The General Motors

This is a running related post and not anything else...

Found a good article about this 4-star general in the US army who is a very keen runner and how he uses running at the center of his philosophy. He says "This [running] is where the world's complications become clearer to me."

Interesting to note at the end of the article how with age this person now seems to be stepping down from the god like complex. The reporter after getting totally beat down by the severe competitive spirit of the general asks him his thoughts on a quote by E.E. Cummings: "Nothing measurable matters." The general replies "I'm increasingly thinking Cummings may be right, as you get older, you're less keen on having somebody start a stopwatch."
The general even finds out what his recruits and aides are made of by taking them out for a run. He says "when we bring a new guy in, I take him out for a run," and then the general will try to "waste" this person.

Read the article here: The General Motors

Another 21.1kms...

1 hour 51 minutes and 24 seconds...1:51:24. This number brings an immediate smile to my face...it is the time for the half marathon (HM) I ran in the Bangalore International Marathon 2007 that happened this past Sunday.
It was my best running performance till date. I sprinted the last 400 meters inside the stadium, quite a contrast to the dead horse like finish last time.
After training quite hard and setting the target of doing a sub 2 hour HM, I was still in doubt about doing a sub 2 hour race. Before the race I had calculated that I'll probably finish in 1 hour 57 minutes. That was too close for comfort. A single race day incident or delay or problem would push me over 2 hours. But nothing of that sort happened ;-)

The race for me was an amazing one. The weather was perfect...no Sun, cool breeze and good supply of nutrition by Mr. D during the run. D, sadly could not run but was sort of the hero of the day, handing out Electral and nutrition bars to S and me...Salaam to you D!
The split timings I was getting on my watch were just too good. I was at 5kms in about 24 minutes, then halfway (10.5kms) in about 52 minutes, ahead by nearly 3-4 minutes of my target. But there were still questions about losing time near the end and just running out of steam. But when I crossed the 16km mark I was about 6 minutes ahead of my previous best performance and at that point I knew I was having a good day. I paid attention to my strides and found that they were still decent. I was running with good 'form' and even my mind was fresh. It hadn't dulled down or anything. Finally when I entered the stadium I looked at the 400 meter track and just went for it.
Later I realized I ran the whole race and unlike previous races and practice runs, at no point did I feel like walking or did actually walk. I stopped twice to drink water that D was handing out and that total may have taken 25-30 seconds...

In the end my average speed for the whole 21.1kms was 11.4 kms/hour...
That's all... :-)

Bangalore Habba

...or should I say Bengalooru Habba! What the heck I still call Mumbai Bombay, anyway, the habba (meaning festival) is a really nice event that happens in Bangalore every year in December. It is usually about 10 days long and happens during the chilly December month which really reminds me of the Mood Indigo days from IIT...
This year’s Habba started on 30th November, you can check out the details on their web site. Click Here...
Some really good plays are there this time and the usual thriving mix of Carnatic, Hindustani, Jazz and Rock music concerts are there. The arts and crafts display that used to be put up on M G Road has been shifted to somewhere near Cubbon park...


This is one of Habba posters this time and I found it really funny. Gallate means creating trouble, sort of rioting or danga. I bet he won’t have that wide smile when you see him at the Habba ;-)

Naagin - Decibel

This rendition of that Naagin movie song on the guitar by an Indian rock band is so worth checking out. It is instrumental and the guy taps the heck out of the guitar. I don't know if the technique is hard or what and the notes are sort of repeated throughout the song but what innovation! So much fun to see someone trying out something like this, weird :)
The band is called Decibel. The mp3 is available from Decibel's website here.

Hmmm...writer's block, if I can call myself one ;-)

...interpretation of writer's block, that historically many writers have been unable to devote themselves to, or concentrate on, their writing because their social and economic circumstances prevent them from doing so...

It is widely thought that writer's block is part of a natural ebb and flow in the creative process.
HA!
More later folks...

Moon!

16th


19th


22nd


23rd ;-)

Environmental Blog Roundup

As part of the environmental blog action day in the month of October, the people at Blogger have done a roundup of some of the blogs that are promoting environmental and climate change awareness.

I thought the list was very interesting. Haven't finished going through them completely but I am tackling them one by one.
This particular blog 'These Come From Trees' is promoting something so simple but its actions still contribute.
I also like the wicked/sarcastic style of 'The Conscious Earth'
Also do read her blog and profile 'The Lazy Environmentalist'
For an optimistic take, 'The Future is Green'

The full list: Environmental Blog Roundup
Cleantech Blog - Commentary on technologies, news, and issues relating to next generation energy and the environment.
The Conscious Earth - Earth-centered news for the health of air, water, habitat and the fight against global warming.
Earth Meanders - Earth essays placing environmental sustainability within the context of other contemporary issues.
Environmental Action Blog - Current environmental issues and green energy news.
The Future is Green - Thoughts on the coming of a society that is in balance with nature.
The Green Skeptic - Devoted to challenging assumptions about how we live on the earth and protect our environment.
Haute*Nature - Ecologically based creative ideas, art & green products for your children, home and lifestyle, blending style with sustainability.
The Lazy Environmentalist - Sustainable living made easy.
Lights Out America - A grassroots community group organizing nationwide energy savings events.
The Nature Writers of Texas - The best nature writing from the newspaper, magazine, blog and book authors of the Lone Star State.
Rachel Carson Centennial Book Club - Considering the legacy of Rachel Carson's literary and scientific contributions with a different book each month.
Sustainablog - News, information and personal meanderings related to environmental and economic sustainability, green and sustainable business, and environmental politics.
These Come From Trees - An experiment in environmentalism, viral marketing, and user interface design with the goal of reducing consumer waste paper.

You can ignore this post, just a rambling...

I had run on 19 consecutive days before a sore throat and cold declared their hostile intentions on me and lay siege. In those 19 days I ran for 83.5kms at an average of about 4.4kms a day. Actually not a big deal compared to some other things happening around, like this sports doctor from Manipal Hospital running a half marathon (21.1kms) everyday in the month of October or this other guy trying to become the first Indian to run 100 miles or 160kms in 24 hours...

