Its 2:05 pm, PST on a very very rainy day. I am sitting at San Fransisco Airport, waiting for the boarding call for my flight back to Santa Barbara. I woke up at 5am this morning to catch my flight at 630 out of Portland (OR) Int't airport and made it into SFO on time by 8:10. I was scheduled to be on the 8:55am flight out to SB, which was cancelled and then the subsequent flight to SB has been delayed over and over and over again... I just heard the announcer say some like ".. Attention Santa Barbara passengers... you're flight is here and is CIRCLING THE AIRPORT..."
ROCK ON UNITED AIRLINES!!!!
Thanks to tmobile's wireless broadband service at SFO, I have enough time to ponder about the various things I have been neglecting (this blog) for some time now.
Thanks to everyone who read my blog and encouraged me to get back to being regular again... :)
-AM
Friday, December 30, 2005
Sunday, June 12, 2005
A time to rest....
Phew.... I finally have a weekend of rest at home after almost 4 weeks/ weekends on non stop activity! So, what have I been upto? A WHOLE bunch of things. And thats my excuse for not being able to post anything new here for a month. So, to make up for that I plan to make the next two/ three posts about my "weekend adventures". Also, I plan to re-track the dates on the next three posts, so they will show up as earlier posts (May, 05)
Sunday, May 22, 2005
Hearst Castle
I spent this weekend (or atleast the whole of Sunday) visiting "Hearst Castle" . This was a very different and interesting experience, in comparison with the various places I have visited in the (nearly) 3 years that I have lived in the US/ California.
If you have some idea of the Geography of the United States, you probably know that Santa Barbara (the place I live at) is kinda in the central cost of California, about 100 miles N or Los Angeles. With that as a reference, Hearst Castle is located at a place called "San Simeon" about 150 miles N of SB, beyond San Luis Obispo.
Hearst castle was built by William Randolph Hearst , an extremely wealthy business tycoon in the publishing business. Hearst had a passion for collecting antiques and art from around the world (primarily Europe), which he developed while on a tour of Europe, as a kid, with his mother.
The tour of Hearst Castle is very well organized. The castle is located on a mountain and visitors drive to the base and park at the tourist center. Buses, drive tourists up a very scenic drive with beautiful views of the pacific ocean. The castle itself is so huge that there are about 4-5 different tours that visitors can choose from, each of which show about 20-25% of the whole castle.
The drive to Hearst Castle from Santa Barbara (or LA) is very beautiful too. The first 100 miles till San Luis Obispo are covered on the US-101 and the last 50 miles take you on a drive on the famout CA-1 (or better known as the Pacific Coast Highway or PCH). Its a drive just along the pacific ocean, with Vista points (points where you can pull over and enjoy the views before moving on) all along. Some of the cool places to look out for along the way include the famous "Morro Bay Big Rock" , which is this huge rock sticking out in the middle of the ocean, and the extremely beautiful pismo beach with its characteristicly long pier, extending into the ocean.
If you have some idea of the Geography of the United States, you probably know that Santa Barbara (the place I live at) is kinda in the central cost of California, about 100 miles N or Los Angeles. With that as a reference, Hearst Castle is located at a place called "San Simeon" about 150 miles N of SB, beyond San Luis Obispo.
Hearst castle was built by William Randolph Hearst , an extremely wealthy business tycoon in the publishing business. Hearst had a passion for collecting antiques and art from around the world (primarily Europe), which he developed while on a tour of Europe, as a kid, with his mother.
The tour of Hearst Castle is very well organized. The castle is located on a mountain and visitors drive to the base and park at the tourist center. Buses, drive tourists up a very scenic drive with beautiful views of the pacific ocean. The castle itself is so huge that there are about 4-5 different tours that visitors can choose from, each of which show about 20-25% of the whole castle.
The drive to Hearst Castle from Santa Barbara (or LA) is very beautiful too. The first 100 miles till San Luis Obispo are covered on the US-101 and the last 50 miles take you on a drive on the famout CA-1 (or better known as the Pacific Coast Highway or PCH). Its a drive just along the pacific ocean, with Vista points (points where you can pull over and enjoy the views before moving on) all along. Some of the cool places to look out for along the way include the famous "Morro Bay Big Rock" , which is this huge rock sticking out in the middle of the ocean, and the extremely beautiful pismo beach with its characteristicly long pier, extending into the ocean.
Monday, May 09, 2005
Crowdifornia...
Driving home from work this evening, I couldnt help take notice of a sticker on the back of a car stopped in front of me at a red signal. The sticker read:
I don't know if it was the fact that I've always held a strong belief that California, is the most beautiful state of "sunshine throughout the year", and the "L" in the Land of opportunities, if you will (and if you consider the US that, even now that is ;-) ).... or it was the simple reason that I cant get my mind off a catchy phrase or some creative writing when I see one, but I just had to type the words into google, while I caught up with my nightly surfing for the day.
So, it is interesting to note that California does have a serious population explosion problem. So much so, that this website reports the following statistics:
Quick Fact
California's population increased by 539,000 last year to total over 36.8 million. California's growth rate is higher than that of India.
(Sources: California Department of Finance, United Nations Population Division)
Some stuff to ponder about I guess.... so ponder away to glory :P
I don't know if it was the fact that I've always held a strong belief that California, is the most beautiful state of "sunshine throughout the year", and the "L" in the Land of opportunities, if you will (and if you consider the US that, even now that is ;-) ).... or it was the simple reason that I cant get my mind off a catchy phrase or some creative writing when I see one, but I just had to type the words into google, while I caught up with my nightly surfing for the day.
So, it is interesting to note that California does have a serious population explosion problem. So much so, that this website reports the following statistics:
Quick Fact
California's population increased by 539,000 last year to total over 36.8 million. California's growth rate is higher than that of India.
(Sources: California Department of Finance, United Nations Population Division)
Some stuff to ponder about I guess.... so ponder away to glory :P
Sunday, May 08, 2005
From skates to blades!
