Airline Woes

Almost each one of us will have an airline story to tell - be it flight delay or poor food or customer service etc. Incidentally, I for one, should confess that I dont have any bad experience with any of the airlines I have traveled so far in the past 10+ years. I am neither a business traveler nor a holder of any "miles card" with any airline. Each time I pick one based on cost and travel itinerary ease. The closest I came to a bad experience, if you want to call it one, was with Air India when I flew with them during my grad school days. But then it was just a delay and I had all the time in the world so din't care much. AI compensated with good food for me then.

When I say I din't have any bad experience, I should also add, that for no apparent reason, I used to cautiously avoid any European airline however fast the travel is with them. After moving to US west coast, Singapore and Cathay kind of became the norm. Recently in the unfortunate event of my father's demise, we had to travel via Europe in (drums roll !!) Lufthansa - Now I have something to tell for a bad airline experience or rather experiences -

* On our way back to San Diego, we missed our connection at Washington due to immigration delay. We had only 1.5hrs time there to clear immigration/customs. Even after my repeated phone calls to makemytrip.com and Lufthansa in India itself, asking them to change my itinerary to allow more time, they refused. Each one pointed the other and said if the system approves, its good. But then Murphy prevailed and United flight connection miss seemed certain. The Lufthansa staff there talking to us were outright adamant that it was not their problem and that hotel acco was out of the question. When all hopes seemed to end, fortunately to our luck, we found out the connection had actually got delayed too because the UA pilot din't show up in time. Thanks to him we made it SD as planned. I dont know what I would have done with my kid and my elderly mom in Washington winter (thanksgiving day) had the United airline pilot not delayed the connection by showing up late.

* Now after six months later, I was facing the undesirable task of sending my mother , that too alone by herself, in the same Lufthansa airline. The confirmation of elderly wheelchair assistance was consoling. But again Murphy prevailed and that too where it mattered. My mom was told there is not a wheel chair available when she got off at Frankfurt. Somebody directed her towards an elevator and left. Apparently she had no clue where to go. Imagine a first timer, alone, tired and old, in a foreign airport with trouble understanding the staff's english accent too. Apparently, she got the courage to keep going and asked a passenger-cart driver to take her to the next gate and the blue-collared gentlemen/women had obliged to our relief. I couldnt imagine what would have happened had she missed the connection.

All the while my notion about most European airlines was that if not for their vantage position connecting the americas and the east, they would be flying empty. It just got confirmed. There we go then -Now I too have an airline to hate !

Still: Blue Angels captured with D40 during Miramar Air show.

The Hidden Costs of Oil Dependence

Recently we went on a NYC trip with my mother accompanying us. Having visited exotic Maldives earlier, Hawaii has been on my wish list ever since I came to San Diego. So initially I tried to lure them to Hawaii instead of NYC saying we can rest on the beaches etc . But my mother single-handedly vetoed the proposal saying "resting is all she is doing currently and she doesnt have to go to Hawaii to do the same". My wife, the metro-phile that she is, was relieved. Anyways, given my penchant for nature and places that glorify that in pristine form, two pieces of news got my attention recently.

First one of them is disturbing to say the least - the Oil spill from a BP oil rig in Gulf of Mexico - I trust the BP folks are doing their best to stop it. When the effects are so obvious and visible, there is very little they could do to cover it up. They even tried misquoting the barrels of oil leaked per day but truth came out eventually. What troubles me is the sheer damage to nature that this oil leak has wreaked - think about the pollution to the otherwise pristine sea water, habitats of countless aquatic life forms destroyed beyond repair, loss of marine life and its effect on the lower food chain, the oil reaching the shore damaging flora and fauna there. I cant imagine how long will it take before nature recovers from this setback. Nature, in my view is like a good parent - very forgiving. But then I am starting to doubt if we as humans are testing its patience and good nature under the pretext of civilization. This hidden cost, borne out of excess dependence on oil, is not even measurable.

