..says Pakistani PM on CNN: Just give us better weapons and intelligence to do so.
I rest my case.
July 29, 2008
July 26, 2008
Life Lesson #2: Brick Walls
"Brick walls are there for a reason: they let us prove how badly we want things"
Randy Pausch is dead. If you don't know who he was then probably you haven't heard his last lecture. Randy Pausch was a computer science professor in the Carnegie Mellon University. He was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and knew about his terminal illness. In his last lecture (he later wrote a book with the same title which became an instant best seller), he doesn't talk about his illness or anything like that. Its a lecture about the life lessons he have learned. Its an amazing lecture. Its a long lecture too (1 hour and 16 min) but worth watching. Its one of the most inspiring lecture I sat through (in virtual world, of course).
Randy Pausch is dead. If you don't know who he was then probably you haven't heard his last lecture. Randy Pausch was a computer science professor in the Carnegie Mellon University. He was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and knew about his terminal illness. In his last lecture (he later wrote a book with the same title which became an instant best seller), he doesn't talk about his illness or anything like that. Its a lecture about the life lessons he have learned. Its an amazing lecture. Its a long lecture too (1 hour and 16 min) but worth watching. Its one of the most inspiring lecture I sat through (in virtual world, of course).
July 25, 2008
July 24, 2008
Where Dreams Come True...
I am not sure whats so amazing about Disney Land. I have visited better theme parks. The rides here are ok (Indiana Jones ride was the only one that I actually liked). Or may be we were there for very short time (6 hours). And most of that time was spent standing in queues for the ride. The average wait time was an hour. The longest we waited was 90 minutes and the ride was over in 5 minutes. I was pretty disappointed. I am not looking forward to my next visit to Disney land which is in two weeks. I will try concentrating on taking more pictures this time... The time will be better spent that way.
P.S.: Don't be fooled by the picture of the castle, its pretty small in real life. I didn't even see it at first. And I was looking for it everywhere...
Project Snapshot #73, #74
I was in Disney Land the day before yesterday and here is the shot with the clock for the time!
Date: July 22, 2008
Location: Anaheim, CA
Titled: DisneylandAnd the drive back home.
Date: July 23, 2008
Location: Bakersfield, CA
Titled: Drive
July 22, 2008
Project Snapshot #72
I was waiting at a signal coming out of market place at Ming Avenue when I took this..
Date: July 21, 2008
Location: Bakersfield, CA
Titled: Marketplace
July 20, 2008
Project Snapshot #66, #67, #68, #69, #70 and #71
Ok. I slagged again. But here are past few days of Project Snapshot.
The first one is from a road side where I stopped to take the shot. I was lost on my way back. Note the gate in the side-view mirror.
And next day I went through the same route to explore further. Here is what I found.
The first one is from a road side where I stopped to take the shot. I was lost on my way back. Note the gate in the side-view mirror.
Date: July 15, 2008
Location: Bakersfield, CA
Titled: LostAnd next day I went through the same route to explore further. Here is what I found.
Date: July 16, 2008
Location: Bakersfield, CA
Titled: Gate
Ok. I was in gym the next day (yep. I joined one here. I am in Yoga classes) so couldn't take the shot on time. Here is the shot after I came out. The sun was already setting. Here is the shot.
Ok. I was in gym the next day (yep. I joined one here. I am in Yoga classes) so couldn't take the shot on time. Here is the shot after I came out. The sun was already setting. Here is the shot.
Date: July 17, 2008
Location: Bakersfield, CA
Titled: SunsetNext day was the day off for me. So I was reading The Chronicles of Narnia when the alarm went off. So I just took picture of first thing I saw which happened to be my laptop abandoned in one corner.
Date: July 18, 2008
Location: Bakersfield, CA
Titled: ShadowNext day, Saturday, I was outside in my back yard when alarm went off. The curious thing is that one of my fence board was broken. I don't know how it happened and I need to report it to my property manager but I am not sure I want to do it. You see now I can see the fountain from my back yard. Well, I will decide about that later. For now, here is the project snapshot..
Date: July 19, 2008
Location: Bakersfield, CA
Titled: BrokenAnd finally today, I was cooking. So here is the shot from the kitchen...
