Aap, Main Aur Bagpiper

Nearest Theatre -> 0 Mile

2006-06-01T11:08:00.000-07:00

I wanted to buy a big screen TV during 2003 thanksgiving sale. I was reading the reviews at Amazon and couple of other sites. Somebody suggested that projector is a much better idea. So I started looking for projector deals. I bought Infocus X1 multimedia projector for $1000, didn't get any deal on that. After enjoying it for more than 2 yrs now, I would recommend it to everybody. Movies, XBOX games, cricket matches, I was blown away by the experience. It's better than being in a theatre. Last night I saw Reservoir Dogs, it was wonderful, specially close-up shots. If you love games, you will be playing QUAKE whole night. Dhoni's SIX looks AWESOME on the big screen.

Projector is light and portable, main advantages over big screen TV. You can enjoy a movie today in drawing room with your guests and take it in the bedroom tomorrow. You can take it to India during vacation. You can set the image size as per your choice. As you go farther from the screen image size starts turning into a monster. I didn't buy a separate screen, I directly project on the wall. It takes all kinds of inputs. You can hook up your laptop, DVD player, camcorder, cable or satellite TV system, digital camera or game consoles like XBOX. For audio you would like to use your existing surround sound system. My story is different. When we started watching movies on the projector, our neighbours started complaining about the high volume. So we were forced to buy wireless headphones (Sennheiser). But that turned out be another great product. You can watch a late night movie without disturbing anybody else in the family. You can head to the kitchen to get some popcorn in the middle of the movie without missing out on the sound.

One component needs replacement after 3000 hrs, the lamp. I haven't replaced it yet. An average user would change it after 4-5 yrs.

So the whole idea is you would get your money's worth completely. The projector which I bought was selling for $500 at last thanksgiving sale. This is one investment you will never regret.

Alternate Ending

2006-05-04T12:18:00.000-07:00

We all love movies. Good or bad, they give us a break for couple of hours from mundane routines. Directors put in months (sometimes years) of hardwork and we give our verdict after those couple of hours. Gripping but predictable, unpredicable but climax could have been better etc etc. When we say climax/ending could have been better we seldom put ourselves in director's chair and think of alternate endings. When we come out of theatre after watching a class act like Rang De Basanti we can't even imagine that ending could have been better. But I thought of giving couple of twists to RDB's storyline and see if it can send across the same patriotic message in somewhat more effective way. Before sharing those tweaks with you, hats off to RDB's cast and crew for sincere performances!

Karan goes to his father, Rajnath Singhania, before teaming up with his friends for execution of the final plan at the radio station. Emotional and angry, he pulls out a gun to kill his father. His father confesses that the parts he supplied were faulty which finally led to MIG crash, MIG which Karan’s friend Ajay was flying. He tells that even Defence Minister was a corrupt guy. He explains that he has been earning money like this all his life just to fulfill his son's dreams, one of those dreams being able to leave India and make his mark in US. Karan doesn't give a damn to his father's crap but before he can pull the trigger, he is overpowered by his father's security guards. Karan is then handcuffed and kept in an isolated room. Karan's friends are shocked when he doesn't turn up in the morning when they come to pick him up. It seems their final plan won't work. At this time D.J explains his Plan B. (Plan B not explained to the movie viewers at this time). Meanwhile Rajnath Singhania tells media guys that his son's friends are linked to a terrorist group, they assassinated the Defense Minister and Karan is no way involved with all their crimes. At the radio station, D.J tells the complete story to all the listeners and plays the recorded confession of Rajnath Singhania. Well done D.J ! he mysteriously attached spy mic at the back of Karan's collar before he left to meet his father. How can we afford not to have Plan B when are aiming to execute something that big? Or for that matter anything. After listening to Rajnath Singhania's confession, policemen are ordered not to fire at the students and wait for their surrender. D.J and gang surrender. Rajnath Singhania is jailed. Last shot .. Sonia and Sue are waiting for their friends to join them after they finish their sentence period, waiting at the same spot where they all used to hang out.

