Hiking Biking Venky

Private joke for h2Toppers. Sorry!

Riding a bike after a 17 year break. Rented one last weekend at Stanford for a 10 mile ride around the Palo Alto hills. Just as driving in the US requires a mirror shift, braking the bike has a similar shift. The rear brakes are on your left hand. My wrist muscles remembered the Indian experience and took a while to get comfortable. (April 18)













A different sort of hiking trail that skirts the Pacific Ocean, a walking equivalent to the Pacific Coast Highway. (April 25)

End of the Cherry Tree

After 10 years of having this tree serve as a landmark, we lost it to massive cold winds that swept the area Tuesday. Fortunately, traffic is quiet on this street and there was room to pass by.






We had to wait till the morning for the winds to die down and daybreak before we got someone to remove and annihilate it.

Not too sorry to see it go. The two weeks of its flowering every year cost us months of sweeping off its substantial leaves debris every fall/winter.

Obama Inauguration Speech

Surprised to see no discussion on one of the key parts of the speech where the 44th President of the US rattled off the names of religious groups (the 3 biblical ones and Hindus, but no mention of Buddhists or Sikhs or Jains) with the addition of "non-believers". Is this a first? Have previous presidents acknowledged this group?

The group themselves would prefer a more positive sounding phrase to describe themselves, but it is a start to include them. It is one of the aims of the Brights to be recognized as a group with a positive worldview and not be excluded from civic participation just because they do not check any box with the name of a religion next to it.

Fitzgerald Marine Reserve

Having lived in the Bay Area for a dozen years, one would have (wrongly!) thought that one knew everything about it. Well, never heard of this place (it being quite close to home!). Seems very popular with the kids.

Searching for hidden clues in the Pietersen-Moores saga

One can almost hear Pietersen's inner thoughts "I wish he wouldn't do this everytime I initiate a serious conversation! I am getting sick of this!"

KP's inner thoughts (continued): "I may not be king, but I do feel that I am entitled to my crown, however small it may be. I wish they will let me wear this on the field. That will show that brat, Yuvraj, who is the better cricketer. I am sure it will make him quake a little bit."