WILLKOMMEN ZU MEINER WELT!!!!

The ICEMAN cometh!!!!

2007-10-22T18:33:00.000-07:00

I had been waiting for this day for the last 2 years. Finally it happened yesterday. I was screaming my lungs out which made my landlord run into my house with a baseball bat. He thought someone was attacking me!!!

Jokes apart, Kimi Raikkonen finally got his due after a real long stint in F1. But the Iceman kept his cool all along and for the first time he spoke longer than he did since his debut in the press conference. Ferrari won its 15th title and found a worthy successor for Schumi. Kimi was close to winning the title twice, once in 2003 and again in 2005. But Schumi & Alonso dominated both these years, respectively. Plus his luck was letting him down all through his Mclaren days. The reliability gremlin was something Mclaren never fixed all thro his days with the team. That's one reason for his failure but mainly his driving style was the one that hit hard.

Kimi drives fast, likes to attack the corners, slides on the chicanes but one strong and the same time, the weak point of his driving was the attitude he carried into every race with a feeble car like the MP420 or MP421. He was and is cool in all situations, yes but with a weak un-reliable car, his attack was always in vain as the car wud give away at one point and he scored more DNFs than any other front runner. His bad luck seemed to have a laugh at him in Ferrari but somehow after all that he is now the 2007 WORLD CHAMPION (I don't care Mclaren takes it away or not, to me Kimi is THE champion – a real worthy one)Kimi has got more calculative now, preserves the car, tires and at the same time when he attacks, he still keeps his cool. Thats one trait he has inherited from Schumi. The Iceman cometh!!!

In F1, anything can happen and most of the time that 'ANYTHING' happens. Want a proof? Watch the last 2 races of 2007 season. Now getting into the race itself, all 3 drivers, Kimi Alonso n Massa showed Hamilton how experience matters in the most crucial first turns of F1. Massa moved in front and blocked him and Kimi managed to get past him around the outside and slide the F2007 into the racing line as if there was no car behind. If you think Kimi's heartbeat was up by about 10% you are wrong. He was cooler than ever to think for the next turn and let Massa go by even as the #6 Ferrari was in front and had a better chance to increase the pace out of Senna Curves and get into turn 3. That's sense and sensibility of an experienced F1 driver. Also Alonso sensed the door opening for him and kept his car right behind the tail of F2007 rather than LHs Mclaren. And at turn 3 as expected the inexperienced rookie or the boy wonder for F1 went for the kill – side by side – on the outside, which was sure to make anyone lose their braking point and run wide. Too bad they removed all the gravel traps else he would be stuck there waiting for someone to push him out!!!
The ferrari pit crew orchestrated a perfect second stop to let Kimi pass without any controversy. Brilliant job guys. And Massa.. he is as loyal as ever to Ferrari. The best lap of the race was at the end, when Kimi put a blistering hot lap reducing the chances of Hamilton much further.

The dark lord of Ferrari rode brilliantly on a revived and stronger than ever Prancing Horse from maranello. The Prancing Horse proved yesterday how it could bounce back into the lead when it mattered the most!!! Ferrari won't even the Constructor's championship fair and square even if the FIA did not strip Mclaren off the points by 1 point. The same margin prevailed for the WDC too. Now 2008 is going to be a different game plan altogether with all the new rules and controls. But as I;ve told before Mclaren is an old warhorse. Given that they now know about Ferrari's 2008 plans, it will be much more closer than 2007. Or will there be any change in luck and fortunes? Only time will tell.

But watever is going to happen in 2008, as of 2007 THE PRANCING HORSE not only did raise its front legs but also stamped its authority on F1. LOUD and CLEAR!!!!

Congratulations Kimi and Ferrari.

- A true TIFOSI.

Canada part 2

2007-06-27T10:32:00.000-07:00

So we got bored with the street-car loaded Toronto city life and decided to get back on the road and head for Niagara. The falls looks majestic from the top of the Horse-shoe falls. But I cant watch water falling down for a long time. So we decided to head back to the states and get back home a day earlier than planned. The drive back home was spent sleeping in the back seat. I had not slept for the past three nights.. so. But heard the drive was troubled with hailstorms and heavy rain all over Newyork state (spoiling our impromptu plan to stop over at Ithaca) and Mass. Back home in the wee hours and back to one week of routine life at work.

My excitement was growing out of control ad the week progressed as we were getting ready for F1 and Montreal. The day arrived and this time were tripping in the beamer. I had promised to get to Montreal in 4 hours max as we had to start late. So it was a blinding drive all thro Vermont. The state of Vermont has unmarked patrol vehicles but I knew the game now well enough to not get caught. So I was constantly clocking 120mph(194kmph) and reached the Derby line in just under 2 hours. From then on it was real berserk thro the Canadian Highways.And we were in Montreal much ahead of schedule. J. So after checking in at the Youth Hostel (Hell yeah!!! The place was awesome. Thanks to some comedy by Manu and his girlfriend was super nice to Me) we headed straight for Rue St Catherine. After a half cooked – supposed to be Indian food – at the so called Indian Palace, we headed into the place for some action. Not knowing French was a big mistake in Montreal.

Being single and eager get into a party scene, we cornered a French woman – who knew very little english. She was kind enough to give us a custom map to some clubs in the place. But little did we know wat was running in her mind when she drew the map. So we trailed the map and finally reached the club. Whilst crossing the door, I saw 2 guys kissing each other and since it was normal here, I dint think of anything. But as soon as we landed up inside, the club was almost devoid of girls. There was a dirty Ba$%^%^ who gave a filthy look at me. Then something fired up inside my brain and connected the dots. The stupid brain was working overtime to digest the half cooked meal I had sometime earlier and wasn’t firing on all cylinders. But when it fired up, I was already a good 200 meters from that place. Yes I had made an official visit to a Gay Pub in Montreal.

After effects of the previous night made me cautious of the crowd around me inside the Circuit. I am not gonna say about the race or F1 part of the trip. As most of you know, I have been ranting about it for a long time. So I will stop my blabber right here right now.

The Cityscapes are the next series of blogs – a brief description of the cities I have set foot on. Until then… Au revoir. A la Fontaine(or something like that... dont know wat that means... but the French caretaker at the hostel told us before we left)!!!

Canada Part 1

2007-06-27T10:26:00.000-07:00

Living so close the border and F1 happening some 4 hours from my house was not the only motivation for making a trip to Canada. There were some GUY-FACTORS involved too. (I meant the driving u #$^%$^ minds!!!). The drive was simply amazing. We made 2 trips. Once to Toronto – Ottawa – Niagara and then again to Montreal.

The Toronto-Ottawa trip was the longest road trip I ever did in my life. And wisely I decided to rest my babe for that one and we took the spanking new Accord. Though it lacked the power and punch of my beamer, it was fun driving the big car. Especially cos it was new. The owner sat next to me and kept his eyes fixed on the Tacho (I clocked 115mph – 185kmph) all thro the trip!!! But after some time I had to give up the speed and stick to the 100kmph speed limits cos of the stupid traffic near Montreal and on the worlds busiest highway that has like a zillion lanes on either side (actually 14 lanes on each side) Also the insects martyring themselves on the windshield was really pissing me off cos u cant really use the wiper to clean em. That will only make things worse. It was nice that Canada gas pumps had full service just like India. We cud get it cleaned every now and then!!!

First stop was Ottawa. Its really sleepy city but very clean and orderly. York St night life just rocks!!! Too many Indians were around too. The Lebanese food places were mind blowing!!! But we spent only the night and the early morning to visit the Flight Museum there. Museum was the main agenda and I was more than eager to be there for a long time. The collection is too gud and you have to be there to believe it. Awesome place.

Next stop Toronto. Again a sprawling metropolis with too many Indians. There is nothing really to luk for in Toronto except the CN tower. The glass floor was gud fun in the CN tower. The only place worthwhile talking a walk and enjoying the evening is Kings street with the long line of Restaurants and Clubs. But the place we stayed was a new experience. We planned to ditch the boring and over formal NA hotels and holed up in youth hostels. I wud say U can never see people from all over the world in one place. And its all co-ed. (With drinking allowed.. need I ask for more???)

To be continued in the next post....

THALAIVAR!!!!

2007-06-18T05:47:00.000-07:00

No words!!! No comments!!! THE BOSS just rocks!!! Just go and watch the movie. The long and hard wait for an out and out Rajni movie is just the worth!!!

"Panninga dhaan kootama varum... Singam single ah dhaan varum!!!! "

FIERY FELIPE AND AWESOME HAMILTON SILENCE SPAIN!!!

2007-05-14T06:51:00.000-07:00

Spain’s favorite son was measured, overwhelmed and silenced to a distant third [infact it wud have been a 4^th if Kimi had finished] along with 140000 spainards in Spain. Courtesy Felipe Massa and Lewis Hamilton.

Before I go onto Ferrari – The main rivals Mclaren was indeed awesome though it lacked the pace of Ferrari – even after adding a movable element onto the front wing after whining about Ferrari n BMW’s movable boards. They were indeed on par in performance with the BMW’s and Kubica n Heidfield were catching up fast to challenge Alonso. BMW is proving to be better with every weekend that passes. They might actually win some races this season. Sooner or Later.

Alonso cant stop whining. He went on to start an altercation in the post-race interview with Felipe. Felipe aint a calm n cool person like Kimi. He retaliated back and there was a war of words flying – in other words they were just like kids fighting over a chocolate!!! Accept the defeat Alonso. U cant do anything more if take a driver on the outside and when he has the right to close the door on you.. he will. And that leaves no option other than going into the gravel pits. Just cos u r a double time world champion – Felipe need not consider safety n risks and let you pass!!! If you really need that switch to FERRARI and put butter to Jean Todt and get it done!!!

Now back to FERRARI. The car was perfect and it was flying alright. But reliability issues have taken over from Mclaren to Ferrari this season. 4 races – 3 wins – 4 poles – 3 fast laps – 2 retirements aint looking good for a team of this caliber. Come on guys… get ur foot down and set things right. Go back to the golden days. All thro 2000 – 2005 there was not even a single retirement and now 2 in the first 4 races?? Wake up and work fast. There are couple of teams waiting to pass!!!

Felipe was impressive. Actually more than that. The best lap of the race was not the first lap or the last one. It was the qualifying. He just took off 300^th of a second from nowhere. Another MS in the making??? Don’t think so. But impressive enough to win over some of the red painted Spaniards!!! The car was perfectly balanced – no mistakes from him too. The first lap incident was a normal one. He was on the racing line and had every right to block an intruder. Even if it was a whining Alonso. He did the right thing and pulled off very fast from the apex to avoid car damage. Way to go Massa. Keep up the good run.

Lewis – I cant believe he is leading the world championship in his debut season. He was impressive enough too. Real raw talent. After watching him for the last 4 races I tried to form a pattern on his driving style. [there are diff patterns and some of the drivers adopt these to learn the game quick and develop on it later.. For instance – MS starts real quick from the grid and no matter which position he is in – puts on fast lap after fast lap for the first 10 laps or so. Then he slows down to look after the car. Then pit time comes where he puts in fast laps in and out. These are usually his best timed laps and normally the records at most circuits.] Now back to Hamilton – He somehow manages to qualify within the top 2 rows. Don’t matter what position. Then he jus starts as fast as others in front of him do. Jus follow them close into the first corner – preferably the racing line for better grip – then once the 2 in front starts to fight for a position , he sneaks off outside the racing line and take them on their outside. The best he can get is 1 r 2 positions and not to lose his current position. Then maintain the position all along. Cruising thro almost until the second stint and start putting fast laps to close in on the car in front. Real smart!!! Hope he stays in long to provide some entertainment in the grid.

Kimi – Nothing to say. He has to wake up yet. And that will happen probably in another race or two. He was all over the rear mirror of Hamilton for 19 laps before the alternator wiring decided to stop his car. Another surprise package from yest race was Takuma Sato. He finished 8^th. Yes that’s right. He secured one championship point. And also another amazing thing was both the Honda’s finished. And they did that pretty decently and Jensie smashed his front wing into the rear wheel of Rubeno. Good job with the Elephant ears. Hope Jensie gets in front soon.

The F1 circus moves to Monaco next. Nothing much to overtake there and qualifying almost decides the winner. So lets hope for the best. And got my canadian GP tickets yesterday. After the Monaco race, I’ll be watching the 6^th round live in Montreal!!! Until then adios amigos!!!

SEPANG n MCLAREN

2007-04-12T18:26:00.000-07:00

NOT WORTH TALKING MUCH ABOUT IT.

Awesome driving from Hamilton. Frikkin crappy one from Massa. Kimi dint have much choice to stop Alonso!!!

Hope Bahrain will be good enough.

PS: Championship just got better!!!

KIMSTER ROX DOWN UNDER!!!

2007-03-19T11:35:00.000-07:00

Wat a start to the 2007 season!!! The most exciting n at the same time the most boring starting race I’ve ever seen. Exciting for the fact that Lewis Hamilton lived upto the hype he was given and he did even better than that!!! Taking a chance on the left and losing to Kubica and then seeing a gap on the right, took the favor and slingshot his way past the illustrious team-mate who happens to be a double time world champion!!! Just awesome!!! Even better – He had Alonso trialing him almost all the race. The frikking fast BMW’s were on light fuel loads!!!Way to go Hamilton. Hope Mclaren doesn’t spoil his talent with unreliable cars and team-orders for Alonso.

Now back to the man who gave THE finger to his critics once and for all!!! I have always said KIMI is much much faster than Alonso and Schumi given he is driving a superior car. Now he did just that. The F2007 seems to be miles ahead with the seamless quickshift and the much much improved aero compared to other motors on the grid. He had a dominant race right from the start. In the first 5 laps Kimi was able to open up the gap to Heidfield by 6 seconds. That’s pretty awesome. But Kimi is still the same Kimster he used to be. He went off the road once – later apologised it was his mistake – cos he was watching another car on the track!!! Hope Todt has some good spanking left for the Iceman to behave – both on and off track.

People favorite Massa had his bad luck run wild again in the season opener!! He has started 4 times before this race in Melbourne. Thrice crashed out. Once scored a tenth. But today he started at the back and climbed back to 6^th by the end of the race. If it was not for Button who was holding both Rubeno and Massa for a long time, we could have witnessed a good dog-fight between Massa and Fisi. The less I talk about Button, better it is for his reputation. I strongly recommend him to quit racing and go do some prediction stuff for F1 as he is really good at that!!

The best part of the race was Alonso!!! Fernando was fighting to stay on the top. No… not with Ferrari. The Ferrari was not even in his sight!! It was Nick Heidfield’s BMW which was tormenting him with a light fuel load. And to add more to his woes Hamilton was already up there in front, driving a perfect stunner race like a pro. If it was not for the BMW’s wrong decision to load lightly, He would have never passed the car. The BMW looked like a beast covering ground faster than ever. Mario Theissen was right in saying they are the 3^rd best team in F1. Renault was no where in the picture. And poor Hamilton had to go thro the same Rubeno phase in letting his more illustrious Teammate pass thro. The pit stop was a calculated slow one. Hypocrites!!! Atleast Ferrari was blatant and outspoken about the team orders. But this one was too obvious. Why would a team so perfect and professional like Mclaren falter in a pitstop on a car that’s been running strong in second and allow a 8 second gap to close and let Alonso thro??? Simple crap!!!

Hope Kimster keeps his run going for long in the stunning F2007. Now the poor thing Massa has to keep up to the pace of Kimi and stay on top, close to him. Else Jean Todt will choose to help out the more performing and highest paid driver of F1!!! If Todt decides to go with Kimi in the later part of the season, then Massa will be on his own. Hope to see the Ferrari drivers fighting for position. Its been long since we saw Gilles Villenuve and Didier Pironi’s super driving and fights in the Schuderia!!!

Now to the tech details of F2007. The first main difference is the Front and Rear wings. I had told before that these modifications force the car to take the corners smooth and fast like never before. Kimi was putting very less inputs to the steering and the car was perfectly balanced on the tarmac. The only problem that the F2007 seems to have right now is the seamless quick shift transmission!!! Looks like a very very fragile unit compared to the former steptronic transmission. The new shark fin vents and 3^rd outlet for cooling the transmission kit seems to be a very wise choice. Overall a perfect balance!!!

Even though Kimi wasn’t pushing hard to get his pace thro the race, I suspect there might be problem all around the grid, let alone Ferrari in Sepang. Sepang is a very hot engine-consuming track. Needless to say the gear changes are more than any other race which multiple straights and numerous corners. Hope Kimi and Massa cruise thro the race in Sepang.

PS: Micheal called Kimi before the podium presentation. Quite funny remark from Kimi given his Icecold nature. Also Kimster hasn’t grown up yet!!! He signed in for a snowmobile race in Finland after the Bahrain testing under a false name and won!!! Only to be found out by Ferrari later and blasted by Todt!!! All said and done KIMSTER roxx.

TAGGED!!!

2007-03-14T14:28:00.000-07:00

TAGGED by the Mystery Woman again....

1. Were you named after anyone?
I guess so.

2. Do you wish on stars?
Nope

3. When did you last cry?
I guess sometime during the post-traumatic condition in 12th...

4. Do you like your handwriting?
Yes..i love it..

5. What is your favourite meat?
chicken

6. What is your most embarrassing CD on your shelf?
No shelf... so no CD...

7. If you were another person, would YOU be friends with you?
I think YES...

8.Are you a daredevil?
Yea…I love taking risks

9. How do you release anger?
Punching the wall!!!

10. Where is your second home?
The current one in COncord, New Hampshire.

11. Do you trust others easily?
No…don’t trust anyone easily..

12. What was your favourite toy as a child?
I think some car or jeep 1:18 model...

13. What class in school/college do you think is totally useless?
Was never a regular to classes... so I wud say ALL OF EM!!!

14. Do you use sarcasm a lot?
yea..mostly

15. Have you ever been in a mosh pit?
What the hell is a mosh pit??a pit full of mosh???

16.What do you look for in a guy/girl?
lively sporty and intelligent...

17. Would you bungee jump?
Searching for a place nearby!!!

18. Do you untie your shoes when you take them off?
Yupp...

19.what's your favourite ice cream?
Hate em all!!!

20. What are your favourite colours?
Black and Blue

21. What are your least favourite things?
Working.

22. How many people do you have a crush on right now?
I guess 3!!!

23. Who do you miss most right now?
Nobody!!!

24. What are you listening to right now?
Vaazkhaya yosingada - Chennai 600028

25. If you were a crayon, what colour would you be?
Blue

26. What is the weather like right now?
A bit HOT. 17C

27. Last person you talked to on the phone?
I guess Soddy or GK or Dad.

28. The "first" thing you notice about the opposite sex?
Their eyes

29. Do you like the person who sent you this?
hmm…not so sure about that…;)..…

30. How are you today?
hyperactive..

31. Favourite non alcoholic drink?
PEPSI!!!! I Live on it!!!

32. Favourite alcoholic drink?
JW Black on the rocks!!!

33. Natural hair colour?
Black.

34. Eye colour?
Brown

35. Wear contacts?'
No

36. Siblings?
yea one Bro

37. Favourite month?
November

38. Favourite food?
chicken biryani

39. Favourite day of the year?
Almost all days!!!

40. Have you ever been too shy to ask someone out?
Shy??? Nope... just straight question!!!

41. Scary movies or happy endings?
Scary movies

42. Summer or winter?
Winter!!!

43. Holi or Diwali?
Diwali..

44. Do you like your name?
yea..

45. What book/magazine are you reading?
Some LUDLUM novel... Lost it!!!

46. What's on your mouse pad?
No Mouse pad... only touchpad!!!

47. What did you watch on TV last night?
MI-2

48. Favourite Smell?
FRESH INDIAN SPICY FOOD!!!

49. Have you ever regretted breaking up with someone?
NO

50. Most tiresome thing you’ve ever experienced/done?
Driving in the Kancamagus Highway during a snowstorm!!!

PS - F1 is starting in2 days. Will be back to the normal blogging mode from sunday!!! Cant wait to see the cars on the tarmac!!! And satz is one lucky A**H****!!!! He is going to the Season Opener in Melbourne!!! Watch out for more from next week. And People who are vetti and bored - please get urself TAGGED!!!

2007-02-16T08:16:00.000-08:00

Zip... Zap... Zoom!!!

And we are back to that time again. The sound of V8's and cars rocketing past the camera's
been missing for a long time now. So has been my blog. And I know this is late posting considering the fact that there has been so much going on with testing and swapping. But these are initial installation levels of the new cars and new drivers. The real test doesnt start for 2 more weeks. So I guess I am back on track at the right time.