Let me know your views on the alternate ending.

Old Is Gold

2006-01-18T13:11:00.000-08:00

Last weekend I borrowed a HUGE collection of old hindi songs from my friend. I copied 217 songs from that collection. Some are original and some are digitally remastered (as they say) but all are masterpieces. Lata, Asha, Shamshad Begum, Kishore, Hemant Kumar, Mukesh, Jagjit Singh, Shailendra, Manna Dey, Rafi and Mahinder Kapoor, all these voices are pure magic. Each song leaves an indelible impression on your soul. There is no good time or bad time of the day to listen to such wonderful music. Rang De Basanti's music sounds good today but it won't after 6 months (sorry for being excessively optimistic). That's the difference between music for the body and music for the soul. Today morning, on my way to office, I was listening to this gem:

Mere Piya Gaye Rangoon
Kiya Hai Vahaan Se Telephoon
Tumhari Yaad Sataati Hai Jiya Mein Aag Lagaati Hai

This was sung by Shamshad Begum in movie Patanga in 1949. Yes, 1949. No need to remix or remaster it even after 57 years. Such music is nothing but meditation.

Another classic is this one:

Paanch Rupaiya Barah Aana

This was sung by Kishore in the movie Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi in 1958. You might know all this but I wanted to share, if you are not listening to old music, it's time to give it a chance.

Just hang in there

2006-01-13T08:50:00.000-08:00

Just hang in there, I tried that so many times but was unsuccessful. Sometimes it was just a matter of being lazy but other times it was sheer lack of motivation. Let's take the case of blogging. Why am I such an irregular blogger? (Last post was on Oct 12 2005) If you notice carefully, each post has only couple of comments. Usually I don't have anything to share but when I do, there are not enough people to say, Hey Chirag, you made my day !, Hey Chirag, you have great sense of humour! :). Fortunately, main reason is the first one but let's do it's quick biopsy. When I have some experience to share I can't think of right words quickly to post it here. Initial 2 lines are the most challenging part. For this post too, it took 15 minutes to write the first 2 lines but after that there was no rapid backward forward cursor motion. I guess most of us experience that but only few (like Sayesha) hang in there and complete the task.

So it's a message to all the bloggers, JUST HANG IN THERE, and keep blogging. Yes it's true, your blog can make someone's day.

Just want to castigate myself

2005-10-12T06:22:00.000-07:00

I started my career in software field on 9.9.99. During these 6 yrs I worked with TCS, Quark and GE. I learnt lot of things as one would expect. But I didn't take any extra initiative to improve my weak areas, ie, design skills. I improved in the areas in which I HAD to work to get my salary. Except that I was too lazy to do any extra reading. I think it happens with most of us. Even if it doesn't, I am feeling better after saying that. Anyways, I will review my situation again after couple of months.

Ha ha hee hee ho ho

2005-07-20T13:04:00.000-07:00

Lag gaya shot, khul gayi kismat, 32si nikaal ke khichwaai photo aur mil gaya license. I have a photo ID now. No need to show my passport if I have to stay in a bowling zone after 10 pm :) Now I can advise other people how to parallel park :)

Woh ghari aa gayi aaj ...

2005-07-19T06:41:00.000-07:00

I got learner's permit in Pennsylvania 2 years back and today I am going for the road test to get my permanent license :). Am I lazy? YES. But that is not the only reason why I don't have a permanent DL today. Reason is Parallelparkophobia. Even today I am not sure if I will be able to parallel park correctly. Though while practising yesterday, I parallel parked correctly 8 out of 10 times. Today I have to get 1 out of 1. And if I get my license today I will request for 2 copies, extra one will be put in a photo frame. People like me make simple tasks look difficult. Anyways, while searching for parallel parking tips @GOOGLE, I found this intersting link, http://parallelparking.jarkey.net. So you can imagine what advanced stage of Parallelparkophobia I have reached. I was thinking of writing this blog after I pass my test but that may not happen. Also, I am doing it now to get rid of extra nervousness. Now let's see how bad I perform. Another 3 hours to go.