Its been a while since I scribbled away to glory.... 22 days to be precise, the longest I have gone without posting anything since I started this blog. Well, its been a pretty hectic few weeks with "product releases" and "deadlines" all over the place so I haven't had much time for anything besides the basic routine stuff and, more importantly, I havent been "observing" stuff (remember my blogs "mission statement" ? :P)
Hmm... well... its the end of the weekend and in keeping with my resolution to try my hand at something new from time to time, I decided to take a shot at ROLLER BLADING yesterday. I used to be a pretty avid roller skater when I was in high school (6th grade tp 10th grade to be precise). I am not sure if I gave it up because roller blading in India (thats where I spent the first 22 years of my life) has always been considered a kids hobby/ sport or because I simply got bored of it. Anyways, its been on my mind for a while to try out this distant cousin of the roller skate ;-). For those of you who are wondering what the difference is, essentially, they both have 4 wheels on each leg but in skates, the wheels are arranged in 2 parallel rows while blades have em all in one single row (kinda like ice skating)
So, before I knew it I and a buddy had spent almost 2 hours roller blading and covered nearly 10 miles on the beautiful Santa Barbara beach. And I enjoyed it so much that I decided to get myself my own pair of blades (I had rented blades for todays "trial run"). The best part was that I didn't suck at it as much as I thought I would. The only part that I thought was a little tricky (and that people had warned me about) was "braking". And this is one important difference between blades and skates - while traditional skates have brakes in the front, and on both legs, in roller blades there is only one brake provided on the rear end of the right leg. I haven't really gotten the hang of braking yet, but I realized that if you look ahead and adjust speed accordingly, you seldom need to use the break. But, I do plan to research into finding the right way!
Hmm... well... its the end of the weekend and in keeping with my resolution to try my hand at something new from time to time, I decided to take a shot at ROLLER BLADING yesterday. I used to be a pretty avid roller skater when I was in high school (6th grade tp 10th grade to be precise). I am not sure if I gave it up because roller blading in India (thats where I spent the first 22 years of my life) has always been considered a kids hobby/ sport or because I simply got bored of it. Anyways, its been on my mind for a while to try out this distant cousin of the roller skate ;-). For those of you who are wondering what the difference is, essentially, they both have 4 wheels on each leg but in skates, the wheels are arranged in 2 parallel rows while blades have em all in one single row (kinda like ice skating)
So, before I knew it I and a buddy had spent almost 2 hours roller blading and covered nearly 10 miles on the beautiful Santa Barbara beach. And I enjoyed it so much that I decided to get myself my own pair of blades (I had rented blades for todays "trial run"). The best part was that I didn't suck at it as much as I thought I would. The only part that I thought was a little tricky (and that people had warned me about) was "braking". And this is one important difference between blades and skates - while traditional skates have brakes in the front, and on both legs, in roller blades there is only one brake provided on the rear end of the right leg. I haven't really gotten the hang of braking yet, but I realized that if you look ahead and adjust speed accordingly, you seldom need to use the break. But, I do plan to research into finding the right way!
Saturday, April 16, 2005
The Coolest Comment to my Blog Posts so far!!!
I thought this was the coolest comment to any of my posts so far. The comment comes from an "Anonymous Reader" and in response to my post titled "My Idea for a source of Energy" . S/he has an alias name of "ask me about it" and I thought I wouldn't be doing it enough justice if I didn't post the comment as a separate blog. So, here it is:
Ask me about it. said...
Energy can be classified into two types.. energy that can be "stored/transmitted/used else where" and energy that can be "used where it is produced". For the stored/transmitted/ used else where type of energy a good source is justified based on three aspects... reliability, cost and environmental impact. It might be interesting to note that environmental impact and reliability rank as the best parameters besides cost (although reliability and environmental impact can also contribute to costs as maintainance and remediation issues) in comparing the various energy sources. So unless you have a gym where bikes are running non-stop(with bonded labour from some asian / african nation i presume....) this is not a viable option for reliability purposes (assuming energy is transmitted for use as it is generated). For purposes of storing energy and then using it elsewhere the accepted method is converting mechanical energy to electrical energy and storing this in chemical storage devices or electrical storage devices (devices like flywheel type energy storage where inertial energy is stored are also available). For storing in these type of devices the obvious problem is storing enough energy before you can remove the storage device and use it else where... if you generate very small amounts (like those that you would generate during ur two hour work out) the losses are significant as compared to the generated energy. Again you would need a dedicated workforce to generate enough storage energy. (a good question to ask would be where do we see people exerting energy solely for the sake of spending it.. like they do in a gym) To talk of the obvious, dynamo installed on the cycles (remember HERO cycles??) is an application of "use where you produce" type of energy. Hope I didnt bore you.. nice blog though.
3:42 PM
Ask me about it. said...
Energy can be classified into two types.. energy that can be "stored/transmitted/used else where" and energy that can be "used where it is produced". For the stored/transmitted/ used else where type of energy a good source is justified based on three aspects... reliability, cost and environmental impact. It might be interesting to note that environmental impact and reliability rank as the best parameters besides cost (although reliability and environmental impact can also contribute to costs as maintainance and remediation issues) in comparing the various energy sources. So unless you have a gym where bikes are running non-stop(with bonded labour from some asian / african nation i presume....) this is not a viable option for reliability purposes (assuming energy is transmitted for use as it is generated). For purposes of storing energy and then using it elsewhere the accepted method is converting mechanical energy to electrical energy and storing this in chemical storage devices or electrical storage devices (devices like flywheel type energy storage where inertial energy is stored are also available). For storing in these type of devices the obvious problem is storing enough energy before you can remove the storage device and use it else where... if you generate very small amounts (like those that you would generate during ur two hour work out) the losses are significant as compared to the generated energy. Again you would need a dedicated workforce to generate enough storage energy. (a good question to ask would be where do we see people exerting energy solely for the sake of spending it.. like they do in a gym) To talk of the obvious, dynamo installed on the cycles (remember HERO cycles??) is an application of "use where you produce" type of energy. Hope I didnt bore you.. nice blog though.
