What is good life?

Often we encounter words like "Fine dining" "good life" "exotic" etc?
And this is usually tied up to European or European like facilities, life style, locations etc.

I was wondering why this relation of 'fine' and 'good' to Europe and related 'fine' stuff.
The first question I tend to ask myself is - "Why only Europe"? Isn't the life you live now good enough for you? What about the ameer businessmen and politicians, the filthy rich Americans, powerful industrialists and so on and so off.. ? Everyone of them have a plethora of things that you don't have, but still you see them involving in a 'good life' , 'fine life' conversation with Europe-related artifacts.

Stupidity. Ignorance. That is what I call all these.

Every rich and filthy rich person wants to earn more money and relax with good food and comfortable facilities. C'mon that is nothing they can't buy. But still the lure of the European facilities pull them to the common bucket. Human beings turn into a more monotonic and predictable species as years wear off its morality and drain it off its humanity.

So the filthy rich can't complain about not having a fine life everyday. Yeah, they are well above the fine life of a poor man.

So can a poor man dream about the fine life of Europe? No, he too would be just a fool to follow such aspirations. A filthy rich guy is already filthy and insulated from the pleasures of simple life by applying the wax of wealth over his senses. But a poor man? Though under lots of pain and in constant struggle against hundreds of day-to-day problems and oppression of all kinds, he is the one who is closest to the simplest pleasures of life and he would be stuck in an eternal cycle of pain if he yearns to live the 'fine' life which in actuality is not fine at all..

Having observed all the human stupidity and lack of insight, why don't I move over to the bloody question of the relation between fine life and Europe? Yeah, here is the answer - The Europeans are and were bloody rich for centuries owing to the continuous pillaging and merciless exploitation of colonies in the name of colonialism/imperialism. In the name of countless civilizations and scientific marvels that were blown to smithereens by this handful of money hungry tribes, they OUGHT to be bloody rich.. and I really mean BLOODY(you know, with the blood and gore sticking to each coin of gold)..
... .... .... .... .... .... ...(catching a breath)

They come in all sizes and shapes..

Alright,so they had good wine, great food, some wonderful culinary skills and traditions. It is a good way of life if you fancy it, but it is not THE fine life. Fine life is even in the small things that you do. For example, my ability to write such a lengthy blog post on this topic in office hours on an internet connection paid for by my employer, while getting paid every month, for my facilities, the ability to purchase some of the things I wish to have..etc etc. I consider this a good life. It can be better, but it still is good life. I am sure 98% of readers of this have a good life too..

So there it is. That is what I think of the entire thing about having a good life. You have almost everything you want to be happy with but most of what you don't have are those which you don't want anyway.
Now you don't have any excuse for not having a good life and to feed more money to those .. ( ok enough of the Europe bashing.)

Disclaimer:- The entire view of this post is based on the momentary train of thoughts of the author. The blog or its owner is not responsible or liable for any hurt feelings or other complaints that the readers might have. The author is aware that this has been a closed observation of matters, but cohesion turns your LED to LASER, so why not this article :D

ciao

A newbie cyclist speaks out

As kids we all used to ride bikes(bicycles) everywhere and I am sure all had lots of fun and adventure.

But then in the process of growing up, people leave behind such indulgences and move to more sophisticated stuff suited to their lifestyles. And I speak with the conviction that more than 80% of the IT population don't take bike riding seriously, owing to various reasons ( major one being laziness ).

Alright. Getting to the point: I bought a BTwin Rockrider 5.1 last saturday .So I have been into cycling for about a week now. I just wanted to share some thoughts I had during this experience.

Preface:-
I use this beginner MTB model bicycle to cycle around the Outer Ring Road area of Bangalore , mostly after 7pm. Have cycled around just 70kms as of now. Have acquired some basic accessories, and more in pipeline.

Observations:-
(I can't resist noting the similarity to record books in school :P)
Health first
1. Higher lung capacity
2. Higher metabolic activity - burns more fat and improves appetite
3. Builds and conditions calves,knees,ankle and thighs
4. All the activity leaves you breathing through your skin
5. You can overexert and kill yourself

Enjoying a calm ride..

Moral perspective
1. You don't pollute (THE big morale booster)
2. You don't increase clutter on the road

No clutter on the road..

3. You can bash the polluters as much as you like on FB,twitter etc 

Logical
1. You reduce the fuel expenditure by reducing dependency on other modes of transport
2. Good health leads to good life overall
3. You save electricity by not being indoors for long periods of time

Yes the creepy addict..

4. More the time you spend on the road, lesser the time you get to post cheesy blogs, FB statuses/shares and stupid tweets. Good for mankind.

Special
1. You gain a lot of patience. The entire world will seem to shoot past you, while you crawl. Once you learn to live with it, you will enjoy every moment of your life.

2.  Finally you will learn the food chain of the road, where you would be just above the poor pedestrian. But then even they have more legal protection than a cyclist.

3. Learn to respect and fear the things on the street, especially the dogs. You will start planning your trips according to traffic situation, prefer places that allow to safely secure your bike and consider timings and ferocity of the dogs in the locations you plan to visit(V.important)

4. While you are involved in the constant struggle against friction, gravity and your own aching muscles, you forget every other problem in the world and can freely wander in your own world.

