Kapil’s Korner

Great advances in technology has made digital photography cheaper and affordable for many. Memory cards come cheap and we just click click and more click. And thanks to the digital format we no longer visit the photo shop to bring back prints and share it with family and friends. My dad hates this bit – he likes to see photos printed because then you see the best and selected few. But I never managed to get many of my digital photos printed – call me lazy.

As a year end special photo printing service Zoomin had a great “Deal of the Day”. I took advantage of the offer and got some shots printed to evaluate the quality and service offered by them. First set of prints came in a bit delayed thanks to the mega response they had to the special offers, but I am pretty happy with the results.

I could have done better on the high ISO shots – but then sometimes all that noise in the photo gives it a great effect. Hopefully I should be getting some more prints for the long pending coffee table photo book I have been planing.

So if you’re looking for a good online photo printing service, do check out Zoomin.

• Online photo uploads means you can do them at your convenient time [they also have a import from flickr option]
• Shipping charges for most of the smaller sizes is per order and not per print.
• They also have a metallic print option besides the regular Glossy and Matt.
• If you have the imint card – you can earn & burn points.
• You can even have the photos shipped to another address besides yours. Surprise the family and friends.

Happy printing!

Let’s admit it, buying gifts is a difficult task. Ok, so how many people out there just went yehhhh! Look no further because what I am about to share with you may make shopping for your Valentine this year a lot easier and even convenient.

Asthetika is a place where you can go shopping and look for that special gift which is just perfect for your partner. Choose from a variety of products with a mix of flowers, chocolates, soft-toys and even personalised messages/photos to go along with your gift.

I am sure you’ll find something suitable for your partner at Asthetika. So if you struggling to do your Valentine shopping just go across to the Asthetika’s Facebook Group, see the full collection and get your customized gifts in no time. Gifts can be delivered in India via courier/speed post. But for Mumbaikars, they are giving free delivery within Mumbai limits.

For details contact:

Filmstars. The Divas. We like to walk, talk and dress like our favourite star. And now you have the option to even holiday like the stars in their on-screen avatars only, of course.

SOTC in an interesting tie-up with Yashraj Films presents what they call the Enchanted Journey. Travel Packages which explore Europe and promise to give you an experience just like SRK-Kajol had in the mountains of Switerzland or Abhishek-Rani in the streets of Paris. I tried checking the website for an idea as to what’s the “enchanted” element but very little innovation in describing the packages for these holidays. I wonder if it’s like the typical stuff – “this is the place where Raj proposed to Simran” or this is the place where “hum tum” was shot.

Continuing the trend, Makemytrip.com has tied up with SRK’s latest – My Name is Khan to offer the Indian vacationer an opportunity to explore the USA, just like SRK does in the film. [View TVC] Sadly, on makemytrip.com I could not find any package on offer which has been co-branded with “My Name is Khan”. Actually there is NO mention of the film tie-up on the website.

So this summer holiday I hope you enjoy your trips just like in the movies.

Mumbai, hold your breath
Private swimming pools with DB homes

Spotted this hoarding at one of the busy traffic junction of South Mumbai. Seriously, can our city really afford to have private swimming pools? Isn’t the recent spate of water cuts a wake up call to all of us and that too a RUDE one. considering south mumbai has so far been the least affected by water cuts. Yet, our building suffered an uplanned/unannounced water cut for more than 48 hours.

At a time when most hotels, gymkhanas and clubs are being asked to reduce water usage in their pools and gymnasiums I don’t know how and where are we going to bring in those million litres of water to fill up these “private swimming pools”.

God can bless us and solve our problems, but I think this one needs to be solved by us. Let’s do our bit to conserve and use this natural resource responsibly.

Has this happened to you?

Logged into your MSN or Google Chat, seen a friend who you never chat with. Why? because he never says hi or never sends an email. Give it a second thought. When was the last time you initiated conversation with a long lost friend. Or posted something on the facebook wall of a friend who’s been lost – probably caught up in his busy life. Not that you are ‘vella’ but hey you are on facebook anyways, so drop him/her a line and make them smile.

Go ahead  – BE THE FIRST ONE. MAKE A MOVE.

The new year party hangover has been tackled. Pics from the crazy night uploaded to facebook. 2010 calendars sit on the desk. Look forward to a smarter, richer and funnier year. Let’s see how.

