Moods of our lad

Mr. Lungi - I look cool don't I

With Nanda Ajji, Wonder who is teaching whom

In our language, we call him a 'Kapee'

Poser

Bob thei builder

With Amamma at Bannerghatta National Park

Silly fella

At Aniruddha's Birthday

Voice Biometrics

Read this morning that the current  hot technology is to pioneer voice biometrics where one can use their voice as a spare key, talk their way through security and sign contracts vocally. Is Ventriloquism the  skill i need next to stay relevant in this knowledge intensive industry? As a software tester, I already feel like a parrot trying to emulate. A Nerdy feeling indeed!

Loom bands and the Inner Child

Pradyumna, our 2.5 year old son is not so picky about what he eats, unlike like most 2.5 year old are. He likes most of the things that Ranjini or my mother serve for lunch or dinner.Pradyumna is now developing a certain affinity to the screen and can happily be glued to the telly or the laptop for hours.
Samiksha, our eight year old loves art projects. She draws and paints and cuts paper and sticksthings together. She doesn’t like the cleanup part,staying away from the telly though, and will often get quite upset during that part.Samiksha also doesn’t like going to bed in time or eating her veggies either. She thinks she should stay up quite a bit later than she does and eat selective vegetables and often ensures that we know about it through lots of grumbling before mealtime and bedtime.
Each of them have strong impulsive desires. There are things that they should be doing and there are things that they want to be doing. When these things don’t overlap, it becomes very difficult very quickly. Fortunately, Ranjini reads these signs much better than I and therefore the situation is normally well under control
They want to justify doing the things they want to do and, at the same time, justify not doing the things they don’t want to do. Both Samiksha and Pradyumna eventually do what we want them to do.

In other words, they understand that doing the thing that isn’t enjoyable and they’re often driven by impulse, and that impulse almost always steers them to whatever choice is most enjoyable at that time

I understand that impulse.Do I deeply understand it?
Even now, it’s sometimes tempting to spend money with reckless abandon on whatever it is I want (although not always for myself) at the moment. Why would I otherwise buy 3000 rubber bands for my daughter or a 100+ Staedtler pencils(of course Tesco had an unbelievable  markdown) or the two Hornby Train sets. It’s tempting to skip out on cycling on the weekends or to eat a tasty but unhealthy meal. It’s tempting to put down a challenging but thought-provoking book and pick up a page-turner(took me more than half a dozen attempts before I could get to the back cover of Dr Taleb's 'Black Swan'. It’s tempting to not “bank” some articles for the career upskill and instead follow near and not so near ones on fb or whatsapp
That impulse is the exact same thing I see on the face of my children when they’re caught between a good choice versus a happy choice. I know that they’re shaping up to what it takes to be a mature and hopefully rational person who can control their urges– but they’re still kids - well their dad is one too..

I’m an adult, of course, but that child is still alive inside of me.Some say conclusively that you try to do as an adult what you couldn't achieve in your childhood. Childhood deprivation is also attributed to this. I had a good childhood with our parents always trying to get us what we deserved in those technology starved days. The friend network was stronger which meant access to a friend's Atari or Nintendo,Archie Digests,tonnes of Amar Chitra Kathas and the never ending inflow of Russian publications that made their way to our home.One of the sadder part of growing up being Navakarnataka publications no longer have anything to do with Moscow. Even now, it’s that child that shouts at me to do whatever it is that’s most fun in the near term without thinking about the future.That explains my rather careless spending on all matters philately, expensive entries to museums and a general splurge on travel.I have temporarily fixed the latter urge by getting myself a yearly membership to the National Trust that allows me free entry to conserved properties across the UK. Is it worth? Probably not as I would not be able to distinguish between two noblemen from the Victorian era whose lavish lifestyles I pay to see in the form of conserved mansions,estates etc. It is this inner child that pushes me to spend money,sometimes needlessly because I’ll enjoy whatever I buy now.Did I tell you that I am, these days scourging sunday markets and car boot sales these days trying to find a bargain Kodak Vest Camera that was also called the soldiers' camera from the 1913-1920 war era. Can I leave without it? Absolutely!!
I am well aware that these pursuits could all be worthless and only a self reminder of containing such impulses can help.Sometimes, I listen to that inner child. It can be fun and very soul satisfying. That inner child is impulsive and he’s going to lead me toward something that’s enjoyable right now. Hopefully the adult in me knows that I’m going to listen often and has prepared a budget that allows for some “free spending” once in a while
So, over the years I have learnt that never, ever shut out that urge to spend/buy. Instead, learn when you can listen to that impulse and know what you can do in advance to make some impulsiveness possible.Hopefully I listen to the inner call  :-)

The Cotswolds - Area of Natural beauty

The Bridge, Bradford On Avon

One of the many joys of a consulting assignment is the joy of traveling to newer places. It was the Rhine Valley in Germany before I came to England and before that the Yorkshire Dales again in England and even before that was a good 3 months at the big apple communting between exchange place and 34th Street,NYC.

This assignment brings me to to South-Western England to the county of Wiltshire and specifically to the town of Swindon. I was destined to be in Swindon for 2 full years more so probably because my providence decided to link me to this town that has such a bit of railway history and I have definitely admired European trains and the history behind these massive connectors in a unitedly fragmented continent. I live fortunately close to the Great Western Railway yard which is now a sprawling and ever expanding retail outlet village.. Also near where I live is another attraction that I have started to love visiting numerous times now.