3:42 PM
Thursday, April 14, 2005
The DOT COM Start - Up Worthy Idea...
Alright, first of all my apologies for not being able to do this yesterday! I was a little surprised I got just ONE caustic comment to my last post :P
Anyways, without further do, here it is. The idea that came up during a conversation with my brother is, to develop a search engine that would take in a zip code (and possibly a given mile radius) as input and return a list of gas stations in that area.
What use would that be? Well... here's the real deal. The search engine would have to organize the gas stations is ascending order of gas prices on that particular day!!! Some add-ons could include providing the user with the option of ordering the results either by gas price or by distance from the source zip.
So.... now for the ground work.... WHAT's IT GONNA TAKE? Hmmm... off of my head, I can think of a few scenarios:
1. Have people drive around gas stations on a daily basis and send back information to a central database. Simple, but not the most economical and certainly not scalable.
2. Have a "tie-up" with gas stations (thinking on the lines of mobile phone manufacturers tieing up with service providers) and have them send information to your database. Slightly better and more scalable.
3. (This assumes the existance of networkable databases in gas station systems) Have automated programs (WEB SERVICES, SOAP, XML, WSDL, if you will) extract information from the gas station databases and feed them to yours. Very scalable but, a wee-bit far fetched in its assumptions!
Cool.... I'm out for now, but this thing is gonna sit in my head for SOMEtime :-) Other inputs/ criticism appreciated!
Anyways, without further do, here it is. The idea that came up during a conversation with my brother is, to develop a search engine that would take in a zip code (and possibly a given mile radius) as input and return a list of gas stations in that area.
What use would that be? Well... here's the real deal. The search engine would have to organize the gas stations is ascending order of gas prices on that particular day!!! Some add-ons could include providing the user with the option of ordering the results either by gas price or by distance from the source zip.
So.... now for the ground work.... WHAT's IT GONNA TAKE? Hmmm... off of my head, I can think of a few scenarios:
1. Have people drive around gas stations on a daily basis and send back information to a central database. Simple, but not the most economical and certainly not scalable.
2. Have a "tie-up" with gas stations (thinking on the lines of mobile phone manufacturers tieing up with service providers) and have them send information to your database. Slightly better and more scalable.
3. (This assumes the existance of networkable databases in gas station systems) Have automated programs (WEB SERVICES, SOAP, XML, WSDL, if you will) extract information from the gas station databases and feed them to yours. Very scalable but, a wee-bit far fetched in its assumptions!
Cool.... I'm out for now, but this thing is gonna sit in my head for SOMEtime :-) Other inputs/ criticism appreciated!
Wednesday, April 13, 2005
Idea for a Search Engine Start-up!!!
If you are reading this, the title of this blog has done its job well in getting you excited! Well... come to think of it, it wasnt too hard, because in today's world the words web, search engine, google, yahoo... are an instant eye catcher.
So, whats all my fuss about? Rest assured it isn't just to get you to click on my blog post. If you have been reading (or atleasting looking at) my blog now and then, you must have observed that my last post sprung out of my frustration over the ever-rising gas prices. As a Civic owner I am way better off than the sports coupe folks or SUV fans, but still, a national average of $2.15/ Gallon, does pinch!!
Speaking of gas prices, brings to mind a conversation I had with my brother a few days ago. We were comparing gas prices between Santa Barbara and Portland (OR) and we quickly realized that the rest of the nation had made bigger (in comparison to CA) strides over the last couple of months. To put things in perspective, last November ('04), when I visited Portland I noticed my brother could get gas for as low as $1.90/ Gallon. It was unbelievable, for a moment I though the prices actually went down that day. I was eager to find out, and I did as soon as I got out of SB airport, only to see the same old... $2.45/ Gallon. And now, SB stands at around $2.60/ Gallon, while Portland is at $2.45.... see what I am saying??
Well... it might sound like I am contradicting what I said earlier, but I have had my writing dose for the day and I am kinda sleepy, so I think I am gonna write about my "Start-Up" Idea tomorrow ;-) ... please be gentle on the comments :P
So, whats all my fuss about? Rest assured it isn't just to get you to click on my blog post. If you have been reading (or atleasting looking at) my blog now and then, you must have observed that my last post sprung out of my frustration over the ever-rising gas prices. As a Civic owner I am way better off than the sports coupe folks or SUV fans, but still, a national average of $2.15/ Gallon, does pinch!!
Speaking of gas prices, brings to mind a conversation I had with my brother a few days ago. We were comparing gas prices between Santa Barbara and Portland (OR) and we quickly realized that the rest of the nation had made bigger (in comparison to CA) strides over the last couple of months. To put things in perspective, last November ('04), when I visited Portland I noticed my brother could get gas for as low as $1.90/ Gallon. It was unbelievable, for a moment I though the prices actually went down that day. I was eager to find out, and I did as soon as I got out of SB airport, only to see the same old... $2.45/ Gallon. And now, SB stands at around $2.60/ Gallon, while Portland is at $2.45.... see what I am saying??
Well... it might sound like I am contradicting what I said earlier, but I have had my writing dose for the day and I am kinda sleepy, so I think I am gonna write about my "Start-Up" Idea tomorrow ;-) ... please be gentle on the comments :P
Sunday, April 10, 2005
My Idea for a source of energy
Gas prices in the US seem to be on a steady climb nowadays. Buying a hybrid vehicle seems to be the best way to go in the present times. Thinking of this makes me realize the significance of all the research that goes into finding new and alternative sources of energy. The list of alternative sources of energy that are actually being harvested at the moment includes, Hydroelectric, Solar, Tidal, Geothermal, Wind, Biomass and Biogas.
I came up with a workable idea for a new source of electric power. It is not novel in the way power is generated, but it is in novel in the part of the available energy (remember the universal law of energy transformation?) it converts to electrical energy. It all started with me fogeting to carry my Audio Player to the gym. Since, I didn't have any music to listen to while I biked, I got thinking....!!