This year already looks to be the most promising and most exciting season in F1 for the past 16 years for only one fact - No Schumacher on the grid. I'll miss those moments where he pulls off time and closes in on the leading car like a hound chasing a wounded rabbit. Those spectacular passes and awesome pitting strategies will be missed. You can love him, you can hate him but you definitely cant avoid him - in one way or the other. Hope to catch a glimpse of him on the pitwalls soon.

SCUDERIA FERRARI MARLBORO F1

The F2007 looks stunning!!! Nothing more Nothing less. Though I hate to admit with Tyaga that the livery isnt as cool as it used to be couple of years back. The main difference being the Vodafone is missing and ALICE TELECOM being added into it. The Marlboro still lives on the livery albeit in a very different and cooler symbol. The car as such has been trimmed down and shaped up to house the new gearbox and fantastic aero design!!! Though nobody knows the final aero config until the qualifying lap in Melbourne [and Ferrari does a good job in making it invisible from the press and competitors] the major difference is the new front wing. The triple blade design is gone and the double blade is back with a slightly smaller upward-fixed short wing to force the drag onto the front tires.

The rear wing is shortened and triple-decked like before but its been bent and modified to keep the car on ground at higher speeds in corners than ever. My sole guess for this change is cos of the Fiery Finn - He hits the curb very hard on turns. Schumi does the same in his own class - looking after the car and the curb. Kimi has no regard to both!!! But he is all set to improve on that front now. Overall the F2007 is a real hot babe!!

I've always admired the livery n looks. Chrome aint my favorite but when you see the car in front of your eyes for real - in touching distance - its mesmerizing. You cant stop admiring it.[I couldnt move of the Mclaren podium until someone pulled me off] Its the same design and bulky rear from MP4-21 is on the MP4-22 again. The Mclaren package has always been the best on the grid for a long time. This year with Alonso piloting it and Mercedes Benz trying all they can to prove their reliablity - it looks like a real contender this time around.

The car has always been good on a single lap and kept topping the time sheets throughout the winter testing and qualifying. But nobody - not even Ron dennis is sure how its gonna handle the race distance until it does!! And the real testing starts in a weeks time. The Vodafone adds more red to the livery and lesser chrome on the overalls. I've always said this and will say it again. Mclaren's are old war horses. When they are all set for a kill, they will crush the opponent so hard that the opponent takes more than a long time to recover!!! If F2007 was a real hot babe - MP4-22
is the German Supermodel!!!

OTHERS:

Renault looks sick. Spill some orange juice on a white paper and pour some blue ink and you get the reanult livery. They have been topping the time sheets now and then but apart from their concrete engine and Heikki nothing to look for from the Renaults. March 18th will answer .Honda has promised a new livery this time. They have been running their SA-07 with the usual black shade for testing.I doubt whether we would see the new livery until Bahrain or even later during the Melbourne qualifying.No major changes to other teams as well.

The teams has been testing in the winter of Europe. Each team has a top time to their credit and Ferrari and Mclaren pounding on each other already. But this is so different from the time the cars actually run in the races. The temperatures will be soaring to new highs on each circuit and the cars are sensitive and needs to tuned and twitched to suit that kinda environment. The real-time race like testing is commencing the sun-baked bahrain in a week and only this will throw some light on the performances from each team. Ferrari has always faired better in the extreme conditions. Sun and Rain. Mclaren is moderate throughout. So you never know until its midway thro the season.

Alonso has been the same motor mouth all along. Criticising both Mclaren and Renault. The praises he has been conveying for Ferrari is only a mind game he wants to play. If Schumi was calm and cool about it all by himself, Kimi is deaf and dumb about it under the scrutiny of Todt. Otherwise too Kimi doesnt speak out on F1. Good to see him on the reds and I wish his long run proves good this time and the elusive driver championship comes to him this year.

FINAL VERDICT

Its going to be a F2007 vs MP4-22 for the title this year. Other teams might as well top the podium on a few occasions. But the most unpredictable season I've ever witnessed in my life is all set to zip-zap-zoom on the tracks in exactly a month from now on!! Crossing my fingers I wait for March 16th. So shall you!!!

PS - Trying to get to 3 races this time. USGP, Canadian and British. Hope things work out this time and my health stays good unlike last time in Silverstone!!! Adios Amigos!!!

Kodumai Kodumayo!!!

2007-01-11T12:19:00.000-08:00

You give a print in the system and goto collect it at the end of the floor. Nick is already there printing some 400 page book. Twice!!! You talk to him for a while and realise this is gonna take long time. So you come back to your seat, open some page to read, search find your fav song on ipod and settle down.. just about when u r in the 3rd line of the page u r reading, Printer sends a msg - Your Docs are printed.

KASHTA KAALAM!!!

You start walking back again. Finally after reaching the printer room, you cant find your print outs. You get frustrated to the core and after a search of 15 mins, you return back to your seat. The print outs are sitting in your desk - with a note - NICK :-)!!!!

KODUMAI KODUMAYO!!!

The year that was - 2006.

2007-01-05T13:50:00.000-08:00

Its been a wonderful year. It came and went so fast that I cudnt have any moment back then to
relish the wonderful experiences and fun I'd been having in 2006. It is one of those years I can never forget in my life. Just like 2004. I met more friends than ever, I traveled more than ever, I enjoyed more than ever. The most transgressing year in my life ever!!!

It all started with a cake cutting in Hyderabad which I still don't remember eating. And with
a phone call from that special person - also which has gone down the drains in my memory tank
the next day. Everybody else remembered and she was freaking me out the following day.
It was the first get-together of Archians after passing out from college. As always our plans for Goa misfired and we all ended up in HYD, thanks to some brilliant calculations by the most intelligent guy in the class. But who cares where it is if we have friends n drinks to celebrate!!! I never do!! Everybody had an awesome time traveling back to college days!!

Then I came face to face with the reality at work. I had to manage a small team and a project
all by myself and work in totally unpredictable timings. The peaceful life I had been having at work ended and the storm began. The worst thing was it never stopped after that. Somewhere
around this time the freakish American Dream became a reality and I was allowed to enter Uncle Sam's land. After some thinking (Actually I never did) I turned down the offer to work in UK and resigned from the job I had been enjoying since college. But controversy never leaves me.I had to leave my mother ship with some rebarbative mood causing rifts between me and people over there. But it was all forgotten on the last day and finally I walked out of the building
and never looked back!!!

And whats life without love and relationships? And those who know me also know that I am never without one. I always keep falling for the wrong women all the time. For instance - What
can I do if Paz Vega is not a Tamil girl my parents would like?? Jokes apart - that was inevitable for some reason not known, at least to me until now!! But this time it was different. She was the perfect one. But I was too skeptical and paranoid about the whole thing and I had to move away from her to pursue my career. Everybody has their own limits of patience and she was so calm and understanding even after i pushed her off the edge. But there was no other choice and she had to leave. I know its tough to get back with her but I can bet on my life that nobody would be as perfect as her for me. [More on this later].

The first 6 months passed with fun n frolic with my buds in India. Come the 2nd half of the year
I had to face the most grueling wait for a job. It kept eluding me for 2 months. Thanks to all those who were there to support me and motivate me to go back again with full vengeance. And this time I hit the bulls-eye and settled down in the White Mountains. USA has been kind to me so far. Work kept me busy and living in a small city in a small state made my craving for some good Indian food more and more.

Its been a wonderful year. It started and ended on the same note - 2006 had been great!!! Hope
the same works out in 2007. I am sure 2007 will be eventful and successful for everyone and
myself. Happy New Year Folks!!!

[Was caught between work and sleep. Ate only 4 times for the past 4 days. So will be back
with the novel in MY OTHER BLOG soon]

Its a small world!!!

2006-12-26T15:54:00.001-08:00

My Travel Destinations covered this year...

Hyderabad,IND
Chennai,IND
Coimbatore,IND
Mumbai,IND
London,UK
Ashford,UK
Birmingham,UK
Silverstone,UK
Newyork City,NY,USA
Atlanta,GA,USA
Pheonix,AZ,USA
Los Angeles,CA,USA
Chicago,IL,USA
Cincinatti,OH,USA
Lexington,KY,USA
Charlotte,NC,USA
Newark,NJ,USA
Boston,MA,USA
Hartford,CT,USA
Edison,NJ,USA
Concord,NH,USA[Thats all over NH state]
Newport,VT,USA - Canada.

Phew!!! I've come a long way now. Still got a long way to cover. Hope I stamp my foot on those soils soon.

Places in 2007 [Planned but not yet finalised]

Amsterdam,Netherlands
London,UK
Glasgow,Scotland
Edinburgh,Scotland
Reykjavik,Iceland
Manaus,Brazil
Macchu Picchu,Peru
Anchorage,Alaska,USA
SanFrancisco,CA,USA
Montreal,Canada
Dayton,OH,USA
Indianapolis,IN,USA

16 Years of Formula One Racing hits the brake!!!

2006-10-22T17:44:00.000-07:00

Formula One Racing will not the be the same for me anymore!!! Good Bye Micheal!!! I salute you!!!

PS- This doesnt mean my addiction will stop. It will live until Ferrari is there. Hail Schumi - Hail Ferrari!!! And Kimi - Wake up... and get ready to kick some ass in the scarlet car!!!

Shanghai SURPRISE!!!!

2006-10-01T08:05:00.000-07:00

The picture says it all!!!

First - Pat Symonds - Hide your head in your ass!!! The results gave you all you wanted. Now you can shut the fuck up and mind your own over-confident team n driver. If MS hadnt performed under pressure - U wouldnt be talking abt him today!!!

Second - Alonso - Atleast try to learn something from today's race. You cant win a by putting in fast laps after fast laps. You need more than that - something called - Driving Tactics!!! If you cant learn it from the Master atleast try not to whine about it!!! Nice move for next year though - U just proved yourself - Stupid team - stupid driver and results galore!!! If u cud blow a Renault engine - U will do it easily in a Mclaren. Good luck!!

Schumi proved what he can do in a non-competent car yet again. Bridgestones went bad - Track conditions were hostile - but yet another extremely cool drive in the adverse conditions!!! Too bad we will be missing him next year. From 6th to 1st jus proved he is a genius in damp conditions.

Two more rounds to go. And I just cant wait!!!

(I dont care if MS wins the title or not - I jus wanna see him racing for 2 more races!!!)

THE LEGEND WILL CONTINUE TO RULE!!!

2006-09-10T16:40:00.000-07:00

This is not a real good time in my life. It is not going as smooth as I had expected. But I never did get down by it. Thanks to the support given by all around me, I held my own and still holding it far away from home. Though I got irritated and frustrated at times I was never emotional for a long time. But nothing could hold me today, when I heard Schumi announcing his retirement from F1 at the post race conference. I was this close to letting the tears out of my eyes. He had been one of my favorite personalities in the world and will always be. I knew it was coming but was never really ready for it.

It all began one Sunday afternoon in Udumalpet in 1995, when I saw the final 3 races of the season on star sports. Though I was a kid, I was strongly attracted to the driving and my passion to speed just added fuel to the fire!!! The main reason being one man who was standing tall amongst others. Micheal Schumacher. The way he fought for the win and titles was sheer poetry!!! And he went on to win the title for the second consecutive time. And with it came the announcement of him switching to Ferrari – whose cars I’ve been worshipping for a long time (Ferrari story was a diff one n long too)

All through 96-99, I enjoyed watching him drive in that scarlet car, did not matter whether he won or not – and even if he did – did not matter if it was legal or not!!! But I knew one thing… He was going to stay… and He was the on his way to being a legend. I still remember fighting with Jaikar (both of us ended up bleeding n grounded for a week) over Mclaren and Ferrari. That was the extent of his influence on me. Then came the disaster in Silverstone – his leg broke – jus when I broke mine and watched the races from a hospital bed for about 4 months.

From 2000 on I enjoyed every win of his and every second of racing. I used to cut classes to watch qualifying(Saturday was a working day for SW!!!) He beat Mika fair and square and from then went to break every record in the F1 history – all but one. The year is still my favorite year of racing. His arch rival – Mika wasn’t bad either. He was the best in the business and the only one who can match Schumi is driving skills. After nurturing and resurrecting a team which was a former champion and on a draught of Race Wins for 20 years – Micheal brought em back to where they belonged. From then the rest is history.

With 39 wins and five championships – He was standing tall almost invincible in racing and the greatest driver in the pinnacle of motorsports – FORMULA ONE. The secret of success is pure magic. His driving skills are matched by only one driver so far. He is the only man who can confidently wave to the crowd on the penultimate lap of a race – inspite being chased by others. He is one of those few who can change the car-setup midway on track and adjust the driving accordingly. He is the RAINMASTER – not even Mika could stand the rain. He is one of the toughest to pass – very few have accomplished this after he moved to Ferrari. He is GOD when it comes to F1.

He qualified on a old beaten up Jordan Ford in his first ever race (after being called in to replace the official driver – who was arrested the night before) impressing Benetton to sign him up for 2 seasons. Eleven years in Formula one – being the successful driver in the history of the sport is no mean task – almost impossible. Except for 2005 – where the Schuderia suffered from a loss of its chief aero designer to Mclaren and the underdogs Renault (With whom he had won two back to back championships) and Alonso went onto torment the tracks with the new mass-dampers and an almost turbo like engine. But He managed a distant third in the championship with a non-performing car – which only he could do.

Criticism never leaves famous men and Schumi wasn’t an exception. He was notorious, going to all extents to get what he wanted. Ferrari issued team orders to help him snatch the win from his teammates – but nobody – Eddie – Rubeno – Felippe – complained. But they were happy to do that. Though Schumi handed over the trophy and stepped down to make Rubeno stand on top!!! He was an admirable character. Not to mention his skills when it came to run down with a Euro Fighter Typhoon and the Fighter sucked it up!!! Ferrari had crossed the line much before the fighter did.

Even on this day – Criticism reigns high over his retirement – in the form of Alonso. Though he dint mean to block Felippe in anyway during the final 2 seconds – Rules say that – He should have moved to give the way to Felippe – who was on a hot lap!!! All said and done – Schumi was flawless all thro the race and won it fair. He was not at fault for a Renault blowing into smithereens!!!

With 90 wins(another 3 races to come) 68 pole positions 75 fastest laps 1354 Championship points and 247 race starts – MICHEAL SCHUMACHER – will remain unbeatable - FOREVER!!! From being an ordinary bricklayer’s son in Germany to one of the greatest in F1 History – he will remain a Legend always be an inspiration to so many drivers and teams around the world. And he will always be my hero. Be it speed, natural talent, loyalty, ruthlessness or hard work, You have always had it all – The very reason I was inspired by you and wil continue to be. We all loved watching you race in that Scarlet car and will savor those moments for a lifetime!!! Wish you good luck for the final races and I certainly hope you to sign off in style – with an unprecedented 8^th world championship!!!

I salute you – Micheal Schumacher – one of the greatest driver ever!!!! Hail Ferrari!!!!

Italy Vs France - The story never ends!!!

2006-07-16T07:37:00.000-07:00

He did it again!!! I hope he continues to wave the crowd in the final lap for a few more races!!!
Too bad Massa cudnt hold on to the second step... it cud have been a better result.

So the incident happens again!!! ITALY triumph over FRANCE again... but this time on a different pitch - The Formula One Circuit!!! Ferrari and Bridgestone beat Renault and Michelin in their home ground and the 100th French Grand Prix!!!

And this battle will never end... The F1 CIRCUS moves to Germany in two weeks!!! Hang on until then!!!

Ferrari Kick Ass!!!!

2006-07-03T18:01:00.000-07:00

If one man can wave the crowd in the final lap of an exciting race in Indianapolis, its gotta be MICHEAL SCHUMACHER!!! And the car certainly has to b a FERRARI.

This might b the final race in the brickyard. And I am pissed off. I missed it out inspite of having the tickets in my hand for 2 whole days. What a race track!!! And a Ferrari one!!! If u r wondering, the next race is most likely to be in Las Vegas. And there are two reasons to cheer for it. One - its going to be a street circuit and the Two - One portion of the circuit is gonna pass right thro the worlds 3 largest casinos - BELLAGIO, MGM and CEASAR'S PALACE. But official news is yet to be out. Keep all your fingers and toes crossed!!! Viva Las Vegas!!!

London Tubes Ashford n Eurostar Day - 1

2006-06-28T13:09:00.000-07:00

After last minute BYE BYE’s n tears I entered the international airport to board my flight. My next destination was London with a stop over in Mumbai for 4 hours. Was surprised to meet a long lost friend in Mumbai Airport n was traveling in the same flight to London. But that did not matter to me… in like 8 hours I am going to be out of my country and not gonna come back in for the next 4 years. It was tough to leave everything behind but it was suppressed by the thrill n adventure ahead of me in LONDON.

Heathrow wasn’t that impressive. It just makes everyone walk n walk n walk. Had no problems at the Immigration. But he was surprised to know that I was in London only for 5 days!!! Anyways he let me thro and after a long wait to collect the luggage, I was finally out of Heathrow n straight into the visitors area. I was really skeptical about Boobesh coming to the airport n was mentally getting ready to go directly to Ashford from there with the luggage no matter what!!! But to my surprise the first face I saw in the crowd was Booby n I relaxed a bit. After a 15 min drive we reached the most shabbiest room I have ever seen in my life to drop my bags.

Then it was Arjun vs London Underground. I struggled my way thro the Tube Maze and somehow got thro to Drayton - Paddington - Waterloo from where I had to catch the train to Ashford. Finally after a sleepy 1.5 hrs ride(I missed the lovely English Country Side in this journey)… I reached my bro’s place n finally fell in bed.

After about 2 hours of rest Me n my Bro went for shopping. I was looking to buy a jacket. But I was not set into the Pounds mood completely. Being told that London was world’s costliest city, I was extra cautious about spending for the first time in my life. We reached a place called McArthur Glen - which is the city center for Ashford. The place has got nothing but Designer n Retail Outlets of almost all brands in the world. The shops were lined in a circle with the parking space at the centre. The whole place was so big that u need almost 30 mins to complete one complete round!!! If u think Spencers is big start thinking again!!!

After looking into couple of shops, I found my jacket – in GAP!!! It was bloody 48 pounds!!! I decided against it n went out… checked again in TH, Fred Perry, Benetton, MnS, Petroleum, Polo, Ted Baker, CK, Mountain Warehouse and so many others. But the GAP had my mind fixed on it. So I went back in to buy it after being calmed down by my bro. But to my surprise I got a 50% discount n got the jacket for 24 Pounds finally. My first stroke of luck in England!!!

The next stop was The Blacksmith’s. The place n ambience was cool and the best thing was the location. Right behind the hospital in which my Bro works!!! Less than a min to my room!! We ordered a guiness bitter – along with Fish n Chips for dinner. And that was the strike of my painful bad luck in England. Grrrr!!! I regret for not listening to my bro about the GB. I shud have bought Carlsberg. But I went for the ultimate one. The GB tastes awesome n it chills u down to the spine!!! With the sun slowly setting around 9pm.. it was getting a bit breezy n chilly. And that marked my doomsday!!! After fighting with the dead fish n chips, gave up the idea of completing the dish n had couple of Carlsberg’s n left back for the room to retire.

Then the Goodluck striked again in the form of Manju. Already being let down on the F1 dream, I had already forgot about the whole thing even before I landed in Heathrow. But before getting into my room, I was jus talking to Manju about the F1 n found out that He had couple of extra tickets for Fri n Sat. And I could leave the next day for Silverstone along with him n come back from Birmingham to London n then to Ashford.

I was all excited n I dint have to say YES to the offer. The answer to Manju’s question was already etched hard in my face!!! So I went to bed with dreams of meeting the GOD himself tomo at Silverstone!!!! – That’s the end of my first day in London. More to come…

Nurburgring – Grey Cells work perfectly for the Prancing Horse!!!

2006-05-08T22:32:00.000-07:00

Those who made statements that Ferrari will not show pace in Germany had to eat their words. The F248 running on for the second race (even I suspected it might conk off at the later part!!!) was stronger than ever!!! Renault was humiliated by the think tanks sitting on the pitwalls for Ferrari.. Ross brawn stayed the pit crew for 3 more laps – when the pit crew was anxious to get out n get done when they saw Alonso leaving the pit for the last time.

MS is GOD!!! The 3 blinding in-laps n 5 consecutive out-laps suggests the Ferrari Man has no reason to quit the sport!!! Bring it on young guns!!! Whatever you do – you cant stop MS – especially when the prancing horse is at its best!!!