Oh well! I have recovered and started running again, 9.2kms done in the last 2 days...

Johnny Gaddaar

Cool movie to watch, a total mash of ingredients with all the bollywood masala. But wait it has more, it has good acting, it is really well directed/shot and has good music. The title track is really good. Actually the title track totally sums up the whole movie. It’s brash, loud and nasty but still classy and thought provoking.

The movie is about a criminal gang of five trying to pull off a quick deal in a matter of 4 days. But obviously one of them wants to make away with the whole thing and launches a warped plan. As the plan unfolds it leaves behind a series of betrayals and dead bodies. The plot thickens significantly with infidelity, fake notes and accidents galore. And where will it all end of Johnny Gaddaar is the question that hangs in balance, keeping you at the edge of your seat.

“Heyyyy Johnny, Zindagi jua hai khel yaar” goes the title track…

Warming vs Warring

I read a good article revolving around Global Warming versus Global Warring. The article questioned an environmentalist and Standford professor, Paul Ehrlich, and George Shultz who was US president Regan's secretary of state and the head of Bechtel. They each were asked about solutions and the media's involvement in both these topics. Here are the excerpts, the whole article is at the link below. All I can say is, these damn wily politicians, they are the same everywhere...

AMY GOODMAN: Do you see a connection, Secretary Shultz, between global warring and global warming?

GEORGE SHULTZ: Say that again.

AMY GOODMAN: Between global warring and global warming. And what I mean, specifically, when we talk about global warming, fossil fuels, this whole push for using more and depending on oil, what do you think about the connection between the Iraq war and this issue of global warming at home?

GEORGE SHULTZ: I don't think the Iraq war had anything whatever to do with it. The Iraq war and -- whether you agree or not with the invasion of Iraq, the problem is there is a radical movement that uses the weapon of terror, and we have to confront it...It had nothing to do with oil at all.

PAUL EHRLICH: I disagree totally. If you go back in history, our entire presence in the Middle East has been entirely focused on seeing to it that we can keep some kind of control over the fossil fuel supplies. I think Stanford Professor Gretchen Daily said it very well: if you think we’re invading Iraq -- or would we be planning to invade Iraq if their major export were broccoli? We would just have left it. I’m not saying that this was in George Bush's head. God knows what was in his head.

This is article is well worth reading in full, please do by clicking here...

An Inconvenient Truth

A while back I saw the movie An Inconvenient Truth and would highly recommend it to everyone. The movie is about climate change and the global warming issues facing us. It tries to convey to the world that if you think that the impact of climate change is far into the future or just a theory or surely we'll be prepared for it when it eventually happens, then you need to wake up.
We are going to face the impact of global warming in the next 50 years or so. The dangerous changes are not many generations away but lurking just round the corner. The term 'Greenhouse' which we all heard as kids is now more dangerous than terrorists like Bin Laden.
Anyway, the movie does not go into the depth of the issue but wants people to acknowledge the fact that we are leaving behind a world that even our grandchildren may not be able to enjoy...

The rapid increase in energy needs, the complete dependence on fossil fuels and the forever increase in emissions rates prompted some effort between the various countries to contain this impact. The Kyoto Protocol was the result. This treaty is the United Nations international treaty to address climate change. It aims to assign and implement emission standards around the world to reduce the emissions of carbon dioxide and 5 other greenhouse gases.

Currently in the world the US is responsible for nearly 30% of greenhouse gas emissions. That is more than South America, Africa, Middle East and India, all put together. And to make it worse the US is not part of the Kyoto protocol. Two consecutive administrations Clinton and Bush accounting for 16 years of power have not taken the Kyoto Protocol to the American senate to get it ratified.

We have all seen the labels 'EURO II', 'EURO III', 'Bharat Stage II' etc on the back of the cars in India. These stickers are nothing but the emission standards that are being put in place by the participants of the Kyoto Protocol. The table of these various emission stages is pretty impressive, these greenhouse emissions can really be brought down. But the US still does not participate. Their emission standards are the weakest in the world. They are so weak that US cars, as is, cannot be sold in Japan and most of Europe and Asia. Japan is right at the forefront of these standards. They are high above everyone else leading the race to curb our greenhouse gases emissions. Europe is behind and India is a little behind than Europe. Europe is at EURO IV and India is at Bharat Stage III which is equivalent to EURO III.

Animals are always so cute...

Someone I know, my friend, she had some owls nesting in her building. She tried to save them from the building people and the building society but one of owls just died right in front of her. Just a sad sad thing :(

That reminded me of a pup I had tried to save once many years ago. The pup totally drenched in Bombay rains was shivering away to no end. This was in the building I grew up in where we usually always had a host of stray dogs. I wrapped the pup up in one of those 'gunny' bags and gave it some food but it died in a few hours...
That reminded me of the days when I had an adopted dog, Rocket. Eventually we lost him...

Which brings me to one of the most touching of Calvin and Hobbes sequences, well if you are fond of animals. This is a sequence in which Calvin tries to save a racoon but the racoon dies. Hobbes is there to comfort Calvin and gives Calvin a 'tiger' hug but somewhere in the middle Hobbes observes, and I totally agree with this..."I think Animals are always so cute"...

That's it...WE WON!!!

I can barely define the shape of this moment in time...
-- Pink Floyd

We won't get bullied again... :)

If you saw the India vs Australia match, you'll know what I am trying to say. I have not screamed so much during a cricket match in a long time. The commentator said it right, the big teams like South Africa and the Aussies have tried to bully India off the field but our guys have stood there and took every punch thrown at them. And how we've hurt them back, first sending the hosts SA and now the Aussies packing home with one the most amazing string of victories...

The match against the Aussies was such a hard fought battle. Batting first, India had a slow start but lost two quick wickets. At this point the Indian team of the past with all its so called 'senior' players would have been expected to crumble like a house of cards, but no! Like in the previous matches, the team stood strong. Yuvraj swung back in style and strung two critical partnerships with Uthappa and Dhoni.
Then while India was bowling Australia again tried to intimidate us. Again the young guns of India stood their ground. Time and time again Australia would send one bowler packing for 15 odd runs in an over but instead of losing heart and standing at the boundary, Dhoni made changes and brought the bowlers back with amazing results.
Australia was literally home needing only 30 runs from 3 overs with 6 wickets in hand, that's when we turned the tables on them. We tightened the screws so much that it was Australia, just like South Africa, that crumbled like a house of cards...