Simply Sachin

2005-04-08T19:06:00.000-07:00

Glorious cover drive, exquisite straight drive, beautiful flick down the leg side, mighty pull shot, the list goes on and on and on. Good batsmen can make difficult shots look simple but he makes them look simple and beautiful. And I enjoy my cricket when he is doing that. I don't love reading but if a sports column, all about his breathtaking batting, is an option, it makes my day. Anytime I can close my eyes and see his awesome batting against the Aussies in Sharjah in 1998. When I see him today not playing his natural game I feel sad. Dravid's or Sehwag's batting can make me smile but can't make me read about them in the next day's paper. If I see him play the same old attacking cricket even for 5 minutes these days I jump up and say, 'He is back'. In each match I wait to see him mesmerizing everybody on and off the field. I know for sure that sooner or later this wait will be over. Amen.

Don't worry, we have Dhoni

2005-04-06T12:50:00.000-07:00

Dhoni hits another fine boundary, Arun Lal says, 'A star is born'. I was enjoying Dhoni's scintillating batting but Arun Lal's comment spoiled the moment. He could have said, 'Dhoni shows a lot of promise, we hope to see many more knocks like this in future'. Your team is 1 up in the series, pitch is a batting beauty, bowling attack is little above average and you are sent in as a pinch hitter, what other factors do you want to hit your first fifty or even a century. Arun Lal would have commented about Dhoni's knock in the same way even if he had made only 50. We Indians are the most emotional people on earth. And we suffer a lot because of that. No doubt Dhoni showed a lot of guts and variety in his shot making against Pakistan at Vizag but there are lot more difficult tests for him in future. If that day Shoaib Akhtar would have played who knows. When Sehwag became a part of Team India, media wasted no time in comparing him with the little master. Now after Dhoni's performance against Pakistan they are saying 'Another Sehwag in Team India'. Are you telling me that we have 3 tendulkars in our team :) Why do we get judgemental so early? Let him play on all kinds of tracks, crisis situations and against world class bowlers, then decide. I am quite sure my friends at cricbuzz think the same way. Media and commentators like Arun Lal should start behaving responsibly. Anyways, lets hope that Dhoni stays like a long lasting rin bar in Team India and we get more opportunites to say 'Dhoni ne dho daala'

Sehwag: Sachin in the making

2005-03-27T08:25:00.000-08:00

'Aaj match ka aakhri din. Sabhi Indian batsmen ne kuch na kuch soch rakha hai. Par maine apne liye kuch nahi socha, I will just play each ball on its merit.' Sehwag has come a long way in just 34 tests. In the beginning of his career when people started comparing this desi delhi bomber with tendlya I used to say 'Give me a break, see his footwork, absolute zero.' But then I watched his new avatar on the third day of test match at Bangalore. He was AWESOME. I rate his latest double century way above his 309 in Pakistan because of the impregnability he showed in Bangalore. In Pakistan, forget about the half chances, fielders couldn't hold on to the simple catches to send him back to the dressing room. But in Bangalore, he displayed class, innovative shot making and patience. Sami was trying his best to disturb his focus, giving him long stares, as if he was asking Mr Sehwag what the hell did you do to my sister. Sehwag just replied in boundaries. 'Talk to the bat'. Danish Kaneria was smiling in admiration when Sehwag was at his creative best. You can't compare a silent 'WOW' for your shot from a world class bowler to the boisterous standing ovation from 50,000 fans. Sachin must have enjoyed Warne's comments on his batting, 'He has started giving me nightmares, I see him coming down the pitch and hitting me for a SIX in my dreams'. So it gives a great relief to the millions of Indian fans who get worried when Sachin catches a cold. What will we do after Sachin hangs his boots? Some might have already started developing interest in other games like Tennis, Roger Federer is a treat to watch. My advice to all those die hard fans, 'Have faith in Team India'. We skip schools, we skip meetings, we skip offices and we even skip meals for the only game we worship. We deserve the best, we deserve Virender Sehwag.

