Affable, Friendly, Family-man, Geek, Crazy, Fanatic, Linux, Vim, Shy, Utter dislike for politics, Disciplinarian, Reserved, Suave, Funny, Austere, Humble, Hot-tempered, Capricious, Adamant, Intelligent, Spiritual...
This is how my family and buddies will stereotype me.
And now for those who are still wondering what is all this 'the-shaolin' stuff: It's just that I *LOVE* Martial-Arts and Shaolin Kung Fu being one of my favourites, though I have not practiced Kung Fu.
Long time no see??? Well, been sunk in life's shitty boring problems knee deep too long now. Not a good excuse to not post, but hey, that's the best I've got :( Anyway, I thought posting some beautiful photos would be a good way to say "hello" to a few fellow readers I have left...
Lately, work-life has gotten a tad boring, mostly as I don't have my discuss-everything-under-the-sun lunches with buddies at work anymore; instead have chosen to watch Youtube videos while I gobble down food at my desk, at wildly irregular times. But all's not lost, or so it feels... Sun was out for two straight days and skies were clear bright blue, almost made me feel lucky for being alive and be able to see this day (note: this is not an exaggeration when you live in Seattle)! But my skepticism that Spring is upon me, didn't budge. That is only until I cared to look around my office while I parked my car and walked towards my building: Cherry Blossom buds opening up! So the very next day I brought along my camera (luckily it was sunny again!) and went on a stroll after lunch to shoot some pictures around the campus. And here's the result: Spring is upon us guys! Time to break out of winter clothes! Gear up for some hiking, photography and camping!
Yes, if you let her have it her way, Nature does have a way of uplifting your mood on occasion, trying hard to make you re-believe that life is indeed beautiful. These are just a few shots from around the campus, full album here on flickr: Spring 2014! Equipment: Body-Canon EOS 6D (full frame) Lenses-Canon 100mm F2.8 Macro Lens & Canon 70-200mm IS F4L
Note: Weather turned sucky the very day after I took pictures and went only southwards for even worse on the weekend. You know, that's the typical Seattle weather, awesome and great while I'm holed up in my little office but crappy on weekends when I have time to explore the outdoors ~~~sigh~~~ That's the finicky Pacific North West weather we all love so much :-)
Full album with many more photos here on flickr: Spring 2014!
Frequency of posts have definitely dropped, but that is not for the lack of ideas/thoughts/drafts for the posts. Quite the opposite, I have more than enough to last a year if I were to regain my regular posting frequency.
I think what is affecting my posts is a deluding perception that life is regressing from a state of Ordered Chaos into a state of Meaningless Chaos (no proofs needed!). Which is making me question everything I do more often than I used to. My email responses (of which at one time I could boast of less than 24hrs turn around time!) have become slower and more spaced (in time). Activity on (anti)social networks has dropped to near-zero (but that is a good thing!).
Not to say I am not having exciting moments. Quite a few, actually. And I wish that this (and upcoming) post(s) will make you believe so (without regards to what the reality is :-P )
So I thought of posting something that is potpourri of various things, in no particular order, just to prove that the (un)creative juices are still oozing strong, often inundating me with enough of it to prevent any productive work from happening :)
Lack of posts is often perceived by my friends as a cause of turbulence in my life. So I hope this post will help me debunk their notions in that regards.
0. Microsoft Photo Book: Inspire
Inspire: Sporting my shot
While it isn't as great as getting your photo published in NatGeo, getting one in Microsoft's PhotoBook (along side many NatGeo-quality photos) is nothing short of exciting. Every year (since last 2 or 3 years) shutterbugs at Microsoft request employees to submit their best shots. They then run it through judging process and of the thousands that they swift through, they choose a few to be eventually published in to a nice hard-cover book, with a photo each on glossy paper. Another team of volunteers then toil hard to get it printed and make it available at the right cost.