Australia has defeated India so many times in world cup matches. They've thrashed us before, but the way this young Indian team gave it back to them, was a sight to see. We gave them back what they deserved...what a victory!!!

T20

I have been sucked into watching cricket all over again. The way India has been playing in this shorter form of cricket, not ODIs, even shorter, Twenty Twenty, has been really invigorating. Except for the match against New Zealand, we have played 3 awesome matches. The players are playing with purpose, grit and determination. Tendulkar, Dravid and Ganguly not coming to this tournament was a great idea, these young bunch of kids are really worth watching. Something I have never ever seen before in Indian cricket...
In the last match Dhoni injured his back so he was fielding at the boundary instead of wicketkeeping. At one point the ball came towards him and it was easily going to beat him to the ropes but he flung himself flat towards the ball, it still was a four but the effort was worth watching. And this has been going all around, they are throwing their bodies everywhere to stop the ball. The catch by Dinesh Karthik to dismiss Graeme Smith was stunning…

Our bowling is weak and strong at the same time. RP Singh and Pathan have been bowling superbly. On the other hand Sreesanth and Agarkar have been horrible. Harbhajan is trying hard, he got hit for 15 runs in the first over but came back real strong in the next two overs, so he doing ok. But that is still leaving us nearly 2 bowlers short and that is a real worry...

We threw the NZ match, with an awesome start chasing 191 to win, we finally lost by 10 runs. In that match I didn't see even 1 wicket earned by NZ, our batsmen gave away all their wickets, terrible performance. But the other three matches, defending 140 against Pakistan, 218 against England and 153 against South Africa have totally worth watching. Maybe defending is the key, should we defend against Australia? Maybe, given that we have won 3 matches defending and lost 1 chasing…

So let's see how we play against Australia today in the semi finals. But for me as long as there is effort on the field like they have been putting in this tournament, cricket is worth watching all over again...

Sucker Train Blues

That's the name of Velvet Revolver song, anyway...New template!!! Used one of my own pictures...

Blue because we live on a blue planet and trees because we need them so badly...

Cheers!

...gone, going, gone...

Greenland's ice cap is melting at a frighteningly fast rate

...The vast ice cap that covers Greenland nearly three miles thick is melting faster than ever before on record, and the pace is speeding year by year...Greenland's ice is melting at a rate three times faster than it was only five years ago...

...If the Greenland ice cap ever melted completely -- a highly unlikely event, at least in the foreseeable future -- the scientists estimate it would raise world's sea level by an average of 6.5 meters, or about 21 feet, more than enough to drown all the world's low-lying islands and even some entire nations, like Holland...

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/08/11/MELTING.TMP&type=science

Not so skrood...We won!!! The batting had to click today and it did! The start by Sachin and Saurav was like old times. And the finish by Robin Uthappa...wow! Heart stopping stuff after a long time and it feels good to come out on top ;-)

Cricket: skrood again!

How do you let an opposition team go from 228 in 43 overs to 316 in 50 overs? Well if you have a bowler like Agarkar it is not too difficult. Dravid also helped, he gave the 50th over to Yuvraj instead of Powar who had 1 over remaining and Yuvraj in the process got hit for 5 consecutive sixes in that over. But what happened before that is key...

India played with 3 specialist bowlers and Agarkar as the 4th specialist, if you can call him that. So what does Agarkar that a-hole do? Read this…
At 228 for 5 in 43 overs Agarkar comes in and gives up 14 runs in the 44th over. Zaheer who had just given only 2 runs in the 43rd over, comes again and bowls another beauty of an over giving up only 3 runs. Then that jhakki Agarkar comes in again and merrily gives up another 13 runs in the 46th over. Again Zaheer comes and gives up only 7 runs in the 47th over. That too because off the 2nd ball the batsman played a cheeky shot for a 4 but Zaheer still managed to come back strong to bowl 2 dot balls. Now Dravid had no option to bring in Yuvraj and Tendulkar to bowl overs 48 and 49. They did whatever they could but then Dravid gave the 50th over to Yuvraj again instead of Powar and so 5 consecutive sixes were hit off Yuvraj. And this magical moment can all be attributed to our so called 4th specialist bowler Agarkar (63 runs in 8 overs), f$#$er...

The commentator said “Agarkar looks like a bowler who doesn’t know where to bowl…he is running in with fear…fear of where the next ball will be hit!” Can someone explain how can that a-hole Agarkar, a mediocre bowler even by domestic cricket standards, have such a long career with our team? He keeps making a comeback into the team, on what basis does he get selected again and again???

Earth's Environment

There is a day coming up next month sometime, when everyone around the world will blog about one topic, the environment. A good move to increase awareness...let me, start now.

First off, to the uninitiated, go see the movie 'An Inconvenient Truth'. A good movie but it is just on the surface of the whole thing. What this movie should do to you is to incite you to dig deeper for yourself. Take the environment issue personally and become aware of what is happening. Because if you don't then all the hard work you are doing, all that you are spending on yourself, saving up for a rainy day trying to ensure your future, your children's future and so on is of no use…in the next 50 years something's got to give. The environment and the Earth cannot keep taking the pressure we put on it. The amount of carbon gases we have already put into our atmosphere is enough to melt everything, remember we live in a greenhouse. It is not enough to just stop the emissions but also there is a serious need to somehow remove these greenhouse gases. In theory the Earth can enter an ice age very easily and the signs are all there. Not early signs...grave signs. Wake up and smell well errr...see the melting of the polar and Greenland ice caps. Also it is not just the melting, when temperatures rise things expand, so even the existing water in our oceans is going to expand and water levels are going to rise.

So do something about the environment, see it as an investment and it is the best one you can make today...

Took this picture from a flight that was just about to land in Jaipur.

The reason I post this is because it is so representative of India. The hundreds of fragmented farms in just maybe 10 square kilometers is so typical and can be found all over. These small farms are the backbone of the country, they probably cover 90% of our country, can you imagine the sheer number of these farms?!?!

