After my 2nd driving class today, I have come to the conclusion that driving a car is probably easier than it seems. Note that I only mentioned the phrase ‘driving a car’, because driving a car on Indian roads is a whole new concept in itself.

Since the day I turned 18, I’ve been eagerly waiting to get my hands on my own drivers license. After a couple of weeks of experience of being an 18 year old, I finally decided to go down to the neighbourhood driving school and signed up for a month of classes. They also informed me that they would arrange for my learner’s license on the very same day.

Now, I had heard from my friends that you were required to take a theory test to acquire a learners license and since I didnt know a thing about what they would ask, I was slightly nervous. But as I would learn soon, there was no need for me to be nervous as upon arriving at the RTA office, I was informed that they would take my photo and then give me my learners license. Although this sounded a bit too simple as they didnt mention the test, I decided to go along with it.

Few minutes later, I heard a man shouting my name and I walked into this area filled with some computers. I was instructed to sit infront of this camera and before I realized it, the guy had taken my photo which expectedly came out quite horribly. I was trying to explain to him that I wanted my photo taken again but before I could get my message across, this other guy tapped on my shoulder and pointed towards one of the computers. I moved to the PC and sat in front of it, wondering how the hell I was going to do this god-forsaken test but before I could ponder over the idea, a man who was supposed to be assisting me in taking the test did an excellent job and took the entire test for me. I understood that this was part of the entire agreement and finally got my learners license with minimal time and effort from my side.

Yes, that's me pretending to drive for the photo.

I’m allowed to drive 8 kilometers for each driving class. So far, I havent really been driving but only using the steering wheel while the instructor controlled the brakes, accelerator and clutch. And before your mind boggles to figure out how he was able to manage such a thing while I was driving, there is another set of pedals at the passenger side of the car to ensure that I cannot run amok with the car. Anyways, I’ve been happily turning the steering wheel left and right while the instructor watches me, occasionally telling me that I neednt turn it so hard. Its been fairly easy so far and I havent faced any insurmountable situation yet.

Another added advantage of the driving class is that I’ve had the opportunity to meet some of the most incompetent idiots I’ve ever had the pleasure of knowing. My fellow students in the class are surprisingly bad at driving even though they are easily a few weeks ahead of me.

I should also add that ‘driving class’ is the wrong word to use since rather than teaching me how to drive, the instructor teaches me how to get from location A to location B in the quickest time possible using the shortest route available. In my first class, he did not even bother pointing out the various parts of car, and just asked me to hop in and take control of the steering wheel. At various point during the class, even if I try to stay within lanes, he asks me to go left and right to avoid the potholes in the road. Only twice have I ever heard him actually mention the rules. Hell, he doesnt even ask me to wear a seat belt. This, my friends, is an authentic Indian driving school which teaches you how to maneuver through the tricky Indian roads and not drive according to a set of rules which would only make you spend twice the time to get to the same place. I’m quite happy with it since I’m more bothered about getting to the party rather than spend time trying to decipher worn out speed limit boards.

Anyways, lets not get too much into the topic, I still have 24 classes left till I get my license and I dont want the man who’s going to be testing me for license to read this.

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I’ve been ardently following the semi-finals of Britain’s got talent over the past week along with my friends. One hour, every night for 5 days lead to a lot of swearing at the TV, swearing at each other and making fun of innumerable auditions. Its been good fun and the finals of the show were held on Saturday.

As always, all of us had our favourites, the people who we wanted to win. My personal favourites were ‘Signature’ a dance group of two Indians, who had a combined style of Michael Jackson and Bhangra which proved very effective and popular. I quite liked their style and the fact that they were Indians was a huge plus point. The other group who I liked was ‘Escala’, a troupe of 4 beautiful girls who played the violin in a pretty spectacular way.

I watched intently to see who the winner would be, and when they had cut down the participants from 10 to 3, only one of my favourites remained, Signature. I cant say I really liked the other 2 of the final 3 so I hoped that Signature would win. Then, when only 2 remained, the final winner was to be announced. However, as fate would have it, Signature did not win, and the winner was this 14 year old kid named George Sampson who was quite good at his rain dance act. I was shocked that Signature did not win, probably along with thousands of others who would’ve been heartbroken.

I am very proud of Signature, for the tremendous efforts that they would have put into their dance, for the unique style that they created, for making all Indians proud, and for not giving up without a fight. I’m sure that they will have a bright future ahead of them.

You can watch the first audition of Signature here, their performance in the semi-finals here and their dazzling finale here.

And for those who’ve already watched the audition and want to listen to the mix they used, you can listen to it here, its called Nachna Onda Nei by Tigerstyle with Kaka Bhania.

