No image this time but....

If one could use one's snot to butter their toast, I would have a year's supply generated within a week!!!

#@*$@#@ Allergies!

Simple Pleasures...

Pretty satisfying...

Reddit gems...

Daaamn nice Van!

Daaaaaamn nice commercial!

Deliberate acts of arrogance (or What grinds my gears...)

I just had to follow-up the Random acts of kindness post with this one.

Yes, I get it that you love your nice new expensive car.

Yes, I also get it that you don't want get a ding or a dent or a scratch on it.

But I just don't get why you don't park on ONE parking space like us mortals? Why your highness, can you not park in one of those empty spots in that back row where most of us lazy fatasses won't bother to park and dent your precious little car.

Random acts of kindness

So yesterday I was in a hurry, as usual, trying to get from point A to point B. As as usual, I was trying to time the lights and getting antsy over long reds and missed greens. At one of these lights that just turned red as I was approaching it, I saw something that kinda made me slow down a bit.

At the red light, this guy gets down from his truck, walks back to the couple riding a scooter stopped behind him and hands a pair of glasses to the girl on the backseat and just walks back to his truck. The girl puts on the glasses and the couple wave a thanks to him as he speeds away as the light turns green, to his point B.

I guess we all need these small little nudges now and then to remind us that everything is not just about getting from point A to point B...or just about going with the flow.

The Cubmaster...

This is a silhouette of Mr. Cubmaster. Great guy he is. Super friendly, very knowledgeable and always ready to help anyone with anything scouting. He has worked very hard over the last few years to make his pack a successful forum for all Cub Scouts new and old. He also makes some killer blueberry cobbler on his dutch oven over the coal.

This will be his last year with the pack. He will be moving on with kid to the Boy Scout troop from next year. He is an inspiration for others to be more involved in the activities in their neighborhood. His presence and leadership will be missed.

Thank you Mr. Cubmaster!

If you have the time, inclination, enthusiasm, etc., consider exploring he boy scout/girl scout/cub scout activities in your area. You may like what you find!

Gone Carving...

Carved a jack-o-lantern again this year with the kiddos. Nothing special at all 2 eyes, a nose, some teeth and a couple of fangs on an extra large pumpkin. Way too many candies this year - both leftovers and bounties brought in by the monsters. Cavities, come and get me!!

 

En Why See

Was in downtown New York a couple of weeks back after many many years. Reminded me of Bombay and how much I miss it sometimes. I'm not sure if I could ever commute 3 hours a day between work and home but that city energizes you like no other. Had a really great time there. Was too short of a trip. Some day, I need to go out somewhere on a discovery trip...

Where downtown is less than an hour away....

Had been to downtown around a month back. Spent a few minutes walking around and clicking with my iphone. I should go back there with more time in this hand and a camera in the other...

Gone Beaching....

Went to the beach with the folks a couple of weeks back and we had a really great time. This beach has one of the silkiest sands you can lay your feet on and it's 30 minutes from home and we rarely go out there.

Seems like a pattern for the night - Count your blessings, Cherish what you have, Do more of what you like doing!

Gone biking....

Must be thankful for where we live, work and play...
The water is never more than a few miles away.

Got a chance to bike a bit last week and today. Pics below from the hour and half between the two rides.

Temptation #1....Should I???


Temptation #2....Should I????


A bridge that connects two towns...




Don't be afraid to look into the sun...you'll never know what you'll find!

Validates the fact that I need to be out more often!

Gone camping, back with More...

Had gone camping this weekend with the kiddo and it made me realize a few things. Little things that matter much (not in any particular order)

MORE...

- I need to spend more time with the kiddo
- I like being outdoors and need to spend more time out there
- I need to make find more time to volunteer
- I love photography and I must carry my camera with me more often
- I need to lose more weight
- I need to leave work back at work more often
- I need to call/email my friends/family far away from me more often
- I need to open up more
- I need to appreciate folks around me more often

Noble professions...

Have this family I know of whom I meet quite regularly. The Mom is an Elementary school teacher and the Dad is cop at the Sheriff's department. Neither of the professions are known for their pay but both of them contribute positively to the enrichment of the lives of me, my family and others around me.

I've always wanted to be an Elementary school teacher but I don't think I'll ever have the guts to give up my job and take on that profession. It's a dream job that I can always only dream of. Least I can do is look at them and admire them for what they are (and what I'm not). 

Thank you Lizzy's and Lori's, Kris' and Jill's, Ramesh's and Jack's and everyone else out there who are their local hometown heroes. All you folks - cops, firemen, teachers, social workers and many other folks who take care of me and others like me. Here's a bow to you and a hug and a Big Thank You!

Love,

Shailesh

M U S T...D U S T...C O B W E B S....

M u s t d u s t o f f t h o s e c o b w e b s
o f f m y e s s e l l a r e a n d t a k e i t o u t
f o r a s h o o t o r t w o
s o m e t i m e s o o n ! ! ! ! !

