This could happen to you too..

Someone stole my wallet, at office! I had left it in my backpack sometime in the afternoon, and was away from my desk till late evening. When I came back to my desk to pickup my backpack, wallet was gone.

It is interesting how technology changes your lifestyle and perspective over the years. Had I lost my wallet ten years ago, I would still be feeling sad because of monitory loss. But today I am feeling so damn frustrated not because I lost money, but because I have to go through the pains of canceling and reacquiring plastic money, I mean cards.

I had fairly good list of my card numbers, and it took me close to 30 mins to call up companies to get all my cards cancelled. It will take atleast two~three weeks before my life gets restored (get new credit cards, duplicate drivers license, new insurance card are the important ones, and then there are not so important ones like frequent flyer cards, AAA card, library card etc).

Here is a quick checklist:
1. Keep a list of all your cards you usually carry (including Card Number, Customer Service etc) at two or three different places: Online & Offline.
2. Never ever keep PINs or Password or any such information in your wallet, and also don't keep those number online/offline. The only place to have this info is your memory cells!
3. In case you loose your wallet, immediately report credit card company without fail. Identity theft is much more serious in US than in India.
4. Lodge a complaint at local police office.

Private Screening of Kung Fu Hustle, just for me

Got fried at office, and decided to take a break. I was planning to watch Kung Fu Hustle for some time, and thought this was the apt time. I got a big surprise when I got into the theatre after buying the ticket. I was the only one in the theatre. It was a weekday and this was a Chinese movie! On the other hand, this movie had got some really good review, so I wasn't expecting this. But then, what the heck...I get to seat wherever I please, and the whole theatre is for me! So, I just laid back, put my leg on the front chair, and enjoyed the movie.

My Movie Rating: 4/5
Strength:
- Awesome fights
- Decent Storyline
- Good background score, pretty good cinematography and special effects
- Humor of a kid, its like watching a cartoon (there are plenty of scenes which will make you say, 'what the heck?'

Weakness:
- Subtitles, as far as I can remember this is the first movie I saw with subtitles, in a theatre. That too, alone (gosh, too many records broken with this movie)
- I can't think of any other reason!

To summarize this movie in one line, its all about suppressed talent, waiting to burst out. Highly recommended for cartoon fans/Jackie Chan fans or for anyone who endorse the idea that movies don't have to be thought-provoking ALL THE TIME!

Fire Rain and Thunder

Lot of things going on for past few weeks, and it also happens to be one of the reason for me being such an incommunicado.

First it was trip to Louisville for 'Thunder Over Louisville' Kentucky Derby Opening Festival. I am not a fan of horse race, but what attracted me to this event is this massive fireworks and airshow. Drive was fun, and the weather was awful. It was extremely cold, and we were sitting right next to the riverfront in Louisville from 2pm till the end of fireworks around 10 in the night. Airshow was sort of OK, but B2 Stealth Bomber was superb. This thing made such a silent entry, they had to make an announcement that B2 is in the sky! Otherwise, we were freezing in the cold and thinking it was all waste of time, and not worth all the trouble until the fireworks started. Man, what a show it was....literally rain of fire. I had taken my new Panasonic GS-250 DV Cam to shoot the firework, but when the show started, I realized that no camera can capture those moments. It was spectacular! I just kept my handycam pointing at sky, and watched the fireworks spellbound. Best fireworks I have seen till date.


Image Source: www.kdf.org

After that it was back to work with some tough deadlines to meet. Then it was my birthday. This time again, few close friends celebrated it in Pizza Hut. Looks like Pizza Hut is becoming a de facto for me as this was third year I was celebrating my b'day. Now all of you who are reading this, send my presents soon, if you haven't done so already!

I burnt whole of last weekend searching for a Video Editing Software. First I tried Adobe Premier Pro, most sophisticated of all editing tools, but it was way too expensive. So out of my list. After that I tried Pinnacle Studio & Power Director trial version. First one expired within 2 hours instead of 30 days. Later was not too impressive. Finally I tried Ulead Video Studio, and looks like I will stick with this. It has got all the basic features and is priced right. I will experiment for few more weeks, and may be post a detailed review.