Second one is rather interesting and in a way related to the one above. Recently came across this news . To cut to the chase, an ad agency on behalf of the supporters of clean energy bill sponsored an ad campaign on DC buses that portrayed Iran president Ahmedinajad and the words "Iran makes a KILLING everyday we wait". I thought it was political (US vs Iran stuff) till I read the news fully. The ad sponsors are just trying to get attention of public towards their "clean energy bill measure" by using the political tussle between the nations highlighting how an oil exporting country like Iran, which is US' nemesis on world stage, is benefiting from US' oil dependence. At the outset, very creative ad for a very very noble cause I admit , cleverly designed to capture public attention using the current political climate. But the way in which it tried to grab attention is distasteful and, as you see in the article, has led to ethnic Iranian groups protesting against it.

Still: One of nature's delight, unbridled beauty of Niagara Falls (horse shoe falls). My camera battery was dying and just managed this one shot of the falls from the boat. Taken with Lz8 P&S.

The Olive Branch Legacy

During my school days history classes, a fair bit of importance was given to "the United Nations Organization", UN for short - How it was conceived and, what does it do etc etc. I even remember participating in oratorical contests where in we have to speak about UN and its achievements. My mom being the history professor will dutifully fill me with info on the same and I grew up thinking very high about this world body.

My first shock or setback to that mentality came after I landed in the US - the birthplace of the very UN concept and the home of three of its important organs - General assembly, Secretariat and (drums roll !!!) the "Security Council". I was shocked to see UN not even getting a mention in media that a dumb movie star or a franchise sports player in US get. Back home in India, DoorDarhsan news tends to give headline importance to anything UN related. Then as I matured, it dawned upon me how the super powers merely use it as a "diplomatic tool" to cover their acts while in the background going ahead with their military interests. The Iraq war was the last straw in my confidence that UN would be worth something in the future. Like the rest of the world, I could only watch Kofi Annan (bless his soul) haplessly trying to impart sense into Bush and his puppeteers without much avail. The list goes on. The last known respect, in my view, a super power has given to this world body on a "issue of significance" has been the Cuban Crisis (thanks to some level-heads at the helm of US that time) when US took to this world body to put its case.

Recently when I visited NYC a second time, this time with mom, we decided to visit the UN headquarters in Manhattan. She was interested as history prof and my interest was mixed by now. By now, not surprising to me, UN HQ is not high on any NYC tourists list. Here's some of the things that caught by attention there -

1. Most visitors there were from 3rd world. I was about to conclude that they were the only ones but then a throng of europeans I guess came in as well.

2. An airport style security to the world body's visitor center entrance. In a movie style stunt, I was even asked to drink and show that what I was carrying in my backpack was indeed drinking water.

3. The workers, majority of them, are not Americans. Even the lift operator had an east european accent. Not sure if they have a quota system of sorts.

4. You can take a walking tour to General Assembly hall for $11. I decided a dinner in NYC Saravana Bhavan was worthier.

5. Most displays/posters there were geared towards CTBT and the effect of nuclear race etc. Japan for its part has contributed a section depicting the ills of a nuclear attack. Two posters in all intrigued me -

a. One showed a world map and indicated the nuclear war heads, nuclear tests and test sites each country had. No prize for guessing the winner - US and Russia at top two. I remember a May 1997 news article where US termed India as "a Nuclear Nation" after the Pokhran-II tests. So much for CTBT...

b. The second one is very interesting - In a typical US style of conveying things, this one showed what the effect would have been had the "Hiroshima Bomb" be dropped in today's NYC's Times Square. The hotel we stayed in our trip was near Newark airport, 30 miles from NYC. From the pic, it seemed, we would have been a goner too. Not sure if this poster was Japan's idea or some one else's.

6. The best touch of all - Silk portraits of all the UN Secretary Generals - beautifully done art work, very realistic. Courtesy of - guess who ? - see today's pic for the answer.

Again, I left the visitor center with my idea reinforced. UN is a human creation. Its not going to work unless we respect and... Ok. Never mind.

