Atop the hump of the camel: Dosage for nature deficit disorder : Camelback Mountain Phoenix, AZ March 5, 2008
Posted by lotusknots in Hobbies, Travel.4 comments
Then a mechanic setup a garage near my lane and with every rain the water would be tainted with thick black oil that was drained from the engines. That ended my fun in the rain water and perhaps more than that, the legacy that I could have passed on to my children. They might not know what it is to explore nature than to watch it on TV or a guided trip to the the Zoo or a wildlife camp. The thrill of going into the unknown, discovering nature on your own is something which we are perhaps losing too fast growing up in the steel-glass-concrete jungles with overdoses of Nick, CNET and Disney.
This feeling of nostalgia was triggered by my recent break from the monotonous and drudgery that my life had become. E-Mail, IM, Project plans, Design Documents, Quality Control, Innovation, Value add to customer. But my friends have we “the committed individuals” taken a step back and thought about the value add that we bring to ourselves. You too have the right to live an enriched life and not feel guilty about it. Take the time off, connect to nature. We are losing it at a pace faster than we imagine sitting on our couches and wondering if global warming is a hoax, while polar bears are drowning as the ice melts.
If that did not get you, let me quote Benjamin Bankes (feedthepig.org): One of things things to ensure that you have enough savings is to ensure your health in old age. The largest expenses will be healthcare related in your retirement years and no amount of saving while you earn or investments can really help you prepare for that. Yes, that jolted me out of the rut and together with my personal nurse Dee assigned from my insurance company, I am trying to get myself back to fighting fit.
So much thoughts triggered by my hike atop the hump of the camel. Well, that’s CAMELBACK mountain for you. I live in Phoenix, the Valley of the sun (or valley of fire in summer or the area with so much dry heat that we have dry rain). Was wondering how do we connect to nature over here unless you drive to Sedona (ah so beautiful) or the Ponderosa dotted Coconino forests. We even tried a hike on North mountain which ended up much like sex with out an orgy. We could not simply find a way to the peak. Maybe we took the wrong trail. So with low expectations we decided to trek Camelback mountain on its Echo Canyon trail. The website said 1.2 miles and strenuous.
I can do it, I thought to myself. Should be a breeze as I run three miles an hour on my newly acquired treadmill. So I wake up early on a Sunday with Captain Morgan leaving me in a dizzy after a Saturday night duel. The sounds of dawn was so inspiring with all the bird chatter and it struck me with wonder: What a welcome change from the blaring sirens and whoosh of cars that pass by. Grab a bottle of VitaminWater and hop in the car for the short drive to the trailhead. We decided that only 500ml of water was needed and leave one bottle in the car and we start out. Oh my, this is a hike, it has log steps on the mountain and we have beautiful views with a fantastic sunrise over the valley. Should be a pleasant walk in the park..ahem walk atop the mountain.
I am already panting whilst the regulars just breeze past me in a jog. Then I see a steep rock that you have to tackle to get any further. Luckily they have a railing to hold onto. 
Else you would need your rope and hooks unless you are Mowgli! just kidding, I saw one lady move so swiftly without the rails.
Once we negotiated it, I was almost dehydrated! Captain had left me dry and I forgot to hydrate myself before I left home and now we were left with a small bottle with two guys and just 3/8th of the mile to the summit covered.
As we went up it was more and more nature. You were just scrambling atop the rocks, negotiating steep climbs, pulling the tired leg muscles against the rocks and gravitational pull. 
It took me and my friend a good 2 hrs to reach to the summit and there was not a single party that did not overtake us. Most of the times, I just politely ask them to move ahead as I am too busy crawling. So we stop plenty of times along the way taking in the scenic views of the valley and that of Camelback. Somewhat like the rock formations of Sedona, Camelback has so many wind carvings on it. 
At points, I wondered, is this what the Bamiyan looks like in Afghanistan. I am sure it must be even more exciting for reasons quite obvious to the well read.
Finally the summit was worth the effort. Its like having a 360 view of the valley from Tempe to Skyharbor to Scottsdale to Glendale and a summit indeed it is. My first summit scaled! We even had a bunch of Army Strong guys who ran up the peak and staked their team flag on it.
It has left my legs aching for two days but I am sure I would love to do it again. This time with my family as I believe this can be a step to reconnect with nature and get our dose for the NATURE DEFICIT DISORDER.
