The world as seen by Sankoobaba a.k.a. Sanket Kambli

Tashan Ve ! Tashan Ve ! ..........

2008-05-02T18:44:00.000-07:00

Movies have hallmarked my last two weekends. While the last weekend saw me enjoying Tashan, the weekend before that, saw me being left spell-bound by the magic of the huge Imax Dome Theater experience. Watching the excellent movie Transformers (I am fan of transformers since childhood!) On the large screen was fun.

Here is a mini review of Tashan.

Watching Tashan was fun with friends, but it’s not at all a great movie. You will find too many faults with it. But if you want to watch something that doesn’t involve using you brain and just want to chill-out with you friends, then Tashan is a good experience. Of course this film will not be digested by all, but here are a few reasons as to why you should watch Tashan.

Watch Tashan if you agree with any of the following?

>You are Akshay Kumar fan

>You are Anil Kapoor fan

>You are Saif-Kareena fan

>You like watching skinny bikini clad kareena

>You like movie’s with loads of style (ishtyle)

>You like lots of crazy(logic-less) stunts in movies

>You like stylish dialogues, the kind that you can’t say all the time in your normal life, but still they are damn cool.

>You don’t like to use your brain while watching movies, because this movie doesn’t have too much logic. Anyway we don’t always like movies that makes us think,

sometimes it’s just

>> Sun Yaar Chill Maar

>You think Akshay Kumar rocks!

Tashan Ve!!!

Last weekend was also quite special, because I may have come on live television.

The reason being, I had gone to D. Y. Patil stadium, Nerul for IPL cricket match between Mumbai Indians and Hyderabad Deccan Chargers on 27^th April 2008.

I had gone there with some of my best friends and we enjoyed cheering throughout the two innings

I am not a fan of cricket, I watch it sometimes, I like the statistics, but I am not crazy about it.

The reason I went to see this match was to experience the dazzle of watching Live Cricket Match involving international super stars. So among other cricketers who graced the pitch? I was able to see Afridi, Styris, Symmonds, RP Singh, Ashish Nehra very closely, while others I watched through binoculars! Although Mumbai lost it, Gilchrist’s explosive batting charged up the proceedings. It was an amazing experience. Now only other very important dream remains is to watch a football match involving Arsenal football club….LIVE at Emirates Stadium! Dream on!! That’s my last two weekends in a nutshell. Yes! One more thing, I just got a new cell phone for my sister, Sony Ericsson W200i (Review coming soon! Hopefully!)

IPL Match -Mumbai vs Hyderabad

2008-04-29T08:24:00.001-07:00

Cheering with my some of my best friends at D. Y. Patil stadium, nerul on 27 April 2008. I am second from right! ;-)

My day...everyday...

2008-04-24T00:05:00.000-07:00

Everyday begins by sipping turmeric-milk and reading mails.
After some time, its back to programming!
After having food during the lunch break, we go out for a stroll.
Stroll ends and we are back to work, trying to creating binary solutions.
Soon we are eager for that refreshing cup of tea, which eventually drives away lunch induced sleep.
The clock keeps ticking away and after some hours; where hours are directly proportional to work left,
its time to leave. So before leaving, one last check for mails, and we are off.
Of course if tele-conference or software release comes up, then the out-time changes.
This routine is altered if the are project meetings, birthday celebrations, etc.
But that basically sums up everyday of my work week.

Another weekend gone by

2008-04-01T22:41:00.000-07:00

Another weekend gone by. It was neither great nor bad.
It would have been great had we not watched the movie Race.
I don't like writing reviews of movies that I don't like.
And Race is a stupid movie which I didn't like.
This post should have come on Monday, but....

Dreams that motivate!

2008-03-30T22:32:00.000-07:00

I don't know how to put it.
I know that I have the ability to handle any task.
But today I realized I still got a lot to learn.
I am not a fan of my Team Leader, but I respect her.
Though she looses her temper sometimes, she has this brilliant ability to handle any problem of our

project.
Its not that I cannot handle them, but she does it in a cool manner.
Maybe its due to the fact that she has spent more time on this project,
but so have I, which is of course less than her,
but still I have!...
Then I realized that,
maybe I am not ready for it yet.
like they say to swimmer..you need more practice..more time in water..
so moral is...my goal of Team Leader is not far..but not really close yet..
but the dream of becoming a CTO one day...is something I won't give up..
become Team lead,
then project lead,
then project manager,
then IT manager,
then CTO...or something like that..
big dreams....
if I achieve half of them..
I would be happy...
thats why I won't get into MBA craze....
I want to become master of this field...
thats my take on it...I want to be a technology expert...
someone who will never become obsolete as long as technology exists!!

