Boca Grande

I love this place - it is as simple as that.

Boca Grande is situated almost diagonally opposite to Koramangala police station (bangalore), so near but away from the crowd. The place is kind of hidden from the view by the trees, and if you really don’t look for it, you may lose it easily.

Parking is not great, but passable, and there are by lanes if you find that there is no free space in front of BG.
The place is spacious and have lot of seating options - the simple task of deciding where to sit - do u want to sit outside, under the tree, or do you want to lounge on those sofas or do you want the wooden benches or do u want some nicely lit corners – it is as tough as choosing something to eat.

The service is nice - they don’t hover near your table or keep asking for orders - they serve you the food and let you continue in your world - the pin up "Don’t look at time, it comes free with the food" says all. (they have got lot of nice and interesting quotes on pin ups)

The selection of food is equally good and tasty - and for a change, vegetarians are not left behind for choices. The Chicken ceasar salad I ordered was nice and the garden salad my friend ordered didn’t disappoint at all. The chicken and mushroom soup was good, but not really impressive, but the potato wedges where quiet good and crispy, without being too much oily. They make some good pizzas, and the Chicken Cordon Blue and grilled chicken with saltimbocca were impressive. The Chocolate milk shake was thick ad creamy, but the litchi milkshake was a tad too sweet for our liking.

They have some awesome desserts and thick and creamy milk shakes and for chai lovers, they do have good verity.

The place is ideal for an unwind session with friends and they do have board games if you are in a mood for a group game. All in all, a place worth dropping in - if you are in and around Koramangala and need a place to while away some time, away from the rush, this can be your ticket.

Oh, and before I forgot, they have a designer dress boutique inside-Irah – some nice designs on display, and they do extensive customization.

thnx winnipoohie, for introducing me to this place.

Questions...

I was bloghopping as usual, reading and commenting, making most of a lazy Monday morning, and then I saw the post by Crystal

 

She have given a set of Questions and asked for the answers - and I love the set of questions.

 

I liked them so much that I just had to share them with you,

so here you go with the questions and my answers. 

 

Do answer them, either @ the comment section or at your blog (if you do it at your blog, leave a link), I would love to know your answers...

 

The most powerful force in life?
Self Confidence 

The greatest asset?
The belief that I can do it

The most powerful channel of communication?
Open talk

The most important thing in life?
Freedom

The greatest joy?
Being happy

The worst thing to be without?
a free mind

The greatest loss?
self esteem

The most worthless emotion?
Guilt

The most effective sleeping pill?
a worry free mind

The most satisfying work?
any work as long as you are happy doing it

The greatest problem to overcome?
lack of self confidence

The best attire?
Constructive ego

The most crippling disease?
Destructive Ego

The most dangerous pariah?
Blind Envy

The two most powerful words?
I can

And the greatest attitude?
I.

 

 

Carburetor tuning - a detailed picture

Dont read it - it is nothing but some tech rant, which will go over your head unless you love your bike and love getting your hands dirty...

I am posting it here to preserve it.

Before I start, one word of friendly advice - more often than not, carburetor is best left untouched. If you really want to play around with your carb, make sure you have the required knowledge, and tools. Carb is a very vital part of your bike, and properly tuning it is no Childs play.

 

Unicorns use a Keihin CV carburetor - in a CV (Constant Velocity / constant vacuum) carburetor the throttle cable is linked not to the throttle slide as in a conventional carb, but it activates a butterfly valve, and when you open the throttle, the air pressure difference between the sealed chamber above the vacuum slid and inside carburetor venturi forces the slide up and down. the slide is located in front of the butterfly valve. A CV carb gives good mileage, and adjusts better to altitude changes, but the throttle response is not as fast as of a conventional carb.

In a CV carb, the amount of air is controlled by the butterfly valve and the amount of fuel is controlled by drop in pressure, and the jets.

 

In a nutshell, to tune a carburetor properly, you need most suitable main jet, proper needle height / clip position and optimum float height.

 

The carburetor has a number of different jets, passages and orifices to control the precise amount of fuel and air flow into engine. Engine idle, part throttle, full throttle and acceleration uses different passages, and are referred commonly as 'circuit'. Practically, more than one circuit will be functioning at a time.

 

the basic circuits are - choke, idle circuit, midrange/main, high-speed/power enrichment and accelerator pump. Though these circuits overlap, all of these have their primary functions.

 

Choke helps is cold start and warm up.