The amazing part of the race was not MS – ALONSO or the pace they had during the entire 60 laps of the nurburgring circuit. Not even the charging Kimi – I have to say a disappointment for Mclaren – but it was Felipe Massa!!! The no 6 Ferrari was catching up Alonso in the final laps. It was not able to avoid the charging Iceman but was able to fill the mirrors of Alonso.

If you thought Imola was one of the best races this year.. there is a shocker waiting. I just cant
wait to see the race in Silverstone!!! Yeah!!! I am gonna be in London for the race!!!

Hope I get to see some super cool racing!!!

I wish I could find more time to write… but getting prepared to leave the country.. so I don’t know where to start n where to end!!! See u all soon!!!

Verdict – Driver of the race – Felipe Massa!!! Holding off a quicker Mclaren with the Iceman inside and challenging the R26 is no child’s play!!!

San Marino - Imola

2006-05-08T22:26:00.000-07:00

Ferrari is BACK!!!

RI to NRI!!!!

2006-04-20T02:35:00.000-07:00

Hello People...

I know its been a really long time... and I was quite busy with lots of things here...

actually everything is confirmed except for the flying date. And the good news is I am quitting Cognizant and joining Cingular Wireless in Atlanta.

So hold on people... i'll be right back after i get things sorted out...

Chao!!!

RENAULT RULES SEPANG!!!

2006-03-20T23:01:00.000-08:00

Renault ruled right from start to end. Alonso saw some great challenge when Webber’s WILLIAMS was all over his rear views!! But he managed to hang on to his place before the Cosworth V8’s went up in flames!!! Same story for Rosberg too… the rookie showed his inexperience by causing a wheel spin at start and allowed Alonso to move ahead. Though he was able to set some good pace and clawed back in, by the 7th lap the engine broke into pieces.

I was expecting Kimi to give a strong performance but the idiotic Klien damaged the suspension of Kimi and made him sit out in just over 10 seconds from the start!!! That was the biggest disappointment in the race. Guess Kimi’s badluck is much more friggin than mine!!!

Ferrari woes continued into the second race and it all began even before the race started. But what a performance from Felipe Massa!!! From the back of the grid to 5th and he finished in front of MS. He was holding onto his place restricting the charging MS to a sixth place. With the hot races in 2006 over, the F1 circus starts moving to cooler circuits in 2 weeks. I expect Ferrari to be stronger in those climates.

Apart from the front runners, there was nothing spectacular about the back end of the grid. The mid part of the grid was in full trouble with engine blow ups all over the weekend. Toyota BMW Williams were all facing loads of trouble.

MS was awesome in the final stages of the race. He was in 8th in one lap… and was in 4th in 2 laps. That was totally awesome. Yeah the BMW of Heidfield gave up and JV went into the pits but it is not possible for a normal racer to close up the gap and breath down into the neck of Montoya in 3rd!!! That was totally awesome… But again the fuel guzzling Ferrari car had to come in for more fuel to take the chequered flag!!!

My predictions where spoiled by the stupid Renaults. I was expecting Alonso’s engine to blow up somewhere in the race. If Pat Symmonds hadn’t calmed him down after the 2nd pit, it wud’ve ripped apart for sure. He is riding on luck.. big time. – that’s apart from being a good driver. But I can bet my life that he is not the quickest in the grid right now. Kimi is much more faster than him. If only he had a better car n some good luck!!!

Driver of the race – Final Verdict – Felipe Massa (21st to 5th) – not only the position n points he gained thro the race… but he managed to hold on a charging Schumi. That’s a tough thing to do in a hot Sepang afternoon!!!

12-3-2006 - What A Day!!!!

2006-03-13T00:16:00.000-08:00

The First ever race of the season. And with Schumi on pole n Alonso on the back… it was the most expected start I was waiting for!!! And man.. it was too good not to miss out!!

Schumi proved everyone why he is the best in business. The sheer pace and the timing he pulled off from Alonso in the mid sector was awesome. I was speechless!!! Alonso was not far behind either – not for long. They had their race – strategies – pits – and luck, all working in tandem. He managed to hold MS off for 18 laps!! He did do a champion’s drive. It is too early to say this but I guess this magic is gonna fade away soon…

Kimi – bad luck hung on to him as always!! Broke the suspension but managed to bring in the car without much damage. Then started from 20th n finished in 3rd. By first lap he had gained a phenomenal 12 places in the grid!!! He is the driver to watch out fro 2006!!

As I had predicted earlier – ALONSO – MS – KIMI and as I said before don’t write Button off!!! He is gonna win. Soon!!! He was awesome in his overtakings and made Montoya eat the dirt ore than once! I wish he steps on the top step soon!!

MS was like god in Sakhir. He was setting lap after lap from the start pulling away from the crowd behind. The 248F1 sure matches the R26 in all aspects. But its even better when its on low fuel – it just scorches the tarmac like a rocket!!! I wish to see MS go onto win the title this year… I certainly feel it is very much within the reach!!

Finally the team that surprised the most was Williams. The FW28 was awesome in its speed and it was competing with RB-Ferrari’s. The fastest lap of the race was 1.32.408. And it dint come from MS Alonso or Kimi – the 3 fastest drivers in the F1 Circus. It came from the Rookie in a Williams-Cosworth. Nico Rosberg has no signs of his dad’s championship winning style in him. He is far better. The Rookie had a spin on the first lap slipped down the order and he was on full throttle and climbed up until 7. With both the Williams strong and reliable, the 4-way fight can be changed soon.

The Kid overtook a number of cars but the best one was of DC’s. DC is one of the toughest man to pass in the F1 Circus after Jaques. But JV had a blown BMW somewhere in the middle of the race. He has two points and the fastest lap on him in his very first F1 race. This kid is gonna rock the world soon. He is not gonna stay there in Williams for long. Mark my words… many of the big teams are gonna hunt for this kid – prob even for next year!!!

Nothing spectacular about others in the grid. Toyota was all hype and no performance. So was Midland. BMW is competitive. But too sad to see NICK getting reprimanded by the stewards in the first race.

Final Verdict – The driver of Sakhir (2006) – Kimi Raikonnen (22th to 3rd)

North of a Southern City called Chennai...

2006-03-11T08:57:00.000-08:00

I am not a fan of this part of chennai – until yesterday. We were in Central and we had to kill time after Satz had left for BLR. With our Band Of Brothers broken all of a sudden, a quite walk along the beach was more than welcome to Me n Bala. With Govi leading the way, we headed into the north Chennai – where I had gone only once in my entire life – a year back – when Me Tyaga and Satz decided to drive down till Pulicat Lake on a boring Saturday afternoon. And we hated the place even when we crossed the dirty uneven rally type roads into the Highway for Andhra. With the harbor around the smell was so irritating!!!

And I was back again in the same road after a year this time with Bala n Govi. After losing the right way and a bit of asking around we finally parked our bikes behind the ship building yards in the Fishing Harbor, Ennore. The walk along the embankment was nothing more than ordinary. It was still bright, windy and I was looking for something different in the place. When we reached the end of the road into the sea… we stood there facing the opposite end of the embankment making an artificial harbor.

Apparently that was the spot where the famous PROPOSAL – DISCUSSION scene of the movie Khaaka Khaaka happened. But we 3 were alone – no Maya n No Anbuselvan either. When I was beginning to wonder what is this place is famous about… the mood began to set in…

The sun was going down leaving out golden streaks spreading everywhere. The Shipyard looked smashing!!! The ship – marked – OCEAN RESEARCH VEHICLE (Never knew such things existed in India!!!) slowly crossed us from the harbor and disappeared into the Bay of Bengal. An evening spent admiring the nature in this part of Chennai!!! I had never seen such a beautiful evening sky anywhere else. The trip was worth it!!!

The Ocean research vehicle

The Wonder Kid named Shreyas...

2006-03-04T19:12:00.000-08:00

He can recognize the difference between two tamil songs. He changes songs on the player to his favorite ones. He can dance to the tunes. He can say Baa Baa Black sheep. He greets people with a handshake. He explores the world around him. He observes everything around him with a purpose. He understands what people ask him to do. He loves to laugh. He loves people who laugh.

Ok!! I know what u think. Everyone does this. So what is the big deal??? Hang on people… Cos Shreyas @ Appu kuttan… is just one year old. Barely a few days have passed after his first ever birthday. Want a proof?? Here I am posting a picture. I have the video too. But I need a way to put that up on this page now.

Shreyas,doing his dance along with his sis, Smrithi.

This guy is gonna make it big. He is so smart cute n perfectly adorable. One thing that made me sit right and take notice of him was coz of this – He has a small chair for him which he can climb onto. But the other day, he wanted to climb onto the bigger chair which was next to me. He tried twice but couldn’t succeed. So I helped him get on it. But he climbed down quickly and gave a long look at the chair for two mins. Then He dragged the smaller one near the big one, climbed on it with ease and he climbed onto the bigger one. I was totally bedazzled at this wonder kid.

Shreyas and the two chairs behind him. He climbed down seeing me taking the mobile out!!!

I don’t know whether I am right or wrong.. I never find all kids cute. Only some of them and those kids always have something in them. He is one of that kind. I have never seen a one year old kid to behave the way he does. I was so amazed to see him. Still cant get the actions he does out of my head. I know I am sounding big here but U got to see it to believe it. Love u Appu Kutta!!!

Tagged yet again!!!

2006-02-21T22:16:00.000-08:00

The rules of the game:

1. The tagged victim has to come up with 8 different points of their perfect lover.
2. Need to mention the sex of the target.
3. Tag 8 victims to join this game & leave a comment on their comments saying they’ve been tagged.
4. If tagged the 2nd time, there’s no need to post again.

My perfect lover ....(no particular order..)

This is a real unfamiliar territory… meaning I am not completely at home when I write this. Though I have had my own preferences and dreams about my Life Partner, I never really intend to stick to those. Coz I know when it has to happen it will happen n even I cant stop myself from falling into it with someone completely different from my dream.

But in general – all I need at EOD is some one who can understand, tolerate and like me all her life. Nothing more, Nothing less.

So DB… I cant write 8 points but if u ask me to write how I want my LP to… I can write but it will be materialistic and highly IDEAL. So I am not doing it… Sorry about it…

2006 LINE UP...

2006-02-15T03:14:00.000-08:00

SCHUDERIA MARLBORO FERRARI

The 248F1 is the sleek among the lot. Better aero Better performance. Ferrari Engines have always been reliable - even thro 2005. With their Aero Chief back in business, the new V8's are setting pace. MS has been dominating the timing all along. I personally expect the team to be back at the top. MS should sign off in style. The car has been facing close stand downs from Renault and Honda. But all of them were running Hybrids during that time. The first shakedown with all the new cars is not expected until 10th march. So expecting the RED STREAK to back among the top. With Rubeno in the threatening HONDA, 2006 is a sure entertainer!!!! ALL THE BEST 248f1.

MCLAREN
The all new MP421 looks awesome in its new livery(i'm not a big fan of chrome though). Though Kimi has expressed concerns about it being a top contender Juan has no problems so far. The Mercedes Engine reliability is still under threat. The engine blew up on practice twice already... Hoping KIMI to rock with the pace just like MP420 - superior to none!!!

HONDA

Team Honda are threatening with their pace and already is causing worries to Ferrari and Renault. The car looks almost the same. Except for the BAR n Lucky Strike wiped off it. Rubeno is still getting used to the inferior handling car. Button is topping charts!!!

RENAULT

Not a big fan of it. But Alonso is setting a good pace. The car remains the same. No change from it championship winner. The engine change and tyre rule can bring back the difficulties to the team in 2006.

TOYOTA

New car and new plans. Radical new aero packs for every circuit is unheard of. But with their budget second to Ferrari,they can afford it and they expect themselves to be at the top. But as far asi can guess they are gonna be at the same level of the grid like 2005.

MIDLAND F1

The most awesome looking car livery on the grid. The grpahics are goddamn good. The car is showing early pace with the Toyota V8s. But timing charts are still showing them at the bottom competing with Toro Rosso n RedBull. With 3 teams at same level I expect the battle at the bottom is gonna be exciting to watch...

WILLIAMS

The Cosworth powered FW28 is setting up good timings. Narain had loads of spin in the new car. It is clearly ahead of the last rung in the grid. Dont get surprised if it clears timing sheets in qualifying.

BMW Sauber

The Kid. With almost no livery on it, BMW is expected to give stiff competition for Williams and Redbull. Hoping to see some good drives from Jacques. It has been quite sometime since his awesome overtakings with MS.

SQUADRO TORO ROSSO

The renamed Minardi's are expected to perform better than its old cousin cos of Ferrari Power. The Ferrari V8s are stronger than most of the cars in the lower rung of the grid. But the Package is wat makes the difference. Ferrari runs away with it. But with new kids set to drive the cars, rookies down the order can be expected to give full entertainment for all.

REDBULL

The team is the worst hit of the lot. The Chasis had aero problems in Valencia then Cooling system failure in Silverstone. The Cars are expected to perform better than last year and faces tough challenge from BMW n WILLIAMS. The launch of STR n RB is not over. So official livery is not out. The cars have been running with their 2005 livery all through the Winter testing. GO DC!!!!

SUPER AGURI

They have finally signed up SATO n YUJI IDE as race drivers. The team had a private in Kemble Airfield with the old ARROWS chasis with HONDA V8s. Though it is not seen as a threat to any, SATO can prove devastating as he was earlier for all the front runners when they lap him. WATCH OUT FOR SATO n his SUPER DRIVING!!! If anymore hinderance, he should be punished with driving a cycle on Old Mahabalipuram Road for 30 days!!!!

Still 25 more days!!! Bahrain - here we come....

248F1...

2006-01-27T21:07:00.000-08:00

Its out and its already topping the timesheets... The sexiest thing I've ever seen. Look at the aero packs at the back. Another radical FERRARI package..

All the best 248F1.

Tearing up Fiorano with F2006!!!!

2006-01-21T05:20:00.000-08:00

MS testing the F2006 at Fiorano. 2 more days to go....

Bahrain Countdown : 49 days 22 hrs

GIVE ME RED!!!!!!

2006-01-16T04:01:00.000-08:00

ITS COMING!!!

24 - 01 - 2006

GRAN PREMIO DI CHENNAI – CIRCUIT DE OMR-ECR…

2006-01-08T22:41:00.000-08:00

A combination of precision driving, technical excellence and sheer bravery is required to drive in this circuit, facets which highlight the differences between the sensible and the non-sense in streets. The Median-lined (not continuous) circuit leaves no margin for error, demanding more concentration that any other track. Cars run with minimum downforce and still brakes are worked hard. Overtaking is next to impossible so qualifying to drive in this circuit is more critical than at any other circuit.OMR-ECR's mix of high and low-speed corners, plus its abrasive and rather bumpy track(where the hell is the track???) surface, makes for a physically and mechanically taxing lap. Alright I’ll get to the flying lap of the circuit…

The Start-Finish straight (ECR) is one of the smoothest and best roads you’ll ever finds in India – particularly Chennai. The Car starts at the end of the straight and up thro the gears until 3rd before it turns into the tight left handed corner and then a jittering 50 m stretch into the LBR before you encounter the smooth left handed curve into the OMR. The car experiences the minimum downforce here and adds to the wind blowing across the Lattice Bridge over the Buckingham Canal. The driver has to watch out to his right and left before turning into the OMR for there is traffic coming both in front and back (yeah that’s right – traffic coming in FRONT in the wrong side). The circuit now comes to a very tight right handed corner turning into the Taramani Road. The Pit Lane Entry is on the left here. This is one of the slowest corners in the circuit where you’ll have to actually stop for the signal n also for the vehicles who don’t respect the signals!!!

The Taramani road stretches ahead with lots of vehicles parked on both sides of the road – making the road actually smaller than it should be. The Awesome MRTS railing moves over head as the car shifts up thro the gears until 45 kmph and turns sharp into the Bypass which starts on the left immediately after the highly classified Bio-tech facility. The Car shifts up thro the gears again along this part of the stretch until 60 kmph (The only thing the driver has to take care of is the children running across here and there in the road – but even international circuits has experienced breaches, so who cares!!!) At the end of the Bypass the car shifts down braking hard to turn right into the OMR again. This is one of the trickiest corners you can ever find in the world. Literally with no road at this junction of Bypass and OMR, the car shakes down to the core!!! The earth shattering experiences are taxing on the driver and worse than the G-Forces. One wrong move here and a driver could break his spine!!!!

The OMR(oldest part of the circuit) is a mix of slow and much slow curves and straights. The mainstay in this part of the circuit is the speed traps. Here the speed traps are manned by Mr and Mrs Buffalo. (Yeah u read it right… you can find them inspecting the track at any time they wish and they’ll check your speed.) Avoiding them is simply impossible on this part of the circuit. The OMR stretches for 6 kms and all thro the 6kms it’s a drivers nightmare with people walking across any time, Cars coming on the opposite side if the road… Speed Traps, Water logs (have been there since 200 BC – esp. in front of my office) etc… The straight ends at sholinganallur taking a hard left (a barely visible corner – hiding in the midst of teakkadais and bus stops.. ) into the connecting road for ECR. This road is worse than the OMR though its only for 2kms. There is literally no road with huge holes in the centre (Ofcourse water will be there in it!!!) and the unique thorny bush fencing!!! One wrong step and your car paint scheme is damaged but drivers generally prefer this to going thro the holes – which are heavy on the shock absorption system and might break it too!!! The highly characteristic point of this road is the small chicane at the starting of the bridge over the Buckingham Canal. Once you negotiate it successfully, the bridge high up gives a unique challenge to the drivers. If you drive with your windows down… or without helmet… you are sure to be hit by atleast 14 - 15 insects (yeah I counted once and don’t know about the species)

The road finally ends up at the ECR and taking a sharp left turn the car is back onto the newest part of the circuit and the driver can push it up thro the gears until 90 – 110 kmph (Ofcourse a driver has to mind the oncoming traffic, Buses coming along side and the people on the sides!!!) before reaching the Start-Finish Line.

Whew!!! That one hell of a Lap is taken daily by me and many others for work.

PS:
The Circuit de OMR-ECR is located only 12km from Chennai. It is easily accessible on major routes, either the IT HIGHWAY or the LB motorway (exit 13) towards IIFT.

Alternatively, it is served by rail from PARK station (Line 2) to Tiruvanmiyur Station with journey time lasting about 45 minutes. The circuit is a short walk from the station.

If you're flying, then the nearest international airport is Anna International Airport in Meenambakkam, which is 27km from the circuit. There are regular connections to the circuit from the airport via bus.

Glossary:

OMR – Old Mahabalipuram Road
ECR – East Coast Road
LBR – Lattice Bridge Road

Hyderabad Part 2

2006-01-04T07:53:00.000-08:00

Day-3 :

Again half the day wasted in getting up and getting ready!!! After about 3 hours we were all in front of the hotel. But still some of them were missing. Finally we all settled down at PARADISE again for another one of those heavenly meals. No I did not count the chickens this time. After the meal, Pats n Scienty bid farewell as they had to be in Mumbai the next day.

Off we went to Golconda Fort. The travel was again so erratic and crazy, I felt like turning back to the hotel. A guy coming in the wrong side of the road hit the car with his bike and started arguing that we should’ve come slowly!!! Bloody Hell!!! And after some 10 minutes… another Skoda was trying to pass us at high speed… and a guy turned sloooooooowly… slowwwwwwwwwly……. Into the main road right in front of the 2 cars!!! He was taking forever to turn and go into the side. The Skoda almost hit us whilst trying to avoid that guy… pushing us into the platform. But lucky we… the car did not get any scratch or damage on it. We reached the Fort finally only to roam around it for almost half hour to park the car. Then another half hour was spent in Me,Nambi and Bala getting crushed in the crowd to get a 5 rupee entry ticket. I have never seen such crowd anywhere else in India to visit a historical place. This fact gave us some satisfaction that there will be something worth of all this suffering. Half the Gang was doped by the awesome Chicken Biryani and Meeta Paan!!!!

So with all expectations we started walking inside the fort to find this.

The Golconda Fort

There was nothing intact in the lower layer of the fort, except for the tall halls called as CLAPPING PORTICOS. I did not find anything strange about it other than that people were standing and clapping and yeah they were also trying to listen to some sort of echo!!! I heard none. So the guys already in a drunken stupor, decided against climbing to the top of the fort and rested on the lawn. And as the time passed with our target Saby in the centre, we decided to call it quits and head back to the Hotel.

Me inside Golconda Fort

That night everyone except Me, Bala and Satheesh everybody left back for Mumbai,Pune and Chennai. We had booked our flights on the next day – trusting some ingenious distance calculation and new year trip planning by the great SW Engineer in HYD.