From Zero to Fanboi in 300 days...

Until October of last year, only exposure to a bitten apple was my wife's phone that I used to install crappy apps on, sometimes just to bug her.

Got my first half bitten fruity phone last October and then it kept on going, pad, mini mad, maxi pad and now this pro. I'm starting to get a bit too used to these toys and at least one of these fruits are stuck to me 24 hours a day.

Ugggh...does this make a fanboi? an iSheep?? Hater of doors, windows and robots? Not really, I still like the hole in the wall gizmos as much as I like the robots. I like toys, period. But, there is some extra refinement to these fruits that one doesn't get with the others.

Shut up and....

Google Glass....

Shut up and....

Formula Won

It's been a long time since I watched Formula 1 races. Bumped into this link earlier today and it revived memories of how fast those guys actually go as compared to rest of the super cars of the world.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2cNqaPSHv0

While following that link, I also bumped into this one from Top Gear, where this guy who has driven quite a few supercars, including the Veyron tries to tame this beast. I couldn't help but giggle in excitement while watching parts of this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGUZJVY-sHo

It's been a long time since I played some mean car racing games on my PC but even now occasionally I race some cars on XBox with the kiddo (and beat him at it muhuhuhahaha!!). But besides those thrilling clicks on the joystick, all I ride is my Odyssey, maxing out at 50mph on my daily commute.

Next life, I want be born as Schumacher's grandkid!!

TBD #426

TBDs....tbd some time in my life..

#426: Write/Post/Publish a set of children's story books.

Upgrading your Canon SLR lenses for free!

Found this on a post from David Hobby on Google Plus. Affirms why I should visit G+ at least once a month...

Photo courtesy: http://www.petapixel.com/2012/02/09/how-to-increase-the-performance-of-your-canon-kit-lens/

iRide, iBike, iClick, iJoy

Yet another nice hour and half of biking today with the kiddo. It was quite chilly in the morning but had warmed up quite well by around 3:30 PM. Today's route took us through John Chestnut Park. This park is a 15 minute bike ride (or 10 minute by car) from our place. It's one of the nicest parks around, with a lot of walking trails, picnic shelters, volleyball courts, play areas, etc.

One of the many wallking trails. Most of the trails don't all bikes but this one did.


This was a part of a walking trail without the "No Bikes" sign....so we took our chances...

Showing off my bike. I have had this bike for 7 years now. It is a cheapo Schwinn sub 200 dollar bike but still runs great to this day. Would like to buy a cyclocross one of these days.

Spent a few minutes on this swing. Fun times....


Finally time to head back home....

What a waste of 2 weeks...

(Another one from the Drafts - Originally typed up exactly 3 years back - 12/31/2009)

I was home for the last two weeks. Today is day 8 of my 10 day vacation. When I look back, it seems such a huge waste of days spent doing nothing. I did not do much at all. I should've/could've/must've spent these days a lot more, a whole lot more productively than I did. It has been a lousy lazy set of days.

What if I feel the same way about life when I'm 55?

Quick walk around the block

(Resurrecting from Drafts...Originally typed up in Sept 2010 but never posted. Posted as-is - Was probably left incomplete then. The camera mentioned swam with me in my swim trunks at Cozumel earlier this year and drowned to death. RIP SD780 :()
>>>>>

Had to kill time while waiting on the kiddo at some place today. Had taken my pocket camera with me - a Canon SD780 IS. I really love this camera. The more I use it, the more I like it. Of course, you cannot get super sharp images that a DSLR gets you but these cameras have come a long way in the last few years.

Pressing Matter

I had a pressing matter to deal with. In fact, I had this pressing issue for quite a few weeks now. The pile of matter to be pressed was growing every week until all I was left with were no-iron shirts and polos.

Today finally I decided to face my nemesis - this huge big pile of crumpled weaves of cotton, nylon, polyester and all combinations thereof. After around 3 hours of ironing, I am finally sitting in front of an empty basket.

The final count? 18 shirts, 4 polos, 3 trousers for a grand total of 25 pressing matters, pressed, hung and ready to be sweated in and crinkled!

I think I started to get better at it towards the end of the pile. My hatred towards ironing also seems to have toned down quite a lot. Well, at least until I have to deal with this towering pile in another few months, when I get bored of wearing my non-iron shirts and polos again!

Am feeling old....

The kiddo has started riding an adult bike. Am I getting old or am I getting old? I need to go biking with him more often, before he doesn't find me cool enough to go biking with!

I enjoy biking in general. I have this affinity with two-wheelers. The wind blowing against your face and eyes and ears, the occasional fly entering your nose and the sheer sense of freedom from a seat belts  doors, windows and the shell is incomparable. You also don't have the sideseat or backseat driver to worry about!



Biking is one thing I wanted to do more of and have been sorta kinda lazy about doing. Need to make more time for it, find more opportunities for biking, with and without the kiddo. New year resolution eh??