Crazy Cinci weather

Someone mentioned to me recently that if you do not like the weather in Cincinnati then just wait a few days.Well,that is how fast things change around here.We hit the beginning of March with clear sunny blue skies and spring in the air.Within a couple of weeks the temps soared and the biting cold winter seemed like a distant memory.It clocked in the late seventies and early eighties for couple of weeks making people switch to summer gear-shorts,shades...the parks were abuzz with activity in the evenings and the children and the adults gorged on ice creams.It was beautiful almost an early summer!.

And suddenly out of nowhere,this cold front hits.Within a space of a single day the temp dropped from the eighties to the thirties.There is a freeze warning in effect tonight!.Jeez!....that's some drop.It certainly made me forget the lovely summer and it was back to icy winds and heavy coats.What a difference a day can make in this place.

I guess with global warming playing havoc with weather patterns the world over this should not come as a surprise.Back home in Bangalore we are pretty much used to similar climate throughout the year.The summers there are beginning to become really hot though much less humid than many other parts of India.

I know its the Brits who are the ones so fussy about the weather but a drop from 82 to 23 in 24 hours sure made me write this blog!.Hope summer's back next week in Cincinnati.

Pursuit of Happyness....

I got a chance the other day to see this much acclaimed movie starring Will Smith and his little son.Based on the true story of Chris Gardener who went from being homeless,penniless struggling lower middle class individual to being a celebrated stock broker millionaire,this is an exceptional story of determination and courage against heartless odds.

You might ask,what's so special about this movie?After all,doesn't Hollywood keep churning out these 'feel good' movies by the dozen.Well...the pursuit of happyness is unique in the sense it expertly balances the fine line between poignancy and complete despair.Set in San Francisco of the early eighties,the movie is the life changing story of Chris Gardener who sells arcane bone density scanners for a living.He needs to sell at least two a month to keep paying his bills and feed his family but its been a while since he sold even one.

In the tragic turmoil to make the ends meet,Chris's wife leaves him and as matters just keep getting worse,by a quirk of fate he meets a stockbroker.Now Chris is good with numbers and people and uses his talent to get an internship at the prestigious De Witter stock brokerage firm. But the job doesn't pay for the duration of the internship.At the end of the six months,the firm selects one guy from the group of 20 for a permanent job. Chris stumbles through these six months going from home to hotel to a homeless shelter.But what keeps him going is his dream.As he says to his son "If you have a dream,you gotta protect it" and "if you want something then go get it, period".

Its the quintessential American Dream and Chris often poignantly wonders that when the men who wrote the declaration of independence put that line about 'pursuit of happiness' they only guarnteed the pursuit part of it not neccessarily the end.

Although,you know its all going to work out in the end,its the 'pursuit' that is fascinating.Chris overcomes staggering odds to make it to the top.In his journey to the top of the mountain,Chris shares his positive vision towards life with his son.Years ago,he had experienced growing up without a father.He had promised himself that when he had children they would know who their father was and he lives up to that promise in a fascinating way.

The pursuit of happyness is an immensely inspiring,rewarding movie which showers you with an insane positivity towards life and sure we all need a dose of that from time to time.Now if you are wondering why I've always spelled happyness with a 'y' then you need to watch this movie!.

Gone with the wind!

Yes,that's what happened to India's chances at the world cup.Before the two stinging defeats first at the hands of greenhorns Bangladesh and then old rival Sri Lanka,team India went to the world cup tipped as one of the favourites to win the big one.A batting order littered with 3 stars who have 10k+ runs in ODI's and many upcoming dashers and stroke players,it looked a formidable squad.However,all this was on paper and for all you know the game is not played on paper. In the real world there were several things wrong with the team-it had several aging stars well past their use by date,tired legs which made it a dull fielding unit.The modern game calls for lightning reflexes and an aggressive attitude. India lacked both.

So what went wrong?In hindsight this was a disaster waiting to happen.Too many stars specially not worth their salt anymore always spell trouble.It happened last year to Brazil at the soccer world cup.After the debacle there have been many articles in the media blaming the fans for creating unnecessary pressure on the team. There is a serious flaw in that line of thought.Cricket is at best a game and should be played like one.What is the pressure-just go out and compete-if you win great,if not then what the heck nobody died.Yes,the illiterate mobs in India burning effigies and pelting stones on players houses need to get this into their heads but that cant be the reason for loosing-not by a long shot.Also,if a player representing the country at the highest level cant handle the heat in the kitchen then he better butt out for someone who can.

The media which is the prime culprit here in building and then cashing on the hype is now busy doing what it does best-sensationalize!.Yes...blow this so out of proportion that it starts looking like a national calamity.Embarrassing yes but a national disaster specially for a developing country like India...hello!....its ridiculous.We lost because we were simply not good enough. The hopes and expectations of a billion people simply cannot rest on a game of cricket.

