The geekier side of me

I recently went through all the blogs that I wrote and I realised that is totally reflected the side of me where I am an outdoor exploratory person; which is true.
Another fact which is also true is I am a Technology Geek. I am all ears for news about new technology coming out, who is coming out with it. Its pros and cons. Few of them who know about me have asked me questions as to what to go for and why .Some times they refer their friends to me and I end up taking serious amount of time answering total strangers which camera/laptop/mobile is good, why to go for it and stuff. It so happens at the end of it they give me a smile and say "it sounds like you are marketing this one product and you have a commission". For you blokes reading it, I am open to questions that is because I enjoy answering it.

I simply do not see a product superficially,I dig deeper. Spill it guts out and see how finely its made; only that I do such things on devices that I own or is approved by the owner to do the surgery. I have changed the HDD on my previous laptop, fixed the screen and all.

Even back in my engineering days, when PC's used to cost a lot I took the bold step of asking my father for the money and I along with a few friends who boosted the confidence in me bought every single component of a PC and assembled it from scratch. If i look back to the daring me 10 years ago I feel quite amazed. That same machine is running fine till this day. My friend Ahishek was the guide then and I bet he will read this blog now and will be giggling. All of us squandering on the floor, with boxes and wires and plastic wraps all over, screwed in the mother board straight to the metallic back plate ignoring the tiny spacer we are supposed to put in. It was supposed to keep all the thousands of contacts on the board short circuiting. Machine did not start and finally we had to call in an expert and took one look and said, "are you all truly engineers ?, don't you know metal conducts electricity !" Good old, lovely days.

When even I do such things I get some audience. They might looking forward to see something getting destroyed/screwed up in live. Recently I opened up my iPhone which is a tricky compacted device and replace the battery. Here are some pics.





I have even gone to the extreme of unlocking my own Iphone and installing Android OS on it just to try it out.





The newest turn on this geeky course of mine was making video. I always have seen hundreds of "un-boxing" videos and wanted to make one myself. When I recently purchased a new laptop realised Opportunity is hard to find. When my new machine arrived with the help of my friends camera did document it. I enjoyed it so much that I made a follow up video as well. I hope I get to do more such un-boxing videos.
Time to get myself a video camera, how do I video the un-boxing of a video camera if I don't have one!! hmmmm.. The Chicken and the egg problem has resurfaced.

Video 1


Video 2


To emphasise on how geekier I could be, I wanted to show another device I had which i bet very few of them have. Its so uncool to wear, but really cool to use that many dont realise its potential. I love it! some day long after this device has failed to operate i am going to look at this video and smile at my own self for sure.



date:2nd April 211
The one true fascination that I have was towards Photography and I never thought that I would like it.But it all started when I bought my first DSLR camera late 2008. It was a Nikon D60 and it did a fantastic job of being sturdy enough for me to take a few hits and work under all weather conditions; all the while taking exceptional pictures. I took part in a Face Book photography group and I did win a few prizes a couple of times, that motivated me to move on further to take more pictures.
early 2010 there was an announcement that a new camera is going to come out of Nikon Labs and it would replace the D 90. I religiously followed all spy stories and pictures of the camera. The curtains on them were supposed to drop on 23rd of Nov and I did run to the stores on 24th to catch a glimpse of it, but was not lucky enough. On one cold December day in Gatwick airport finally I spotted one and I was drooling over it. The price was very good as well. But then I was between jobs and could not afford it, but one of my best mates was heading to the states and I could not wait further and he very loyally after loads of complications did bring me one. Honestly I had a strong desire to do a un boxing video of this, but he had to open the box and bring it over. He knew what I wanted the most and he took a video for me on my behalf. I did a voice over of that video and walla! I have an un boxing video of the superb D7000. The ultimate camera that is going to be with me for many years to come.
The camera is exceptional and gong forward all pictures and video on this blog of mine are off it.

Visit to Mourne Mountains

Mourne mountains:
It was a brand new year and I actually had not planned to start it with a bang. With the water woes in Belfast and that I had just recovered from a tiny spate f illness did not add much to the enthusiasm. A good friend of mine just threw open the door for a trip and then on Momentum took care of the rest. 9 AM on second of Jan we just considered of going out somewhere for a trip and by twelve we had the car rented by 1 the destination was set. It was Mourne mountains in County Down. not that far off a place. We did not want to spend too much time Travelling anyway.
We headed to Tesco, stocked up with snacks for the trip and the trusty GARMIN showing us the way out the city off we went. Stopped by the road side in the country snap for a quick bite and a group before snap. We had no accommodation booked. We did reach the mountain range by four pm and then we looked up on the internet for a hostel for us boys to stay. We did find one right in the heart of the place. The place was massive with a huge lunge and the whole building for ourselves. The size was a boon as a bane at the same time. To warm the place up took a lot of time.yet nothing can stop us from being merry. One of our Tamil friends recommended a good Romatic yet serious Tamil movie and we all Kannada boys did watch that. We all liked the movie and spent some time debating the outcome of the movie.
We hit the bed in the wee hours and since this was a trip where none of us were bound by time and not that we had any plans to act accordingly, everyone got up very lethargically. Had a breakfast which was not that fulfilling. We headed to Silent Valley which was a small reservoir in the mountain range. The whole lake was frozen, not thick enough for us to walk upon. The patterns created on the surface was beautiful. We could see crystal clear water with fish init bemeath the solid surface.
We wanted to test our physical selves, hopped a fence and started hiking the mountain. Now a lesson that i learnt is a mountain is not as high as it appears. Once you get to the edge we find just at the curve is another large elevation. boys were exhausted at the first level which must have been just under 400 meters.
I wanted to go on to the top. One friend followed me to the next level and it was tranquility there.No gusty wind and plenty of sunshine. Just then I saw the next elevation and that is when I had the epiphany.
Life is pretty much like this, we have a goal to get to and just as you reach it , we see another one over the horizon and we go ahead for that. Along the way we find some who accompany us but when the going gets tougher you are on your own. The final leg, which must be 800 meters and above, i was all alone and the wind forging through the high grass. I could hear my heartbeat and my lungs were doing their best. ever time i looked around the view only kept getting better. My efforts were not in vain and finally I made it. Judging by the size of the road where our car was parked, i realised that i have come quite a long way. I headed back wondering if the boys were still there. One cannot track back the original way because its all grass. I came to the point where it looked familiar and called out for the boys. No one around. There was a slight panic inside. I looked around hard and with the Grass background could not spot anyone or anything. Finally when saw tiny specks of moving objects on the tarmac I realised that they did not ditch me for fun.


one of them had a desire to see a beach so we headed to the Kilkeel beach. it was a small fishing town. Spent some time where on the sunny beach. had lunch at a fast food restaurant there and then we headed to the New castle of Northern Ireland. We did see a little bit of the town and then we drove back to home away from home sweet home.

for more pictures:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=311293&id=651679539&l=919b80d796