If you have ever been to a gym, you have probably observed that all the cardio exercise machines, except the treadmills, do not require external power for their operation (if you discount the LED diplays). So, I wonder if it might be posible to use all the human energy that gets expended on the bikes, the elliptical machines and the stepping machines to power the treadmills, and possibly some more?
I came up with a workable idea for a new source of electric power. It is not novel in the way power is generated, but it is in novel in the part of the available energy (remember the universal law of energy transformation?) it converts to electrical energy. It all started with me fogeting to carry my Audio Player to the gym. Since, I didn't have any music to listen to while I biked, I got thinking....!!
If you have ever been to a gym, you have probably observed that all the cardio exercise machines, except the treadmills, do not require external power for their operation (if you discount the LED diplays). So, I wonder if it might be posible to use all the human energy that gets expended on the bikes, the elliptical machines and the stepping machines to power the treadmills, and possibly some more?
Friday, April 08, 2005
MS Walk/ Run
I plan to spend most part of tomorrow, participating in an event to raise funds for Multiple Sclerosis (MS) research. :
Feet 2 Beat MS
Apart from the monetary contribution, I will also be a part of my company's team, and I am hoping to complete a 10 Kilometer run :-)
Wish me luck!
MS is thought to be an autoimmune disease that affects the central nervous system (CNS). The CNS consists of the brain, spinal cord, and the optic nerves. Surrounding and protecting the nerve fibers of the CNS is a fatty tissue called myelin, which helps nerve fibers conduct electrical impulses.
In MS, myelin is lost in multiple areas, leaving scar tissue called sclerosis. These damaged areas are also known as plaques or lesions. Sometimes the nerve fiber itself is damaged or broken.
Myelin not only protects nerve fibers, but makes their job possible. When myelin or the nerve fiber is destroyed or damaged, the ability of the nerves to conduct electrical impulses to and from the brain is disrupted, and this produces the various symptoms of MS.
Feet 2 Beat MS
Apart from the monetary contribution, I will also be a part of my company's team, and I am hoping to complete a 10 Kilometer run :-)
Wish me luck!
MS is thought to be an autoimmune disease that affects the central nervous system (CNS). The CNS consists of the brain, spinal cord, and the optic nerves. Surrounding and protecting the nerve fibers of the CNS is a fatty tissue called myelin, which helps nerve fibers conduct electrical impulses.
In MS, myelin is lost in multiple areas, leaving scar tissue called sclerosis. These damaged areas are also known as plaques or lesions. Sometimes the nerve fiber itself is damaged or broken.
Myelin not only protects nerve fibers, but makes their job possible. When myelin or the nerve fiber is destroyed or damaged, the ability of the nerves to conduct electrical impulses to and from the brain is disrupted, and this produces the various symptoms of MS.
Sunday, April 03, 2005
Conquered Montecito Peak
Today me and my Hiking Buddies hiked up to the top of Montecito Peak which, I think, is one of the highest peaks in the Santa Barbara area and also one of the toughest hikes. It was a 9 mile round trip hike and took us about 2.5 hrs to get up and about 1.5 to get down. When we reached the top, we found this book with entries by hikers who have managed to make it to the peak. We flipped through it and found entries as old as 1994 (there may have been older, but this was the oldest we caught at a glance). Here is one that I thought was cute enough to take a picture of, seems like a little kid who hiked up the trail with her dad:
A Cute Entry that caught our eye !
And of course we were sure enough to leave our mark...
Our Entry in the Hiker's Log !
A Cute Entry that caught our eye !
And of course we were sure enough to leave our mark...
Our Entry in the Hiker's Log !
Monday, March 28, 2005
Why the K??
This rather wierd and curious question just hit me a few mins ago... while watching the daily news on KCAL 9. Why do all the news channels in CA have their names starting with "K"?? I tried googling on this but couldnt get anything.... the only sensible explanation that comes to mind is, they wanted to use "C" for California, but that must have been used by some other state..... any comments??
Sunday, March 27, 2005
Tuesday, March 22, 2005
We actually thought of this...
I came accross this article about Samsung's new innovative ideas for their next generation mobile phones... when it hit me that I had actually thought of something similar a few months ago. Sometime ago I was chatting with a friend on the phone when she said that she really wished there was some way people could pinch or slap each other on the phone and what ensued was a discussion about the possible ways in which this can be done.... and I cant believe we actually came up with a marketable idea:
Soon, Mobile Phones will feel emotions
Soon, Mobile Phones will feel emotions
Sunday, March 13, 2005
Trade-offs Everywhere in Life..
If you observe closely enough, you will find that there are tradeoffs in virtually everything in life. Almost every design, task, action or decision can be executed in more than one way and changing one parameter always affects the others and ultimately a tradeoff has to be made to suit our requirements/ expectations from the task, at that moment. And even more interesting is the fact that the trade-offs we make for a given task can change even if the task doesnt change... but the time is different.
I just got back from a 4 hour hike a few hours ago and I discovered yet another tradeoff... The weather today was cloudy.... there was no sun visible directly and there was also a very slight drizzle. It seemed like perfect hiking weather to me.... no sun, no sweat.... meaning far less exhaustion and more hiking for the same effort. But as always there was a tradeoff... I realized this when I reached the peak... all I could see below was a white sheet :-(
See what I am saying?
I just got back from a 4 hour hike a few hours ago and I discovered yet another tradeoff... The weather today was cloudy.... there was no sun visible directly and there was also a very slight drizzle. It seemed like perfect hiking weather to me.... no sun, no sweat.... meaning far less exhaustion and more hiking for the same effort. But as always there was a tradeoff... I realized this when I reached the peak... all I could see below was a white sheet :-(
See what I am saying?