Date: July 20, 2008
Location: Bakersfield, CA
Titled: TapJuly 19, 2008
Gay Marriage Killed the Dinosaurs
Don't ask me how I landed there, but one fine day last week I found myself at facebook-group called "Gay Marriage Killed the Dinosaurs". I died of laughter. Honestly. Among the postings at the group-site(which included a lot of cartoons from all over the net. They have deleted them now, for some reason.), I loved the top ten reasons for Gay Marriage to be illegal and they are:
01) Being gay is not natural. Real Americans always reject unnatural things like eyeglasses, polyester, and air conditioning.
02) Gay marriage will encourage people to be gay, in the same way that hanging around tall people will make you tall.
03) Legalizing gay marriage will open the door to all kinds of crazy behavior. People may even wish to marry their pets because a dog has legal standing and can sign a marriage contract.
04) Straight marriage has been around a long time and hasn't changed at all; women are still property, blacks still can't marry whites, and divorce is still illegal.
05) Straight marriage will be less meaningful if gay marriage were allowed; the sanctity of Britney Spears' 55-hour just-for-fun marriage would be destroyed.
06) Straight marriages are valid because they produce children. Gay couples, infertile couples, and old people shouldn't be allowed to marry because our orphanages aren't full yet, and the world needs more children.
07) Obviously gay parents will raise gay children, since straight parents only raise straight children.
08) Gay marriage is not supported by religion. In a theocracy like ours, the values of one religion are imposed on the entire country. That's why we have only one religion in America.
09) Children can never succeed without a male and a female role model at home. That's why we as a society expressly forbid single parents to raise children.
10) Gay marriage will change the foundation of society; we could never adapt to new social norms. Just like we haven't adapted to cars, the service-sector economy, or longer life spans.
Luckily, I did download few photos uploaded at the site before they deleted them. Just a few that I couldn't resist. I don't have proper attribution to give here but I still can't resist putting them here...
And what does Sanctity of marriage mean, you may ask?
And then there are some very reasonable arguments given...
And then obviously, someone always knows that its against God's will. But honestly, looking at this list , I wonder how many of us can escape it (I actually make it to the top of this list: Jesus Rejecter :) ). God is too demanding, I say.
This one is my favorite though...Couldn't stop laughing for 5 whole minutes. Thankfully I was at home and could laugh out loud while staring at my computer screen. :D
Don't ask me to take a stand on Gay-marriages. I am befuddled by these compelling arguments. And above all, it killed Dinosaurs! As the group intro says and I quote:
Now we can't let that happen, can we?
01) Being gay is not natural. Real Americans always reject unnatural things like eyeglasses, polyester, and air conditioning.
02) Gay marriage will encourage people to be gay, in the same way that hanging around tall people will make you tall.
03) Legalizing gay marriage will open the door to all kinds of crazy behavior. People may even wish to marry their pets because a dog has legal standing and can sign a marriage contract.
04) Straight marriage has been around a long time and hasn't changed at all; women are still property, blacks still can't marry whites, and divorce is still illegal.
05) Straight marriage will be less meaningful if gay marriage were allowed; the sanctity of Britney Spears' 55-hour just-for-fun marriage would be destroyed.
06) Straight marriages are valid because they produce children. Gay couples, infertile couples, and old people shouldn't be allowed to marry because our orphanages aren't full yet, and the world needs more children.
07) Obviously gay parents will raise gay children, since straight parents only raise straight children.
08) Gay marriage is not supported by religion. In a theocracy like ours, the values of one religion are imposed on the entire country. That's why we have only one religion in America.
09) Children can never succeed without a male and a female role model at home. That's why we as a society expressly forbid single parents to raise children.
10) Gay marriage will change the foundation of society; we could never adapt to new social norms. Just like we haven't adapted to cars, the service-sector economy, or longer life spans.
Luckily, I did download few photos uploaded at the site before they deleted them. Just a few that I couldn't resist. I don't have proper attribution to give here but I still can't resist putting them here...
And what does Sanctity of marriage mean, you may ask?
And then there are some very reasonable arguments given...
And then obviously, someone always knows that its against God's will. But honestly, looking at this list , I wonder how many of us can escape it (I actually make it to the top of this list: Jesus Rejecter :) ). God is too demanding, I say.
