A new challenge

I went for a physical checkup yesterday. Its part of my new Gym program. The physio made me stand on a machine and hold on to two rods. Within a minute, the machine spat out some ugly statistics.

1. My BMI is Normal, Ya!
2. My fat mass is high, Oh Oh :-(
3. My muscle mass is low.. Damn.
4. Water retention is poor.
5. BMR is below normal.

So, the machine says that I'm basically a skinny guy, with not muscles, but due to my sedentary lifecycle, I have poor metabolism which is making me gain fat on my tummy. Oh, and I don't drink enough water.

I came back home and told this to Eva. "Big Deal", she said. "I don't need a machine to tell me that about you. Your arms and legs thin, your waist is twice what it should be and I keep telling you to drink more water".

Having spent a good amount of money on the Gym and having got this advice (from a machine) and gleeful sarcasm from the significant other, I have decided to take it seriously this time.

My goals.
1. Reduce my weight by 10 kgs
2. Increase my muscle mass by 1-2 kgs
3. Knock the know-it-all grin from the buttercup's face.

The gym (J P Nagar Branch) is pretty good and adds to the motivation. The staff are really friendly, and very helpful.

Myopic view of funny,, fitness

The votes are out

Don't want to vote for Congress, because of the Reservation issue. Arjun Singh really made sure that they are not in my radar. I'm not against affirmative action, but am against the incompetent implementation of it. The really disadvantaged and exploited classes will not get any benefit from Reserveration. It is the "creamy layer" that exploits Reservation. It was Arjun Singh in a TV interview who said that he believes Reservation is forever and does not believe that the "creamy layer" should be excluded. Perhaps a 1000 years from now, we will still have different castes in India hankering after a "Backward caste" tag.

Don't want to vote for BJP, because of increasing communalism from them. Their brand of Hindutva does not match my Hindu values of tolerance, acceptance of different points of view and a multi-facetted spiritual reality. Jainism influenced Hinduism by bringing in the concept of Puja, Veg Food (before that we were all about Animal sacrifice, and Yajnas). Buddhism influenced Hindu towards philosophy and higher thought (before that we were about rituals). Christian influences brought in charitable work (before that we were all about enriching ourselves.  This is not what the BJP stand for and it does not match my values.

Don't want to vote for JD-S, because of Deve Gowda and how he paralyzed development in Karanataka. Plus, their party projects a pro-rural bent but actually does nothing of note for the rural poor. Didn't do anything for the rural rich either and spent all his time in useless rhetoric.

Don't want to look at SP, because they want to outlaw English, Computers and the Internet (Its true and part of their Manifesto). Apparently by banning these urban evils, the rural poor get a chance to compete. I wonder what the SP Movie Stars will look like without the magic of computerized editing, soft lens, and other technological advances that so hinder our rural masses.

Don't care about the Commies, because they are living in the past. Their blind hatred of the West may have been fashionable a couple of decades back, but that's just archaic today. Its their lack of pragmatism that caused Jyoti Basu to miss out on the Prime Ministership a decade back.

Don't want the DMK because of all the pro-LTTE stand that they have. Prabhakaran is a damn terrorist. I still remember the fear that was in Mysore about the LTTE wanting to blow up KRS. Today MK has the gall to talk about friendship with LTTE. 

Don't like the AIADMK because of their heroine-worship. I still remember the TV images of Pannerselvam, the CM of TN, prostrating himself as if JJ was a goddess. I don't believe in worshipping human beings.

Don't understand the BSP because of their penchant for building statues, parks and other eye candy glorifying the Dalit cause. If they really care for the Dalit cause, they should spend the money in uplifting the disadvantaged and oppressed rather than building gaudy crap.

So, who do I vote for? No one?

Myopic view of bangalore, elections, 2009

Fake IPL Player!

This is a great blog. Nice tidbits about KKR. All bets are off on who the mystery blogger is. Seems to be a Cal boy. No real names in the blog but its pretty obvious who he means.

I really liked the description about a certain commentator - Kishen Kanhaiyya. Looks like Ravi Shastri to me. Plus there are others. A former Captain Lord Almightly - no doubt about that one. A opening batsman - Calypso King - again no issues there and finally an Indian Fast Bowler - "Little John".

Equally interesting is his description of the coach and his entourage.

Blogging at it best! Recommended Reading, I just hope it continues.

Myopic view of funny, cricket

Bento C&H

Bento is really cool. Check out this C&H version.