A quickie

2008-03-16T11:34:00.000-07:00

Hi,
Took rest today because I have a running nose, which is pointing towards an incoming cough problem.
Yesterday got my bike:pulsar-180 serviced, last time I got it serviced was in December.
The bus for alibaug-murud-jangira trip has been booked, so looking forward to it.
Was busy last week with taxation stuff among other things.
Thats all for now, have to sleep and go to work tomorrow, so bye for now.
For the time being, this beauty(Sony Cybershot H3) is my dream gadget. Did I forget to tell that I love taking photos.
(CLICK THE PHOTOS TO SEE ENLARGED IMAGES)

Isn't it awesome compared to my current cellphone-camera(below).

Welcome the Indian Summer

2008-03-08T16:52:00.000-08:00

On 6^th March I played cricket with my office mates. Though I completely suck at this bat and ball game, I love running around trying to stop the ball and reduce run scoring. It was fun, but more than that it was really good to play under the scorching sun. I was really tired of the cold wave that had chilled this city for almost the whole of February. I don’t really hate any particular season, be it winter, summer, or monsoon. I love them all as long as they are not overdone, like too cold, too hot, and too wet.

On 8^th March I rode my bicycle after about 2-3 months, it was good, but riding at snail’s pace was initially unsettling. This is because I ride a motorbike to work, so I am not habituated to these slow speeds. Still my love for two-wheels is so intense that anytime I ride any kind of two-wheeler I just enjoy it. It’s stupid, that in spite of cycling being such a good exercise technique and also a good and *green* way to commute short distances, in urban India, it is frowned upon as down-market. There are barely any guys of my age who ride bicycles just for the pleasure of it. Funny world this is.

By the way, I have fixed this Chinese gearing system (400 rupees) on my bicycle. This gearing system has reduced the top speed because the chain is unable to shift to the smallest (last) sprocket because the frame of the bicycle obstructs it. This may sound confusing but I will post pictures soon to justify my claim. So even though the top speed has got reduced, riding uphill is a joy because the taller gears allow me to reduce the stress on my legs.

I think the jaw problem that I have mentioned in previous posts stands resolved for the time being. To elucidate, the joint that made a popping sound while moving my jaw was Temporomandibular joint (TMJ). After searching the internet and consulting my dentist I found out that this joint needs serious medical attention only when it aches a lot, which isn’t the case. In my case only if I clench my teeth together and then try to open my mouth I sometimes get the popping sound. So the dentist has told me to avoid opening my mouth in that manner. He has also told me to apply ointments like iodex from the outside to relax the muscles. I have also been told to take care that I don’t stretch my mouth too much while yawning, laughing, etc. So basically things are under control.

Solution to>>Error loading C:\WINDOWS\system32\shell32.dll

2008-02-27T06:59:00.000-08:00

[X]
Error loading C:\WINDOWS\system32\shell32.dll
Access is denied

If you get the above error and you happen to be running COMODO Firewall Professional 3.0.15.277,
then you can avoid the above error.
Read furthur for the steps.
>See the icon of Comodo firewall on the taskbar?
>Now right click on the icon, a menu will open up.
>Go to Defense+ Security Level, one more menu will open.
>From this menu select Disabled
>I believe that is all is required to stop this error
>The reason for this error, is that, though this Comodo firewall is brilliant.
It has this feature called Defense+, which if kept at wrong level locks access to many system files.
Its GUI is not intuitive so its not easy to enable access to these system files. If I am able to get around its perceived complexity then I will post the procedure.
Till then I would say keep Defense+ disabled, and enable it while running strange/unknown, etc kind of programs/softwares
Thats all! I hope that helped, bye bye

Get well soon> Eduardo!

2008-02-26T06:22:00.002-08:00

Martin Taylor(birmingham) delivers a crippling tackle to eduardo(arsenal), horribly injuring him.
(image source gunnerblog.com)
Get well soon!!!!!!
I hope he makes a brilliant comeback..fingers crossed
Click for one of the best performances of Eduardo

For more info about eduardo click here

Following details have been sourced from gunnerblog.com
If you want to contact Eduardo, send him an email at arsenal.croatia@gmail.com by Wednesday

Clint Eastwood!

2008-02-25T07:51:00.000-08:00

Though I have seen very few of his movies, and all I know about him is what is given in Wikipedia, his quotes(thoughts!) are just brilliant.
Clint Eastwood!
here are some gems from his extraordinary quotes!