Immaculate Dravid

2005-03-19T09:07:00.000-08:00

Sorry folks, I couldn't write anything after the first test match between India and Pakistan ended in a tame draw. Thanks to Bengal Tiger's poor captaincy. Now he will get another chance to prove his mettle on 20th March at Eden Gradens, final day of second test match. On the other hand, Mr Dravid has proved his impeccability time and again. He is always the safest bet. He defies all the rules. Law of averages and in some cases marriage, ad-campaigns :) etc have affected the batting averages but to disturb Mr Dravid's focus nothing works. Deepak Chopra should start mentioning him in his books. Team captains should start thinking out of the world techniques (out of the box won't work) to get his prized wicket. How about Pamela Anderson at Silly Point. Anyways, the thing which amazes me most is the way Dravid has adapted to the one day internationals. Retaining the focus and keeping a strike rate of around 80 is amazing. Seeing Dravid hitting the ball all over the park in the last ten overs in one day internationals is a treat to watch. Sachin is born with a style but Dravid has worked day and night to develop a technique which is like high speed internet with anti-spam. When Sachin is batting I am glued to my seat. There are two reasons for that, first one is obvious, I don't want to miss any glorious shot. Secondly, I don't know for how long his innings will last. But when Dravid is at the crease, I can go to loo, do the laundry, have bath, do the groceries, come back and still see him frustrating the opposite team. You can catch John Wright yawning and chatting when Dravid is batting. Otherwise he is always busy in noting down the ridiculous ways in which our pepsi and coke heroes throw their wickets. Now there is only one test left to pass. The captaincy test. Will captaincy affect Dravid's capability of taking India out of the woods on a regular basis? Will he remain 24/7 helpline for team India?

2005-03-11T19:55:00.000-08:00

Kumble Rules

Jeeteja bhai jeetega, India Jeetega

2005-03-11T17:48:00.000-08:00

I promised to talk about the people I love and hate but then I thought ek baar senti ho gaya to blogspot ki saari storage kam paregi :). I have been a cricomaniac since .. But don't expect that I would be able to recall how much Sachin made against Australia in 2003 worldcup final in SA or similar figures like that. I enjoy the game and thank God for sending me on earth in Sachin's era. Right now I am waiting for India Vs Pakistan test match to start.Fifth day, Pakistan leading by 53 runs and 4 more wkts to take before India can come and achieve a target of, lets take a guess, 101. Pathan and Kumble must be desperate to remove Pakistani tail in the very first hour of the play. Talking of Kumble, no praise is enough to describe his passion to dominate and intimidate the very best batsmen in the world. I never considered Kumble among the greats but only till the last time when India toured Australia. He almost spinned Aussies out of series. The amazing thing is that he can't turn the bowl and still he is the 5th highest wicket taker in test cricket. He bowls a googly, flipper etc etc etc. The difference in all these deliveries is the amount of rage on Kumble's face. You see the frustration on his face when he is trying his ass off to take a wicket on a flat track (even if it is a turning one, it doesn't make a difference, he can't turn :) no offence to his greatness) but batsman hits a cheap shot and fielder like Srinath fails to save the boundary.

Ok, match has started, ttyl.

Kya kahoon aur kya na kahoon

2004-11-11T11:13:00.000-08:00

!! A very happy diwali to all !! I am Chirag Dua, born on 26th October, 1977. Birthplace: Chandigarh. The best city in the whole world. Right now I am in Bensalem, Pennsylvania, US. So Bensalem is the second best city. Hey, no points for guessing thats its me who makes any place special. !! Wow !! I just got an idea from where I should start. People. People whom I love, admire, despise or castigate all the times. Bottom line is its people around you who make your journey of life, a fun trip. Otherwise, there is no difference between living in Switzerland or Dharavi. During 27 years of my existence, I have come across lots of people. Some are so special that I feel like quitting everything and write books on them. And some are so obnoxious that I want to be silent for 1 minute, gather all my energy and then tell them loudly 'YOU SUCK'.