The Cotswolds is an area in south central England containing the Cotswold Hills, a range of rolling hills which rise from the meadows of the upper Thames to an escarpment, known as the Cotswold Edge, above the Severn Valley and Evesham Vale. The area is defined by the bedrock of Jurassic limestone which creates a type of grassland habitat rare in the UK, and which is quarried for the golden coloured Cotswold stone. This gives the quaint houses in this area a soft golden colour.The area, designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in 1966, is considered to have unique features derived from the local Cotswold stone; the predominantly rural landscape contains stone-built villages, historical towns, and stately homes and gardens - Oh! tell you what, every village I have been to now is so charming. The villages in the Cotswolds are typical stone villages and are so full of charm from Stratford-upon Avon to Bath in the South. After my first visit although on a recommendation from a friend, we have fallen in love with the landscape which is a mix of golden yellow stone villages, rolling hills and meadows and rivers the size of brooks and streams. The Cotswolds have some of the most charming English Villages I have seen and tops on my list of all things English - The Dales, Lake District. It has now become a weekend past time to be in a village in the Cotswolds and the favourites have been Bourton-On-The-Water, Moreton on Marsh, Bibury, Lechlade-on-Thames, Bradforn-on Avon,Broadway, Lacock ,Castle Combe, Snowshill, Winchcombe and Stow on the wold,. The favourites being Bourton-on-water wich has been voted as one of the prettiest village in England so many times. There is so much to do in each of these villages -quaint little shops,museums (The motoring museum at Bourton), stone bridges, old and welcoming churches and little rivers throughout the most charming countryside where unspoiled fields and natural woodland complement the expression of rural England - Truly straight out of a picture book.

Get there if you are anywhere nearby anytime soon. Hope you enjoy the pictures. Will add more soon.

With Arun ,Windrush Riverside, Bourton on the Water - Aug 2014

After a good walk, Bradford on Avon - Aug 2014

Air Tattoo, RAF Fairford

Bibury,Cotswolds

Broadway Tower - A historic folly

The Arlington Row,Bibury

The abbey at Lacock

Blackberries while biking

Bourton on Water

Posing with the Transall C-160D German Air Force Transporter

High Street,Broadway

Wye Valley view from Symonds Yat (Forst of Dean)

Sunday morning exploring Lechlade on Thames

My Favourite view of the Arlington Row

Snowshill

The Romance of the cream teas

Perfect German start

What a perfect start to yet another world cup campaign by Germany walloping a hapless Portugal 4 goals to nil. The German team probably has the most impressive line up in this years championship. And what a great game they played this evening against the Portuguese. Even the world's best player in Ronaldo couldn't do much other than almost helplessly watch a well oiled German machine clinically demolish a world class team both morally and hopefully not psychologically. The attack was trademark German blitzkrieg with Thomas Mueller scoring the first hatrick of this edition of the world cup. I have always been impressed with German football as their clubs have contributed to talent grooming and producing players who have made the nation proud. Something probably the English may want to emulate with all their rich clubs. England, though have been more than impressive this world cup. Living in England, I can't imagine that an expensive TV connection and licensing is the only option to catch the games live. Even India currently ranked 154 by FIFA telecasts world cup matches almost free!
What high expectations the Germans must be having from their team so full of stars but all so grounded and groomed under the watch of such veterans who identify and groom talent at clubs such as Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, Schalke, Leverkusen, Koln, Hamburg...
Germany no doubt has some of the best talent and have played delightful football in the past. Unfortunately they will have to do without Marco Reus, their most dangerous forward, and also hope Mesut Ozil and Thomas Mueller can produce enough to make up for his absence while being well supported by Manuel Neuer, Jerome Boateng,Phillip Lahm and Bastian Schweinsteiger. A win in Brazil would then prove the world that Germany have strength in depth.
Ein land, Eine Mannschaft, Ein Traum!!

Back on the Road

After 2 months of driving around the UK with the family, I finally got back to my wheels this morning but not before a bit of preparation and motivating myself to get back on the bike once again. The day began with getting the bike ready - inflating tyres, checking the gears and completing cooking for the day. The most important bit however being to get Vikrant also sign up to hit the road. Vikrant has just seen off his wife and kids to India and Mahesh and I certainly wanted him back to his cheerful self after his family left. This was very much the same feeling a couple of weeks ago when Ranjini and the kids went back to India. An expats loneliness!
Today we also welcomed another new member to our cycling fraternity - Zakir Yellala. Zak decided to cycle with us on Sundays and has recently bought a swell of a bike with all the springs and coils in the right places,a gleaming red Bandit.Our first ride after the rather long hiatus was a 14 mile ride this afternoon through the swindon borough countryside taking us through Shaw Forest, Moredon country park and finally towards Cricklade passing through the little but beautiful village of Purton. The village pub was very tastefully decorated with the English flags and world cup buntings. If only the chaps in Brazil do some justice to the millions of English fans by first getting out of the group and then achieve a recent best show if not win the title. The bikes held well through the ride with just Vikrants bike once stalling due to a loosened chain sprocket. We gave ourselves a few short breaks for rehydration (South west England is quite warm these days). At the end of it, it was all very satisfying to complete today's ride (with sore backsides) but the real thrill lay in the fact that we got back to the roads after such a long break. A little dirt on the shirts, chain grease on the hands and sweat on the brows..but what better than crisp wind on our faces and a mind that just refuses to age..until the next big ride..