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Day before yesterday, Apple announced their new Macbook Air, which is supposedly the thinnest laptop ever made, and I must add, one of the most incompetent too. Although it looks quite sleek and fancy, it hasn’t got much power under the hood and as a result, is quite useless for the average daily user. And the price is another shocker, retailing at $1,799, which isnt exactly anyone’s cup of tea. Honestly, I could get a much better laptop for a much cheaper price. And along with the extreme portability, you also get extreme fragility, meaning you have to take much better care of it. I don’t know who their target market is, and who they exactly aim to sell this to, but I also know that it will sell, simply because its from Apple and its claimed to be the worlds thinnest laptop.

Picture this, you’re sitting in a cafe with your Macbook Air, browsing the web, using its wifi and a friend pops up next to you. This is the conversation that I think would happen -

Friend - “Hey man, long time, whats up with you?”

You - “Duuude, Check out my new laptop.”

F - “Wow, that looks pretty sleek.”

Y - “Yea, its the worlds thinnest laptop and it’s from Apple.”

F - “Sounds pretty impressive, what can it do?”

Y - “Well, for starters, its got a battery life of 5 hours with everything running.”

F - “Thats amazing, now I can watch 2 entire DVDs without needing to recharge.”

Y - “Ahem, it hasn’t got a DVD drive, so you cannot play any discs.”

F - “Maybe I can plug in my external drive and watch movies”

Y - “You can, but it only has a mono speaker so you wont have the best sound.”

F - “That sucks, so what else does it have?”

Y - “Its got a solid 2Gigs of RAM and 1.6Ghz Dual Core processor!”

F - “Neat! That means I can do a great deal of video encoding on it.”

Y - “That might be a possibility, but its only got 144MB of shared video RAM.”

F - “Oh, well, atleast I can browse the internet all over my university now, without needing to lug around my heavy laptop.”

Y - “I hope your university has Wifi all over because this does not have a Ethernet port.”

F - “What the hell? No Ethernet port? Anyways, I guess I can atleast use it to transfer pictures from my camera to my external Hard disk”

Y - “It only has one USB port, so you cannot attach more than a single device at a time.”

F - “I suppose I could run Photoshop on it, to edit my photos.”

Y - “Yea, this baby can run photoshop like a breeze, but the display is only 6-bit so you wont have the best colors.”

F - “Ah, hope you got a good deal on it”

Y - “Actually, I paid $1,799 for it”

F - “Thats a freaking ripoff, anyways, I’ll catch you later, have *cough* fun with your new laptop”

Y - “Wait, it has a built-in camera and multi touch pad and…and……”

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I didn’t even realize that it was 2008 last night because I was too busy watching a classic Kamal Hassan movie, ‘Thevar Magan‘. Only once the movie got over, I looked at the clock and realized I had already spent more than an hour in the new year, and it felt like the same ol’ 2007.

I don’t understand why people make such a big fuss about the whole new year concept. Its just another day in your boring life. It doesn’t not make it more exciting, except for the movies on TV. I think its just a huge marketing ploy just to increase sales of all the goods, and cheat the people by giving discounts along with 5012 Terms and Conditions. And New Years Parties, what a rip-off! An outrageous amount of money just to watch random people get drunk and fill your lungs with smoke. I can honestly say that I had a better time yesterday watching the movie at home than I would’ve had if I went out.

2007 had its own positive and negative aspects but when overall, it seems like a pretty good year. It had the formula for a near perfect year, with its own ups and downs, miseries and joys, jokes and insults and I just hope that 2008 turns to be atleast as good as 2007, if not better.

I’ve also done some updates to my wishlist, but these updates would seem insignificant to the common man since they are all about more and better lenses for my camera. If you are camera savvy, please do take a look here for some great lenses and if you are not camera savvy, still take a look here so that you know what to get me for my birthday.

Oh, and for the sake of obligation, I wish all of you a Happy 2008.

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…you buy a lens that is as much as one months rent.

…you own a $600 car and a $4000 camera.

…you look at a beautiful view with the woman you love and a voice in your head says “f8 at 1/250″.

…you have more photo hardware and software than most Wal-Marts.

…you can’t walk past a camera store without walking in.

…you have thousands in gear but arn’t as happy with your pictures as people with a $100 P&S.

…you can tell what what kind of camera that guy’s using from 30 ft. away.

…your family members and friends start referring to you as “the paparazzi” .

…you spend hours at one spot to get one picture.

…you’re more interested in what the photographer is doing than what the bride and groom are doing.

…the first thing you notice about a pretty woman is the camera she’s holding.

…you base buying a new car on seeing if your light stands and background stands will fit in it .

…your cat sees you pulling out a camera and runs and hides.

…your friends have a tan from all the flash pictures you’ve taken of them.

…you feel naked if you’ve left the house without your camera and you’re sure you’re going to happen upon the big one.

…your wife begs you to stay in bed for a little something special but you insist you have to get to the lake before the sun rises.

And finally,

…you look at this picture and try to figure out which lens she is using.

