Happy Pongal

Wishing everyone a happy Pongal! 

Time flies... here is the Pongal photo from 2012!

we will revisit this photo in another 4 years..

Have a wonderful Pongal!

Then and now..

On the recent whirlwind India visit, my brother suggested we recreate an old photo.. I was not sure we were on the outside and parents were in the middle.. he was sure we were in the middle sitting on their laps..

Since the original was with me in the US, we could not verify.. 

Still, we present to you.. the four from 1976 (my sister was not born then!)

and now.. 

Next time we will try to get the order right and do one of those morphing GIF pictures.. 

Have a trove of pictures from the past which my brother had saved while moving houses. Given the short time, took iphone pics of those pics. Going to spend Christmas editing those photos and posting them on FB. 

We are going to have a "black and white" Christmas this year.

Cannonites vs. Nikoneers

No we are not talking religion here, or are we?

This is a response to The Visitors question on Canon vs Nikon digital SLR's.

More specifically the EOS 400D vs the D40.

First, the EOS 400D (drool, drool, look at it on the shelf, more droooool)..

A thing of beauty and a joy for at least the next 4 years! (the only beauties that will be retained in my head longer will be the Mrs. and the little ones! There, that should improve the longevity of this blog!).

I digress, predictably. So far, the 400D has done a fantastic job of taking pictures. If the pictures are crappy, it is only because I forget to switch that little button from MF to AF or I have given the camera to someone else to take the picture. (if you are used to a slower digital camera, you better watch out.. all it takes is a feather touch to click the shutter). The pictures are coming out great (I dont use a Canon Lens but a Tamron Lens which was way cheaper than the Canon and which also happened to be a single lens that went from 18-200mm).

Now for the Nikon.

The noticeable absence of drool does not necessarily indicate a lack of love or respect for the Nikon. It is just that I have become a Canon loyalist for various reasons..

1. I am familiar with the Canon dial, the menus, the look and feel.
2. It is a coke vs. pepsi thing. On a blind test I would probably identify coke only 90% of the time but somehow I always ask for Coke. I drink Pepsi when Coke is not around. I would probably go for a Nikon if a Canon was not around. In short, if the Canon was my wife, the Nikon is like a long lost girlfriend. It is a "what if?", that is never considered (that should also improve the longevity of this blog, neh?). Once again, I ramble.

I know a lot of people who have a Nikon who are extremely happy with Nikon and would present the Visitor with a similar message with the two models reversed. The D40/D80 are definitely cost competitive and the Nikon lenses are amazing(Or so I have heard from other Daddy photographers at Daycare functions. We usually stand in a corner and talk about our cameras during fathers day, thanksgiving lunch, graduation parties for pre-kindergarten, etc. etc.).

Reviews say that the Nikon D80 has beat the next generation Canon because Canon has become somewhat complacent over the success of the Digital Rebel that it did not improve significantly on the Rebel XTi aka EOS 400D (you can read Phil Askey for the scoop. I use this site as my camera Gita, Bible and Koran.. not that I have read any of those books!)

So, dear Visitor, I can only offer you a one sided view and hence cannot give you an honest comparison, but dpreview can!

On second thought, Boo was got a D40 the same week I got my 400D. You can ask her about the D40 and compare notes!

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History

This post is about a thought provoking comment letter that was read out in the local radio news this week.

A listener had written in to compare today's Iraq to pre-independence India in the 1940's!

My intitial reaction was "bah"! After some thought, I realized that the comment was right on!

Both the countries were/are in a state of unrest caused by civil disobedience.
Both countries plagued by attacks on the occupiers (Brits/Americans).
Both countries dealing with separatists within, thanks to divide and rule policies and a furthering of various local interests (in India it was Hindus vs. Muslims and in Iraq it is the different Muslim sects!)

The point that was made based on these similarities was :

1. The British decided India was no longer a place they could occupy!
2. They came up with an EXIT STRATEGY!!!!
3. They got out a few weeks ahead of schedule and Lord Mountbattern just pulled out and handed over control to the Indians.

This resulted in the following :
1. Indians were forced to react!
2. They formed a govenment and learnt to embrace democracy and developed a system realtime.
3. They did go through a painful partition with a lot of bloodshed to appease the separatists.

It took a few decades, but finally, they got their act together and are a major player in the modern world!!

So, an exit strategy today might not be a bad idea after all!

Who knows, history might do the one thing she is best at doing.

Repeat herself !?

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