and then i thought i would give away my identity as this was not a very secret stuff that i did here. Anonymous initially was probably because i might loose interest or maybe stop having topics to blog on. So i waited to realize that i would continue doing this for good/worse. ;) One constant piece of criticism that i got from my friends for this page is that it contained articles only on cricket/bikes/movies. He he he. Let me see what i could so about this in the next year. For this year this is the one before another final one.
Now let me look forward to the next year and also deciede what would be my priorities for the year ahead......
Monday, December 22, 2008
ScribeFire!
Friday, December 19, 2008
Watched this...
Had fun watching this movie. It's a kind of movie that i could watch when i am having a terrible mood. It just gives me a high. I liked each character in the movie because all were so individually different and yet gelled together for this story. And what else can i say to a movie which is based on intelligence goof-up. He he he... My country's agency too I'm sure would be saying "so we have company after all as we are not the only ones who don't have a clue what is intelligence!" after watching this movie now. :)
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Watermelon prices set to soar!
I'm sure lemon and watermelon vendors will be out for a surprise when they see the amount of sales they would do!
Reason: Well, see this...
Are any investors reading this? ;)
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Our brain has inbuilt noice cancellation Mechanism?
Most of us would've closed our ears with our fingers or hands at least once till date. And in doing so as a kid would have wondered on what the sound was that we could hear from the depth of our own ear! And as we grew some text book or general book that we read said that it was the sound of the blood traveling through the arteries/veins that made the sound. And yes if we were more enthusiastic, we would at times run hard to increase the heart beat and then check the sound from the ears growing louder when we closed ears after this exercise. And listen to the new sounds that got added such as the air passing through the nose to lungs and yes our heartbeat too was audible which was beating recklessly!
Now the best part is, Why don't we hear these sounds when our ears are open? A perfect noise cancellation mechanism was put into place in our audio processing unit in our brain when we were designed to walk the earth. So beautiful!
I know most of you know this. But jus thought to put it here as what is note worthy is that i never happen to notice this till date that this mechanism was actually there until i thought about a noise cancellation head phone. ;) Man, if god could foresee this detail a long back and had implemented a more complex audio processing unit for us! well, no need to mention BOSE would be out of business.... ;) Hehehehe...
Perfect example for "working out of the box".. the apple istyle... ;)
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
In-Ear from Apple.
Check out this from Apple. I admit that the thing looks good on picture, especially that remote which apple calls "control capsule"! Also there is an added advantage of Mic on it! This is cool.
The Spec sheet says it's Frequency response is 5Hz to 21kHz. Sensitivity at 109 db at 100 Ohms.
Sells at "just" 79$ according to the website... ;)
If you're interested on comparing, here is something from one of the best in sound... And it sells at $10 more than the Apple in-ear.
Monday, December 15, 2008
Using this App... "Blogo"
A publishing tool for Mac platform... This is the first post made using Blogo. Let me see how it goes before my 21 day trial expires... :)
So here it is the first one..
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Nijagal betta and Devarayana Durga...
We started off as early as we could and that was jus as the sun was rising with his bright orange shade...
It was too cold even with 2 t-shirts under my thick jacket! It took us almost 2 hours to reach the Nijagal foothills.
As you can see it is visible from the NH4 jus opposite a Reliance petrol bunk. We parked our bikes here as there was ample space due to the closed down bunk. Started our trek which is nothing difficult. The path is cleanly distinguishable once you cross the railway track running parallel to the NH.
Most of the monuments here are broken down and not maintained. There's nothing left on the peak other than a darga/temple. Locals flock this place with beliefs. I've seen a lot of chicken offered to deity here by the locals. Further climbing the stone give these amazing views from the top. The rock formations as so beautiful and there is a lot of gap inbetween these round huge rocks which act as caves. And it's a lot cooler with good breeze blowing on you.
We descended this hill as quickly as possible to visit another place called Devarayanadurga. This needed us to go back futher towards bangalore on NH 4 and take a left turn from dabaspete. The access is good as the roads are quite good accept for a kilometer's stretch. Curvy roads on the way up to the hillock. Half or more than half of the hill is motorable so this is not taxing on the legs ;) The view atop this hill is not as good as the Nijagal betta. But worth a visit once.
BTW, i need to mention the beeutiful sky that we had that day... as blue as it can get with white clouds scattered all over... :)
Monday, December 8, 2008
Watched....