The best>>

“I've never met a genius. A genius to me is someone who does well at something he hates. Anybody can do well at something he loves -- it's just a question of finding the subject.”

other great ones

“Respect your efforts, respect yourself. Self-respect leads to self-discipline. When you have both firmly under your belt, that's real power.”

“I tried being reasonable, I didn't like it.”

“"A good man always knows his limitations”

“The less secure a man is, the more likely he is to have extreme prejudice.”

“They say marriages are made in Heaven. But so is thunder and lightning.”

“It takes tremendous discipline to control the influence, the power you have over other people's lives.”

“I don't believe in pessimism. If something doesn't come up the way you want, forge ahead. If you think it's going to rain, it will.”

“There's only one way to have a happy marriage and as soon as I learn what it is I'll get married again.”

“Sometimes if you want to see a change for the better, you have to take things into your own hands.”

“I'd like to be a bigger and more knowledgeable person 10 years from now than I am today. I think that, for all of us, as we grow older, we must discipline ourselves to continue expanding, broadening, learning, keeping our minds active and open.”

I admire his wisdom a lot!!!

sunday blues

2008-02-24T06:05:00.000-08:00

The dentist said its nothing to worry about!
No! my teeth are in good condition(touchwood!) since childhood.
Problem is with right side of my jaw, it makes clicking sound when actions like chewing are performed.
The dentist said its because I may have stretched my jaw a bit too much on some occasion. Now let me see, I did not shout like tarzan so the diagnosis seems wierd. Anyway he said its nothing to worry about.
I am contemplating on learning to drive a car. That doesn't mean my love for two wheels has diluted, it is just that I wanted to add another skill to my skill-set. And talking of that, it brings me to the topic of swimming, which is something I haven't learnt in spite of having a olympic size swimming pool in my vicinity. Definetly food for thought for me.
Today I watched the movie:*The Thing* starring Kurt Russel, again. I have watched it many times! I won't be reviewing it, since I am not in the mood for it. But its good movie, especially since I have playing the game with the same name, and same storyline. Both the game and movie are cool, lots of alien slime! By the way the movie *Aliens* is playing right now!!!
I am aching for a long bike ride! lets see if it materializes this month.
The weekend was quite subdued. Bring on the next week!

videos!!! some shot by me..some shot by friends..

2008-02-18T07:59:00.000-08:00

Videos shot by me are using Sony Ericsson Cybershot K810i while others are by friends using Sony Ericsson W810i!! Click the links to view videos...

One of my best pals Mahendra Bhatt's awesome mimicry of nana patekar, shot during our trip to Ganpatipule

One of my best pals Mahendra Bhatt and office-mate Shreedhar's superb duet

A funny video shot accidentally

One of my favourite cartoon series

View from top of Ratnadurg fort(Ratnagiri)

Cool Ganpatipule beach

Working Demo of my friends IPOD NANO

Train ride to tapalwadi waterfall

At the foot of marleshwar hill

A view from mumbai's suburban train on its way to far-flung stations

Spot the bubble!!!!

Tour of my office

View from terrace of my apartment p.s.For Tasha(you can spot saket towers)

Videos of birthdays of office-mates

JP's birthday

mahendra hasbe's birthday

Ravish's Birthday

shreedhar's birthday

ramu's birthday

harish's birthday

swapnil's birthday

sanket kambli's birthday

Jodha-Akbar movie review

2008-02-16T19:05:00.000-08:00

Here is it what I think of this epic love story.

It wasn’t really planned, the plan was to watch the marathi movie *Mumbaicha Dabbewaala*, but when we reached Ganesh Theater, we found out they weren’t showing it. So we zipped off to Eternity Mall, to watch Jodha-Akbar. I was reluctant to watch this movie, because I believed that the movie’s grandeur would hamper its pace, and end up making it a yawn-fest. Well the movie starts with Big B’s narration. The part before the intermission is a bit slow, but after the break it does pickup pace. Acting wise everybody is spot-on, and none of the actors seemed out of place. Of course Hrithik was excellent as he got maximum footage, and Aiswarya did her job well. No complaints, their chemistry is also quite bonding. There were times when Hrithik’s character had to show incredible angst and he acted in a way he has never acted before. There is only one problem, mannerism. To spot this, watch Dhoom-2 and then watch Jodha-Akbar, and study closely Hrithik’s mannerism, and you will understand what I am trying to say. His mannerisms are quite similar. Not that they are inappropriate but they seem a bit repetitive and slightly out of place (subjective). The grand war scene is good in terms of bollywood, but not furious like it is done in some Hollywood movies. When you do watch the movie, do follow Sharifuddin’s character. Because at the end of the movie, when akbar forgives him, he suddenly forgets all his villainous instincts, which seems weird as he is shown damn treacherous. But as I said these are subjective interpretations, so overall the movie is without much fault. What could harm the movie is its pace and Urdu dialogue delivery. There were times when the slow pace and heavily cryptic Urdu dialogues induced me to yawn, and bored many around me, forcing some to make funny interpretations, something hard to avoid in such period flicks. Still in spite the fact that period flicks are not my favorite, this movie was satisfying if not hypnotizing. Is it worth watching it in theaters? Yes, because only a large screen can do justice to the grandeur and splendor of a fine interpretation of Mughal era under Akbar, which seems quite real. The sets/scenarios are great and A. R. Rehmaan’s music is just brilliant.