The Southern California quick draw guide January 4, 2008
Posted by lotusknots in Travel.Tags: LA, Phoenix, Roadtrip, San Diego
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We recently did a SoCal road trip from Phoenix and let me share my experiences with you, hopefully to your benefit; if you are crunched on time and need to cover the must haves.This takes 6 days with all haves or 4 days covering most of the attractions.
I might be judging wrong in some areas, but if you have any questions feel free to shoot them across. I also suggest that you go around in the summer time when the days are longer.
Lesson1: Carry a GPS unit with you. They come real cheap these days or use the one that comes from the car rental. I prefer/suggest your own as that would be a touchscreen unit than the bulky cumbersome to enter unit of Hertz. You can also carry the GPS unit with you while roaming around.
GPS is a big time saver and on a roadtrip where you are crunched for time, this is a boon. I used a Garmin C330 Street Pilot and it faithfully brought me on time to each location. When I miss a turn, it corrects quickly whereas your cheap GPS..aka Googlemaps printout will leave you stranded . Alternately you can rent the GPS as we did, but I consider it dumb as cost of two 7 day drips can help you own one!
Lesson 2: Carry a tripod even if you are in a group. Not everyone can take good photos as good as you or have the photographic eye. So set your camera, compose your shot and click with the timer. Atleast, I did not have to go behind folks requesting for a picture. Some folks are real gems. They even offer to take your picture voluntarily. Also night shots require a real steady hand (Most of us wont have it unless a gulp or two goes down or you have a heavy camera)
Start with San Diego. If you are driving down; arrive the night before to get some good rest before the mayhem begins.
Day1: Arrive early at the San Diego Zoo. Hop onto the bus, have a quick glance. Then move over to the reptiles and onto the SeaLion show. Make sure you note the timings and plan your fillers accordingly. Hop onto the Skyfari, get down at the farthest point and watch the animals including polar bears, hippos and do not lose sight of the next animal show.
You should be out by 3, if you stick to a tight plan and use takeouts for munching. If you would like to, stroll around in Balboa park or visit the museums nearby. Or if you are fascinated by Ships and water, rush off to Mission Bay to the Maritime museum. (This is open till 8). This is right next to the cruise ship berth. You can see the Start of India, HMS Surprise (used in Master and Commader) and also board a Russian submarine. For 3$ extra they even give you a spin on the bay in a boat and I suggest you purchase the ticket with that option.
The bay at night is a good photo op and if you are a camera enthusiast you can get some good pics.
Day2: Hit Seaworld, watch the dolphins,sharks, skyride over the bay, watch Shamu. If you are there to take pics stay out of the soak zone and climb to higher dryland. This takes around 1 full day. Keep a watch on the sunset timings and if you can break off an hour earlier, rush off to Coronado Island. You can see the historic Coronado Hotel as well as watch the sunset. Take a chair along if you would like some solitude or you can rush to a dinner cruise. Parking might be a bit tad on Coronado, so dont count on parking really close to Coronado hotel.
If you are on a total San Diego experience you could spend a day more and bike around or Kayak the La Jolla caves and also board the Aircraft carrier but this article is dedicated to the traveller who must see everything in a jiffy.
Day 3: Rush to Universal, LA. This takes one full day and can be well into 6P when you come out. Make sure you get all your pictures and city walk is not an absolute must if you need to the rest of the must haves. You can drive around Beverly Hills and walk around Rodeo Drive for the evening. I guess I saw some maps in a store that show you which stars stay where! Okei, your legs are aching and you are dead tired. Get to hotel and a hot tub. Sip some wine, eat and rest or get to your vampire avatar.
Day 4: Disneyland – ONLY if you have not seen this elsewhere or are not planning on an Orlando trip. It takes a full day and in the end you wait for the fireworks (depends on your luck with the weather conditions; but worth the wait if it happens) and to see the light parade.
Alternate:
Start the day with Hollywood forever cemetery. You get a fantastic view of the Hollywood sign except that it is marred by the electric cables or you can go to Highlands Mall. In my itinerary it comes last (nightfall and the sign is not illuminated). You might not want to leave LA without an original photo of the most photographed celebrity of LA!
You can then move to the La Brea Tar Pits, watch the tar and bubbling lake. The Page Museum has fossils on exhibit.
Hit Marina Del Ray to get some beautiful pics of a nice marina! You have plenty of pay and park right next to the Marina at about 3$ an entry.