Pineapple express was a no pain no gain movie. he he he he. Laughed a lot at the funny moments the movie provided and they do have many such moments. Seth is terrific and also his drug dealer partner and friend. Watch this for good break from serious movies.
Righteous Kill was a bit of a serious movie. Robert De Niro and Al Pacino are as good as they always were. Though this movie did not seem to be popular as it was supposed to be, i liked this movie over all.
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Couple of books...
After reading a lot of negative critics i started out reading 'The white tiger'. Basically the critics were against his highlighting India only in bad light. But then i would say the plot required him to do so. I'm not sure to contemplate on the fact whether the book should have won the Booker's this year. It's ultimately the jury's decision. The white tiger is a good read though.
The Reluctant fundamentalist is a superb novel that surprised me all the way. The plot is very gripping and the narration so superb. I jus loved the book. Would want to read it again someday. :) Do read this book which was shortlisted for the Booker's last year.
Monday, December 1, 2008
Drifting...
Here is the culprit Image: ;)
courtesy of this amazing pic: http://interfacelift.com/wallpaper_beta/details/1741/the_art_of_drifting.html.
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Strange ways of this city!
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Recession! What the HELL!
[ I found this forwarded to me by my friend. Since he didn't quote the source, i'm not sure who is the original author of this. Please excuse me for publishing it here without the original guys permission. but i couldn't resist but copy+paste it here. Anyways thanks to the anonymous soul for now until i find him ]
Here you go......
Once there was a little island country. The land of this country was the tiny island itself. The total money in circulation was 2 dollars as there were only two pieces of 1 dollar coins circulating around.
(1) There were 3 citizens living on this island country. A owned the land. B and C each owned 1 dollar.
(2) B decided to purchase the land from A for 1 dollar. So, now A and C own 1 dollar each while B owns a piece of land that is worth 1 dollar.
* The net asset of the country now = 3 dollars.
(3) Now C thought that since there is only one piece of land in the country, and land is non producible asset, its value must definitely go up. So, he borrowed 1 dollar from A, and together with his own 1 dollar, he bought the land from B for 2 dollars.
* A has a loan to C of 1 dollar, so his net asset is 1 dollar.
* B sold his land and got 2 dollars, so his net asset is 2 dollars.
* C owned the piece of land worth 2 dollars but with his 1 dollar debt to A, his net residual asset is 1 dollar.
* Thus, the net asset of the country = 4 dollars.
(4) A saw that the land he once owned has risen in value. He regretted having sold it. Luckily, he has a 1 dollar loan to C. He then borrowed 2 dollars from B and acquired the land back from C for 3 dollars. The payment is by 2 dollars cash (which he borrowed) and cancellation of the 1 dollar loan to C. As a result, A now owns a piece of land that is worth 3 dollars. But since he owes B 2 dollars, his net asset is 1 dollar.
* B loaned 2 dollars to A. So his net asset is 2 dollars.
* C now has the 2 coins. His net asset is also 2 dollars.
* The net asset of the country = 5 dollars. A bubble is building up.
(5) B saw that the value of land kept rising. He also wanted to own the land. So he bought the land from A for 4 dollars. The payment is by borrowing 2 dollars from C, and cancellation of his 2 dollars loan to A.
* As a result, A has got his debt cleared and he got the 2 coins. His net asset is 2 dollars.
* B owns a piece of land that is worth 4 dollars, but since he has a debt of 2 dollars with C, his net Asset is 2 dollars.
* C loaned 2 dollars to B, so his net asset is 2 dollars.
* The net asset of the country = 6 dollars; even though, the country has only one piece of land and 2 Dollars in circulation.
(6) Everybody has made money and everybody felt happy and prosperous.
(7) One day an evil wind blew, and an evil thought came to C's mind. "Hey, what if the land price stop going up, how could B repay my loan. There is only 2 dollars in circulation, and, I think after all the land that B owns is worth at most only 1 dollar, and no more."
(8) A also thought the same way.
(9) Nobody wanted to buy land anymore.
* So, in the end, A owns the 2 dollar coins, his net asset is 2 dollars.
* B owes 2 dollars to C and the land he owns which he thought worth 4 dollars is now 1 dollar. So his net asset is only 1 dollar.