5. The feeling of triumph that accompanies each long route you complete, is more addictive than that gained from a motorcycle, because you are purely powered by your muscles, grit and determination.

6. Last but not least, you become the cool guy in the block and you can get to buy a lot of cooler accessories(provided you don't burn your pockets). I was shocked to see the level of sophistication that goes into the accessories.

just a few basic ones..

So get a bike , break free :)))))

Wacky goodies - Wishlist :)

 1. V for Vendetta mask
Even before watching the movie "V for Vendetta" I wanted to buy this mask. After watching the movie today, I really do want to get it. Just wish that some lower cost option was available. Until then in the wishlist you shall remain..

2. Like/Dislike Stamps
These are genuine facebook-like "Like and Dislike" stamps for use on paper.

3. Funny Doormat
Even though a bit rude, I like the humorous side of this doormat :)

Thats all for now folks..

How to beat free time in office :)

What to do when you get some free time in office after quite a long time?

Here is a list I have which might help others too to use the free time effectively.

a) Plan for executing pending things in your personal TO-Do
b) Listen to music - take your time to load playlists if none saved
c) Write a blog, tweet something, or think up or discuss something interesting
d) Read random interesting stuff eg. use Stumbleupon
e) Walk around to other cubicles and taking part in gossip (without giving the impression that you are free)
f) Pick off on pending tasks in office. Don't do them, just imagine you are..
g) Get in sync with latest news, movies, music and things happening with dear and near ones (hopefully you haven't missed too much)
h) Expect and plan long slumbers and lazy days..

more suggestions are welcome.. and I felt I should give credit to Jithin Babu a.k.a JB for inspiring this with his
 #HowtoBeatMondayBlues note in Facebook.

Note:- OK the title is quite cheesy. I agree.. :P

Mysore - What I miss

I miss some things of Mysore.

But for places, I miss the Chamundi hills most. That is the place in Mysore I never got bored off.
It can be a quiet place to reflect, a crowded temple to squeeze into, a fun bike ride with friends, a calm bike ride alone, or a good workout climbing up, or a crazy move going in at midnight in thick fog. Chamundi hills rock! yeah... rocks..

But for other places, I miss my locality. From the vegetable angadi hassan wali akka, the chaiwallah anna from somewhere north Ktaka, Rajasthani mess ke bhai log, green hotelile kozhikode chettanmar, Vel's messile akka and anna from TN, chat wallah bhai from UP, churmuri wallah anna, paanipuri wallah bhai again from Lucknow and less lightly the fellows in the dhaba and Nandana & Hariprasad owners.

Readers might have noted that I mentioned only places related to food. This is not just because I am a foodie, but also because I am a foodie. I do miss other people too, but people who serve you food are the ones with whom you make stronger bonds. This is a lesson I learnt from life.

The above missings weren't expected, and hence comes as a pain. My mother used to lament how I lost weight due to the 'food problem' in Mysore. But the truth was that I had enough around me and only my late night office schedule left me hungry and undernourished at times(undernourished, me!! who will believe it , other than my poor mother). But as I had to walk or use the shitty bus service in Mysore, I had a good health condition there. Now, with the bike and being in Bangalore, all those are lost.

 Bangalore, though famous for the variety and quality of food isn't quite rewarding owing to the shit-like traffic condition, the dusty atmosphere and our special location plus the overall attitude prevailing among my roommates against venture fooding. On my own, I had an adventurous life in mysore ..sigh..

Overall I miss some people, some places, the atmosphere and mostly and very badly.. the me who was there.

Can't say I was 24 carat gold there. But I was far better in many terms. I wish to include those good things in what is good now.

I do wish many times that I could buy a plot of land in Mysore and move out later on. Bangalore doesn't suit me completely... for the records..

Iron Sky - A review

I liked the film a lot. For the records, I am a world war 2 buff. My head is stuffed with data about weapons, history, tactics, profiles of important people, propaganda material, consequences and fallouts of the war etc etc

The movie goes like this. After the defeat in World War 2, the Nazis escape to the dark side of moon and settle there. They teach their offspring the philosophy of the Aryan supremacy and build up large military forces using a new fuel Helium-3. The kids believe that they will go back and teach peace and equality to the world. Also they are shown a short clipping of Charlie Chaplin's "The Great Dictator" , and are told how the great film captures the idea of the dictator saving the world.

Now, things go wrong when a black american model is sent to the moon as a part of.. a re-election campaign, and is caught by the Nazis. The president who sent him resembles none other than.. Sarah Palin, in terms of looks and intellect. The dialogues are funny and quite sarcastic in nature.

Even the UN, where each countries' representative is chided and sarcastically represented, makes a hilarious combination. No need to say, we have a turbaned fellow representing India.

All hell breaks loose when the Nazis decide to attack Earth. What follows is a hilarious warfare that would throw you off your seat if you can make connections to the real world scenarios.

I won't venture further for the fear of giving spoilers. The movie is good. A tad slow at the end, but interesting and hilarious throughout. Highly recommended. My rating is 8/10...

Oh yeah, if you watched the Untergang or the famous Hitler scene from it dubbed into umpteen things, you have something here..