Next is Santa Monica beach. I am pretty much a beach lover and ended spending more time than intended over there. We reached around 1.30 and wound up with the Sunset. Sunset on the SM pier is a must see. The pier extends 1200 feet into the pacific! Learn your camera manual controls and use the tripod to have some memorable photos of the sunset.
Upon sunset you can dust off the sand and move onto Hollywood Ave. Kodak Theater, Graumans Chinese Theater, Walk of Fame, Wax Museum, Ripleys etc…You need to check the timings (daytime only) if you want a tour of the theaters. Otherwise everything else is pretty much open. Make sure you carry $1 bills to tip the street artists. You can get pictures with Batman, Spiderman, Zorro etc as well as see some street musicians.
You can choose to hit the hotel again or drive down if you are in a 4-6 hrs vicinity. Make sure there is an additional driver to take over when you sing “ I’m tired and I wanna go to bed”. If you like thriller rides, rest a night and go to Six Flags before turning back.
The Blue Moon December 20, 2007
Posted by lotusknots in Digital Photography, JustGyaan.add a comment
This, they say, is the most magical season of the year; and true it is! The feeling of good and cheer spreads all around and even my clients are happy! No emails in my box except for my offshore team. And magical things happen..here is one
Couple of weeks ago, I was going eastbound in the valley of the sun (a.k.a Phoenix) after fixing my windshield with Safelite. As it is the valley is a hue of colors in the sky during dawn and twilight. Perhaps not having too many highrises gives us a clear view of the sky. Sometimes I wonder, everything is large sized here and why not the sky.
Well, cut the crap and your literary genius boy and come to the point (I know thats what you are thinking). Yes, the moon was full and round around 4.15P and with a blue sky that was gradually turning red on the fringes, the moon did look blue.
I felt so helpless that I could not capture the beauty at that point. Never did I miss my camera more! My G9 would have got it perfectly and both me and my wife kept cursing our bad luck. Finally my life saver tarts..thank goodness for my Sony w810i. That little phone had been a life saver many a times and I tried getting a shot.
The result is for you to view.
That very night I was so excited that I called my friend and asked him to be trigger ready the very next day with his Nikon DSLR. Try he did, but then…he could not see it in blue. Well…where was I thinking? That answered why some old geezer coined the phrase…”Once in a blue moon!”
Power to the business user (Sharepoint and Lotus) October 13, 2007
Posted by lotusknots in Sharepoint vs Domino.add a comment
Somebody told the client that Sharepoint is their one stop pill and lotus notes should be on the way out. So, the first question they popped was, would we be able to do our minor changes or get small apps up and running on my own. Initially, you know the sales pitch..yeh yeh you can do all that and more. Well, now the client has been told…”Actions performed in Sharepoint are done by trained stuntmen, do not try it on your desktop”.
Many people like to do that, play around and create their own apps using lotus notes. Basically, I am against that approach. I am more biased to an engineering approach in building any software or application. But that is not always right as I have come to learn over the years.
Customer is right and they need what they want and they need not accept what you think is right for them. And we tailor the engineering processes to ensure productivity as well as compliance.
Wann be fair? Read that link.I am all for it.
But are we comparing apples to apples? I still dont think its right to compare Sharepoint and Lotus Notes, as Lotus Notes is still a one stop shop for many needs. Email, Calendaring, App development, Directory service and more. Dont you need ADS for directory in Sharepoint or any other LDAP setup? Dont you need Outlook for emails? Don’t you need Exchange? Don’t you need SQL server.
The world is truly flat but over there is it over? October 12, 2007
Posted by lotusknots in JustGyaan.add a comment
It could not have been more true I guess. Here I am, an Indian working in N America. Today was more like Christmas and it seemed that Santa visited me (except that my Visa card paid for the fun).
The day started with my cover for the Canon G9. The original pure leather cover from Canon. All the way from Tokyo in just 4 days through eBay! I was like a kid with a new present. It fits my camera like a glove and even has a tripod connector. All ye G9 owners, dont settle for anything less than this. Believe me, its worth the extra 20-25$ you are shelling out. I have a review on the camera over here if you care to read it!
Then I casually checked my buy.com order for the Wireless Router. To my surprise, an order that was placed yesterday is listed as out for delivery today! Isn’t that speedy! And my mail box has another surprise..My 2G B SandDisk Ultra 2 is awaiting me with the Dvorak eZine (I’ll write on my Dvorak later). I cant help but feel like the kid on Christmas day whom Santa has dropped a bunch.