* C has a loan of 2 dollars to B. But it is a bad debt. Although his net asset is still 2 dollars, his heart is palpitating.
* The net asset of the country = 3 dollars again.
(10) So, who has stolen the 3 dollars from the country? Of course, before the bubble burst B thought his land was worth 4 dollars. Actually, right before the collapse, the net asset of the country was 6 dollars on paper. B's net asset is still 2 dollars, his heart is palpitating.
(11) B had no choice but to declare bankruptcy. C as to relinquish his 2 dollars bad debt to B, but in return he acquired the land which is worth 1 dollar now.
* A owns the 2 coins; his net asset is 2 dollars.
* B is bankrupt; his net asset is 0 dollar. (He lost everything)
* C got no choice but end up with a land worth only 1 dollar
* the net asset of the country = 3 dollars.
—————End of the story; BUT—————
There is however a redistribution of wealth.
A is the winner, B is the loser, C is lucky that he is spared.
A few points worth noting –
(1) When a bubble is building up, the debt of individuals to one another in a country is also building up.
(2) This story of the island is a closed system whereby there is no other country and hence no foreign debt. The worth of the asset can only be calculated using the island's own currency. Hence, there is no net loss.
(3) An over-damped system is assumed when the bubble burst, meaning the land's value did not go down to below 1 dollar.
(4) When the bubble burst, the fellow with cash is the winner. The fellows having the land or extending loan to others are the losers. The asset could shrink or in worst case, they go bankrupt.
(5) If there is another citizen D either holding a dollar or another piece of land but refrains from taking part in the game, he will neither win nor lose. But he will see the value of his money or land goes up and down like a see saw.
(6) When the bubble was in the growing phase, everybody made money.
(7) If you are smart and know that you are living in a growing bubble, it is worthwhile to borrow money (like A) and take part in the game. But you must know when you should change everything back to cash.
(8) As in the case of land, the above phenomenon applies to stocks as well.
(9) The actual worth of land or stocks depends largely on psychology (or speculation)
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Snaps from the ground...
Monday, November 24, 2008
Back to reading...
Hmm.... Saturday our cricket team lost to Microsoft(Bangalore) cricket team in a must win match thus throwing us out of the tournament. :( I'm disappointed not only because we've lost but also because i batted out bad and was in a situation where i could take control for our team and then i let the team down.. And the result is we lost not very badly but then loss is a loss right. No excuses can be made. Hope to put it at the back of my mind and need to get ready for the next game that is coming up soon against the Canon team....
And for the weekend the major show stopper was weather which was so damn cloudy and with the drizzle coming every now and then i remained most of the Sunday inside. Needless to say how disturbing it gets when we least expect it to rain and then it is there not really pouring but making an appearance every now and then just to get us wet.... aaargh!
Friday, November 21, 2008
More or less nothing but a printer!
Off i go to another training.. :)
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Ah! i watched...
Other than this i was able to catch up with a couple of movies in all these days that i've been silent on this blog. The mummy 3 and a movie called Taken. Both of them good time pass. Taken is more of a super hero dad who saves his kidnapped daughter! Good watch if you are not in a mood to watch something real attention needing.
Monday, November 17, 2008
Life on fast track!
Monday, November 10, 2008
Border-Gavasker Cup finally back...
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Watched...
Interesting plot.... and the characters had a lot of chemistry... :)
Monday, November 3, 2008
Jumbo is gone...
One more final round of applause for a cricketing gaint... :)
Can find more written on him by his peers and others here...
Thursday, October 30, 2008
What a piece of software..
Monday, October 27, 2008
And
The first one was jus superb. It tool me a while to digest the content of the movie... But then it was worth the time i spent watching it.
The second one was a good time pass i would say. Meg ryan acting in it. If you are a Meg ryan fan (like me) then do watch it.... And the hindi movie "pyar to hona hi tha" was inspired from this movie i guess. The hollywood always inspires filmmakers from bollywood.. ;) he he he.
And this is all i did in a day today.... watching movies sitting back at my place on a monday that was off meant for celebrating "Festival of lights". And i did not set my foot out today.... One of those lazy days.. :)
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
The Snap of the TEAM.. :)
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Fitting Reply..