 

Idle circuit controls the idle speed and some low end throttle response. The main function of the idle circuit is to control the idle circuit. It is controlled by slow speed jet and air fuel mixture screw.

 

Midrange - as the throttle is progressively opened, the flow through idle circuit gets reduced. In this range, the most effective component is the jet needle. Midrange is characterized by steady throttle and light acceleration. Generally the throttle opening will be from a quarter to three quarter of the full range. If you feel your mixture is rich when you are at a quarter throttle, and as you open the throttle further, if you feel the mixture is becoming lean, then you need a jet needle with larger taper. If the feeling is the opposite, then what you need is a small taper jet needle. If the mixture is lean throughout the range, then you need to raise the jet needle by lowering the clip position, and vice versa. From the moment the throttle is opened, till you open it really wide, it is the jet need which controls the flow.

 

High-speed/power - it is controlled by main jet. A rich mixture will provide more power, and will keep the engine cool. If you have tuned your carburetor lean, then don’t ride with throttle wide open much - it is not good in long run. so, the safe practice is to install a main jet which is one size higher than the one which offers best performance - it will help the engine in long run.

 

Accelerator pump - usually, this needs no adjustment. If you feel a stumble (a temporary lean condition when you suddenly open the throttle), you can widen the gap on the pump linkage, to delay the timing.

 

The simple and best way of setting a carb is to set the different circuits with ideal conditions for their primary functions. So, set the air fuel mixture and idle jet for best idle, set the needle for cruising at a steady speed (midrange) and set the main jet for wide open throttle.

 

Remember - carburetor tuning is and art, compromising lot of experience, lot of science and a bit of black magic... :)

 

(I express my gratitude to many websites which taught me the basics of carburetor tuning.) 

Google says it...

I saw this meme in many blogs, and today, where you google "your name + needs" and list the first 10 results. 

i was googling as usual for some stuff and suddenly, I got the idea to goole for "Anoop needs", and here is what I got - and teh result did surprize me - for, the 10th item was actually about me, written by one of my best friend, in his blog, long time back... *wide grin*
so here is what Google think I needs

1) Anoop needs to make drawings that are more complete

hm..now it is a known secret that my sketching talent leaves a lot to be desired.. and now Google have officially proclaimed it :P
(btw - here is one of the last sketches I did, about 4-5 years back. Plan to start sketching again, and some day, I may feed you forcefully with my merciless massacre of lines and curves) 

2) Anoop needs to turn 7 more or gain 162 more Vampire points to reach the next level 

now now, I have never been much of a Facebook fan, but I did play the Vampire game some time back.. Never knew Google kept a close tab on me.. Big brother is watching.... 

3) Anoop needs help in expr. essing his ideas mor. e clearl 

hm, i do think at times, i need the help. Good old Google uncle knows what I need... :) anybody there want to volunteer? 

 4) Goshhh, Anoop needs some kind of contract for singing 

It is very hard to keep your secret life secret - I tell you. Googleman knows how Good I sing and says I need a contract.. hear hear...  

5) Anoop needs to ... 

ok, now, are you playing some kind of a game? this is what I asked you, Mr.Google. And I need an answer.  

6) It sounds as if Anoop needs to wait for one process to finish before starting the next 

my oh my - can you be more wrong. I think I am the king of multitasking :P 

7) I very much doubt Anoop needs all this publicity 

yeah, so true.. you, out there - please turn off that spot light on me... man, my hand aches after signing all these autographs... google knows whatz best for me.. ;)  

8) looks like anoop needs more and more votes, he is still at 4th place 

now, isn't this sweet. this one is really about me. before I started blogging here, I used to blog @ yahoo. Once yahoo selected 10 best blogs across the whole yahoo 360 and conducted a voting to see which will come as the best blog. My blog was in the list, and when the voting was over, I got 4th :-D  

9) Susan, a developer in California, learns that her colleague Anoop needs to build Susan's software component at the Indian development lab 

Now, this is very close to reality.... very very close :-D 

10) Anoop needs to turn 4 more or gain 91 more Slayer points to reach the next level. 

then vampire, now slayer... hm... the eye sees it all.... 
 

I dont tag anyone, other than cess, who is automatically tagged... If anyone finds it interesting, feel free to take it up :-D

 

A date with books

Harini tagged me and man, this is a tag I love to do :-D

Do you remember how you developed a love for reading?

my parents encouraged me to read - they used to get me boks from Prabath book house - it was not a conventional book store, but a big red bus. they used to have stories translated from russian. I used to read a lot of them and then i joined the library at my dads village when i was in school. I always liked ot read, and i grew up listening tales of indian mythology from my grandma and reading russian flok tales from the books. 