I was mentioning to my friend Satya about how truly flat the world is. His remark was simple and profound:
“You sit there (N America) and the world is flat. We sit here (India) and the world is over!”
Yep, thats true in a sense. Can you imagine a Netflix running smoothly in India. The darned postman in India would not deliver my distance learning material at home cause it was heavy and many a mail has gone missing, only to be recovered when my neighbor moved his car once in a Blue Moon! (Exaggerated…just a couple of credit card statements that went missing like that)
I cant imagine the cops. Here I see a friendly guy in Black who holds the STOP sign for me and my daughter at her school. We wish G’Morning and G’Days. Perhaps in India, it would be a “Kya re…bhaja doon kaan neeche kya”. I still remember the bloke who would not forward my passport verification until I paid him. He even had the nerve to come around a second time. He had his way, but then I threatened him that my daughters passport is in the same address and if he writes anything else, I know what happens to him if he wrote a wrong report. The same guy I saw in front of Domlur ShantiSagar on the rioting day when Rajkumar died. He was just looking at the mobsters with a mocking smile, like one looks at their kids who are having some fun, While I was thinking…Gosh will my windscreen be smashed now, will I be able to pick my kid from the daycare and reach home safely, will my wife at Infosys be able to reach safe? Yikes..I dread it.
Captain Ravi, an army chap turned movie director in his recent one about Rajiv Gandhi assassination has a scene where the hero mentions to such a cop watching the rioting, “Do you know that in developed countries the first thing kids are taught is to call the cops and in India…Its a shame”
Well.. to write about that we need bytes and bytes but I guess it kinda suits the flat world I see (now) and what Satya retorted.
Plugged the ends and I can move on! October 8, 2007
Posted by lotusknots in LS2J, Lotus Domino, Lotus Notes, OOPS in LotusScript.add a comment
continung with connecting wires…Finally I got things moving along. The BluePages LS API did not run on the automated agent. Took me a while to realise that WebRetrieve process cannot function in getting a document handle via the Web. With loads of help from Roshan (Yep! Thanks Roshan) I got the Javabit of it. Then using Java and LS2J (Lotus Script 2 Java , if you are still wondering what that is) the pieces of the puzzle were complete.
Threw in the OPENLOG from OpenNTF.org and it was a smooth ride. So you think? Well the agent went kaput on the server. Cannot find ldap server! Took me a couple of days to get hold of the admin to have access to the server box. It seemed to be a hopeless case, with the server being connected to two networks, it always seemed to go into the other port when a request was raised. Tried setting the order of the networks in TCP/IP properties (earlier both were 1) to 1 & 2 respectively…Power9 gets 1 of course. (Power9..whats that? ask an IBMer).
Now the traffic get routed correct to both networks and so I thought the agent would work and ran home (That was a Friday). Sunday I try again to no luck. Pretty dumb of me..should have restarted the server! RESTART SERVER at the Domino Console and bingo, everythings smooth.
Now I can just sit back and monitor the openLog once a while to ensure that it works fine. OPENLOG, I recommend that you all try it. Save you time and money and its so easy that a caveman can do it (or rather a programmer can do it!)
Canon G9 Rocks October 6, 2007
Posted by lotusknots in Digital Photography.2 comments
Whattacamera! Most of the features of a DSLR without the bulkiness of it. If you would like to buy a high end camera, but do not care to understand about photography, please stick to the SD or ELPH series to make you look Chic! This G9 baby is for the serious photographer and not the casual one. (I belong to the casual one, but attempting to move up the scale).
First let me rave about the camera! Its a must have if you have the dough and understand a bit of what photography is. rest you can learn by trial. A friend asked me why you need 12 MP. Overkill yes, but when you work on editing the photos one would definitely appreciate the quality. I have a 2MP camera on my phone and when you start playing with the images on Picasa, the higher MP is really appreciative. The RAW format is something that I look forward to, but I am not quite there yet. The night /day and other modes are not set through buttons on the camera, but throught the menu. Camera buttons let you set the ISO and Tv/P/Av settings. I love the jog dial! You can browse through the pictures as well as change the othersettings real quick using the jog. Its a quick draw if you want to recompose your shot for a different focal length or shutter speed. Or if you understand it all, then there is the manual mode too!
