Image Courtesy: Amazon
These thin strips have a sweet hint and a spicy taste too. Its not spicy spicy but you do get the strong spice hit here and there.
Net Galley Challenge
Wednesday, December 4, 2019
Real Coco Thai Chilli
These thin strips have a sweet hint and a spicy taste too. Its not spicy spicy but you do get the strong spice hit here and there.
Tuesday, December 3, 2019
Surprise to you from yourself
Recently I realised that I was fretting over a bill that needs to be paid. Turns out that I had already paid for it. it is a relief to have things taken of early in the cycle. When you have some extra monies, be your own Surprise Santa and pay off some bill. Come end of the year you will be surprised.
When things come to a head.
Few people wanted to join on a trip but wouldnt finalise one way or the other. I should have gone with the confirmed ones in the first case. But I waited and there was fear that all will lose a chance. Finally when i was notified that the registrations are closing, I sent the mail with the limited registrations. Quickly all the needed registrations came in.
When things come to a head.
Few people wanted to join on a trip but wouldnt finalise one way or the other. I should have gone with the confirmed ones in the first case. But I waited and there was fear that all will lose a chance. Finally when i was notified that the registrations are closing, I sent the mail with the limited registrations. Quickly all the needed registrations came in.
Triple Ginger Snaps
I didnt know if it was a good idea to buy the cookies. We dont eat cookies that much and kids wont like the ginger. Thats the end of that. Ginger snaps in tea. Awesome. Wakes you up. Ginger snaps with coffee. I forewent the sugar in the coffee as the ginger flavor made up for it. My kid gathered that I loved these cookies.
Melissa & Doug ABC-123 Abacus - Classic Wooden Educational Toy With 36 Letter and Number Tiles
Image Courtesy: amazon
Melissa & Doug ABC-123 Abacus - Classic Wooden Educational Toy With 36 Letter and Number Tiles
This is such a cool toy. Toddlers like this as a rattle. Its colorful and fun. The stile effect of the pieces adds to the joy.
Saturday, November 30, 2019
Spelled Backwards
Image Courtesy: Gardening now
Prince's feather
This morning my kids wanted the puzzle game. This is where I come up with some question and they guess the answer. Last night, they had lots of fun with the game, hence their first request of the day. The one that cracked me up the most.
Q: Which animal gives us cheese?
A; Mouse
I have started with words, for example what rhymes with suitcase that takes you from one level to another?
A: esacriatS (spelled backwards)
The little one wanted more color related questions.
What fruit is also a color. What fruit when dried in the sun makes raisins? (I will make sure that the answer is in the working memory from their wrong guesses of previous questions.)
I cracked open the dictionary and found prince's feather. I asked them to put 'son of the king' and 'what are wings made of' to come up with this answer. Then they ask more clarificatory questions. You then get interesting thoughts. Oh yeah, not the chicken wings.
Other question subjects - eggplant (This is my favorite. I saw the picture in an encyclopaedia in my undergrad. But my kids saw this recently as produce from their friend's garden. That was easy to frame as what vegetable is white, which is from your friend's garden.)
Customised crossword for your kids. I tried to make an owl sound and asked for the animal. It turned out to be a wolf's sound for my little ones. I then thought of fowl and asked them to scramble the letters such that it rhymes with owl, so they will learn of the fowl.
If you removed Al from a continent, which city will he find himself in?
A: ailartsuA (spelled backwards)
Then we moved on to a similar sounding Ostrich.
Learning Resources Spike The Fine Motor Hedgehog
Image Courtesy: Amazon
Learning Resources Spike The Fine Motor Hedgehog
This is such a cute toy that makes the untouchable hedgehog/porcupine accessible and fun. Adding color to the bristles is another fun thing. you could try to arrange the colums or rows colorcoded.
If you feel more adventurous, you could make Dotted letters, something like the below but a lot simpler.
You all might have seen the alphabet soup. Eh, if you know what all goes into the Stone Soup, why not throw in some alphabets?
Image Courtesy: alicdn
Have you seen any dress with alphabets or numerals? Like first button is 1 and second is 2 and so on. Today I introduced a new game to my daughter about transporting the colors of the rainbow to the fingers in the order that they appear and then asking her back for the colors with the numbers associated with them. For example, what is the 4th color of the rainbow? Its Green if you follow ROYGBIV
Thursday, November 28, 2019
Winged freedom
Flowers are
the butterflies
a plant
yearns for
Petals are the
blades
sepals are for
takeoff
Tension in art
Today I saw a small canvas painting of a half sunflower which I thought was interesting. usually in pictures and photograhy, you go for harmony but this was clear tension with the other half missing. The background was turquoise blue. Now after realising that once the sunflower turns to the sun, other than that, it sees the blue sky. The background color choice now makes sense.
On the way to school, in a bus, I would see a field of sunflowers.
Sunday, November 24, 2019
Love and Belonging
I started reading more about Brene Brown, after looking at the book Daring Greatly. what better than a speech to judge an author, if delving into an author's work is worth it? (nah, pure curiosity). Then I saw the TED talk on vulnerability.