New additions to my biking gear

2008-02-15T19:29:00.000-08:00

These are pics of new stuff that I have added to my biking gear
(Click on images for larger view)

1st pic-->Thats an elbow pad

2nd-->Thats close-up shot of the elbow pad

3rd->>Thats the Knee Pad

4th-->These are wrist protectors, they don't fit over my current pair of gloves! :-(

Here are some tips for people learning to lean a bike.

2008-02-15T19:07:00.000-08:00

For some people leaning a bike is difficult. There are various reasons given for that, things like, cannot shift so much weight, fear of sliding, etc.

The fear can be overcome mentally, but to overcome the physical problem of leaning a heavy bike there needs to be a correct approach.

Different people have different approaches, here is mine.

Keep in mind I am not referring the whole process of leaning, because even though I lean decently, still I cannot write down the process since it comes instinctively thanks to experimenting leaning on bicycle for 7 years.

Ok, enough of that.

So when you aim to lean,

Decide the right speed (to complete the lean)—this is purely instincts, comes after riding the bike for long periods.

Decide the right line, meaning on which side of your road (your lane) you want to take the corner, is it left or right—choose right for high speeds and left for low speeds for left-hand corners and vice-versa for right-hand corners

Then lean the bike, use counter-steering (google to find exact meaning), avoid front brake use (while leaning), regulate throttle and if necessary use rear brake. That’s it!

This method is similar to mentioned by others. I still think, one thing that can be added, is the importance of using your legs to lean a bike, i.e. if you are trying a left-handed corner, and can’t pull the bike to the left side then you should try pushing instead of pulling i.e. you should push the bike to lean using the right leg instead of using the left leg to pull it. Most riders do this instinctively (again!), but not all. So that would surely help. Of course, while leaning there are more parameters that are to be considered but I haven’t found anything new other than what biking manuals say.

And one more thing, to get comfortable with the weight of your bike, you can do this. Sit on the bike, keep it straight, no need to start it up, now put one foot down and try to lean it to that side, this gives you fair idea of the weight and makes your hands and legs comfortable to the bulk of the bike, repeat this for the other side.

Disclaimer: Please wear protective gear while riding. And in no way is this blog or sanket kambli responsible for readers actions as an after effect of reading this post. Use it as pointer, as this is not a biking manual, it is just a source to enhance your knowledge. Practice safe riding, and riding experiments should be done on empty roads, not on heavy traffic routes.

Here are some tips for people learning to ride a bike-1

2008-02-15T19:02:00.000-08:00

These tips are based on my experiences while riding, so are not from some professional racer.

While riding you suddenly spot a speed breaker or a pot-hole and can't avoid and have to ride over it.

Do avoid pressing the front brake too much to slow down, use the rear brake more. Of course this is not compulsory but preferred.

The reason for advocating less front brake use *only* in this case is that when you press the front discs, the front fork(shock-absorbers) compress or *dive* and so when in this state, if you go over a speed-breaker or a pot-hole or speed breaker you will hear a *thud*

This sound is because the front shock absorber has been depressed to its limit.

I don’t think it harms the bike radically, though I will try and find it out.

The above experience is based on having disc brakes at front, I don’t know if drum brakes make the front shocks behave in such manner, even this I will check it out.

Of course having tech like Anti-Dive would change the scenario.

Yamaha Gladiator Type-SS

2008-02-15T17:01:00.000-08:00

Yamaha Gladiator Type-SS will soon burn Indian roads...but...
gladiator maybe best in class by its sheer performance...
still it may never be popular for the following reasons...in no specific order..
>it doesn't have the minimum 150cc motor to be called sporty bike....
>its brand visibility and/or promotion(ads,etc) is not upto the mark....
>service center's have to increase in numbers
>and lastly there has to be some way to convince people that buying a yamaha doesn't turn out to be their mistake in terms of after sales service and the company doesn't fold up its operations in India...till then the likes of HH, bajaj, TVS will rule the popularity charts....