All this work is volunteer driven, that is, people do it out of sheer passion in their spare time. One of the most exciting parts about this whole effort is the economics... Every copy of book that is sold, part of the purchase money ($35 of the $50 book's value) goes to charity, United Way. To top it off, Microsoft matches $-for-$ which doubles the charity to $70! You spend $50 buying the book and somewhere a charitable organization receives $70! Interesting! Personally I'm not too game for donating where I don't know when/how the money is spent, but the thought of doing something that aids charity is, at the least, heart warming.
So, "show me the photo", say you. Here's the one that got through:
Dreamy Eye
And the description reads (this was a nice touch they added compared to last year's book): Dream Eyes Kirkland, Washington | I was trying the typical macro of an eye and couldn't get enough light on the eye, so I tried moving a little farther away to allow enough light in. During post-processing after a few crops, I soon realized the result was not going to be anything exciting. Having seen many amazing black-and-white shits, I then wondered what the original photo would look like in pure black-and-white! One click and there it was, this dreamy-looking photo. I didn't quite anticipate this outcome when I was shooting; I guess the best shots happen unplanned.
Canon EOS 30D | 100mm | 1/200 | f/5 | ISO 250
While there is no doubt that I love this photo myself, I wasn't expecting this one to make it through. But, as they say, beauty lies in the eyes of the judges, err... beholder.
My two other submissions were:
Lady Bug's Descend
Space Needle By The Night from Kerry Park
I think the one quality that these two photos lacked was uniqueness. But that's just a guess.
But... If only this were an eye of some beautiful girl! Why? Well, if it were, then I could have easily gotten an opportunity to ask her out on a dinner (date) ;-) That was actually a humorous (but seemingly serious) comment from a colleague of mine at work. Colleague: Did you ask her out for dinner? Me: ~~~befuddled and scratching my head~~~ Sorry what? I was almost certain I missed to catch a few words in the sentence. Judging by my looks he figured I was as lost as Alice in Wonderland! Colleague: (wearing a teasing smile) Did you ask her out for a dinner, the girl who's eye you shot? Me: (bright bulb lighting over my head! Smiling but with saddened feelings...) Oh! That! No! Unfortunately that is a guy's eye!
(With sunken hearts, we both walked in silence for a few seconds, we were on our way to buy copies of book for ourselves and that did cheer me up, though).
BTW, if you do want to buy a copy, you can do so online.
Go to Microsoft Online Company store, create a new account and search for "Inspire". If you are wondering, then no, I don't get no money or commission if you buy one. More press here.
1. Rediscovering the joy of Jurassic Park
If I haven't said this already (though, I doubt it!), Jurassic Park still ranks top in my list of top-9 scifi movies. It has been, what, close to 2 decades now and the only scifi movie to beat Jurassic Park at the top spot is Matrix-I (art, direction, cast, concept, Fx, etc.).
So shortly after I read Micheal Crichton's State of Fear, about which I recently raved about in another post, I had an epiphany: "Boy! Jurassic Park, isn't that your favorite of favorite'st movies based on novel by the same author. (inner voice, damn right you are!) Don't you think you should read it, then!"
Bam! And off I trotted to my local library to borrow my copy.
The movie is very well made, but as it is with most movies-made-from-novels, what you ramble out in words is often not easy to portray on screen. Often words (aka imagination in this case) has no boundaries, no limitations, none whatsoever. Movies, as they involve physical/material elements, more often than not, are severely restricted in what they can do and show us. Even when you have the best of Hollywood's creative artists at your command. It fails me why I didn't read this book sooner. But better late than never.
I am still a few pages from the back cover of the novel and I'm enjoying every bit of it. So much so, that if I'm dropping dead from sleep and it it dawns onto me that I won't be able to read even one line on any given night, I still keep the book besides me when I hit bed :D
(Just so you know... I'm not crazy, my mother had me tested :-P ).
Well, this has become a LONG enough post and I'm barely the scratching surface. If I were to cover everything I set out to cover in this single post, it will become YAILP (Yet Another Insanely Long Post) that nobody will ever bother reading (though I know a few who still would, I thank you in advance!). As a side note, YAILP's happen when you don't post often enough. See the (un)creative juices I was alluding to now!