I think the same media down under should see this now... :)He he he. A crushing defeat in the 2nd test match is the way the Indian cricket team replied the visiting team for all the 'shor sharaba' ;)
This test match saw Tendulkar achieving some milesstone and Ganguly hitting 16th century (what a series he is been having) and a find of a bowler in Mishra and zapping Zaheer's deliveries. :)
Quadrangular cricket series Winners :)
I've a snap of my captain receiving the winner's trophy and i would post it here for you. But our team photo is with a teammate of mine and i am afraid that photo is going to make a late appearance in this space ;)
Friday, October 17, 2008
Another step...
For more see here....
Thursday, October 16, 2008
The classic...
In short this bike is a single cylinder 4-stroke bike with an air cooled engine which has 400cc capacity and produces 27.2BHp @5250 rpm with 41.2Nm @4000 rpm. It has a 5 speed transmission. All this at a whooping 187Kilos! Boy, it is heavy and meant only for big boys as i can see it. :)
I've hi-jacked some photos from the website home downloads section and am putting it up here. Just for those who would not find time to log on to the site themselves. I hope you are seeing what i've to say about this bike.
And the best for the last.... :)
I think i'll sleep tonight with a dream where i would be riding on this bike on a long vacation... ;)
He he... The Auzziez
Sarcasm is the right way to treat the BIG Auzzies.. ;)
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Standup and applaud
Here is the booker's home website. You can go through to see his competition and previous winners.
Interestingly, there have been only 3 other authors to win Bookers prize for their debut work and Arundhati roy is one among them(1997). :) That makes it 2 Indians out of the 4.
The weekend gone by and crikeet :)
The next day was a lot better as this sense of "we should win" came over us. We arrived late not lot but some 5 minutes late for he match. It looked sunny and bright day and the afternoon was getting hotter. We were put to field by our opposition. They had a bad start with our pace bowlers all over them. And we did see the couple of batsmen quickly come and go. 8 overs later they crumbled and having lost 6 wickets with not so respectable 40 runs on score card. The weather suddenly changed to overcast conditions and down fell the first few big drops of rain. As i looked into the sky as to see if this would stop, it started badly as if all the trouble was not only for the opposition but for us. With the rain playing spoil sport, the match was called off as the ground was more or less a collective puddles of water here and there. So there, what looked like a easy win with the MakeMyTrip team was spoiled for us by the rain God. :(
So we went packing for the day....
And with no other work to do with the coolness of the atmosphere, we did this :
And ya, the good news after all this is that we are to play in the finals of the tournament with the Genpact team :). How? We won a match and drew a match there by loosing only 1 out of the three matches we played. Our run rate is better and that got us a berth in the finals. Wish us luck for the match this Saturday :)
The new Macbook!
BTW, if someone is so considerate and plans to gift me one then please let me know now as this would save me a some good green bucks.. ;)
Friday, October 10, 2008
Blogathon!
BTW, looking forward to the cricket matches that i am playing in tomorrow and day after for my company team. :)
Recent movie update..
21 Grams: Awesome movie. I liked it lot. The movies sends quite a solid punch into you when you know what 21 grams is that the movie is referring to! I thought the screenplay was something that was similar to movie 'Crash'
Married Life: Quite interesting movie. And no wonder Pierce Brosnan was once voted "Sexiest Man Alive" by People Magazine in 2001! Other than him the movie is interesting watch with people who are involved in a bad marriage and two buddies who have interests on same girl! ;) And the dialog, 'building one's happiness on another's unhappiness' was amusing to hear. This is true isn't it? most of the times yes. :)
Simone: Boring movie. Other than Al Pacino as the lead and interesting character, this movie is not that great watch. The theme is on how the movie is bigger than the actor or any individual! This very true though.
The Happening: It still is a mystery for me on what is "the Happening"! And no wonder it's genre is mystery! lol.
IQ test!
BTW, don't ask me what i scored because it's give and take policy here.. ;) You show your scores first and then i shall.. ;) Hehehehe
Zardari and palin!!
Watch this video when you are free!! Couldn't help.. i was laughing all the way. BTW, do listen to what Mr.Zadari has to say.
Interesting....
I still can't figure out who is wrong. Is it the girls who wear such a dress? Or is it the police who is banning such dresses! Or is the guys who can't take eyes off the bare back? ;) Or is it the tailor who invented this dress!! ha ha ha..... God, this question is seemingly difficult to answer than "did the chicken come first of the egg?"!!!! ;)
Wait, or is this wrong to say this is wrong!! I'm confused!