It was my friends shyam who introduced me to English litereture. I started reading english books when i was doing 1st year Pre-University. And I started with Hardy boys :-D 

What are some books you read as a child?

Lot of flok tales from russia, malayalam novels and short stories. I used to look at Mirror and Misha - two russian magazines - Our library used to get them and my dad used to bring them home. Though I could not read and understand them, I used to look and imagine the life there. 

What is your favourite genre?

Anything other than sweet-sticky-mushy romance. 

Do you have a favourite novel?

A lot, and I have said about them many times in my blog. 

Where do you usually read?

I read at almost any place. If I am at home, I love lounging on my beanbag. I have the habit carrying the book I am currently reading with me when I go anywhere so that if I have to wait, I can read and pass time. 

When do you usually read?

Any free time I can get

Do you usually have more than one book you are reading at a time?

Nope. I kind of like to read one at a time. 

Do you read nonfiction in a different way or place than you read fiction?

Nope. I ain't a advocate of descrimination :P 

Do you buy most of the books you read, or borrow them, or check them out of the library?

Buy them most fo the time, borrow them once in a while - but I borrow from those who I am really comfortabel with, and I lend to those whom I am really comfy with.
 

Do you keep most of the books you buy? If not, what do you do with them?

Yes, I keep them. I want to ahve a library of my own :-D

If you have children, what are some of the favorite books you have shared with them? Were they some of the same ones you read as a child?

Yes, i think so. but only thing is, now I dont see much russian folk tales and the books I used ot read as kids.  I would suggest Kerala, Bengali and Russian children's Literature

What are you reading now?

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy by John Le Carre

Do you keep a TBR (to be read) list?

Yes. I start doing it eitehr wehn I read some reviews and like the book, or when I am almost ready for next visit to book store. But I always not necesserily goes by that list. 

What books would you like to reread?

The list changes. Now on the top are - Kalam by MT Vasudevan Nair (Malayalam), My Childhood by Maxim Gorky and Tao of Physics by Fritjof Capra.

Who are your favourite authors?

from Ayn rand to Grisham, From PG Wodehouse to Fritjof Capra, from Mt Vasudevan Nair to Shivarama Karanth, from Vijay Tendulkar to sadath Hasan manto, From Kafka to Khalid hosseini, the list goes on and on. 

i tag..

Preetz, Veenzie, Winnipoohi, Tia, Prats, Tys and Cess - u r always tagged. I would love to tag Busy_writer too, but she is alredy tagged. 

ps: If any of you read bengali literature, could you please ping me on my mail id? I am trying to get the name of some books I read during my school days, but i am not able to pinpoint them. Any help will be really appreciated. 

Wish you all a Happy Onam.

എല്ലാവക്കും എന്റെ സ്നേഹം നിറഞ്ഞ ഓണാശംസകള്‍

(Wish you all a very happy onam)

leaving on a jet plane

Well, not exactly. it is more like leaveing on a red train... no points for guessing, I am off to Kerala, my home for a short break. Plan to be back by 11th.

I have not replied to all your comments in the previous posts, and I am sorry - will reply to it as soon as I am back. 

between winnipoohie gave me a very sweet award and I am quoting her verbatim 

(yeah yeah, shameless elf promotion, I know. sue me :P ) 

-----------------------------------

Anoop Kumar is his name,

"xh" is his fame  *winks*

A biker to the core

And many other talents, hidden in the core 

Cooking and looking ?

Wining and dining

workoholic to the core

Romantic too.. can anyone ask for more? 

----------------------------------------------

I am giving this award to all in my blogroll :-D

Gato Negro Merlot

When friends deicide to catch up over a lazy evening, what is better than to have a bottle of nice wine to make the evening more appealing?

Couple of my friend decided to have a mid week break as the Wednesday was a holiday. Now, it have almost become norm among my friends to let me choose the wine and we paid a late visit to Madhuloka, our favorite liquor boutique on Tuesday evening.

After some hunting around, I decided to try 2006 vintage Gato Negro Merlot, a medium bodied wine from Chile.

Gato Negro is one of the oldest brands from Chili, produced at the San Pedro region. Chili does produce some exceptionally good wines, so I had no qualms picking it up from the aisle.

Shyam did the honors with the bottle (we did manage to misplace the wine opener this time, and luckily, I had my Swiss army knife and he used the cork screw of the knife to uncork the wine :P ) and I must tell you, the wine proved very good value for what we paid.

