Mystical Reasonings

Calvin and Hobbes

2013-05-10T20:18:00.002+05:30

Bangalore - damn hot

2013-04-22T20:44:00.001+05:30

That is a graph of Bangalore's temperature for this month! Man, it has been damn, damn hot!!

Graph courtesy - AccuWeather

February 2013

2013-02-01T19:00:00.003+05:30

And it is already the second month of the year.

End post.

Coast to Coast ride

2013-01-21T15:09:00.000+05:30

My travelogue is up on AdvRiders

http://advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=852559

Coast2Coast

2012-12-21T20:05:00.001+05:30

My ride. Starting tomorrow. Wish me luck. You can follow me on twitter with the hashtag - #Coast2Coast

View Larger Map

December test

2012-12-16T21:28:00.001+05:30

This is a December test.

2012

2012-11-27T19:47:00.001+05:30

Will the world end in 2012?

October 2012

2012-10-04T20:53:00.000+05:30

And I have woken up - http://www.naveenroy.com/2012/09/wake-me-up-when-september-ends.html

Wake me up when September ends

2012-09-19T13:29:00.002+05:30

Songs about August

2012-08-12T00:24:00.003+05:30

Sadly, August is not as popular as April or May for songwriters. But there have been songs written about August nonetheless. So says this article.

Reset ink counter on the Canon Pixma MP145

2012-07-10T15:24:00.000+05:30

I've owned a Canon Pixma MP145 All-in-one printer for some years now. As you know, buying new cartridges for an inkjet printer can create small holes in your pockets. The last time when I had to replace the cartridges, I had approached CartridgeWorld to get them refilled. But after I received it back from them, the printer wouldn't recognize them and I was forced to return these back to CartridgeWorld and purchase new ones from them.

Recently, I have had to replace the cartridges again and was determined to get them refilled in CartridgeWorld and get them working this time. So I went ahead and got them refilled. But again, same issue - they were not recognized. But I realized that my error was in not removing the sticky tape from the cartridge heads. Removed them and the Black one was recognized. But colour wasn't. After a bit of fiddling around, it finally recognized both the cartridges. And I tried a test print - it worked perfect. Only problem - ink levels were showing as less - with that dreaded exclamation mark within the yellow triangle!

I had got some help from a forum that you can run the MPTool which can be used for resetting the ink counter/levels. Tried this - no avail. What happened is that even though the printer was on and I ran the MPTool, all the buttons on the tool were greyed out. Basically, it didn't recognize the printer!

I finally came across this solution from FixYa - where the guy had given directions to reset the ink counter in the MP140. But I tried the same steps on the MP145 and it worked fine. I have basically copied all the steps from the solution given there.

1) Disconnect the printer’s power outlet
2) Press and hold the power button while connecting the power outlet back.
3) While still holding down the power button, press the reset button twice.(red circle with a triangle)
4) Release the power button. The printer takes about 10 seconds to show the number 0.
5) Press + to change the value from 0 to 1.
6) When this value is 1, press colour button; this will light up two LEDs - One is for plain paper and the other for photo paper. At this point, feed the printer with paper.
7) Press the power button twice and the printer will print a some stuff (if it doesn't print by itself, then press the "color" button once and the test sheet will print). Don’t worry much about the printed material. I got some striped lines and some numbers. When you print this sheet the value in the display returns to zero.
8 ) Open the printer cover cover (not the scanner cover) and remove the cartridges. With the printer still open, disconnect the power outlet.
9) Close the lid and turn on the printer.
10) Place the cartridges back in their nice little abode in the printer.

This worked perfectly and the printer now shows full ink. Me happy! Long live the internet! :)

July morning

2012-07-05T14:10:00.002+05:30

There I was on a July morning looking for love.
With the strength of a new day dawning and the beautiful sun.
At the sound of the first bird singing I was leaving for home.
With the storm and the night behind me and a road of my own.
With the day
came the resolution
I'll be looking for you.

Day 1

2012-06-06T14:25:00.000+05:30

So the monsoons are officially open!

Low clouds when riding to office today. And it did start drizzling. Thought I'd end up getting drenched but thankfully, I escaped.

Lets see how it is when I return in the evening.

Homestay in Wayanad - Maple Oak

2012-05-15T19:05:00.001+05:30

Me and Rubert recently went on a ride to Wayanad - which is a district in Kerala. I've gone there previously with Abhilash and Tom and even once on a ride with my Bullet Club - the Rolling Thunder Motorcycle Club - RTMC for short. On the RTMC ride, we'd stayed at some nameless resort, which, though was quite decent, wasn't very friendly.