Hrithik Roshan Priyanka Chopra Hero Honda Karizma Commercial Video
Posted using ShareThis
One word for this ad: PATHETIC.
Nothing against the brand endorsing stars here. But the ad goes on to show how NOT to do an ad! I wonder if the guys would buy the Karizma after seeing this ad! I pity...
Dada!! :)
Today morning when i read in cricinfo's site on this i was in for a shock! I knew somewhere this is bound to happen today or tomorrow as he is a aging normal human. And he has to retire and make way for his successors in the team. But who? This is important phase of Indian cricket that we'll see in another couple of years. With the seniors of the game in Indian team are all set to retire now (Sachin i doubt will retire ever! Ha) it's quite interestingly poised.
Lets look at something done by 'dada' during his interesting career here. Quite interesting. :) Atleast for me.
Two things that i would like to say here before i stop this post. One, nothing comes to the timing of the off side shots of Ganguly and second, the aggression he bought into the team as a character cost him his spot in the team eventually. :)
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Savanadurga ride..
This is one place you could look to travel on a nothing-else-to-do day. Not very great but a easy getaway from Bangalore.
Saturday, October 4, 2008
Crikeet crikeet crikeet...
Today again was an all important day as this new series with four teams involved has started. EFI, Genpact, Makemytrip and Nokia are participating. We played against Nokia today in the afternoon hot sun. I got into the playing 11 finally as a opener this time. Nokia batted first and our bowlers did a good job bundling them for a paltry 101 runs! He he he. Now it was left for us batsmen to finish the game for our team. The first ball i faced was a bit nervous moment for me as i was playing a match after 4.5 yesrs. The last time i played a match with a leather ball was for my college cricket team! He he he... The bowler balled a wide and i was so relieved. And then me and my batting partner moved from singles to boundaries and we reached the target in the 9th over! The best part being a hundred run unbeaten partnership between us to win a comprehensive victory of 10 wickets over the opponent! Boy, i was happy to be in the middle and my batting partner got the man of the match award for a breezy knock of 52 runs... I was unbeaten at 25 runs. Everybody was in a joyous mood in the team and the mood seems right for the next two matches lined up for this weekend. We play genpact and Makemytrip on saturday and sunday. Loking forward to these matches now... :)
BTW, here is snap of me and Unni (with his man of the match cup). The snap was taken on a mobile cam so please excuse me for the quality of the snap.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Mongols, movie
A note for the people who are yet to watch this movie though would be that, do read about the warrior before hand if you could. Well, if you don't then there is no big deal in it. Just watch it as the story is quite simple to understand.
I'm very much alive..
Today has been a holiday and i had been to a bookshop and bought two books for myself to read. Would read them and let you know on how they are. The actual plan today was to try and watch Dark knight movie in the theatre. But somehow didn't feel like doing a round of the thetre as there was no company. Hmm, seeems like dark knight will have to wait for my viewing. ;) Tomorrow, will be riding down to a place called Savanadurga with my friends. I know it's not been long since i had a very long ride to mysore and back. Will update on the place as soon as i get back. The plan is to start very early tomorrow and comeback early too.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
God bless my nation!
Now take this scenario out of politics in India or say a parliament session, even if 20 out of 50 attendees were present for a session, it would have started as it should have without bothering if the rest were present or not. This is not the only place that we can expect this to happen though... There are many such instances but this is the one instance that matters the most to India as of now. There is confusion everywhere. There is confusion is setting up of SEZ, setting up of industries, Land acquisition, compensation being paid and not paid, Terror, encounter, Communal fights, Laws against terror, Flood and what not? If US economy is hit and that is the form of worry in the west (also here in the east), it's something else here in my country. Overall it's testing times ahead for a lot many people.
Monday, September 22, 2008
Something funny but not that funny anymore...
Investment analyst and entrepreneur Dr. Marc Faber concluded his monthly bulletin (June 2008) with the Following:
'The federal government is sending each of us a $600 rebate. If we spend that money at Wal-Mart, the money goes to China. If we spend it on gasoline it goes to the Arabs. If we buy a computer it will go to India. If we purchase fruit and vegetables it will go to Mexico, Honduras and Guatemala. If we purchase a good car it will go to Germany. If we purchase useless crap it will go to Taiwan and none of it will help the American economy. The only way to keep that money here at home is to spend it on prostitutes and beer, since these are the only products still produced in US. I've been doing my part.'