This one is my favorite though...Couldn't stop laughing for 5 whole minutes. Thankfully I was at home and could laugh out loud while staring at my computer screen. :D
Don't ask me to take a stand on Gay-marriages. I am befuddled by these compelling arguments. And above all, it killed Dinosaurs! As the group intro says and I quote:
If we let liberal activist judges in Massachusetts and California set the course, the blood will run in rivers. Mixed with molten lava.
Now we can't let that happen, can we?
July 16, 2008
I love US
US terrosim watch list contains ONE MILLION names. Honestly, one million names! I wonder if CIA and FBI combined with local police force have enough resources and man power to keep so many people under watch? And how much money are they wasting on that? I mean I understand the importance of having a watch list but one million names is ridiculous. As it turns out, anyone who criticizes US is on the watch list.
Oh yeah, BTW, in case someone from watch team is reading this post: I love US. I have no problems with them attacking anyone they like or rather dislike. They have legal right over all the petroleum reserves in the world. Public transportation is for the rest of the world (= Europe, Australia). The third world countires (= Asia, Africa and South America) should travel in bullock carts. How dare they think that they should have any sort of transportations? If they use petrol, it will cause global warming. All hail to almighty, all-powerful, omnipresent BIG BROTHER.
Oh yeah, BTW, in case someone from watch team is reading this post: I love US. I have no problems with them attacking anyone they like or rather dislike. They have legal right over all the petroleum reserves in the world. Public transportation is for the rest of the world (= Europe, Australia). The third world countires (= Asia, Africa and South America) should travel in bullock carts. How dare they think that they should have any sort of transportations? If they use petrol, it will cause global warming. All hail to almighty, all-powerful, omnipresent BIG BROTHER.
July 14, 2008
Flash flood
As I posted earlier, I drove through Sequoia National Forest yesterday. I was driving through Kern River canyon when I noticed how black the river was. Since I know nothing about the river, I assumed that its natural state. But as it turned out that for past two days it had rained in the mountains, resulting in flash flood in the area and hence the mud in the river. Here are few shots of Kern showing the blackness of the river due to the mud by your very own correspondent here at Bakersfield. :)
Project Snapshot #65
I was pulling out of the driveway of my mentor (I car pool with her..remember I hate driving) today when alarm went off. Since my car was in sun the whole day, it was an oven inside my car so I took the shot and put on the ac...I just couldn't care more..
Date: July 14, 2008
Location: Bakersfield, CA
Titled: Driveway
Fun Vs. Exercise
Ok, I have had it. Why do people assume that only reason I love Karate is because its a good workout? The outlook of people is so ridiculous. If you play a sport, thats because its a good workout? Whatever happened to the fun part? Remember that was the reason we used to love to play when we were kids and it didn't matter how the weather was as long as we were allowed to play? For some of us, its still the reason to play. Not the workout.
Everytime and I mean EACH AND EVERY TIME, I describe the fun of going for Karate class, the response I get: 'Oh that sounds like fun but I will still stick to my treadmills for my workout.' How can you ever compare a machine to an art like Karate? HOW? And its not that I am trying to recruit them for Karate class or something. I am simply answering their and I quote "THEIR" question: 'How come you are interested in Karate?'
And honestly, I hate working out in gym. I tried but its simply so boring. The reasons like healthy life, lossing weight or looking good don't motivate me. Yeah ok, I would like them but not enough to workout. I just can't workout on the machines in the gym. On the other hand, I always look forward to my Karate classes. I will skip gym at slightest of excuse but I will make excuses to be in Karate class. And its just not Karate, if I have a partner, I would love to play Badminton (Honestly, I have been seriously considering to join the Badi team here but I know in heart of my hearts that I don't have enough stamina for two intense sports. I am not that good an athlete.) or any other sport. I actually ignore injuries, fever and things like that to be there for these things.
Well before I end the post, I confess that I don't enjoy running as much. The only reason I do that is because I have been told in the Karate class that its the best way to build up the calf muscles that I need for improving my stances. But still I don't enjoy it as much. I do know people who actually enjoy running and thats perfectly alright. But I just don't like the idea of exercising just for sake of it. I don't how anyone motivate him- /her-self to do that. With the busy schedule I have, that will be the first thing I will drop: anything thats not fun.