So I will just outline things I intend to post in the hopes that doing so will urge me to follow up on them sooner than later...
2. Kindle
After much thought and checking out various e-readers, I finally bought Kindle. Of a few things, I'm relying heavily on Amazon's proven great history with consumers.
3. Aquarium
Almost every friend I meet, talk to or converse with over emails (e-friends, if you will!) have asked me about my aquarium(s). Since I was all gung-ho about it when I started and posted almost no update since then, it gives an impression that the fire has ebbed. Quite contrary. I am still spending increasing amount of time nurturing (and enjoying) my 2 tanks. I owe you all a short update, at the very least. Watch this space for more soon.
4. Photos
I haven't been shooting as much as I would love to and used to, but that is not for the lack of interest. It is just that the opportunities to shoot have reduced significantly because of very few (almost no) hikes and treks in recent months. Blame work for this. Part of reason is also the lack of time to do even minimal post-processing and captioning. But I will share a few photos I clicked that I didn't share here.
5. New Lens!
I splurged and bought a new lens! Which one? That's a surprise for another post! Supposed to be gift from my bro, but he hasn't paid me yet! lol ;-) But it is the sentiment that counts, right! (Though my credit card company refuses :D) !
6. Movies
Again, very little on the front of movie entertainment and enrichment. But a few noteworthy ones, vaguely in the order of their awesomeness, I saw are:
Ip Man
Ip Man-2
Flashpoint
Revisiting the Harry Potter's
7. Ipod Nano: Hits and Misses
On my birthday my brother gifted me iPod Nano. And I love it. But it is a far cry from perfection (for my use-case) that I have come to expect from Apple and I want to share my thoughts. I still love my 3yr old Shuffle.
8. Jeans
A jeans a year or two! Keep guessing!
9. Cruise to Alaska
My family was visiting me for a few weeks and after lot of back and forth, never-ending debates, lot of arguments and absolutely no planning, we went on an outing that turned out to be one of the most amazing family outings we have had so far: Cruise to Alaska. Watch out for details.
10. Vibram Five Finger shoes (linky)
For their alien'y look, my mom was strongly opposed to the concept of me owning Fiver Finger Shoes, let alone wear them. Glorified socks, she told me! Don't dare you even think of wearing one to work was her stern ultimatum. But my perseverance and love won her over and now not only I own one but two beautiful pairs of Five Fingers, I even wear them to work daily! Yes D A I L Y! I hope to share my feedback on these lovely footwear. But, like me, if you hate to wait, here's a short one line verdict: If you are a bare-foot'ie just get one, don't think twice!
11. Teas: Green and Oolong
I have always been fascinated by teas, mostly because of its ancestral following and origins than the (un)scientific studies that say they are healthy. I have come to believe that modern scientific research should be taken with a grain (read: bagful) of salt, esp. where big bucks are involved (which, come to thing of it, is almost everything!). So I often take refuge in following ancient methods over what science says is best. I'll share my experiences, sure you are eager to hear them.
12. Obsession with Old Songs and Vividh Bharati
It is now completely official that I'm totally misplaced in time: my ways of life (by and large) and taste (notably in terms of music) is very very archaic. So my unyielding obsession towards old songs should be no surprise to any. Watch out for how I rediscovered my lost love and more craziness!
13. Meeting Old-Time Buddies
The joy of connecting with oldest of friends who remain so even in the wake of lack of proper contact and irregular communication, is something that words will always fail to explain, no matter how hard I try. But that doesn't mean one should not try!
14. Go-Green: Stop Getting Crap in your Snail-Mailbox
I can swear on my blog that I had a draft post on this when, about a year back, I spent some time researching on how to put an end to those useless annoying marketing bat-crap flyers (which I didn't ask for) that landed in my mailbox. And it has worked, wonderfully. Except one that I can't put an end to.
I promise to dig out the information and share with you all.
I will add posts as and when they occur to me, hope but I you got a nice preview of upcoming posts, now just wish that I stick to the schedule here.
See you back soon enough! But wait...
Ending Note...