So the Americans are fighting reality and so are the other parts of the world.
Sunday, September 21, 2008
GopalaSwamy betta & Mysore trip
BTW, thanks to one of my friend from Mysore who did give me some suggestions on the Friday to help us travel better. And luckily Hotel Mahesh prasad was good enough to have some descent Vegetarian food in Mysore. I'll talk on this later.
Started out bit late on our schedule on saturday morning.. was supposed to be early but then a few guys delayed it.. but since the roads are good towards Mysore we made some quick distance covering on our bikes. We took about 3 hours and a little more to reach Mysore managing a good heary breakfast on our way in Ramnagar. Let me tell you something here. I belong to a place near to Dakshina kannada or Mangalore. It's the place where Tulu language is spoken by and large in common. And you'll find a lot of people working in different parts of the world in hotels or owning one. Every one in India must have heard Udupi hotels (Some of them are fake though and nowadays most of them are!). udupi is also a place adjoining Mangalore. And in this Hotel that we stopped for some breakfast yesterday morning, we friends were chatting loudly in Tulu language and suddenly the waiter stops at us and asks if we were from Kudla(that is what Mangalore is called in Tulu). And hence this became one of our common aspect through out our journey.. every single restaurant that we stopped in this tour had someone or the other belonging to the Hotel speak the langugage! Now i know why the bunts and Udupi guys are known for hotel bussiness! Some people might differ though.. ;)
After reaching Mysore we first headed off to the famous Chamundi hills. Chamundeshwari temple had some crowd. The full view of Mysore if breath taking. The Nandi on top of the hills is carved out of a monolith (not sure though). One thing that i liked about this hill is that the thing is visible from almost all the places in Mysore. Sort of good navigation help through out travel in the city. After the hills, we headed off to the Karanji lake which is just by the foot of the hills. The lake is surrounded by some cool trees and a stroll in the evening would have been better. But then we were there right in the middle of the lake on pedal boats in the hot sun... was fun though chasing each others boat that we had hired. The water seems to be very dirty and the lake looks like hasn't been cleaned in ages! The giant swan that i saw was something that i east expected. The birds that are collected in the park are great. I saw a white peacock for the first time in my life!And some long legged bird which looked like ostrich to me though.. he he he seriously i did not bother to ask any one around. ;) We did walk some distance to see what would be there in butterfly park but we were disappointing to find none. For some consolation did find a couple of them but nothing great.. some black butteries with white dots.. :(
Mysore has wide roads as i could see and city is more or less nicely planned. But then, the roads have lots and lots of potholes. :( The moment you pick some speed, Boom, there your tires fall into one after another pothole. :( Found the hotel for lunch that we were searching for with little search. But then the place was full! A bit of impatient waiting from all of us at 3 in the afternoon was worth it. And we got to have some descent south indian and more of karnataka lunch. :)
Satisfied and full on stomach we set out to search for some place to put up for the night. And as we were searching, someone from our came up with an idea of staying in Youth hostel! He he he... We got hold of the number of the place some how and got to know that we could get accommodation for 6 people for the night. For people who do not know the concept could go through this site here. The government of India does do something good at times you know.. ;) (kidding here) But then the hostel does take time to go to some of the most beautiful treks people can ever think. I had heard earlier but then this is something i got to see up close. The trek to himalayas does seem in interesting enough. BTW, people who want to stay in youth hostel in Mysore can stay there without any trouble. The place is cheap and clean. Believe me, the thing is dirt cheap and people who can are used to Dormitory can find some accommodation here. And when in a big group this is the best. :)
After finding this place we planned to visit the palace. A bigger piece of the Mysore history belonged to Wodeyar dynasty. BTW, i had not been to the place in my earlier trips. But believe me the first thing that i could say when i saw this place was "It's huge". Really, the palace is so majestic and huge structure! I was awed by the structure. The rest of the evening was spent in going around this beautiful structure that i fell in love with. I was traveling back in time when i was doing the rounds. How majestic it would have been this place of power. The life of king and his family would have been so much full of grandeur. Phew! and the place is getting ready for the annual festival of Dussera which is celebrated with such pomp and show here. The best part is that you are not supposed to take the snaps inside this beautiful place. :( BTW, we got caught carrying a camera inside the palace.. though it was in one of my friend's pocket safely switched off the police caught us and started all the drama. All he needed was us to grease his hands. He made 200 bucks from us.. forget the crap the guy had to say to make his way into our purses... Beware guys, please deposit the cameras you have in the camera deposition center outside the palace and escape getting caught. :(
Hotels in Mysore is hard to find. Of all the streets that we biked through hardly we could sight any good restaurant. And even if we managed to find one, they were all taken and full... :( Had to wait a good half an hour for a lunch in Mahesh prasad! It's tough you know at 3PM in the afternoon waiting for lunch that too when you are really hungry and tiered. Huh! Mysore needs some more restaurants. Well, i eat vegetarian so i am speaking of good south Indian veg restaurants. I wonder what would be the situation during the festivities when a lot of travelers crowd the city!! The Dussera preparations were in full swing in the city as it is only a couple of months away. The street are being fixed with lots of lighting arrangements.