Come on people, life is fun. Enjoy it. Pick up a sport and have fun, don't torture yourself for sake of working out. Learn from the kids.
Everytime and I mean EACH AND EVERY TIME, I describe the fun of going for Karate class, the response I get: 'Oh that sounds like fun but I will still stick to my treadmills for my workout.' How can you ever compare a machine to an art like Karate? HOW? And its not that I am trying to recruit them for Karate class or something. I am simply answering their and I quote "THEIR" question: 'How come you are interested in Karate?'
And honestly, I hate working out in gym. I tried but its simply so boring. The reasons like healthy life, lossing weight or looking good don't motivate me. Yeah ok, I would like them but not enough to workout. I just can't workout on the machines in the gym. On the other hand, I always look forward to my Karate classes. I will skip gym at slightest of excuse but I will make excuses to be in Karate class. And its just not Karate, if I have a partner, I would love to play Badminton (Honestly, I have been seriously considering to join the Badi team here but I know in heart of my hearts that I don't have enough stamina for two intense sports. I am not that good an athlete.) or any other sport. I actually ignore injuries, fever and things like that to be there for these things.
Well before I end the post, I confess that I don't enjoy running as much. The only reason I do that is because I have been told in the Karate class that its the best way to build up the calf muscles that I need for improving my stances. But still I don't enjoy it as much. I do know people who actually enjoy running and thats perfectly alright. But I just don't like the idea of exercising just for sake of it. I don't how anyone motivate him- /her-self to do that. With the busy schedule I have, that will be the first thing I will drop: anything thats not fun.
Come on people, life is fun. Enjoy it. Pick up a sport and have fun, don't torture yourself for sake of working out. Learn from the kids.
July 13, 2008
No. This isn't Paradise...
..though its still beautiful.
This is Lake Isabella in Sequoia National Park in Sierra Nevada ranges. I went there for a short trip today. Absolutely beautiful sceneries...
Project Snapshot #61, #62, #63 and #64
And thats up to today. Hopefully I won't lag behind so much any time soon..
The first one is from parking lot at our apartment complex. I was taking out things when alarm went off.
Date: July 09, 2008
Location: Bakersfield, CA
Titled:Parking lotNext one is from the reception area...
Date: July 11, 2008
Location: Bakersfield, CA
Titled:ReceptionYes. we have ducks in our apartment complex. Its fun sitting out...
Date: July 12, 2008
Location: Bakersfield, CA
Titled: DucksFinally today. This is entrance of my apartment.
Date: July 13, 2008
Location: Bakersfield, CA
Titled:Stairs
Ten Project Snapshot Images...
..are posted here. I don't have patience to write details this time...
Date: July 02, 2008
Date: July 06, 2008
Date: June 27, 2008
Location: Bakersfield, CA
Titled:Vending Machine
Date: June 28, 2008
Location:Mountain View, CA
Titled: Sleeping
Date: June 29, 2008
Location:Mountain View, CA
Titled: Red
Date: June 30, 2008
Location: Tupman, CA
Titled: Desert
Date: July 02, 2008
Location:Tupman, CA
Titled: Trailers
Date: July 04, 2008
Location: Bakersfield, CA
Titled: Shadows
Date: July 05, 2008
Location: Bakersfield, CA
Titled: Fan
Date: July 06, 2008
Location: Bakersfield, CA
Titled: Sound of music
Date: July 07, 2008
Location: Bakersfield, CA
Titled: Market Place
Date: July 08, 2008
Location: Bakersfield, CA
Titled: Lamp-post
July 11, 2008
American Wake-up Call
Finally they are looking at hybrids and small cars. Someday they will realize the importance of a good public transport system too! At least I can dream of that now...
July 9, 2008
How hot is it?
If you don't know that: Yesterday I started with a glass full of ice from the club house (a trailer converted in a nice sitting place) and reached my office 2 minutes later. The ice filled glass was now half filled with water.
P.S.: 1. Ok I know, its as hot as its in India and I am not writing this to say that its hotter than India. I am writing this because when people talk about western countries, including US, they assume it will be a cold country like most of the European countries. Its not always true. Its really hot here. And also I need to justify putting AC in my car. I REALLY NEED IT.
