Nokia 1661 - My Latest and Greatest Cellphone

Image via CrunchBase

My 5 year old cell phone was giving me problems - it will suddenly die while talking even though the phone is charged. After replacing the original battery, battery life suddenly dropped to just couple of days. So I decided to look for a new one.

So the features I wanted were - good battery life, make and take calls, SMS and time(because I don't wear a watch). I don't listen to music that much, nor did I take any pictures with my phone camera, leave alone surfing web on it. I did rethink on the camera because the one I had stopped working for still pictures - so a device that doubled up as camera would have been a good idea. But then cell phones being cell phones first, good quality cameras were a bit expensive. So I decided against a camera phone though it appears that the price for a basic camera phone has dropped a lot. I listened to FM occasionally because we don't have an FM receiver at home and it didn't hurt to have FM on the phone from a cost perspective though it is one of those you are not going to need it(YAGNI) features.

The thought of being connected (especially on twitter) always with a 3G phone was very tempting. That didn't really go well with my current philosophy of life of relaxed and going easy. You are not going to miss a thing because you are out of the internet. And being at a 10-minute ride or a 20-minute bus ride from home, I can always get online at work or office pretty quickly. And with a history of RSI injuries, I don't want to make it any worse. I need to keep off the keyboards as much as possible to keep myself healthy. So internet on the phone also was not a need. YAGNI thinking really helped in identifying the features.

So I looked around and settled for Nokia mainly because the other phones might a little bit learning and the short cuts. It appeared that I could get all my features(and the best battery life) within Rs.2000/= and in color too! So the value for money felt a lot more than the expensive ones with poor quality features. So I zeroed it on a few phones around that price and found the Nokia 1661 the most attractive - 25 days of battery life. That was hard to resist and other factors didn't really influence my decision. It also had FM and a torch light which were added attractions that I wouldn't have cared either.

I shopped around locally and found the price varied from 1800 to 1950. But they guy who told me 1800 increased it to 1900 the next day. I tried looking around at uptown locations, but couldn't check the prices. But it was also not really worth spending so much time for a 100 rupee margin - so I went and bought it from the most convenient shop on my way at 1900. The guy was nice and was a local guy, not part of a chain or a big mall(it was 1865 at one mall). Being one who looks for relationships than just a place to buy, I felt more comfortable with this guy than others around. The first ever cell phone was more than 10 times costlier with less features(black and white, no FM, no torch light).

The phone looked pretty descent, not so cheap in the looks, but may be a closer look might reveal the price. You need to hit a bit harder on the keys and was not smooth as my earlier one, and the user interface was a bit different as well. The jockey is used only for cursor movements, not accept or return like the other phones. That is something I have to learn new. It also looks like the menu short cuts are not supported either, which was disappointing - I didn't realize it was an expensive feature! Also they only show a dummy piece of the phone without any real functionality before you buy, which makes it difficult to observe these differences.

The clock works well and the banner doesn't vanish as soon as you touch a key. So it works well as a watch. Not sure if I will use FM radio and the flash light and hopefully I can get rid of those ones also next time for may be below 1000 INR. I also wish Nokia(and others) have some models that is just a pure phone - nothing more nothing less. I think the feature creep has made cell phones too bulky with features that are hardly used.

Overall, Nokia 1661 sounds like a bargain at this point of time. I will let you guys know how it goes.

Team Asha 8K run

This was organized by the Bangalore chapter of Asha, an organization that works with the underprivileged in the society. Santhosh Padmanabhan, one of the top endurance runners in the country, leads the activities using running as a way to do good to the society! Very noble cause indeed. The run was organized to spread awareness about Asha and their activities.

The run was at Valley School, Kanakapura Road at Talegathapura in the outskirts of the city. It is a very natural campus with lots of ups and downs. The run was not an easy one, I took 55+ minutes for the 8K. Kept a 5:1 run:walk ratio throughout, but the last lap was a bit tiring. Valley school kids made it very interesting with their enthusiasm all throughout.

The school has a bit different way of teaching from other schools around inspired by Jiddu Krishnamoorthy. But they slap a hefty fee for that nearing a lakh per month. For someone who paid literally nothing for my secondary education, that is difficult to swallow.

