Bye Bye Hollywood!

The Hollywood Sign

It has been a while since I’ve put an article. But then, this is not the first time it has happened. Well, a lot has happened over the last couple of months. A lot of travel, places and people.

So where have I been all the time and what have I been doing to find an excuse for now writing a post? I can answer the first, I was in Los Angeles/ Hollywood most of the time. But the second one…Hmmm..tough to answer. More than the work, it was the schedule which prevented me from posting something, in spite of so much happening around.

Finally I seem to have some time to put up a post (that is because I have to wait for my flight back to India for 3 more hours!). So all the while, I was living just a block away from the famous “Hollywood walk of fame”! Yes, the same place where people come from all over the world to have a glance at the entertainment capital of the west. How exciting! Well yes, it is, only if you have come as a tourist. It loses importance when you walk the same streets everyday, for two months. And that’s what happened to me. I remember almost every shop and restaurant along a mile, on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (on both sides of the road J). Anyways, that place is worth watching if you are in and around LA. Just walking on the road for about half a mile, you would witness an ambience which will remind of the best of Hollywood movies. The pirate, the hulk, the spiderman, the batman, spider woman, the mask man……….and the list goes on. Yes, these are the characters you would witness not once, not twice, but almost every time you walk down the street. And while you walk down the street, once every while, you can witness the famous ‘Hollywood’ sign on the hills. The trademark I must say.

Now when I am on my way back, I realize how lively that place was. I wouldn’t say I miss it, but it does deserve a mention here.

Currently, there’s nothing which can excite me more than getting back to India! Ah, how much I missed the Indian food, I can’t even describe. What and how did I manage to eat in the last couple of months deserves a post dedicated to it.

Hopefully I’ll settle into my regular schedule soon and find time to put some posts and catch up!

Happy New Year 2009!

The new year has arrived again, with new hopes and wishes. I take this opportunity to wish everyone a very Happy and Prosperous New Year. Hope this year turns out better than before.

When I think about the year 2008, it does not bring in a lot of happiness within. It was a year of the big economic meltdown. It was a year of caution, terrorism and uncertainties. And yes, this year saw the global crude oil prices fluctuate by more than a 100 US$ !! But those were general trends. The year was more or less good for me. I met a lot of people and learnt a lot of stuff. So no complains as such.

I hope the global economic meltdown we have been seeing over the last year or so reverses and we see some new hopes arising.

BTW, how about a new year resolution? Let me quote the one I put last year:

“This year, I’ll strive to bring about an inner transformation within me which manifests to the outer world through a radical change in my behavior and align myself to those subtle but powerful forces of the society which are destined to uplift humanity and make this world a better place to live!”

Did anything like that happen? Ah, not really.

No resolutions. Just wish that this year turns out great for everyone!

Also, watch out for some quick successive articles. I have a lot to share.

Cheers!

Happy B’day iLog!

Happy Belated B’day iLog!!

Just realized that it has been over a year since iLog was born. 3rd. November 2008 to be precise. I missed the day, just as I miss other birthdays. Never mind, better late than never!.

Good to realize that I have been blogging for over a year now. Haven’t been very frequent though. I’ve ensured that I do post an article once-a-month at least. Blogging has been a rewarding experience I must say. It provides a new purpose. It provides an alternative way to express yourself. And not only that, it has been responsible for putting me into some good reading habits. Interestingly, reading <–> writing seem to form a cyclic pattern. Anyone who has ever though to blog, I sincerely suggest, start it now!!!

The year has been good for iLog. Though little, but there have been enough readers to encourage me to keep writing.

Now some facts. The following post accounts for more than 35% of the traffic on iLog:

Hibernate & Suspend Resolved | Ubuntu Gutsy-nVidia-Dell Vostro

Next come this with over 20% of the share:

The Home UPS/Inverter Buying Guide

It is quite satisfying that the articles actually helped some people resolve issues and take decisions. I hope I find time to put some more of them.

Finally, thanks to all who regularly drop by on iLog. Without readers, there is no incentive to continue blogging.

Zen and the Relief of Motorcycle Servicing!

Not long enough I had read a book called ‘Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance‘. While it was more of a philosophical journey as opposed to what the title suggests, there is definitely something good about motorcycle maintenance (or anything for that matter).

I had been deferring the routine servicing of my motorbike for quite some time. If I remember correctly, it has been over 9 months. And guess what, this is when the workshop is (rather was) just behind my workplace! This is the height of laziness, isn’t it? (I know most of you are no different 😉 ). Anyways, 2-3 months ago, I decided to shun the laziness and went to the workshop behind my workplace. But wow, look at my destiny (or my bike’s destiny rather), I came to know that the workshop had been closed. Possibly because of people like me not bothering to service their bikes.

Anyways, the closure of the workshop nearby gave me a solid reason to defer the servicing. I could only imagine, how good it would have been if the workshop was still there. Servicing the bike at the other, more prominent workshop, would mean killing a day. So weekdays were out of question. I somehow couldn’t convince myself to trade off a weekend to get this through. Moreover, a couple of my friends warned me against the main workshop which received hundreds of bikes everyday and supposedly couldn’t pay attention to details. Ah! this was more than enough for me. How could I get my bike serviced at such a place? So I decided to live with a couple of smallish troubles which were already starting to show off in my bike. I was noticing a drop in the mileage. The chain and sprocket were making noise. The rear view mirrors were long out of alignment and beyond any use. I could neither see my face nor the traffic in them. They were somehow pointing to the ground beneath!

With all this, as I went on for my work every morning, the troubles my bike gave was nagging. I actually avoided using my bike as the feel good factor was lost. Now, people around me could notice the irritating noise it gave when changing gears. Thankfully it never broke down.

This morning, I remembered the joy and feel of riding the bike when I first bought it. I decided that it was enough and I must do something about it. It was simple. I went ahead for servicing. Had a tea with the mechanic over there as he examined the bike for the problems. I mentioned all the troubles I had along with the cosmetic changes which were necessary and came back. Somehow I felt a huge load, off my head!

And this effort was not in vain. When I went ahead and received my bike in the evening. It looked almost new. I could resist riding it back. And wow, there was a whole lot different experience while I rode it back to my home. Suddenly all noises were gone. Everything was in perfect shape. The ride was intact. I cannot explain the relief and the ‘feel good’ factor I got in the short ride from the workshop to my home.

I am sure most of us have had such experiences. Motorbike is just an example. It can happen with anything. The joy of putting things back on track is just so refreshing.

So did I learn a lesson? Well yes, to experience the joy of getting the broken things fixed, wait till they break! Ha ha! Just kidding. Let’s see when I go for the next servicing 🙂

The Great Hargeisa Goat Bubble

Just came across this amazing write-up by Julian Gough forwarded by one of my colleagues. I would say it is a humurous ‘Goatification‘ of the current economic run-up.

I would strongly recommend to read it. However, read it at leisure.

The Great Hargeisa Goat Bubble

You can download it from here.