Several of the above have actually happened to me, so I consider myself to be obsessed with photography.

Many thanks to all the members of PopPhoto.com who participated in this topic, for contributing their thoughts and ideas.

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Yes, its a ripoff of Koffee with Karan minus the gay jokes. I plan to start shooting the first episode on the 12th of August, this Sunday and if all goes well, I should have an episode ready soon. I still haven’t finalized the guest list so I really don’t know who will be on the show. There are still a lot of things to decide but hopefully, everything will fall into place.

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I’d been planning to write this article for a really long time and this contest finally motivated me to write it. Please note that I have written this list keeping in mind the fact that I would use these superpowers purely for my personal benefit and not for *helping mankind.*

5. Enhanced Senses

Super-hearing, super-sight would certainly be something I would like. You can eavesdrop on all conversations that you aren’t supposed to listen to, see things you would normally beyond your viewing distance, look through walls and also sense if people are trying to sneak up on you. And coupled with an extra-sharp brain, nothing is beyond your reach.

4. Ability to remotely move/control objects

In scientific terms, Psychokinesis. Inspired by Jean Grey of the X-Men and Matilda, I thought that it would be cool and also very useful in practical life to have such a power. You don’t ever need to get up from your chair unless you absolutely require it. No more getting up to search for the remote. No need to get the ladder to access high places. Life could have never been simpler.

3. Invisibility

Just imagine, you would be able to turn invisible at your wish and whim and back to normal whenever you feel like it. Together with this power, anything you hold should also be able to turn invisible. This would be perfect to visit places you would otherwise never be able to. And since you can take anything along with you, there is virtually no limit to what you can do.

2. Access the thoughts of people

Ever wondered what the person in front of you is thinking about you? Don’t wonder anymore, once you have this power. You will be able to access the thoughts of everyone around you like an open notebook. Now you don’t need to worry about giving the wrong reply in an interview or to your girlfriend. Of course, once you have read the other persons thoughts, it’s up to you and your talents to give the right reply.

1. Manipulate Time and Space

This is exactly like Hiro Nakamura from the television show, ‘Heroes‘. Having the power to stop time whenever and wherever you want could be one the best things that could happen to me. You can capture a picture perfect moment and examine it as long as you like from any angle you like. The idea that everyone else around you would be bound by the laws of time while you are free to manipulate as you wish is itself an appealing thought. Along with it, you also get the power to manipulate space and therefore, you can travel to any place on the globe instantaneously. No more waiting in lines for planes, just instant transportation at the tips of your fingers.

And there you have it, the Top 5 Superhuman Powers that I would like to have. Thanks for taking time to read my post, feel free to post your own idea in the comments.

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This has to be one of the funniest videos that I’ve watched. It’s a guide to dating demonstrated by Mr.Bean, as to whats right and whats wrong on your first date. Its slightly long at 7 minutes but is worth the watch.

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Nizam Mean Time (NMT) is a timezone which is independant of geographical loations. It can be obtained by subtracting one hour from the local time zone. For example, if the time according to the Indian Standard Time (IST) is 12:30, then the time according to the Nizam Mean Time will be 11:30.

The Nizam Mean Time has its origins in the city of Hyderabad which was under the rule of the Nizams until 1948. The Nizam Mean Time is still in use today but is currently only used for social gatherings of leisure and entertainment.

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Have you ever called up an office or even Pizza Hut? When they pick up the phone at the other end, they usually say “Good morning” and a sentence following that in a really fast and low tone. So basically there isn’t any use of saying that. I don’t even know whether I’ve called up the right place because all I can make out is just Good morning, and very rarely, you can understand the ‘How may I help you?’. This isn’t just an issue with restaurants and offices, even the big hotels and companies do it. I mean, cant they hire someone who can talk for more than one second with a consistent tone and volume?? It’s really irritating when that sentence after the “Good Morning” happens to be “Please hold on”. So, at that point of time, I’ve heard “Good Morning” some mumbling and the line just goes blank after that. Should I hang up, or should I wait on the line? Pretty irritating, to be honest. Nobody’s in a hurry so you don’t have to rush through the sentence. Is there a tornado right outside the building? Even if there is one, I doubt that you have a chance to make it since you’ll be busy repeating the sentence to me.

And in the restaurants, the sentence happens to be the specials menu of the day, so after I hear the incoherent sentence, I generally ask him for the specials menu and the guy makes a sound as if to say ‘ I just said it’ and he repeats the menu again, slowly. Now, why couldn’t he have done that in the first place? I’m sure he realises that he’s speaking at the speed of light and noone can understand him unless you get a time machine and slow down time to listen to him. If I can actually understand that first sentence after the “Good Morning”, I might whatever they’re selling even if I’ve got the wrong number just for the reason that someone in that company has the brains to hire people who can speak properly. This is one of the main reasons for the development of automated phone systems.

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