Somethings spoke to me. while the topic of connection came, I wondered if yesterday I went to volunteer at the VEX competition to be a judge, to connect with the rest. Today it being Sunday, my head is struggling to understand that today is Sunday and tomorrow is work. Many people on Twitter this week, thought there should be a day between saturday and sunday. You wont get it until you have a name for it. The best I came up with is gymday. I knwo what you are thinking.. days of the week.. gymday, gymday, gymday (Tom Hanks.. Monday, Tuesday... from the Iching Godfather).
Brene's personality is great, so in tne with the audience. Those spurts of life on her face.
Two places where I felt she was spot on.
"when you ask people about love, they tell you about heartbreak. When you ask people about belonging, they'll tell you their most excruciating experiences of being excluded. And when you ask people about connection, the stories they told me were about disconnection. " - Brene Brown
Check it out next time if this is true, that when you ask something, then they talk about the opposite. Well may be true, they might be the smart ones who know statistics and disproving by proving the opposite.
"And I know that vulnerability is the core of shame and fear and our struggle for worthiness, but it appears that it's also the birthplace of joy, of creativity, of belonging, of love." - Brene Brown
Being a writer is all about rejection. Axiom.
I watched Brittany runs a marathon (true-story), and two things that I took away mainly.
One, I liked Bridget Jones Diary, not just for the serious Colin Firth but also the Bridget who spins on the bike before it was cool to until she drops.
The other, I didnt know why Brittany acts weird when she is at the birthday party We judge people in areas where we’re vulnerable to shame now makes it clear.
The minor points, the belief or the disbelief that you dont set a goal until you know it is possible, the struggle if the punds will come back.
Raising children who are hopeful and who have the courage to be vulnerable means stepping back and letting them experience disappointment, deal with conflict, learn how to assert themselves, and have the opportunity to fail.
(Sometimes when I hear people do things that I have never done, I ask them of their bizarre experiences. one event manager told me about an event at a high altitude place where attendees complained of headaches. the student paramed there would phone in so many cases and each had to be reported, which bet the state average.)
Back to our story, a weird thing happened in another volunteering event where I took my child. There was another child there who seemed to have gotten the whole volunteering thing pat down and told the kids what needed to be done for the salt painting. Mine came alive at the station with monitor, corn snake, desert tortoise. Somewhere along she won a cheetos packet and dared to eat those while working. She was immediatel told to put those away. I didnt say anything but I hope it was an opportunity for her to see the real world. That day she kept asking when it would be time to leave, I kept reminding her that she was there to volunteer, to which she made it clear that I was and she wasnt. But I think it was a great learning (lesson vs learning, mistake/failure vs experience. Literature has a bigger struggle dealing with colloquy, stopping the misappropriatiion of words). Does anyone like teachable moment? Personally, if they are not so identified :)
(In all of this wierdery, we didnt get the promised shirts and I didnt ask for them too as we might have not been upto the mark, but hey who remembers where all we volunteered if not for the shirts. But this time, we got a little thank you which was in a nice white bag with turquoise decoration paper and the lesson giver was a little miffed that she didnt receive one.)
Friday, November 22, 2019
Setting Goals
Choose your role models and then you know where you are going. It is one thing to know abstractly, when you want to get stronger and another when you know concretely - 75lb well its going to take a while. first of all, Where am I now, maybe 20-30. How do I get there? How did others get there?
— Smita Krishna (@jillofmnytrades) November 22, 2019
Happiness is a state of mind. Agelessness is (happiness + an active and healthy body)!
When you look good and feel good, you feel confident and in turn, happier and more positive in general!
Don't miss on today's post athttps://t.co/azXr4nSTjC#FridayMotivation #ageless pic.twitter.com/5glJJ1vHCo
Couldnt find anything specific. I guess its that simple, you keep lifting it till you drop.
The 28-day squat challenge youll want to start now
Lakeshore Rainbow Scratch Art
Today it rained (I am obsessed with the thinking man, imagine him with an umbrella), we saw a rainbow. At first it was half. Then we saw another rainbow. We also saw the big arch of the first one. Right before the Girl Scout session, I found this paper that we got from another troop. What a chance, with rainbows fresh in mind, to draw your own art on a rainbow scratch paper.
At first I thought, you scratch the paper and it reveals a predrawn picture. that wasnt the case. the girls were happy to unleash their creativity.
Looking at this, wouldn tit be cool to have some dried paint on papers that could be used to make watercolor painting without needing a separate palette.
Sunday, November 17, 2019
What it takes
Image Courtesy: goodreads
Stephen Scwarzman calling head of admissions after rejection from Harvard reminded me of Lydia Fenet getting the internship even after the positions have been filled.
25 rules
Calculating expected value of a sunken treasure in a Managerial Economics class, Schwarzman pointed out how only big companies have infinte tries and the one thing taught in business school that "everything relates to everything".
"When you disagree, it's important to get your opinions on record..". 3 ways to handle a board decision you disagree with even if you are the lone voice.
"People in a tough spot will often fcus on their won problems when the answer may lie in fixing someone else's". Symbiosis with Nikko.
Strange. Strange. Strange.
I have come to the real estate part and now this
Warren calls out blackstone for shameless profits from housing
No deal is too large for blackstone's real estate investors
You want to find out about the successful and you find the intended/unintended ills too.