Day – 4 :

The day started with a hot bath in the tub, which was refreshing and relaxing as we all had got tired of doing nothing but yapping and drinking!!! Then we paid the hotel and left for Charminar in the car. The USP of HYD is Charminar. At least that’s what I was told when I was about to leave my home on 30th. So with great expectations we set off to the Old City, where the actual HYD was located. The maddening crowd almost killed me again. I kept counting how many times the car is gonna hit something/someone this time on the 18 km trip to the Charminar. The count crossed 10 and I gave up!!!

Finally I was standing in front of the Charminar, but in total disappointment!!! Neither did it look like what it looked in the pictures nor was it impressive!!! The historical monument, built for thanking INSHA ALLAH for saving the city from some plague was in a very bad condition!!! The maintenance was too bad. There were people all around the place and electric wires running all around the beautiful building. Couldn’t get a clear shot.

The Charminar

Inside the Charminar

The Mecca Masjid

The Mecca Masjid, situated right next to the Charminar was impressive. Though it was not open for tourists during prayer time, people were allowed in on that particular day. But we decided to skip the Mecca Masjid (The stones used in the building were brought from Mecca, hence the name) and head for our last trial on the famous HYD Chicken Biryani. The hotel which we went was moderate and rated highly by our driver. But when we went inside, the place looked no different from the kayyendhi bahavans of Chennai. But the Biryani tasted damn good. Just as we were about to leave, the hotel was stormed by Americans… around 30 r 40 of them (All females ofcourse!!!) and so we had to spend some more time there. (No you filthy minds… not cos we wanted to sit there and admire those Gori ladies… we had to wait until they settled down for getting our bill.. only one waiter you see!!! )

So after 0.5 hours.. we set of on the final phase of our journey in HYD… to the Airport!!! After bidding farewell to Pistu.. we checked in and waited in Q for another loooooooooooong security check. I was thinking how to explain the officer if he gets suspicious of me again. But the never bothered… he just stamped and let me pass!!! And as we reached the Hold Area… we were informed that our flight was delayed by 0.5 hours. So after another 0.5 hours of grueling wait… (actually it was good… we saw Pavan Kalyan – Chiranjeevi’s bro, met our cabin crew, calculated how far will the Murphy’s Law work out and also fighting so hard to control smoking despite sitting directly in front of the smoking room and with Satheesh smoking along with out Captain)we finally boarded the plane for a real rough flight back to home!!!!

Hyderabad Airport

Trust Me… the return flight was so bad that I felt the Volvo Bus would’ve reached Chennai smoothly!!!! Anyways there were more things in this trip to be remembered of!!! Thanks again guys.. to all of those who could make it and also to all those who called!!! Esp to Mac… hope u got some place to see the fireworks in Sydney. Be back soon in my other blog. Au revoir!!!!

All Flights fly to HYD!!!!

2006-01-03T09:19:00.000-08:00

The trip to HYD(Hyderabad) started on a lazy day in Chennai (30th). Already having applied for the leave and more over missing the Away Day party with the project people, I started along with Bala n Satheesh for HYD. The cab reached airport just in time. We were almost the last to check in for the HYD flight. Being the first flight for Satheesh n Bala, they were excited and Bala was expecting some fun in the flight!!!

After the routine security checks (I had an extra loooooooooong one, not coz I look like a terrorist, but coz of the metal rods inside my leg. It took some time for me to convince the Officer that I have a metal rod inside!!!) we rushed to Gate-4, which is in the first floor. Singara Chennai Airport escalators and elevators don’t work !! !!! So had to do a trek up the stairs and reached the Gate 4 just in time with Bala n Me sweating all over!!!

I expected the flight to be a smaller one.. but it was the normal Airbus A320. So finally we were all set for take off and ready to rock HYD with others who had already reached and who had not!!! After a rather dull one hour, we reached HYD and the pilot kept circling the city thrice before landing. Bala’s comment – I expected some fun during the flight!!! – meaning he wanted the jet to turn like the fighter planes!!! 180 degree Cobra maneuver is not possible with two mediocre turbo fans Bala!! You need a thrust vector controlled engine and nozzle to do that!!!

After a grueling 15 min drive reached at Baseraa!!! This hotel was awesome!!! The rooms were good, and the room service – even better!!! Except for the nagging Lady at the front desk who cheated us on discounts worth some 3 grand!!! Slowly the guys started arriving and finally at around 5.30 all gathered except Saby n Neo.

Day -1 :

The Hyderabad Central – not so good as the Bengaluru Central. No collections and not so good. I did not like it. I saw MnS there at Central and was surprised!!! I was thinking that MnS had opened shops only at Delhi n Chennai in India! I’ve never seen any records about HYD store.

CLUB 8 – Nice place. Though it was nowhere near to some of the premium bars(Westminister,BnB,StarRock,Zara’s) in Chennai, the gang of 15 meeting after 1.5 years set the place on fire(ofcourse with the help of spirits!!!) Even StarRock would win hands down when compared with CLUB-8. The service was bad. I simply hung on to scotch n beer.

PARADISE – The famous hotel in HYD for the famous HYD Biryani. If a chicken commits a crime, it would be sent to HYD.The paradise is CHICKEN's HELL.I guess no chicken would be alive in HYD. This place Paradise is of 4 floors – each floor is of about 2500 sq.ft. and can comfortably seat around 200 to 300 people one floor. All 4 floors serve Chicken Biryani!!!! They have only 3 variations in Biryani. SMALL,LARGE and PREMIUM.And the hotel is packed to the max. We waited 15 mins to get our table. Just imagine the amount of chickens used for that!!! Though the Biryani was real tasty, me and Bala were counting the possible no of chickens killed per day and we couldn’t come to a proper number at the end as the food we had ordered distracted us!!!

All set for the food in Paradise

Day -2 :

Half Day wasted in the hotel trying to wake people up and also waiting for Saby n Neo. Finally, they showed up around noon after a real long n tiring bus journey. Kudos to you two... if you two hadnt come... there would've been something missing.And you guys know what it was!!!

PRASAD’s – This place was awesome. The mall has an IMAX screen (in which we watched HP-4 without understanding what was going on. I hate HP!!!) With some li’l help from Bala (crazy fan of HP) I could understand and patch it up.

The Prasadz...

Yours Truly... trying in vain to join The Hogwarts

The IMAX is nothing but a forward inclined screen of gigantic size. Almost twice or thrice the size of a normal movie screen. It does cause dizziness for weak hearted people!!! It was fun time after the movie. Saby and Neo tried their hand at rock-climbing. To our astonishment, Saby was much more efficient and faster than Neo at climbing (guess this is a common trait with people from Dadhagapatti!!!) He almost touched the top before his weight let him down. It was fun for all of us to see our dear Saby (Hero – Zero- Hero) back in action, along with his all time contender Neo!!

The EAT STREET – This is the place I loved the most in my trip to HYD. This place roxx!!! Its got all – Idli,Chutney to Pizza to frankies to everything… I know this sounds similar to TRANSIT at Forum but trust me u get much more options than you get in Transit. So bad that Chennai does not have such a place to eat out!!!

Me n Bala at the EAT STREET - happy after two pizzas..

Then back to the HOTEL… for the Bash… to welcome 2006. Since we were a big group and all Stags (Royal Stags are not allowed into most of the clubs in India!!) we decided to keep the party personally in the room and it would give us some time to sit and talk too. Since Saby (Our Main Target) had come late in the afternoon, the focus was on him and his Malaysian Sweetheart!! It was fun… I can remember only till 1130 on the 365th day of 2005. After that I was on a total high… don’t remember cutting the cake… talking to Miths n Vinu over the phone… and lots of other stuff… even now… (I was shell shocked when I heard that I did all this from Vinu!!!)

The final cheers of 2005

Me feeling real sleepy.More on Day 3 n 4 later...HAPPY NEW YEAR...

SBOA Revisited!!

2005-12-27T17:45:00.000-08:00

Last weekend was what we all were waiting for a real long time. It is not that easy to make a meeting of old school buddies possible after being out of touch for almost a decade. But IX A was all for it and ready to do it. So the time and date were set and all roads lead for Bengaluru on Christmas Eve 2005.

We all met at Forum, a mall much smaller than a single phase of Spencer's. It was so good to see those people with whom you had spent your innocent days of adolescence, trying to know about the adult world. The groups which we had started with an ambition of being together after school was dormant until the arrival of our dear Lawyer Saab, Thomas. Thanks to him.. and his evident skills of convincing people.. all that we were talking for the past one year was happening finally!!

I was as usual late for the meet cos of Jazz who had some work to do at home. The first person I met was Thomas. Our dude hasn’t changed much in the past 8 years. Still looks the same and still talks the same. Couldn’t believe he was a lawyer in Supreme Court. The fun we had in school was awesome. He was there only in 9th n 10th with all others. The Biology Lab decoration, Fish Tank Maintenance (yeah we had a big one at school!!)
Or the fun we had during THE ENGLISH FAIR by BRITISH COUNCIL were re-lived. At a time when bunking classes without being absent to school were even unheard of, Thomas, Me and Muji pioneered the process which was followed by so many people in succession. It was so good to be back with him. The eternally cheerful dude!! He rocks!!!

Then Shri… though we had been in touch after school, on and off, it was Chennai that saw us getting along very well. Though he lived a few houses away from mine, BITS n PSG TECH had different cultures and timings to make us meet and stuff. From a naïve and studious guy (I never knew about M!!!) to a rocking SW professional, BITS PILANI had played a great part!! Kaxxxxx (Me and Thomas were in a shock when we heard about it!!!) too – yeah some actress who acted in a couple of tamil movies. I expect him to be back in Chennai for new year. He was talking a lot about marriage. Maybe its time for him to settle down. We had an awesome time in Chennai before he left on deputation to BLR. So there is a lot of stuff to be added about this guy. Some of the particular ones are the GREY GOOSE episode, Three to Tango (Me,M n Sri) and then the smashing T-Lounge. More on these later!!!

Updated - after 2 hours - SRI valavaru... Nallavaru!!! Remember our PACT sri!!! dont break it!!! ok???

Jo – The ASPL of our school. Madam hasn’t changed much. She was one of the girls who created a storm in the school on the very first day. I still remember the IX A class being upgraded in this section popular among the guys that time. You know what I mean. From SBOA to BLR and Citibank – Wipro – Patni… madam has carved her niche as an HR Executive. Though her ambition was to do something in Astro-Physics or something of that sort – as told by herself during college time. She was cool about all the commotions happening around and maintains that till date!!! We got to see it first hand in BLR. It was nice to see her getting along well with the greatest adversary of all times – Thomas. The tire tearing episode was one of the funniest ones ever happened in the school. And not to forget her convincing skills in getting a free period for playing in the hot sun!!(which was no skill.. the PT masters just gave it whenever she asked!!!). Nice to meet you Jo and Sushant (her husband). Have a rollicking year ahead!!!
Nithya – mother of all surprises!!! Nobody was able to recognize her!!! Though she hasn’t changed much from her own self, she was completely different from what we had imagined. GK who is in USA had a hard time to spot her in the pictures and kept asking me who is this girl?? She is still the same goody goody girl who compares a Beer Pitcher to a Round Bottom Flask!!! And not to forget the always- ready-to erupt temper!!! Not even one guy was spared during school days except me (I was a good boy.. u see) but I fell victim too. For writing a post in the blog!!! She is awesome.

Thiru – our mappillai hasn’t changed a bit. Still the same guy he used to be but a slight improvement though. On and off he would disappear in the crowd to take a phone call from some Airtel Executive. Hope we get to hear about it soon. And also he was instrumental in proving the arbitrator in Thomas. And Thomas showed us why he is a Lawyer. You could even convince a girl to try on Bacardi n Vodka… but not Thiru. But it was smashed and Thomas had Thiru in his hands!!!

Vivek – Still the same silent guy as he was in school. Though TCS has made him travel a long way around India. So he knew most of the places we were talking about.

One person I missed in the meet was Lallu!!! Lavanya was away on honeymoon to Mangalore. Too bad we couldn’t get her to be in the meet. We all missed you Lallu. Hope you will make it for the second one in Jan or Jul. And also Ferozia and Siddhi.

Not all friendships stay long... but the ones which do stay cannot be valued. "Long lasting friends are ones whose names travel through the address books you change. Acquaintances are lost in the old address books"

This was very much visible in our case. Hope to keep it strong for many many years to come. Nice to see all of you guys!!! Lets meet very soon….

Picture (L to R : Thiru,Vivek,Jo,Nithya,Thomas and Sri)

Awesome!!!!

2005-12-27T05:09:00.000-08:00

It was 1215pm. I was getting restless after sitting in the Bengaluru airport for more than 45 mins. Finally the boarding calls came. I was so eager to get into the plane and doze off. Then the slow and long airport shuttle ride to the plane passed.
I was standing in the line to board inside. That was when i noticed it!!!

It was standing there,like a beast!!! a huge metal beast waiting to pounce anytime. I was rendered speechless. I quickly moved out of the line and admired the looks. I dont know when i would get to see it the next time. It was awesome. But sadly I was not allowed to take a photograph.

I know... to break the suspense.. I saw one of the worlds most advanced tactical fighter planes. The Sukhoi 30 MKI. Complete with the canard foreplanes and the thrust vector controlled nozzles. I ran inside to get a good view before my flight took off. I saw it an almost all possible angles. Left Right Centre and Top.

It was standing right in front of the DRDO Test Facility Hangar.For those who are crazy about planes.. this is a boon!!! Not many people get to see the Su30MKI right in front. The stooping cockpit.. the huge forward tilted engine intakes.. the HUGE swept wings... it looked awesome!!!

I am still inside that stupor of seeing one of my fav planes on earth. The last time I saw a fighter was in Sulur Airforce base very long time ago. It was the F-14 Tomcat which had landed there for some repair work or something from the USS Carrier off the Indian Coast and the Mig 21 inside the enormous hangar there.

Anyways me caught up with too much work. I have to post about my BLR trip. The long awaited meet with my school guys after 8 long years!!! It rocked!!!

hope to post it soon. Adios!!!!

BROADBAND!!!

2005-12-16T11:56:00.000-08:00

i got broadband at home!! yay!!!!!!!

just checked and bugged tyaga for some time...
i gotta crash now... expecting to find more time and energy to post more blogs from now on!!!

Au revoir!!!

Life at TECH

2005-11-13T22:42:00.000-08:00

The sun rays were scorching the rocks. I opened my eyes into the bright sunlight. My hands were slowly turning numb from the lack of blood flow. I looked up to my wrist that was gripping the small crevice in the rock for grip. The other arm was searching for another spot to pull myself up towards the rock. I looked at the abysmal depth below me. It was well over 3000 feet and a fall from here would ensure that none of my bones remained intact, making my corpse easier for the vultures to eat.

With sweat all over my body and the sleeveless T, I turned slowly to the left balancing myself to see how my partner was doing (aka MI2 Opening Scene). Tom Cruise was missing on the left. He had gone up. I looked up and found him on the right side above me standing on a small shelf like extension. I raised my free arm towards him looking for his support. Tom Cruise bent down towards me and said “YERANGU DA… TIME AACHU” (its time…get down). What The …???? I was dumbfounded for two reasons… Tom Cruise was talking in tamil!!! And more than that he was asking me to get down!!! Has he gone mad?? Or has he found out that I am the super spy from RAW assigned to kill him. So all this mountain climbing idea by him was just to kill me???

Suddenly Tom Cruise crouched down… and said, “YENNADA PAAKKARA?? YERANGUDA!!!” and kicked me heavily on the head with his leg. I closed my eyes as I started falling down from the rocks in the Grand Canyon. I felt another thump on my head and I opened my eyes,but…

I saw my roomie DJ standing in front of me… I shook my head and I came to the real world. He said, “Its 1145..get ready…Mess will open soon..”. CRAP!!! It was just a dream!! I heaved a big sigh and got down from my bunker. The bunker was one of my favorite spots during college… right below the fan in the fifth floor… in cbe… you cannot ask for something better. I used to drift off to sleep in seconds in my bunker… double bedded.. Courtesy: JAZZ… who was on leave and I was using his bed also…

Alright, if u are wondering what I am trying to type in here… I just got a bit nostalgic about the college. That’s all.

Height of what>????

2005-11-09T20:17:00.000-08:00

I dont know the term... HEIGHT OF ------- ??????
the possibilities are...
1.Laziness
2.Boredom
3.XXXXX
4.YYYYYYYY...

The following lines will stand by for my statement...

The list of movies I watched in the last 7 days...

Crash
The Butterfly Effect
As far as my feet will carry me - German Movie
Identity
Twisted
Monster's Ball
A Lot like Love
Scarface
Majaa
Transporter 2
The last Ride
Wrong Turn
The Matrix
The Matrix Reloaded
The Matrix Revolutions - all 3 on one day. S gave it to me as a bday gift.
Air Rage 777
Swordfish
The Machinist
One Fine day

Books I read in the past 14 days:

Bourne Ultimatum
One Night @ Call Center
2 THE WEEK'S
2 THE OUTLOOK's
I ran out of books... i'm buying one today!! someone suggest me a good one...

TV:

All cricket Matches...
All Jeff Corwin's
All Friends...
All crap movies...

OMG... I am SO JOBLESS!!!! I better get finish the system test cases today... i dont want to get fired!!!Adios!!!

Someone special tagged me!!!

2005-11-07T18:27:00.000-08:00

10 Favorites:

Favorite Season: Winter
Favorite Sport: Formula One
Favorite Time: Dawn
Favorite Month: November
Favorite Actor: Al Pacino
Favorite Actress: Michelle Pfeiffer
Favorite Ice Cream: Butterscotch
Favorite Food: Chicken Biryani,Dosai and hot hot idli!!!
Favorite Drink: Pepsi - The elixir of my life!!
Favorite Place: Coimbatore

9 Currents:

Current Feeling: Bored.
Current O/S: Windows XP.
Current Windows Open: Outlook,Webmail,Gmail,Citrix,This current browser,mainframe
Current Drink: None
Current Time: 08.04 AM
Current Mobile(s) Used: Sony Ericsson K750i
Current Show on TV: I am in office
Current Thought: Torrential rains in Chennai. Thinking about why water is on a rampage all over the world this year??? Global Warming??? What to eat???
Current Cloth: All Indigo Nation formal wear!! - I love it.

8 Firsts:

First Nick: A!!
First Kiss: Dont Know!
First Crush: That green eyed girl from school! - heard she is married now!!
First Computer: Dad's... some old Mac version.
First Vehicle I drove: Scooty
First Job: Programmer Analyst.
First Movie I watched on Pulse Global’s print: I havent
First Pet: A cat.
First Shave(men)/hairstyle(women): When I was in 11th!

7 Lasts:

Last Chai (Tea) : Dont drink tea!
Last Movie: Identity!
Last Time I Drove: yesterday afternoon
Last Time Shaved(men)/Beauty parlour visit(women): Yesterday!
Last Web Site Visited: http://f1racing.net
Last Software Installed: dB PowerAmp(wanna compress songs!)
Last Pill I Had: Last month for fever!

6 Have You Evers:

Have You Ever Broken the Law: Yes!
Have You Ever Been Drunk: Yes!
Have You Ever Climbed a Tree: Yes:-)
Have You Ever Kissed Someone You Didn't Know: No
Have You Ever Been in the Middle/Close to Gunfire or Bomb Blast: Yes
Have You Ever Broken Anyone’s Heart: Yes, in college(But I could not help it!)

5 Things:

Things You Can Hear Right Now: The sound of AC in office and Sollitharava song frmo Majaa.
Things on Your Computer Table: My System, My cell phone, some papers
Things on Your Bed: My pillows, One night @ call center,My shorts.
Things You Ate Today: Nothing from morning.
Things in Mind: When will i finish the STC's? Will I be able to meet Vinu?

4 Places You Have Been Today:

Bathroom
Kitchen
Office
ATM

3 People You Can Tell Anything To:

Miths
Di
Bala
(not in that order)

2 Choices:

Black or White: Black
Hot or Cold: Cold

1 Thing You Want To Do Before You Die:

Go on a world tour and give TS something back!

And people I wanna tag-

everyone who reads this... ofcourse its you Tyaga and KD. Others are busy!!!

Tagged - Not online!!!

2005-10-30T18:52:00.000-08:00

Your Seduction Style: The Natural

You don't really try to seduce people... it just seems to happen.
Fun loving and free spirited, you bring out the inner child in people.
You are spontaneous, sincere, and unpretentious - a hard combo to find!
People drop their guard around you, and find themselves falling fast.

What Is Your Seduction Style?

Happy Diwali!!

