Terminator Salvation

Liked it. Especially the action sequences & T-800s return.

The Pulsars

With Bajaj's flagship biking brand in the midst of some rapid morphing in terms of features, upgrades & models, I thought I'd take a snapshot for keepsakes. Sort of like what they do in case of databases before a release. So here goes ....

First up is the lightest entrant in the lineup, ...


... the 135 LS. Said to possess 15bhp on a dry weight of 120 kilos, it's got a power-to-weight ratio better than some 150s currently in the market. No wonder it's been a hot seller since the launch.

Then, the original, ....


.... the 150. Now sporting clip-ons in UG IV guise.

The 180 soldiers on ....


.... with a miniscule price difference from the 150. The all black styling which this model spawned has now spread all over the Indian biking scene. So much so, that the 135 LS was launched with the 'conventional' silver engine to differentiate it from the clutter.

The 200 is dead.

The 220 ...


.... now comes sans fuel injection but with an 'F' attached to the monicker, at an unbelievable ~80k on road price. Launched in August 2009, being billed as the 'Fastest Indian' with a whacky ad to back it up, I haven't seen too many of these on the road.

And the newest member of the pack ...


... the 220 'S' for StreetFighter. Evrything from the 220 'F' bar the projectors. Looks killer.

So it's a whole family of models now. Who'd have thunk it when they launched it?

Luck

One gets good Hindi film DVD rips on the net these days. It's an interesting film, but the editing could have been crisper.

The ODI Double Ton

24th Feb, 2010. India vs South Africa day-night ODI on at Gwalior. 2nd match of the series with India already 1 up. The Indians had started well & Sachin is playing like he used to in the early 90s, at a strike rate close to 130. Nilanjan keeps pinging updates from time to time over the communicator .... Sachin 50, Sachin 100, Sachin 150. I'm busy working on stored procedures for the Friday deadline.

Evening around 5:30ish. I glance at the score. India have crossed 300. In the 40th over. Sachin is on 184. I ask Nilanjan about the world record. He replies, "194, aaj mil jayega guru". That's it. I leave the cubicle & walk over to where Nilanjan, Vijendra, Cyril & Srini are bunched together. All cricket sites are blocked, they're following the score on ChannelW, which is slow in updates as usual.

By now, there's a buzz in the office. No one's working, everyone's following the score. Soon enough, Sachin crosses Saeed Anwar's 13 year old record .... it's like a load of every self-respecting Indian's chest. Complete strangers handshake congratulations across cubicles .... such is the power of cricket & stature of Tendulkar in India. The wait for the double ton begins.

The internet connections are choked. People get on the phone home. I call Daddy. Yes, he's watching. Dhoni is going ballistic, hogging the strike & dealing in boundaries .... the ball-by-ball reads something like this 644.46. The score is close to 380. Sachin is reportedly suffering from cramps. Only 7 balls to go. Dhoni takes a single of the last ball of the 49th over. There's a collective 'awwww' in the cubicle.

He finally gets strike after yet another Dhoni boundary & with 4 balls to go. Hits a single & gets it. Handshakes all around. Somebody asks his manager, "so where's the party?". Dhoni blasts another & takes the score to 401/3. Who wins the match is only academic now. Indians have got what they've been yearning for all this while.

And as the commentator says, "no one deserves this more than Sachin". The Indian, the cricketer, the legend.

The Israelis at it again

Another MOSSAD hit goes down just as planned .... the Arabs are left floundering .... the world wonders in awe.

How often & how well have the Israelis managed such covert operations against enemies of the state. Makes one wonder why we can't mete out similar treatment to our friends in the Land of the Pure.

VW Polo

It's out in India!


Launched at prices starting at 4.35 lakhs for the 1.2 petrol & 5.35 lakhs for the 1.4 diesel, it's a very attractive option in it's range. If Hyundai doesn't come up with a diesel for the i10 & GM doesn't release the diesel Beat soon, this will be my car before the year comes to an end.

Big Trucks @ the Auto Expo

Had been meaning to post this ever since the Auto Expo this last January.

All the home grown movers & shakers in the Indian CV space had something or the other to show .... ranging from upgraded Eicher models to all new platforms such as those from Mahindra Navistar.

Starting with AMW ....

.... who seem to be continuing with their Chinese supplied cabs.

Ashok Leyland launched the very good looking ....


.... 'U truck' platform, which was a bit of a surprise given how lethargic this company has traditionally been.

Eicher, post the Volvo takeover & name change, released the upgraded series of trucks....


.... christened 'VE', after the initials of the promoters, I guess.

Then, the big one, Mahindra Navistar's ....


.... brutish looking 'MN' series of trucks.

And, saving the best for last, in what was regarded the best CV display of the Auto Expo, Tata unleashed the entire range of the very capable Prima series ....


.... in all it's glory. Saw one in the flesh back at JSR, which is where they're made, & they look just wow!

The waves of change sweeping though Indian transportation finally touch the CV sector. Indian highways are gonna look very different a few years from now. The sooner the better.

Acid Factory

Typical Sanjay Gupta attention to details - guns, cars, stunts & clothing. And I wasn't aware of the original either, so it was rather interesting.

VW New Beetle RSi

My 1st scale model. A more than 5 year old item on the 1-day-I-will list.

It's a 1:32 scale diecast metal collectible manufactured by Kinsmart. Comes with pullback motor action, spoiler, and opening doors.

My Name is Khan

Mind numbingly boring. Replete with cliches & utterly predictable. Thank God I didn't spend on multiplex tickets.

MiG 29K

The Navy inducted it's most modern fighters today. The 29s might be a design from the 70s, but still manage to look good.

So now, as I was reading somewhere, we have a strange situation wherein there aren't enough Sea Harriers to man the Viraat, while we do have the MiGs to man the VikramAditya which itself isn't close to setting sail before 2012. The wonders of Indian defence procurement.

Ghost Rider

Had been meaning to see this one since long. Finally sat down to it at Shanu's persistence. Very entertaining & Eva looks stunning.

Holy Communion ...

.... at Bethel A G. A 1st in Bangalore. I'm getting there.

Agni 3

The 4th test flight took place today. Reportedly, it's been a complete success with the 3,500 km range being fully tested & a CEP of 40m.

Opens up really interesting possibilities with regard to the big neighbor up North.

Kurbaan

High production standards & good background score. Liked it.

Sahara

Predictable, but quite entertaining.

SprtRd - the 3rd service

A pretty well executed service in contrast to last time. The gears now just make click-click sounds while shifting ... no effort at all .... swell! And the Teflon treatment makes it look like new.

Sennheiser MX 60 Street II

Had been wanting a pair of Sennheisers since the last year or so. But they were priced prohibitively expensively. Finally spotted one within budget last Saturday at Jayanagar 4th Block, thanks to Shanu.

They perform well, though not in the league of the better ones from Sony. And they're probably my 10th pair of earphones, courtesy Sony's exasperating insulation shredding problem. With the kind of money I've blown on them, I could've bought myself an iPod. But then, I ain't an audiophile for nothing.