I realized that the post would be incomplete without some dash of music... So I bring you a rare song from my collection. Chances are you haven't heard of this song. Or at least not as often. That's because it is part of an incomplete/unreleased film Picnic from the 60s. Where did I hear it, of course Vividh Bharati! Though I cannot wish for you enjoy it as much as I did, but least I hope is you enjoy this song once. I didn't realize Sadhana looked so gorgeous. Maybe it is the setting of the song that's making her seem prettier and the lyrics is definitely accentuating her beauty: Kitna Rangeen Hai Ye Chaand Sitaaron Ka Samaa.
And if you are wondering then the answer is yes, I too have a feeling this will become my new loopy-song for a few weeks to come ;-) Turn down your volume, treble seems a bit off on this one.
As usual, the music is effectively simple and lyrics, deeply meaningful (if you care to dig into them). Singers: Asha Bhosle and Mohammed Rafi Music : N. Dutta (Datta Naik) Movie : Picnic (unreleased)
That Saturday was one of the BEST'est days I have seen in Seattle in about a year. No kidding, I'm not exaggerating. It was only one of the 2-3 days that the Sun was out for a whole day with no rains, no clouds and temperature comfortably hovering a little over 60F (15C). Ok, I give it to you that I'm only talking about weekends, because a sunny weekday is only as useful as a 3-1/2 inch floppy inside a Lightscribe CD Drive (lame analogy, I know, I'm on a roll!).
Yellow Tulips Field with Cascasdes in the backdrop
It was a perfect day _NOT_ to spend waste at the office (like all the other weekends ~~sigh~~), so we had already decided to visit Skagit Tulip Festival. Looking back, a hike would have been orders of magnitude more exhilarating, but I was more than glad just to step out into the open air. With some last-minute changes in plan more people wanted to join and while one group was running late in spite of my insistence of being out-of-the door by 0800hrs. After waiting for long (restlessly) I said let one group go ahead while the second joins. So we started off at early around 0930 hours and luckily didn't hit any traffic (neither on I-5 nor on the internal roads). The second group (who started 20 minutes after us came more than an hour and a half later). A colleague of mine at office, I later learned, left at noon for the festival and was stuck in a 20+ long miles traffic jam! Indeed, while returning I counted the line on other side of the freeway, it had come to a crawl for 10 miles, after which I stopped paying attention on the other side (because I was driving :-P).
Long story short, I was as ecstatic for being out in the sun with clear skies as a kid is when you let him loose in a candy store with his favorite Disney Characters. I felt alive again! I am not a bot no more. I pray to thee, for you give life, Sun! I was breathing sun :D
The weather forecast looks abysmal for rest of the Spring, so I hope I make best of the days that are good (read: sunny).
Here are some shots form my Tulips Album for the year 2011.
Though not as much as I would like, I have been able to spend a little more time on photography than I had been able to spend the last year.
Here's one of my favorite macro shots that I took 2 days back. A lot of my friends liked it too, and so I thought it is worth sharing here on the blog.
Since I always like to read about story behind the photos I like, I would first love to bore you guys with a little background about this shot: Though the spring is officially here, the sight of sun is still a distant dream. So when the sun shone (unexpectedly) one fine morning, I carried my camera on the way to office. Since rain had just stopped, I thought this would be perfect opportunity to shoot some delicate water droplets on plants. Bingo! I was lucky. When I reached the gates, sun was still up (not as bright though) and the sky's shower tap was tightly closed. I pulled out my camera immediately, and spend the next half an hour or so funnily crouching to shoot droplets off the grass blades just 6 inches above the ground. So prepared I was, that I had even put on a pair of gloves, the temperature was around 41F (5C). I'm sure people peering through their office windows must have had a good morning's laugh and fun time seeing a funny guy shooting grasses at extremely close range, stepping into mud and almost falling onto them :)
And here's one of the few shots I liked, will share more soon. (click on photo or here to see it in higher resolution).
