Gearing up for the season

The 2006 F1 season seems to have a few changes. The inaugural race is gonna be at Bahrain and the famous Albert Park circuit goes down the order. Further changes in the calendar see the British, French and German GP's moved around. These changes have been done so as not to interrupt the Commonwealth games in Australia and the Football World Cup in Germany. One more interesting fact: The US GP is still on - let's see if we get all the cars to be on the grid!.

Off late, the rules and regulations seem to change every other season, and I really don't know if it's gonna be for the good of the sport. Next year sees the qualifying session as a knockout stage which takes part in three stages, with five cars dropping out in the first 15 minute session, followed by five more in the second stint. The remaining ten cars will compete for the pole position in a 20 minute finale. Furthermore, Tyre and wing changes have also been included. Will this be radical enough? Only time and a few races will tell.

Marching On...

Welcome the glory days back to Elland Road! Leeds are currently in 4th place with a game to spare and a win could put them up in the top three. If they can maintain their form, a return to the Premiership looks good on the cards!
Elland Road...Will be back on the Premiership Map!....Marching On together!

PES 5

Just got my hands on Pro Evolution Soccer 5 and the game just amazed me! Konami have come out with the 5th edition of the famous game and it adds more depth and skill to the game. The graphics are pretty impressive but what really caught my eye was the player resemblance. Now I can just look at a player and say 'Ah, there's Shevchenko'. In all the older versions the players look more like they were sculptured from the same block, but in PES 5 they have their own characteristics and attributes as well. Infact, you can just figure out who it is by the walk, the actions or even by the way a freekick is taken! When you know who's on the ball, without needing a marker with the name or squinting to check out the number, it gives you a sense of an actual game in your control and that makes it absolutely stupendous!

The gamplay is a bit tough at first but once you get the hang of it (which am still trying to!) it should be a classic. The first time I played the demo, I was really surprised to see Roberto Carlos, taking a freekick they way he does in reality! and Pires gliding around the field with his somewhat delicate kinda running.
Overall it looks like a good buy - if you are the kinda person who breathes football!

Was it Golden? You bet it was!

Why is it called the Golden Gate Bridge? Just go there and watch the sunset and then you will realize! The sunset gives the Bridge a bright golden colour and points out the reason why it's called the Golden Gate Bridge! People from all over the country flock to see the scenic view of San Francisco from the Bridge and that's just what I did this weekend. Aj and I took a long drive on 280, through the winding road which was full of scenic spots and hills and valleys. The main reason why we chose this route rather than 101 was because this would give the right beginning to our drive to SFO. After a long but exhilarating drive, the twin towers of the Golden Gate bridge were visible in the distance, only for a few minutes, and then hid behind the cover of trees. After quite a bit more driving - when I was wondering whether we were in the right route - all of a sudden, we turned a corner and there it was! - Looming large right in front of us! What a sight it was. I never quite imagined it would have such an effect on me! The Bridge was absolutely astounding! The twin pillars stood majestically high and almost reached the sky. The Golden gate Bridge was indeed worth all the gold! After parking, we just took a small walk on the Bridge and the sunset was another memorable sight. The setting sun almost lit up the entire Bridge and painted it a Golden Red.

From the Bridge, the city of San Francisco, was all lit up and looked like a studio set for some movie. And off the coast of SFO, there were the twin islands, the Treasure Island and the infamous Alcatraz! Alcatraz with its searchlights and dark castle like appearance, brought all the stories and movies about it back to life. It looked like it was just sitting there waiting for people to come. Just beyond the Islands, there was the famous Bay bridge, all lit up like a Christmas tree. I could just stand there and keep gazing at all this for a long long time, but unfortunately, it was a bit late in the evening and so we had to leave - but with lotsa memories!

On the way back we just took a few quick peeks and Downtown San Francisco then went on to the bay bridge, came to Oakland, had another peek and Downtown Oakland (boy, Is it crowded!), and finally back to Campbell. After a good dinner, it was time to hit the sack and get ready for another hectic week at work!

Drove all night..

Yesterday was a long day...went out with a couple of my friends for dinner and then AJ and I took a long drive (in his beamer!)to Santa Cruz at around 1 O'clock in the morning and then came back in a couple of hours...too tired to do anything. The gathering mist, the October chill and the winding road made it a memorable drive. With the mountains and the forests on one side and the Ocean on the other, it was a drive to remember - though I don't have pictures to make it last forever! By the time we came back, it was almost 3 in the morning and so I just flopped on the bed, with no idea when I'll get up!...

Good ones...

Who's gonna win the Champions League?

- All eyes on Chelsea now as they have stopped playing their "boring" football and are now ruthlessly demolishing their opponents with huge scorelines. This weeks 4-0 win over Betis was just an example! They tear apart the defence with ease and finish clinically. Unlike other clubs they carry their amazing form from the premiership to the Champions League as well - and this is where other teams like ManU, Arsenal (especially!) and Liverpool have faltered. They are strong in Europe or in the League - it's become an either/ or option for them. Speaking of other teams, ManU seem to have started well in the League and not so bad in the CL as well, and by the looks of it, they seem to be the only team to try and challenge the blues for the Permiership. Arsenal - after the sale of Vieira - look like a fallen team. Much will be expected from Henry and co. to take them high up the table again. Lot of people feel that the Premiership is over and the crown is at Stamford Bridge - OK, that might soon be the fact, but in Europe it's a different story. Chelsea are a strong team, but do remember there are teams like Bayern, Real, Juve, Inter, Barca and the giants - Milan, who can stop Chelsea dead on the tracks!