Larry Fink and long termism
System performance
Active filters that still work even when their amplifiers dont
Interesting from a system performance of having all the components have to work right is to have so many single point of failures.
On the other hand, if only few components can work too, even when others are off, then its a bonus. Like mountain lookouts.
The other day when we saw an email showing different solutions to a problem, a junior asked a good question about the hallowed search for the root-cause which means there's one, but why so many solutions.
I gave an example of a small bottle that needs to be filled from a tank. If the bottle is being overfilled, causing spill - there are many ways to solve the problem.
1. Adjust the tap pressure
2. Decrease the incremets of fill, so that there's more granularity and finetuning
3. Decrease/Increase the bottle size. For the ones who cant change the bottle size, it would have to be the other options.
The art of Insight in Science and Engineering- Mastering complexity
Interesting from a system performance of having all the components have to work right is to have so many single point of failures.
On the other hand, if only few components can work too, even when others are off, then its a bonus. Like mountain lookouts.
The other day when we saw an email showing different solutions to a problem, a junior asked a good question about the hallowed search for the root-cause which means there's one, but why so many solutions.
I gave an example of a small bottle that needs to be filled from a tank. If the bottle is being overfilled, causing spill - there are many ways to solve the problem.
1. Adjust the tap pressure
2. Decrease the incremets of fill, so that there's more granularity and finetuning
3. Decrease/Increase the bottle size. For the ones who cant change the bottle size, it would have to be the other options.
The art of Insight in Science and Engineering- Mastering complexity
Not just the functionality
Vehicles were recalled because reverse camera could be adjusted so that the monitor appeared blank, which violates U.S. safety standards.
The back-up camera and display settings can be adjusted such that the rear view image is no longer visible and the system will retain that setting the next time the vehicle is placed in reverse. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 111, "Rear Visibility."
The back-up camera and display settings can be adjusted such that the rear view image is no longer visible and the system will retain that setting the next time the vehicle is placed in reverse. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 111, "Rear Visibility."
Saturday, November 16, 2019
Nuggets
supreme court argument_transcripts
case is on all fours
"But, here, we're not not enforcing the law. We're enforcing the law."
In logic, they are the same but.
rescission
conclusory
"serious doubts about its Illegailty"
serious doubts about legality proves the illegal nature. twisted but taken logic. if its not one, its probably the other? Poor duck, asking "Are you my mom?"
limiting principle
confidence in the rule of the law similar to penalties are designed "not primarily to punish a judge, but rather to preserve the integrity of and public confidence in the judicial system"
hornbook rule like a mathematician's axiom
"It is a foundational principle of administrative law that a court may uphold agency action only on the grounds that the agency invoked when it took the action."
accurate, reasoned, rational, and legally sound explanation Vs unexplained, unsupported, and erroneous legal conclusion
case is on all fours
"But, here, we're not not enforcing the law. We're enforcing the law."
In logic, they are the same but.
rescission
conclusory
"serious doubts about its Illegailty"
serious doubts about legality proves the illegal nature. twisted but taken logic. if its not one, its probably the other? Poor duck, asking "Are you my mom?"
limiting principle
confidence in the rule of the law similar to penalties are designed "not primarily to punish a judge, but rather to preserve the integrity of and public confidence in the judicial system"
hornbook rule like a mathematician's axiom
"It is a foundational principle of administrative law that a court may uphold agency action only on the grounds that the agency invoked when it took the action."
accurate, reasoned, rational, and legally sound explanation Vs unexplained, unsupported, and erroneous legal conclusion
Generic period titles
President's lawyers preparing new attack on articles of impeachment
According to the article - "A Senate rule specifies that ''an article of impeachment shall not be divisible for the purpose of voting thereon at any time during the trial.''"
Do you think it matters if a similar outcome is reached on two different issues, that it should be done seperately?
I do see the fairness in seperating the cases. It is possible that not each person is equally outraged on different issues. This means that the acts under question be so far exclusive in values from those of the people voting and that there is a good spread of value in the voters, that is not many cluster at a same value or not enough to gain a majority.
A nod to generic periodic title
Life sentence in a second
life sentence in a second
According to the article -
I wonder if it says anywhere that the dead should not file a case. How about posthumously? Is that why a sign is needed? captcha so a robot cant file a motion?
"The judges' opinion states that the prisoner is "either alive, in which case he must remain in prison, or he is dead, in which case this appeal is moot."
They also note that the inmate managed to sign his name on his motion for post-conviction relief. Therefore, they find the possibility that he is dead "unlikely.""
I wonder if it says anywhere that the dead should not file a case. How about posthumously? Is that why a sign is needed? captcha so a robot cant file a motion?
Diplomatic immunity
Law is so fascinating
Before someone gets outraged that even by being born in a country, not becoming a citizen of it, there are some legal cases - children of diplomats. This case hinged on the point that the diplomatic immunity ends when the host country is notified of the end of it and not when the diplomat's country ends it.
On the contrary, if a diplomat were to be held accountable for some not great act, would that gray area time still buy them immunity?
Before someone gets outraged that even by being born in a country, not becoming a citizen of it, there are some legal cases - children of diplomats. This case hinged on the point that the diplomatic immunity ends when the host country is notified of the end of it and not when the diplomat's country ends it.
