Monday, June 1, 2009
Trip to Moab
The last few weeks have been crazy. I finally see some sanity returning and now do have some time to blog, finally. I am still reeling from the hangover of our trip to Moab, in a good way though. It was an amazing trip, finally some good weather, the road trip and then the breathtaking views of the saffron colored decor at the Arches National Park and the Canyonlands. The delicate arch picture on the utah vehicle license plate does not do justice of any sort unless you take the time and hike there to visit it. Natural formations at their best. Will post some pics soon. Here is one from Dead Horse Point.
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Voting with the Middle Finger!!!
Really, that’s what everyone was showing after they voted. Well they were not flipping the bird but were actually showing that they voted. The EC in India has now decided to blot the ink on the middle finger. The last time I voted and that too the one and only time it was the index finger that was marked. Guess the election commission also has some sense of humor. Newspapers next day flashed photos of celebrities proudly showing their middle finger anointed with the royal blue ink. Some of the snaps were hilarious.
Voting or the ability to vote is one of the cherished aspects of any country's constitution, or should I say any country that exercises democracy. It is a proof of support you show towards a certain commotion, candidate, political party, etc. I personally love to vote but being in the US does not allow me to do that. I feel that the EC should start some sort of web voting for NRIs or people away at the time of the general elections. I was saddened to see that overall voting in Mumbai was counted at only 47%. That means more than half of the people of the most populated city in India do not care of the results that the elections may churn out. That’s really sad.
Someone asked me was it the fear of the swine flu I mean H1N1 flu (sorry not allowed to say swine flu anymore)? Really? I don't think so. People have summoned up courage to go to crowded places when more dangerous acts have been witnessed by the city. I am not sure what it will take other than bollywood actors asking people to vote on television, for the people to actually go out and exercise their fundamental right.
P.S. Talking of the H1N1 flu, that huge 40oz bottle of GermX lying on my office desk does not look so crazy now :) does it?
Voting or the ability to vote is one of the cherished aspects of any country's constitution, or should I say any country that exercises democracy. It is a proof of support you show towards a certain commotion, candidate, political party, etc. I personally love to vote but being in the US does not allow me to do that. I feel that the EC should start some sort of web voting for NRIs or people away at the time of the general elections. I was saddened to see that overall voting in Mumbai was counted at only 47%. That means more than half of the people of the most populated city in India do not care of the results that the elections may churn out. That’s really sad.
Someone asked me was it the fear of the swine flu I mean H1N1 flu (sorry not allowed to say swine flu anymore)? Really? I don't think so. People have summoned up courage to go to crowded places when more dangerous acts have been witnessed by the city. I am not sure what it will take other than bollywood actors asking people to vote on television, for the people to actually go out and exercise their fundamental right.
P.S. Talking of the H1N1 flu, that huge 40oz bottle of GermX lying on my office desk does not look so crazy now :) does it?
Sunday, May 3, 2009
The JAG Jello Shot and the Jagerbomb .
Last summer the theme of our alcoholic consumption was mango, mojito & martini. This summer its gonna be jello shots since there is plenty of room to experiment!!! And what better way to start with the hard hitting Jagermeister.
Jagermeister makes the jello shot really strong and goes well with strawberry jello. Mix the jello with 1 unit hot water, then after the jello has dissolved completely add 1/2 unit cold water and 1/2 unit Jag.
If you are a fan of the Red Bull, then try the Jagerbomb by dropping a shot of Jag in a glass of Red Bull.
Jagermeister makes the jello shot really strong and goes well with strawberry jello. Mix the jello with 1 unit hot water, then after the jello has dissolved completely add 1/2 unit cold water and 1/2 unit Jag.
If you are a fan of the Red Bull, then try the Jagerbomb by dropping a shot of Jag in a glass of Red Bull.
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Tulip Fest 2009
Recently we went to the Tulip festival at Thanksgiving gardens. We had to postpone our trip by a week as the bloomomoeter was only at 15% which means due to the recent snow the tulips were not in full bloom. When we went there a couple of days ago it really seemed like a good decision to postpone the trip. Below are few of the hundreds of shots that I was able to shoot.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
The Easter Eggu Bau Hunt!!!
