I scored a few nice buys on a visit to the camera market in Fort. I bought myself an old Fed 3 35mm rangefinder camera – better known as a poor man’s Leica, a Lester A. Dine 105mm f/2.8 Macro and a Nikkor 70-300mm f/4-5.6.

I’m most excited about the Fed 3 and the 105mm Macro. The Fed 3 had a crazy light leak that (I hope) has been corrected now, but the Lester A. Dine is nothing short of extraordinary.

Pics from the Fed 3 -

Macro shots of a Ulysse Nardin Maxi Marine replica through the Lester A. Dine 105mm f/2.8 -

Enfields are usually loud motorcycles. Made in an age when drive-by noise regulations were inconceivable, they are now quieted by pollution critics. To me, most of the machine’s charm lies in the sound and I made Gia, my 500cc Enfield, a loud mouth before I took delivery of her.

Though remarkably similar, the 500 doesn’t have the sweet thump of the 350. Different final drive ratios mean that they sound quite different and distinctive. The 500 is more powerful, obviously, and can hit decent speeds very quickly. Older 350s have a more relaxed, lazy demeanor.

A bystander is usually the one to get the best aural experience of an Enfield. The rider has to contend with the clatter of the tappets and various other sounds that each engine uniquely makes. But at times like this, when one’s riding next to a tall gardened median as on Marine Drive, the rider gets an even better experience.

As I edged closer to the tall median, the exhaust beat reflected off it; the sound of the long stroke single properly loud now. What I like most about the 500 is the way it sounds when riding around 80 kph. It’s this fast beat – like someone doing a drumroll on a big bass drum. I opened the throttle to enjoy the orchestra more and Gia didn’t disappoint. Badly in need of tuning (as she usually is after a long ride), she still charged on, the power evidently there.

Marine drive was quite bumpy – I think they never get time to maintain it due to the constant traffic – and the dead suspension was letting me know the exact condition of the road. As Gia jumped the bumps, my wrist ended up opening the throttle more, for a fraction of a second. That was sufficient to make the volume levels jump, reminding me that there was more power in reserve. I peeked at the speedo. The broken needle was bouncing around in its cage, but the base of the needle was still working fine. Hard to accurately tell the speed without a needle, but it was around 80. Open the throttle just a bit more, a few more jumps in the volume and I was almost doing 100. What a glorious sound!

Enfields are like elephants. Expensive to buy and even more expensive to maintain. They can carry large loads and can travel great distances. But each one is unique and temperamental – not quite ideal when doing a 30 day ride in the middle of nowhere. Gia though, been enormously reliable – never letting me down on any of the many rides we’ve been on. Other Enfields are far more notorious. There’s always this doubt – even after spending thousands on maintenance – that something might go wrong.

It’s this nagging feeling that draws me to other motorcycles. The KLR 650 is a great option. Getting it in India is a different story altogether. Like other Enfield owners, I’ve already spent much more than the cost of the motorcycle in maintenance over the past 7 years of ownership. There’s a redeeming fact though – I can actually sell Gia for more than what she cost me new.

But then I remember experiences like these and know that I have to keep her. Forever.

This time, I did not stay awake to follow the keynote live. In the morning, I was glad. The rumours of the Apple tablet had resulted in a flurry of tablet launches from various companies. I had summarily dismissed all of them being ‘just’ another tablet.

On the face of things, the iPad seems like just another tablet. Well, a closed, flash-less, camera-less, non-multitasking, keyboard-less, non-widescreen tablet. But it’s easy to be dismissive and disappointed.

When the iPhone was launched, Steve Jobs said that it is 5 years ahead of any other similar device in the market. He was wrong. I think no other phone manufacturer in the world has the balls to put just a single button on the main screen. Think about it for a moment. How hard it would have been for Apple to decide to have just ONE button? It’s easy to make concessions and compromise – but it takes an amazing amount of confidence and courage to keep things simple.

I had drooled over the iPhone when it was announced, but decided not to jump for it when it was launched. I had just got myself a new Sony Ericsson W810i (which I think is the last good phone they made) and the initial reviews of the iPhone were not extremely encouraging.

But when I held one in my hands a few weeks after its launch and saw a YouTube video on it for the first time, I decided to get one. It was something special, something that felt so right. It was the first Apple product I bought. Needless to say, I didn’t stop there.

I’m pretty anal when it comes to user experience and Apple’s got me spoilt. When an Apple VP talks about the “coefficient of friction” on the trackpad, I completely understand – and am eternally grateful that they take the trouble.

So, until I experience one for myself, I shall withhold judgment. If it’s anything like the iPhone, the human race of the future will be as tall as monkeys.

On the second day of 2010, my friends and I were on our motorcycles, riding to the Little Rann of Kutch in Gujarat. Some friends were with me, others were riding from different places in the country towards the same destination. We were gathering to celebrate 60kph’s 8th anniversary with a ride to the Little Rann of Kutch.

It was here that we had celebrated our first anniversary ride. Not the first anniversary, but the first time we had a ride with members gathering from all over the country. It was an extremely memorable ride because it was the first time we were attaching faces to online identities.

Vishu has written a great piece on the events that transpired in 2004. This time it was like a homecoming for those who had been to the Rann the last time.

This was my third visit to the Rann and the last time I witnessed a total lunar eclipse at 3 am in the night It was quite an experience, to say the least. In the Rann, one can see the sunrise, sunset, moonrise and moonset. All of them are magical.

This time, Meeta and Arnav were along. This was Arnav’s first ride and he had a blast. We camped on all three days and Arnav returned to playschool with toasted cheeks. Didn’t click many pictures, but here are some.

Isn't that one of the most beautiful logos ever?

Among other places One Crazy Ride will be screened at two prestigious film festivals, the Mill Valley Film Festival in Mill Valley, CA and the Flagstaff Mountain Film Festival in Flagstaff AZ.

Currently there are about 10 screenings planned in different locations. Here’s the full and constantly updated list.

Work commitments prevent me from traveling for the screenings, but the director of both films, Gaurav Jani and another rider from OCR – Sobby will be attending all the screenings in the US.

Usually it all ends with compromises being made. Recently I came across a gem of a logo. The name of the website is booooooom.com. Admittedly, the first thing that came to my mind was “Stupid name”. More so because it is an internet domain. How are visitors going to remember such a name? Until you look at their logo -

Brilliant!