On the contrary, if a diplomat were to be held accountable for some not great act, would that gray area time still buy them immunity?
The Written World
Image Courtesy: penguinrandomhouse
When I came across clay tablets in the book, bringing the story of Gilgamesh to light, I had to stretch the imagination but Eat like the ancient babylonians researchers cook up nearly 4000 year old recipes makes the writing medium more everyday and relatable.
Image Courtesy: Klaus Wagensonner/Yale Babylonian Collection
Thursday, November 14, 2019
Pushing yourself
Something in this tweet, spoke to me and made me realize that once you are able to do your workout regularly, you should push your limits and do something that you are uncomfortable with. I dont mean pain but growth. I looked up for strength training first. But when I found all that need weights, I recalled body weight strength training.
Started with the Deep squat. While it asks for a timer to finish 15 in a minute and rest the remainder. I had only finished 13 in the minute.
I did 8 of the minutes, taking a small break after the minute as I was taking up the whole minute.
There's more in this workout
My first self EMOM workout. Every minute on the minute.
Yesterday I was surprised to find that even after feeling drained, I felt awake after 2 min of Tae bo.
I didnt have to change, I didnt have to summon my abs and muscles, just the stretching of the body in different directions activated me. A workout that meets you where you are.
sliding discs deepen lunges.
I’m not a type of the girl who will post a video of myself wiggling my butt in front of mirror saying - I crushed my workout. I’d rather post a video of 160kg deadlift where I say- if I have to, I’ll die; but I’ll lift it first #GirlsWhoLift #powerlifting pic.twitter.com/vgO4d2THxZ— StrengthCoachEwa (@EwaGoszczynska) October 30, 2019
Started with the Deep squat. While it asks for a timer to finish 15 in a minute and rest the remainder. I had only finished 13 in the minute.
I did 8 of the minutes, taking a small break after the minute as I was taking up the whole minute.
There's more in this workout
My first self EMOM workout. Every minute on the minute.
Yesterday I was surprised to find that even after feeling drained, I felt awake after 2 min of Tae bo.
I didnt have to change, I didnt have to summon my abs and muscles, just the stretching of the body in different directions activated me. A workout that meets you where you are.
sliding discs deepen lunges.
Tuesday, November 12, 2019
Sleeping in active wear
One morning, I woke up in my active wear and I started lifting my legs to the side and soon enough the watch started showing my heart rate go up. I was wondering how our attire make us feel differently.
If the world's a stage
It would take forever to use the stage....
If Shakespeare is right and you would like to follow the rules of good speech, at the rate of earth it would take you a day and night to cover the whole stage.
If Shakespeare is right and you would like to follow the rules of good speech, at the rate of earth it would take you a day and night to cover the whole stage.
Sunday, November 10, 2019
Handling busy life
One of the ways of handling busy life is taking it day by day for managing stress by taking it in small chunks. But by doing that we miss out any overlaps across days that we can reduce the activity by taking a look at the week long traffic. a while ago I made a trip to a place and again the enxt day but lost the obvious connection that I could have combined the trips and the need for the first was obfuscated by a third variable, but I did not think that deep.
It is a reminder that in the daily detail, bigger optimisations are lost. This is where, someone else who has a greater grip on things/manager can help by communicating. I was not told by the third variable, thinking it was obvious. In a work situation,where many combinations of a work was needed, I thought it was obvious that with 2 settings in 2 tasks, it was going to be 4 variations, but at the end, I realised that I had to spell it out.
It is a reminder that in the daily detail, bigger optimisations are lost. This is where, someone else who has a greater grip on things/manager can help by communicating. I was not told by the third variable, thinking it was obvious. In a work situation,where many combinations of a work was needed, I thought it was obvious that with 2 settings in 2 tasks, it was going to be 4 variations, but at the end, I realised that I had to spell it out.
Friday, November 8, 2019
Too important to fail by Toni Pergolin
As I think of repayment of a no interest loan of 2.7 million $, I see how all those management books can be made interesting with a story.
"Assess, Prioritize, Execute"
"No margin No mission" by sister Irene kraus vs The ethical side of it
Courtesy: livingawarenessmeditation
"Assess, Prioritize, Execute"
"No margin No mission" by sister Irene kraus vs The ethical side of it
Courtesy: livingawarenessmeditation
Immutable
Courtesy : Hozela
In a picture in "Too imprtant to fail" by Toni Pergloni, I saw a page with colorful sectional seating like this. The arrangement of the single seats in an S is a way to not break the intended design. Unfortunately S for continuity would require different shape seats, but if it was alarge S then it could be made wuth the square seats too.
Insanity max interval plyometrics
Insanity max interval plyometrics
This is some workout. We love Shaun T. One more reason to.
When I had to do switch jumps, I was like I have never doen these before. This is when i realised that I was doing a workout I had never done before. lvoed every minute of it. ofcourse, couldnt keep up, slowed down but want to do ita gain. All great mvoes.
This is some workout. We love Shaun T. One more reason to.
When I had to do switch jumps, I was like I have never doen these before. This is when i realised that I was doing a workout I had never done before. lvoed every minute of it. ofcourse, couldnt keep up, slowed down but want to do ita gain. All great mvoes.
