Rain! Rain!

In the past few days we, here in Bangalore, have had weather which has been quite unusual for the month of March. Due to a depression in the Bay of Bengal we have been getting thunder storms. See below, the sky changed colours so fast before it opened up and the deluge came...

6:19PM


6:29PM


6:37PM

Back in Black!

It's been exactly 3 months of idleness...so to start off again, first, a new template...

Then...that's it there is nothing else ;-)
Well, not really...there have been the usual splurge of movie watching (BTW, all the movies from the Oscars this time are great, have liked them all), then there have been the treks (Kumaraparvath in a day while having fever and a bad stomach, couldn't have done it without S & D tho!), then the running goes on (apart from that crazy back pull at the end of a 3 week travel which kept me away from running for about 4 weeks) and then there is the, you know, drinking. Does that sound too drunkard? ;-) So the regular things have been, you know, regular!

Recently went to this really nice Chinese and Thai, basically oriental food, restaurant called Shiok. I had heard about the owner and chef from another friend's blog, so as soon as we saw the guy who runs the place, Madhu 'Madman', I introduced myself we talked for about 5 minutes. One statement by him stood out. "People think running a restaurant is all glamorous and fun, it is not!". He spoke about how much corruption drains the money from the business and it is really difficult to run a restaurant if you want to run it right. Madhu is friends with Manjit who runs another nice restaurant called "Herbs and Spice". Both Madhu and Manjit seem to put in a lot of hard work and run their places with a lot of passion. I personally like both the restaurants and feel both the places are getting it right. Hope they stay around for a long time...

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