Carrying it around is another issue. I took it to a restaurant yesterday and most of the time I was trying to protect the camera. A regular case logic type is not recommended for this sweetheart. You need the excluse cover sold by Canon. However, this case is not on sale in the USofA. You have it at their Japanese site, but I dont understand Japanese. Luckily there is a guy on ebay who sells it. I bought it for 77$ including shipping. Just ordered that today. See the pic above.
The case that I ordered reminds me of the Yashica 35mm film camera that I used to carry around earlier. (Loaned by my father-in-law). An old model but still my favorite on the point and shoot film camera. It used to give me such wonderful images that my wife was alway comparing to my earlier Kodak Digital P&S. The kodak ccd conked out at the end of two years and i was always drooling at my friends canon P&S (A530).
If you do a lot of rough riding and want to protect it found a good one here
A lot of other accessories are available from ebay. Canon gets you lenses for .75x to 2X. On ebay I have seen stuff ranging from .5x to 3X and filters too.
Have fun with it!
1/4/08: Now that I have used it for quite a bit, I think I can add a few more cents.
1. Always carry a tripod. Buy one if you do not have it. The camera cannot be operated by a passerby unless you do a bit of composing. If you can do that much you can atleast spare the chore of finding someone to do the click by having a tripod and using the timer. When you shop for one, look for something that can help you lock the center too. This is useful when you want to control the spread area of the legs. I am not sure if you can find one as that, else a normal one would cost between 15-20$ for full length. You get table tops too, but be prepared to carry a table everywhere you go.
DRAWBACK: Wish I could use a remote on this camera to capture the exact moments.
2. Experiment and learn how to shoot in Lowlight. It can be a harrowing experience to see a sony or casio slim as a credit card get good lowlight or underwater pics while you are struggling with this piece of equipment that was to work wonders! Take plenty of pics, learn the settings. I do not prefer the auto mode as sometimes it does a flash in low light that spoils the picture. Your tripod can be handy too. At times you can use it as a monopod to give that extra stability.
3. Flash: Buy a good flash and make use of the hot shoe too.(The flash will be useful when you upgrade to your DSLR!) The normal flash, if you observe fills light, creates shadows and at times reflects only the light and not the subject. Try snapping a subject next to an illuminated tree and you can see how a good ambience can be spolit by flash. If you have a good flash that diffuses the light, you should be able to get the ambience as well as the subject clearly. So I believe 
I am yet to buy the flash.
4. Weight: Yes weight! I now feel that at times it weighs less. With weight I guess we can have more stability and shoot better pictures. If you reached this point, I guess there is only one choice..Upgrade to a DSLR!
Lotus Forms October 4, 2007
Posted by lotusknots in Lotus, Sharepoint vs Domino.add a comment
Just watched a couple of demos of this and I am all excited. Build easy forms, use Domino as a backend store or use anything of your choice. Build forms quickly and deploy them faster on the web. Thats perhaps lotusknots! Will I get to work on it? Well perhaps depends on which client I work for. Right now I do not see any options, unless strategies are revisited. (Current speed is gauged at microknots..which product is for you to guess)
Perhaps you should take a drive… The banking scenario
If you need more demos look to the left Links bar
Testing, whats your scale October 4, 2007
Posted by lotusknots in Professions, Software - Services.add a comment
On my process list, this is the highest priority. I know many folks who sneer at this as yikes testing. Well congratulations, you must be the infallible software engineer writing flawless code. Maybe you should be on the NASA programming team.
The rest of us mortals struggle to keep the defect rates low and eliminate the injection points based on our learning. It takes a personal learning experience for many of us to realise this, but given that the entire community has a large collective experience how do we leverage that for the one’s who are into the initial few miles of the journey.
Think is one thing. If everybody thought, weighed and adopted the best ways we can achieve the perfect release. Sounds like re-inventing the wheel? Then lets Think>Look>Think. Think where you can find relevant information, every organization/community has its share of knowledge bases. Dont say that you can’t find anything in this age of information overload.
Soo Look! Dont find it on the intranet…Google it.
Canon G9 October 3, 2007
Posted by lotusknots in Digital Photography, Hobbies.add a comment
Finally, I own it! Have been toying with the idea of getting one for a long time. The G7 was on my target list when some birdie site told me that the G9 was on its way.
Launched in US on Sep 1, I clicked the order button on Circuit City on Oct 1. With a 24$ discount and an IBMer discount, I just got the inspiration or final push to go get it.
The pictures are fantastic, but I will write more on it once I get some serious clicking done. Right now, I am with the rigors of the regular service industry!
