Camera Guide and Wishlist
Came across this article. Might prove pretty useful when you want to choose a digital camera.
www.informationweek.com/1174/cameraguide.htm
Home Page URL:
I am hopeful of getting my hands on a Fujifilm S8100fd. Hopefully.
It all depends on the funds available and my brother’s mood. Hopefully it should be here in sometime. I hope it comes before the monsoons.
Regards,
CZ
The Doomed RX 135 Story
Get set…hut..…… go- go- go-go….Bleddy hell, the engine seized.
Prologue:
Legend has it that RX is an immortal creature which never stops from speeding, has the eyes of almost everyone on it; the decibel level of a Sukhoi and the maneuverability of a mosquito. Legend also has it that the power of an Rx can only be unleashed by the “chosen one”.
Certain of being the chosen one, I invested 20 k on a Second Hand ‘00 model RX-135. In this new age of 4-Stroke adharma(??), I donned the role of a revolutionist, much to the chagrin of my parents.
Post 2 years- 23,000 kms hence:
My bike’s jinxed. The best mechanics in Bangalore say that, not me. The engine has seized once and looks like it’s on the way to seizeville again. The petrol and engine oil leak all the time, feeding the roads of Bangalore with vitamins and minerals at my expense. The bike skids on decent tar roads, refuses to go beyond 70kms/hr on empty stretches and has the uncanny habit of breaking down – especially when there’s a lady pillion.
It’s been sitting idle in the garage for the last 4 months craving for a ride – maybe on final ride, before it can peacefully be consigned to history. Do hell with the bike, says Dad. Gift it to the seller (my friend) on his marriage.
Looking out for a buyer, I am saddened by the fact that I am letting go of it so soon. Never had I dreamt that the experience of owning an RX would be so agonizing. Alas, I wasn’t the chosen one!
Moral of the story: If you have “Jack Ass” written all over your forehead, legends are rhetoric.
Misty Blues
Shot in Tintagel, Cornwall, UK. This snap has got that eerie movie set feel. Can compare it to a noir film.
Would love to walk home in this setting, mood and light. Speaking for myself. Love the contemplative nature of this photo, simple yet it manages to say a lot.
Cold, misty and perfect as the photograher has nicely put.
Shot by Maapu
Cheers,
Cerebral Z
Bugle Blast 0.4 – About Headers & Footers
I found some good images. Thought I would use them as headers. An Announcement – We are planning on starting a new page for photographic misadventures and experiments.
All ye interested in even a wee bit of photography, are welcome to join us as photo journos. You are expected to send in good images and we will publish everything and all. We pay not, but we function as a platform. There are no strict standards to begin with. All we expect is – thought provoking imagery.
Bugle Blast 0.3
Bugle Blast 0.3
Greetings,
Something’s new on the block (blog).
Some new pages.
Here they are. Read on. Like or spike, let us know about it.
>>Added a Downloads page to the blog. Titled: “We serve free beer”. Just some links, some free stuff off the net.
>>Writings off the wall. Ramblings and stuff written off hand without thought or substance. Introducing “Dumpster Files”. Just some doodles, some scrawls, some random thoughts to entertain self. Tread carefully, it might be good or bad. Write a comment.
Cheers.
The Metal Af “Team”
Crumbs and Masala Tea
It’s 0700 hrs in my time. [IST - Indian Standard Time]. The city is slowly rising from its slumber. I have 5 biscuits on my messy table; (my rechargeable batts ran out of juice) couldn’t shoot the morn sunlight on the open plastic cover with my hand nursing the tea mug.
I wonder what’s got into me. There’s so much to do, and so little done. I hate this creeping feeling. I am sitting with the main door of my 2 BHK apartment on my right. The faddy orange coloured building that I reside in looks plain ugly in this fine light (landlord’s choice).
Crumbs and some Masala Tea. Feel like I am in some quaint time, with my tea going bitter in the end as I munch on the biscuits to rescue myself from the pangs of hunger.