Monday, March 07, 2005
Friday, March 04, 2005
Understanding the problem is half the solution
Today was a pretty hectic day.... I have been trying to fix this issue for quite some time now and for some reason although, I was making good progress, there was this inkling feeling that I am not going the right way. At one point I decided I was going to put aside what I have done so far and attempt the problem afresh. So, I saved what I had done and began to go around cubicles, asking folks what they thought of it. At the end of the day I realized that I had been trying to solve a much bigger problem than I actually had to. I spent the last hour at work trying to chalk out a clear plan of action to solving this new/ smaller problem... and now I can't wait to get back to work on Monday... :-).... isn't it true... that many times in life... "Understanding what the problem is, is half the solution".
Thursday, March 03, 2005
On a Day Like Today...
I was just listening to this song and for some reason I feel I can kinda relate to it!
If you are also one of those who's life keeps changing faster than they can think... you might like this one:
Singer: Bryan Adams
Album: On a Day Like Today (1998)
Song : On a Day Like Today
Lyrics:
Free is all you gotta be
Dream dreams no one else can see
Sometimes ya wanna run away
But ya never know what might be comin’ round your way ya
Ya ya
On a day like today
The whole world could change
The sun’s gonna shine
Shine thru the rain
On a day like today
Ya never wanna see the sun go down
Ya never wanna see the sun go down
Somewhere - there’s a place for you
I know that you believe it too
Sometimes if you wanna get away
All ya gotta know is what we got is here to stay
All the way
On a day like today - the whole world could change
The sun’s gonna shine - shine thru the rain
On a day like today - no one complains
Free to be pure - free to be sane
On a day like today
Ya never wanna see the sun go down
Ya never wanna see the sun go down
Free is all we gotta be
Dream dreams no one else can see
But ya never know what might be comin’ for you and me ya
It’s gonna be
On a day like today...
If you are also one of those who's life keeps changing faster than they can think... you might like this one:
Singer: Bryan Adams
Album: On a Day Like Today (1998)
Song : On a Day Like Today
Lyrics:
Free is all you gotta be
Dream dreams no one else can see
Sometimes ya wanna run away
But ya never know what might be comin’ round your way ya
Ya ya
On a day like today
The whole world could change
The sun’s gonna shine
Shine thru the rain
On a day like today
Ya never wanna see the sun go down
Ya never wanna see the sun go down
Somewhere - there’s a place for you
I know that you believe it too
Sometimes if you wanna get away
All ya gotta know is what we got is here to stay
All the way
On a day like today - the whole world could change
The sun’s gonna shine - shine thru the rain
On a day like today - no one complains
Free to be pure - free to be sane
On a day like today
Ya never wanna see the sun go down
Ya never wanna see the sun go down
Free is all we gotta be
Dream dreams no one else can see
But ya never know what might be comin’ for you and me ya
It’s gonna be
On a day like today...
Wednesday, March 02, 2005
Life is a Marathon...
.. for the "lucky few" ;-)
... the only way for us (the "lucky few") to get through it... constantly remind yourself that "YOU never lose until YOU give up" (Courtesy, Abhishek's MSN Nick).... keep pluggin' away folks!!
... the only way for us (the "lucky few") to get through it... constantly remind yourself that "YOU never lose until YOU give up" (Courtesy, Abhishek's MSN Nick).... keep pluggin' away folks!!
Tuesday, March 01, 2005
"Marathon"
Since, we are on the topic of "running", an interesting conversation I had with my brother a while ago comes to mind. My brother is a very serious runner and probably the only "full marathon" runner I know of, personally. If you are an athletics/ sports enthusiast you probably know that, to qualify as a Marathon, a run (or race, if you will) must be 26.2 miles long. Turns out there is quite a history behind the reason why the distance is what it is and equally interesting is the origin of the word "Marathon".
The word comes from the name of the greek city, Marathon and, the reason it is 26.2 miles long is because that is roughly the distance between Marathon and Athens (both, ofcourse, greek cities). But why would the distance between these two cities be of relevance?
In 490 BC, the Greek army repelled a persian naval invasion on the plains surrounding the coastal city of Marathon. And legend has it that a runner (the only way to convey news of war or invasion at that time, was by foot messengers) was sent to Athens to relay news of the victory. Upon reaching Athens, the messenger shouted "Rejoice, we conquer" and fell to the ground, dead.
If I have you enthused enough by now and you wish to read more about this stuff, here are some interesting links:
Prologue: The Legend
(Excerpted from "Olympic Marathon", by Charlie Lovett)
FAQ's about the ancient Olympics"
Now. if you have been reading todays blog carefully enough, you may have noticed that I "italicised" the word "roughly" when I refered to the distance 26.2 miles, above. The reason is because, the distance from the Marathon battlefield to Athens is estimated at 21.4 miles. The lenght of the Marathon was not standardized initially and the first official marathon was held at the first modern Olympics in 1896. The distanced kept varying, until a distance of 42.195 Km was adopted in 1821:
Year Distance (km)
1896 40
1900 40.26
1904 40
1906 41.86
1908 42.195
1912 40.2
1920 42.75
Since
1924 42.195
The word comes from the name of the greek city, Marathon and, the reason it is 26.2 miles long is because that is roughly the distance between Marathon and Athens (both, ofcourse, greek cities). But why would the distance between these two cities be of relevance?
In 490 BC, the Greek army repelled a persian naval invasion on the plains surrounding the coastal city of Marathon. And legend has it that a runner (the only way to convey news of war or invasion at that time, was by foot messengers) was sent to Athens to relay news of the victory. Upon reaching Athens, the messenger shouted "Rejoice, we conquer" and fell to the ground, dead.
If I have you enthused enough by now and you wish to read more about this stuff, here are some interesting links:
Prologue: The Legend
(Excerpted from "Olympic Marathon", by Charlie Lovett)
FAQ's about the ancient Olympics"
Now. if you have been reading todays blog carefully enough, you may have noticed that I "italicised" the word "roughly" when I refered to the distance 26.2 miles, above. The reason is because, the distance from the Marathon battlefield to Athens is estimated at 21.4 miles. The lenght of the Marathon was not standardized initially and the first official marathon was held at the first modern Olympics in 1896. The distanced kept varying, until a distance of 42.195 Km was adopted in 1821:
Year Distance (km)
1896 40
1900 40.26
1904 40
1906 41.86
1908 42.195
1912 40.2
1920 42.75
Since
1924 42.195
Monday, February 28, 2005
Jim Fixx...