Of lately, life seems to have been degraded to a cat-n-mouse game, comically akin to Tom-n-Jerry, only, not comic. For a while it seems I am ahead of life (or at least have had a good grasp of it) and the very same instant it gets ahead of me! In a sense, it seems to be a meaningless and frivolous rat-race. To cloud out all the unnecessary clutter from mind, I have had a few escapades. Following are few worth sharing, just because it was so easy to digitally trap them with my camera.
At an elevation of 1576 feet, Little Si (pronounced sigh) does not seem to be a lofty peak, but let not the raw number fool you. Little Si gains that elevation in just 2.2 miles (each way). The first mile or so is very gentle and mild. But the next mile offers quite imposing cliffs. It surely is not meant for beginners. Be prepared with some food, ample water and some stamina.
Also, unlike most other treks, the summit is NOT picturesque, another disappointment. And neither is the trail so beautiful. So if you plan to go to Little Si, make sure that your ONLY intention is exercise. Not to say that a good photographer can make beautiful pictures out of anything. I tried too, and will let you judge how I fared. And don't forget to take some warm clothing, it can be pretty windy at the top, which hits you hard when you are all sweaty.
Once at the summit, have some nice lunch, probably with a hot drink and then head down back to your car.
Directions: Drive Interstate 90 and take the main North Bend exit, heading left into town. Turn right on North Bend Way and drive a couple miles to the Mount Si Road. Turn left, cross the bridge over the Snoqualmie River and park near the bridge in the marked lot. It is difficult to miss the parking lot.
This was a very hectic 550+ miles trip in just 36 hours! Driving 550 odd miles was kind of fun, but it was also very tiring especially when it is done with other activities and that too in a short span of 36 hours. We went to almost all the points we set to visit, but I wish I had a little more time. Columbia Gorge is certainly a very very beautiful place. Worth going down to a few times, for, probably on each visit you might see something new. I say keep 2-3 days at your hands if you want to make most of your trip. But even as short the trip was, it was fun, because I got ample shooting opportunities.
Just for your reference, if you have limited time and want to make most of your trip, there are few places worth visiting:
Vista House Scenic Byway
Multnomah Falls
Fish Hatchery at Bonneville Dam
Curly Creek Falls
Windy Ridge Viewpoint. I think adding this place to itinerary makes sense only when you are heading to Washington, because that is when it kind of comes on the way (with little to no detour).
I was a little reluctant on this one for I was little tired and wanted to spend some time home (slumbering with a nice novel) and nothing was planned. If you are going as far as about 100+ miles, each way, you better have a pretty good idea of what places you can and cannot visit,. But good sunny weather and insistence did the trick and I tagged along. Since it wasn't well planned, we just hit Paradise point, trekked along some random trail and headed back home, after doing Reflection Lake on the way. Once again, I wish I had little more time on this trip, could have seen Reflection Lake before sun started going down, which I know, looks just gorgeous.
At the onset of the year 2009, I knew that the 5-6 months that lie immediately in front of me are going to be extremely grueling. Guess, I was wrong! I wasn't prepared for what lie ahead of me, it seems, in retrospect.
For the lack of better word, life (on personal front) had been more than an excruciating roller-coaster ride for past 6 months. It is worth going through all the pains, only if you know there is a sweet end to it, and you can clearly see the light at the end of the tunnel (which you are sure is not from an oncoming train that will run you over). I saw that light on and off, like someone was holding a blinking light and playing tricks with me. That explains sporadic/no emails, no replies, no phone calls, reduced online activity, no login on GTalk/YM IMs and increased isolation! But nothing to worry, for, if I were to assume that my unassuming assumption of 'things are under control' is a right assumption, all seems to be well :-)
Apart from work and coping up with tons of other things, I have been largely spending inordinate amounts of time (mostly with self) philosophy'ing, professing, contemplating, understanding, questioning, discovering and rediscovering the meaning, purpose and essence of life. And going beyond: the purpose of all of the beings, their actions, reactions, sins, good/bad-deeds, death, birth, karma, consciousness, subconsciousness, etc. And I have to admit that I am no closer to any answers than I was at the beginning of this journey (not to mention the additional array of questions that took birth!). Yet, I believe it is worth treading along.