The eyes are hurting, but the hands refuse to let go. The blood’s too hot now. The energy’s not dissipated yet after a 12 hour workday. I can’t sleep just like that. “Work endlessly”, says a voice over the shoulder for I need to express and write. “The path ain’t easy”, says another on my left. “Burst forth O wandering soul”, says the right. “It ain’t the time to sonny”, says the left. I wonder who’s on my side for both seem and sound like wise counsels.
No, yes, arghh! The confusion is rife, the strife goes on. I know not when it will stop but I know definitely who can put it to a stop.
Heads up:
Poured myself another drink, this time the tea leaves had lost their strength and I had no more leaves left for a fresh brew. The taste a little dulled now, and I forgot to add the sugar. Happens.
Addendum: 2 cups O Masala and Crumbs.
For more on How I prepare my Morning Tea: Read on.
Off to bed now.
Truly,
CZ
Bummed
Bummed:(defn) to borrow without expectation of returning; get for nothing.
Found this video residing on another blog. Then searched a little and bummed this from you tube. Thought you should see this guy trip in these places regardless of anything or anybody.
Nice. Sweet. Keep it going brother!
CZ
And Again
And Again
Edge of the Trash Can Lid [Ver. 0.1]
Thanks to “From the Edge of the Trash Can Lid” Department. An off shoot department dedicated to writing trash and crappy pieces and passing them off as posts to the unsuspecting audience. Here’s their first offering. Hope you like it, we’ll be all the more thrilled if you spike it. Presenting: “From the Edge Series”. Dedicated to random thoughts of convoluted, twisted minds.
Days, Dates, Facts on Birthdays for the 13th of August (My Birthday):
Birthday Sharers:
Alfred Hitchcock (1899)
Fidel Castro (1926)
Dan Fogelberg (1951)
Don Ho (1930)
George Shearing (1919)
Bert Lahr (1895)
Annie Oakley (1860)
Cultural Angles:
Born in the Chinese Year of the Dog (read more on that before you jump to conclusions!)
For More Cultural Info –> Put in your birthdate in the search box and get educated on it.
Some Stats:
As of 4/15/2008 10:45:38 PM EDT
I am 25 years old.
I am 308 months old.
I am 1,340 weeks old.
I am 9,377 days old.
I am 225,070 hours old.
I am 13,504,245 minutes old.
I am 810,254,738 seconds old.
Whew!
This is just some info in a nutshell. For full facts and stats go to the site below and have a ball!
Site: http://www.paulsadowski.com/birthday.asp
Regards,
CZ
(P.S: Bad post? Incensed? Didn’t like? Then spike it. If you enjoyed/hated this exercise, then post a comment. I had fun, lemme know if you did.)
This article is an in-house effort:
–> Courtesy: “From the Edge of the Trash Can Lid” Department, C/o. Metal Aficionado Inc., 16th Tarmac Main, 6th Smoked Tires Cross, Plot No. 667, State: Bliss, Country: Utopia
Freeze!
This magazine makes me freeze in my tracks everytime I see a roadside vendor display it. I don’t know – how, what, why…..but after this piece I feel I do. Here goes.
fReEzE!
I’ve been wanting to pick up magazines, the likes of NatGeo for quite a while now. The primary reason; they are timeless, good photography and provide provocative images that make good subjects for sketching.
So I made some killing, picked some real old issues (’73, ’79, ‘88 editions) for 15 Gandhis (rupees) a piece. Believe it? Well, It was a killer bargain, a damn good one at that. He asked for 125 bucks initially when I chose close to 10 issues, but then looking at my reaction he decided to drop the three digit figure and quote a price for what it actually was worth according to him.
I shouldn’t be fooling myself though, for it is worth more than 15 bucks due to it not being in print and something that old will fetch a good price in the whole, wide world.
The images as usual were surreal, considering the leaps and bounds the world has taken since then. I picked up a Nat Geo featuring Afghanistan. Looking at the pictures of that country before all hell broke loose;…..for more click here. And, while I am at it, here’s an unheard of movie I once saw on a flick channel. It was titled : The Beast of War. Its background is the Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan. Looking at some of these images/flicks, you realize that the world has gone crazy ever since.