Moving on, we missed visiting KRS deliberately because we thought it would be late when we return from there and this would affect our early journey the next day. We had come to Mysore with the objective of traveling down to Gopala Swamy betta which is about 70km from Mysore towards the border of Karnataka, kerala and tamilnadu. A place 4400 odd feet above sea level. So we crashed off in our beds and got up early the next day and left Mysore at 6 in the morning. Rode as quickly as we can to the foot of the hills. The roads from gundlupete(about 45km from mysore) to hills are pretty bad. Motor able but then lots and lots of potholes. Hmm, once on top of the hill, it was bliss. Cool breeze and fresh atmosphere made it a really worthy experience. The greenery and the sight you could see to miles away on a sunny clear day is beyond words. With western ghats running on one side and clouds flying past you it is awesome experience. The place is frequented by many people in the weekends i felt as there were about 100 people by the time we got ready to leave at 10 AM after a small hike on the hills. Good picnic spot all in all.
The foot of the hills you find all villagers with their heard of cows, buffaloes and goats and sheeps passing by on the road. The drive back was monotonous as it was straight roads and we sped past Mysore in an hour and half's time only stopping by before that for a brief visit to Nanjangud temple. The outer ring road seemed too long in Mysore. We reached the Bangalore state highway and made our way back. Stopped at shrirangapattana for a sight of Shri ranga swamy temple. Here the temple deity is in a lying position and it's a pretty old temple. This place used to be a summer palace for Tippu sulthan who died fighting here in this very same town here. His death and his burial took place here. So historically this place has some importance. Grabbed some lunch on the way back in Mandya and headed straight to Bangalore. Made it to my place at 5 in the evening.
I'm all set to explore more towards Mysore area of Karnataka in the near future.... Looks like there are lots of places that i could visit here....
Also in this trip i did a stretch of 100km/hr plus many times... i clocked the highest of 118Km/Hr in one stretch that i got. And i am thrilled at it as i never thought i would travel so much on my bike someday.. :)
Monday, September 15, 2008
Terror trails...
I as a taxpayer and above all as a citizen of India expect the goverment to do it's duty of protecting it's people. As i go out everyday from my dwelling, i should be assured that i would reurn home to my loved ones safely day after day untill i die normally. Isn't that why we elect the govenment for? Isn't it their primary duty? And what if i die in a bomb blast? A compensation to my surviving family? He he he. And they think that solves it all. Probably Lives means some lakhs of rupees for them... as cheap and as much available in numbers of vote they buy during election :)
Saturday, September 13, 2008
myPulsar...