2005-10-30T18:44:00.000-08:00

Happy Diwali to all...

For gods sakes try to keep the air and noise pollution in a minimum level.

Have Fun!!!

Its Time!!!

2005-10-21T06:09:00.000-07:00

Yay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

Its been one yaer since i started blogging!!
Yeah i accept i havent been successful like others... but still i did have my own fun.

Anyways... some things kept me away from it for so long! I am not gonna swear that i am gonna make up for it. I certainly cannot. I will try my level best though. With F1 over, there is nothing much to post here... though
My Storybook will be updated often.

Congrats CNA.. on surviving for one long year on the blogroll!!!

Thanks to u all... KD,Tyaga,Nambi,Me,SK,Anonymous,Jazz,Divya and whoever i missed!!!

Adios!!!

Its Over... finally!!!

2005-10-17T01:39:00.000-07:00

The Final GP of 2005 started with the 5 red lights going off in unison in Shangai. The light Renaults with a new engine at the first row were set to win the race from Saturday… but I was expecting a charge from Kimi after the first round of pitstops but he was cruising around the track in that time.. And Alonso was pressing the gas pedal hard.. making faster and faster laps around the ckt…

For the second time I think.. I’m not sure… I felt he deserved the podium finish ahead of the Finn. They also took the contructor’s championship and signed off 2005 in style. Alright the underdogs had a nice time. But I really hope and wish it wouldn’t be the same next year.. I wish next year would be RED!!!! Already the Scarlet F2006 is making news in the testing circuits. With Toyota and Williams switching to Bridgestone, Ferrari will be able to develop a competitive package. They have got their Chief Aero Designer back into Maranello. I expect MS to sign off next year in style much ahead like 2004 and his racing career should end when he is at his peak.

Alright… as 2005 is over… some look into 2006…

1.Ferrari – Rubeno departs with much fanfare. One of the best drivers in a team. Everyone in Ferrari seems to lament on his move. Well he is moving to Team Honda…

2. Yeah you read it right… BAR is bought by HONDA… and LUCKY STRIKE sponsorship has gone off and 555 is in. The change was noticed in Shangai with the BAR007 loaded with new Graphics.

3. Mclaren – Kimi and the team are waiting in vengeance to hit back. And they better do. With Kimi all set to come into Ferrari for 2007, Mclaren will do every bit to keep him back in the team. If he stays long enough like MS, he will rule. But he is looking into a long lasting career in F1 like Alonso. Clearly he is my fav after MS and the driver to watch out for in 2006.

4. Sauber Petronas is OFF.. TEAM BMW is in. They haven’t decided on the drivers yet.

5. Jordan and YELLOW is off the tracks. Its MIDLAND F1 next year and a huge line of Drivers are waiting in Q to be selected. I guess it’s the end of the road for NK.

6. The Fastest car in the straights is being changed to Blue n Silver next year. Yeah MINARDI is the fastest car in straights.. believe it or not… is being bought by REDBULL and changed to SQUADRA TOLO ROSSA Italian for RED BULL TEAM.

7. Felippe Massa is coming back to Ferrari and this time as the scarlet’s second driver.. replacing his compatriot Rubens. He was a test driver a couple of seasons before Sauber Petronas had requested Ferrari to lend him after their Ferrari engine deal was closed in 2003.

8. Sato is out. He deserves it. No more comments.

9. Speculations are high for a 11th team on grid possibly a Honda powered team with financial back up from Dubai.

10. All these might be changed at any point of time. No guarantees that everthing will go as written here. If it dint I’m not responsible!!! !!!

One of the worst seasons for the past 7 years has come to an end. All I wish for 2006 is the podium to be painted red next year. With V8 engine spec changes, it might be possible. Also I wish the long standing rivalry between Ferrari n Mclaren will come into picture once again. It was so good watching Mika n MS fighting in their cars which were equally matched. That was 2000 when the new engine rules came into effect.

Alonso n Renault… you pulled off something great. With all due respect… there are two teams in wait for 2006… to reclaim their positions. And Tyaga… say all that you want.. Mclaren and Ferrari are old war horses.. they know how to come back. Lets wait till march 2006. And yeah… next year might see one more new track and a longer calendar year than 2005. I cant ask for more… hats off Bernie!!! Chao!!!

The Rain Men!!!

2005-09-13T03:18:00.000-07:00

What a race!!! Every driver proved why they are the pilots of F1. Not even our own NK was left behind. He proved his adroitness of handling a F1 car. All this happened cos of one simple reason. The CIRCUIT. The Spa-Francorchamps circuit is one of the oldest n legendary circuits in the calendar. It has proved to be a hunting ground for MS. He started his F1 career here. He had his first win here. And most of all, it was this circuit which gave him the name ‘THE RAIN MASTER’.

Well, leaving the past as it is, MS was too good to watch on the wet slick tarmac with a great amount of control over his car. If the idiotic Sato hadn’t rammed into the F2005, he would’ve had a podium finish for sure. I can bet my life on it. Even JPM wasn’t left behind. He had his 3rd successive crash to spoil the party for Mclaren. Cant say anything about the incident as the cameraman missed the incident. Cant blame him too. Too much was happening around in the circuit.

Kimi scorched the tarmac once again. If anyone can stand up to the records of MS, its gonna be the ICEMAN. No one else. With a possible Ferrari switch in 2007, he will be invincible for a long time!!! He was the quickest… using all the road at turns… keeping the car at its limits… he is the man to look out for in the future. Ofcourse, if he stays long unlike his compatriot Mika.

Another lucky outing for Alonso. Nothing to comment. Fisi.. is a bad luck magnet for sure. He hit the curb at 200 MPH n hit the barrier. For the second time this year. Lots of tyre changing made the narrow unusual pitlane busy all the time. Don’t know why the drivers went into a frenzy about changing the tyres to DRY SPEC even when the track spraying water all over. Only reason I could think of – Too soft INTERMEDIATE n WET tyres from MICHELIN??? Bridgestone WET tyres were clearly the strongest.

A bit about NK… Man!!! This guy has strong nerves!!! I was dazzled by the picture for a minute.. with amazement. The Jordan Toyota overtook two cars, and was challenging Jac’s Sauber. And just after Eau Rouge hairpin both cars were wheel to wheel. Jac’s a tough man to pass n he is a former world champion. He closed the gates at the end of the straight.. and guess what… NK went into the grass… hopped twice like a frog cos of the access road lying across and came back at the other side of the track. And he was in front of the Sauber… and the most amazing thing was he opened up a gap right after getting in front to an empty road. Where did the Jordan find that much power??

Okkie… about the news… Toyota n Williams are switching back to Bridgestone tyres next year. Redbull has bought Minardi and going to rename it as REDBULL AMERICA.. Scott Speed might take the wheel for that team. Redbull’s are getting Ferrari power in 2006. And surprisingly staying on with Michelin. That’s it for now… will catch up soon after Interlagos. I just wish it rains there!!!

A weekend at OTTODROM!!!

2005-08-21T21:51:00.000-07:00

A race to forget for Ferrari. Especially MS.. Never mind... he has seen worst. I am disappointed but as other ardent Ferrari fans, I have already started looking out for the V8 and 2006.

First the Track!!! One of the 3 anti-clockwise circuits.. with steep gradients.With non-landscaped sides.. the track was very dirty.. and the gradients made the car to swing out of control in turn 12 with a huge amount of Tail Wind. The only car not affected by this was the Mclaren. When you lose the greatest Car Designers to a team like Mclaren, this is what happens. Ferrari... MS's... had a huge tail spin in the qualifying. But he was up into 11 from 19 in 2 laps... if it hadnt been for Webber's nasty overtaking move... he would've finished in points for sure.

The track is a challenging one... and its going to be tough even next year for most of the teams.Hope the officials bring it up to the world standards by then.

Kimi rocked the race right from the turn 2 of the starting lap. He was caught napping at the start by Fisi and a raging Alonso. But he on to his nerves and shooed off both the renaults. Tyaga... did I hear about Team Orders??? It went on live in AIR when they issued the team orders.They called it HELPING BY FISI for Alonso even when he was in a comfortable lead in the championship. Atleast Ferrari commented straight about the Team Orders and the Contract for No 2 driver always comes with it. Poor Fisi!!!

I think its allover for Narain. Might be out in 2006 or will have to settle for a test driver position. All the best.

I just hope Ferrari will bounce back at home in a couple of weeks. Nothing much to say about Ottodrom. See ya all after Monza!!!!

QUALIFYING - 2006

2005-08-18T01:52:00.000-07:00

A radical new qualifying system will be installed for the start of the 2006 season, it is reported. Several media outlets claim that team bosses have now agreed to scrap the current single-lap format in favour of a sort of 'knockout' competition, which gives each driver a maximum of four laps.

The first lap will be completed in an initial 15-minute period, when - at the end - the five slowest cars are eliminated and locked in positions sixteen through twenty. A second quarter-hour will determine grid slots 11 to 15, before a final shootout for pole and the top spots. A five minute gap is to separate each block of action.

The format will probably be run with low fuel.

SUCKS!!!! why cant they have the normal 12 LAP - MAX LOW FUEL QUalifying as the old days????? Anyways.. I am excited about the OTTODROM and the V8 developments next week. CHAO.. See ya people soon!!!

Hockenheim disaster!!!

2005-07-26T02:52:00.000-07:00

The man was so silent. So was his car. There was no hurry in his walk. There was no perspiration on his face. The Man slowly climbed out of his car and started walking to his Driver on the inside of the fence. Thats the real meaning of being THE ICEMAN. The stone cold hardened face did not frown even for a single second in the pit garage for the entire race.

Tyaga - you were right. The car is simply not good enough. I did a bad speculation about Mclaren. Ever since I heard that the Ferrari Chief Designer has switched to Mclaren, I was happy that the competition would be tough between Mc's
and the Scarlet's. But things went the other way by which teams like Renault and BAR are showing a strong improvement in the design and power, bridging a gap between the highly advanced teams.

Mclaren's... The car... the silver and black beast had an upgraded rather completely new aero pack on it. The most obvious one was the Triple deck front blades which were found earlier only in Ferrari. The car was practically using more road than any other car on the circuit. Meaning the car stayed in the racing line at all speeds and all conditions that it was put into by Kimi and Montoya.All they needed was the power pack to be strong and reliable and last for 67 laps. But it dint.. and the blame is not on Kimi.. not on Ron... not on team... although the blame was turned to
one single engineer who forgot to re-fasten the pressure pump valve after a check, which caused the car to stall with a huge lock up in the rear wheels making it look like an engine seizure.

My heart just went out for Kimi again. Probably by now, his management would be pushing him to the limit to sign off the papers for Ferrari after MS leaves. And he is human too. Maybe he has started thinking about other options already.The Ferrari's simply sucked. Rubeno was struggling and nowhere in the picture. MS showed the world why he is called an Ace!!! Button simply could not pass the limping F2005 for so long... held back by MS. Every time he moved around or caught the back of the Ferrari, MS closed the door and he knew exactly where to push the car to its limits and where to slow it down. Even Giancarlo could not pass him until the penultimate lap with the so called FERRARI EATER -R25.

Alonso... the luck is just shining on this fellow. No more comments. The happy news is, Ferrari is back to Modena.The development has been started for the new V8 Spec cars for 2006. Hope they hit the mark in the first race and get back to the championship Mode. There might be a lot of driver swapping next year too.

Narain Karthikeyan, might or might not stay in Jordan.. rather Midland next year. The Russian team boss is keen on bringing on Russian Drivers into F1. He had a good start, then a bad season so far. nevertheless, he made his mark. That matters the most. May luck be with him.

The Great Michelin INDY Failure

2005-06-23T04:01:00.000-07:00

Stop Criticising people.If anyone is to be blamed its the French Marque.They are responsible for giving their teams with the safest tyres.It failed in its job.They went for a new spec for the two low downforce high speed circuits and it blew out of its place.They should have made a plan B for the tyre failure.Guess they dint go with the RMMM(Risk Mitigation Monitoring and Management) Plan.I remember Pujeri's words in PSG TECH 2 years back.That was a statement then but now i see its importance.

I cant c the point why people are blaming Ferrari.There is simply no point in it.Ferrari were having serious problems with their Tyre development at the start of the season.The tyre blew off twice on MS's F2005.Nobody bothered to raise a question about safety then.They did not withdraw from the race.They raced with the same spec tyres until Bahrain.And noone from the Scarlet team complained.That shows the magnanimity of a World Champion.

The teams ordered their drivers not to race citing safety reasons.Most outrageous attempt from the Michelin HQ was the request for a Chicane at turn 13 in the Brickyard.The Indy Motor Speedway Circuit was and is famous for the turn 13.And normal INDY and NASCARS do nothing more than rounding the oval at top speed.The reason why people love F1 in this unique circuit is for the very reason that F1 cars come flying out of the turn 13 into the brick-fenced stretch where the cars run flat out to 340kmph on an average.Putting a chicane at that point would've spoiled every li'l bit of fun in the otherwise-very normal race track.

Even if the chicane was kept in place at turn 13, all the Bridgestone runners had a high chance of winning.Most obviously Ferrari. They had got everything right at the race. They would'nt done it with sheer speed but with a bit of strategy.And the very reason for putting a chicane that Michelin mentioned to the FIA was silly.The chicane would slow down the car but would put more pressure on the left front and rear tyres and that would obviously become an advantage for Ferrari to overtake the Michelin clad front-runners.

okidoci...enough of the politics..the bottom line is Ferrari won it fair and square. Yeah it was a shame they did it without any opposition but even if the rivals were on track,their tires would've lasted only for 10 laps.The circuit was to be driven at flat out for 65% of the distance.It would've been a cake walk for the Scarlet Marque.

About the race, Ferrari's were impressive enough and MS n Rubeno had a bull fight going on.It was ok about the li'l shunt MS did at the first corner.He was racing and so was Rubeno.He has to calm down.And he is calm.Although that was a dangerous move I fancy what would've happened if they had collided with each other? Our own Narain who finished at 4th place after losing it out to Tiago would be on the second step of the Podium!!!

The jordan's were also very impressive.They managed to pull it off from the Minardi PS05's with the old car.The brand new EJ15B is all set to debut at MagnyCours next weekend.Hope that would be better challenge for Sauber n Redbull this season.

The latest news though is BMW has bought Sauber Racing.Thats a relief for Ferrari actually.They would be cut on the Engine supply to the Sauber's. They are already on the job for the F2006 - a brand new V8 (from next year F1 is gonna be raced on V8 engines - Listen to all the V10 howls this year people..V8's wont make som uch of a noise)

Well, thats it for now folks. Be back on Magnycours soon. Tyaga.. go read the statistics... Ferrari at 63 second place with Mclaren in Constructors. MS is just 25 points behind Alonso. It wont be long before he is caught up. And who told you Mclaren's are not consistent enough? It is not possible to pull off 3 wins (almost 4) with that non-consistent slow paced car.Wait and watch your king going off. And did you read this?? Kimi's management is talking with Ferrari for 2007.Hope it gets going. Then no stopping the ICEMAN!!! Hope Alonso would be there in Ferrari too by that time. It would be something like what you call HOLY F*KIN SHIT!!!!

Mont'real'

2005-06-21T01:09:00.000-07:00

HI all

Guess its a bit too late to say anything about the Canadian Grand Prix. There is too much boiling in the pot and Montreal is vanished from everyone's eyeview!!

But the best thing about Gilles de Vill circuit is the Speed!!! and Two cars set the pace throughout the race even with the low downforce rules. Both the Ferrari's were incredibly strong and ruling the race all the time.

First MS.. starting from 2nd... slipping to 6th in the first turn first lap, he managed a podium finish with 3 stops. That was simply great. That was some example of the MICHEAL MAGIC. That was something Micheal gave his criticisers to chew about. Guess they'll have to call the medics to get their feet out of their own mouth.

Second it was Rubeno. He had started the race after the minardi's went past, from the pits. He was in 12 th after 7 laps. With the fully loaded car he managed to do some quick laps and finally ended up on the final step of the podium. All this in the team's spare car, used over the weekend for testing by Luca Badoer.

But still i wont call it a Ferrari Comeback... just wait people... Ferrari will be back... and they will be back in style. Not like this.

Kimi was as usual.. kept his cool and ended up on the top step. Renaults were out.. and their reliability is going down. So as i said earlier its gonna be a close fight between Mclaren and Ferrari soon. Just wait and watch.

Among the rest, some of them made their way into the prestigious club of Wall Bangers!!! And Narain was one of them. It was a shame. Tiago is clearly out performing him now. he has to put his head down and start racing. He is trying to be at max performance all the time.. losing his cool. Thats real bad. I can hear voices saying EVEN ALONSO DID IT.. BUTTON DID IT... but BAR n RENAULT are having 100 or more horses down their hood than the Jordan. He could've controlled the agression.

Anyways... i'll be back soon with the USGP review... got very li'l time these days..
And Raju... thanks for the comments... just keep waiting... your king is gonna be de-throned. I strongly favor Kimi for this season!!!!

Nurburgring Circus!!!!

2005-05-30T01:51:00.000-07:00

My heart went out for THE ICEMAN!! Boy-o-Boy... what a disaster.. that too in the very last lap. I was expecting the tire to go flat but never thought that the suspension would break and come off the chasis. Poor Kimi... He was scorching the German Track some 2 or 3 laps before and then a spectacular crash. Even the crash came out in a great style. He was going on a prodigal reverse gear with the back wheels locked at 200 MPH.. that was close to 320 KMPH... Button had a superb miss.. else the 5 weekend old BAR would've never finished. Nevertheless it wouldnt have made any difference to the British Team.

Coming back to Kimi... The incident was due to the Michelin failure. Well, now the onus is on Michelin again. Bridgestone's are doing well for the past two races. The Tyre was hit somehow.. most probably the car went over the debris somewhere... the debris must've scrubbed the tyre at one point.. which led to unbalanced pressure and the vibrations. Man... imagine sitting on a Jolting Machine moving at 300 kmph.. Man our ICEMAN did show a gritty performance yesterday. The Mp420 was scorching the tarmac once again until the unfortunate tyre blst. I had predicted him to win the race long before it started.

Back to the Podium... after 6 long races.. Rubeno was at his best. The car was simply flying off the road. The daring overtaking move on Liuzzi was a sight to watch. He pulled it off cleanly. Liuzzi had no clue about the Ferrari until it went past. That left Montoya scarmbling behind the Redbull for quite a long time until Liuzzi went in for pits.

Our KING.. was simpy superb. Started from 10th in the grid. Pushed to 17th at the first corner and then finished the race at 5th. That was sheer Micheal Magic!!! If he had not been pushed off in the first corner there was a great chance for him to finish off in the podium. He was on the limits right from the first lap. 14th after 1 lap... 11th after 2nd... and 9th after 3rd lap.. that was some warning to others who discriminate Ferrari. That race pace is stronger than any other team. They will be back... The scarlet fever would grip the podium soon...right after Montreal n Indianapolis!!! (My friend Badhri is going for the INDY race... sheesh... have fun da.. next year i hope i would be there too..)

To the backpacks.. Jordan finished!!!! and what a fight it was between the teammates!!! Narain and Tiago were passing each other at every oppurtunity provided. It is sad thought that the small error in hitting the apex in one of the corners made Narain go offline.. and gave a chance for Tiago to pass him. Their tyres were working perfectly too.. i did see a lot of twitching in the qualifying session from narain. But i think that was due to the Electronics and not the tyres.Bridgestones are delivering!!!

Qualifying changed alright. But it still sucks according to me... i still love that low on fuel, multiple shot qualifying that used to be there like 2 years before. Man... it was a sight to see MS come out exactly at half-time.. scorch the asphalt and wait for someone to break the time set. Which has happened only a few times. And that was the time Mclaren had MIKA... another hot head who challenged MS quite a few times. I want the old format to be back!!!!

Alonso... a fortunate win. But it was a tough race. He did fine by holding your car in the first corner. Ralf hit the back of R25 and flew into the gravel .. but it wasnt his mistake alone. I feel Alonso is being given a lot of chances. He should've been penalised for his move on Webber the second time in Monaco. The stewards turned a blind eye!!! The Iceman will be back.. and Ferrari and MS will follow suit soon... its gonna be one hell of a season. Tyaga... looks like your predictions might come to an end!!! Your king is def gonna be de-throned!!!

THE ICE N RED FEVER!!!