The other thing that media seems to be spinning is the corrupting influences of excess money and endorsements in the game. Since when did money become bad for a sport?The most competitive sports around the world-Soccer,Tennis,Golf,Boxing all are huge money spinners much larger than cricket.Do they not have champions or moments of sporting excellence?Sport needs to move with the times if it has to survive.Hence in my opinion,money should be a motivator not a hindrance in any sport.

The two people I feel bad for are Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar. Both have been outstanding performers for a very long time.Its sad to see Dravid being let down by his team.Sachin looks mentally tired.His problem is the failure to believe that he is not the dominating batsman that he used to be.He needs a break from the game for his own good.I think he should quit ODI's if he wants to play test cricket for a few more years.18 years is a very very long time to play at the highest level.Chappel's methods didn't work and he would get the pink slip.Fair enough,you don't get retained for failure.

Meanwhile life goes on...India will play cricket again and win if it deserves.

United states of cubicles

At least one guy- Scott Adams made a fortune out of pulling hilarious gags on life in cubicles.More people now work in cubicles than ever before.Cubicles can be self containing worlds-in more ways than one cubicles also reflect the personality of their owners.Many like to decorate their walls with pictures of friends and family,many hang up certificates announcing accomplishments and academic degrees. There are some items which are universal to all cubicles- a telephone,a computer,stationary,documents...the list is endless.

The longer you inhabit the workspace the more junk you tend to accumulate unless you are meticulously organized and swear by the 'clean desk policy'.I get emails from the Human resources group every now and then outlining how important it is for everyone to adhere to this policy.It says no 'confidential' document should be left out in the open,no passwords should be scribbled on loose pieces of paper and all this important stuff should be locked up.It's a blow to my ego to realize that none of the docs that are piled up next to my workstation are even worth a second look. They rather serve the purpose of conveying an impression that my time is precious and I'm such a workhorse.Of course the truth is far from it.

I have a daily rip off Dilbert desk calendar that I'm particularly fond off.I noticed the other day that I do not have a single book.It sure looks good to keep a few thick technical manuals on the shelves.Blame the Internet but everytime I want to look up something I rather use google.I also have a big coffee mug which helps me stay awake and actually get some work done during dreary afternoons.I also have post-its which I scribble into all the time.Post its must be the best things invented since sliced bread.

I also have a filing cabinet which is empty...OK I keep all my files on windows.I sit on a comfortable wheel footed chair which I can pace up and down in the little space to keep myself from dozing off.

Over the years,I have worked in many buildings,many different cubicles and all of them have a single shortcoming-they are designed so that you can work in them.Who wants to work in cubicles all their lives?....Inspite of all my rant,I do have a soft corner for life in cubicles....afterall you spend or are going to spend a big part of your life inhabiting them. They make you feel important and even a bit nostalgic when time comes to bid goodbye to one, pack all your stuff and move to another one. You tend to leave behind the successes,the failures the good times and the bad...a slice of your days gone by.

Isn't it almost weird that no matter in which part of the world you work,you always belong to the universal world of cubes.Let me end with a joke where a Brit quips that "we invented the Internet....America gave us the cubicle!".Well...rarely has "made for each other" seemed more appropriate.

Desi movie in the USA

Watching a bollywood movie in the states is a somewhat different experience.Being packed in a darkened theatre with your fellow countrymen can prove interesting enough.If you are in a small city or a non major hub(not the likes of NJ,Chicago or California) you need to buy your tickets from your local desi store.The price is a tad higher which is fine with me as many times its not easy to get these screenings done specially in small centers.Then you need to arrive early and queue up unless you want to get an imax experience sitting in the front rows.

While the queue gets longer,it also tends to bulge specially at the front and in the middle.Reason being that many of my educated fellow countrymen who are oblivious of the concept of waiting in a line are holding places for their friends,relatives,parents,kids..you name it.In my opinion the reason we stand in a line is because its first in and first out deal,you just cant hold places.People who come late should be at the back behind people who are rightfully in the front.Somehow,its never the case.

Anyway,you ignore this and enter the theatre,and are aghast to find that just as you are about to take your seat somebody motions that they have it blocked for someone who is coming later.During one of the movies I watched recently,the situation became so bad that the organisers had to literally reprimand people that they cannot reserve seats like this!.

Well, its not as bad as it appears.There are good things too...you get to meet friends,make new ones if you are so inclined during the movie break.It somehow makes you feel you are back home.

I enjoy going to hindi movies here in the states,its almost fun.Only if people could switch off their fancy cell phones and the popcorn and the soda were not priced like a gourmet meal,I would have taken off that 'almost'.