Read more. [My Shelfari book shelf]

Listen to a new genre of music. Move on from the Hindi film soundtracks and my current list of trance. I don’t know – maybe jazz, piano recitals.

Experience more audio books. I am currently listening to Timothy Ferris – The 4-hour Workweek

Watch/appreciate cinema beyond the block-busters. Also catch up on my pending list of photography related talk-shows and documentaries.

Travel more. See, soak and enjoy new environments.

Exercise the brain – probably start solving Sodoku, play poker.

Re-enter the kitchen - haven’t done this in a while but I know it’s fun and I love it.

Rise and shine earlier in the day. A continuous effort.

Get better at money management. Identify right channels and invest wisely & regularly.

If you enjoyed reading this blog, do check out Robin Sharma’s – 62 WAYS TO MAKE 2010 YOUR BEST YEAR YET.

And of course do share your thoughts in the comments area on how you plan to make 2010 a great year.

Thinking of buying a new gadget or white good appliance for the house? In all probabilities you will talk to a few friends, visit the store and maybe even check reviews online. Now in the case of a mobile, you might get to touch, feel and experience the phone a bit. But how do you determine if an appliance like refrigerator or a microwave is going to do a good job for your kitchen needs.

What if the appliance brand or store gave consumers an opportunity to take the product home and experience it? Let’s say for a nominal fee they would deliver the microwave to your house and you could use it for a week to see if it does help your family cook the regular ‘ghar ka khana’ rather than the fancy items most often advertised by the brand. The consumer gets a good amount of time to experience the product, understand the usage and probably even see the difference it can make.

Of course there would have to be some terms & conditions – like the security deposit, a damage clause and other legalities to safe-guard the interest of both the parties. But I am sure things could be worked out and consumers given a chance to experience the product.

So, would you be interested in taking an appliance and trying it out for a few days? What would it be?

Last weekend, the Bhatia family experienced a weekend without internet. Boop! nothing worked and we were offline except for a little help from the mobile GPRS connections. Which helped me tweet and update facebook. But that’s about it.

And suddenly I felt stranded with nothing much to do, which sucks because I thought there has to be a lot more to do and so I thought of a couple of things which can help keep boredom away when the internet is down.

1. Open up a notepad and put down the things you need to attend to, once you are online. Memories are short, and you don’t want to miss out on sending that important email.
2. Clean up your PC. Sort files/folders, get them organised so that you can find data easily and faster.
3. Backup your data. It’s important. Imagine having a virus attack or hard disk failure and losing all those photos you love and that music collection you made after several overnight downloads. Burn DVDs, move data to an external hard disk.
4. Read. Yes, something which is printed on paper. Is there  a stock of magazines which remain unread on your side-table? Or a book which you haven’t read more than 20 pages? Go get it.
5. Write. Pen & paper is writing you know. So chuck that document editor and see if you can pen down some thoughts & ideas or better still send a hand-written note to a loved one [trust me he/she will cherish it].
6. Take a walk. If it’s the right time of the day/night, take your music player and get out for a walk. You’ll see something interesting, meet an old friend and come back fresh.
7. Watch TV. Are you spending too much time watching only DVDRips/ YouTube vids on your computer. Switch on the TV [although most of it is crap] you might just see feel entertained for watching something different from your regular stuff.

And of course, if you are one of those addicts – then you seriously need to get out of your room and try spending more time offline in the real world. Cheers!

Image Courtesy:  venicephotog

If there is something which makes my mom happy for sure is my twice a week trip to the temple. Of this the one made on the weekend involves a little wait thanks to the queue at times. While standing there it’s rather interesting to see the impatience people experience and at times even express so strongly.

One one such relaxed evening I was at complete ease in the temple. I watched as devotees walked in – some joined the queue and the impatient ones did their “distant darshan” and went away. And then there were the smart-ass types who thought they could did a little chiggy-wiggy to skip the line and reach the lord first. Why? I asked myself.

Humans. We don’t wait our turn to meet lord in the most honest way – so how are we expected to be honest and wait for our turns to get lord’s gift. Let’s be fair to him – let’s give him the time to thank him for what he gives us today and what he plans for our future. Let’s try and be with him when we pray rather than worry if the car is going to be towed away or am I going to miss that call while I am in the temple.

Wishing you all a very happy diwali – one which can get you closer to the lord. Cheers!