Thanks to the comments to my previous post by an Anonymous reader, I ended up discovering some interesting facts about "James M. Fixx".
Jim Fixx was a famous author credited with starting America's Fitness revolution. His 1977 bestseller, The Complete Book of Running , still in print, sold over a million copies and helped launch the "running boom" in America. Apparently, when Fixx took up running in the late 1960's he wieghed 220 lbs and by the time he completed his book he had given up smoking and was down to a 159 lbs!
But the sad and rather ironic way in which he died is probably the one that will be remembered the most. Jim died at age 52 while (of all the things) running! His autopsy revealed that one of his arteries was 99% clogged, another 80% obstructed and a third 70% blocked, resulting in a massive heart attack. His legacy still lives on... according to a survey by the USATF in 1984, the year of Fixx's death 170,000 runners finished American marathons, that figure jumped upto 400,000 in 2003.
So what does this mean to all the runners and fitness freaks out there? Does it mean that we are the same (if not better off!) being a regular couch potato? NO... research suggest that the number of people who die from heart attacks while exercising is aprox 1 in 50,000. Physicians admit that although runners are at risk during the hour or so a day that they train, particularly Marathon runners, but the reminder of the days they are at much less risk than the general population and can actually extend and improve their lifestyle. A classic study in harvard concluded that we can extend our lifespan by 2 years even with minimal exercise. Other researchers believe we may actually be able to extend our life 6-9 years through exercise and attention to diet....
Well... I am off to the gym :-) hope this motivates you enough to move your b*** too.. and thanks again to the Anonymous reader (see... thats why my blog's mission statement says "puhhhleeez do post comments"... thats my blog's dal roti ;-) )
Jim Fixx was a famous author credited with starting America's Fitness revolution. His 1977 bestseller, The Complete Book of Running , still in print, sold over a million copies and helped launch the "running boom" in America. Apparently, when Fixx took up running in the late 1960's he wieghed 220 lbs and by the time he completed his book he had given up smoking and was down to a 159 lbs!
But the sad and rather ironic way in which he died is probably the one that will be remembered the most. Jim died at age 52 while (of all the things) running! His autopsy revealed that one of his arteries was 99% clogged, another 80% obstructed and a third 70% blocked, resulting in a massive heart attack. His legacy still lives on... according to a survey by the USATF in 1984, the year of Fixx's death 170,000 runners finished American marathons, that figure jumped upto 400,000 in 2003.
So what does this mean to all the runners and fitness freaks out there? Does it mean that we are the same (if not better off!) being a regular couch potato? NO... research suggest that the number of people who die from heart attacks while exercising is aprox 1 in 50,000. Physicians admit that although runners are at risk during the hour or so a day that they train, particularly Marathon runners, but the reminder of the days they are at much less risk than the general population and can actually extend and improve their lifestyle. A classic study in harvard concluded that we can extend our lifespan by 2 years even with minimal exercise. Other researchers believe we may actually be able to extend our life 6-9 years through exercise and attention to diet....
Well... I am off to the gym :-) hope this motivates you enough to move your b*** too.. and thanks again to the Anonymous reader (see... thats why my blog's mission statement says "puhhhleeez do post comments"... thats my blog's dal roti ;-) )
Saturday, February 26, 2005
"Not Excercising is like smoking a pack of cigarettes a week"
Just read that off of a banner in my Gym today... hmm... something to ponder about... so.... ponder away :-)
Friday, February 25, 2005
Competition brings out the best in Business and services..
If you have been following my blog you probably know that I was "hoping" to get up to Mammoth Lakes this weekend. Turns out I won't be making that trip afterall because commitments at work prevent me from taking Monday off. But I did go upto the point of doing some initial ground work and planning.
One of the essential things about driving up to a ski resort ofcourse, is having a reliable vehicle and snow chains. Since we were a bunch of folks making the trip, we decided to rent a car for the weekend. A few calls to car rental agencies revealed that none of them actually provide renters with snow chains. I found this really surprising for a country where businesses thrive on cut-throat competition and that's what ultimately goes on to create the best of services for consumers. We see this "one-upmanship" attitude in almost all sorts of businesses. Like, I just saw this "Applebee's" ad on TV, that boasts of a "CARSIDE-TO-GO" (way to take the drive through concept to the next level I say) and then there are the Bank of America "Drive-through ATM's" and even the rental car agencies have the "pick-you-up-from-your-home" concept
So, the question is, why would the car rental guys let this one slip away? Is it because, its hard to find snow chains that fit multiple tyre sizes? Is it because they end up changing their fleet too often? or simply because people dont really ask them for snow chains as much? I wonder why?
One of the essential things about driving up to a ski resort ofcourse, is having a reliable vehicle and snow chains. Since we were a bunch of folks making the trip, we decided to rent a car for the weekend. A few calls to car rental agencies revealed that none of them actually provide renters with snow chains. I found this really surprising for a country where businesses thrive on cut-throat competition and that's what ultimately goes on to create the best of services for consumers. We see this "one-upmanship" attitude in almost all sorts of businesses. Like, I just saw this "Applebee's" ad on TV, that boasts of a "CARSIDE-TO-GO" (way to take the drive through concept to the next level I say) and then there are the Bank of America "Drive-through ATM's" and even the rental car agencies have the "pick-you-up-from-your-home" concept
So, the question is, why would the car rental guys let this one slip away? Is it because, its hard to find snow chains that fit multiple tyre sizes? Is it because they end up changing their fleet too often? or simply because people dont really ask them for snow chains as much? I wonder why?
Thursday, February 24, 2005
Is Windows that good??!!
A friend sent me this interesting email today and asked me what I thought of it and if it was true:
Interesting piece of info.
Windows crashes automatically if you don't switch off the machine for
49.7 days.This is accepted by Microsoft.