Things just came rushing to me...

I was listening to the song 'Perfect Blue Buildings' by Counting Crows and that had the following lines:
...Down on Virginia and La Loma
Where I got friends who care for me...

Great song by the way but for some reason I went to Yahoo maps and put in 'Virginia and La Loma, Berkeley, CA' and there it was, the place showed up. Why did I put Berkeley? I think subconsciously I remembered that Counting Crows is a Berkeley based band and there was this other thing. I have lived on Virginia St. in Berkeley. My brother used to stay just a block away from Virginia and La Loma.

I checked it out and Adam Duritz the vocalist for Counting Crows is from Berkeley and the band started there. I have spent a lot of time in that area and have plenty of memories of Berkeley...things just came rushing to me...

Infinitesimal things...

[12:28 PM]:
i did coding today
wrote a quick test application of 49 lines in some 10 mins
testing took another 3 mins
felt good when it worked in the first shot

[12:29 PM]:
i need cold water

Little Miss Sunshine...

Oh this movie is one of the most enjoyable movies I have ever seen, right from the name of the little girl 'Olive' to her older brother's antics of taking a vow of silence and using a scribble pad.
The story is about the Hoover family taking a cross country trip in their VW bus to fulfill the deepest desire of 7 year old Olive to participate in a beauty pageant. Olive, a small girl with a big heart, big dreams and big spectacles, under the tutelage of her beloved grandpa wants to win the Little Miss Sunshine pageant. The family with its internal wrangling needs to pull through and deliver for this girl.

The cast really makes this movie work. All the central characters of the Hoover family do an awesome job on the acting front. And Olive is the best, her smiles bright enough to light up the whole sky. Olive’s gay uncle Frank (played by Steve Carell from the sitcom ‘Office’ where he plays an annoying boss) is another character that stands out in the movie. Frank is a recovering from a suicide attempt of slitting his wrists after falling in love with one of his grad students who didn’t love him back. Olive’s reaction to that is ‘That’s silly.”
Very good comebacks and slick dialogues delivered very appropriately by the actors are scattered throughout the movie. For me this particular aspect was what made the movie so engaging. One of the most memorable parts of the movie for me is when Olive's brother finds out that he is colourblind and that crushes his passionate dream.

The photography of this movie is really good too. A simple movie which probably doesn't allow for too much of computer graphics or spectacular visuals, it is full of interesting and heart warming picturization. I still remember the low angle shot of the VW family bus passing under those symmetrical freeway flyovers of a big city. The music throughout is really appropriate and good.

A really warm movie with a very human story involving very lovable characters. A definite must watch for those who haven’t already, certainly deserves a place in any movie collection. It’s already there in mine…

Don't give a damp!

How do you like my new blog template? :) It reflects the weather here these days...

The template needs a little tweaking 'cause as of now there are a few empty spaces around...need to utilize them.

Cheers!

Tempo Run

I have been running at the same capacity, speed and stamina level for quite some time now. I have been unable to improve my stamina, capacity and times. Even if there have been improvements they are too slow and too little. This is mostly due to the lack of time. Work, travel and lastly my own laziness have been major factors. Lack of good training resources and plans have also led to the stagnation.

So recently I bought two running magazines 'Running Times' and 'Runner's World' that contained lots of training tips and plans. After devouring them front to end, something caught my eye that read 'This "Comfortably Hard" run is key to running your fastest'.

This was an article on 'Tempo Running.' Basic definition of a Tempo Run is that the effort should be "comfortably hard." As in something that is really hard in effort but still do-able and not over the top hard. And it is obviously not something that is comfortable in effort, along the lines of 'comfortably numb' ;-)

Tempo running improves our metabolic fitness. Tempo runs teach the body on how to use the oxygen reaching the muscles more efficiently for metabolism. LT or Lactate Threshold is the level at which the body fatigues. Tempo runs aim to push the threshold higher thus making your muscles better at using the acidic by-products of metabolism. The result is less acidic muscles letting you run farther and faster...

"A classic tempo or lactate threshold run is a sustained, comfortably hard effort." In a tempo run you start with an easy warm up and end with an easy warm down. In the middle you run at a speed that is higher than your average running speed but is a sustainable speed and not your top speed. At this speed you should not end up panting or feel the need to walk in these middle sections. The magazine had a very simple plan that I have started following.
Week 1: 5x3 minutes at tempo pace, 60 second easy jog between each one.
Week 2: 5x4 minutes at tempo pace, 60 second easy jog recovery
Week 3: 4x5 minutes at tempo pace, 90 second easy jog recovery
Week 4: 20 minutes steady tempo pace.

Run!

More Bheja Fry...

In the last panel Hobbes is sort of equal to Ranjeet Thadani and actually even to all of us and Calvin is like Bharat Bhushan...

Bheja Fry...

How irritating is the central character, played by "Vinay Phatak", of Bheja Fry? Oh you better believe it, it is one of the most irritating characters executed in films.

Bheja Fry is an awesome movie that will leave you guffawing throughout and exclaiming "My god, he is so irritating!" The story is about this innocent, downright stupid and obsessive income tax officer who somehow lands in the net of a rich music executive to recruit a bakra/muse for him and his rich friend's weekend stress busting pastime. Bharat Bhushan played by Vinay Phatak (One of the hosts for 'Cricket Crazy') is that bumbling fool who questions "kya idiots insaan nahin hote?" Central to the movie is that fateful night where Ranjeet Thadani (played by Rajat Kapoor from Monsoon Wedding and Dil Chahta Hai) auditions the guy who will turn his world right on its head.

The movie is damn funny and is made that by its dialogues and not by slapstick visuals or anything of that sort. So pay good attention to what is being said and also observe the subtle facial expressions of Vinay Phatak, they are priceless. This guy always goes off track, especially when he is on the phone for a particular reason then without fail he ends up going completely off track driving people insane or frying their bheja ;-)

Go see this movie, it is totally worth it. I wish bollywood made more and more comedies like this. I did hear/read somewhere that this is picked from a french movie but the movie has been adapted enough to fit in the Indian context that it deserves its own merit...

Have a new phone...

