Sunday, December 30, 2012

Ukulele Tabs on Tux Guitar

The MIDI specification does not have Ukulele as a sound. As a result Tuxguitar does not show ukulele as an instrument. But, there is always a way to get past that.

1. Choose Nylon String Guitar as the instrument
2. Set Strings to 4
3. Set Offset to 12
4. Now tune as A4 E4 C4 A4

Voila! Its done.

Monday, December 24, 2012

Coorg Vacation

We went to Coorg for a Weekend getaway just before Christmas. Boy! Was it spectacular. We did a homestay with this elderly couple who run a Coffee Plantation. The Estate has fantastic views with a small river just below the cottages.

I have captured some of the natural beauty of the estate on Flickr - http://www.flickr.com/photos/8379517@N04/sets/72157632326179493/with/8302902047/ but really doesn't do full justice to how beautiful the place is.

As with any home stay, the cottages were spartan but clean. But for one massive spider, everything was just right. The Missus took care of the spider while I cowered in fear. Other than that (and the subsequent tongue lashing) everything was just right!

Sunday, November 18, 2012

गुरु प्रार्तना


गुरुब्रह्मा गुरुर्विष्णु: गुरु देवो महेश्वरः ।
गुरुस्साक्षात्परब्रह्मा तस्मै श्री गुरवेनमः ।।

Sunday, March 18, 2012

Australian GP 2012

Overall, a very good race to watch. The DRS is much better this year. Its not a push to pass button and it does look like the drivers do have an opportunity to defend. Otherwise, we would have seen 2 Red Bulls on the Podium instead of just 1.

I was really disappointed that the Mercs faded due to car problems. It would be have been good to see Micheal Schumacher on the Podium, but with Vettel's and Webber's pace, I doubt that he would have.

My winners are

1. Jenson Button
Awesome display. I thought that the Safety car would have given the advantage to Vettel, but it didn't. Its interesting that he pulled away from Vettel and that Hamilton couldn't even attack.
2. Vettel
The car didn't look as fast McLaren but Vettel's on the money. Webber looked good as well but Vettel made the podium.
3. Alonso
What can I say - he's a real Ferrari God. I can't understand how the Tifosi won't love that drive. He battled all the way and never gave up. That's pretty good!
4. Raikkonen
Compared to Schumacher's return, Kimi looked like he belonged. He screwed things up in Qualifying and gave me a real laugh with the question about blue flags, but his cheeky overtaking in the last lap was amazing.
5. Toro Rosso
Seem to have some good young drivers there

Losers -
1. Grosjean.
Tough luck but he could have finished on the podium. Let's wait and watch next week's race.
2. Massa -
Very poor race indeed. He's just not been the same since his Hungary accident.
3. Mercedes -
Their car looked fragile compared to the others out there. For Rosberg to lose out so badly in the end was probably down to the car (as whole package) giving up on him
4. Williams
They probably should have retained Barrichello but lets wait and see. If Maldonaldo and Senna continue to make rookie mistakes, then I will definitely say that they are missing Barrichello. The car looked good - well atleast as fast a Ferrari which is saying quite a bit compared to last year.
5. Hamilton
Don't know why he didn't have the pace but to lose 2 places in the race overall, when he dominated qualifying will come as a disappointment. I would have loved a McLaren 1-2 for sure but Vettel was faster.

Sunday, March 11, 2012

TTSS - an airplane review

One of the best things of flying on Emirates, is the huge collection of movies. There are movies for kids, old classics, and new ones. One of the new ones is Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. I liked the movie so much, I saw it twice - once on my way and on the return. Well, that's exaggerating a bit. I saw the beginning and the end on the return.

So, no prices for guessing that I liked. In my view, its a great movie for a long flight. Its slow, its not too flashy with car chases and bullets flying. In fact, there are only 2 or 3 bullets shot in the movie but don't let that fool you. Its prefect when flying because, its cozy, its intellectual and since its slow, you don't feel drained or full of energy. Its a quite movie that quietly makes you forget that you are cramped up next to a  2 others.

The movie itself takes time to understand and follow, and I loved listening to "Le Mer" at the end. A must watch on those long boring flights. If the movie is slow, then at least you can go to sleep in quiet mood!