The Right Fit

During my school days, I have often wondered the rationale behind inviting local police chief as guest of honour (aka chief guest) to our school's sports day festival. One cannot imagine a more uninspiring persona to grace the occasion. These police chiefs (IG, DIG or DSP etc etc) are not the ones you see in police-officer centered movies. They are not anything close to Alex Pandian or Walter Vetrivel personality. Not even IPS cadre. Most of them will have a long and forlorn face with a huge belly. Not any athlete myself I would feel sorry for my friends/classmates getting medals from these average joes. May be my school management had some vested interest inviting these folks. They are just not the right fit for the occasion let alone inspiring young minds. In sharp contrast to that, I should recall one Mr. Avvai Natarajan having graced our school for a couple of occasions. A scholar of top calibre and a good orator I have seen him captivating young minds - be it his chief guest address or handing over the prizes with a smile and a few pleasantries.

Fast Forwarding to the present - one decent program that airs in SUN TV is "Asatha Povathu Yaauru". People doing stand up comedy or mimicry or enactment of skit etc. Lot of talented participants and good humor too. The program invites some popular personality - tinsel world mostly - as their special guest. They just sit there and provide inputs/suggestions on the performance of those participating. What I found out was some so-called popular cinema personalities, though decent in their on-screen acts, outright lack the quality to be the guest of such functions and pass some decent remarks/comments. Here is some of the best and worst in the episodes I watched -

Worst - Many new heroes (who claim high flung titles and super-star-dom even before their first film hits the screen), T. Rajendar (for the usual self-boasting comments and nothing noteworthy to the participant).

Best - Bhagyaraj (as immensely talented he is, told lot of good tips/info in general to the participants).

My favorite of all - Bharathi Bhaskar - yes, the pattimandram speaker. She was this no non-sense chief guest, relating the participant's performance to related events and telling suggestions on what they can work on to improve their content/style. Put her traditional pattimandram rival Raja on the host desk, it was a feast to watch them conversing on the performance - much like their pattimandram duels. Thats what I mean by "the right fit".

Still:

As I mentioned in my earlier post, today's pic was shot with my new Panasonic LZ8 P&S. The colors came out vividly and so was the sharpness. The ambiance was bit cloudy not sure if it helped the pic. The lining of the masks in the pic, each of different design, gels with today's post and title as well.

Bought a Pana..

Recently I added another gadget to my arsenal - A Panasonic P&S - Panasonic Lumix DMC-LZ8 - I was looking for a Budget P&S preferably under a $100. Eventhough I was leaning towards a Canon product which are supposed to be having a niche in P&S arena, most canons were in the $150 range. Then I was surprised to find dpreview conducting a comparison of budget P&S involving 2 Canons, a Nikon, a samsung, a sony and this Lz8 for panasonic. And to my surprise, LZ8 aced the list. A quick browse of its price presented another surprise. BeachCamera was carrying it for $99 no tax and free shipping. Bingo ! We have a winner.

I have been using the LZ8 for family outings in the past 3 or so weeks and it has amazing features and capabilities for $99. How much technology has changed since the $200 Powershot A70 I bought 6yrs ago. Now, the price of LZ8 has shot back to $149 if you are able to find one. Obviously a good thing with small price tags is not a seller's favorite !!

The LZ8 uses standard AA batteries - nice thing. Its only 8MP which is what I wanted for a P&S. I have actually set it to use only 7MP so that it spits out 4x6 directly so that I dont have to crop it for print. 5x optical zoom compared to 3x in most top end budget P&S. A display mode that lets you see the LCD even when you are holding the camera high above your head to shoot in front of a crowd or so. etc etc. Now Lo and behold !! it does AEB which my Nikon D40 SLR doesnt do. Of course, it has most bells and whistles of any typical P&S as well. I will upload some pics from that later. One good purchase, and I have even recommended that to one other person already!!

Today's pic was from a mail-list at work. Showed some creative ad photographs. Interestingly the ones I liked were Panasonic Lumix ads. Of course (c) Panasonic implied. The top one was intended to capture your imagination on wide angle P&S (one current Lumix has a 28mm wide end). The second one is supposed to capture your imagination for Panasonic's face recognition technology. I couldnt get the impact of this initially as I looked at the dotted square on the women's face. Then I noticed the little square box on the women's belly. Creativity deserving praise !!