So here is an insanely long post of things (in no particular perceivable order) on my mind today, that I thought I could share... This is not the final version and will probably evolve over a period of fews days after initial posting. For your convenience, here are some shortcuts that will jump to specific sections, this much for being considerate reader of this boring post :-)
Nothing beats the joy of a relaxing (and thought provoking) movie. I utterly detest the act of watching a movie that will shove garbage up a$$ and eventually into head. As long as movie is provoking positive thoughts and attitude, I can watch it.
I had never seen a movie in 3D in my life before. And this was the FIRST ever 3D movie I have seen. It was an exhilarating experience. This is one of the best movies I have seen lately. After a few minutes, the fact that movie is 3D is forgotten only because the story is so gripping, funny & engaging. My favorite character is Buck; an eccentric, brave and mysteriously knowledgeable little creature in the strange land of dinos. Of all the Ice Age movies, this is THE BEST so far. No nonsense, no emotional garbage, funny quips and lots of action and affection. A perfect package to rejuvenate a otherwise languid day. It would be fair to claim that it is one of the only few movies that is suitable to and enjoyable by every age group: kids, teens and adults alike.
Link to videoDisclaimer: The programm contains graphic images and descriptions of the atrocity which may upset some viewers. I myself couldn't watch it in one go! November last year, the world stood still and watched in shock as terrorists went on a rampage in the bustling city of Mumbai in India. Came across this excellent [and] disturbing documentary by Channel 4/BBC, an untold story of 2008's terrorist attack, in the eerie words of its victims and the gunmen. Produced and directed by award-winning filmmaker Dan Reed, Terror in Mumbai tells the story of what happened when 10 gunmen held one of the world's busiest cities at hostage; killing and wounding hundreds of people at will while holding India's top notch security at bay. The sad thing, today, is that even after all these months, it is business as usual as far as apprehending the culprits is concerned. Pakistan just released the prime suspect, and is blaming India for his release (which is kinda funny, because Pak is apparently imposing a ban on such nonsensical outfits anyways!). I cannot comprehend what is more sad, the fact that so many innocent lives were lost, our security sucks or the fact that business is back to normal as if nothing happened. Sometimes I wonder if affected people wonder whether it is worth continuing living such a life (where the a$holes eventually shall inherit the world) over total annihilation of human race with nuclear warfare and let the whole world reboot, eviscerated of all the vices. Additional Links:0. 8 Ways India can hurt Pak1. Mumbai massacre revisited
Video 0, Video 1 Pakistan's Taliban Generation investigates how the war on terror is creating a generation of child terrorists - children prepared to kill both inside and outside Pakistan. Journalist Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy reveals how the Taliban are recruiting increasingly young fighters for their campaign. She interviews a 14-year-old boy in Karachi who's desperate to become a suicide bomber. At a nearby refugee camp, Sharmeen interviews two teenage boys whose local madrassa was hit by bombardments (alleged by US drones and Pakistani armies) while children were studying (read: studying? really?) inside. In the aftermath of the attack, a local militant arrives to preach to a large crowd of local youngsters. He successfully bags (read: brainwashes) a handful of fresh recruits! For various reasons, these videos are being forced out of shared sites. So if any of the links are dead, just Google these names out and you will get at least one current active source. It would be nice if you are kind enough to share it with me, so that I can keep it current.
I would rate it at just 5.0/10. While good, more than 2 hours of non-stop abuse of special effects is not fun to watch. This happened to be my first movie in IMAX (but non-dome) theater. Frankly, I couldn't appreciate the hyped IMAX factor. I don't know who is to be blamed: the fact that IMAX theater is indeed a hype, or the movie was sh!tty. The movie got on nerves, esp. because the movie is insanely long. Definitely worth letting it pass by unwatched (unless you want to ogle at Megan Fox, I didn't).
I don't know why am I even mentioning this. Probably just to let you know that if you haven't seen this, don't waste your precious time (and money). By any stretch, movie is just average, and falls far below expectations on every front: direction, action and story. Story, is a little too incomprehensible, if (like me) you are not an insane die-hard Terminator fan. Skip it, I would say.
