My Best Friend's Wedding

My best friend LN is going in for a wedlock in January.

Here's wishing her a very happy, leveling, eventful, fruitful and fulfilling marriage.

Mega Pixels

As I scour the web for good deals, particularly for camcorders and digicams, I notice a phenomenon. Not that this is totally new, it has surfaced again in a slightly different form. Years ago the brands aiwa, akai started a trend wherein its mid-range and hi-end audio systems carried 1000 Watt, 2000 Watt tags. Discerning consumers were too quick to scoff at the phenomenon saying it's the RMS that mattered, and not the PMPO. It didn't matter how high the PMPO was, what mattered was how high the RMS was. Brands like Samsung, LG, and aiwa went in for a rebuttal saying it's the aam admi who mattered to them, the bill paying populace they were catering to. High end brands like Sony and Panasonic, I reckon, were wrong in believing that they could be aloof from this trend. Alas, they had to succumb; succumb, grudgingly. So where a 1000 Watt PMPO would have the jaws hitting the earth in mid and late 90s, 3500 Watt PMPO have been the order of the day; audiophiles still screaming that it was the RMS that would decide a home theatre system buy.

Similar trend has caught on in digicams. Where 3 MegaPixels (MP) was "decent" in early 2000s, 8, 9 and 10 rule today. Make that 12. It has been said well and over that the higher digit MP cameras are required only when one decides to go for blow-ups or large prints, and that is precisely where the difference between a 6MP and say a 7MP would show. Similar is the case with zoom (optical/digital). So one needn't be surprised if one found a more expensive model with lesser zoom capacity than a cheaper model with higher zoom. This is because the latter would be the proverbial hot-cake targetted at an entry level buyer. Anyway the companies seem to care two hoots for all this and are leaving no pebble unturned to raise the numerical bar.

Is this indicative of the requirement on brands' part to play to the masses? May be that answers the diluting down of the uber premium image of Sony, which had steadfastly stuck to its no gimmick stand. May be it was a lesson learnt that one cannot be excessively self indulgent at the cost of alienating one's audience/target group/consumer base. Unless you are a Bose, that is.

Are Anurag Kashyap, Sony India-Columbia TriStar-SLB listening?

man of the century

"There is a point in time when you and you only know - the rest know it a second later - and it's the best feeling as a batsman"



Adam Gilchrist on the joy of a six.



Adam has a hundred now

Home Santy Home

No, this is not an exercise in narcissism but a reminder to myself.

28 days to go.


Paakanum!

Team India Kumble Odhkar

WOW!

This is something I have waited for aeons now. It has happened, albeit when the boots are ready to be hung up. Do I see a move from here to the Box behind the mike donned in razor sharp suits? Frankly I don't care. I feel he has got his due for all the yeoman service he has done unflinchingly for 17+ long long years.

What a turn of events, ironically!

Poetic Justice

and she bloomed!

mani matters

angry?



nah! that is S P Thamilselvam, an LTTE bigshot shot down by the airforce.


pic courtesy: IBNLIVE

mani matters

pondering






pic courtesy: google images

Idling away to glory

I consider them the most unpretentious, straightforward, WYSIWYG, simple, innocuous culinary pieces devised by man. Okay! the oriental, and the southern species at that. I am notorious for having them at any time of the day, any number of times, in forms best not described, and textures best left untouched. I had almost reconciled to the fact I would be not be laying my hands on these marvels for a long long time to come courtesy my relocation, a short imminent trip back home notwithstanding. Yes, there have been many a discussion across tables over dinners, brunches about how the Americans could be introduced to these girth friendly wonders. About how these don't leave a hole in the essentially deep pockets out here when made in bulk. About how these transcend without a trace of trans. About how just about any accompaniments go well with these, not eclipsing the core taste at all.

I opine, and not many agree that these taste the same when cold, as when they are hot. That's an eccentric point I have always wanted to drive home. There were days, the Vellore Chapter, when the gap between Sunday nights and Monday mornings seemed extremely torturous. My pals didn't concur. Did I care? Thankfully it's history. Nothing comes between me and my white discs of joy. Many a cart fellow in Bangalore, and Hyderabad would have felt grateful to me for making their mornings. So thanks to the wonderful couple, Bhargavi and Murali for making my day today.