Ashu Chaturvedi's Blog http://blog.ashuc.com blog.ashuc.com Tue, 31 Aug 2010 01:13:23 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 Plushy squirrel http://blog.ashuc.com/?p=461 http://blog.ashuc.com/?p=461#comments Thu, 26 Aug 2010 23:34:07 +0000 Ashu http://blog.ashuc.com/?p=461 Just a picture I took with my Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 lens, since I haven’t played with it in a while.

]]> http://blog.ashuc.com/?feed=rss2&p=461 0 Element Case Vapor for the iPhone 4 reviewed http://blog.ashuc.com/?p=434 http://blog.ashuc.com/?p=434#comments Wed, 25 Aug 2010 01:03:46 +0000 Ashu http://blog.ashuc.com/?p=434 I finally received the new Vapor case last Friday and I’ve been testing it out since then.

The build quality is excellent.  I received the second version of this case, as it has the little slot for the SIM card visible.  I also installed the SGP carbon fiber back to the case, since the Vapor one didn’t seem as nice.  Overall, I’m happy with the case, but I do have some concerns.

  1. The GPS seems to jump around a bit more, as opposed to without the case on.
  2. My signal does get attenuated usually by 1 bar with the case on, which really sucks.  But, I haven’t dropped a call with the case installed yet.
  3. My Ultimate Ears headphones don’t fit in the headphone recess because the case comes up pretty high.  I’m not sure what I’m going to do here, because this might be a deal breaker for me as I love to use my headphones.  Perhaps I can find an adaptor that will work at my local RadioShack.
  4. The only power connector that fits is the one that came with my iPhone 4.  This could also be a deal breaker for me, since I would like to have a car phone charger work as well.

Nevertheless, I really love the color, feel, and build quality of this case.  Here are some pictures for your edification.

001 002 003 004 005 006 007 008 009 010 011 012 013 014 015 016 017 018 019 020 021 022 023 024 IMG_9090 IMG_9093 IMG_9100 IMG_9116 ]]> http://blog.ashuc.com/?feed=rss2&p=434 0 Frozen young coconut – yummy! http://blog.ashuc.com/?p=431 http://blog.ashuc.com/?p=431#comments Mon, 16 Aug 2010 18:55:21 +0000 Ashu http://blog.ashuc.com/?p=431 Words and pictures cannot describe how tasty and refreshing this $2 snack from the local asian store is…

]]> http://blog.ashuc.com/?feed=rss2&p=431 0 Cleveland Rock ‘N Blast 2010 http://blog.ashuc.com/?p=372 http://blog.ashuc.com/?p=372#comments Sun, 15 Aug 2010 16:01:54 +0000 Ashu http://blog.ashuc.com/?p=372 Yesterday evening I went to the Cleveland Indians vs. Seattle Mariners game at Progressive Field.  It was a lot of fun, and the free seats I got from the Cleveland Clinic were decent.

After the game there was a special 2-night only event, where they blasted Rock and Roll music from artists inducted to the Hall of Fame synchronized to a 30 minute fireworks show within the ballpark.  Below are many of the handheld pictures that I took during the event.

001 002 003 004 005 006 007 008 009 010 011 012 013 014 015 016 017 018 019 020 021 022 023 024 025 026 027 028 029 030 031 032 033 034 035 036 037 038 039 040 041 042 043 044 045 046 047 048 049 050 051 052 053 054 055 056 057 058 ]]> http://blog.ashuc.com/?feed=rss2&p=372 0 Mercedes SL 65 AMG Black Series photoshoot http://blog.ashuc.com/?p=355 http://blog.ashuc.com/?p=355#comments Sun, 15 Aug 2010 03:55:27 +0000 Ashu http://blog.ashuc.com/?p=355 Earlier today, I had the opportunity to play with an awesome SL 65 AMG Black Series.  The car was brand new and custom painted!  Pictures cannot describe how beautiful this car was in person, and the exhaust made it a true Merc.

001_w 002_w 003_w 004_w 005_w 006_w 007_w 008_w 009_w 010_w 011_w 012_w 013_w 014_w 015_w ]]> http://blog.ashuc.com/?feed=rss2&p=355 0 Warehouse District Street Festival http://blog.ashuc.com/?p=348 http://blog.ashuc.com/?p=348#comments Mon, 09 Aug 2010 20:32:12 +0000 Ashu http://blog.ashuc.com/?p=348 Yesterday I went to check out the Warehouse District Fair on W. 6th Ave.  Even though they have had this annual event for quite some time now, I always seem to be out of town that day.  Fortunately, I didn’t miss it this time around.  The weather was hot and humid, but they had many street vendors and local businesses open for food tasting, drinks, etc.  They also had music, street vendors, and even an outdoor dog show.  Here are some pictures from the event…

IMG_8795 IMG_8796 IMG_8799 IMG_8800 IMG_8801 IMG_8802 ]]> http://blog.ashuc.com/?feed=rss2&p=348 0 Apple’s free iPhone 4 case program http://blog.ashuc.com/?p=221 http://blog.ashuc.com/?p=221#comments Fri, 23 Jul 2010 22:04:44 +0000 Ashu http://blog.ashuc.com/?p=221 The case program finally started earlier today, and it appears you need to download an app in order to get one.  At least they made it easy to do.  It seems they have several cases to choose from.  I ordered the Griffin Reveal Etch case, which looks nice in some of their pictures.

