Over the last 12 or so years that I’ve been hiking now, I’ve learnt a ton from my goof-ups. I believe in taking calculated risks and am reasonably okay with ‘winging’ a hike as long as I have the right gear and know what the game-plan is. Still, every hike that I’ve been on and the deeper I’ve been into the wilderness, I’ve always pondered what would happen if either me or someone in the group needed medical attention. ...
Decided to come over to Florida for the long weekend. On of those slightly impromptu plans. This visit was long overdue. Been here at Aparna’s place a few time before over the last five years. But then it’s mostly been for a celebration or event, when the family is already pre-occupied with arrangements and everything that comes with having people over. This trip was just to spend some time with them when everyone has some ‘down-time’. It’s already been three days’ in and we’d have to head back tomorrow. At times you just wished you lived closer and/or together. ...
A few weeks back I heard Outside/In’s Powerline podcast - A four part series on Hydro-Quebec and the Northern Pass. For the longest time I’ve only heard all good about Hydro electricity. This series helped dissect the effects of such projects through various angles and brought up some pretty interesting facts. One of those must-listen-to series… Today while catching-up on some Nautil.us reading I came across this wonderful post on the removal of the Elwha dam. Supremely surprised and intrigued! Thinking about it, I’ve never heard or imagined a dam being brought down intentionally. I’ve always thought, once something huge is built, it lasts for a long long time until it sees its natural end…the push to bring it down would be so miniscule. The podcast series and this article in tandem build a strong case on the converse. That said, Can only imagine the insane amount of effort that would have gone into seeing this to fruition! ...
Commerce clause, the 14th amendment and quite some over-reach… Podcast: More Perfect - One Nation, Under Money An unassuming string of 16 words tucked into the Constitution grants Congress extensive power to make laws that impact the entire nation. The Commerce Clause has allowed Congress to intervene in all kinds of situations — from penalizing one man for growing too much wheat on his farm, to enforcing the end of racial segregation nationwide. That is, if the federal government can make an economic case for it. This seemingly all-powerful tool has the potential to unite the 50 states into one nation and protect the civil liberties of all. But it also challenges us to consider: when we make everything about money, what does it cost us? ...
During times when we’re so focused on building walls and closing ourselves out, It doesn’t take much to bring all hell down. Even Unknowingly! Oh, Humans! Adding Eric Schlosser’s Command and Control to my reading list. Podcast: Human Error in Volatile Situations In 1980, deep in a nuclear missile silo in Arkansas, a simple human error nearly caused the destruction of a giant portion of the Midwest… Srikanth Perinkulam
Miss Me’s first puzzle of 2018. She finished it in about 10 hours staying awake till about 3 am! The colors and not to mention the underlying theme totally drew me to it. Looking forward to what we make out of 2018! Srikanth Perinkulam
Can’t wait to get this into the water! Ever since our poconos rafting trip in July last year I’ve had my eyes on getting a kayak for myself. One of my relatives thoroughly surprised me with this as a birthday gift last December. Later when we met, he mentioned that he swapped the single carrier kayak that he bought initially, for this dual person version to make sure the Mrs. gets me back safe on shore If I decide to go astray in my often impromptu escapades. A bit unsure how I should read that statement, However I’m absolutely floored and immensely thankful! ...
Miss Me gifted me a months rock climbing pass for my birthday. Been at it for a few weeks now and we’re thoroughly loving it! Something that we’ve been wanting to do for a while now and I’m psyched we got to start it on my birthday. We try and make it to the gym almost every day. After a long day at work it’s amazing how just entering that space helps clear your mind altogether! An hour in and though you’re physically tired, you walk out with so much more energy. Goes without saying, it also aligns with one of my resolutions this year to work on my upper body strength. ...
Close to three months since I was introduced to Uttitha Hastha Padangusthasana and I still find this asana pretty challenging. This Wednesday’s practice was tremendously draining. Spent close to five minutes just trying to focus and balance, but it just didn’t flow through. Back home that night, I sought Miss Me to figure out why I was failing miserably at this particular asana. She walked over and watched me struggling to balance and in her zen mode suggested, I just look straight ahead (without paying any attention to the leg or the toe) and lift the leg by the toe till my hamstrings allowed and then firm up the other leg to balance. That worked right in the first attempt!! ...
Back in India, about eight years ago a colleague of mine sent out out an e-mail blast to the company bulletin board checking to see if anyone was a marrow donor. His son needed a transplant and the odd’s weren’t in his favor. I had no clue what that entailed and read up a bit on it. Later that evening as I tried registering on to the Be the match portal, I realized they didn’t have the support framework to sign-on users outside the U.S. It didn’t take a minute for me to close the tab and get back to what I was doing. A couple weeks later I learnt the kid died and somewhere deep in my heart I regretted not trying harder to sign-up or figure a way around. But again with all things good and bad, that moment passed and I moved on. ...