2005-05-23T06:46:00.000-07:00

Monaco - The tax haven in Europe was scorched by the ICEMAN. I've been and am still an avid of the KING MS ever since he started driving that Benetton with Jos Verstappen. But times are changing and so do people and their interests. Although I've followed Mclaren as much as i did Ferrari since 98.. I've been telling people that Mclaren are the only potential threat to the Ferrari Dominance. Incase if they get the right CAR - DRIVER combo. They had the best package in MIKA. The Flying Finn lost quite a few races.. but the way he drives.. can be compared only to MS. He was a flawless cold-eyed driver. Ever since he was replaced by KIMI.. i had a confidence that KIMI would scorch the tarmac if heis given the right car.

He proved it right in Monaco. Absolutely decimating performance. I am amazed at the simliarities these two FINNS have. Speaks less Drives more. He was impeccable. Alonso... move over... MP420 is gonna eat R25 out. I just hope the form of Mclaren continues in the future races also. The improved aerodynamics and tyre package did the job for Kimi in the heavily demanding streets of Monaco. The car wasnt twitching at all. He was flat out almost all the time. The ICEMAN needs one two more podium finishes to surpass Alonso in the driver standings.

Even then. as MS says.. its not over for the Fiorano Team. They got the cash.. they got the fastest car... they got the best driver... NO.. i would not agree MS lost his touch. Even the tyres were perfect in Monaco. The position of the ferraris in the start up grid made them look like two SU-30's stuck in front of a F14 TOMCAT. They will bounce back. That much is for sure. Even though KIMI destroyed the track with the fast lap in 1:16's MS was able to do 1:15's on an empty track before being caught up in the traffic.

Redbull's werent looking like they came to race. They were more into promoting STARWARS. Even though Coulthard is considered for a possible podium finish before being rammed in the front by the ARMCO STEEL and MS's F2005... i am sure the F2005 would've gone past the redbull. Rubeno too... had the perfect car. He was able to hold Montoya until the pits. If the car hadnt stalled and he lost his pitlane limiter, he would've stayed in front.

Both the cars finished and the scarlet team managed to salvage 3 points. But from now on, there is going to be a tough fight between Mclaren and Ferrari. And since i like them both... let the best win.

As for the Renaults.. you have been measured.. you've been weighed... you've been challenged... and man.. pressure cripples the French i guess!!! Wait till Nurburgring!!! the infamous Nurburgring hairpin would experience some rubber burns for sure from the KING and the ICEMAN!!!

The moment of Magic.

2005-03-09T21:40:00.001-08:00

People are different. People are unique. Everybody handles situations in their own way. I normally take decisions just like that. I let everything come to me or rather live life as it is. Accepting LIFE as it is gave me the risk element which I liked. Now cutting the chase..

I saw those EYES. Most beautiful pair of EYES and to top it all it was giving a blank innocent look. I just asked for authorization first thinking she wont let me do that. but she did let me look. And all I wanted to do was to say something… something very deep… given the ability she has to read my eyes and mind… I was just going for some interesting session to kill time with my TS.

But the moment I looked into it… I got lost. The last time I had looked into those honest and innocent eyes … I had felt the magic. It may sound stupid.. sound idiotic… as it did when others told me.. but its true… there are certain things that cant be told… cant be explained… this is one of them… and I was the lucky one to experience it twice…

I locked my sight into hers.. and then I was shifted to some wonderland… like the transponding of human mind being done in MATRIX… and what a perfect setting… so calm… so much of peace… such tranquility I’ve never seen… I totally was into it… and this time I wasn’t thinking… I wasn’t exploring the rabbit hole… I was just standing there in some stupor …

Then it happened … she twitched… and it was like the disturbance you get over the Microwave noise when u really have a good talk on the mobile… I got back into myself and started thinking… then tortured that sweet n cute eyes to stand still… yeah I was being selfish… but I had my reasons.. what I had started for fun ended up in a complicated process… I always take decisions anywhere … noisy or calm… I keep my mind in control.. but this time around… I dint want to… I just wanted to do that decision making in that magical surrounding… just wanted to experience that magical feeling as long as I can…

She was so sweet.. dint move… dint ask… just kept staring… and finally when I felt I’ve had enough.. yeah selfish again… but what to do… I’m not sweet.. I’m not that good…
I am really really bad..

What started as fun… just to kill time… ended up as one of those wonderful moments in my life which I would save up for a lifetime. I def will.. I know you are reading this… I had done all these when I said… “yeah, I’m done with it”

1. Taken a major decision in my life.
2. Enjoyed that magical moment.. I don know how to thank you for that.
3. Got completely lost to nowhere…
4. Felt the need and understood the Music of SILENCE…in my life.
5. Screwed up what I wanted to do…
6. Lost all my will for doing something from that night..
7. and so many other things which might sound trivial.. but important for me…
I had thought she would have got all that by now. But don’t know why. She kept asking me. I was not sure how she would react if I had told her the truth. I really love this life now.. and I don want to screw up anything.. I want nothing to change…

I just have one wish in my life. And GOD.. incase u exist and incase if u r reading my blog.. give me that one wish alone.i don need to ask for anything else in my life again. Coz once that happens everything else will happen for good. Yeah I’m selfish again.. but I’ve never asked for anything else. Even this I don’t want to.. but just a word for the amount of faith I have in myself and her. AMEN!!!

Bring home the BOX

2005-03-03T00:45:00.000-08:00

Hey arjun...hope u dont mind me posting here...it was relevant...so...

here goes...

How far will someone go to do something he/she likes?.. Depends on how much he/she likes 'something'. I guess its time to stop being vague and come out with the facts.Well march 5th is just round the corner and when a bunch of crazy F1 fans shack together , the result is an irresistable urge. That is what we call group concensus or what a psychologist might call 'herd attitude'. Ask the lead sheep to plunge into a well and the entire herd follows. Not a very difficult concept to understand especially being an indian (a very controversial statement). However this is slightly different. Its what you can call interest amplification.Have you ever tried holding a number of 'sparklers' together. They glow magnificiently and the heat is intense. It something like that (forget the 'heat' part please). When a bunch of guys intensely interested in F1 desire to watch the show the desire becomes a need , a compulsive need like eating or drinking.

So how far have we gone?. Far enough to shell out 3200 bucks for a stupid 'box' that would bring the deliverance from the 'dull and drab tv'. The box that would open the portal to exciting F1 weekends. It doesnt sound good cribbing on this costly pleasure so lets bring home the BOX and set it on top. Three cheers!

Faith VS Existence of God!!!

2005-03-02T23:03:00.000-08:00

I just worked out this counter-argument to the existance of God this morning, and I wanted to sound it out with some people:

Proof by Contradiction:
(1 Given) Assume God exists.
(2 Doctrine) If God exists, then the existence of God is accepted by faith alone.
(3 Re-written) If God exists, then the existence of God cannot be proven.
(4 Logical Equivalent) If the existence of God can be proven, then God cannot exist.
(5 Re-written) If God exists, then God cannot exist.
(6 Contradiction) We have reached a contradiction, our assumption was false.

The one problem I can see with this is that it takes the doctrine of faith as a given. It seems to me either faith must be incorrect doctrine, or God must not exist. Does anyone see a flaw in my argument?

Chocolate: Reality Vs Myth

2005-02-21T22:37:00.000-08:00

Whether or not you're a chocolate lover, find out more about this delicacy!

Did you know that…•

The scientific name of the chocolate plant is Theobroma cacao, which means “Food of the Gods.”• Chocolate is made from beans that come from cocoa trees.• The fruit of the cocoa tree grow directly from the trunk and look like small melons. The pulp inside contains 20 - 50 beans. It takes about 400 beans to make 500 grams of chocolate.•

For many centuries, chocolate was believed to be an aphrodisiac.• Chocolate was originally only used as a drink, and only served to men for the reason above.•

The melting point of cocoa is just below human body temperature. This is why chocolate melts in your mouth.•

Theobromine, a mild stimulant found in chocolate, can be toxic or even lethal to domestic animals such as dogs, cats, and other animals as a result of its affect on their kidneys, heart, and central nervous system.•

White chocolate is actually not chocolate. It is made from whole milk, sugar and cocoa butter, but has no cocoa solids. Imitation white chocolate is even made with vegetable oil instead of cocoa butter.

How to choose your chocolate!

Avoid chocolates that are high in sugar.Choose high quality, darker and more bitter chocolates. Look for chocolate made with cocoa butter instead of hydrogenated fats or oils such as palm and coconut oil, which are much worse for your heart. Chocolate is considered high-quality if the only added fat is butter, or if there is no added fat at all.

Why chocolate makes us feel so good!

Researchers found that chocolate contains chemicals called anandamides that make us feel good, and another substance called phenylethylamine that seems to be a mood elevator. The taste of chocolate melting in a person's mouth also stimulates the brain's “feel good” chemicals, endorphins.

A recent major theory was that a meal high in carbohydrates, including chocolate, increases the level of the brain chemical serotonin that regulates mood, and makes us feel calm and relaxed.Chocolate Facts• Chocolate is a rich source of magnesium and phosphorus. It also has small quantities of minerals such as potassium, calcium, zinc and iron, and vitamins A, B1 and B2.•

Chocolate contains antioxidants that help protect against diseases, and after eating it, the antioxidant capacity of the blood increases for at least six hours.• A 40 gram chocolate bar contains about eight grams of fat. Cocoa powder usually contains about one third of a gram of fat in one cup. •

There are about 10 - 30 milligrams of caffeine in a 40 gram chocolate bar, while a cup of coffee contains around 100 to 150 milligrams.•

The average milk chocolate bar contains around 230 calories. Chocolate needs to be consumed in moderation and in low-fat and low-sugar forms because of its potential to increase weight. The recommendation is about 40 grams a few times per week.

Chocolate Myths•

Some people say that they are addicted to chocolate and call themselves “chocoholics.” However, the characteristics of addiction, such as chemical changes in the brain and withdrawal symptoms, are not associated with chocolate consumption. In a recent study, when "chocoholics" were given cocoa in capsules - without the added fat and sugar, and without the 'feel' of chocolate melting in their mouths, there was no satisfying effect at all.•

Some people think that chocolate causes allergies. However, allergies to chocolate are actually very uncommon. Items added during processing, including corn syrup, milk, nuts, soybeans, lecithin, and gluten may be the cause of an allergy or sensitivity. •

Chocolate causes acne. Actually, chocolate has not been found to cause acne. Research also shows that acne is not primarily linked to diet but is more likely related to hormonal changes. However, the sugar present in chocolate will probably make acne or any other similar skin condition worse.•

Chocolate causes cavities. On the contrary, the cocoa butter in chocolate may help protect the teeth by coating them and preventing plaque from forming. In addition, chocolate melts quickly in the mouth, therefore limiting the time it is in contact with our teeth and reducing the potential to cause cavities.

LETTERS!!!

2005-01-25T00:12:00.000-08:00

an article written by Madhu Trehan.
-------------------------------------------------
She writes regularly for "Outlook" and in this she is replying to a
letter by a reader. Both the letters are shown below.
Hi Madhu,
I have read your articles ever since I was a kid and you were at India
Today. You have often come across as a balanced person not prone to
Gandhi nonsense, until now. I live in a White Nation (the US) and have
never felt like a second class citizen. Only a blind and a deaf
>person can compare the pride of a US citizen with the indignity of
being an India.
A US citizen trusts his government, knows his/her death will never go
unpunished, while an Indian solider is there to die. Elite is a bad word
in India because 95% of our country lives in abject poverty.
Next time ask the waiter in Taj who served you the Rs 400 drink, how
much he makes in a month. The Durban who opens the door for you, ask
him how much he makes? I bet his monthly salary will be around your
dinner bill. Shame on you and journalists like you who have failed
India in the past with colored reporting and are doing so now. They
should feel ashamed. Rather than calling Bush names, maybe we should
hang our heads in shame on PM's like Vajpayee who is too old to walk,
too much of a coward to protect his people.
Maybe, just maybe, the day people like us (the English educated hence
smarter) start feeling ashamed enough we will start making changes in
India rather than just exploiting our servants and labor class. It
anguishes me to read this national character articles. A nation that
cannot feed its people (a la Orissa) has no character, a nation whose
children move around naked (Mumbai) has no reason to feel proud, a
nation whose elected reps call religious riots "opposite reaction"
has no future.

Once again, shame on you and all of India. I am ashamed to be an Indian
and shame on you for suggesting anything else.

Chet (Chaitanya)

Madhu Trehan's response was:

Hello Chet,

I will answer your letter point by point. Your name. You can be Chet
or Jet, stay away from the sun, fake an American accent, but you will
never be able to run away from Chaitanya. He will always be there even
though you hate him today.

Gandhi, whom you hold in such contempt, despite all his controversial
behavior, is largely responsible for the fact that there is no white
boot on a part of your anatomy today. You live in a white nation but
you are not white and never will be. You can fool yourself to believe
that you are not treated as a second class citizen. You choose to
forget the Dot Busters, the Sikh who was killed because he looked
foreign, and rampant racism.

How many times a week does you have to explain where you are from and
spend your time EXPLAINING India to Americans? I cringe to think what
you say to them about India. We do not need spokesman such as you.
You will never be able to share a good desi joke with any of your new
friends. If you can't laugh together; you cannot understand each
other. You will always be an alien.

Yes, we are economically poor compared to US but we do not have to
suffer the highest rate of teenage pregnancies, kids coming into schools
and killing students and teachers, the highest rate of suicide among
college students, alienated parents and children, lonely old people
dumped into old age homes, drugs being offered to eight year olds (as
my daughter was when she was in the UN school in New York), serial
marriages and divorces.

The US had a president who was senile and deaf (Reagan), one who turned
out to be a serial sex offender (Clinton), and now you have one who
didn't know the heads of state of major countries and ignored warnings
of a terrorist attack months before it took place.

The US is responsible for massacres in Vietnam, Cambodia, Iraq, Chile
and the list goes on. Only part of the world views America with the
rose-colored glasses you have been brainwashed by the US media to see
through. And, how much does a waiter in Jean George's restaurant in
Trump International Hotel in New York make compared to the price of the
drink he is serving? The labor class is exploited all over the world.

You seem to very upset that I am pointing out we have a national
character to be ashamed of. This very shame is the reason for you to
live in a country where the only religion is to hang out at malls and
accumulate consumer items you don't really need but have been dictated
by advertising to buy to keep the US economy going.
It is not by accident that Americans are flocking to yoga and meditation
classes to buy happiness. You have done well to leave a country you are
ashamed of. Call yourself an American but sooner or later your disguise
and American Halloween costume will frighten you enough to get rid of
it.

I love America's energy and have good friends there. Its a nice place
to be. New York is a center for an enormous outpouring of creativity and
imaginative thinking. Its the home to economic freedom and pure
meritocracy. It is fine to earn your living away from your country until
you dont forget your roots and culture. Every co untry has its
own problems. If you are so far removed from India, ask yourself why
you are so anguished with my article. Chaitanya is raising his head,
Chet is in trouble.

Conversation into the HOLE!!!

2005-01-21T00:49:00.000-08:00

thats always the case with innovation....protests by people who dont want change....its not new.....
-----Original Message-----
From: Coimbatore Nagarasan, Arjun (Cognizant) [mailto:CArjun@chn.cognizant.com]

Incase if u forget there is something called HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION and these BS people don’t understand the wonders of tech and can see only in the opposite way…

If these Siht holes had not put the barricades in the road to CREATION … we would ‘ve done it by now… and everything got stopped long back… some 6 years I guess… no research is being done in human cloning except for alterations in Genes to remove diseases..

So the scientists were forced to stop doing what they were doing… if not … then you know what

"The pendulum of the mind oscillates between sense and nonsense, not between right and wrong."

Arjun.C.N

-----Original Message-----
From: Tyagarajan, Sundaresan (Cognizant) [mailto:Styaga@mns.cognizant.com]

ya.....thanks for reinforcing my point that some day men will create men....what r u doing man....u just said we can already do it.....and now u r saying it will take time.......

-----Original Message-----
From: Coimbatore Nagarasan, Arjun (Cognizant) [mailto:CArjun@chn.cognizant.com]

Dude that’s what…

Remember Ford T100 … and Ford Fusion … perfection keeps increasing its stretch into the black hole as days and years passby… T100 was there some 200 years and not some aeons ago…

If you need a clear explanation… think about Nokia 5110 to Ngage to 9210i Communicator … the transition takes quite a bit of time… but nevertheless the goal is reached!!!

So there will be a day … when you’ll not need sex… sperm n ovum and marriage to have babies with color,hair,eyes of ur choice… right down to the DNA specs!!! Jus wait up!!!

"The pendulum of the mind oscillates between sense and nonsense, not between right and wrong."
Arjun.C.N
RADIOSHACK P4 - Promo
Cognizant Technology Solutions PVT Ltd,
226,Cathedral Road, Chennai.
M - 98840 40204.
O - 044 52202233

-----Original Message-----
From: Tyagarajan, Sundaresan (Cognizant) [mailto:Styaga@mns.cognizant.com]

ahem...excuse me......cloning hasnt been perfected enough to create men.....of there have been rumours but not tried yet.......and u know what even then they dont create men they aid the process...u need all those eggs and stuff......

-----Original Message-----
From: Coimbatore Nagarasan, Arjun (Cognizant) [mailto:CArjun@chn.cognizant.com]

I know that dud… y do think … I said ‘at the dot’ tag with that…
Ofcourse Man can create Man… now… ever heard of CLONING???

"The pendulum of the mind oscillates between sense and nonsense, not between right and wrong."
Arjun.C.N
RADIOSHACK P4 - Promo
Cognizant Technology Solutions PVT Ltd,
226,Cathedral Road, Chennai.
M - 98840 40204.
O - 044 52202233

-----Original Message-----
From: Tyagarajan, Sundaresan (Cognizant) [mailto:Styaga@mns.cognizant.com]

Everything is created by man… except for himself at the dot
u never know?......man might create himself too.....

-----Original Message-----
From: Coimbatore Nagarasan, Arjun (Cognizant) [mailto:CArjun@chn.cognizant.com]

Ofcourse I agree perfection is like infinity. But I dint mean ur innovation should reach that apex point of perfection which is never and will never be touched… for example.. first plane barely crossed 100 metres in air… and now… in a day u circle the globe 3 r 4 times using a leer jet… so what I say.. that use ur innovation to attain the maximum that can be attained for your level of Adroitness… 'when we r on the green field,when the sun shines on our faces,we all know we r dead.....but we can always decide how we meet tat end so tat we r remembered as MEN' maximus …. So WHEN YOU DECIDE THE RIGHT WAY TO GET THERE… U NEED BE BOTHERED ABOUT WHAT IS HAPPENING TO YOUR CREATIONS….

Everything is created by man… except for himself at the dot… so why not some positive thinking also???

"The pendulum of the mind oscillates between sense and nonsense, not between right and wrong."
Arjun.C.N
RADIOSHACK P4 - Promo
Cognizant Technology Solutions PVT Ltd,
226,Cathedral Road, Chennai.
M - 98840 40204.
O - 044 52202233

-----Original Message-----
From: Tyagarajan, Sundaresan (Cognizant) [mailto:Styaga@mns.cognizant.com]

perfection is a myth....humans for long have hidden their laziness to venture into a thing by claiming quests for perfection.....theres no definition of perfection....its a matrix...an illusion....striving for it is a futile attempt....so no innovation can attain perfection.....ok given that u could retort that it can approach perfection....but when perfection is a non existant black hole how can u try to approach it....its like infinity.... a concept we created that cannot be explained by might make our life easier

-----Original Message-----
From: Coimbatore Nagarasan, Arjun (Cognizant) [mailto:CArjun@chn.cognizant.com]

Controversy is spilling out of the jar dude … no place to hold the volumes that are generated everyday… courtesy.. media n connectivity… world is so small now… everyone knows everything…
So the brains u think as rusted are not actually rusted but smoothed and lubricated with high performance lubricants called JOBLESSNESS and FREEDOM OF SPEECH. May your ventures be directed in some way to stop the scum like these. Innovation should go hand in hand with Perfection dude!!!