The inimitable Ipod

Electronic toys are unveiled with monotonous regularity in the first world so what's the big deal about Apple's Ipod.Well,the Ipod is no 'one night stand' gizmo.Here's a product which has the same kind of social and pop culture implications as the Sony walkman when it first came out.

Steve Jobs has a knack of doing things out of the ordinary and Apple as a company completely potrays his flamboyant personality and original philosophy when it comes to product development and brand creation.

Sony's founder Akio Morita on a visit to the US in the early eighties observed how attuned people were to music and they were seen carrying the big 'two in ones' with them outdoors so that their favourite music could accompany them. This observation sparked off an idea in Morito-Why not give the people a portable 'two in one' so that they could carry their music with them at all times.The idea of a headphone attachment was an inspired one serving the double purpose of enjoying personal music without disturbing your neighbour.That this idea would be a guaranteed hit seems now like a no brainer. However,executives and engineer's at Sony were pretty unenthusiastic about this idea which they thought seemed like some sci-fi product.Morita however was convinced and Sony went ahead and launched the world's first walkman.The rest as they say is history and the walkman in more ways than one can be called Sony's flagship product.

The Sony Walkman in a sense is the grand daddy of portable music and reamined in vogue till the world wide web and digital music hit the straps in the late nineties and in the new millenium.Researchers are always looking at broadening the horizon,how can they better a technology,how can they cross the realms of the last big idea.So when the MP3 technology became mainstream obviously the next question was what earth shattering ideas could be created with it.The Walkman and its later avatar the discman suffered from one perennial problem-you could carry only a certain amount of music with you,not to mention the drag of packing compact discs and then changing them when you wanted to listen to a different album.Enter the Mp3 players and suddenly the consumer had thousands of songs at their disposal.

The idea is fascinating almost surreal,I mean how better it can get.You have almost every kind of music available online and once you download it to your player,you can carry it anywhere.No messy,scratched discs..just pure unadulterated digital music!.

Apple was probably one of the early companies who bet big on this idea and as with their other products they lyrically blended the new technology with an innovative user interface.You can have the most cutting edge technology at your disposal but if the user interace sucks then you can bid goodbye to your product.

Apple's hardware engineering chief Jon Rubenstein assembled a team of engineers to design the Ipod, including Tony Fadell, Stan Ng and Jonathan Ive. They developed the product in less than a year and it was unveiled on 23rd Oct 2001. Jobs announced it as a Mac-compatible product with a 5 GB hard drive that put "1000 songs in your pocket." Uncharacteristically, Apple did not develop the iPod's software entirely in-house. Instead, Apple began with Portal Player's reference platform which was based on 2 ARM cores. The platform used rudimentary software running on a commercial microkernel embedded operating system. PortalPlayer had previously been working on an IBM-branded MP3 player with Bluetooth headphones. Apple contracted another company,PIXO to help design and implement the user interface, under the direct supervision of Steve Jobs.

The Ipod's distinctive feature is the innovative 'click wheel' technology that lets you browse through the songs in your library.The Ipods have come a long way from the first model that was launched in 2001. They have taken advantage of the ever growing 'more memory on a chip' technology to pack in more and more power. The fifth generation Ipods come in fabulous 30GB and 80GB memory options.That's thousands and thousands of songs and music at your finger tips.Just when you were wondering what more this brilliant device can do-The iPod can play MP3, AAC/M4A, Protected AAC, AIFF, WAV, Audible audiobook, and Apple Lossless audio file formats. The iPod photo introduced the ability to display JPEG, BMP, GIF, TIFF, and PNG graphic file formats. The fifth generation iPod (which has a 320x240 pixel display) can also play MPEG-4 (H.264/MPEG-4 AVC), and QuickTime video formats, with restrictions on video dimensions, encoding techniques and data-rates.

I own a 30GB fifth generation Ipod and mainly use it for playing music.I rarely use the video and photo capabilities.They are good bonus features to have but kind of overkill for me.In the ever growing world of gadgets if there is one that stands out heads and shoulders above the rest it is the Ipod.

Wordsmiths

In my opinion a writer's(successful writer that is) life is so attractive.However,writing is a tough tough art.How do you write something which people would want to read?How do you even know what people want to read about?However,there are some talented and exceptionally skilled folks who have somewhat figured out this mystery and whatever they write is a success.

The world of writers and their ilk is a crowded place.There are so many wannabees,so many aspiring writers.And on the world wide web almost anyone can call himself a writer for that matter.