Germany's main contender is Bayern, who - in reality - are the only team capable of going all they to the Cup. And with Makaay, Kahn and Ballack they do have the creativity they need, but will it last long enough for them?

Real, Barca are really strong contenders with Barcelona the team tipped to win, if it is not Chelsea. They do have the fire power but their defence is not as strong as they would like it to be. Woodgate has come back into the team - and scored at the right end for a change - and that would certainly boost their defence. With the recent signings of Baptista and Robinho, along with Ronaldo and Raul they have one of the formidable front lines (next only to Milan) that you could expect but their aging midfield will be tested thoroughly by the other teams. Barcelona, on the other hand, have had all their stars sign new deals to look strong from their srikers to their defenders. And in Ronaldinho, they have one of the gifted and creative midfielders in the game - who can turn the game around with a few twists and turns of his feet.

Italy leads the chase for the Champions League with Juventus, Inter and Milan hoping to thwart all the others and lift the trophy. Juventus have been and are still are a force to reckon with the like of DelPiero, Ibrahimovic and Nedved to create the spark in the midfield. Inter, are sadly the third in the Italian list and their form has not been the best off late. But they have the explosive Adriano - wanted by so many clubs - who can fire them back into a game with a flurry of bursting runs and goals. If their midfield works with the Strikers, then Inter will be the well oiled machine gunning for glory. Their cross town rivals - AC Milan - who somehow lost out last year, will be out to avenge their defeat in the finals. Their strike force consisting of the dangerous Shevchenko, Inzaghi, Vieri and Gilardinho is by far the best attacking option a team can have and they have a formidable midfield with Kaka, Gattuso, Seedorf and the unsung hero Pirlo.
- Milan have the squad to lift the Champions League. Will the complete what they failed to do last time around?

Will it be the enigmatic Italians, the fiery Spaniards, the dangerous Germans or the Classic English who lift the Cup?

Journey to the Stars - The Beginning

The long awaited - atleast by me - blog about the "Journey to the stars"

It all started one fine day over a cup of tea (certainly not Chinese Tea!) when someone had the idea of making a trip to the places we wanted to see in Ooty and camp overnight and return the following day. After some careful planning and
mapping out the areas, plotting our routes, places, checking the car, we eventually started on our 2 day mission to explore strange new places and to boldly go where no man has gone before (uh! not exactly :) - just felt like typing it).

But due to certain things - as expected - we had to start late in the afternoon and then had to skip a few places in our list due to the time constraint. Eventually we arrived at Poll's Uncle's place and after having a hot cup of tea said goodbye to them and went back to town, bought some Chinese takeaway and started again to our camping house which was quite a way from town. The drive was amazing with nothing to guide us through the dense forest trail apart from the pair of headlights from our car. The silence around us had the aura of a horror flick - only to be shattered by the shrill cry of some wild animal once in a while.After what seemed to be long long time we arrived in some sorta desert town - I don't blame them! It was almost midnight and there were supposed to be wild animals around here. The fellow we were supposed to meet was nowhere to be seen (infact no one was there except for an old tea stall guy) and after quite bit of searching high and low, we were not able to find any soul there to help us!

This started a huge debate as to whether we should stay here in the car till the sun comes up or head back to town and go to my Unc's place and then the vote was in favour of going back so we decided to take the same deserted road through the
forest to town.Off we started again feeling a bit sad that we had to leave so early (if I might say that!) and we had hardly made 5 kms when we saw a pair of headlights coming towards us - a ray of hope?. As it came near us - it was a 4x4 Jeep - we found out that these guys were workers here and so enquired about 'Mr Madhavan' - who was the fellow we were supposed to meet in the first place. They pointed towards a few dark houses and said it was the second one. After a trek down the valley to the row of houses, and after trying to wake up the sleeping Mr. Madhavan - who came out dazed after almost 30 mins - we finally settled down in the "guest house"! Phew!

The Fun began; we had our dinner and then were pulling each other's legs - the videos are there to explain everything - and as tired as we were, all of us flopped on the bed around 2 in the morning - we had a long day ahead of us!. Next morning,
we got up, had a cup of black tea and started on our trip to all the places marked out on the map....

To be Cont...

Wake me up...

What a song!! - Fell in love with it!

Summer has come and passed
The innocent can never last
wake me up when september ends

like my fathers come to pass
seven years has gone so fast
wake me up when september ends

here comes the rain again
falling from the stars
drenched in my pain again
becoming who we are

as my memory rests
but never forgets what I lost
wake me up when september ends

summer has come and passed
the innocent can never last
wake me up when september ends

ring out the bells again
like we did when spring began
wake me up when september ends

here comes the rain again
falling from the stars
drenched in my pain again
becoming who we are

as my memory rests
but never forgets what I lost
wake me up when september ends

Summer has come and passed
The innocent can never last
wake me up when september ends

like my father's come to pass
twenty years has gone so fast
wake me up when september ends
wake me up when september ends
wake me up when september ends

Day in and day out!

Well... The week was pretty busy with lotsa stuff to do. Was feeling a bit tired for a couple of days - probably jet lag - and then the weekly grind started. And as the weekend loomed large, was hoping to get some sun and fun, but things turned sour and had to fix some customer issues. By the time it was calm, the weekend was almost over.

Watched a move - White Noise - which is a horror flick, but not really scary enough.

Anyway, will find time to go out this week and party!

see ya
abe

A small Update.

Need to update more on this!
For now...I am in sunny California and having a really good time. Will blog more on the sights and sounds later.
The worst part was the journey which took me almost around the world! - But Am finally here in one piece and a week is almost over.!

bye for now
Abe.