The First Date

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If you like any one in particular, you can have the original high-resolution image ( 3456 x 2304 pixels )

The Canon 350D Comes Home

My latest Toy

At last and after many months of yearning, last Sunday Dec 4th, I went and picked up my first prosumer model - the Canon 350-D.

I took her out for a test ride the same evening, but this little baby is so amazing, i could just cry with hapiness !

It took me all week to go through the manual and get a handle on her.
CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE FIRST DATE

Heres a few brief technical specs for those of you inclined / interested -


* Eight megapixel CMOS sensor
*Second generation CMOS (same generation as rest of current range)
*DIGIC II image processor (better image quality, faster processing, less power consumption)
*Instant power-on time, faster shutter release, shorter blackout time
*Continuous shooting speed increased (3.0 fps vs. 2.5 fps)
*Buffer increased (14 JPEG frames vs. 4 JPEG frames)
*Image processing time decreased (thanks to DIGIC II)
*Compact Flash write speed increased
*Smaller body (15 x 5 x 8 mm smaller)
*Lighter weight (17% lighter including battery)
*Matte plastic finish, standard body color to be black, sliver will also be available
*Re-designed control layout (drive mode button, new metering mode & AF buttons)
*Metal mode dial
*Harder rubber finish on hand grip (doesn't feel much like rubber)
*Smaller and lighter NB-2LH battery (same as PowerShot S60 / S70) which is 48% lighter
*Rear LCD panel changed
*Flash pop-up slightly higher (just 5 mm)
*E-TTL II flash
*Nine custom functions
*Customizable SET button
*Control noise reduction
*Flash sync speed in Av mode
*Shutter button / AE button
*AF-assist beam control
(Selectable 0.3 or 0.5 EV exposure steps
*Mirror lock-up
*E-TTL II mode
*Flash shutter curtain sync (1st or 2nd)
*Selectable Metering mode
*Selectable AF mode
*Flash exposure compensation
*Independently selectable color space
*Two preset and three custom image parameter sets, B&W mode (same as EOS 20D)
*White balance fine tuning and bracketing (improved)
*Proper RAW+JPEG (one RAW, one JPEG; although only Large/Fine)
*Record review histogram via Info button
*Play Jump mode by shot date, 10 or 100 images
*USB 2.0 Hi-Speed connection
*Subtly re-designed kit lens now named the EF-S 18 - 55 mm II
*Software now includes ZoomBrowser, DPP and EOS Capture
What comes in the box :
Body with cap, Lens with cap, Battery, Charger, USB cable, TV-Video out, manual, 3 software CDs .

Diwali 01 Nov 2005

Alisha and Deepa set out to hand-paint the diyas, which we'd acquired the previous ( stormy and rainy ) night .
They did a very fine job as you can see in the next picture, as a matter of fact, this makes it into the Top 12 pics which I would be using in the ( now world famous and much anticipated ) Annual calendar released from Greenman Studios. Some say it rivals the Kingfisher calendar. . .

A small pagan ritual later and we were firing up the Big-Dada-Booms which Armaan wasnt very happy about, but was putting up a brave front.
After which the fumes got a bit much for us, and so we went off to the lakeside to watch the night skyline. It was lovely.


The next morning we went to Bibinagar to shoo off any would-be squatters.
Oh yes, did I mention that we've bought a new car ? ( two months )
A Wagon-R from Maruti-Suzuki. It has many well thought out features, and is big on space and utility. The Japs are good at their automobile design.
We love it !

The Ludhiana Trip Oct 2005

We set out on 3rd Oct 2005.
It was supposed to be Hyderabad-Delhi-Agra-Delhi-Ludhiana-Delhi-Hyderabad.
15 days of visiting.

Did you know ? – The Indian Railways is one of the largest rail networks in the world !

We were looking forward to the entire package deal. Night-Meals, Chai, Vade-vade-vade, smelly toilets, mafia coolies and corrupt TCs.

2 adults and 2 kids living for 24 hrs in a 24 sq ft cubicle was going to be a challenge.

The only thing worse than the Railways safety record is its punctuality. And ours was 4 hours late. During which we seriously considered hopping off and doing Agra before we did Delhi.



This is Anju.
Part time play-school teacher, friendly, easy-going, innovative in the kitchen, and recent yogin is what best describes her.

Here is Dilip ( Anju’s husband ) with his second wife ( his lap-top ).
He never goes anywhere without her.