I have delved into the works of numerous writers since childhood as books have always been very dear to me.As a child I remember reading the great works of English literature-Dickens,Robert Louis Stevenson,Jules Verne,Mark Twain to name a few.Enid Blyton with the great series of famous fives,secret sevens,five find outers and others remains an all time favourite though its hard to spot any of her works especially here in America. I also loved the Sherlock Holmes stories and have read and reread them and can still enjoy them. RK Narayan's Swami and Friends is another all time favourite.

There was a time I used to be very interested in business books and I read quite a few-Lee Iacoca's Made in America,Akio Morita's Made in Japan,an engrossing book on Apple computers,Jack Welch's book about GE,Lou Gestners Elephant's can dance.I got bored even though these were all great works about careers of exceptionally talented people however the paths that these books tread were more or less the same. It doesn't excite me anymore.

There are numerous books I have started reading,lost interest and left midway.Some have been boring like hell and I persisted with them as long as I could. Then there have been some absolutely fascinating but make very slow reading like the Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance.This is one amazing work I have still been unable to read through after many attempts. It must be the most unusual book I have read ever.

I love books which are witty and funny at the same time.Bill Bryson books are recent favorites as they are great to read.A walk in the woods,I'm a stranger here myself,Travels down under make great reads.I somewhere read about Bryson that even if the guy writes about something as boring as laundry lint he will make you laugh. I certainly can vouch for that. I am currently reading his Life of the thunderbolt kid-a memoir about life in America in the fifties.

I also love reading cricket related books with their inside stories of famous matches and players.Sunil Gavaskar's one day wonders is fantastic. I recently read Sachin's biography but it was more replete with stats than the man himself.John Wright's Indian Summers seems to be an intriguing read with his take on the Indian team and the board.There are not many good writers writing about cricket unfortunately. A book on "sidhuisms" anyone?!

I have at several times attempted reading VS Naipaul and always given up with exasperation. I find his writing style too complex and elaborate.Its the complexity which puts me off.I mean you can sound all classy,sophisticated and regal but I would any day take someone whose narrative gives you an impression that the author is more or less speaking to the reader.Khushwant Singh is a writer that excels in this genre. His books make for addictively pleasurable reading specially his essays compiled in "Not a nice man to know" and his memoir "Love,Lies and a little malice".I rate him as a very accomplished and a thoroughly enjoyable author.

I also have a special liking for memoirs and biographies.Sometimes its amazing to see the parallels when you read an autobiography and you also go on to read the same person's biography.As in the case of Mahatma Gandhi's "My experiment's with truth"-as honest and sombre account of oneself as one can dare to make public.Louis Fischer's Gandhi at the same time is a fantastic biography presenting Mahatma's life from many other angles which are not conceivable when someone writes an account of himself.Another fascinating biography is Genius on the life and times of Richard Feynman.Feynman though gave fabulously original and creative lectures which later were compiled into several books never cared to write a memoir.I guess it would have sounded something damn boring for a person who hated authority and hypocrisy of any sort.

The subject of books being made into blockbuster movies is another interesting subject to boot.
It must be an incredibly difficult proposition to condense a lengthy book into a 2 hour movie with taut screenplay,interesting characters and all without loosing the guiding theme of the original work.Perhaps this is the reason that books are almost always better than the movies that adapt them.Rarely has been a movie made that has paralleled the book if not exceeded its charm.The Lord of the Rings trilogy is a perfect example of this.It actually made people sit up and take notice of the marvellous epic that Tolkein created almost a century ago.

Gifted writers you see are a marvellous and a rare species.We are thankful for their work.

All hail Team India!

I'm late on this but a week back team India did the improbable-beat the saffies in a test match in their own backyard.Going into the test series after being blown away 4-0 in the recently concluded ODI series,even the word 'underdogs' seemed charitable to the men in blue.But displaying an inspirational self belief the team rallied against all odds to beat SA inside four days.It was as good as it can get.

It's quite surprising to fathom why such a cricket crazy country like ours with its demi-God cricket stars wins so less test matches overseas.There are various theories the chief being the inability of our batsmen to counter the pace and bounce on foreign tracks.With the odd exception of Dravid and Sachin in the current team,there is hardly any batsman who can claim to have a sound teachnique to play on any kind of surface.However,this is an anamoly which afflicts most teams with the possible exception of the Aussies.Another theory which makes absolute sense to me is that we never have had bowlers who could bowl out the opposition twice to win test matches.So inflicted with this twin anamoly its not too hard to understand why our overseas record is so poor.

This test match however was a shocker for the saffies.They would have gone into this game assured of a one sided contest.What they were in for was nothing less than a miracle for an Indian fan.Chosing to take first strike on what looked like a dicey wicket to bat on,the Indian innings began badly with Sehwag and Jaffar out cheaply.Dravid playing the test match inspite of a broken finger led from the front and he found more than able support in Sachin at the other end.The pair saw off a very crucial passage of play where another wicket would have spelt doomsday for India.Ganguly returning to the team admist intense media scrutiny and public pressure produced a remarkable innings of 51 and some lusty hitting by VRV Singh at the end put the Indian score to 249.