While very engaging and entertaining, it tends to get too depressing (in the memory of old man's sweet wife) very too often. This fact drains out all the fun from a otherwise very well made and directed animation movie.
A movie so devoid of any substance, that even the starring of bombshells like VS-angel Karolina Kurkova and Sienna Miller doesn't cut it through. Except for the concept of nano-mites (and its applications, good and bad), the movie had no thought provoking substance in it for me. Major part of movie towards the end looks nothing like a movie! It looks like a poorly made VGA-era game projected on giant screen in the year 2009. Fx (if you will call that) comes nowhere close to the epic special effects of a decade old Matrix! Not even two decade old Jurassic Park! Hasbro, simply sucks. The fact that they did such a trashy job on Transformer 2, I shouldn't have craved to watch this movie. I could have done sooooooo much more in those 2 hours and with now-wasted 15 dollars ~~~sigh~~~
America has a yearly military budget of 600+ billion dollars, which is higher than the military budget of rest of the world put together! This is a technically very thought-provoking documentary. They have made a very nice film out of the quest of two of the biggest aviation companies (Boeing and Lockheed Martin) to build two prototype jets each to replace the formidable (but seemingly unaffordable) F22 Raptors. Very engaging, it has boat loads of technology, zest, energy, thrill and politics in one single package. This documentary left no doubt in my mind as to why USA's military force is so formidable. Additional Links:0. Military Expenditure by country
This deserves a post in itself, but I figured if I delay it any more, it won't happen. So, in the essence of something is better than nothing, I clubbed it along here. It had been a long time I met my old time buddy Arun (aka Anna). My plans to spend a week with him and his wife (Suchi, aka Su) before I started my new journey got cancelled, and ever since we have been itching to meet. Finally, that happened on the Independence day long weekend. Wow! It was such a rejuvenating and relaxing 4-day trip, I don't have right words to put it in perspective. We had made great plans, but Su's health didn't cooperate, so we spent lot of time unplanned at home. I bet it was far more fun than anything we had on paper to do if Su's health were better. Eating yummy food, watching movie, talking on and on, seeing photographs, etc... it was real fun. The night I landed in LA, me and Anna talked about everything there is to talk about under the sun: technology, life, computers, cars, economics, movies, philosophy, psychology, spiritualism, religion, love, hatred, books, laptops, operating systems, algorithms, stores, and what not! For a 5-6 hours talk, that was pretty dense variety of topics :) We went for La Jolla Beach, but the @#$ing traffic on I-5 consumed all the time we had (more than 2+ hrs of ride, for a usually about 50min ride) and so hit the beach only at hours past sunset. We had food at a nice Persian restaurant, though. To help recuperate Su's health, we let her stay home while we went to San Diego SeaWorld the next day. It was a great outing, but the time spent unplanned at home were the most fun filled moments! Click here for photos from my LA trip.
On some odd sunny Sunday we ventured out to yet another park. We couldn't spend much time there, for some of us had to reach back home early, but I managed to click some photos. My favorite one is this:
Another outing, a wonderful trek for beginner to advanced trekkers. And once you are done with the trek, you can come down and have a nice refreshing dip in the cool waters of the Rattlesnake Lake!
My original first tank had some major issues a month back, and all the plants suddenly died :( I suspect it was the attack of hair-algae. But I'm not sure. I had setup new tank some time back. Two days back I saw 2-3 baby ghost shrimps emerge out from dense plantation, today, I can't see them. They usually make good snack for fishes, I fear they must have gotten devoured. Quite a few of the baby fries that sunburst platy gave birth to, have grown in size, I moved about 7 of them into larger tank. Waiting for the rest to grow up. I haven't gotten around shooting it, but here is one photo of my second 30gallon planted tank.