Apart from that being a point. Here’s some food for thought: “A picture is worth a thousand words” ; I must say, I agree. Nat Geo’s are special in that regard. If you notice – every image can inspire, spur imagination and force us to ask questions we would have never thought about. I see these roadsidewallahs sell these masterpieces for 15 bucks a piece, I try and pick up some. Every issue is special and the standard of journalism and photography a notch higher, and always over and above. No wonder I freeze. Freeze and try and take in all I can. Breathe in, Exhale slow if you know what I mean.
> Some Titles in those 8 issues:
I tried to find images for the back issues but met with no success. Anyways I will try and scan/photograph if possible and post it sometime later.
1. American 4-H Exchange: Down on the Farm in the U.S.S.R – Jun ’79
>> Cover Page Caption: A barefoot ballerina dances for her grandfather on a Soviet Farm in the Ukraine. (Photograph: James Tobin)
2. CHILE – Republic on a Shoestring – Oct ‘73
>> Cover Page Caption: Shirt matching the red in her nation’s flag, a lovely Chilean joins a political rally. (Photograph: George F. Mobley)
3. Honey hunter in Nepal – Nov ‘88
The Honey Hunter Cover NG Nov ‘88 (read below)
>> Cover Page Caption: Unavailable. However the cover page shows an old man covered with rags trying to harvest honey with just some rudimentary equipment dangling over a 120 – meter (395 foot) cliff. (Article and Photographs: Eric Valli and Diane Summers)
4. Turkomans, Horsemen of the Steppes – Nov ’73 (Not on the cover page, but an article)
>>Some Paras:
o The Turkomans are one of Central Asia’s many Turko – Mongol peoples. These tribes-men, traditional nomads and superb horsemen, are the aristocrats of the steppes. They are the descendants of Attila’s Huns; their forebears rode with Genghis Khan and Tamerlane.
o They remain, however a, closed and secretive people. As Moslems, they guard their women from strange men. They dislike cameras, a serious handicap for us; worse, they are wary of outsiders. (Article and Photographs: Sabrina and Roland Michaud)
5. Walk across America: On to the Pacific – Aug ‘79
>> Cover Page Caption: On the road again, Peter Jenkins – joined by his wife, Barbara – braves a blistering Texas day during a 4,751 – mile transcontinental trek. (Photograph: Skeeter Hagler)
Cover Page: A Nov ‘73 NatGeo
Hope you enjoyed the information.
Truly,
CZ
Copyright: National Geographic Society. All rights reserved.
The Centenarian
Dear All,
Talk about deviation from biking, but felt I must include this. Something useful for all the office goers (including myself). Health, youth is something we take for granted and regret once we lose it. So here’s something….
The Post is as follows (just a portion of course):
For me, a perfect workday incorporates many of the tips below, but never all of them at once. I use a combination of strategies to ensure that most of my days are fairly relaxed. Do I still get stressed? Undoubtedly. But it’s a far less frequent thing than in the past.
Here’s how I do it.
- Do less. Those of you who know me by now saw this one coming. It’s very difficult to have a relaxed workday if you have too much going on. Instead, learn to reduce what you do, but choose the most impactful tasks and projects — the ones that will mean the most over the long term. I choose three important things to achieve each day, as I’ve said before. Those are the three things I can do today that will have the most impact in my life.
- Create a morning routine. And make it a relaxing one. That could include some of the things below, such as exercise, a hot bath, or quiet working time. For me, it means getting up earlier so I’m not so rushed, and then doing little rituals (like having a quiet cup of coffee and reading) that will ensure I start the day perfectly.
- Prepare the night before. An evening routine is also essential to starting your day right. This might include things like choosing your three Most Important Tasks for the next day, so you know what you’re……..(to read more..click here!)
Source: The Centenarian (Find it below in the links column)
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