The wine is medium bodies, with a well rounded taste. The wine have a fruit forward taste, and is predominantly pleasant jammy in taste. I believe the grapes grown in Chili is less acidic, owing to the sunny days, and it sure helps the Merlot to retain a smooth, velvet like experience. The wine went well with thandoori chicken and cheese, but however, the channa masala spiced up with pepper was not exactly a good match. 

At 545 INR a bottle, the wine is not at all expensive, and I found it better than some pricier wines. The wine goes well with or without food, and is rich in flavor, but not overpowering. I won’t place it among the best out there, but it is one among the best entry level wine out there. If you fancy a easy on pocket, easy on palate merlot to make your evenings merry, this may be your ticket.

 Wine, friends, poetry and a cool night sky, what a combination.
(I miss you Reggy Mina, and you are remembered fondly)

Chromed

It was love at first sight - when i read the comic book about Google Chrome I knew it is something which is worth watching, and when Chrome went online, I promptly downloded it - and boy,it blew  my expectations.
Chrome is neat. It is the browser version of google home page - neat, practical,fast and to the point. Chrome dont clogg CPU usage, and lets me  do the work more fast, in a neat, well arranged package. Those who have seen my desktop will know that I dont like clutter, and chrome kind of made me a fan with the neat, clutter free lay out. It offers almost all FFX features, and makes a FFX user right at home.

There are some small details I would like chrome to improve on, but I am sure as the time goesz, it will come. And the icingof teh cake is that, Chrome is opensource. 

here is a screenshot of my newfound love, Chrome 

Read On...

***warning:Long post ahead***

Usually, I dont blog forward mails. I love reading them and I do ask my friend to keep sending me forward mails. But blogging, I beloive, is a place for me to express myself. 

But this mail was so much different, that I had  to simplyy blog it. Many tims, we do lose sight of the hardword other put to make our life easy. When we work hard, cutting the deadlines, delivering the project in the stipulated budget, when we let our job guide our benchamark of hardwork, we lose sight of the amount of hardwork other do, and we tend to drive home the point across every one who care to listen that the work we do is the most strenoues work. 

I can say from my heart that I dont think the work I do is strenous enough - yes yes, it is all true about the 'we use our brains, not muscles, it is not a matter of writing just few lines' part, and I agree with it, but that does not make the hard work of a daily labourer any less demanding. But I have often seen manyof my friends looking down at people who are not in IT, and saying, they dont know how tough our life is. well, this forward os for all those who think so. 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A real story  ...A gossip between a Solider and Software Engineer in 

Shatabdhi Train .........An interesting  and a must   read! 

Vivek Pradhan was not a happy man. Even the plush comfort of the 

air-conditioned compartment of the Shatabdhi express could not cool his 

frayed nerves. He was the Project Manager and still not entitled to air 

travel. It was not the prestige he sought; he had tried to reason with the 

admin person, it was the savings in time. As PM, he had so many things to 

do!! 

He opened his case and took out the laptop, determined to put the time to 

some good use. 

"Are you from the software industry sir," the man beside him was staring 

appreciatively at the laptop. Vivek glanced briefly and mumbled in 

affirmation, handling the laptop now with exaggerated care and importance as 

if it were an expensive car. 

"You people have brought so much advancement to the country, Sir. Today 

everything is getting computerized." 

"Thanks," smiled Vivek, turning around to give the man a look. He always 

found it difficult to resist appreciation. The man was young and stockily 

built like a sportsman. He looked simple and strangely out of place in that 

little lap of luxury like a small town boy in a prep school. He probably was 

a railway sportsman making the most of his free traveling pass. 

"You people always amaze me," the man continued, "You sit in an office and 

write something on a computer and  it does so many big things outside." 

Vivek smiled deprecatingly. Naive ness demanded reasoning not anger. "It is 

not as simple as that my friend. It is not just a question of writing a few 

lines. There is a lot of process that goes behind it." 

For a moment, he was tempted to explain the entire Software Development 

Lifecycle but restrained himself to a single statement. "It is complex, very 

complex." 

"It has to be. No wonder you people are so highly paid," came the reply. 

This was not turning out as Vivek had thought. A hint of belligerence crept 

into his so far affable, persuasive tone. " 

Everyone just sees the money. No one sees the amount of hard work we have to 

put in. Indians have such a narrow concept of hard work. Just because we sit 

in an air-conditioned office, does not mean our brows do not sweat. You 

exercise the muscle; we exercise the mind and believe me that is no less 

taxing." 