Wednesday, November 6, 2019
To commit or not
Usually I am very up about exercise at lunch time each day. But an hour into the day, I started feeling funny in the mouth. When you are start getting aware of your body, that you normally take for granted, then you know that you are not feeling well. I tossed the idea in my head, of calling it a day. Last week, as the usual habit of rallying group forces for the afternoon exercise, I got everyone gung ho about exercise but had to bow out because of involuntary running nose. I didnt want that to happena gain. I had to wait a great deal of time before even saying that I am on the fence. Then in that moment of getting comfortable on the fence, I realised how we might like to do something a lot, but because of circusmtances, like here not knowing if I would be fully well by lunch time to exercise, I couldnt commit to one of my favorite activities, I understood all the ones that sit on the fence.
After an Activa cherry activation, helping a colleague prepare for his first review, when I realised that it might run longer and I might have to help him after gym/lunch, I knew I would exercise today. While reaching the gym, I realised I felt very happy at having helped the colleague even without asking which was later appreciated before the beginning of the meeting.
The exercise itself is Kenpo P90x, which went well. I used 3 pound weights intermittently, dropping it as needed for the speed. After watching this video, and having heard a speech on weight lifting a while ago, I want to push myself with atleast one move. I love elliptical a lot to not get on it, but one move is easy to add right.
The other day, I did dumbbell snatch from Get strong for Woman by Alex Silver Fagan.
Courtesy: steemit
This picture shows in red, all the muscles you workout. I definitely felt it in arms. Today I did the press with dumbells held as a barbell. with 10 lb I couldnt do more than 3 at once and more after a break. That felt good, as I know that I couldnt get past that, but thats the starting baseline.
After an Activa cherry activation, helping a colleague prepare for his first review, when I realised that it might run longer and I might have to help him after gym/lunch, I knew I would exercise today. While reaching the gym, I realised I felt very happy at having helped the colleague even without asking which was later appreciated before the beginning of the meeting.
The exercise itself is Kenpo P90x, which went well. I used 3 pound weights intermittently, dropping it as needed for the speed. After watching this video, and having heard a speech on weight lifting a while ago, I want to push myself with atleast one move. I love elliptical a lot to not get on it, but one move is easy to add right.
Full body Weighted EMOM— Fit As A Mama Bear (@FitasaMamaBear) November 5, 2019
I’m finding I have less time in the mornings. Which means my #workouts take a hit. So much of the time I’m opting for a shorter version like this EMOM!
👉Back squats x6
👉bar pull ups x4
👉lunge with parlof press x5
👉inverted press x4
X 4 rounds#fit pic.twitter.com/oBeZJPND9K
The other day, I did dumbbell snatch from Get strong for Woman by Alex Silver Fagan.
This picture shows in red, all the muscles you workout. I definitely felt it in arms. Today I did the press with dumbells held as a barbell. with 10 lb I couldnt do more than 3 at once and more after a break. That felt good, as I know that I couldnt get past that, but thats the starting baseline.
To tour or not
Mona lisa louvre overcrowding
As soon as I read that its time to take Mona Lisa down, I was reminded of the time my brother missed seeing TajMahal as a kid, when he was there. It was closed that day. I still feel bad about that.
The auto-rickshaw got us from the railway station and left us in front of a gate. No sooner
than we got down from it, a rickshaw wallah just forced us to get into a rickshaw
promising us that he would take us to the ticket-counter and more than anything he was
just going to charge 4 bucks for it. He then started taking us into a gully and stopped in
front of a shop which had the models of Taj. We were reluctant to buy anything. We were
not tourists. There was some work to be done in the city and it was too early to disturb
the professor. We had to kill time and moreover one could not go to Agra and come back
and say that there was no time for the Taj.
Not being in the shopping spree, we said no to all the things the shopkeeper tried
showing, small marble-models of the Taj, some which would serve as night lamps. There
was one such model lying at home. My brother once came to Taj on a school trip he
bought this lamp but he didn't get to see the Taj. they had been to Agra on a day when the
Taj would be closed for visitors. I didn't want to waste time buying its look-alikes and not
see the actual. I was preparing myself to take in the big vision.
He took us into many more gullis. There were too many shops with band players
practising familiar tunes apt for a marriage ceremony. We started getting suspicious if he
was taking us to the Taj are just wasting our time on the side-lines. We asked the
rickshaw-wallah sternly if we were ever going to be there. And in few seconds, I caught
the glimpse of the big thing. It was there.
My first glimpse of it was : Greenery on the left side of the Canvas, the rectangular block
of the kutcha houses on the right and the dome in the middle. It did seem like Mecca to
me. Only that there was not a sea of people to get lost in. That was another concern : the
crowd. We didn't want to wait for long. We looked forward for quality viewing of the
Taj. So we thought that early-birds get the best view.
There is a place I know, where I did die to go there but somehow the big queue puts me
off. This place was my Mecca until I went there. Now I no longer feel the same way.
Tirupathi is a famous place. God, Pilgrim, The Journey. Strange concepts.
