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This is for my friend who is trying to learn the handbreaking technique. While I am not an expert myself here's some tips from the experts. And don't ever try this on a public road.

• Find a smooth open space without any obstacles for safety
• Come at a speed more than 15mph (25km/h)
• Start making the turn by turning the steering wheel in one direction with one hand
• Immediately after starting the turn, pull the handbrake with the other hand while keeping the button on the handbrake pressed
• The rear part of the car will start the skid
• Release the handbrake and start pushing the accelerator when the desired direction is achieved.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Handbrake_turn

And here is another take at this technique. http://www.drivingfast.net/techniques/handbrake_turn.htm

Posted by Karthik Murugesan at Sep 25, 07 01:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

Facebook on mobile is really simple and very functional. I haven't played around much but I had to look for something on Facebook on my Windows Mobile phone and it's pretty easy to get around. Did I mention I am still trying hard to get adjusted to the change from Blackberry to Windows Mobile?

Wonder how it works in iPhone though. iPhone features a rich HTML email client and Safari - the most advanced web browser ever on a portable device. Not sure if that means iPhone will render the complete web version and not the mobile version? Does that mean you won't get little features like numbered links?

Frequently used standard links are numbered so you press "2" for friends page "1" for profile page and so on. On every different page with additional numbered links a particular link had the same number no matter what page it is on.

Good thinking!

Posted by Karthik Murugesan at Sep 22, 07 09:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

How often do you "Empty" your "Spam" folder? And how often do you check for that one critical email to make sure it's not trapped in your spam folder?

With the spam folder loaded with hundreds of emails per day it takes almost couple of seconds to delete after you click "Empty".

Is your email client smart enough to delete only the emails listed or does it delete everything including the emails received from the moment you clicked "Empty" till the folder actually gets emptied?

Posted by Karthik Murugesan at Sep 21, 07 08:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I was looking for a software update on Microsoft's site and stumbled upon it's site dedicated for professional photography.

http://www.microsoft.com/prophoto/default.aspx

Two things I noticed immediately, "default.aspx" at the end of the URL tells you that most probably the site is running on Microsoft Office SharePoint Server. Very impressive.

And the second thing is that the very impressive home page is built with Adobe Flash as opposed to Microsoft SliverLight.

Posted by Karthik Murugesan at Sep 20, 07 09:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

And there was Yahoo Mash!

This morning I was thinking of an easiet way to send a note to a small group of friends. One of my friend is on facebook; some are in orkut; some are on IM, some visible, some not; some are on email, with multiple IDs; emails they can't access while at work.

After starring at the cieling for a little while I typed my good old distribution list called "poker" and started to concentrate on the matter at hand.

While start-ups to software giants are trying to establish their name in social networking, are they really working towards connecting people? It makes me wonder if they are doing just the opposite.

Posted by Karthik Murugesan at Sep 14, 07 10:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Do what you love and you'll never have to work?

We'll I've been trying to set-up my personal blog and end up spending more time designing the site.

Posted by Karthik Murugesan at Sep 13, 07 02:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

I started taking pictures late 2002 and learned the "technique" pretty fast and made some really nice shots. For about 3 years. And then I just stopped. For the past two years I haven't done anything serious with my camera.

When you pick up photography as a hobby or if you are learning photography there is a point in the learning curve where most of us hit the glass ceiling. I think this is where the technicality of photography stops and eventualy you have to be creativity and show individuality to go to that next level. It's the stage where one begin to transform into an artist from being a technician.

I don't know if I am ready to break that glass ceiling yet but I think I found a way to get some new inspiration. A three layer Panoramic shot of the Colorado river at the Horse Shoe Bend.

This is a shot I made back when I bought my 10D. This is a pretty straight forward single frame shot. Imagine the detail if the same subject is divided into 12 section and every section is shot as a single frame zoomed in and stitched together. This has been done before but it's a challenge for me. I tried it once but caught the scene on a bad light. Anyway I guess I have to sharpen my panoramic imaging skills again for several weeks to come before planning the actual trip to Arizona.

Posted by Karthik Murugesan at Aug 17, 07 12:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)