He could see, he had the man where he wanted, and it was time to drive home 

the point. 

"Let me give you an example. Take this train. The entire railway reservation 

system is computerized. You can book a train ticket between any two stations 

from any of the hundreds of computerized booking centres across the country. 

Thousands of transactions accessing a single database, at a time 

concurrently; data integrity, locking, data security. Do you understand the 

complexity in designing and coding such a system?" 

The man was awestruck; quite like a child at a planetarium. This was 

something big and beyond his imagination. 

"You design and code such things." 

"I used to," Vivek paused for effect, "but now I am the Project Manager." 

"Oh!" sighed the man, as if the storm had passed over, 

"so your life is easy now." 

This was like the last straw for Vivek. He retorted, "Oh come on, does life 

ever get easy as you go up the ladder. Responsibility only brings more work. 

Design and coding! That is the easier part. Now I do not do it, but I am 

responsible for it and believe me, that is far more stressful. My job is to 

get the work done in time and with the highest quality. 

To tell you about the pressures, there is the customer at one end, always 

changing his requirements, the user at the other, wanting something else, 

and your boss, always expecting you to have finished it yesterday." 

Vivek paused in his diatribe, his belligerence fading with self-realization. 

What he had said, was not merely the outburst of a wronged man, it was the 

truth. And one need not get angry while defending the truth. 

"My friend," he concluded triumphantly, "you don't know what it is to be in 

the Line of Fire". 

The man sat back in his chair, his eyes closed as if   in realization. When 

he spoke after sometime, it was with a calm certainty that surprised Vivek. 

"I know sir.... I know what it is to be in the Line of Fire......." 

He was staring blankly, as if no passenger, no train existed, just a vast 

expanse of time. 

"There were 30 of us when we were ordered to capture Point 4875 in the cover 

of the night. 

The enemy was firing from the top. 

There was no knowing where the next bullet was going to come from and for 

whom. 

In the morning when we finally hoisted the tricolour at the top only 4 of us 

were alive." 

"You are a...?" 

"I am Subedar Sushant from the 13 J&K Rifles on duty at Peak 4875 in Kargil. 

They tell me I have completed my term and can opt for a soft assignment. 

But, tell me sir, can one give up duty just because it makes life easier. 

On the dawn of that capture, one of my colleagues lay injured in the snow, 

open to enemy fire while we were hiding behind a bunker. 

It was my job to go and fetch that soldier to safety. But my captain sahib 

refused me permission and went ahead himself. 

He said that the first pledge he had taken as a Gentleman Cadet was to put 

the safety and welfare of the nation foremost followed by the safety and 

welfare of the men he commanded... ....his own personal safety came last, 

always and every time." 

"He was killed as he shielded and brought that injured soldier into the 

bunker. Every morning thereafter, as we stood guard, I could see him taking 

all those bullets, which were actually meant for me . I know sir....I know, 

what it is to be in the Line of Fire." 

Vivek looked at him in disbelief not sure of how to respond. Abruptly, he 

switched off the laptop. 

It seemed trivial, even insulting to edit a Word document in the presence of 

a man for whom valor and duty was a daily part of life; valour and sense of 

duty which he had so far attributed only to epical heroes. 

The train slowed down as it pulled into the station, and Subedar Sushant 

picked up his bags to alight. 

"It was nice meeting you sir." 

Vivek fumbled with the handshake. 

This hand... had climbed mountains, pressed the trigger, and hoisted the 

tricolour. Suddenly, as if by impulse, he stood up at attention and his 

right hand went up in an impromptu salute. 

It was the least he felt he could do for the country. 

PS: The incident he narrated during the capture of Peak 4875 is a true-life 

incident during the Kargil war. Capt. Batra sacrificed his life while trying 

to save one of the men he commanded, as victory was within sight. For this 

and various other acts of bravery, he was awarded the Param Vir Chakra, the 

nation's highest military award. 

Live humbly, there are great people around us, let us learn! 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lety me finish this post with a snippet of comment i nicked from Prasanth bhai at Veenzies blog - "carry on living !!! its great :)"

whatz on ur desk, doc?

Got this tag from Sameera - This is how my desktop looks today. I keep changing my desktop picture frequently, and as you might have guesed, i use ONLY automobile pictures as my desktop background.

A bit about the bike - this is Ducati Hypermotard 1100S - the bike which right now tops my wish list. The wallpaper is downloaded from official Ducati site.
Now now, who all out there dare to bare (their desktop :P )