They say you get to see God only when he wants you to. I thought me, the sinner was
never going to get the cleansing the soul opportunity. It did finally materialise. Before I
started viewing Tirupathi as my Mecca there was another place called Shirdi.
With years Gods change, so do Meccas.
As soon as we got down from the rickshaw, we had to deposit any electronic goods that
we had in our possession. At Mysore, when you are handing over your possessions
temporarily, at the entrance of the palace you see huge elephants doing the rounds of the
ride with the mahout but without the decorations which an elephant in Kerala was entitled
to.
About elephants, a closer look at them reveals sagging flesh with creases on it. One has to
get used to seeing them without the tusks.
Limited Tusks. Depleted elephants. Some of these tusks also go into the making of
bangles which newly wed women wear for over a month or so compulsorily. I have not
heard if anyone volunteered to wear these heavy bangles for long.
Scribblings. Taj was saved from what the Khetri was not. Scribblings of monument-value
unaware people. When you see what is scribbled on the wall with coal or chalk, the limit
is the name and the city at the. Never the full address. So not only heritage unconcsious
but also unaccomodating hosts.
Khetri has a fort or two. The name was heard in geography classes inlieu of places with
coal fields. I have not seen these real ones. My only exposure o the coal fields is the
simulated ones underground in a museum. It was scary. All the walls were painted black.
The dark tunnel was scary enough to make one trace steps back. Underground routes
always fascinated me. In the middle of the history class, when there was a mention about
Golconda fort having an underground tunnel connected all the way up to some other
place, I conjured up the effort required in clearing the cob-webs and then you cannot
dismiss the possibility of snakes and bats being the denizens of the den.
A friend of mine lives in a huge mansion of British times in a village. Now this house is
said to have a tunnel which leads to the local lake. I would have set out with a fishing rod
in one hand and a torch light in another. Torch flames of yore are too difficult to manage
and then there's the question of oiling it now and then to keep it glowing till the
destination is reached.
Marble has not degraded. So there's no way its going to give us a clue that it has stayed
on earth for quite some time. Somehow yellow pages almost feeble enough to be crushed
into dry tiny particles as easily as dry bougainvillea, have an added value to them: the
historic legacy of aging, the proof of life till now. If one thing in this place makes it seem
that it has weathered time, that is the degraded wooden boundary put around the map of
the 'gopuram'.
The seeming looks of ruralness can be mainly because, the villages I have been to, smear
the house floors in potter's red. The red blocks for repairs paired with the building
opposite the ticket-counter in red are as they seem they are. There are misleading places
like this internet surfing centre which gave me a shock as soon as I opened the door. It
was a small room and I expected it to be crammed with at least one computer and the
accessories and there was nothing of such sort. In the admitted shock state, I fail to recall
what is it that was there in the room. At a more primitive level, they were decorative
pieces on sale.
If there is a difference in the pictures of Tajmahal that I have seen and the sight in front
of me, then it is the eucalyptus trees, that is what they seemed in the picture. And the
most famous spot you see in the newspapers the day following the visit of a foreign
ambassador to the country , Mr. And Mrs. delegates sitting on the slab under the strict
vigilance of photographer who is probably more interested in looking out for a subject
willing to hold his hand high enough such that his camera trickery makes it seem that
here's the man who's as tall as the Taj and can hold the top like it were a child's play.
The guide is thrilled with the symmetry of the whole place as it happened by chance, like
the symmetry you get with the ink blots got onto the paper folded in two with a string
dipped in ink.
As soon as I read that its time to take Mona Lisa down, I was reminded of the time my brother missed seeing TajMahal as a kid, when he was there. It was closed that day. I still feel bad about that.
The auto-rickshaw got us from the railway station and left us in front of a gate. No sooner
than we got down from it, a rickshaw wallah just forced us to get into a rickshaw
promising us that he would take us to the ticket-counter and more than anything he was
just going to charge 4 bucks for it. He then started taking us into a gully and stopped in
front of a shop which had the models of Taj. We were reluctant to buy anything. We were
not tourists. There was some work to be done in the city and it was too early to disturb
the professor. We had to kill time and moreover one could not go to Agra and come back
and say that there was no time for the Taj.
Not being in the shopping spree, we said no to all the things the shopkeeper tried
showing, small marble-models of the Taj, some which would serve as night lamps. There
was one such model lying at home. My brother once came to Taj on a school trip he
bought this lamp but he didn't get to see the Taj. they had been to Agra on a day when the
Taj would be closed for visitors. I didn't want to waste time buying its look-alikes and not
see the actual. I was preparing myself to take in the big vision.
He took us into many more gullis. There were too many shops with band players
practising familiar tunes apt for a marriage ceremony. We started getting suspicious if he
was taking us to the Taj are just wasting our time on the side-lines. We asked the
rickshaw-wallah sternly if we were ever going to be there. And in few seconds, I caught
the glimpse of the big thing. It was there.
My first glimpse of it was : Greenery on the left side of the Canvas, the rectangular block
of the kutcha houses on the right and the dome in the middle. It did seem like Mecca to
me. Only that there was not a sea of people to get lost in. That was another concern : the
crowd. We didn't want to wait for long. We looked forward for quality viewing of the
Taj. So we thought that early-birds get the best view.
