Dusk

Yesterday I took some pictures of trees and mountain at dusk, which was a gratifying presentation. The quiddity of the twilight pictures was the penumbral setting i.e., the object of focus had both gentle light and a tinge of shade at the same time.





CATEGORY: Pictures

A season of abandonment

The workers deserted the concrete slab that they scraped on Monday. I wonder what their plans were.

This Lady’s bicycle has been in the same place unlocked for more than 5 days.

This pair of oranges has been in front of the Christmas tree for quite some time. I reckon Santa forgot to pick them up. The heaters in the building are not working and I hope they are still not spoilt.

CATEGORY: Pictures

Working day after Christmas

It is very windy outside. At school, I saw a lot of cars in the parking lot. That means people came to work today. Although the school is officially closed I reckon all the workaholics/researchers must have been back.

Regarding the NMT-GSA conference, I am gaining experience as an abstract review coordinator. It is educational to read the abstracts and the reviewer’s comments. So far five reviewers have reverted to me with their useful remarks.

Yesterday evening, I spent watching Season I DVD of Leave It to Beaver. The episodes recorded in the DVD are much better than the show on TVLand; every episode has a preamble, which is absent in the telecast.

I found a good site for humorous English.

CATEGORY: Conference, TV Show

Stroke

I received this information from a friend, which is worth sharing.

"... symptoms of a stroke are difficult to identify. Unfortunately, the lack of awareness spells disaster. The stroke victim may suffer brain damage when people nearby fail to recognize the symptoms of a stroke. Now doctors say a bystander can recognize a stroke by asking three simple questions:

*Ask the individual to SMILE.
*Ask him or her to RAISE BOTH ARMS.
*Ask the person to SPEAK A SIMPLE SENTENCE.

If he or she has trouble with any of these tasks, call 9-1-1 immediately and describe the symptoms to the dispatcher."

CATEGORY: Health

Kwanzaa

Today is the first day of Kwanzaa and also government holiday, not for proletarians working in front of my apartment. Their machine tool was noisy early in the morning.

They succeeded in breaking not only the concrete but also my nap.


CATEGORY: Kwanzaa

Christmas

I spent my day doing laundry and watching back-to-back episodes of Law & Order on TNT. The Mandaram plant that bloomed on Christmas at Mayuri’s.

As seedlings of God, we barely blossom on Earth; we fully flower in heaven.
— Russell M. Nelson

Is earth heaven for this plant?

CATEGORY: Pictures, Plants

Christmas Eve

It was dawn, and I went to the airport. The sparse traffic on the interstate didn't ask for much concentration while driving. The rising sun enkindled the eastern mountains and indirectly colored the western mountains. It was a spectacular firmament, with white colored light to the right and a crimson border to the left, while driving from south to north.

It’s Christmas Eve. All the shopping stores in Albuquerque seem to open early (7:00 am). This is the best time of the year to shop because most of the merchandise will be sold on a ‘reduced price’.

Today is one of those dry as dust days. No neighbors, no friends, no one on IM, and no one to play with.

I took some pictures of the many Christmas decorations around town. The pictures were not well taken as it was dark and I was not able to adjust the lighting. Something worth seeing about the decorations in this part of the country (New Mexico) are the luminarias (farolitos: candles set in brown paper bags filled with sand). Please click on the images below to get the full view

I ended the day with mirth by watching It’s a Wonderful Life.

CATEGORY: Socorro, Pictures, Luminaria, Farolito, Movie

Wintertime?

I am bewildered with the inane weather. It is supposed to be cold in the winter. The day was warm and sunny; a perfect day to repose and spend time alfresco. It's the last weekday before Christmas weekend. All offices of the school were closed today. So, the parking lots were empty in the school. All roads except for the arterial road, California St., were empty. The parking lots of shopping centers, Smiths, and Wal-Mart were full. There was a long line at the gas stations in town. I guess a lot of travelers have stopped for gas and food. That’s good source of revenue for Socorro.
I took some pictures of Cramer Hall, which is under renovation.



The renovated Student Union Building is really big now.

First day of Winter

Winter officially started today at 11:35 am (MST).

The early morning sunlight fringing the mountains presented a spectacular view. The morning was bright and warmer. As the day progressed, the sun was effulgent. The moon immediately camouflaged itself as a thin cloud and appeared translucent at the backdrop of the blue sky. The crescent cringed to the west as the sun cavorted from the east. Slowly, the moon toddled behind the M-mountain. This is how the sun made moon secede from sky on the first day of winter.

CATEGORY: Nature

Anti-virus and Anti-spyware software

Some of the free anti-virus software are:

1. AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition
2. Avast
3. AntiVir Personal Edition

I have been using AVG free version for 3 years now.

I recommend SpyCatcher Express as a good anti-spyware software.

CATEGORY: Anti-virus, Anti-Spyware, Freebie

T-Mobile customer service

T-Mobile customer service personnel are not only digerati but also cordial and friendly. The holding time is minimal even at peak business hours. They understand the caller’s problem, both technically and intellectually, and are with the caller when solving a problem. I don’t know of other cell phone provider’s customer services. But, T-Mobile’s customer service is really good and definitely much better than my phone card company’s customer service.

CATEGORY: Service

Nokia vs. Motorola

Nokia 6610 has been my favorite; especially speaker, fm radio, and a classy head set. But, I second Motorola for helping to stay more organized; it has multiple alarm feature, calendar, to-do list etc. I changed my cell phone from Nokia 6610 to Motorola V180.