...couldn't stand waiting around for the iPhone to make it to India so just went ahead with the 'HTC Touch'. This phone is quite comparable, in terms of features, with the iPhone. It is a totally touchscreen based phone with just 3 small buttons, as you can see below, near the bottom of the phone...

The coolest feature of this phone is the 'TouchFLO' screen. When you slide your fingers on the screen in a certain way the screen rotates to a different desktop. Each of these desktops serves a different purpose, like one of them is the multimedia center which has audio and video launchers. Other one has contacts and so on. By the way the music player's interface is very similar to the iPod interface. The phone has a nice 2.8 inch screen and the videos in landscape mode look really good...

Other than that the phone has Wi-Fi and I've already used Wi-Fi to surf the net without opening the laptop ;-)
This phone has Windows Mobile 6.0 and HTC has worked with Microsoft to provide its own interface, which is pretty striking, and to add the TouchFLO technology...

It has the pocket version of Microsoft Office and can sync with your Outlook email over both wireless and wired interfaces. I haven't used the wireless interface because don't have GPRS nor have the access rights for the corporate email server. But have used the wired interface to sync with my laptop directly and that is pretty straightforward...

Cool device overall, weighs only 112grams, pretty light for a Windows based smartphone and the form factor is quite cool too. It is definitely a tiny device compared to others. The phone is being provided by AirTel in India and also comes with a 1GB micro SD card on which you can store your audio and video files...

TTYL on the Touch ;-)

Nadal can play on grass...

If Federer is the best tennis player of all time and I think he is, then Nadal is a very very close second.

From how the Wimbledon finals played out I agree with what Federer told Nadal at the net "You [Nadal] deserved to win today, but today I [Federer] was the lucky one."

The game was unbelievable. Federer is god, no doubt. No player past or present comes close to him but yesterday Nadal did the unthinkable. He not only matched Federer but was clearly outplaying him. And this is on grass!!! Even when Federer was pulling out all stops, Nadal took the fight to him. I have heard commentators tell many times that Federer wins many matches in the locker room itself. That's how good he is, people come out afraid, and on grass people just wilt in front of him. But Nadal was the Lion on the court yesterday, something even Federer himself couldn't do at Roland Garros this year when he had the chance. All heart man, all heart...

It was just an amazing match, can't remember two players at their peak going at it like this, toe to toe at the same time. Almost every point was worthy of making it to the highlight reel. I personally will remember this match for Federer's record tying 5th consecutive title but will probably remember it more so for the fight Nadal put up...

How smooth is smooth???

Everyone has probably heard of the Gillette Mach 3 shaving razor which have 3 blades. Then some of you might have heard of the Schick brand of razors, Quatro, which has four blades. Well I recently found out that 4 blades is not enough for a smooth shave. You need 5!!!

Gillette probably heard that song 'Smooth' by Rob Thomas featuring Santana and came up with their Gillette Fusion...

5 blades!!!

I think it's time for me to at least chuck my twin blade and graduate to the Mach 3 ;-)

Live Earth

The concerts are live on VH1 in India tomorrow 7.7.07...

London buildings...

London, in terms of buildings, definitely has a really good balance between the old and the new. At many places I saw the two worlds clashing, wierd looking modern buildings of glass and steel standing next to old, elegant, brick and stone buildings, maintaining a pleasing contrast. Here are some examples:

This was visible from the Westminster bridge...


Don't remember where I took this but found the two buildings next to each other very striking...


The next two are while walking from the London bridge to the Tower Bridge on the southern side of the Thames river. The walk from between these two bridges is something I would recommend to everyone. There are a million things to notice there...

Portland Aerial Tram

The aerial tram is a 3 minute ride to the top of a hill to the Oregon Health and Science University and definitely a must see for people visiting Portland. Here are the mountains that were visible...

Mt Hood


Mt St Helens belowing volcanic smoke...

Aww nuts!!!

Manged to finally get one picture in which he was staring straight at the camera and the camera didn't shake :)

Places...

Trillium lake...Trillium was the name of the first company that I worked for after graduation...

Madras!!! Well, I didn't take the 26 East to check if they too have their version of the 'Sarvana Bhavan' ;-)

beaches and waterfalls...

...of Oregon

Oregon...pristine

After covering nearly 600 miles of 'Oregon Scenic Byways' over the weekend, pristine is the word that comes to mind. Pristine in the sense of beauty and serene but also untouched and uncorrupted. How do they manage to keep such vast expanses of natural beauty in so much 'order'?!? Even in the remotest of the places it looks as if someone has just mowed the grass and pruned the trees...

But, no doubt, the place is amazing. The weather was not the best but the drive was totally worth it. I covered the Oregon coast from Newport to Astoria on one day and the Mt Hood scenic loop the other...

On the costal drive the highlight was the Yaquina Head Lighthouse built in 1873. The winds were howling and the view form the lighthouse was nothing because of the heavy fog rolling in but whatever was visible and the lighthouse itself were quite nice...

SF run...

The Twin Peaks in San Francisco were the target of my run in SF. I started running from the Mission street in the general direction of the hills. It wasn't a good idea to run uphill after a week's layoff from running but it was a nice sunny day and very ideal for running. Obviously I got lost but finally did manage to make it all the way up to the hill right besides the Twin Peaks called the Sutro hill which I now found out is about 50 feet taller than the Twin Peaks anyway ;-). The Sutro hill has a huge and very peculiar tower called the Sutro tower on top of it. I had my camera with me in a pouch that fitted very nicely in my hand and took some pictures on the way up and made mental notes of the rest that I wanted take pictures of on the way down, here they are...

This was another one of those steep streets that I ran up. Well I ran up this one but there were several on which it was just not possible to either run up or down. Check out that striking dark red, maroon tree...

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Finally I spotted the Sutro tower right in front of me and I took this without stopping on the way up the final uphill street...

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Below is the 'Transamerica Pyramid' building (taken with 12x digital zoom), a fairly prominent part of the SF skyline...

And lastly the Golden Gate bridge was visible from the top. The bridge is now 70 years old...

Building mural...