BSA Duathlon Bangalore 2009

I participated in the first ever run-cycle-run BSA Duathlon Bangalore 2009 in the 5K-10K run-ride category.

After removing almost all accessories except for the side stand, I loaded the bike in my car with the front wheel(a quick release one) removed the previous day. Removing the wheel was pretty easy, but fixing the wheel was not that easy. There were many folks who were cycling to the venue before the race as well as carrying the bike in an autorikshaw. We were at the venue before 6AM and picked up the bib and got the cycle bib-ed by 6:20am. Then it was a long wait and the race started around 15 minutes late. The announcements before the start were hardly audible for most of the participants.

The 2.5K run was an easy one, didn't want to push before the ride, which was a new thing for me. Finished the run in 16:15. The ride was pretty enjoyable and I kept a good cadence throughout and using the gears very effectively and through the range(except for the lower most one). It looked like bike fit was very poor in many folks - either they had the wrong bikes or didn't have a clue about fitting the bike to your needs. The change over took some time and total ride time for 10K was at 34:24, not bad for my kind of riding. The seat post adjustment by raising a bit more helped. The video at http://bicycletutor.com/adjust-seat/ and help from Rohan Kini of BOTS helped. I thought the last lap was a strong 2.5K, but again the transition from bike to running overheads seems to push my time to 20:06 for the split. Overall a 1:10:45 finish, which was around my expectations as well.

Overall the organization was good, but duathlon being new to the organizers there were some rough edges. Response to the event was pretty good and the location also was a convenient one, just outskirts of the city.

Instructions to the runners/riders were not effectively communicated and the sound system at the finish was pathetic. Many folks didn't have a clue around the transition area and had to ask around on how to proceed. Though traffic was controlled, it would have been better to stop traffic at least one way. The brunch arranged was good too, but would have loved some fish or chicken bites after the run-ride.

Not sure why there was a separate distribution of the T-shirts and why it was not done along with the goody bag. Also if you asked for a medium T-shirt, they give you a small and explained it out that Nike has a different sizing - that was bull crap! We are used to buying and wearing Nike T-shirts, that is nothing new. That sizing information should have been collected at registration with whatever Nike rating. It was a bit disappointing that RFL, who are not new to organizing events couldn't handle this well.

Overall, a new event for the ever increasing runners and riders in Bangalore and hope things would improve next time a lot.

Manchester United sells Ronaldo for 80M pounds!

It was indeed expected with Ronaldo never letting go off his love for the Spanish club and his tantrums at United which was getting a bit out of control for the czar, Sir Alex Firguson(SAF). SAF has been a master of many such moves and has always put the team ahead of the individuals that made the team that makes him such a great club manager of all times.

Ronaldo for all his talent comes short as a team man unlike many other greats and that would ultimately limit what he can achieve in football IMO. This is no tennis or golf, this is football the ultimate team game of all.

But Ronaldo did play his part in ManU's many title triumphs and champions league win, but his tantrums always made news. To the credit of SAF, he was able to mould him into a great player even with his inherent selfishness. I always felt Wayne Rooney is more valuable to ManU than a Ronaldo. I am hoping Rooney will prove me right the next season and in the world cup. Ronaldo was a lot more hype than stuff - good defending teams always had their way with him and it is very easy to frustrate him because of his selfish nature.

I am also baffled at Real's spending in getting the galeticos which sound pretty stupid. 11 great players don't make a great team - you need something more than that. I'd be surprised if they do well by just throwing money at players. I would this is indeed a good thing for ManU and if they can retain Tevez, they will be hard to beat the next season as well.

English Premier League 2008/09

Manchester United retained the title for this years' EPL though they weren't the invincible this season though - in fact they were mauled at home by Liverpool whom I thought was the best if they had everyone healthy. But then that is a key part of the long season as well - a good squad that can hang on without too much dependency on few individual players. The fact that ManU made it to the finals of the Champions League also talks highly about their consistency and depth of the squad. Their second string could easily get the better of a Hull City side who were fighting for relegation.

Overall pretty good season with some fight at the top and a scramble at the bottom as usual. Spots for the Europa league were also fought closely.