CATEGORY: Cell Phone, Nokia, Motorola

Intelligent Design is not Science

Not having a plausible explanation for an observation does not necessarily mean it is intelligent design.

CATEGORY: Science, Intelligent Design

Movies and TV Shows

The weekend was a welcome break; spent some time out of town, played Tennis, relaxed and watched movies. I felt warm outdoors, even today.

It was movie time since the vacation started. Singin' in the Rain was a classic with a mélange of song and dance. Mr. & Mrs. Smith was a meaningless action flick. Forrest Gump is a wonderful movie with echt southern accent. I watched the movie ‘D.’ An interesting movie by Ram Gopal Varma. The best part of the movie was the way humdrum dialogs were replaced by good music. Among TV shows, I watched The Simpsons on Fox and LAW & ORDER: SVU viewer's choice marathon on the usa.

Finally, my all-time favorite show, Leave It to Beaver, is on DVD. Universal Studios released the complete first season in DVD format. I have been looking for this all over Wal-Mart, Smiths, and video shops. But, as usual Amazon.com is the place to go.

CATEGORY: Movie, TV Series

Adult Illiteracy

I was surprised when I heard this news in yesterday’s nightly news. Jay Leno mentioned about this in his monologue. Check news @ yahoo for more information.

“About one in 20 adults in the U.S. is not literate in English, meaning 11 million people lack the skills to handle many everyday tasks, a federal study shows.”

"So even as more people get a formal education, the literacy rate is not rising. Federal officials say this trend is puzzling and worthy of research."

It was very cold in the morning. I felt the chill even through my layered clothing. Nevertheless a cop car was looking for runners at the stop sign intersection of Bullock and El Camino Real.

CATEGORY: Illiteracy, Cop

Car Headlights

For the past 2 weeks, a lot of people left their car headlights on during nights. There may be many explanations for this behavior. I came up with two rational reasons for this. One is that due to the sudden change in temperature the drivers are not dressed well for winter; they rush out of their cars to get into a warm place (chill factor). The second explanation is that students are so pre-occupied with studying for their exams, they are kind of lost (examination factor). I hope to see an end to this behavior as winter is going to start and the examination week has ended.

CATEGORY: Car

End of Semester

Yesterday was the last day of finals and today is the end of fall semester. I am glad that the parking lot is becoming sparse again. Otherwise, I will have to keep driving just to find a vacant space.

I recant my remarks about cops not being noticeable. Today, I saw many cop cars going past me on my way to school in the morning. I must have not noticed them earlier. Their obvious presence deters the criminals and social pranksters. I didn’t observe any increase in crime rate too. Maybe that is a good thing. But, I am definitely glad to see that they didn’t ticket anybody.

CATEGORY:School, Cop

What happened to the cops?

I feel that the presence of police in town has drastically reduced. At least they are not conspicuous as they used to be. Earlier, I used to see them ticketing and lying in wait for law-breakers near the stop signs. If the cop is still there, he/she is doing a remarkable job of concealing.

CATEGORY: Cop

A Trip to the Airport

On the road
Going to the airport
Drizzling and snowing
Ebullient and full of action
Represented a nival region

It was dawn
No sunlight while going
Chatoyant while coming
Not sky-blue or Not leaf-green
Roads strewn with shades of black and white
Red, not because of sunlight
But, from taillights and streetlights
Rio Grande was splendid
Cannot afford to nictitate while on the road

Is this man-made or natural
Someone must have scumbled the margin
Is this Shangri la
What a beautiful day!

Final's week

The end of semester is approaching but I do not see an end to my woes. I have to wrap things up before the last day of classes. I have to setup the next meeting for the Writing Team, coordinate with the reviewers and participants in the abstract review process for the GSA Tech conference, return the library books, focus more on my research, and get some things done. The list goes on.

I didn’t do anything productive over the weekend. I had so many plans, but nothing materialized. This is my most unproductive weekend in recent years. I was not idle. I was busy doing nothing.

Looks like I need a break.

Face/Off Gets Off

I have been writing a faction for some time. But, I was told that it is not fair and not in good spirits. I really didn’t think it was hurting anyone. Looking in the retro, I do feel ‘Face Off’ is totally uncalled-for. Thus the faction, Face/Off, departs.

Nobel Prize Award Ceremony

The Nobel Prizes are being handed over today in Stockholm. This year is of particular interest to me because game theory, a topic that I am hoping to pursue in my research for next semester, is being recognized in the field of Economic Sciences.

"If I have a thousand ideas and only one turns out to be good, I am satisfied."
– Alfred Bernhard Nobel

Plight of driving an automobile

The school maintenance is working on the parking lots, renovation, and construction of many sites within the school. As a result, we find a lot of hard-hat areas, orange safety barriers, and less space to walk on campus. Even the parking lots are limited. I am just bored looking for parking for my car in the campus. I am not sure if they planned for more parking spaces if they are expanding the Student Union Building. There seems to be a lack of forethought about the parking space.

Among other things, I saw on the local news that the cold front is hitting New Mexico. Eyewitness News calls it as 'The Big Chill.' It is definitely going to bring some snow to the northern part of the state. According to the pinpoint forecast, this cold front divides the state into exactly two parts: Fridge and Freezer. The western part was called the Fridge and the eastern part was called the Freezer. I really liked the metaphor when shown on the TV. I am in the 'Fridge' part of the state. I liked the weather because I was in full winter clothing.

Quote from a Nobel laureate

I am a big fan of quotes from Nobel Prize awardees.

No problem is too small or too trivial if we can really do something about it.
-- Richard Feynman, Letter to Koichi Mano