Dilip is the coolest guy in the universe. I mean c-o-o--l.
Adjacent to me is Dilip’s dad and their elder son; Shiv aged 10 .


Shiv like all young lads was buzzing with the energy of the new fangled gyroscopic weapon-like spining device called the BEY BLADE.
If you don’t have kids, forget it, you’ll never know.

Beyblade is an anime and manga, about a group of children battling with high powered spinning tops enchanted with sacred ‘bitbeasts’ or spirits of mythical and powerful creatures.

For more info visit http://www.beyblade.com/




Shiv has a younger brother – Rishi who is a few months older than Alisha.

What started out as a great friendship and mutual affection between Rishi and Alisha, soon turned into turf-wars and open aggression.

Sometimes we didn’t know whether they were hugging or wrestling.
Arms tight around each other, teeth and fists clenched tight.

On the drive from Delhi to Ludhiana, was where the now historic 4th battle of PANIPAT was fought, and we had to split them up into different cars.

They were making contemporary history as they went along.


The Bidanis decided to accompany us as well, so we scrapped the Taj tour and all packed into 2 cars and headed out west to Louisiana. With Sweet Home Alabama playing all the while on the car stereo.




To be Welcomed by the ruling matriarch and patriarch of Louisiana. Mummy and Daddy.
Let not their mild mannered appearance fool you for even a minute, for they both are remarkable people.

Mummy of course for begetting 4 fine women, one of whom is my dearly beloved.
She also is known to walk 2 miles every morning, sing along to bhakti songs, and can perceive what you are feeling before you can say “Ki gal hai”.

Daddy was trying to get elected as Chairman of the local Senior Citizen’s club, but says that there is too much back biting and is not worth the effort.
His sudden loud shouts are known to give people a shock, but I was unprepared for the full extent of this when someone dropped a steel plate.


Bhaiya of course was his usual witty and relaxed self. Though now being HOD at PAU and all keeps him quite busy throughout the week.
Bhaiya is a Mushroom specialist, and that should tell you something….

I had to do some serious cropping in this picture to present Dr Veena Khanna who would have sprayed me with pesticide if I were to include a less flattering picture.



This here is Misha. Need I say more ?

Misha’s brother Varun currently studying in Chandigarh, and budding blues guitarist.
( Look out for my short-film releasing early next month titled “Musical Conversations” )


On my way back I picked up some great music b Jazzy B and Dr Zeus. The title track to this page would be Dil Luteya by Jazzy B feat Apache Indian, during which this page is best viewed.

If you’re interested let me know I’ll email it to you. It’s shinetastic!

Picture Contest 1 - Caution Advised !

Guess what this picture is about.

This is a close up shot; as close ups of road kill go, of a dead cat run over numerous times and is not more than a 4 hours old carcass.
The reason it is all soggy is because it was raining most part of the evening.

When I spoke to my fellow Alternative Art lover GVC about this new project, he wanted to know if I can get pics "fresher' than 4 hrs old, "Preferably" he said - " While they're still twitching".
He is more bent than I thought he is.


Remember my monsoon list ?

What you need to do is figure out which part is its head and which part tail end, and you get one extra point for every other body part you can identify.

Whoever gets the Max points Wins !
Winner gets a new HUMVEE.

Incase you cant see the image too well, you can also right-click on the image and "open in new window".


Road Kill 11Sep2005 0016 hrs

Toad of Toad Hall

They reached the carriage-drive of Toad Hall to find, as the Badger had anticipated, a shiny new motor-car, of great size, painted a bright red (Toad's favourite colour), standing in front of the house. As they neared the door it was flung open, and Mr. Toad, arrayed in goggles, cap, gaiters, and enormous overcoat, came swaggering down the steps, drawing on his gauntleted gloves.

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`Hullo! come on, you fellows!' he cried cheerfully on catching sight of them. `You're just in time to come with me for a jolly -- to come for a jolly -- for a -- er -- jolly -- -- '

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His hearty accents faltered and fell away as he noticed the stern unbending look on the countenances of his silent friends, and his invitation remained unfinished.

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The Badger strode up the steps. `Take him inside,' he said sternly to his companions. Then, as Toad was hustled through the door, struggling and protesting, he turned to the chauffeur in charge of the new motor-car. `I'm afraid you won't be wanted to-day,' he said. `Mr. Toad has changed his mind. He will not require the car. Please understand that this is final. You needn't wait.' Then he followed the others inside and shut the door.