When SA batted,Sreesanth struck havoc getting the ball to swing and seam prodigiously from a full length and literally running thru the SA side like hot knife thru butter.It was an incredible spell of seam bowling.The seam position was upright in almost every other delivery and the length was immaculate.Zaheer and the ever dependable Kumble bowled brilliantly too and before you knew it SA was bowled out for a mere 84 inside 25 overs.

Realizing that they had the upper hand in the contest India played well in the second innings with Laxman leading the pack with a brillaint 72 and Ganguly chipping in with 25.Zaheer showed enormous patience for a tail ender to stick around and add an invaluable 37 runs swelling the overall lead beyond 400.

When the saffies came out to bat in the second innings the pressure was squarely on them.The Indian bowlers fresh from their exploits in the first innings produced another sterling display to wrap up the game for India.They were backed up by agressive field placings from Dravid and impressive catching and ground fielding.

As they say cricket is a game of uncertainities.India the underdogs won this test by 123 runs and go up 1-0 in the test series.

Here's to the game and team India on a fantastic win!.

Rudolph!

I love this christmas song:

Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer
You know Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Vixen, Comet and Cupid and Donner and Blitzen,
but do you recall the most famous reindeer of all?

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer had a very shiny nose,
And if you ever saw it, you would even say it glows
All of the other reindeer, used to laugh and call him names,
They never let poor Rudolph join in any reindeer games
Then one foggy Christmas Eve, Santa came to say,
"Rudolph with your nose so bright, won't you guide my sleight tonight"
Then how the reindeer loved him, as they shouted out with glee,
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, you'll go down in history!

Rudolph my friend you rock!!

NRI Blues....

Yesterday I read an interesting but disturbing story of a 'green card' couple based in the US who were denied entry at the Mumbai airport because they could not furnish visas for their two children who are US citizens.Apparently the immigration authorities initially agreed to accept a faxed copy of the documents but the fax arrived ten minutes after the family was sent back.

Now the gentleman went back and told his story to the media summarily mentioning "I'm ashamed of being an Indian". This was the piece that cracked me up. I mean you turn up at the immigration counter without visas and then you dare to comment back on the system.It's an unpardonable thing in these days of heightened international security to undertake a transcontinental journey without appropriate papers.Now,had the family been visting India on a personal emergency or tragedy then this miraculous absence of visas could still be fathomed but imagine being a seasoned international traveller and ending up in front of immigration authorities without visas. That is asking for big trouble.Atleast in India,the authorities were even willing to listen to the arrangement of faxed papers.Imagine the situation in the US or any European country. I have little doubt that much worse treatment would have awaited them there.

And then to cry to the media about being "ashamed" of being an indian!.Some gals here!.I'm not even for a moment suggesting that Indian officials are meticulous in what they do.There have been umpteen cases of people getting rude and insensitive treatments at Indian airports.Courtesy and politeness is not our strong point in any case.But the facts of this case put the blame squarely on the parent's callousness.

There was also this incident of a Frenchman who was given a transit visa on the spot while the Indian family was denied. It really needs to be investigated if proper procedures were followed in this case. Afterall you would believe that the rule is same for all.

Indian community event....

A couple of weeks back I got an invitation to attend IBM India's community xmas/new year dinner here in Cincinnati.The event was held today at a local holiday inn express.It was a great gesture from couple of folks who took the trouble to organize this event.

I'm definitely not a party person and tend to be somewhat skeptical.One thing that almost always happens in these parties is ladies and the men form seperate groups and the guys spend the time talking about work or office politics both of which annoy me no ends.I mean is that all that is interesting in the world to talk about?

The other funny thing that happens with amazing regularity is people being coaxed to dance!.I mean you should shake a leg and have fun by all means but atleast do not relentlessly coax people into doing a jig impromptu.My idea of fun does'nt happen to be dancing to bollywood numbers anyway.I would rather enjoy any other party games for that matter.

The other rite of passage that happens is when people start playing their work roles in office get-togethers. I mean you might be my boss or manager at work but give me a break this is outside work. I have frequently seen people higher in the pecking order being given more importance or trying to show off at these gatherings.

Anyways to cut the long rant short today's event was pleasantly better.The crowd was comprised of India based IBM'ers who work in and around Cincinnati and their families.The only problem seem to be that there was a big group coming from a single project who obviously knew each other well. I mean nothing wrong with that but its just that mostly these people interacted amongst themselves.I met some nice and interesting guys.The appeatizers and the dinner were good and there were a few games-housie and dumb charades thrown in.There was the inevitable 'dance coaxing'....but overall not that bad.