This was the mural on the side of a building in SF city. It is one of the best murals I have seen. I don't think the panoramic picture above captures the painting too well. Maybe the close-ups below capture the uniqueness of the painting...

More SF...

Another house from SF with really nice flowers growing up front. Unfortunately the camera shook a little and the picture didn't come out too clear...

San Francisco

The sun was out today and the walk through SF was spectacular. You can see it for yourself below...

Here is a panoramic view of the city...


Here are two differently coloured but typical SF houses standing next to each other...

Butter and Mashed Bananas

Saw this play a while back, 'Butter and Mashed Bananas', with a remarkable storyline, fantastic acting and great direction.

But first let me see if I can outline what this play was about. Was it a jab at our society? Or was it an uppercut to our politicians? Or a left hook to the system we live in? The play was damn funny but extremely thought provoking at the same time. It was very innovative, saw lots of things being depicted in such noteworthy new ways…

But why the hell am I having a tough time describing this play??? It is actually straightforward…it is about a boy who is born to parents, by accident I may add, who belong to the opposite ends of the political and social ideology in India.

Growing up the boy faces struggles to find his own identity, always torn between his parent’s choices. The boy grows up to become a world famous author and writes a brilliant book but surprisingly the book goes completely unnoticed in India. He finds out that his book got censored and did not even make it to the Indian market. He tries to make a film to reach out to the country and that too gets censored. He questions, who is this censor board? What qualifications to they have and what are these limits they agree upon and who decides them? Why is the censor board so random even though it consists of highly reputable people with degrees from the most well known educational institutions of the world?
Anyway his life continues and he decides not to give up and to do something about the system, he joins politics. There he finds himself caught in a terrible mess just because of making some simple statements like “Truth shall prevail” and “The culprits should be caught”. He tries hard but finally other politicians join hands and overwhelm him. He slips away from people’s memory and unappreciated in his own country he fades away…

I don't think the short description here in this post is going to convey how good the play was. The music, played live, the brilliant acting, the directing and the simplicity of it all actually made this play extremely enjoyable but only by actually seeing it will you be able to appreciate what it is and what it does…

Two articles worth reading in the otherwise pretty much useless 'Bangalore Times'.

The first one is featuring Aparna Sen. I have loved all her films and admire her work a lot. I think she is one of the best Indian directors ever.

Here is the article about her and her upcoming film: I can't make those feelgood, laugh-a-line films

The second one is about probably a lesser known person, Gerry Martin. He is the first Indian National Geographic adventurer specializing in snakes and crocodiles. I had seen him once on Nat Geo when he was trying to catch a Cobra for an anti venom institute. In the program, even though Gerry manages to get a hold of the Cobra's head, somehow the snake manages to bite him on his hand. Gerry, actually unfazed, proceeds to bag the snake, gets behind the wheel of a car and drives himself to the hospital. He explains that the reason he himself is driving is to keep himself alert. Gerry points out that the cobra's venom affects the nervous system and in order to fight that he should remain alert and not slip into a lethargy [sic ???]. He gets an anti-venom injection and then gets discharged from the hospital the next day. He then adds "I don't hold a grudge against the snake, what would you do if someone was pinning you down, holding the back of your head?"
Here is the small article on Gerry: Gerry Martin, Wildlife Expert

Now Tigers...

Early numbers from the ongoing Tiger census being done by the Wildlife Institute of India indicate that there is a decline of 65% in the Tiger population in Madhya Pradesh, which has the largest population of Tigers in India. Also indications are that the other areas in the country will see the same or increased rate of decline. In 2001 and 2002 a Tiger census had estimated about 3700 Tigers left in the country.
Looks like while the Tigers, an endangered species, have done well in the conservation and reservation areas, they are pretty much getting wiped out from the outside areas. Poaching is the main culprit for this dramatic decline but the key thing that Wildlife Institute of India suggests is "effective tiger conservation would only become a reality if reserves are connected to one another so tigers have a larger population and area to breed and hunt." But this is not the reality today and "habitat destruction and human encroachment were leading to declining numbers."
This is just real depressing news, the final census number is likely to be anywhere between as little as several hundred to a maximum of just about 2000.

Delta and Dawn

Delta and Dawn are the two humpback mother and calf whales that lost their way while migrating from probably somewhere near Oregon on the US west coast on their way to Mexico. The mother and her calf appear injured and the mother has a deep gash which probably came after being hurt by a ship's propeller. This may have caused the mother to go off course and swim up a river. They have been swimming upstream for nearly 2 weeks now somewhere around Sacramento. The theory is that the mother may have brought the calf up to safe water to help the calf recover.

There have been rescue efforts involving scientists going on to return the whales back towards the ocean. They are nearly 90 miles up the river and returning all the way back to the ocean is a long and arduous journey that will probably end when they swim under the Golden Gate Bridge into the Pacific. Currently the whales had been successfully made to head towards the ocean but they turned back up river and returned about 3 miles. They are now about 65 miles from the ocean.

Humpback whales are an endangered species that were ravaged by unrestricted whale hunting and their population reduced by nearly 90% at one point and were almost brought to the brink of extinction. Humpbacks are famous for their 'Whale Song' which has been an area of research for long. Although whales cannot survive long in fresh water, the mother and calf are looking healthy. I really hope they make it back safe to the ocean...

21.1kms

After doing the full marathon, 42.2kms, at the Bangalore Marathon last year, I decided to do the half marathon, 21.1kms, in this year's marathon which happened to be a midnight one. This time the objective was to train right, perform strong and hit a target time.

