Pratyush's log

Well a digital camera has become a basic need for everyone today as it helps capture all those beautiful moments that would otherwise have been lost. Everyone wants a camera but very few are exactly acquainted with what to look for. I too was an amateur in this field but recently I did an extensive research before buying my new camera Nikon S9100! If your needs are similar to mine, i.e. you are no expert at photography and just need the best 'point & shoot' camera there is in the market, here are the stuff you need to look for: 1. 10-12 MP is fine (higher MP doesn't mean better picture, it would only increase the picture size) 2. 5x optical zoom is enough if ur snapshooter, undecided or casual shooter 3.Go for retractable zoom lens 4. Li ion or NiMH batteries 5. 1080p HD / 720 p video recording is descent 6. CMOS Sensor (for better captures in low light) 7. Do see the CNET review and ratings before buying Hope it helps you guys as much as it helped me. Ha

I have been reading this novel, “The Grand Design” written by Stephen Hawking and Leonard Mlodinow, that gives an insight into the various mysteries of nature, the laws that govern it, the theories that have been devised to understand its phenomena and it reality challenges the very perception of reality. This is a truly ‘mind blowing stuff’ as was quoted by the Sunday Times. I would definitely like to mention a few points from the book I myself found fascinating and intrigued my senses. 1. There are so many things about this universe we often wonder about. How does the universe behave? Did the universe need a creator? What is the nature of reality? Traditionally these are questions for philosophy, but philosophy is dead. It has failed to keep up with the modern developments in science more particularly, physics, & the book aims to give answers suggested by recent discoveries and inventions. 2. Ignorance of Nature’s ways led people in ancient times to invent Gods and deties.

Getting up at 5 in the morning is not the easiest thing to do especially if you have my habit of waking up at 11 on a daily basis. However such miracles do happen, on occasions similar to today’s: The Matheran trip. I got up at 5.15 and was ready in less than 15 minutes. The Iciness of the morning air was frigidly amazing as it struck me on my face. I can imagine what my sister would be feeling who was driving the activa to the Shivaji Nagar station. We were accompanied by Jayesh and Avatar, two of my sister’s colleagues from DRDO. We took the first local to Karjat and then another to Narel. A toy train is available from Narel to Matheran . But seeing a big huddle for the toy train tickets, we decided to hire a taxi. We reached Matheran in 20 minutes max and there began our ‘trekking’! It wasn’t the usual trekking though, all we had to do was follow the toy train tracks as it curved through the Matheran hills. It wasn’t the best thing to do but we had no choice...We had