It was good to know IBM'ers who live and work here.I was a bit surprised at the relatively large numbers.I had thought not many would be around here.Good on that....

Winter time in Ohio

Its the best time of the year with Thanksgiving just over and Christmas and New Year to look forward to.Its also the time when temps drop like a stone and lakes and ponds freeze.This year it was unusually warm till around thanksgiving with temps pleasantly in the sixties.However,like day and night change of seasons is inevitable.The cold front hit with a vengeance last week.It dumped heavy snow in Missouri and Illinois and clamped the temps down in twenties from sixties just a few days back.There are no snow showers as of yet here in Cincinnati but the wind is cold enough to chill your bones.

I do like winter as it lets you cosy up with a book or watch tv and enjoy hot meals and wine!.However removing snow or frost from the car windshield during chilly mornings is no fun at all.I normally have a habit of parking my car a fair distance from the building where I work.Actually by the time I reach most parking spaces near the building are anyways gone.The short walk can seem like ages with the wind howling and the air so cold.

Normally the first day it snows is also the time when most car accidents happen.People skidding off or loosing traction in ice.Fortunately in Cincinnati,snow storms are not so frequent as in NJ or Chicago.Last year there was one major storm which dumped quite some snow and some snow showers otherwise.The speculation for this year is stiffer as most folks say last time it was a an unusually 'mild' winter.

However,the best thing about this time of the year is the festive atmosphere and holiday lights and decorations everywhere which always lift up your spirits.The local soft rock station plays melodious christmas songs like Sinatra's "Let it snow,let it snow" and others. I hear those on the way to work and back.They are always so delightfull.I can liken this euphoria to the Diwali celebrations and ligthts back home.There are "Happy Holidays" signs everywhere and people are spending a lot of time in the malls shopping for gifts.

As they say "Happy Holidays,Happy Holidays"....

Zee TV in the USA

Sometime earlier this year we planned on getting a dish network connection so that we could get the hindi channels-star,sahara,zee and the works.It turned out much more complicated than I had anticipated!.For starters you need a clear view of the southern sky and our apartment's backyard is laced with a line of tall trees.So on the appointed day the Dish tech guy came in with a compass and announced much to my chagarin that we could not get the service as the view of the southern sky was promptly blocked by trees.

Some months later when we ordered the cable service from Time Warner cable we found out that it offered Zee TV as an option for 15$ monthly.We signed up for it hoping to atleast view some desi programming after a long time.

Zee in USA is a well packaged channel with news in hindi,gujarati and punjabi apart from regular prime time soap operas.It also shows a matinee movie(some of them really antique!) on work week afternoons.

What really set me laughing(and still does!) is the absolutely slapstick approach to the hindi news coverage.For example all cricket analysis starts with something hillarious like "Rahul Bhai lage raho...".It continues to enlighten us on how "Guru Chappell ko yaad aayi Dada ki"!!
I recently saw a news item about a composer who has created a Bhojpuri song about how great would be if MS Dhoni and Sania Mirza tie the knot and the whole marriage is coordinated by Laloo.What a load of crap!!.

The news is really funny and its really speculation and sensationalization as opposed to reporting on matters of interest.I would rate DD news several notches up inspite of the drab presentation and that fuzzy INSAT b/w picture which served as a backdrop for "Mausam ki jaankaari".

Westward Ho!

I recently returned from my leisurely vacation in California,quite easily my longest vacation in a long time.The two official days off at Thanksgiving and two weekends provided me 12 days to complete my trip and complete I did with starting off my trip from Los Angeles then on to San Francisco and on to Las Vegas and Grand Canyon and back to Los Angeles.It was by all accounts a memorable trip. I was in Los Angeles for a couple of days in the last days of 2000 but most of that trip was spent in Disney World and Universal studios leaving no time to marvel at the natural wonders in California.The weather is quite amazingly pleasant(seems more so if you travel from the mid-west) and the LA expressways are bustling with traffic.Its a big bad city all right!.

It wont do justice to summarize the entire trip in one blog entry so I plan to dedicate a blog each to LA,SFO,Vegas and Grand Canyon.I did take a lot of pictures with my Nikon D80.What I thought were my best work so far are posted at http://flickr.com/photos/rishis75/

Some of the other places I really wanted to visit but had no time to do so on this trip were Yosemite National Park and Lake Taho.Maybe some time soon I would touch down on those too.

I enjoyed my time...more to come.