The Bangalore Midnight Marathon was organized on 19th May. The organizers claimed that we were creating history by running the first ever midnight marathon. My main aim was to have a much stronger run this time and since it was a night marathon which meant much lower temperatures, really focus on getting a good time in. I set myself a target of at least 2 hours 30 minutes, otherwise I find myself a lake or something and go jump in it, and at the same time I was dreaming of a sub 2 hour run. Seriously I only dreamt of sub 2 hours, awake I knew it just wouldn't happen ;-). Anyway I finished the run in 2 hours 15 minutes. The official time is awaited but my stopwatch indicated 2:15. Wall Street and Dalal Street would have been so happy, I gave an outlook forecast of 2:30 to 2:00 and hit it bang in the middle :D

The course was fairly tough one, for me. It was a circuit of about 5 kilometers and you had to run around 4 times to complete the half marathon. It consisted of 5 uphill sections and about 3 flat and downhill sections each, making it a fairly tough course. Couple of the climbs were pretty treacherous, anyway loaded with carbs throughout the day and appropriately rested to remain fresh at the start, the race started. I made a mistake on the first round itself, in that I carried a full one liter water bottle with me, long story forget that but I shouldn't have done it. That took a lot out of me. In my practice runs I had usually covered the first 5kms in about 26 to 28 minutes and so while I was expecting to cover the first round in 28 minutes or so, this time round it took me nearly 32 minutes. I finally chucked the bottle and from then on the second round roughly took me another 32 minutes, the third round about 34 minutes and the fourth round about 37 minutes.

The fourth round, what can I say, "I" missed it! ;-)
My mind was there, my body was there but "I" wasn't! Those two kept arguing about they should stop and walk, no they shouldn't but in any case I was somewhere else. Don't know where, somewhere floating around I guess. So during the last round the mind kept winning and the body tagged along like that faithful Pug dog in that Hutch ad for quite a while but at the steepest climb of the course the mind finally relented to the body's demand to walk that section. But at the top of that climb as soon as the mind saw someone overtake them, the mind booted the body in the behind and they were both up and running. They immediately overtook the overtaker and from there on they ran all the way to the finish line including the last uphill finish. Thanks guys!!!

How do you ensure that your US consulate visa interview lasts only about a minute? Make sure that the person interviewing you is an ex-employee of your company! Well that's what happened to me. The guy was an ex-Intel guy working for foreign services now, I guess. We joked around a little about what acronym addicts we are before he added "You'll get your visa in a couple of days" and that was that! ;-)

Parkour

Have you seen the latest 007 movie, Casino Royale? No? Then first go down to the end of the post and click on the Casino Royale movie link and watch the initial 5 minute chase clipping. Ok now if you have seen the movie then you probably remember the chase right at the beginning of the movie. In this sequence Bond is chasing some bomb maker type of suspect through a building construction site having those typical tall cranes and heavy machinery. Bond chases the suspect at full speed and they both jump around like crazy from heights and through holes so small that it almost seems impossible. Well that is Parkour or free running. And the black guy Bond is chasing is Sébastien Foucan, one of the founders of free running/Parkour.

Parkour (l'art du déplacement) is defined as the aim to move from point A to point B as efficiently as possible, using the abilities of your human body to the limit. Also known as Free Running, it is doesn't need an obstacle course, an arena or any specialized equipment as such, it is basically meant to be done in your surrounding environment, where you live, work, play, etc. In articles it is not recognized as a sport but more of an art which combines martial arts, gymnastics and self defense. The idea is to use dexterity and physical strength of your body to efficiently escape or simply get from point A to point B. It could be done while climbing down stairs or just while going somewhere.

I recently saw a feature on Parkour on Nation Geographic and man did it look exciting. The techniques, the roll after the jump, the balancing, etc, looked extremely exciting. I like running and this, on the face of it, just seemed like a new way of running. But obviously Parkour is extremely tough and requires super strong upper bodies to pull yourself up from any hanging or inclined position and powerful legs so that you have balance after jumping and even in awkward positions. Strong abdominal muscles are probably key too with all the twisting and bending. Finally, agility and flexibility are definitely required. So roughly speaking it requires a super fit and super flexible body…ha! :-)

In many cases effective Parkour techniques depend upon rapid redistribution of body weight and by utilizing momentum to perform seemingly impossible or difficult body maneuvers. Absorption and redistribution of energy is also an important factor. Example, the body rolls when landing which reduces impact forces on the legs and spinal column, allowing a jump from greater heights than those often considered sensible...

Search for Parkour on YouTube, it has a ton of videos showing amazing maneuvers and tricks from all round the world…
Casino Royale sequence
Parkour – Wiki
Parkour/Free Running video

Hey! Did they just show some cricket?

Steve Waugh watched some of the world cup matches in India and looks like we left an impression on him. Here is what he had to say "[The telecast] is annoying, ridiculous and an insult to the game to see an advertisement being squeezed in just because the bowler has not reached the top of his run-up. The telecast in India is unwatchable." Luckily he was watching from some bar so he probably didn't catch the commentary by some of the 'greats'.

Anyway, I can't agree more with Iceman. I am sure he used his famous 'Iceman' skills to survive the telecast because it was just so hard to watch a match this world cup without flinging the choicest of abuses at everyone involved in the coverage.

The telecast was laughable, if something happened on the last ball of the over like a four or an lbw appeal then kiss goodbye to the replay. Before you could say "howzzat!" or "wow!" the ads would have started and you would be left wondering "wha? how? huh?" And suppose if the telecast got back from the ads and the bowler was still in the process, with his captain, in setting the field then bang! You were back to watching some of same ads all over again. Also I just hated the ads that occupied the bottom portion of the screen destroying the scale/aspect ratio of the cricket portion of the screen. The coverage was very disrespectful towards cricket and the people watching it. I hope Set Max never ever gets to telecast any more cricket and am just waiting for ESPN/Star Sports to telecast some matches...

I really like the way how ads with cricketers have disappeared off the TV these days. Only poor Irfan Pathan's that Indian Oil ad keeps coming.
BTW the Appy fizz ad where the Parsi family is watching cricket with Appy Fizz is pretty hilarious. The Parsi lady shouts "money grows on trees or what", a really stinging poke at the other sponsors and companies that spent bundles of money on the Indian team and on this world cup. Watch it here: Appy Fizz Ad

UEFA Champions League

Liverpool and AC Milan despite losing the first leg of their respective semi final matches came up with much better performances to win their second leg matches and make it through to the finals. The match up of Liverpool and Milan in the finals, which is the repeat of the 2005 finals, is the best I could have hoped for. In 2005 Liverpool beat AC Milan in penalties, this time I want and also think AC Milan to and will win. You have to look at Milan's matches with Manchester United to see why...

