Hello Mars!

It has been nearly two years since my last post. With fb, twitter, Buzz, Google Plus, I have posting around here and there! I have got back to India after three long years in the US and am slowly settling down in the garden city.

It is NASA's MSL that aroused my "curiosity" and kept me tracking it off late. The car sized rover took off on Nov 26th 2011 and is expected to get to Mars sometime in August of 2012 and make a landing on Gale crater. The rover has around 10 experimental instruments within it. They are primarily aimed at answering questions such as water on mars, microbial life, life sustenance etc. There's a host of experiments that the rover is expected to perform.

The project budgeted at $2.5 bn was initially slotted for 2009 and after budget cuts and schedule slippages made it in 2011(Thanks to Obama). The nuclear powered cells are of virtually infinite life. With Phoenix and Oppurtunity exceeding their life by way long, Curiosity would be expected to achieve new feats. Oppurtunity is in fact still alive and is currently exploring endeavour crater. The scientists at JPL have planned an entirely new kind of landing strategy for the MSL. This youtube video is a fanastic animation.

I guess I'll have to eagerly wait for the next 8 months to see those high-res panoramic shots. The official mission page has a nice timer and is located here.

Got a new Car

 

Quite dissapointing that it took more than a year for me to buy a new car. I just got a 2003 Hyundai Elantra GLS Sedan. I got totally fed up of craigslist and all the scams out there. Eventually I got this through CarSoup.com. I bought the car from a dealer, so it feel brand new.

Too bad that I still can't drive it without a valid Drivers License.

Lake-shore Turtle

 

Our office crowd had taken a day off and spent together at a lake shore along the outskirts of Minnesota. As me and couple of my friends were passing a small path along the shore we happened to notice a turtle. It was the first I got to see a turtle not under captivity. Got to take a few macro shots of it. Neat stuff. . .

Married I am . . .

 

Don't know why I stopped blogging. Well, Hope I become regular again.

I am married now since MAY 27. I took off from work for a week and flew down to Bangalore. It was a quick one week with more of formalities. I enjoyed every part of it. Well, now I am back to work. She joined me couple of weeks ago as well. Its a good feeling to know there is someone back at home waiting for you. It becomes a good reason for you to want to go home.

For me it is a difficult transition from someone who prefers solitude to someone who shares his feelings and emotions. Its a challenge and I guess I am doing pretty good.

Fire in the hole

 

My shopping spree just doesn't seem to end. I bought Bioshock the game. I heard it has achieved quite a bit on the graphics, gameplay, strategy etc. Apparently won the game of the year as well. I also love first player shooter games and the ones which are not exactly too fast like Doom, UT etc. Bioshock's got the perfect concept.

Sorry, I can't type anymore. Gotta try the game. . .

New Cam -Sony W170

Got the next machine into my arsenal.Its a brand new Sony Cybershot w170. Its a whole lot of cool featurs. I bought the cam and a 4GM memory stick totalling to $294. Quite expensive, but indeed worth the deal.

Few of the noticeable features are as following.


=> 10.1 Mega Pix
=> 5X Zoom
=> Auto smile ditection ( with child priority)
=> Macro mode - Good for people having a good sense of photography.
=> Red Eye correction
=> Camera shake correction
=> 3.5 inch wide viewing screen

Baby! Do I have a toy!

"Rock On" - A good flick

I recently got to watch the movie "Rock On" and I really loved it. I know I sound like just another unfortunate individual going through corporate trauma. The movie doesn't have any out of the world acting skills or direction. It was a real simple movie with some fantastic soft rock ballads. I was surprised when I was told that the music was made in just 3 days. Whoah! That's kool enough!

 

The most catchy concept of the movie is the memory of those old days in college. Definitely not all of us were rock stars back in those enigmatic days of life, but each one of us would have had a heroic stories to remember. With the thumping hormones and freedom - each one of us where rulers of our own worlds. I need to say this, I really pity those who spent their college lives in front of the books. They really missed the best part of their lives and will never have anything when they look back on themselves. I was warned by my brothers that college life is gonna be the most amazing part of my life, and damn yeah!!!! They were bang on spot!

 

I believe it would be the corporate guys to whom the movie would mean the most. That is where the second concept of the movie comes in. I am sure each one of us long sometimes to just yell and feel that freedom deep inside. I definitely do!! I kinda feel like dancing in the middle of nowhere. It is that feeling of freedom that we all miss. Tied down by corporate ties of deadlines, higher managements, messed up habits -- We all wish that sense of freedom. Wounded by the corporate ties we end up forgetting our loved ones and basic facts that makes homo sapiens - the social human. Blinded by the luring paycheck we might not realize it at this point of time. But it would be too late when we eventually do. . .

Warcraft III

Warcraft has been my favorite game since day one I played it. The pre-medieval theme with demonic clans and everything is so damn sexy. I love the whole game and it's plot. Well, I admit that I used to be playing it in India without a valid licence. This time I really bought it. The WARCRAFT III BATTLE CHEST!!! The case itself looks awesome. I right away installed the game and played it continuing from the point I had left in India. Check out below a snapshot of the Battle chest.

The battle chest contains.

1. WC 3 CD with key.
2. Frozen Throne CD with key.
3. WOW online gaming free 14 day trial DVD.
4. Official Battle Chest guide for Reign of Chaos.
5. Official Battle Chest guide for Frozen Throne.
6. Game manual for Reign of Chaos.
7. Product catalog.
8. A small book on Reign of Chaos.

All together it is superb!!