Australian F1 GP 2009 Winners and Losers

Winners

1. Brawn GP. This is perhaps one of the greatest if not the greatest fairy tale story in the history of all sport, let alone F1. To come in to race with just 7 days of running, huge uncertainty for months. The cynics may say that this is after all just Honda in sheep's clothing, but let's not forget that this team got its engine deal with Mercedes less that 1 1/2 months. Its amazing how they put that engine into a car designed for something else.
2. Button. Its stating the obvious, but he's won his 2nd GP.
3. Red Bull. Even though they threw away points, they seem to be the fastest non-diffuser team. It also looks like KERS is a handicap in Qualifying. Since RB has no KERS they are better at Qualifying, but they also have the speed during the race.
4. Lewis Hamilton. To start dead last and yet finish 3rd is pretty special. That too with a car that most people have written off!
5. Beumi. 2 points on debut. Good one.

Losers

1. Ferrari. I'm sure they are thinking about last year where they didn't score points till the 3rd race and yet won the constructors and also came within a point of winning the driver's championship. However, I don't think that is probable this year. There's no scope for testing. Plus Brawn looks like they have a second a lap over them at this point. Plus having Massa make very negative statements doesn't bring in confidence.
2. Webber. He definitely got it wrong this GP. I don't know if it is bad luck or just plain bad driving, but every race I remember seems to have him in either a crash or the wrong side of a pitstop or the rains or something. Plus Vettel really rubbed it in.

Myopic view of f1, formula1, australian, 2009, gp, winners, losers

BMTC Volvo buses

Its really good!

I took the bus today to work. It takes about an hour and 15 mins. I caught the bus at 7.50. It reached the office around 9.00.

Airconditioned, smooth riding and very comfortable. I was able to read my newspaper on the way. Usually reading anything while on a vehicle in India gives you a headache or worse, this bus turned out to be surprising good!

Bus schedules and other information is available at http://www.bmtcinfo.com/english/volvo.htm

How to burn yourself out

Step 1. Agree to a WW (actually only between US and Ind) teleconf at 6.00PM. The call is pretty important as its a status call where you are one of the presenters

Step 2. Inform Spouse

Step 3. Spouse calls at 5.45 as there is a deadline and she needs to fix something ASAP.

Step 4. Spouse calls in temporary babysitter (a.k.a Granddad) to take over from the real babysitter. GP picks up Granddaughter at 6.15 (win-win for Granddad and Granddaughter).

Step 5. Pick up the little one (already fast asleep) from GP's house at 9.15. From now on, your KRA is to keep her asleep.

Step 6. Check if Spouse is at home. No.. She's still fire-fighting

Step 7. Juggle bundle-of-joy (starting to stir), car keys (which you drop to the garage floor), and house keys

Step 8. Enter house. Find Master bedroom door shut. (As per pre-arranged protocol).

Step 9. Still juggling the Apple-of-my-eye (nearly awake), car keys and house keys, search for master bedroom keys in the study. Don't find it, and so give up.

Step 10. Put the cuppy-cake in her room with the plan to move the crib after dinner. Pray to non-existent superior being that the sugar-plum remains in dreamland. She does!! (Superior Being does exist!)

Step 11. Search for keys and find it! Ya!

Step 12. Change and head to kitchen.

Step 13. Bad luck strikes. No rice. Clean rice, and put the rice cooker to work.

Step 14. Read a blog post about the virtues of having software engineers leave on time - http://asserttrue.blogspot.com/2009/03/developers-should-not-be-allowed-to.html. 

To add salt to the burn, skip breakfast, have lunch at 1.20 (instead of the usual 12.20), avoid eating anything since that time.

If that doesn't kill you. Rinse, and Repeat.

Avoiding Traffic

What's the best time to avoid Bangalore traffic in morning? That's what I spent my time thinking today while driving to work. I left home at 7.30 and reached at 8.10. If I were to leave anything after 8.00 it would take me an hour at the least. The peak rush hour is 8.30 to 10.30. So by leaving early, I saved 20 minutes at the least and close to an hour as compared to rush hour.

Leaving for office early, Pros:
1. 20 minutes saved.
2. Not many people in the office, so I get some work done.
3. Fewer autos.

Leaving for office early, Cons:
1. Instead of office traffic, you hit school traffic.
2. Not many people in the office, true..... except my boss and his boss. So.... I'm cornered in the morning.
3. More School buses.

Leaving for office late, Pros:
1. Consistent time. 1 hour. You expect some jams, whereas in the morning, the jams are unexpected and hence more irritating.
2. Most people are already in and busy. The boss is past his "productive" time and so, I can actually get some work done.
3. Fewer cars.