Do you know why?
In windows the Virtual Machine Manager(VMM) is responsible for
creation, exe cution, monitoring and termination of virtual machines.
This
VMM is a
32 bit protected mode operating system, provides a number of system
service at chip level of programming.
One of these services is "Get_System_Time". This particular service
loads the EAX register with the time in milliseconds since Windows
started.This service is accurate to 1ms.
EAX is a 32 bit register. So the maximum number of milliseconds it can
hold is:
(2^32) - 1 = 4294967295 milliseconds
= 4294967.295 seconds
= 71582.79 minutes
= 1193 hours
= 49.7 days
So after 49.7 days the EAX resets to zero.Most of the Drivers use this
Time Service to keep track of the time out of various services they
provide. So after 49.7 days the drives cannot use the Get_System_Time
funtion of VMM and they crash.
"SO DO NOT KEEP YOUR MACHINE ON FOR MORE THAN 49.7 DAYS. IT WILL NOT
ONLY CRASH BUT M AKE A BIG HOLE IN THE POCKET(THE ELECTRIICTY BILL)
Well... the only thing I had to say.... "I'll be really amazed if you can have windows running that long" :P
Interesting piece of info.
Windows crashes automatically if you don't switch off the machine for
49.7 days.This is accepted by Microsoft.
Do you know why?
In windows the Virtual Machine Manager(VMM) is responsible for
creation, exe cution, monitoring and termination of virtual machines.
This
VMM is a
32 bit protected mode operating system, provides a number of system
service at chip level of programming.
One of these services is "Get_System_Time". This particular service
loads the EAX register with the time in milliseconds since Windows
started.This service is accurate to 1ms.
EAX is a 32 bit register. So the maximum number of milliseconds it can
hold is:
(2^32) - 1 = 4294967295 milliseconds
= 4294967.295 seconds
= 71582.79 minutes
= 1193 hours
= 49.7 days
So after 49.7 days the EAX resets to zero.Most of the Drivers use this
Time Service to keep track of the time out of various services they
provide. So after 49.7 days the drives cannot use the Get_System_Time
funtion of VMM and they crash.
"SO DO NOT KEEP YOUR MACHINE ON FOR MORE THAN 49.7 DAYS. IT WILL NOT
ONLY CRASH BUT M AKE A BIG HOLE IN THE POCKET(THE ELECTRIICTY BILL)
Well... the only thing I had to say.... "I'll be really amazed if you can have windows running that long" :P
Wednesday, February 23, 2005
Mammoth Lakes...
... Hoping to drive up there this weekend and get some quality skiing and snowboarding done. The last time (and the first time) I went skiing was nearly 2 years ago in the Portland/ Seattle area.... should be fun!
Tuesday, February 22, 2005
"Bless you" for sneezing?? Not sure if you need that anymore!
Southern California has some of best weather in the United States. Its never too hot or too cold, just right. It doesnt rain a lot here either, but when it does, it rains cats and dogs. At the begining of this year we had rains non-stop for almost 3 weeks. I was lucky to have escaped that because I happened to be on vacation in warm (rather hot) India! Well... the rains seem to have come back again, its been pouring, almost non-stop, for the last 3 days. With rains, come colds and sneezing, which brings me to my topic. Why is it (or has it become) customary for people to say "bless you" when someone nearby sneezes?
Some research into this revealed various theories, ranging from the rather ridiculous "Your soul leaves your body when you sneeze" (and has nowhere else to go, so returns? ;-) ) to the seemingly scientific "your heart stops when you sneeze". But the one that I felt was the most convincing states that it all may have started as early as 150 AD. And predictably, back then it wasnt just out of etiquette of thoughts, but rather due to a serious illness that many Romans died from. One of the symptoms of this illness, as you may have guessed, was sneezing. Over the years, saying "bless you" became a way of wishing a person well or good health. And now it seems to have totally become common courtesy (like saying "thank you" or "you're welcome").
Well... isnt' it a lil' ironic that the more a person has been blessed... the more he has sneezed in life!!
Some research into this revealed various theories, ranging from the rather ridiculous "Your soul leaves your body when you sneeze" (and has nowhere else to go, so returns? ;-) ) to the seemingly scientific "your heart stops when you sneeze". But the one that I felt was the most convincing states that it all may have started as early as 150 AD. And predictably, back then it wasnt just out of etiquette of thoughts, but rather due to a serious illness that many Romans died from. One of the symptoms of this illness, as you may have guessed, was sneezing. Over the years, saying "bless you" became a way of wishing a person well or good health. And now it seems to have totally become common courtesy (like saying "thank you" or "you're welcome").
Well... isnt' it a lil' ironic that the more a person has been blessed... the more he has sneezed in life!!
Monday, February 21, 2005
Presidents Day...
I always thought that this day was marked as a celebration of George Washington's Birthday. Turns out, the 3rd Monday of February has been marked as a celebration of both George Washington and Abraham Lincon's Birthday's.
Washington, of course, was the first president of the United States and is also known as the "father of the country". A very apt title for someone who fought valantly in the American Revolution and played a major role in the Declaration of Independence signed on July 4th, 1776. What's interesting is that, the signers of the original declaration of independence were from only thirteen states - Delaware, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, New York, Georgia, Virginia, N and S Carolina, new Jersey, Connecticut and Maryland
Lincoln was the sixteenth president and is also known as "The great emancipator", probably because the civil war broke out just 6 weeks into his first president term and he was assasinated just six days after the war ended.
Presidents day, like other festivals and important days seem to have become more of a commercial thing nowadays, as the following news articles seem to suggest.
Lincoln’s legacy turned into way to make a buck
"... The front door opens, and Abraham Lincoln appears -- tall, lanky, just a bit melancholy. He smiles gently, assesses his visitor for a good five seconds. Then he draws in a breath and slowly, deliberately, he speaks.
"Did you park at the Holiday Inn?" the 16th president asks....."