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`Now then!' he said to the Toad, when the four of them stood together in the Hall, `first of all, take those ridiculous things off!'

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`Shan't!' replied Toad, with great spirit. `What is the meaning of this gross outrage? I demand an instant explanation.'

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`Take them off him, then, you two,' ordered the Badger briefly.

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They had to lay Toad out on the floor, kicking and calling all sorts of names, before they could get to work properly. Then the Rat sat on him, and the Mole got his motor-clothes off him bit by bit, and they stood him up on his legs again. A good deal of his blustering spirit seemed to have evaporated with the removal of his fine panoply. Now that he was merely Toad, and no longer the Terror of the Highway, he giggled feebly and looked from one to the other appealingly, seeming quite to understand the situation.

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`You knew it must come to this, sooner or later, Toad,' the Badger explained severely.

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You've disregarded all the warnings we've given you, you've gone on squandering the money your father left you, and you're getting us animals a bad name in the district by your furious driving and your smashes and your rows with the police. Independence is all very well, but we animals never allow our friends to make fools of themselves beyond a certain limit; and that limit you've reached. Now, you're a good fellow in many respects, and I don't want to be too hard on you. I'll make one more effort to bring you to reason. You will come with me into the smoking-room, and there you will hear some facts about yourself; and we'll see whether you come out of that room the same Toad that you went in.'

.
He took Toad firmly by the arm, led him into the smoking-room, and closed the door behind them.

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`That's no good!' said the Rat contemptuously. `Talking to Toad'll never cure him. He'll say anything.'

.

( Excerpt from : The Wind in the Willows – By Kenneth Graham )

The Wind in the Willows was the first full length book I got as a kid. And somehow, those characters stayed with me since then; both in my imagination and in real life.

For those of you who are interested, the complete book is available at the University of Virginia Electronic text centre here to download / read for Free.

http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/toc/modeng/public/GraWind.html

( All Copyrights acknowledged )

Lucid Thought 1

In my opinion, the 2 greatest abilities that we as humans possess are :

1) Meta-cognitive ability.

2) The ability to modify our behaviour independent of circumstances and environment.


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Suggested Further Reading :

http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/students/learning/lr1metp.htm

http://www.gse.buffalo.edu/fas/shuell/cep564/Metacog.htm

http://web.cba.neu.edu/~ewertheim/indiv/learn.htm

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Alisha Art

Alisha just loves drawing, and modelling with clay. Heres some of her work.

APPLE SEP 2005

PORTRAIT OF NARESH SEP 2005

( A bit too cubist for my taste, but still outstanding )

RIVER GRASS ROSE BRINJAL COMPOSITE JULY 2005

MANGO JULY 2005

And now these last two I think are truly Fabulous.

ALISHA SELF PORTRAIT SEP 2005

BUTTERFLY JULY 2005

CLAY CAT SEP 2005

Kevin James Green

Naresh Visits

Om Sri Ganesha Namaha !

It was the GANESH break and a long weekend, so guess who decides to pop by !

Naresh and I go back a long way to our college days when we were the self-proclaimed Freak Brothers ( Naresh was Phineas Fog, Llewellyn was Fat Freddy, and I was Freewheelin' Franklin )

To help you understand him and his spirit better, heres an illustration :

Here he is trying to make a fast buck off Alisha with his infamous muppet show.





We'd gone parasailing here. ( Note the Happy Eyes )


We had a great weekend catching up and reminiscing with people we didnt know. And at the end of it, all he had to show for 3 days of glory was a pack of Paan Masala from Paradise. Guess the guys at Thomas Cook dont think you're "The Man" anymore eh ?
Kevin James Green

My Little Whirling Dervish

Whirling Dervish (wurl-ing dur-vish) n. 1. A mystical dancer who stands between the material and cosmic worlds. This dance is part of a sacred ceremony in which the dervish rotates in a precise rhythm, representing the earth revolving on its axis while orbiting the sun. The purpose of the ritual whirling is for the dervish to empty oneself of all distracting thoughts, in a trance; released from the body and conquering dizziness.











Kevin James Green

The Kids Sept 2005

This boy looks like he's going to turn out more handsome than his papa.

Dancing and trying to catch the spout fountain.

Alisha calls her MARY POPPINS

This is the circus that has to play while ARMAAN has his feed.

Kevin James Green