On this short ride, we decided to stay at the Maple Oak homestay in Chundale, Wayanad. We made some inquiries and found that there were vacancies and the pricing was great. We were planning to go for a friend's daughter's christening in Wayanad and this homestay was quite close to where he lives.

The ride was awesome. Rubert, in charge of the route, planned to take this route - Bangalore -> Mysore -> Gundlupet -> Gudalur -> Wayanad. Though I was a little put off with the increase in distance of the ride, I was fine to go ahead with it since Rubert loves making em chappathis on the roads. Hehe, that is slang for riding in the twisties! And love it we did - the route from Gundlupet to Gudalur is simply spectacular! There is very little traffic and the roads are neat and clean and lots of twisties. Not the hair-pin bend kind but the good kind with nice sweeping curves and corners!

We reached Gudalur and then only did we know that we'll have to go to Sultan Bathery and then only towards Chundale. Anyways, it was a great ride and we reached in the evening.

The best part was the warm welcome we received at the homestay. Our friend was waiting for us there with the boss of the homestay - Franklin who showed us the cottage we were to stay at. Wow, I should say - very nice accomodation. The gallery speaks for itself - we'd stayed in Opal which can easily house 5 or 6 people. After a quick shower and a small nap, we settled down for a lazy drink and a late dinner.

The next day, we had the christening to attend - a nice family function. Breakfast was complimentary and we should really appreciate the D'Cruz family for a lovely breakfast. They are wonderful hosts who are not pushy and allow you to take in Wayanad as you like - fast and hectic or slow and steady. We chose slow and steady and decided to do a lazy ride around the district in the evening and we did. Riding around tea gardens and the lake etc.

We started back early the next morning but weren't allowed to leave until the family served us breakfast and sent us off on a full stomach. All in all, a nice ride - made all the better because of the lovely homestay. We were treated like family. The cottage is neat, clean - with all amenities in place. Hot water, showers, a small kitchenette where you can even prepare some food.

If you do make a visit to Wayanad - do stay at the Maple Oak homestay - you'll not regret it!

Blogging

2012-05-01T21:21:00.002+05:30

When I started blogging (as soon as I said that, I feel old!) - it was the in thing to do. People would religiously update their blogs everyday - including me! And it was fun to see so many interactions on the blog. Then in dropped Facebook and people wanted real time updates and "likes" on stuff that they wrote about. In a way, this started to drive the knife into blogging and started bleeding it.

But the real killer for me has been Twitter. 140 character limit doesn't actually spoil it for you. It makes it more interesting. And you try and put as much as possible into that 140 limit! And to say that I get the latest news faster on Twitter than anywhere else has much to say.

Maybe blogging still lives on - I am not aware of it. Let me see how many comments I get on this post. Btw, guess this is my 9th year of blogging!

April Skies

2012-04-17T01:48:00.003+05:30

Baby, baby I just can't see
Just what you mean to me
I take my aim and I fake my words
I'm just your long time curse

And if you walk away
I can't take it
But that's the way that you are
And that's the things that you say

But now you've gone too far
With all the things you say
Get back to where you come from
I can't help it

Under the April skies
Under the April skies
Under the April sun
Under the April skies
Under the April sun

Dammit - its already April!!

March 2011

2012-03-08T09:55:00.000+05:30

Ze February post

2012-02-08T11:30:00.001+05:30

which is a post thats put up in February...

Auto complaints

2012-01-17T11:50:00.001+05:30

Nope, its not something thats done automatically. If you are in Bangalore and want to make complaints about a particular auto - like charging you extra, not wanting to take you to some place (which are the norms), then you can send an SMS to complain.

IndiBeers - everything about beer and much more

2012-01-12T00:04:00.000+05:30

I came across this beer forum recently - www.indibeers.com. Love beer and thought I'd check out this forum. Though it is kinda new, loved the idea and have registered there. Would love to see my friends there too.

Though there are beer forums abroad, very rarely do we get to see reviews of beers in India or beers that we get in India. Or they're not written by people from India. Though the IndiBeers mods might not agree, I think that that is what makes this site unique. And yes, IndiBeers accepts and encourages registrations from outside India too. Check it out - register and start writing your own reviews of beers you've had.

Infact, check out these great reviews written by a friend at IndiBeers - http://indibeers.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=57

Happy New Year 2012

2012-01-03T12:06:00.001+05:30

And Hollywood predicts that this year, the world will end.....