Lincoln belongs to the ages, and to the marketers
"... Today, Abraham Lincoln is an empty vessel for dreamers and schemers, for humorists and educators and trinket salesmen and appliance dealers looking to add a bit of cachet to Presidents Day sales. "Time to take Lincoln and Washington shopping," an ad for Macy's encouraged last week...."
Washington, of course, was the first president of the United States and is also known as the "father of the country". A very apt title for someone who fought valantly in the American Revolution and played a major role in the Declaration of Independence signed on July 4th, 1776. What's interesting is that, the signers of the original declaration of independence were from only thirteen states - Delaware, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, New York, Georgia, Virginia, N and S Carolina, new Jersey, Connecticut and Maryland
Lincoln was the sixteenth president and is also known as "The great emancipator", probably because the civil war broke out just 6 weeks into his first president term and he was assasinated just six days after the war ended.
Presidents day, like other festivals and important days seem to have become more of a commercial thing nowadays, as the following news articles seem to suggest.
Lincoln’s legacy turned into way to make a buck
"... The front door opens, and Abraham Lincoln appears -- tall, lanky, just a bit melancholy. He smiles gently, assesses his visitor for a good five seconds. Then he draws in a breath and slowly, deliberately, he speaks.
"Did you park at the Holiday Inn?" the 16th president asks....."
Lincoln belongs to the ages, and to the marketers
"... Today, Abraham Lincoln is an empty vessel for dreamers and schemers, for humorists and educators and trinket salesmen and appliance dealers looking to add a bit of cachet to Presidents Day sales. "Time to take Lincoln and Washington shopping," an ad for Macy's encouraged last week...."
Maybe I didn't make things quite clear....
Having got some reviews from my friends, I realized that I wasnt quite clear in describing my reasons for starting a blog and what it was going to be about. So here goes:
Through this blog I hope to present (at as regular intervals as I can) my understanding of things we all see, use and do on a regular basis, but rarely care to think about the reasons and purpose behind them.
Hope you enjoy reading my posts and I look forward to your comments and criticism (can be left by clicking the link at the bottom right corner of the posts)!
Through this blog I hope to present (at as regular intervals as I can) my understanding of things we all see, use and do on a regular basis, but rarely care to think about the reasons and purpose behind them.
Hope you enjoy reading my posts and I look forward to your comments and criticism (can be left by clicking the link at the bottom right corner of the posts)!
Sunday, February 20, 2005
Yep... I finally did it...
Its sunday night and the middle of a (President's Day) long weekend. I am usually out on a roadtrip or some kinda outdoor activity on such a weekend, but it began pouring almost before folks at work could say "TGIF" on friday (duh!) and I decided to take it easy.
So, what prompted me to start this? Well.... lotsa thoughts, but to keep things terse (which I am notorious for failing to do) I mention the two main ones. At some point in life I figured that rattling out my daily schedule of events and experiences to a good and patient listener is vital to me. I was lucky enough to have someone or the other as my "patient listener" until one day I stumbled upon the concept of a "blog". I was both, pleasently surprised that I wasnt the only one who absolutely needed to do the daily "core dump" of thoughts and also a little disappointed that I wasnt the only one with this (so called) gift for being outright about things in life.
So, the thought of having my own blog (and relieving someone of the daily dose) occured to me about 3 years ago. I dont know if it was just the fact that I was preoccupied with too many things in life (Engineering School, Grad School, career planning, job hunting... you name it) or the fact that it usually takes me a while to really appreciate an idea fully, but yeah, I am pretty sure this has been in my head for atleast a good 3 years now.
Okay, so I had all the ingredients, but then there has to be that spark that motivates you to actually make a move, doesn't there? Well... so... what was my spark? Interestingly enough it was the long weekend itself. I was sitting on my couch watching TV when it suddenly hit me that it's almost Monday morning. Shortly, I was relieved when I remembered it was a long weekend after all, but then I began to wonder why I have a holoday in the first place? So, I fired up my laptop and began to look for stuff about the Presidents Day and its significance. And thanks to the modern marvel called "Google" it wasnt long before my curousity was satisfied. I retreated back into my comfy position to continue staring at the idiot box when a random thought hit me. How many times in life have I actually cared to find out the actual reason behind the things I see and do? Hmm.... its hard to put an exact number on that, but I am pretty sure its countable.
And there it was, I had found a theme for my blog!!
So, what prompted me to start this? Well.... lotsa thoughts, but to keep things terse (which I am notorious for failing to do) I mention the two main ones. At some point in life I figured that rattling out my daily schedule of events and experiences to a good and patient listener is vital to me. I was lucky enough to have someone or the other as my "patient listener" until one day I stumbled upon the concept of a "blog". I was both, pleasently surprised that I wasnt the only one who absolutely needed to do the daily "core dump" of thoughts and also a little disappointed that I wasnt the only one with this (so called) gift for being outright about things in life.
So, the thought of having my own blog (and relieving someone of the daily dose) occured to me about 3 years ago. I dont know if it was just the fact that I was preoccupied with too many things in life (Engineering School, Grad School, career planning, job hunting... you name it) or the fact that it usually takes me a while to really appreciate an idea fully, but yeah, I am pretty sure this has been in my head for atleast a good 3 years now.
Okay, so I had all the ingredients, but then there has to be that spark that motivates you to actually make a move, doesn't there? Well... so... what was my spark? Interestingly enough it was the long weekend itself. I was sitting on my couch watching TV when it suddenly hit me that it's almost Monday morning. Shortly, I was relieved when I remembered it was a long weekend after all, but then I began to wonder why I have a holoday in the first place? So, I fired up my laptop and began to look for stuff about the Presidents Day and its significance. And thanks to the modern marvel called "Google" it wasnt long before my curousity was satisfied. I retreated back into my comfy position to continue staring at the idiot box when a random thought hit me. How many times in life have I actually cared to find out the actual reason behind the things I see and do? Hmm.... its hard to put an exact number on that, but I am pretty sure its countable.
And there it was, I had found a theme for my blog!!
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