What's in the eyes of the beholder?

Pretty is in the eye of the beholder,
Beauty is in the soul.
You can't see it, but you know it when you feel it.

Can This Day Be Over Already?

It is fast approaching 4pm and this week has just blown past me. I don't think there has been another week this hectic in recent memory - we filed and fixed a Vista RTM bug, I restarted a circuit training program (Sunday and Monday for me), and for the first time, I am caught up with the email in my mailbox.

With 1979 is playing in the background, I feel like I've accomplished a whole bunch this week. Enough to warrant a break for the rest of the day. To be honest, I don't think I can be very productive for much longer today. Maybe after a multi-vitamin and a dose of Fish Oil, my energy levels might swing up but that's unlikely. This feeling is bitter-sweet; I am so happy I got so much done this week but at the same time I need to recharge my batteries and get some serious down time this weekend.

The hoppity-skip is back on the squash court and is seriously impeding my ability to play to my potential. On the whole though, my return to squash has exceeded my expectations. I'd like to throw in a few games of badminton a couple times a week but even with 20 courts at the Pro, the wait for a game is usually 15 minutes. My ADD doesn't let me stand around for more than 3 :)

My words got me in trouble again yesterday and a very close confidante might not speak to me again. This turn of events will take a huge toll on me. If I've learnt anything in life, it is that minute skirmishes mar the deepest of friendships. On the flip side, if things don't stay the same, they weren't meant to be; this isn't a cop out or me trying to shirk off responsibility. This does beg the question though - Is it too late in the game for me to change?

The IRS Keep Taketh

Even after I pay my taxes on time, the IRS needs more money from me. Apparently, I haven't paid taxes on dividend income in 2004. I'll verify whether the information is accurate and if it is, pay my dues. But this is utter bullshit if you ask me! Interest is around 10% per annum - god damn it!

New Rock CD

The first creative thing I have done since I've returned to the US has been making this rock CD. It's got 22 songs on it that occupy the entire 80 minutes that a CD can hold, hope listening to this CD cheers me up. Are there gonna be no witticisms, no quips? I'll pass on those and instead, present the list of songs:

1. Ezekiel 25:17 - Samuel L Jackson
2. Immigrant Song - Led Zeppelin
3. Back in Black - AC/DC
4. Chop Suey! - System of a Down
5. Wild Boys - Duran Duran
6. Seven Nation Army - The White Stripes
7. Sweet Dreams - Eurythmics
8. 1979 - The Smashing Pumpkins
9. Short Skirt/Long Jacket - Cake
10. Like a Stone - Audioslave
11. Impossibility - Remy Zero
12. Song for the Dumped - Ben Folds Five
13. Closer - NIN
14. What I Got - Sublime
15. Last Kiss - Pearl Jam
16. Never There - Cake
17. In the End - Linkin Park
18. Stellar - Incubus
19. If You Leave - Nada Surf
20. Yellow Ledbetter - Pearl Jam
21. Stars - Simply Red
22. Easy Like Sunday Morning - Faith No More

GoodTree - Your charitable deed for the day!

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Brown's Where It's At!!!

Even Evolutionary Theorists know this to be true:

"Racial differences will be ironed out by interbreeding, producing a uniform race of coffee-coloured people."

Brown IS here to stay people, here to stay!! :)

Maybe it's time...

That I started writing again. After a "long" hiatus of three weeks, I think I am back in the groove of things here in Seattle. I uploaded the pictures from my trip on to my computer but need to weed out the blurry and redundant ones. There are also some pictures missing from this trip, for instance, the ones from my birthday so gotta find those. Oh well, it feels weird to write about the mundane.

I watched a very disturbing episode of CSI last night, at the end of which, Gil Grissom very eloquently summarized the problem with American culture today. He said (sic.),

The truth is, a moral compass can only point you in the right direction, it can't make you go there. Our culture preaches that you shouldn't be ashamed of anything you do anymore. And unfortunately this city is built on the principle that there's no such thing as guilt. "Do whatever you want, we won't tell."

Not having someone point me in a particular direction allows me to make my choices as I deem fit. This lifestyle is such a contrast to life in India, where there is always someone looking over my shoulder. Having to think through how my entire extended family (in Bombay) will perceive my actions is reason enough to not do something remotely sacrilegious. Since there are no such compunctions in America, I tend to lead quite a profligate life. I wonder if I'll ever buckle down...

This Friday has their number

This is not a good day for paraskevidekatriaphobics -- those who fear Friday the 13th. It's double-13 Friday. All the numbers in the numerical notation -- 10/13/2006 -- add up to 13 as well, giving great pause to the superstitious.

The phenomenon hasn't happened in 476 years, said Heinrich Hemme, a physicist at Germany's University of Aachen who crunched the numbers to find that the double-whammy last occurred Jan. 13, 1520.

All ye superstitious ones, today isn't a day to venture out. But if you do, make it worth it just in case it's the last time you do! :)

Vista vs Mac OS X

Round 1 goes to Vista. The Window effects, the alpha blending, the transparency all add up to a very visually pleasing experience. Compared to Vista, this Mac OS X box UI feels cledgy and curmudgeonly.