There is a place I know, where I did die to go there but somehow the big queue puts me
off. This place was my Mecca until I went there. Now I no longer feel the same way.
Tirupathi is a famous place. God, Pilgrim, The Journey. Strange concepts.
They say you get to see God only when he wants you to. I thought me, the sinner was
never going to get the cleansing the soul opportunity. It did finally materialise. Before I
started viewing Tirupathi as my Mecca there was another place called Shirdi.
With years Gods change, so do Meccas.
As soon as we got down from the rickshaw, we had to deposit any electronic goods that
we had in our possession. At Mysore, when you are handing over your possessions
temporarily, at the entrance of the palace you see huge elephants doing the rounds of the
ride with the mahout but without the decorations which an elephant in Kerala was entitled
to.
About elephants, a closer look at them reveals sagging flesh with creases on it. One has to
get used to seeing them without the tusks.
Limited Tusks. Depleted elephants. Some of these tusks also go into the making of
bangles which newly wed women wear for over a month or so compulsorily. I have not
heard if anyone volunteered to wear these heavy bangles for long.
Scribblings. Taj was saved from what the Khetri was not. Scribblings of monument-value
unaware people. When you see what is scribbled on the wall with coal or chalk, the limit
is the name and the city at the. Never the full address. So not only heritage unconcsious
but also unaccomodating hosts.
Khetri has a fort or two. The name was heard in geography classes inlieu of places with
coal fields. I have not seen these real ones. My only exposure o the coal fields is the
simulated ones underground in a museum. It was scary. All the walls were painted black.
The dark tunnel was scary enough to make one trace steps back. Underground routes
always fascinated me. In the middle of the history class, when there was a mention about
Golconda fort having an underground tunnel connected all the way up to some other
place, I conjured up the effort required in clearing the cob-webs and then you cannot
dismiss the possibility of snakes and bats being the denizens of the den.
A friend of mine lives in a huge mansion of British times in a village. Now this house is
said to have a tunnel which leads to the local lake. I would have set out with a fishing rod
in one hand and a torch light in another. Torch flames of yore are too difficult to manage
and then there's the question of oiling it now and then to keep it glowing till the
destination is reached.
Marble has not degraded. So there's no way its going to give us a clue that it has stayed
on earth for quite some time. Somehow yellow pages almost feeble enough to be crushed
into dry tiny particles as easily as dry bougainvillea, have an added value to them: the
historic legacy of aging, the proof of life till now. If one thing in this place makes it seem
that it has weathered time, that is the degraded wooden boundary put around the map of
the 'gopuram'.
The seeming looks of ruralness can be mainly because, the villages I have been to, smear
the house floors in potter's red. The red blocks for repairs paired with the building
opposite the ticket-counter in red are as they seem they are. There are misleading places
like this internet surfing centre which gave me a shock as soon as I opened the door. It
was a small room and I expected it to be crammed with at least one computer and the
accessories and there was nothing of such sort. In the admitted shock state, I fail to recall
what is it that was there in the room. At a more primitive level, they were decorative
pieces on sale.
If there is a difference in the pictures of Tajmahal that I have seen and the sight in front
of me, then it is the eucalyptus trees, that is what they seemed in the picture. And the
most famous spot you see in the newspapers the day following the visit of a foreign
ambassador to the country , Mr. And Mrs. delegates sitting on the slab under the strict
vigilance of photographer who is probably more interested in looking out for a subject
willing to hold his hand high enough such that his camera trickery makes it seem that
here's the man who's as tall as the Taj and can hold the top like it were a child's play.
The guide is thrilled with the symmetry of the whole place as it happened by chance, like
the symmetry you get with the ink blots got onto the paper folded in two with a string
dipped in ink.
Sunday, November 3, 2019
Today's thoughts on exercise
I had the exercise chosen early in the morning. The day kept on gping. I was enjoying The business of halloween research. I have chosen the dish to cook for a friend tomorrow. Gobi tikka masala. My take is, if you are going to do something, you might as well do something new and fun.
I even had picked up a video of aloo koorma for dinner and lunch. Sometimes its a relief when you have something in the fridge that can cover for the next day but in winters, you also want something warm. I was not up for chapathis. Luckily kids jumped at brown rice. Instead of the elaborate way, I settled for the 5 min microwave of the potatoes and then curry.
[Its strange how this work and pleasure balance works. To trigger the happiness lever, you are willing to do some cooking work. Appeasing your cravings and still getting the pleasure without guilt and keeping it healthy all the while.]
While this was cooking on the stove, I did the high intensity interval training with weights. That went very well. Towards the end of the day, I felt like exercise might not happen today, but the minute I started it, I liked the turn of the day. Sometimes restrictions help and increase the certainity of a task. Something like constraints for creativity. I had quads feeling it from thursday's full body toning and weight-loss, which limited some of yesterday's bar workout. Today's choice of exercise was great with lower body ruled out as well as with the rest from the whole day. As I had done yesterday's exercise in the later half, I had to give the body, time to recover. Heart rate went higher than with the Eliz fitness of Thursday. Weights added, so some iron for the day.
The business of Halloween
Before reading this article on The business of Halloween, I had to come up with my own crude numbers.