Leaving for office late, Cons:
1. Instead of getting on to the road, you hit a traffic jam right outside the apartment gate.
2. You end up working late because you don't have an excuse for leaving early. You can't leave between 5.30 and 8.00, because of rush hour. So, you end up leaving only by 8.30 or maybe even 9.30
3. Bad parking spot.

Myopic view of bangalore,, traffic,, funny

Tweet!

I'm going to be tweeting for some time. Follow me.

Sat this one out

but I shouldn't have. No TV at home and its the first season in over a decade that I have missed. (I also missed most of the 94, and 95 seasons). From what I saw on Youtube (via), it must have been heartstopping at Brazil last night.

I went to bed early last night, but got up at around 10.30. I knew it was the last race and that I needed to follow it. So, it was formula1's live timing for me. Trust me, I thought that McLaren have messed it up yet again. That's they have succeeded in snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. But looks like the Gods were smiling and they finally won a driver championship. I was really astonished to see that LH passed Glock on the last lap. My first thought was that the timing was wrong, but then I saw the commentary which confirmed it. Wow!

Maybe I'm cynical and maybe I read too much into the FIA favours Ferrari line of thinking. I went to bed after SPA thinking, hey! that was a great drive by LH. Even though I was rooting for KR at SPA, I felt that LH really did a fantastic job. Then to wake up and read the newspaper that he's been penalized, made it seem that the results was being scripted and that we were watching a puppet show.

I got up today morning, with a sense of dread. Maybe the newspaper would say that LH was doing something illegal (as per FIA Stewards) or that Glock is reinstated or that Luca D M strode manfully into a certain tinpoint dictator's house and cracked the whip (if you know what I'm saying :-)) or yadda yadda yadda. But that was just my cynical self. So, it was with a sense of relief that I read the headline that confirmed what I knew - LEWIS HAMILTON's THE 2008 F1 CHAMPION! Ya!

Tough luck to Massa and it was really sad for him and his family but today was about LH. I'm not a natural Massa fan, but this was perhaps a touch too cruel. It must have been in the stars and his destiny.  He crossed the line the WDC but for no fault of his ended up losing by 1 point just 20 seconds later. Man! That's tough.

And finally, a bit of gloating.. Guggu, Koli, Gana - BWAHAHAHAHAHAHHA (Evil but satisfied Laugh!) And Kudka - Great huh?. Let's celebrate (when I'm in NYC).

Perhaps, we will buy a TV before next season's starts and perhaps I will follow it. But till then, I can only sit back and wonder - how on earth did they snatch victory from the jaws of defeat?

Myopic view of f1, formula1, mclaren, ferrari, lewis, hamilton,

Had to turn it off

I'm a Batman fan and make no bones about it. However, I haven't yet seen the latest Batman movie - The Dark Knight. I wanted to setup an office party and get everyone to see this movie. However, it never materialized and I missed catching it at PVR. 

So, when I was channel surfing today and came across the movie on HBO, I stopped. It was the beginning of the movie and so, I hadn't missed much. However, I could only watch it for 10 minutes or so. Why? Because of the stupid subtitles. 

Looks like HBO has done a half-assed job for the sub-titles for this movie. Its so bad that its not just distracting but just plain irritating and very frustrating. To top it off, (since we don't have TV at home and watching at my in-laws' place), the neighbourhood and household noise made it nearly impossible to follow. The end result? I switched channels. 

Thanks a lot HBO. You just ruined my day. 

Let's see how long it lasts

This may be interesting.

No negotiations

2 nights back, Dew started wimpering at around 4.30 AM. Both Eva and Me were fast asleep but she continued till we got up. Eva took Dew and tried to put her back to sleep. But the wimpering grew and soon she was wailing.

Here's the conversation (Mind you, Dew is just 1 year old)
Eva: Taa chi maa dumma. (Editer: Go to Sleep, while patting Dew)
Dew: Waaaaaa
Eva: Taa chi maa doo. (Editer: with sleep deprived irritation)
Dew: Nana (Editor: Short for Banana)
Eva: No Nana, Taa chi maad doo. (Editor: Quite firmly too)
Dew: <short pause>, Doodoo (Editor: A.K.A milk)
Eva: No Doodoo (Editor: with a tinge of exasperation)
Dew: Doodoo
Eva: Theo, you $%*^&*(#^. Get up and hold her. I will get the milk.
Me: Eh?? Ok... Dew come..
Dew: Doodoo. (Editor: and the wailing continued)

This morning (if you can call it that), 5.30 AM (God forsaken time)... Again, it starts. Wimpering + Doodoo (no banana and no negotiations).
Eva: Theo, you $&%$^. Get up and go get the milk.
Me: Eh?? Ok.. (Stumbling out of the room, reached the kitchen).