End of July, we experienced the hottest sun that has never been experienced in over a century here in Seattle, it soared around 105F (~41C). Intense sun extreme along with humidity made the weather unbearable for about a week. So much so, that even the cooling systems at my office failed to function, and many worked from home for 2-3 days. Fans were only as useful as a AA-sized battery operated hand-held fan is useful in scorching Sahara dessert!
Don't compare yourself to other people. It won't help. You will only find what you expect to find. If you think you are weak, everyone else will seem stronger. If you think you are strong, everyone else will seem weaker. It is futile to compare like that. Simply look at where you are now, and aim to get better as you go forward, that is the way to go. That is the only way to not be a part of the crazy rat-race. (inspired by Self-Discipline and seems to be inline with my theory of Types of Successes)
Only a few people know about my craving for serene soothing music. I am always on a lookout for one. Recently I stumbled upon this soothing performance. I don't know the language it is spoken in, or if the lyrics have any meaning in some spoken language, but it indeed is very soothing Dona Ceri'Tun by Gary Stadler & Stephanne.
I haven't been reading much lately... The Unfettered Mind: Writings from a Zen Master to a Master Swordsman
I didn't find the book as engaging, except for few pages. This book was on my to-read list of a very long time now, glad I can now strike it out from the list.
You guessed it right, the name of my blog is kind of derived from the title of this book :)
Volleyball: just re-started playing volleyball after almost 5yrs, best stress buster I have found (this Thursday I played non-stop for 3 hours, and I felt I was in heaven and wished that the night would never end!)
G-Force (yes, I'm a big animation movie fan! plus I love watching cartoon films!)
Harry Potter-6 (only for Fx)
Ninja Assassin (to be released: Nov 25, 2009. I like a good movie based on martial arts, even if it has outlandish stunts, as long as they are well executed)
Drag Me to Hell (has been a while I have seen horror flick)
A nice sunny weekend of 18th April '09 (a weekend before the last) started with a long list of frenzied activities to do, with plans to trek ON and OFF. After some deliberation, we said lets make it a best effort thing, if we finish off other stuff sooner, we can hit the trails. And indeed we finished our work and headed for the trails. By 1431 hrs we were at the parking lot.
The trail itself was very very boring, because even though it had surprisingly wild feel to it, the whole forest was dry, leafless and brown. As if everything around has been rendered lifeless. I wonder how beautiful the trails would look when trees are lush and more lively.
Halfway through the trails, and we met an elderly chirpy couple. We hit a conversation with them and inquired what's worth seeing here, because so far it has been too boring. They gladly pointed us in waterfall's direction. Once we hit the waterfalls, everything looked lively, serene and green.
I love waterfalls. I had taken my tripod and was itching badly to take some slow-shutter (long exposure) shots of the beautiful falls. You can see some of the in my album.
The two things worth seeing here are the Coal Creek Falls and the Meadow Restoration Project, which we didn't see properly due to lack of time. In all, at the end of the day, the 4 hour trek was totally worth it just because of the beautiful falls.
Credits: Photo : Self Directions and Marked trail maps: Ami Now, for the enthusiastic ones, and as a reference to future trekkers, here's all the technical details that might be helpful.
Level of Trek: Beginner to Medium. But I can only speak of path we took. This is the map marked with various trails, and the second one is marked in purple the trail we trod along. Our path:
Started walking on Red Town
Left and onto Cave Hole Trail
Right on Coal Creek Falls Trail (this is where we met that elderly couple)
Right on Quarry Trail
Right on Red Town Trail and back to parking lot
Directions to Town Trailhead:
Drive on I-405 South (towards Renton), take exit 10 for Coal Creek Pkwy
Continue toward 118th Ave SE/SE Coal Creek Pkwy, and continue on SE Coal Creek Pkwy
Turn left at Forest Dr SE
Turn right at Lakemont Blvd SE/Newcastle Coal Creek Rd
Turn left at Lakemont Blvd SE, look for signs of Red Town Trailhead
A Software Developer by profession, a Martial Artist by instinct, a Warm Human Being at heart, a Sportsman by physique, a Dreamer by sunset, a Thinker by aptitude, a Perfectionist by nature.
More at A 101 things about me!