The annoying part is that my shipping date is the end of August, which means I’m still out of a decent case for my new iPhone for at least another 5 weeks!

I had previously ordered the really sharp-looking Vapor case from Element Case in black/red with the optional carbon fiber back.  But that one still hasn’t shipped for over a month!

Any suggestions on what to do here before I waste more money on this?

]]> http://blog.ashuc.com/?feed=rss2&p=221 0 Jagannath Pran Pratishta‎ http://blog.ashuc.com/?p=170 http://blog.ashuc.com/?p=170#comments Mon, 19 Jul 2010 18:04:06 +0000 Ashu http://blog.ashuc.com/?p=170 Two days ago I attended the pran pratishta of Lord Jagannath, and his siblings Balabhadra and Subhadra.  It was a three-day event, but was I only able to attend Saturday evening’s program.  I actually meant to bring my camera to the temple, but I forgot it at home when we were heading out.  However, I’d be happy to share with you some pictures that I took of our temple at home.

IMG_8560 IMG_8568 IMG_8569 IMG_8575 IMG_8578 IMG_8582 IMG_8586 IMG_8588 IMG_8590 IMG_8600 IMG_8603 IMG_8604 IMG_8607 IMG_8610 IMG_8612 IMG_8614 IMG_8617

There were several hundred devotees that were at the temple.  It was a beautiful event, orchestrated by almost a dozen priests, many of whom were invited guests from out of town to help us with the ceremonies.  It was authentically executed and was a lot of fun!

]]> http://blog.ashuc.com/?feed=rss2&p=170 0 iPhone “Antennagate” http://blog.ashuc.com/?p=169 http://blog.ashuc.com/?p=169#comments Fri, 16 Jul 2010 18:38:13 +0000 Ashu http://blog.ashuc.com/?p=169 Well, it appears Steve Jobs basically said anything and everything, short of admitting there was an issue with the new iPhone 4′s antenna.  There were two interesting aspects of his address earlier today:

  1. He had statistics showing that only less than 1% of their customers who own an iPhone 4 have reported an antenna/signal issue with AppleCare.  I, like many of us, didn’t see a reason to report such a potentially widespread issue.  I believe that more people have this issue than the number of calls AppleCare technical support has received.
  2. Although he didn’t admit to any problem in the design of the aesthetically beautiful antenna, he did fire his staff of engineers who worked on it, and gave us a consolation prize of a case.  That’s like saying “there’s nothing wrong with our product, but we feel bad that only a handful people are unsatisfied with it, so we’ll appease everyone by giving them a free case.”  To me, that seems like an admission of guilt without actually saying it.

It was nice of Steve to offer a free case to us early adopters, but I plan on waiting until the Apple store stocks some more, better cases than their own Bumpers.  I thought it was good that he demonstrated that other smart phones, specifically competitors to their iPhone 4, showed similar signal issues.

Nonetheless, I can’t help but feel that it still was a major oversight from Apple when they designed the latest iPhone.  What do they plan on doing after September 30th?  are they hopefully going to include a coating around the antenna to prevent signal deterioration?

]]> http://blog.ashuc.com/?feed=rss2&p=169 0 “The Decision” http://blog.ashuc.com/?p=53 http://blog.ashuc.com/?p=53#comments Fri, 09 Jul 2010 02:37:56 +0000 Ashu http://blog.ashuc.com/?p=53 Well… there are no fires here yet.  Then again, the cops are out in full force guarding the giant 100′ LeBron banner.  It’s a shame that he went through this entire spectacle to not pick his home team.  It was an embarrassing 1 hour special which basically showed his conniving nature.

Cleveland hasn’t yet come to terms with Art Modell’s douchebaggery, as any true Cleveland sports fan would know. Honestly, the best way for him to have built his legacy would have been to stay in Cleveland. If he wants to compare himself to the great Jordan, jumping ship isn’t the way to show loyalty to his city and his fans. Adding salt to an already wounded city isn’t the best way to go out.

It’s just getting harder and harder to root for Cleveland sports teams. What do I have to look forward to? The Browns?

Die hard Cleveland fans never blamed LeBron for this years disappointing season, but you have to admit, the way he chose to publicly leave our team through this charade is hard for any Cleveland fan to swallow.

I do wish him the best in “South Beach”, and I’m sure he will win many championships during his career, but the way he left will hardly be forgotten by any Cleveland sports fan for a very long time to come.

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