Team of the Year - in my view it was Fulham who barely escaped relegation last year which finished 7th to claim a Europa league ticket. Everton was another team who did very well, but that was kind of expected out of David Moyes' team. West Ham United and Aston Villa did well too, but fell short in the end.

Manager of the Year - has to be Zola in my book, with no real experience, he turned it around for West Ham. It is not just the results, but the way the team plays and things behind the field, everything was influenced by the ex-Chelsea Italian. I am looking forward to the next season where he will be in charge from the very beginning. Guus Hiddink did really well too to get Chelsea out of the rut and almost upstaged the eventual champions Barcelona in the semis. Another manager who turned around things at Tottenham was Harry Rednapp. But these are experienced folks who are expected to perform at this stage.

Flop team of the Year has to be Newcastle United without doubt - they deserved to go down despite bringing Shearer as the manager. It was Mike Ashley, the owners' screw up totally. There were no leaders among the players either - Michael Owen was a true disappointment and was sidelined for the last few matches. Gareth Southgate was another manager who disappointed - though the quality of the players weren't that bad, the team never clicked and surely this is something the manager has to take the blame.

Scolari should rank as the biggest flop as a manager - may be he would have realized that club and country football are two different things. Didier Drogba was handled very poorly by him and the team played without any spirit under him.

But as usual the big 4 held on with Aston Villa challenging them a bit but falling short badly in the end. Arsenal struggled a bit to hold off their challenge, but overall it was a descent performance from the young team. Wenger needs to have some experience at the back and in the midfield if he has any aspirations to challenge the first three. Manchester City was a big disappointment and Robinho seems to be another selfish player who is more interested in his performance than that of the team. If I were Mark Hughes, I would build a team without him. Their away record was pathetic to say the least. Stoke city impressed at the bottom with spirited display and Hull City hung on after the initial flourish.

It is the usual break, things will roll again in couple of months and I am planning to blog a bit more often on Premier League with my analysis.

The BSA Hercules Duathlon 2009

First ever Duathlon in the country is being organized by Runners For Life and Ride A Cycle foundation in Bangalore on 14th June. While I had heard about Triathlon, this was something new. I am speculating that the lack of clean water bodies in Bangalore or the poor swimming skills of Bangaloreans (including myself) would have made Triathlon a not so interesting thing for the Bangalorean. Hopefully someday Bangalore would have a triathlon and by that time I could get my swimming skills to do outdoor long distance swims!

In any case, this is new for Bangalorean and others in a country that is just taking baby steps in fitness events like this. Being a regular commuter since February, I am used to cycling unlike many other folks who would have left it since school days. But my commute being a short one, I wasn't sure of the distances I could cover in a cycle. I haven't yet tried my limits on the cycle yet. Then I read about a rule of thumb somewhere that if you can run 10K, you should be able to cycle 50K or walk 30K or swim 2.5K, which made me comfortable for the 5-10K run-cycle event. A trial run last week ensured that I really don't have to stretch - I could do a 2.5K run, 10K cycle and a 2.5K run in around 75 minutes. So depending on the gradient of the route, I should be on either side of 75 minutes. I used all the higher gears on the cycle and it literally flew, but the uphills were still an uphill task.

One of the major factor is the cycling machine that needs some tuneup before a race, though I don't think it matters for me. I need to shed some weight on the cycle and also it appears that the seat post is a bit low causing a knee pain while pushing a bit. I need to get rid of the rack which is darn heavy and also the fenders which are an absolute must for commute, for the race. May be I need to give people an impression that I am serious about this! You also need to carry the bike along though there is an option for droping it off for a pickup to the event site.

So I have signed up for the event and looking forward to it.

Mosquito Net

I ridiculed my cousin and his French wife when they were searching for a coat where they can fix a mosquito net, but I find myself in a mosquito net now as a lasting and a zero maintenance solution finally. While I was thinking about it for a while, a bad night where our daughter kept us awake throughout the night due to mosquito bites forced me into action quickly. A cotton 6x6 net was just Rs.300/= which is equivalent to a repellent instrument and the daily mats or a bottle of repellent.

We were depending on commercial products which seemed to loose steam after sometime. Most of the time we needed the fans to go all the time as well in order to beat the mosquitoes away. So this seems to be a simple solution that people have forgotten.