I dragged myself for an Easter Egg Hunt [Eggu Bau == Egg for Aarav] last Sunday, yes on a precious Sunday with Radhika and Aarav to one of our friend's backyard. Egg and Hunt somehow don't sound right to me juxtaposed. The Egg in Easter symbolizes birth or rebirth in most of the current and the past civilizations. Hence used to decorate. In the end it turned out pretty good mainly because of the awesome weather and the kids had a good time. There were some really animated sugar high toddlers running around the yard creating plenty of mess to clean up for later. Sundays do sound so precious nowadays, just feel like doing nothing, staying at home kind of a day.I don't know if its global warming or the earth just needing more precipitation, but can you believe that its still snowing heavily in April. Good for the ski resorts I guess. But not so much for us, who are waiting to burn our tires to long road trips in the summer, so much to see, so much to do, places to go, people to meet, and enjoy the summer in spite of the blistering heat... wow that had a rhyme to it. Last year the summer was a blast! 1 SUV, 2 Camping Trips, 3 Months of rollicking fun, 4 National Parks, 5 Lakes, 6 Families for the get together, simply priceless!!! Hope this summer is as good as the last if not better.
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Painting with Light.
Light painting is one of the interesting subjects in photography. There is virtually no limit to what you can achieve with this technique. Remember the famous Sprint ad with people playing around in the park with lighted props? It does not consist of just illuminating your subject but goes beyond that. From just enhancing your composition to giving it a more creative look, various results can be achieved. And with the new Xsi, this was just the thing that I decided to try out.
All we need is a camera which is capable of taking shots using really long exposures, a tripod, a dark room and a flash light or a led torch. The sharper the focus of the flash light/torch, the more precise the results can be. The longer the exposure mode, the more you can get done on the shot. So here is what I did. Switched off the lights, set the exposure mode to 32, and clicked. Once the shutter is open, illuminate or paint the objects. I decided to use liquor bottles as they were a far better subject that anything opaque. The tip here is to not keep the flash light at one location for too long or the picture is burned. Hence plan ahead and keep on moving. Once the shutter closes, the shot is done and the lights can be switched on. I just had a single flash light here but if you have colored gel rings, then you can achieve a more colorful effect by changing the color of the flashlight intermittently. Below are few of the shots taken using this technique.
All we need is a camera which is capable of taking shots using really long exposures, a tripod, a dark room and a flash light or a led torch. The sharper the focus of the flash light/torch, the more precise the results can be. The longer the exposure mode, the more you can get done on the shot. So here is what I did. Switched off the lights, set the exposure mode to 32, and clicked. Once the shutter is open, illuminate or paint the objects. I decided to use liquor bottles as they were a far better subject that anything opaque. The tip here is to not keep the flash light at one location for too long or the picture is burned. Hence plan ahead and keep on moving. Once the shutter closes, the shot is done and the lights can be switched on. I just had a single flash light here but if you have colored gel rings, then you can achieve a more colorful effect by changing the color of the flashlight intermittently. Below are few of the shots taken using this technique.
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
The Amazing Charlie Chaplin.
"I love walking in the rain because, nobody can see me crying."
- Charlie Chaplin
Such immortal words, what a fabulous artist, a great comedian who brought smiles to the faces of millions, but was sad and depressed from inside. Sometimes I wonder, are all clowns that way? Making people laugh is not easy, it requires an enormous amount of talent and spontaneity. Nowadays its all about funny dialogue delivery but this guy did not have those tools at that time. Or may be he did but he did not choose to use them; who knows. His movies were silent and his body language and expressions were all that he needed to make people laugh. I think that is a really special trait.
Did you know that there is a whole planet named after Charlie Chaplin? Such was the impact he had during the WWI and the great depression. His "The Kid" is one of my favorite movies. As a kid I used to watch almost all his shows on Doordarshan, yes as we call it DD1 or DD2. As I was going through and organizing my DVD collection I came across a movie of his, so I decided to watch if for a while and it was same as if I was watching it 20 years ago, simply timeless.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Happy Gudi Padwa!!!
Wish you all a very Happy Gudi Padwa!!! A prosperous and a fun filled rest of the year.
The Indian Cow: Hope you don't forget your english after reading this!
This is a true essay written by a Bihari candidate at the UPSC(IAS)Examinations.