After that, I don't remember if I heated up her milk or was it mayo or was it a jar of ice cream, but either way once I got back, and handed the bottle, Dew kicked back and relaxed!

Hmm. My daughter has now reached the age where negotiations with Dad and Mom has begin, and she doesn't take no for an answer. My mom used to keep complaining to me that I would throw a fit if I didn't have milk at 6.00 AM sharp. Apparently, I won't even wait for a minute and I wanted the bottle ASAP.

Looks like karma does exist. One more milestone passed.

Google Chrome - a review

This is my take on Google Chrome. Mind you, I'm a long time firefox user (and occasional opera user). I'm not even going to pretend to be objective here :-)

The Good:

1. Speed. Javascript heavy sites seem to be blazingly fast as compared to Firefox
2. Tabs. I really liked the fact that you can very quickly split a tab into a separate window and vice-versa. I have a dual monitor setup and this is a killer feature!
3. Automatically set up my office proxy without even my asking. Looks like it is using IE's settings directly without any proxy on its own (Unlike FF or Opera)
4. Doesn't crash on Eva's laptop which runs Vista Home. This is one problem with FF3.0 but Opera sails here as well.
   

The Bad:

1. No gestures. I keep trying to use mouse gestures and get frustrated with the lack of them. Once you start using gestures there is no going back.In general, the lack of configurability or more specifically lack of extensions. No Scribefire to publish to this blog, no forecastfox and most importantly for me, no single click mechanism to change proxies. The Proxy item is pretty important for anyone who has to use a office laptop from home. Mind you, this is absent in opera as well but Gestures works out of the box.
   
2. No rss based bookmarks. I keep a lot of bookmarks as delicious tags and organize them as folders on my FF setup. Even though Chrome imported my FF bookmarks, it just couldn't import these
3. Auto Dial. Don't quite like the feature, because I want to be able to open blank tab. I definitely don't want anyone to see my browsing history.

Overall, its a good beta but a lot more can be done. With FF 3.1 moving to Tracemonkey, I expect javascript heavy sites to be as fast on FF as well.

In other news, IE 8 is out, but who cares?

An important milestone

Its said that the bond between a daughter and a father is amongst the closest in the world. Daddy's girl is pretty much the norm in our house.

This week my little Dew (all of 11 months) and I took one more step in father-daughter bonding. I had to put in quite a few hours this last week at work and could not spend much time with her. However that all changed over the weekend, when she and I spent a lot of time together.

It was during this weekend that she did a couple interesting things.

Firstly, on Saturday, she left her mom and crawled all the way from her room to the master bedroom where I was having an afternoon nap. She climbed on top of the bed, and then she coo'ed into my ears. She wanted to wake me up!

Next, on Sunday afternoon, again she came up and woke up, but this time accompanied by Eva and a half eat apple. She continued to eat the apple and then decided to give me a piece. She pulled my half asleep face towards her and force a small piece of half eaten apple into my month and made me eat it. LOL!

Needless to say, Eva is very jealous :-)

G 'n' R too, on a violin

Bobby Yang "Sweet Child O' Mine.

Let's Jazz it up!

This is really good stuff...

paul dateh

Now, some metal...

and nothing else matters...

MJ on a Violin

Whew! This is breathtaking stuff...

Chanced upon this on del.icio.us! Who says that Violins don't rock?

Weird'est story of all time

This has to be the most weird cops and robber's story of all time. link. via. (NSFW)

An Aussie man (39) was caught by cops but that's not the only thing.

1. He was being naughty.
2. With himself
3. While driving
4. At 150 km/h (in a 130 km/h zone)
5. Plus, he had with him 5 kilos of cannabis
6. And a Rifle (that he said was to shoot Kangaroos)

LOL!!! This has to be the funniest, if not the weirdest story ever!

But it doesn't end there.

The court granted Mr. Genius bail.... That's so he could marry his Girlfriend! Not just that the guy has 3 kids!

He paid the bail ($10000) and his Dad paid surety ($8000).. I can't imagine they way he would have told his Family. LOL.

I can almost imagine his GF telling his kids that Daddy needs to be away for a little while because he was .....???? LOL

Myopic view of funny