The Titanic Exhibit

Ever since I watched the Titanic movie,I have been intrigued by its history.As part of my Titanic research I have read some excellent books like "A night to remember" and a beautiful coffee table book co-written by Robert Ballard who was the chief explorer and scientist on the team which discovered the Titanic wreck in the north atlantic in 1985.

There are numerous personal stories to be found-some courageous and many heartbreakingly sad and poignant.There is the famous quote by one Guggenheim-a millionaire who is quoted to have said "Not a single woman or child will die on the Titanic because Guggenheim was a coward".There is Captain Smith himself-on his last voyage before planned retirement who chose to go down with his ship.Then there is the "unsinkable" Molly Brown whose courage and prayer chanting aboard one of the lifeboats brought some calm to terrified souls.

I recently visited a fantastic Titanic exhibits show at the Cincinnati Arts and Museum Center where hundreds of recently salvaged artifacts from the most famous ship wreck in history were on display.It was somewhat dissapointing that the organisers did not allow photography of the items on display. It sure would have made a very interesting set.Nevertheless it was an unforgettable experience to see the artifacts brought to life by cutting edge modern preservation techniques.These are some of the articles on display from my memory-

• Fashionable leather purses belonging to first class passengars
• Beautiful jewellery again mostly belonging to the rich upper class on board the Titanic.One spectacular diamond ring stood out-gleaming and regal.
• A Gillete razor and case belonging to one of the travellers.
• A vest and oxford style trousers indicative of the staid victorian dressing of the day.
• Beautiful china used to serve First class and the 'La carte' exclusive restaurant.Much modest and heavy cups and saucers for the working class passengars in third class.
• Binoculars used on the watch towers-looked antique and heavy.
• A make believe first class lobby with matching lamps in the lobby with heavy carpetting and beautifully carved doors which would have belonged to the regal first class parlor suits.
• A make believe third class cabin with 2 bunker beds facing each other.

As you walked though each section of the exhibit you could hear or read about the passengars and detailed scientific analysis about the flawed design of water tight compartments which sank the ill fated ship.Most of the passengars died from hypothermia due to the extreme cold and not from drowning in the sea waters.The Carpathia which was the nearest ship to Titanic arrived the next morning and rescued the passengars in the life boats.

There was also a historical section on Cincinnati in 1912.Being the first boom town of the mid west it boasted of many influential figures.The archbishop of the day had critisized the owners of Titanic for their arrogance in claiming that "Even God himself could not sink the ship".

The legend and the poignant history of the most famous ship in history lives on.It was called the ship of dreams...and it was....untill about the time it met its match in the mighty ice bergs of the north atlantic.

ThePhotography Bug!

I guess I had this for sometime even though I must confess I know precious little about the technicalities.So I thought I would make amends and went ahead and got myself a DSLR(Digital Single Reflex) Camera. DSLR's are the 'real' cameras and sure cost a bomb!.I bought the recently launched Nikon D80 and have been trying to figure it.Obviously this is no easy hobby to keep...so I picked up some Photography books and manuals from the library and started pouring over it.

I guess I understand the basics now-Aperture,Shutter speed,Exposure,lighting etc.The beauty as usual lies in the details which means you need to be able to translate all this technical knowledge into using the DSLR.

I havent still really got a chance to try out the D80 but this weekend seems a good opportunity to catch the last of the beautiful fall season around here. I guess I will start out with some pictures in 'idiot' mode and then experiment with some of the things I learnt about.

More to come on my fledgling photographic journey!

Random thoughts on a weekday....

Ok...I have nothing specific to write about so I will ramble somewhat aimlessly today.

The other day I was thinking about "Fate and chance"...not in a mathematical or statistical sort of way but more in terms of its imapct on our lives.Sometimes I really wonder if anything has a meaning at all...a lot of things in nature work on the principle of chance...for example-the very creation of life.Everything seems to be controlled by an unknown element of mystery and chance.Suppose you are driving down a road and get into an accident....why does that happen? why did it happen to you?No one can answer these questions.Statistics says that perhaps the probability of people driving down a road and meeting with an accident is say x % based on number of cars on the road,driving conditions etc.But if you happen to be in that x % then what is that supposed to mean?Was it your luck or a random event in which you figured by chance.You see what a hopeless quagmire this is...

Religion,Science and Philosophy deal with this universal question very differently.Religion asks you to believe in "Karma" or destiny.Your path in life is pre-decided by the Supreme being and everything that happens is pre-written in the pages of your book of life.

Science talks about probability and tries to put a number to the events in life making it seem statistical and cold.But life is not all numbers and probabilities or is it?

Philosophy often tries to tread the middle ground if there is one that is.It teaches us to question.
Many philosphers have even asked what do we mean by understanding or to question 'why' things happen.