"The pendulum of the mind oscillates between sense and nonsense, not between right and wrong."
Arjun.C.N
RADIOSHACK P4 - Promo
Cognizant Technology Solutions PVT Ltd,
226,Cathedral Road, Chennai.
M - 98840 40204.
O - 044 52202233

-----Original Message-----
From: Tyagarajan, Sundaresan (Cognizant) [mailto:Styaga@mns.cognizant.com]

death of words is cessation of life but not the dearth of creativity.....u can patent a design but not those teeny weeny components that make it....i'm gonna patent the larger design that my creativity has coined with words and not the words themselves.....apart from infusing a new spirit of innovation and people would transcend into a new realm of right brained thought that germinates into a collective growth of this earth as a whole resulting in the ultimate conquest of man over this ever expanding nothingness called the universe.. my patents would kindle a new controversy for the rusted brains of the homo sapiens......

gasp....i am breathless

-----Original Message-----
From: Coimbatore Nagarasan, Arjun (Cognizant) [mailto:CArjun@chn.cognizant.com]

If words are to be patented … life will cease to exist

"The pendulum of the mind oscillates between sense and nonsense, not between right and wrong."
Arjun.C.N
RADIOSHACK P4 - Promo
Cognizant Technology Solutions PVT Ltd,
226,Cathedral Road, Chennai.
M - 98840 40204.
O - 044 52202233

-----Original Message-----
From: Tyagarajan, Sundaresan (Cognizant) [mailto:Styaga@mns.cognizant.com]

hmmm......ok......but still.....time for patenting my words.......

-----Original Message-----
From: Coimbatore Nagarasan, Arjun (Cognizant) [mailto:CArjun@chn.cognizant.com]

Quest has been there even before you were born buddy!!! So keep urself at bay!!!

"The pendulum of the mind oscillates between sense and nonsense, not between right and wrong."
Arjun.C.N
RADIOSHACK P4 - Promo
Cognizant Technology Solutions PVT Ltd,
226,Cathedral Road, Chennai.
M - 98840 40204.
- 044 52202233

-----Original Message-----
From: Tyagarajan, Sundaresan (Cognizant) [mailto:Styaga@mns.cognizant.com]

thats vaguely similar to my profile......help!! my thoughts r being stolen

-----Original Message-----
From: Coimbatore Nagarasan, Arjun (Cognizant) [mailto:CArjun@chn.cognizant.com]

Thanks … going thro my holistic quest for understanding the purpose of me being a homosapien called ARJUN.C.N in this universe!!!

Found this in one of the sites

"The pendulum of the mind oscillates between sense and nonsense, not between right and wrong."
Arjun.C.N
RADIOSHACK P4 - Promo
Cognizant Technology Solutions PVT Ltd,
226,Cathedral Road, Chennai.
M - 98840 40204.
O - 044 52202233

-----Original Message-----
From: Tyagarajan, Sundaresan (Cognizant) [mailto:Styaga@mns.cognizant.com]

The pendulum of the mind oscillates between sense and nonsense, not between right and wrong.

----------good 1

-----Original Message-----
From: Coimbatore Nagarasan, Arjun (Cognizant) [mailto:CArjun@chn.cognizant.com]

Yup!!!
"The pendulum of the mind oscillates between sense and nonsense, not between right and wrong."

-----Original Message-----
From: Tyagarajan, Sundaresan (Cognizant) [mailto:Styaga@mns.cognizant.com]

is it there on sat too?

-----Original Message-----
From: Nair, Rahul (Cognizant) [mailto:NRahul4@chn.cognizant.com]

what about saturday??

-----Original Message-----
From: Coimbatore Nagarasan, Arjun (Cognizant)
Sent: Thursday, January 20, 2005 3:51 PM
To: Nair, Rahul (Cognizant)
Cc: Tyagarajan, Sundaresan (Cognizant)
Subject: yo!!!

Yo

There's a rock show tomo in IIT ... are you game for it??? If so... tell I'll ask my guys to book a ticket for u also...

And also tyaga?? I know u have the class n all.. but jus in case!!!

Coast To Coast!!!

2005-01-17T02:41:00.000-08:00

hello people.. WISH U ALL A HAPPY N EVENTFUL 2005!!! The dullest and boring new year eve i've ever had...Spent the whole night in the train... was talkng on the phone until i could.Man .. it was really hard to kill time... then finally slept off...

The morning was beautiful ushering in the first day of the year.We were on the West Coast Express going to cannanore for a marriage.Pretty bad trip as only 3 people could turn up and the rest had given so many good reasons.Guess this condition will never improve with our class.Okidoci... getting back... the God's Own Country was super cool and the view from the compartment's footstep's were absolutely smashing.

Bala and satheesh were getting some heat thro the coffee drinks n also thro the tobacco cylinders.I was jus admiring the nature and it was disheartening to see the new concrete half-built bridges all around the place.These kerala people have a kinship towards these railroad junctions i suppose... every ten min's there would be a junction.But considering the amount of traffic on the road it was ok... Man ... if it had been chennai... u'll never reach from adyar to spencer's in 2 hours.The train then stopped at Calicut and i was dying out of HUNGER!!But all v could was some PALAMPORI and Chaaya!!!... I would never take the dosa's from a train that too from kerala.Have a nice experience with that.They make these dosas with COCONUT OIL!!! man all i could think of when i smell that is HAIR!!!

We finally arrived in KANNUR RS.It was a great disappointment for us.The climate was no better than
Chennai.Infact it was hot n humid than chennai.I was expecting a cold winter at this time of the
year.Anyways... we went out of the station and found out that the prodigal ENGINEER of Kannur has not
arrived to take us home.I was informed that we would be staying in a beach resort... and i knew where that place was ... but we were not sure whether to check in there or not.The mobiles work a bit well in Kannur.. and finally got jazz on line... and his next q was ... WHAT?? U HAVE COME TO KANNUR ??? Then we left satheesh to guard the precious gift n bags and went in search of an ATM.. we had to walk a KM to find an ATM.. damn... the SBI ATM shelled out two 500 notes for 1000... GOD's Own Country doesnt have anything in HUNDREDS i suppose...

Then after a long wait for almost an hour ... again a call from Jazz.. Then finally we had to catch an auto and goto his place.We could 've done that earlier so that i could have done somethnig about my rumble in the STOMACH...When we reached his place... i was astonished to c him... i mean i saw hiim only last week... but 4 days... n he had lost some 4 r 5 kilos...We were praising him for the amount of work he would've done for the wedding...The auto ride was too smooth and reached soon..It took only 20 rs for a distance similar from Satyam till Mylapore... CAN U BELIEVE???It would 've cost some 50 r 60 in Chennai...

We finally got settled after the formalities in jazz's room.After a small freshen-up session we were
ready to hit the table.. My stomach was already growling... Man... food... kerala cuisine... my
favorite... We had Rice Pudding's and Fish Curry... i gobbled up some 10 r 12 puddings with some 7 r 8 fishes...Then slept till 330... By the time other two guests had come from INFOSYS... and we were jus sitting and talking...

The marriage function had started by then.. They have a strange marriage formalities... First the formal talks happen between both the families and a date is finalised.Then the wedding takes place for 3 days.On the first day the girl is asked for her acceptance from the Mosque and also to the boy... Then the next day,the registrar from the mosque comes for the formal sign up and formalities at the girls place and then completes the routine at the boy's house also.... Then that night two seperate receptions are held... one at the boy's house and one at the girls house... We were at the reception in the girls house.We went in wished Jazz's sister and presented the gift,took some snaps and left...

Then on the third day, the ladies from the boy's house visit the girl's house and viceversa... and so
many other rituals.. man... i'm getting tired... One of the main events in this marriage is that everyone should go and c the girl's room in the house.The best thing is the girl stays at her mom's
place itself and the boy leaves his home and comes and stays with the girl's family..forever. Completely opposite to the way we do.. strange but nice.So the girl's family decorates the girl's room with all kinda goodies.. before the groom comes home... On the third day,finally the groom comes over to the house.That's when they both meet up.Till then bride n the groom never meet each her.Thats the best part of this marriage!!!man ... i'm tired of typing this whole thing... actually i left out quite a few details from this.... PLEASE SPARE ME!!!

By the time these functions were going on, we slipped away to go for some snapshots of kannur.. first we went to the baby beach... and then the light house... then came back just in time to hav the dinner... Man...all that u can find under the category VEG in the area was Raitha and pickles!!!I was just wondering wat'll happen if some vegetarian had come here!!!Food was super good... i filled up myself till throat level all the time i was there in kannur...That night was wild... We went to our rooms.. in Golden Regency.Then all of Jazz's friends had come and then we had a wild time.Four BACARDI's and Tender coconut water n sprite... man i was getting sick of it... but wanted to taste more ... then i was tempted to take in too much ... and did more than what i expected... finally went to sleep around 2.The next day... the hotel room was looking like a TSUNAMI hit coastal town!!!no place keep the foot down... all filled with u know what!! then we moved to another room.being the only Engineer there and the only software professional, Jazz has some high level ... man i mean it... really high level contacts and influence.We then took bath and waited till one of his friends came and picked us up... just in time for lunch.again the same story... then a nice sleep after getting back to the hotel...

Then came the interesting part.Already Kannur was hot n sultry.To make matters worst ... the power went off... So after ten mins of sweating like a pig in the room... i decided to get out... I dressed up and came n got the auto to the St.Angelo's Fort. This fort is supposed to be built by Tipu Sultan n stands intact till date.It also has a long underground tunnel running about 80kms to another fort on the coast.I've been here a lot of times but this was my trip alone here.I decided not to go inside the fort and finally went to the harbour where a stretch of Artificial road goes into the sea for half a kilometer jus to offer a view of the Violent Arabian Sea.

That night after 'Au Revoir'ing to all out there in that rustic n sweet coastal town in God's Own
Country...we boarded the bus to Coimbatore.Man i was there at my home jus a week back and i hated going back so soon.But had no choice.So started out... but this time Hutch Roaming had found a decent partner network Escotel... which kept me busy for a while n then i went to sleep.The bus was cruising at top speed and we had reached Cbe an hour earlier than the scheduled time.We finally reached home n crashed in the bed.

The following afternoon we were in PSGTECH ... our alma mater... and bala did the most astonishing thin when we passed it in the bus to get down in the next bus stop.He prayed looknig at it .. and man.. he was serious about that!!! what a grateful look dudes.. u people shud 've seen that!!!He was ruling the place n heart a year ago!!! I mean the hearts of a lot of girls... and i was jus thinking... what if they see him now.. with that gripping muscles and the Anniyan Haircut!!!And the whole day i was patrolling all the roads in the college.Met some of the juniors and then a couple of my friends... My sis... and she was pestering me about anu and then finally she was successful in taking anu's no from my mobile... man... good thing i told anu abt this.. cos i know my sis better...We were getting ready when the mobile blarred around 8.For a moment i thought it was Anu.. and my sis had done something...But it was Ranjith from RMG .. and i
had been alloted into a project.. so soon... damn... I was happy that my boredom wil come to an end and also woprried that i have to travel to Cathedral Road office this time... SOMEBODY SAVE ME!!!

Nothing much went on till that night... finally packed up everything and left CBE... 3rd time in a
row... that weekend... swearing i wont caome again for 2 more months... i boarded the train and reached office, anxious to meet my new team.

ECR ADVENTURE!!!

2004-12-20T04:34:00.000-08:00

The mood was dropping down to a new low cos noone was interested in the first place.Only me n rahul were jumping up and down about this trip.The prodigal Roommate MR.RAJU was not in a mood to get up from his bed.He was in two minds all the time about it i suppose.Then came the model rahul... exactly asi had suspected after the fixed time.After deciding up,v both started alone for the ride.The Santro zoomed off ... leaving the Chennai city to trail behind far... on the ECR...Jus then i got the Message from Anu about my cd's n she had called me GOOD at the camera...that was some motivation for the day... right when i wanted.Don know how it happens all the time...but it happens with her.But ....

I had bought KISNA the day before.All the songs were not good.But some of them were in the ok range.Anyways i bought it...so it ought to be nice.But the title song.. kept reminding me of my personal life... the state it is in now... walking on a wall wihtout knowing which side is safe to jump.Listening to it... i tried to concentrate on the matter at hand.The mission had to go well.Never mind who were coming or not coming.So i tried to concentrate and bring in some ideas and tricks to work upon my Canon EOS.Sadly i had bought it very early and then Digital EOS was costing a fortune in the standards of a College Student.

Doing the thinking on one side and talking to my model of the day rahul,we were racing thro the road at blistering speed.the guy was in the shoes of Schumacher... watching the tachometer rather than the road... occasionally shouting 100...110...120...130... i was a bit terrified about it cos u never know when u would encounter a person crossing that road from the small lanes not visible from the speeding car to the sides.

Soon we stopped at MAyAJAAL,jus to have a sneek peak at the CCA Cup of my company..the finals were going on.It was the worst mistake i can do on a bright sunny day..that too with a mood set for working out on the coastal region as a shutterbug!!! they were playing something...called cricket.couldnot recognize it for a long time... The whole batting team except the 2 batsmen was standing right next to the pitch..CHEERIN UP THE batswomen!!!Girls are girls!!!i pulled rahul out of the place as soon as we got in and went back to the car to continue our trip back on the SCENIC ECR!!!

I was framing the shots in my overworked brain which could think nothing much other than COBOL n JCL's.It was too slow process by any standards.i jus could not get back from the hibernation.i had handled the EOS 300 before this in Goa...some 8 months back.By the time we had crossed Mahabalipuram and then got into much scenic ECR passing thro the paddy fields and small villages.The environment had suddenly gone rustic and this was doing some good for the thinking of the shots.

Soon we had crossed Kalpakkam with the Reactors passing out in the window.We had come more than what we wanted to so decided to turn back.I had figured it out that beyond that point the road is gonna be the same.There were no beaches for atleast some 20 - 30 kms and after that we would be in Pondicherry.That would be useless as almost all the beaches on this marina stretch looked alike.

So i decided to start of with a shot in front of the marker with the distance of various places on that road.I was positioning my camera to get an auto shot of both of us below the board when rahul suddenly jumped.He had locked the car with the keys inside.The worst thing was he was doind it for the second time.First was atleast in the civilised area nearby Hyundai showroom came to the rescue for 160 bucks.But now we were stranded in the middle of no where.we saw a couple of shops nearby.Rahul went to ask abt the mechanic and got the info that there was one some 4 kms back near the bridge... he started joggin back towards the bridge while i was standing there guarding the car...helplessly watching my mobile on the dash!!!!

Then i crossed the road took a shot of a serene pathway with coconut trees lining up on both sides.Then when i was crossing the road i noticed a small snake trying to cross the road.But before it crossed half of it,a speeding truck went over it.I dint c the remains of the snake after that.Probably the hot rubber tyres took it with them...When i was searching on the road for the caucus of the poor snake,a huge truck was coming towards me.i jumped to the side of the road to get nito safety.But the truck slowed down and stopped some 2 feet b4 me... Rahul had got the help from some truck driver..nice guy actually...he got into action trying to break the windows of the santro with a screwdriver.I dint like that idea of it.

i started walking towards that shop where rahul ahd got info about the mechanic shop.I suddenly saw a welding shop and the first thing that came into my mind was the metal ruler.I went in and asked the owner for a scale,borrowed it and went back to the car.The truck driver was still trying hard to pull down the glass.Then using his expertise in picking car's rahul made a clean hit on the first time and voila!!! opened the car...i was a bit relieved.Then we turned back after returning the ruler in the shop.

The first stop on the way back was in the paddy fields... it was huge... stretching on both the sides.took some shots but not that great.The sunlight was too bright and spoiled the coloring...i adjusted the aperture but i don think i wud 've got it right.Then had a miscalculated shot when we both tried an auto shot in front of the camera.Man that is what i hate the most.Wasting snaps.Ive always had this mantra going on b4 taking a shot...do it to the perfection or never do it..but lost it already....

The next stop was on road leading into kalpakkam.Nice field this one.Was lucky enough with the flourescent green caterpillar on the green leaves.The toad was in a very mischievious mood yesterday.It was jumping to my left and right all the time... but not standing at one place.Probably it was a PALAYA PANJAANGAM type of toad... shy of the camera,i suppose.Then some shots of lonely trees and rahul the model went into the camera...before leaving from kalpakkam.

The next stop was on a bridge near mahabalipuram.I had noticed some white webby salt deposits on the way.Thought of taking some close up shots of those.So the biggest task was to do some rock climbing under the bridge.It was some 20 feet high.But no holdings at all.I was finding it a tough time to climb down with the camera.Then rahul deivised a way out of it.He went down using the path of some barren rocks and the pillars os the bridge as support.Then i followed suit holging the camera,closing the eyes and following rahul's instructions to find the holds while climbing down.Finally i made it.

The white spooky salt deposits were too good.I jus cant wait to c it in print.Then we had a few friends visting that place.A indian some lizard .. i forgot the name.. appeared out of nowhere and was standing guard of what it is supposed to be its nest.That was too good for my camera.I could not resist bending down too much.I was afraid i wud scare the little thing away.But it was standing there without moving a cm...i got my shot and left it in peace and went back... then had some fun shots near the dried up waterbody.and one over the bridge near the car and started back.

The next stop was on the beach somewhere in between kovalam and mamallapuram.Took some shots that i could think of.I liked one shot there.Want to c the result of that too.Then started back... i was driving for quite some distance.Rahul was holdng the wheels teaching me how to do some better driving for i never tried and improved my driving from the basic levels.Should improve it to the next level soon.

Then we went to the cricket stadium again.Rahul has this never say die spirit.Always tries to the max.I completely lost hope after the early morning show.This time it was the guys.Match was not that good.But i saw the jutting jaw girl there.She had played in some team today morning.I was wishing that Anu was there to get me an intro.Then msged her abt it... never expecting a reply.. as that is always the good old golden rule.All this walking on the beach n rock climbing had made both of us very hungry.We gobbled down the burgers at the new Marrybrown joint on the ECR and then went home directly.

I tried some shots from the terrace of my building.It has some beautiful arches and semi's that make a good subject for modern art kind of unclear photographs.Then roamed abt till evening there.Then tried some trick shots at 6... with the dusk on the background...then came down and msgd Anu by mistake.Then it started out as a conversation.Then i slept for quite sometime.Then got a message when i was about to crash into the dream world... feeling a bit happy icalled up Anu hoping tat she would be on her way back from TCo to Kilpauk.But no...that idiot had gone outsomewhere and came back...i was disappointed.But she was full of energy .. and something was strange about her yesterday.I like it a lot but.Deep probing questions of the things that i was not sure of in the first place.

Then went to sleep,had an impossible dream and got up.And after that never slept for the night.Doing the crazy stuff to put myself back into sleep,but ended up thinking about Anu and then after sometime about finishing off my roll soon.By the time i realised it was late to goto bed... time was 730... so had no choice other than getting ready for the office...the boring idiot box.. infront of which i am sitting till now for the past 8 hours!!!!ADIOS GUYS... see u soon with the snaps soon!!!