Whose Line Is It Anyway - #11

This post I will start with the pic. Attached pic is a browser screen shot of the front page of the blog maintained by my son's preschool teacher. She has a neat blog for her class and updates with events, photos/videos and has a nice discussion board as well. Lately she has been having a "Featured Child" of the week and puts nice info about each of her students. This week its Sanjay's turn. Hence the pic. You can see some of his favorites etc beneath his photo there.

For today's post,

• My wife as usual goes to great lengths and takes great pain in teaching this kid everything - from words, numbers, songs, spelling etc etc. you name it.. She had already taught him to write and identify numbers upto 100. Now looks like she wanted to find out if he is able to apply the concept of numbering and figure out new numbers by himself. She asked "Do you know how to write 200, 300 etc". An emphatic "yes, I do" really stunned her as she has never attempted to go past 100 with him. When she asked him to write 200 and 300 on a paper, the eager mind obliged with this "2..100 ....3..100". He wrote 2 and a hundred as he heard it. What can you say.
• One day my mom was washing vegetables in the kitchen sink before cooking. The young one who was roaming around there got curious and looked at grandma washing the veggies. He came back to us quizzically - "Are the vegetables taking bath ?"
• A typical trait of people from India is to hang a small figurine of their favorite God (mostly hindus do this) hanging inside their car, preferably from the rear view mirror or have a sticker stuck somewhere in the dashboard etc. We have a small figurine of Lord Ganesh hanging from our rear view mirror. The figurine is a bit cartoonish. One day, I was driving my kid to the temple. Suddenly he asked me "Do we have a God in our car ?". I said "Of course, right here we have Lord Ganesh" and pointed to the cartoonish figurine. He is used to seeing a huge idol of Lord Ganesh at temple. Hence, with a quizzical tone he asked "A Toy God ??". I said yes. After a while, he retorted "Does it work ?". He was not sure how come a toy god function the same way as the real big one. But then the simple question of "does it work" sounded very profound to me which lot of us are trying to get answered and I had to say "I dont know. I am still trying to figure out".

Priorities

After loosing my father, and rather feeling dis-illusioned with life in general, one day by chance, I got to chat online with my long time good friend, Shankar, from Chennai. During the course of the discussion he mentioned the following story. It helped me kind of get things in perspective.

A professor once bought a tall glass jar to his class and asked the student how much space it had. The students said its totally empty. Then he started to put big stones into it. After a few stones, the jar couldnt take anymore. Now he asked how much space was left in the jar. The students said none as the jar was brim with the big stones. Then the professor pulled out some small pebbles from his pocket and dropped them into the jar. A few of them went and filled the gaps left between the big stones. Now he asked how much space was left. The students woke up and still said it was full and hence no space. Now the professor reached his other pocket and pulled out a bag of sand and poured it over the jar. The sand went and filled the space between the pebbles and the stones. Again the question and same answer. This time he reached down and grabbed a glass of water and poured it in the jar. The sand absorbed the water and he was able to pour the entire glass into the jar.

With this the professor looked at his students and said -

"Life is like the tall jar. The big stones stand for one's family. The pebbles represent one's job and hobbies if any. The sand represents one's indulgences. And finally the water, the luxury items in life. As we all just saw, after filling the jar with big stones, we still had space for the pebbles. After the still space for the sand and after that even for the water. But if we reverse the order and start filling the jar with water entirely, we wont have space for any of the other three. And so on.

Hence, even in our life, these things should come in that order - family first, job/hobbies next, followed by indulgences and then luxury. If so, we will be able to accommodate everything. If we dint get this priorities we will be missing big."

Many thanks to Shankar for the timely story - I hope to keep this my Stance in life in general.

Still:

A pano shot of the san diego downtown skyline from Coronado side. Computer stitched images from 6 shots taken with hand without tripod.