Liverpool had lost 0-1 to Chelsea in the first leg but won the 2nd leg 1-0. Being tied at an aggregate score of 1-1 the teams headed for penalties where Liverpool's goalkeeper pulled off two magnificent saves. He guessed right twice and saved two low and hard drives to send Liverpool into the finals. I saw the first leg and Chelsea looked better and I felt Chelsea would win the second leg too. But, I missed the second leg, from the reports I read Chelsea played with a very bad defensive strategy. They thought they would sit on the one goal lead but Liverpool made them pay. From the highlights Liverpool did look as the better team.

Now in the other semi final match up, AC Milan in the first leg, despite a stunning performance by Kaká had lost 2-3 to Manchester United. Dida, Milan's goalkeeper, had a very poor performance where he committed two bad mistakes that had resulted in goals. Dida's performance was so frustrating that one Milan fan had put Dida up on sale on eBay and just before eBay pulled out the auction item the best bid for the goalkeeper was just 96$s! Dida's second mistake was in the 91st minute deep in extra time that resulted in Milan going into the second leg down 2-3.
In the second leg Milan just outclassed ManU, winning 3-0 and thus going through on aggregate 5-3. I saw both the matches and ManU was a shadow of its own self in the second leg. They gave the ball away 21 times and C. Ronaldo was responsible for many of those. Kaká and Seedorf executed a perfect script to embarrass ManU. Milan used the home field advantage thoroughly, the San Siro crowd cheering every Kaká move and jeering every C. Ronaldo slip up.
Here is what one report had to say “Certainly, C Ronaldo owes his manager a performance after last night, so too Wayne Rooney, both of whom only needed to look to Kaká and Clarence Seedorf to know how true winners respond.”

During the first leg the commentators had gotten into an argument about who is better Kaká or C. Ronaldo. And obviously one English commentator picked C. Ronaldo and went on and on about his pace and brilliance. But the two matches showed how people should not even be mentioning C. Ronaldo along with Kaká. Kaká scored 3 goals in the two matches and two of them in the first leg were just his own sheer brilliance. C. Ronaldo had so much possession and took so many free kicks all amounting to nothing. But anytime Kaká had possession he was breathtakingly fluid with sublime control. He created opportunities all round and just ripped the ManU midfield and defense. After these two matches there is no doubt in my mind who I consider to be currently the best footballer in the world.

Highlights from the the first leg of the Milan vs ManU match, just keep your eyes on Kaká:

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The Democratic party controlled House of Representatives in the US today passed the Iraq pullout bill. Obviously Bush has threatened to veto this bill as soon as he gets it and now the house and the president are headed for a showdown. The house just like the rest of the country is totally polarized. The republicans and conservatives are still adamant about the war.
The civil war in Iraq is beyond the US armed forces and the troops are hopelessly caught in the middle. The US is now erecting a wall to divide the people of someone else's country. Read this story: Building a wall in Baghdad instead of policy in Iraq

This just indicates how Bush and his folks have no idea what they are doing in Iraq. The justifications for this war have changed year to year ever since it started and all of them have been artificially manufactured. Being an outside observer I hope this bill passes because this US occupation in Iraq right from day one has been nothing but stupidity commited to cover up for some totally different failure.

These were some of the pro-pullout comments in the debate in the house...
"Our troops are mired in a civil war with no clear enemy and no clear strategy for success," said House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer.
"How many more terrorists will President Bush's foreign policy breed before he focuses a new strategy, a real strategy? This bill says enough is enough."
"He was wrong then. And he's wrong now. It's the will of one nation versus the stubbornness of one man."

Now the other side. I am just surprised people are saying these senseless things. Politicians are the same everywhere man. So power hungry that they'll join any two sentences with no logical connection just to defend their claim.
"[By pulling out] We will embolden our enemies and it's our kids and their kids who will pay a very, very steep price,"
Can't even comment on this. Makes no sense...
"We have a solemn obligation to the American people to finish the job we started."
The job was wrong to begin with and is still wrong to date. What obligation, do they even remember what it was originally after the Sept 11 attacks?
"Al-Qaida will view this as the day the House of Representatives threw in the towel,"
This is just some bravado...

Some articles covering the bill:

U.S. House approves Iraq pullout date, despite likely veto
House OKs Iraq Pullout

Blue Mountains...

Visited the Nilgiri mountain ranges a couple of weeks back, this area is really ‘wild’ with the Mudumalai and Bandipur national forests at the base of these mountains. But in terms of wildlife the trip was fairly disappointing because the national forests were closed due to the danger of forest fires.

It was really dry all around. Check out how parched everything was…


Also in terms of trekking/hiking it was disappointing because we could do neither. But among the good things on this trip, one good thing was the weather on the mountains. Once you made your way up the mountains crisp cool breeze, clear skies and fresh air greeted you.
Oh by the way the drive up the mountains was extremely picturesque and challenging. The Zen performed beautifully, compared to some of the other bigger cars that kept getting into trouble on the steep climbs. The car was in first or second gear almost throughout, same thing coming down. The beauty around made it tough for me to keep my eyes on those 30 odd hair pin bends. My rubbernecking (rubberneck: To look about or survey with unsophisticated wonderment or curiosity) definitely gave some heartburn to the co-passengers, whose brunt I soon faced ;-)
Anyway once on top, taking all that fresh air in at the higher altitudes, you felt really rejuvenated. At night you could see about a gazillion stars in the sky. Spectacular show, it was...

Two incidents that happened were, one, seeing two porcupines darting across our jeep headlights in the middle of the night. I thought they were chickens but then I saw the spikes! Beautiful spikes with white streaks! These two porcupines looked as if they had just raided some food store in the middle of the night and were scooting away with the loot atop their heads.
The second incident was going to an animal watering hole in the middle of the night and just waiting...waiting in pitch dark, in silence. I had read somewhere that when one of our senses is deprived then the brain compensates by making the others more sensitive. This was definitely the case as we couldn't see much at all but our hearing was working overtime. There were 3 or 4 owls in the area each hooting away to glory in their own tone and rhythm. And then suddenly there was a small growl followed by a rustle and a soft sound of water trickling. It came from the opposite bank, just once, but we couldn’t spot anything or make anything out…

Here is the panoramic shot of the valley…