None of this happens to answer the universal question of life- why do things happen the way they do?Is everything predestined to happen?

I somewhat believe that in the grand scheme of things there is no rhyme or reason why things happen. They are meaningless events in a random cosmos.

Jungle Jim's

Several months ago a colleague at work had mentioned about a store called "Jungle Jim's" in fairfield ohio...a 10 mile drive or so.The concept is quite unique-Jungle Jim sells food produts from different countries -Germany,UK,Austria,Japan,China,India to name a few.

Last Sunday,I decided to check out the place.It was very interesting with a HUGE setup and different sections dedicated to food products from around the world. It was a great experience walking down different aisles.A few that I checked out were - Germany,UK,Austrailia,South Africa,Carribean and of course India.

The Indian section was really a bigger variation of the quintissential 'desi' stores scattered all over the US.The thing that catches everybody's eye in the Indian section is an Auto Rickshaw displayed on an elevated podium.It was complete with a picture of Rani Mukherjee inside and a note stuck on the wheel saying "imagine being an auto rickshaw driver in india"!.There was also a neat explanation about the gear mechanics and how the auto worked. I found it pretty amusing.

If there can be a store with the novel concept of Jungle Jim's it has to be in the US.This great nation is really a melting pot of cultures and cuisines from so many different countries.

Jungle Jim's on the internet

Panic Room....

This past wednesday I got my first ER(Emergency Room) experience.I was at work when about noon I started getting these sharp stomach pains which initially seemed like stomach cramps.Its rare for me to have even a stomach upset so it caught me totally offguard.Still under growing pain,I drove home,stopped at the supermarket and bought a pack of "GasX" hoping that it was just some constipation issue causing the pain.

But by the time I got home and lay in bed,the pain had worsened so much that it would not allow me to lie still,talk or walk.We contemplated calling 911 but then I thought since the hospital was just a stone's throw why wait...so there I was in mind numbing pain driving thru heavy lunch time traffic to the Cincinnati's Bethesda Hospital's Emergency unit.

At the hospital,I held my stomach in pain as the inevitable paper work was done..unable to speak coherently from the pain,I just put down my insurance card and driver's license on the nurse's desk.After what seemed like an endless wait(actually it was just some 15 minutes or so but seemed like eternity under that terrible pain) I gingerly walked into the alloted room and lay down on the bed.

A wrist band with my name and id printed on it was clipped to me.I was then wheeled out to the Radiologist center and administered X-rays of my stomach,back and chest.Then I was wheeled back to my room and was told to await the doctor.I tried to sleep and didnt realize when I slept probably under some realxing medication.When I woke up the pain was gone!.

The Dr came in a few minutes later and asked me about my pain and its location.Almost immidiately he said "sounds like a kidney stone to me".He said I could already have passed it since I was under no pain or it could have temporarily dislodged itself causing a temporary pain relief.He said he had ordered a CT scan to be sure his diagnosis was on the mark.

I was wheeled into the CT scan room shortly afterwards and it looked absolutely like a scifi movie with that hitech gadgetry.After the scan the Doctor returned to inform me that the pain was indeed due to the kidney stone but fortunately for me the stone was very small(about 2mm in size) and there was every possibility that I would pass it normally and no surgery was needed.He said the pain could return and he would prescribe some strong pain killers to deal with it.I was told to stay off from work and drink lots of water to help it along.

Over the next two days the pain did return with a vengenace and I spent two very restless days and nights foggy and weak from the medication.However this morning there was no pain and I sure passed it!.

I never thought a 2 mm tiny stone could cause so much pain...also the human's body's self correcting mechanism is underestimated.I feel good again but I had a hellish week with ending up in a hospital gown and under a CT scanner...Thank god I didnt find myself on the surgeon's table.

Spammed!

I wonder who keeps sending me all these junk emails.I get emails saying I've won a million dollars,credit card approved,mortgage,a university degree...you name it!.And there is also the matter of this Email which always comes once in a while-a confidential email from some obscure country requesting my services to transfer some million dollar inheritance and keep a percentage as a payout.Holy crap!...it breaks my heart to keep putting down these unstoppable offers of being a millionaire! and I tell you its tough work!.

Seriously,what's the point of this spamming?My yahoo bulk folder(thanks for small mercies) dosent take more than a day to ring up some 1000 emails- all of them spam.I mindlessly keep deleting them most of the time but every once in a while take a peek at where they are coming from.They seem to be overflowing from every part of the spectrum-finances,fashion,banks,music,romance..the list keeps on growing.

I wonder if there are actually people writing out these emails.I fiddle with that thought and then drop it...most likely smart programmes spewing out all the trash.

So there are millions of these "service machines" sending out gazillion of emails which I dont even read!....talk of being redundant.