Ahhhhh ... this beauty will be the death of me ... handles like a charm ... gotta have it.

The 2007 Warrior

I've always loved Floyd and this one's been my favorite for a long long time. 

Thanks M for the link to this really well made AMV on Metacafe.

Watched the 300 … finally.
Ahhh… the simple life ...  honor, love and loyalty. Complex values depicted in the most simplistic view. Black and white in a world of color. If only life was as simple as that.

What do I think of the movie … I loved it … it strays from the comic (expected) but stays true to it in spirit. Notice the subtle replacement of an existing title for this in my top 5.

Been a good week … sunny San Diego, the 300. Now back to the grind and the real world.

Hmmm .... interesting training routine, but you can't argue with the results.

 

 

Hmm .... waiting waiting waiting ... this is one movie that has potential ...

Recharged, this boy has returned to the 'real' world after 3 weeks of lazing around, sleep, great food and awesome weather.

Seattle is its usual self overcast and raining. More once I get back into the groove of things again.

In India by the end of the week, haven't missed this trip a single year.
I almost feel like the Arctic Tern. Almost? There are differences, my migratory pattern happens to be EW rather than NS, the Tern migrates for breeding, for me its more about recharging my batteries, the Tern braves the winds and the weather while I sit back on a pretty comfortable seat and sleep ;).
But there are similarities, both migrations are instinctual, driven by an innate unexplainable need, a journey that is made no matter what the cost (my credit card knows what I'm talking about.)

 

Here's to being disconnected from the grid and recharging in peace.

 

Happy holidays all.

 

Saw the Gears of War Trailer sometime ago on the tube, heard the song. I knew I'd heard it before, couldn't place it till a friend reminded me, the Donny Darko soundtrack.

 

Awesome song, check out the videos.

 

See:

- Mad World (video)

- Gears of War Trailer (trailer video)

- Donny Darko soundtrack and movie

Three personalities on a spectrum, which one are you closer to?

 

About life and people:

 

- The optimist:

All people are good and can be trusted and everything happens for the best.

- The cynic:

No one can be trusted and no one will ever be truly happy.

- The realist:

Respect everyone you meet but let them earn your trust. Shit happens, find happiness in the moment and enjoy the fact that you're alive.

Had a pretty stressed out day at work, you know the kind where you get in and shuttle from meeting to meeting, getting only 15 mins at your desk. Some of them are interesting and exciting, you make breakthroughs, decisions, learn something new. Others are the perfect substitute for sleep aids and some are the kind where mandatory attendance could force a confession out of the most hardened criminal if it got him out. Why does one have to deal with irritants and still remain calm? Why can't a man have just enough time to enjoy lunch in peace?

 

Decided to drop off some old clothes at the local United Way collection centre on my way home. Traffic was a b*tch as usual, regretted being in the car rather than on the bike. Heck some people should be banned from driving, especially those that forget you can turn right on a red when there's no traffic.

 

It was turning out to be the kind of day where I was irritated with everything around me.

 

But got to the centre and dropped off the clothes. On my way out happened to notice a picture of an elderly gentleman huddled under a cardboard box in the rain. Compared to that poor old soul, I (dumaz) need a rap on my head for forgetting I've been dealt a pretty good hand of cards. So for a really nice day ...Thank you God.

 

See:

- United Way

Its kind of funny, an event occurs, a saga begins. Before it unfolds you have an inkling of how its going to end, a prophecy rings in your head. The saga continues for months, maybe years, you know your role in the story and you stick to it. Then the prophecy begins to come true in more ways than one.

The question you have to ask yourself is did you cause it to come true? If so can't you change it and if you could would you want to? In any case, don't forget to savor the experience and learn the lessons life showed you along the way.

I prefer not to comment on technology while posting, but here's something that just makes total sense. Imagine previewing a 3D model of the place you just visited, a model created from ordinary pictures, and then sharing this with friends and family.

Check out Photosynth from live labs, if you're into travelling and photography, this is something you just have to see.

I love the Emerald City. People here are sh*t scared of the snow and ice. It snowed here this evening (starting around 530), the city shut down, completely. The roads were clogged with traffic that was hardly moving, buses stopped running, bars and restaurants were closed (you expect a blizzard when you read a sign that says ‘closed due to weather’ on a door), heck even the cell phones stopped working (freaking overloaded networks). For a really exaggerated report see King5, I guess the city shut down because we weren’t prepared for it, but then it rains here most of the year and most drivers aren’t prepared for that.  

By 800, the roads were empty. I got into my car and drove across the bridge. The freeways were deserted, perfect. I have an old run down Civic, sturdy car, gets me from A to B when the bike’s useless. The tires are almost worn out; it’s obviously not a four wheel drive, but the heater and the radio work, doesn’t leak, the engine and brakes are …eh ... okay. Basically the kind of car most people leave parked when the roads are iced over. But driving on icy roads is the most exhilarating experience one can have in a car. You have control, but you’re riding a fine line. When you turn you have to consider what I like to call the slide effect :) and making that perfect slide is like painting the Mona Lisa. Took me almost an hour to get home (a drive that takes less than 20 mins on normal days with no traffic) but the drive was worth it especially driving up hill (yes there’s a trick to it and no I’m not sharing). 

Top the drive off with with gyros, scotch, a Sea Hawks win and 'stumbling' onto the Stumbling Monk, a Belgian beer and wine pub hidden away right next to my place that I had no idea about, all in all an awesome day. Now if I could only afford the tires to try the same thing with the bike.

 

 

Ahh ... the work week begins and there's tons to do. Thank god its a short week, the holidays will give me the time I need to catch up with the team.
As for Seattle, the beautiful rain's back and so are the long nights and the short cloudy days.
The bike's calling, time to tune her up, get the rain gear out, treat the boots and begin my night rides. Never knew how much I missed my daily double tall no-whip mocha till I actually picked one up today. We tend to take the little things for granted don't we ;).
Looks like winter's gonna be fun.

On a completely different note, check out: My family and other animals

Based on a book with the same name by Gerald Durrell, this is one movie that comes pretty close to the book and the book was really cool. Subtle, british humour at its best, had scotch coming out of my nose, so avoid drinking while watching the movie.

Uploaded a couple of pics from the trip. Heck none of them do the place justice.

Started raining in BCN stopped raining in Seattle, go figure ;).

In a little more than 24 hours I'm going to be boarding a plane back to Seattle. Good 'ol rainy Seattle, it'll be great to sleep on my bed again, slip back into the routine of life and work. Get up to gray clouds and the drizzle that is the signature of the Emerald city.
But I'm going to miss Barcelona, its laid back but efficient approach to life. The locals have a great work ethic, they really 'chill', but work their butts off when they have to. The day begins late, there's a two hour lunch and heck these folks party like there's no tomorrow. But the hours that they do work, they seem to get more done than most. Catalan, that's what they call themselves here, not Spaniards, not Europeans, a strong sense of local culture and identity but an openness to anything new.
As for Frank Gehry, my opinion of the 'Fish' is the same as my opinion of the EMP, no matter which part of the world I'm in there's certain 'art' I just can't appreciate with my limited perception of the world.