First post for December

2011-12-01T20:55:00.001+05:30

.....last post for 2011

11/11/11

2011-11-12T00:40:00.001+05:30

Its just a date, you fools.

Marco Simoncelli - RIP

2011-10-23T21:58:00.001+05:30

Marco Simoncelli. No, I will not pretend to have followed his career all along or to quote from rote all his podium wins or teams that he has worked with. I just know that this racer really caught my fancy in MotoGP though I have been really following it only for the past 3 seasons or so.

What really interested me was the fact that he would somehow take positions from seemingly impossible places - overtaking at just the right time, taking calculated risks sometimes that even hardened "veterans" would think twice to! And that crazy hairstyle that he had - his hair peeking out from under his helmet too! I have thought that it would even slow him down sometimes! Just cannot say anymore rather than say that he will be missed. I will miss watching him on his white Honda screaming down at a turn, stick out his lanky leg and try and take the turn full on - with that stupid orange hair sticking out of his helmet, trying to fly away! I am sure he had a crazy grin (picture) stuck on his face everytime he overtook someone. Will miss you Marco! MotoGP has surely lost a "cool" racer!

R.I.P!

Metal or plastic - biking? Royal Enfield and other assorted oil-leaks!

2011-10-14T16:49:00.000+05:30

I've been an Royal Enfield fan for many years. My earliest memories of a Royal Enfield was in my hometown where we'd have many regal old men dhup dhupping around in their Enfields. In fact, many of them still own it but cannot ride it and neither are they willing to sell it to the next gen.

Well, its this love that kindled a fire that has been living within me for all these years. I really believed that a bike should be a Royal Enfield and nothing less. But as the years passed by, I did get some respect for even the smallest of bikes and understood that biking is more than just about one bike. I even owned a TVS Max 100R for around a year or so and really, really loved the bike. To look back, I really appreciate that year spent with that bike - it has taught me things about the philosophy of biking that I might never have learnt otherwise. It was a modest 98.2cc two-stroke engine that was way more fun in those days. Modest mileage too. But fun, yes!

Anyways, fast forward to the future and I start earning and all that - no savings though mind it! But loans were cheaper in those days and I was confident enough to try on an Enfield. Though my heart earned for the Standard 350, I thought that the Thunderbird would be a more suitable choice - what with it being a newer bike with the new AVL engine too. So did the test ride and was impressed - what with having ridden a Max 100 R last! So plonked down the money and have owned the bike for 6 years now. Not without its problems though.

But that is not what this story is about. The Royal Enfield has its share of problems. The damn machine would be fine for a month and suddenly, out of the blue, would not start. You take a rickshaw to office and go through hell for that. You get back from office and try to start the bike - she would start without any problems at all! WTF!!

I have had days I would wake up early in the morning just so that I can start the bike up and keep it ready to ride to office. But start it up, it would still not start up, leaving me stranded. But again, that is not what this story is about.

I have had times I've totally hated the Enfield. Hated it. I then decided that enough was enough and that I would buy another reliable bike at the first opportunity. Planning came to fruition when I could finally lay my grubby hands on some cash and I decided to buy the Honda CBR 250R. But again, that is not what this story is about.

The story is actually about the attitude. The biking attitude that I have come to respect. This respect has also been helped by my Royal Enfield club - Rolling Thunder Motorcycle Club where members not just love the Enfield but all other bikes as well. When some noobs loudly proclaim that "Plastic (read Japanese) bikes suck. Metal (read Enfields) are the best", they are met with sniggers from the club members. Though we love our Enfields, we have equal or more respect for other bikes - including so-called "Jap Crap"! To tell you the truth - I hate that term. I'd equate that to some sort of racist chant!

It is this what I actually wanted to write about. Biking is about the attitude. The sense of one-ness with the open roads. Respect - for the bike, for your fellow-biker, for traffic rules and for other road users. To understand that biking requires your complete attention - you are not driving inside a cage that protects you from all the elements of the road.

To all Enfield-only fans - I have this to say. Open your mind - biking is about the attitude. Not the attitude that the Enfield is the only bike there is and there ever will be. I wouldn't totally agree to this statement from a forum - "Once you've ridden another bike, you'll never ride an Enfield after that". But I would ask you to try other bikes too - including so-called "plastic" ones. You will realise that there is another spectrum to the rainbow too. Err, not sure if that can ever be correct technically but you get my drift.

Ride safe!