Well, today i had to go to the service center to get my digital speedo rectified. The thing actually was replaced last year's rainy season as the coastal rains screwed it up and it stoped functioning. It was perfect after the replacement till this gone thursday. I noticed that it's started to reset itself all by itself!! Aaarrrgh... what a pain it is mentally when i see the thing reset when i am actually running the bike. BTW, i thought it was because of the headlamp replacement i had last week ( headlamps took off last week). I think this is because there was rains here and i jus wonder if the parking of the bike is creating all this problems. Though i don't do his regularly, i am compelled to park out when i go out. The switches are behaving funny after a park in the rain!! He he he... And today the service station guy told me the pulsars with digital meters having black displays have problems if it is parked in sun for more than 5 hours continuously!! Guess what? apparently the digital console consultants were from UK and they had suggested black background and since black absorbs a lot of heat creating problems for the LCDs!! wow! Now the pulsars have a background with the mixtures of white shades :) I wonder why a company as monstorous as bajaj, goes to consult with a firm in UK!! Don't the so called home grown pulsars have some designer from india do it and more over Indians know what the climate in India is like than a firm in UK! ;)
Another thing that is troubling is my Silencer. It's caught some rusting in the end. I asked the service center what could be done. As it started rusting a year after i bought it! The replacement warranty has some clauses it seems! Since i used my bike i the coastal area (udupi) it was bound to rust it seems! And the best part is that when i bought the bike no one told me that it would rust ;) BTW, the Yamaha RX 100 (1995 model) never had a dot of rust until i sold it off in Dec 2006 to buy this bike! I argued with the service center manager and all he had to say was that 2 stroke silencers and 4 stroke silencer work in different ways. Well, i agree on the point that he said as 2 stroke bikes have a coating of oil inside the silencer and hence this prevents rusting from inside. :) And when he said the black silencers that pulsars get now are apparently Stainless-steel!!! Very surprising fact that stainless steel rusts..He's sent the snaps of my silencer to the company and i'm now keeping my fingers crossed for replacement...
Another intesresting fact i got from him was about spares. According to the owner of the place the spares being replaced are getting less in terms or volume. Meaning the parts quality is bettering. Well, i would get to know practically about this as my bike ages.... On how better are the parts. :) I'll update...
Clear skies...
Friday, September 12, 2008
Arrived!
BTW, I also noted that there is something in the way English as a language works. This is me now speaking purely with some layman's thoughts on the language. Some alphabets can coolly become a substitute for the real ones in a word and produce almost near pronunciation of the real word and hence we stay confused. A super example would be "tyre" and "tire" :) European and American form of same word! ;) And here, adding to the confusion are the two different parts of world who speak English :)
All in all, language is just a means to communicate. If the other person can understand quickly and effectively on what you intend to convey to the other every thing is fine.. or is it just a reason for me escape bad spellings...!! ;)
Thursday, September 11, 2008
blessed?
Now, there were two thoughts that came into my mind that moment. First, aren't we the normal humans blessed to be able to have all the parts of our body working great and in this case, to see this world through our eyes and do whatever that we wanted to do independently? Secondly, Don't our city development authority have the slightest sens e to provide an over pass or underpass for the pedestrians to cross the road in such a busy junction of the city? Huh!!
Probably this is a rant but then do think on it...
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Rock on!
The actors were superb in their display of acting skills. The story apt in telling each character and it's peculiarity! As normal humans they all have the same common emotions portrayed in the characters. Be it the way the lead character dumps his girlfriend and then marries another girl and gives her no pieces of his past life or be it the lead guitarist of the band who gets pissed off with the double standards of the video makers and breaks up with the band! And his wife nagging him to hold on to a good paying job steadily. Every scene is so perfectly carved out. Though i could predict the story before it came, i just wanted to watch the movie and just leave it at that. I was engrossed. Did i tell you that the music so so so rocking. I love the part of the movie where the band reforms and goes on to sing the Sindbad sailor song . And hats off to Mr.Javed Akthar for writing lyrics for a rock band :) Just awesome. And music could not get better than that when Shanker, ehsaan and Loy combine. Everything was in a right mixture to deliver a potent combination of a hit movie.
The movie has proved that it's not the theme that matters but how well the characters and story gel together with each other and above all the storyteller needs to be very precise in delivering the right emotions in the right place. It's all about human emotions right! :)
Do try and catch this movie in a theater for a satisfying experice. BTW, i'm gonna watch it again soon... :)
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Media and it's ....
Now, it is August and i think the media hasn't noticed (neither have the employers) that the Dollar value as mentioned by the media or in the presentations hasn't gone down to rupee in any way as they've projected it would. In fact the Dollar is still climbing and it is a good 43 rupee (yesterday it was 43.75 i guess) even to this day!!
What does this all mean? Was this a very well thought out ploy to reduce hike? Is there a corporate lobby for getting the wrong impressions into the media and the public in general? Is this misleading or just one of those management 'games'? Hmm... probably most won't know... Ah! i rest here leaving it for you guys to think.....