2. I have downloaded the Project snapshot shots on my laptop. I will try to sort it out and post it by today. Thanks for you patience.
P.S.: 1. Ok I know, its as hot as its in India and I am not writing this to say that its hotter than India. I am writing this because when people talk about western countries, including US, they assume it will be a cold country like most of the European countries. Its not always true. Its really hot here. And also I need to justify putting AC in my car. I REALLY NEED IT.
2. I have downloaded the Project snapshot shots on my laptop. I will try to sort it out and post it by today. Thanks for you patience.
July 8, 2008
Hot Hot Hot...
Ok I know I have disappeared again. I am trying hard to get in the schedule here. You know, its not easy to change your schedule and start waking up at 4:30 in the morning, every day. I will get better with time, I suppose.
Anways, yesterday I was trying to find a post office near my home here and this caught my attention. This is a screen shot from Google Earth and all those blue dots there are swimming pools. Doesn't it seem to have more swimming pools than houses? The temperature at the moment is approximately 42 C here...but guess this gives a better picture of how hot it is here.
The picture below is just a zoomed out version of picture above. You can see its just not one area that I am talking about.
P.S.: I know, I haven't posted the Project Snapshot pictures for a long time. The problem is that I skipped a few days in between as at theat time I would be driving back from office and don't want to do anything silly (like taking picture while driving) and forgot about them later. Anyway, I will try to post the pictures I have by tomorrow.
Anways, yesterday I was trying to find a post office near my home here and this caught my attention. This is a screen shot from Google Earth and all those blue dots there are swimming pools. Doesn't it seem to have more swimming pools than houses? The temperature at the moment is approximately 42 C here...but guess this gives a better picture of how hot it is here.
The picture below is just a zoomed out version of picture above. You can see its just not one area that I am talking about.
P.S.: I know, I haven't posted the Project Snapshot pictures for a long time. The problem is that I skipped a few days in between as at theat time I would be driving back from office and don't want to do anything silly (like taking picture while driving) and forgot about them later. Anyway, I will try to post the pictures I have by tomorrow.
July 1, 2008
Yet Again...
I lost my wallet. I had to block all my cards, YET AGAIN. I had to call up all the companies to hold off their dues for a week..YET AGAIN. I am penniless..YET AGAIN (though thinking about it I am always penniless..I am a grad student). I hate my life...YET AGAIN..ok thats not true but yeah I am fed up with all this credit card nuisances. I am going on direct debits from now on. Enough with these credit cards...
P.S.: On second thoughts, I think I should get one of those wallets that I can wear around the neck. That will be my fashion statement!
P.S.: On second thoughts, I think I should get one of those wallets that I can wear around the neck. That will be my fashion statement!
I don't care...
Whenever someone tells me this, I roll my eyes and go 'Oh really?' They will tell me they don't care about so many things..they don't care how they look or how they dress up or what others think about them or life itself!! The worst part of this is that they actually believe they don't care about such things. Honestly. They can swear by it because they actually believe it.
Most of my friends do that. But seriously if you don't care about any one of those things I enlisted, you are seriously depressed and should seek some assistance. No seriously. Every single one of them matters..even the way you look. If you think you don't care about it and its not important, then you are fooling yourself. We all care about that and when we actually say such things, it implies that we are just being lazy to do anything about it and hence give such lame excuses. And if even now you insist that you don't care about any of those..either you are taking hypocrisy to next level. Good luck with that! Otherwise you are soon to commit suicide...Good luck with that too!
P.S.: I am not sure what triggered this series of thought but I found myself thinking about this while attending a really boring meeting today afternoon...the reason I didn't doze off in the meeting.
Most of my friends do that. But seriously if you don't care about any one of those things I enlisted, you are seriously depressed and should seek some assistance. No seriously. Every single one of them matters..even the way you look. If you think you don't care about it and its not important, then you are fooling yourself. We all care about that and when we actually say such things, it implies that we are just being lazy to do anything about it and hence give such lame excuses. And if even now you insist that you don't care about any of those..either you are taking hypocrisy to next level. Good luck with that! Otherwise you are soon to commit suicide...Good luck with that too!
P.S.: I am not sure what triggered this series of thought but I found myself thinking about this while attending a really boring meeting today afternoon...the reason I didn't doze off in the meeting.
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