There are about 50 million children under the age of 18. If 50% of them participate in Halloween, thats 25 million. If the costume costs 20 bucks and shared chocolate 5 bucks/child. I pegged it 25$ per child and came up with 625 million. The research study said its 8 bilion. Where did I go off? I didnt count decorations, greeting cards and pets costumes. Add to the mix employment added during those months.
Halloween data center
Halloween data center
Have you taken a glucose test?
Depending on when you have taken the glucose test, your experience might be very different. If you are diabetic and/or have to do regular prick tests, then you will see a night and day difference. A lady recounts her experience with an updated device. The one I had recently was asmall rectangular device that is used to prick and a collector where you add your drop of blood which has been pried out of your finger.
Saturday, November 2, 2019
The Art of Watercolor Lettering: A Beginner's Step-by-Step Guide to Painting Modern Calligraphy and Lettered Art
The Art of Watercolor Lettering: A Beginner's Step-by-Step Guide to Painting Modern Calligraphy and Lettered Art
Liked the warm up lessons of circles and eggs.
Friday, November 1, 2019
Values and standards
In British army, there are values and standards. Something about the standards in AI can outperform doctors so why dont patients trust it reminded me of the agility in British army article.
Back to the AI vs doctors article, the picture chosen is a cluster of decisions and one among them is the stethescope referring to the human connection. Well done picture.
Back to the AI vs doctors article, the picture chosen is a cluster of decisions and one among them is the stethescope referring to the human connection. Well done picture.
DIY exercise
Today I realised that all exercise is DIY, except for the one where the belt around your waist shakes you.
If DIYer ever needs some help or motivation, here are countless health and fitness podcasts
If DIYer ever needs some help or motivation, here are countless health and fitness podcasts
Have you heard of Duo?
10 incredible facts about Duo founder Dug Song
Carla Harris-Dug Song podcast
Takeaways:
Recruiters as product manager of human resources.
Talk to other CEOs.
Work with another in the same field to see how its done, before you start on your own.
Jack Ma - Right out of college, work for a great leader
Image Courtesy: thebuyspot
Do you buy extended warranties?
They are everywhere. Car, Laptop, phones.
Extended warranty-worth it?
Not only are you most likely not going to need it, but adding an extra two grand to the loan once you are in the box.
Extended warranty-worth it?
Not only are you most likely not going to need it, but adding an extra two grand to the loan once you are in the box.
Do you like notifications of mesage read?
Why Wechat wants to preserve the independence of the reader and remove the pressure of having to reply right away.
Drawing back when team hits stride.
design thinking - conviciton to the process than a fixed design.
Drawing back when team hits stride.
design thinking - conviciton to the process than a fixed design.
Alive at Work: The Neuroscience of Helping Your People Love What They Do
Alive at Work: The Neuroscience of Helping Your People Love What They Do
Maangchi
Things I like about Maangchi videos.
She has a great sense of humor
She creates works of art. Look at that Yachaejeon.
Saeujeon. Didnt know that shrimps had intestines. There's so much to the preparation.
Shrimp's translucence nuisance poem
Start a hedgehog poem
with a snail
Unexpected comparision.
We want to be surprised, transformed, challenged, delighted, understood. What does this for you?
There, I am surprised with the poem's beginning.
I am transformed by the makeover of sorakaya biryani.
I am challenged in breathing by the plugged nose and yet full body toned.
I am delighted by knowing that cocubes, now acquired by Aon, springs a thought that creating anything, something is the way to go.
I am understood by thinking man lifting weights. got you there, ya smart phone is not too heavy but.. thought of this during a weightlifting speech.
Image Courtesy: toppng
Unexpected comparision.
We want to be surprised, transformed, challenged, delighted, understood. What does this for you?
There, I am surprised with the poem's beginning.
I am transformed by the makeover of sorakaya biryani.
I am challenged in breathing by the plugged nose and yet full body toned.
I am delighted by knowing that cocubes, now acquired by Aon, springs a thought that creating anything, something is the way to go.
I am understood by thinking man lifting weights. got you there, ya smart phone is not too heavy but.. thought of this during a weightlifting speech.
Thursday, October 31, 2019
Full Body toning and weight loss workouts
Even with stuffy nose, enjoyed this Full Body toning and weight loss workouts. Had done 10 min elliptical in the day. This exercise video tries your balance. Squatting and lifting onto your toes. curtsy lunge.
Workout Sweat Progress Marker
Are your workouts this loquacious?
In the end there's euphoria and everything in between is looking forward to it.
Kettle gryp
If you dont have kettlebell but have kettlebell exercises that you got to do, then get a kettle gryp on it.
Weightlifting a sport
Today in a speech on weightlifting, a colleague explained about the two weightlifting options of Snatch and Clean and Jerk
Elite chocolate this halloween
A green cover of Jacquot chocolate with Eiffel tower in the q. The chocolate itself was covered in white chocoloate. There were hints of coconut. The wrapper after the folds had frine cut.
Spiced merlot from Brockmanns Truffini Chocolates. This is when we thought it ok to takeover the candy. The rest we only took with permission. Tomorrow its Ludwig Black forest cake choocolate and day after Amaretti from Italy.
Awesome crinkle cookie.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)