Glass Hills 2

2004-11-17T01:12:00.000-08:00

hello guys...sorry about the break...
lets go on with my travelogue...
The guy Sahnkar took us in...the old house was old..very old...and v were given a huge cot...for all 4 of us...and it was heaven after the 6 hrs of driving...i crashed into it without a thought...and others followed suit soon after moving all the gears from the car to the old bungalow.
when we woke up, the rain was gone.it was sunny,a surpirse and welcome change for that area and weather.the river was my target for the day as i had never been inside water after i went to work in that concrete jungle.It made me ecstatic and brought out the packed energy within me.without a thought, i went and jumped inside the water with my shorts and for a minute my body was numb.only after a minute i realised that the water was freezing my blood.my jaws started tittering and it simply wud not stop.with a sheepish grin,basically trying to conceal my shivering and jittering jaws i turned to my buddies who were getting ready to jump into the water.i waved at them and said...hey its too good...jump in....Thomas jumped in without hesitating but dinesh was a bit cautious.The other guy who lives in pollachi knows these areas in and out...never came near the water...he sat on the edge taking a safe side...yeah...as you could imagine...thomas was cursing me all time.but after sometime the cold was gone as the body temperature got adjusted to the surroundings.
after some playing and swimming in the water for about an hour...we were lying on a rock..trying out a sun bath...but as we were watching the non polluted sky with the fast moving spongy white clouds..it became dark and the sun was out in some 20 mins...teh rain started pourind in from all quarters.We scooped off all the clothes and towels and started to run to the house.once inside the house we dried off changed and came and sat in the balcony in some old rocking chairs..the sight was too good and absolutely priceless...it'll take so much of energy to describe that as it was.i was sitting with the green element of nature.eyes were cooled off and i was in my own world again ... fighting with my mind to stop thinking... and leave me in absolute tranquility...
then the inevitable happened...i started hearing some growling sounds... i had no apprehension by that but was more interested in knowing what it was.Suddenly i realised that it was coming from me...i mean ... my stomach.It was raging with hunger.we had not had anything from the morning and it was already 2 in the afternoon.i had denied the idea of buying snacks as plastics are prohibited inside the forest by law and i know my buddies would be the least interested in maintaining the law.Even i was not keen on that,but i always made it a point to clear of the plastic wastes if i use them and deposit it in some dustbin after i get back home.And this time i was warned by my dude back in the concrete jungle and she calls herself an Environmentalist..so why disobey her orders...so followed whatever i was doing back there in chennai...veing obedient!!!.. leaving all that behind now... the guys were also hungry and we were about do the harsdest thing in our lives...cooking...
after struggling for some 45 mins we were finally done with it...the rice was cooked.but i think i poured in some extra water..so u know how it would be.then came the chicken curry...we were mixing something with something and finally made a curry..atleast it looked like one.when i tasted it...it was Yuck!! but i never said anything to the guys.And the temperature was around 6 or 7 out there and it was already freezing.So the guys had taken the hot curry from the boiling pan and ate it almost then and there and because it was too hot for taste,they never complained..and we were relieved.one meal was over.Saved from criticism.Then we went for the packs bought earlier in the day.The ITC products...and much needed for that weather.We all enjoyed it after quite sometime.The white and Brown Cylinders were quite useful...i would say.The day went off yapping about school days and fun we used to have and ofcourse girls.Thomas had made a great contribution in breaking a good relationship of mine with the only girl i liked so much in my life.Poor Me...she is married and setled now with a kid...so that was discussed with great enthu as i was the only one who stayed away from girls during school days.And these guys had had their experience from then on...infactuations,love and all other BS's. But it was nice to hear about those stuff from them.They used to remain surruptitious about these things during that time.But now they were all childhood fantasies and nothing was clandestine anymore.It was a nice evening and memorable one too.
Soon the evening passed into the night giving way to the moon and the stars.But they had no chance of being seen in that weather as the rain was adament on pouring down.As the time was nearing to 9,butterflies started to fly inside my stomach as i was wondering how to carry on with the next meal or rather cooking.Then came the great saviour...Shankar who had been out into the village all day for visiting his house was back. i glad enough to hand over the charge to him.This thing has been running along all my life.When things are supposed to happen they will happen.After eating the delicious dinner, and with the rain had decided to relax a bit,we decided to take a walk in the jungle.Armed with torches and our good ITC packs .. we started off in the pitch dark.We could see nothing after some 4 feet in front of us in the mist and darkness.
I had not seen a wild animal in years.I had last gone for a trek in my College days during the first yr sem hols.That was the last time i had seen a wild animal in front of me.We had been shown a place frm our house by shankar.The place he had shown us was a bit weird.The River after joining back,runs straight for some time and then takes a sharp 90 degrees.You cannot see anything of the river beyond that corner. At that sharp bend there lies a huge rock which blocks most of the view from the house beyond this corner.We were told that there will be a lot of activity around the river in the night time by the animals.So we went to the rock sat there making very less noise and started our chatterboxes again but in a very low tone. Thomas was very keen to look out for any animals and we were making fun of him for being so cautious.But he was looking into the other side of the river looking out for some life there.He had caught the eyes of most probably a bison or a wild cat on the other side.V cud make out nothing other than that due to the darkness.
It was around 1030 when we returned back to our rooms..and other two guys already went to bed,me and thomas were talking for quite a long time about my college,cts life and also about his college and law practices and weird cases his senior had got when he was an apprentice with him.Then after sometime he went off too.Then i was in alone,the loneliness i always liked and longed for.And for the first time after a week,i missed my terrace..the phone calls and the easy chairs...
Sorry dude's.... i've been given some urgent work...so the GLASS HILLS 3 will follow suit soon...adios!!!

Glass Hills 1

2004-11-15T21:42:00.000-08:00

the day was too good.nature gave people some tmie to enjoy their diwali in a clear and bright sky.and when peolpe started to pull out their hard earned money on crackers...polluting the air,sound and what not...nature closed the party down for these freak outs.i was thankful for it had proved to settle down the smoke and ash all over the roads.when it started pouring cats and dogs, probably i was the only one to be happy and sad for te rain.happy for the cracker thing and sad cos i had no clue how v cud go on with our plans of trekking.

Then the miracle came.with the face of my friend.this guy had come once with me to the silent valley and wanted to visit the Glass hills.but time was short.and this time he suggested that v will go there.i thought abt it for a second.it was definitely not better than the planned Avalanche trip.but a good and safe one considering the land slips and the torment rainfalls.

the ford endeavour was pretty tough inside the city with double roll bars and 4wd which would suit the potholes and the occasional road stretches here and there.it was 2 in the morning.and once we crossed the city and entered the suburb's the drive was quite peaceful.all except the driver were busy with their own work,including me.what do you think??? ofcourse we were sleeping.Thomas wanted to drive and we were happy to give him the chance.i would have preferred to drive but given that i was in cbe,and not in chennai where i wud be impervious to sleep.but here i cud not open my eyes once the cool country air started blowing in my face with the pleasant smell from the groundnut and paddy fields.i was going into my own dream world.

when i woke up we were still driving.but crossed pollachi and somewhere near the western ghats.i could feel the chilling mountain air, but cud not see anything in front other than the stretch of road for some 10 or 15 metres.it was pitch dark and misty.i felt so romantic and started thinknig about the girl rather started to day dream about the girl i like a lot in recent times.we were sitting in in my favourite place...not talking...jus watching each other's face.we both believed that we say it best when we say nothing all...and after sometime of staring into each other's eyes, she called me in her husky voice...Arjun....Arjun...but i felt like...she was screaming in my ears...i said why the hell was that...and suddenly she gave a good blow on my head...and i woke up from my day dream and found that it was thomas who was screamin at me...gave him a sheepish smile..and he stopped the car for the nature' call and asked me to drive.as other two were already in deep slumber,i had no other choice.i had to do it and it was thomas turn to dream..i envied him and continued to drive in the ghat roads..

given the experience with driving cars,i drove pretty fast and cool...and we reached vaalparai around 630.made a small stop for tea and to shop a few necessities.and then raced off again to our destination.Beautiful tea estates and small stream guttin out of the rocks and the early morning sun made the place a heaven.jus wat i wanted and anythnig that would be better than the polluted and concrete jungle called CHENNAI which rocks in its own style as proclaimed by the great Thayir Saadam's.leaving the civilisation behind we ventured more deeper into the woods.and the way after vaalparai was like smoother than the city roads,a bit slippery though with the dew and rain from the previous night.We soon crossed the infamous Sholayar dam, known well in my school days for the death of my juniors during a field trip,that too they jumped in water to save a stupid girl who cud do a simple thing called HOLDING THE RAILINGS..and the result was...she was saved and the 2 guys were drowned instead...man..2 priceless lives lost for 1.

leaving the toughts behind v exchanged seats on the driver side as i was getting tired and irritated as i cud not watch out the plaesant hills.it was almost 8 when we finally reached our destination.the place is called Manamballi.A century old Hydro power generator is the only reason people are living there , that deep in the forest.we stopped at the only hotel or mess or watever where u can get some food.already the stomachs were growling in hunger.so had a nice fill to our tanks.while my buddies were looking to fill their tanks more, i came out looking at the place.i had been there once before but never remembered anything other the two huge black pipelines running down the hill from the reservoir.i had no clue to what it was at that time.but now i after getting the bachelors in electrical i could recognise that was the method used a century ago.The village was totally out of place in TN state.The buildings were all colonial architecture with 3 r 4 bungalows which houses the higher officials of the power plant.and the labour's shed had been cleaned and made up into living quarters somewhere in the 60's and all of them stand strong till date. damn these guys...they r never patient.they wanted to get to the forest soon..considering this as the last civilisation we would c for the next 2 days.

The Ford 4wd was handling exceptionally well with its powerful 2.8 litre engine.and we disturbing the eco-system by passing thro in this huge diesel powered - british designed - indian made black metal beast.i cud see some black macau's and lion tailed macau's playing blissfully here and there before reaching the forest guest house.Our journey was over.

The village was far behind.some 5 kms from the place i was standing,but consider the dense canopied stretch of land and no civilisation around you, that's a bit far.The forest bungalow was its own class.The river which runs through the village from the mountains go towards kerala.i honestly don know the name of the river.And at this time of the year it was raging like a bull altough the water level was tolerable...around some 8 feet max.this river after running liek a snake for some 5 kms bifurcates into 2 and joins back into 1 after some 200 meters.This forms an island in the middle,big enough to house a big spooky forest bungalow and its servant's quarters.It was earlier used as the summer house of some stupid general of the british raj and now it was forest bungalow.Good thing Thomas had an uncle in the forest dept and the acces to this place was cleared soon enough for us.The river forms a deep ridge around the house and the only way in and out of this island is through a rope bridge...and man were we glad for that??

i was jus cursing me for forgetting my wifey...the Canon EOS 300 back at chennai lying in my suitcase...useless...anyways nothing could be done at that time.Cursing myself we crossed the rope bridge one by one as it was shaking a lot.then we were greeted by the surprisingly young house keeper of that bungalow named Shankar.

Sorry guys...sudden work has creeped up...The Glass Hills 2 will soon follow...take care till then...urs arjun.

Angels and Demons.

2004-10-24T23:54:00.000-07:00

gr8 weekend it was.went out for quite excitin places.had gud fun.apart from that the same old chronic insomniac's weekend.sleepless...all time thinking...and staying away from slumber...fighting the boredom.
And Angels and Demons...proved to be a good entertainer.Nothing gr8...but good enough to kill time.

Alright...here goes...the devil's advocate job is pretty tough...The book is almost same as the Da Vinci Code.
Except for the Place n Crisis.The same Brotherhood...going against church...and all the same experiences of Robert Langdon ...
A disguised form of this one has got out as Da Vinci Code.

But the best part is the Climax...it never ends.So many twists and turns...that keeps u moving thro the pages..
Once u reach there...u cannot keep the book down,until u finish it.But the disadvantage here...as always...its
too lengthy...and so many plots unveiling at the last moment...one inside one!!!gr8 thinking though...

Guess the author rewrote the same story with some more Art with the help of the GREAT Da Vinci n others...
and trimmed the climax to form the Da Vinci Code.Also he might 've researched extensively for this one.Might not 've got the expected result.so used the same research to do another book
and it became a raging success..as pointed out by Annoo...One gr8 book buff...a friend of mine...watever...

The book is about a secret brotherhood ILLUMINATI resurfacing with an Hassassin to take away the faith in people about the church and god.Also they leave marks behind which as b4 only langdon...a prof of arts in harvard can decipher...ultimately to be shocked to find the truth behind.The exciting thing here is the CERN...
a new phenonmenon called antimatter...and a lot of info for Science buffs...

a good enjoyable book..but if u had already read Da Vinci...u wont like this except for the Climax...thats the best part...

And also about the comment our friend Tyaga made...i was not trying to outthink the author.I meant the clues given were so bland n simple for the reader to decipher inspite of the information that was dealt with.So mr.tyaga...i accept the fact that if people cud 've recognised the clues...the book wont b a rage...but read Angel's n Demons b4 u think again.Those clues r far more better than Da Vinci's...and the book is not so popular...thats wat i said...i apologise if anything was wrong in wat i said.thanks.

adios...makkale...got to do some work in the office also...ciao...

The Terminal

2004-10-21T02:08:00.001-07:00

Have you ever seen Steven Spielberg's Catch Me If You Can which placed Leo Di Caprio in his most impressive role ever? If you've seen it, and like it a lot, you probably feel the same way about Spielberg's next project with one of the most expensive Hollywood's "Good Boys", Tom Hanks: The Terminal.
The Terminal, quoted The Hindu-Friday edition, is some kind of a touching comedy - I completely agree with this. It will make u naturally touched without being depressed, and will make u smile and laugh without any slapsticks. Basicaly, it's a movie everybody would love easily, not just because there's names of Spielberg and Hanks in it, but, mostly becos it provides good story, good directing and good acting.
An immigrant named Viktor Navorski (Hanks) fleeing the war that ravages his tiny Eastern European homeland finds himself stuck in the terminal of one of New York City's airports when the time of his landing coincides precisely with the point at which the war causes his nation of origin to no longer exist, meaning that his passport and paperwork are no longer valid. As a man without a home, he takes up residence in the terminal itself, befriending the staff of the airport, and falling in love with an airline flight attendant, Amelia Warren (Zeta-Jones). (Yahoo Movies)
Just like Catch Me..., The Terminal's based on a true story, too. I've read about this original stranger somewhere, too forget to share the detail, but what I know is he's actually not a Rumanian/ Russian (?); he's not trapped in US's JFK terminal, but in UK; and he's free at last after his unique story's published in some local medias, but surprisingly, he refuses to leave cos he's already feel at home, beside he's got some strangers-turn to be-friends he doesn't wanna leave. Sweet.
That if I'm not mistaken.
Like always, Spielberg has specific formula to serve a good drama: he puts comedy, not the black one, in the right place and the right time. For this movie, he's made some modification: maybe one of it's Navorski's romance with Amelie Warren. Eventhough Zeta-Jones's not just a pretty face, but there's something quite wrong of this part that makes it kinda lost. And the 'climax' of 'their relationship', eventhough not really annoying, somehow turns to be something insignificantly cheesy.
Another one, since the JFK officials refused to give shooting permit in the actual place, the filmmakers create the imitation JFK terminal to accomodate what Spielberg really wants. The result is, like we've already seen, amazing setting very similar with the original.
Just like the title, most of the scenes runs in the same place. But what's so good about it is you won't have time to get bored cos the story's told intelligently smoothly. Every character's put in its place proportionally so we can fall in symphaty easily, even to such antagonist like the inhumanly beaurocracy represented by the terminal official, Nixon.
But the center of my sympathy is surely for Navorski, who automatically taught me some lesson about his simple way of life, his obedience over beaurocracy (which becomes something rare nowadays but thankfully, in this case, turns to be profitable in the end) and his sense of creativity to find ways to kill time in such depressing and unsure situations slogging over the computers.... But i wont follow them i guess....cos i hate it to the core and i'm a sort of rebel...anyways...no such experience till now...so lets wait till v cross the bridge...ciao soon....will b back with some more...soon...

2004-10-21T02:08:00.000-07:00

The Terminal, quoted The Hindu-Friday edition, is some kind of a touching comedy - I completely agree with this. It will make u naturally touched without being depressed, and will make u smile and laugh without any slapsticks. Basicaly, it's a movie everybody would love easily, not just because there's names of Spielberg and Hanks in it, but, mostly becos it provides good story, good directing and good acting.
An immigrant named Viktor Navorski (Hanks) fleeing the war that ravages his tiny Eastern European homeland finds himself stuck in the terminal of one of New York City's airports when the time of his landing coincides precisely with the point at which the war causes his nation of origin to no longer exist, meaning that his passport and paperwork are no longer valid. As a man without a home, he takes up residence in the terminal itself, befriending the staff of the airport, and falling in love with an airline flight attendant, Amelia Warren (Zeta-Jones). (Yahoo Movies)
Just like Catch Me..., The Terminal's based on a true story, too. I've read about this original stranger somewhere, too forget to share the detail, but what I know is he's actually not a Rumanian/ Russian (?); he's not trapped in US's JFK terminal, but in UK; and he's free at last after his unique story's published in some local medias, but surprisingly, he refuses to leave cos he's already feel at home, beside he's got some strangers-turn to be-friends he doesn't wanna leave. Sweet.
That if I'm not mistaken.
Like always, Spielberg has specific formula to serve a good drama: he puts comedy, not the black one, in the right place and the right time. For this movie, he's made some modification: maybe one of it's Navorski's romance with Amelie Warren. Eventhough Zeta-Jones's not just a pretty face, but there's something quite wrong of this part that makes it kinda lost. And the 'climax' of 'their relationship', eventhough not really annoying, somehow turns to be something insignificantly cheesy.
Another one, since the JFK officials refused to give shooting permit in the actual place, the filmmakers create the imitation JFK terminal to accomodate what Spielberg really wants. The result is, like we've already seen, amazing setting very similar with the original.
Just like the title, most of the scenes runs in the same place. But what's so good about it is you won't have time to get bored cos the story's told intelligently smoothly. Every character's put in its place proportionally so we can fall in symphaty easily, even to such antagonist like the inhumanly beaurocracy represented by the terminal official, Nixon.
But the center of my sympathy is surely for Navorski, who automatically taught me some lesson about his simple way of life, his obedience over beaurocracy (which becomes something rare nowadays but thankfully, in this case, turns to be profitable in the end) and his sense of creativity to find ways to kill time in such depressing and unsure situations slogging over the computers.... But i wont follow them i guess....cos i hate it to the core and i'm a sort of rebel...anyways...no such experience till now...so lets wait till v cross the bridge...ciao soon....will b back with some more...soon...

Broad bands!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2004-10-21T01:54:00.000-07:00

Just the other day I was reading an ad for Lufthansa Airlines. Apparently, they have broadband internet conncetivity within the flight. Damn it! Here we are in Indian homes where broadband hasnt yet mushroomed as fast as we would have liked, and now flights have broadband. For what purpose? Oh..in case you need to check your mail on-flight. Talk about extravaganza!!!

Maybe I am under-imagining a bit. We can surely look forward to the day when dispirited youth form a terrorist organization called the AlUmma. Their mode of action is simple - hijack Lufthansa flights and download as much as they can.
Terrorist to Pilot: "Dickwad! Better not land the plane..we have just begun downloading the 3rd season of Friends. Another 7 more to go..."

Speaking of Friends, a Tamil version of it (titled Krishna Cottage) is being aired on Jaya TV. My heart goes out to the 5 actors (3 guys + 2 girls) who've acted in this show. I admire their reserves of self-control which definitely has prevented them from murdering the "creator" of this show.
And to top all this is the opening credits, which begins with "Concept by ....". Weird. As far as I know plagiarism is a pretty ancient concept.

10 Biggest Brain Damaging Habits

2004-10-21T01:44:00.000-07:00

1. No Breakfast

People who do not take breakfast are going to have a lower blood sugar level. This leads to an insufficient supply of nutrients to the brain

causing brain degeneration.

2. Overeating

It causes hardening of the brain arteries(Don't think about girl friends), leading to a decrease in mental power.

3. Smoking

It causes multiple brain shrinkage and may lead to Alzheimer disease.

4. High Sugar consumption

Too much sugar will interrupt the absorption of proteins and nutrients causing malnutrition and may interfere with brain development.

5. Air Pollution

The brain is the largest oxygen consumer in our body. Inhaling polluted air decreases the supply of oxygen to the brain, bringing about a

decrease in brain efficiency.

6. Sleep Deprivation

Sleep allows our brain to rest. Long term deprivation from sleep will accelerate the death of brain cells(Don't think about your girl friends).

7. Head covered while sleeping

Sleeping with the head covered increases the concentration of carbon dioxide and decrease concentration of oxygen that may lead to brain damaging effects.

8. Working your brain during illness.

Working hard or studying with sickness may lead to a decrease in effectiveness of the brain as well as damage the brain.

9. Lacking in stimulating thoughts

Thinking is the best way to train our brain, lacking in brain stimulation thoughts may cause brain shrinkage.

10. Talking Rarely

Intellectual conversations will promote the efficiency of the brain.

Books, books, books..

2004-10-21T01:19:00.000-07:00

Im a big book lover. I simply love books in all forms and shapes. And I dont restrain myself to any genre. The only bias I have in this area being my unfavorable disposition towards text books ... But that point aside, the fact remains that Im extremely proud of my reading skills, and my tolerance for all kinds of books. I have tried popular fiction, sci-fi, philosophy, management,magazines, comics, fantasy and every other genre of book I can lay my hand on.And I generally have a very high tolerance for books and a great respect for authors..any author.After all writing is not that easy.

The latest reading i did was "The Da Vinci Code" by Dan Brown.It comes under Popular Fiction.But the guy is quite a genius..or maybe he employed people around the world to get him the details...who knows...these guys make a fortune with every book they write n get it published...Gives a lot of details about the Louvre...the worlds largest Museum...and this guy hates Catholicsm i suppose...never steps out of the line...clever way to express his expression against the church and the people...

The Hero, Robert Langdon is old..somewhere in his 40's...man...thats bad for the pace the story moves...and the clues were good...but an ordinary mind can break it very easily...i cud break most of them...left me wondering why these people are so stupid not to break the clues...and made the book so popular...i'm not against the book by the way...but given the hype ... it certainly deserved much lesser than that....

Lots of details to the brotherhood..paintings...but good research...and guts to come out against the God's servants...

My friend Annoo said thats a good book...chance a illa...and the very same day...when i was planning to buy it from somewhere...

corrupted place...but thats the way it is...lets drop it...

try to get a hand on this one...hope u 'll enjoy...

my current reading is on "Angels and Demons" by the same author...will give my comments once i complete...

got to do some work...catch up with u guys later...