The candidate has written an essay on the Indian cow:
Indian Cow
HE IS THE COW. "The cow is a successful animal. Also he is 4 footed, And because he is female, he give milks, [ but will do so when he is got child.] He is same like-God, sacred to Hindus and useful to man. But he has got four legs together. Two are forward and two are afterwards. His whole body can be utilised for use.More so the milk. Milk comes from 4 taps attached to his basement. [ horses dont have any such attachment
What can it do? Various ghee, butter, cream, curd, why and the condensed milk and so forth.Also he is useful to cobbler, watermans and mankind generally. His motion is slow only because he is of lazy species., Also his other motion.. gober] is much useful to trees, plants as well as for making flat cakes[like Pizza ] , in hand , and drying in the sun. Cow is the only animal that extricates his feeding after eating. Then afterwards she chew with his teeth whom are situated in the inside of the mouth.
He is incessantly in the meadows in the grass. His only attacking and defending organ is the horns, specially so when he is got child. This is done by knowing his head whereby he causes the weapons to be paralleled to the ground of the earth and instantly proceed with great velocity forwards.He has got tails also, situated in the backyard, but not like similar animals. It has hairs on the other end of the other side. This is done to frighten away the flies which alight on his cohesive body hereupon he gives hit with it.The palms of his feet are soft unto the touch So the grasses head is not crushed. At night time have poses by
looking down on the ground and he shouts . His eyes and nose are like his other relatives. This is the cow.......
The candidate has written an essay on the Indian cow:
Indian Cow
HE IS THE COW. "The cow is a successful animal. Also he is 4 footed, And because he is female, he give milks, [ but will do so when he is got child.] He is same like-God, sacred to Hindus and useful to man. But he has got four legs together. Two are forward and two are afterwards. His whole body can be utilised for use.More so the milk. Milk comes from 4 taps attached to his basement. [ horses dont have any such attachment
What can it do? Various ghee, butter, cream, curd, why and the condensed milk and so forth.Also he is useful to cobbler, watermans and mankind generally. His motion is slow only because he is of lazy species., Also his other motion.. gober] is much useful to trees, plants as well as for making flat cakes[like Pizza ] , in hand , and drying in the sun. Cow is the only animal that extricates his feeding after eating. Then afterwards she chew with his teeth whom are situated in the inside of the mouth.
He is incessantly in the meadows in the grass. His only attacking and defending organ is the horns, specially so when he is got child. This is done by knowing his head whereby he causes the weapons to be paralleled to the ground of the earth and instantly proceed with great velocity forwards.He has got tails also, situated in the backyard, but not like similar animals. It has hairs on the other end of the other side. This is done to frighten away the flies which alight on his cohesive body hereupon he gives hit with it.The palms of his feet are soft unto the touch So the grasses head is not crushed. At night time have poses by
looking down on the ground and he shouts . His eyes and nose are like his other relatives. This is the cow.......
Friday, March 20, 2009
The Sobel Operator
Sir, we could use the Sobel operator to accomplish that! And then there was silence in the room. One of the great scientists was at risk of losing his credibility by admitting that he had never heard of the Sobel operator and hence he nodded somewhat sheepishly in agreement. I wouldn't be surprised a bit, if he had rushed to the library as soon as we left the room a few minutes later to find out what I had uttered a few minutes ago was indeed the right solution. This person was our so called senior supervisor during our final year engineering project on imaging. I recently ran into the Sobel operator not too long back while post processing some of the snaps in GIMP, and that's when I remembered this incident. I am pretty sure, the supervisor had some sleepless nights after that.
Just to give you guys a brief insight into the Sobel operator here, it is a matrix that can detect edges while processing a 2D image. I wish we had more time on our hands doing the project as the scope of pre and post image processing is really vast. Imaging is a very interesting field and even though I am currently no where near that stream, it was one of the first things of interest while leaping in to the professional world of software engineering.
Just to give you guys a brief insight into the Sobel operator here, it is a matrix that can detect edges while processing a 2D image. I wish we had more time on our hands doing the project as the scope of pre and post image processing is really vast. Imaging is a very interesting field and even though I am currently no where near that stream, it was one of the first things of interest while leaping in to the professional world of software engineering.
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