Click below to read the bike's review at one of India's best biking websites!!!!

Test Ride/Review of 2008 Yamaha Gladiator Type-SS

Bring on the heat(Click on images for larger view)

2008-02-08T19:12:00.001-08:00

This isn't mumbai! Its too cold! Mumbaikar's are not accustomed to handle this much cold!

Biking Gear-1(Click on images for larger view)

2008-02-07T09:52:00.001-08:00

My Leather Gloves

Chilling Mumbai

2008-02-06T21:10:00.001-08:00

Its damn cold! What next!

Brahmakamal flower(Click on images for larger view)

2008-02-05T18:59:00.001-08:00

More pics coming soon. I am blogging from my sony ericsson k810i cybershot phone!

biking and other rumblings

2008-02-05T18:28:00.000-08:00

just 2 weeks back I fell...nothing big....but the same thing..riding in dirt..front wheel lockup on a flat(gripless) concrete slab fixed in middle of the dirt track along the IIT(mum)route...and dump...luckily I was very slow..dirt didnt allow shoes(office) to get grip to gain balance...and was left with just a loose fairing ....
--------
for me goggles have been only a dream..thanks to me wearing glasses since 6th standard....
the doctor said in my formative years..my height grew too fast in a year..and eyes could not adjust to it...so I will have far-sightedness...he said not to worry...the number of the lens will stop growing after the age of 21 when your growth stops..
right !!
now i wear glasses with 6 number....people with headache wear 0 number glasses so you get the drift.....till now i used glass for specs lenses...
now my salary affords me plastic ones....
the current one is expensive...its of HOYA....
its got anti-glare(others headlights dont affect me a lot now)
anti-scratch(no distortion)
anti-stick(dust and water don't stick to it)
unbreakable to some extent and very light...
so all this features meant it was a bit thick....there were other lenses which were thin..but didnt have all these features....
so now these hi-tech lenses are perched on my nose by a frame which
has curvature like a goggle...covers eyes!! .. but the frame is wierd..
and take some effort to wear it inside a helmet...
first i wear the helmet..
but only half way through...
then i slide the glasses in but only enough for them to hang on..
then put the helmet in place..
and then the glasses go in place...
tricky system ...it works...
--------------
Hero Honda will launch new models this year lets hope they aren't just addition of new paint and new stickers.
---------------

First Weekend of 2008

2008-01-05T18:59:00.000-08:00

In the new year. All that I can do to make my weekends less boring is to hope that MSEB(MSEDC) reduces the number of hours of lead shedding. Thankfully, the power is cut from 9.30 to 11.30 and then 1-3 in the noon, totaling to 4 hours but not at stretch. Still installing a sort of UPS is stupid, as on weekdays during the power cuts I am not at home.
I am contemplating on upgrading my bike riding gear, new set of gloves are already on the cards, and maybe add knee and elbow pads(speculative!)
Some people I know are in love, which is a good thing for them at least. I hope their love stays eternal. And not like some bollywood affairs.
Being a bit of nicholas cage fan, I will try and watch National Treasure 2.
Among Bollywood movies right now, only Jodha-Akbar has me all excited.
Right now I am listening to lots of songs by the band The Doors.
Last week at our office we ordered Chicken Masala from ICH Canteen(Seepz, Andheri). And it was a far better deal, than what you get at KayDee's canteen(Seepz, Andheri), where chicken is not cooked enough so its not soft enough.

Sanket kambli is back in his good old avatar of sankoobaba

2007-12-18T07:45:00.000-08:00

There are frustrating times when frustration reaches a crescendo. In such turbulent times all the you wait is a......zzzzzzz..zzzzzzzzz..zzzzzzz

wake up!!!! Got to finish my work!!! Where is my cup of tea!!!!

Is feeling drowsy a disease or a disorder or is it something that cannot be avoided, especially when you know, that you are trying hard to avoid feeling sleepy. This could potentially be a lunch-induced drowsiness, which forces my eye-lids to shut down. Fortunately this sleepy trend lasts only for 20 minutes and after that miraculously it dissolves and I feel fresh, irrespective of a refreshing cup of tea. So till I find a solution to this problem it cannot cease to exist and will continue to torment me almost every afternoon.

The wonder years of wonderful people who always wonder about the wonderful wonders of this wonderful world which eventually makes me wonder whether it is really wonderful.

I saw the movie "I am Legend" and this movie simply moves Will Smith, higher on my favorite Hollywood actors list.

Photo of the day...

Photos of my new mobile....sony ericsson k810i...3.2 megapixel

2007-08-15T07:19:00.000-07:00

Click here to view my mobile photo