Awesome post by Greatbong

This is one of his best posts by Greatbong and taking liberty to link here.

Kashmir ki boli

This is vintage Greatbong here... "the sense of religious entitlement is immense, justification for violence immediately available, Hindus and Indians universally hated and one community’s perceived economic misery immediately becomes the “people”’s Jihad."

Simply awesome and true.

Back in Business

Mr. Amar Singh of Samajwadi Janata Party is back in business. BTW, doesn't he so resemble the lech,fatso,khadi wearing politician depicted in all those 80s bollywood movies.

Here's his latest salvo

"Justifying his party's decision to join hands with the Congress after years-long bitter rivalry, Amar Singh said in the interview: "When Prakash Karat goes to meet Sonia Gandhi, it’s called ’suhaag raat’, but when we go to meet Sonia Gandhi, it’s called ‘balaatkaar’."

What language?

Pickens picks the right one

They say, necessity is the mother of all inventions. Today, the world more than at any time needs new ideas to get going on alternative and if possible renewable sources of energy.

I hope billionaire Pickens has made his best investment till date. It should be noted that Business and money is the driving force behind Picken's adventure more than the notion of 'Larger good of society'. But who know's that can be the side effect.

There are few things going for Wind Energy and as always as is case with most things in life, there are few things against it. As far as the pros are concerned - Wind Energy is renewable, clean, can be widely distributed and is plentiful. On the down side of course is the problem of inconistency (as they say "weak" winds) and very large initial investment. For most business men, the second of the cons is the demotivating factor. They fear of diminishing returns for huge investments.

Thankfully Pickens (I never heard of him before) has taken a positive lead. And I hope it clicks for him. Because if it clicks for him it will encourage more billionaires like him to take the plunge.

While reading through one of the issues of TIME, something struck me. One of the problems that got mentioned in a few articles was that Wind Engergy is produced in short bursts. As in, there is a sudden generation of power and then there is a lull period. Which means there is a need to store energy during those inconsistent phases. And that is a challenge for technologists. Some engineers have suggested the use of Wind Energy in tandem with fossil-fuel energy. Meaning, the regular "gas" Energy be kept in ready to use state as soon as Wind power dwindles.

I drive a Toyota Prius. I find it's technology fascinating. Whenever I stop at a light, the display shows a green bar come up, showing that the energy is being conserved. On shorter distances Prius uses Electric energy and uses the residual energy for as far as possible. This mix (or Hybird) is in my opinion a simple but awesome technology. What struck me about the issue in TIME magazine was that there can be a parallel drawn with this and the Wind Power plants. If wind power is being produced in bouts, the intermittent period can be used by the regular energy source. In simple terms, I am thinking Hybrid Wind power plants.

Who knows, it may be possible (or it already is)?

Bottom line is the world needs to get rid of its oil addiction. For one, this will render the powerful Sheikdom in middle east and their partners in Houston, impotent. As long as they have the reigns of Oil, world will have to act on their whims and fancies. It's also reported in some quarters that some of the Oil money goes into "wrong" hands; and that can't be good, no?

Great inventions and discoveries have been made my man, out of few things like curiousity, adventurism and most of all Necessity. Man is enterprising by nature and I am sure, he will stand up to this challenge. Hope we have more Pickens picking up the baton.

Federer is Human

I took a somewhat different view of him couple of years back.

And I surely missed this epic last Sunday as I was not in town. I would have been glued to the television for all of 5 hours for sure.

But this classic battle only proves that Federer is human after all. This also reinforces the fact that the other greats before him, Bjorg,McEnroe, Sampras all had their peaks and troughs. In case of Federer that peak lasted 5 years at Wimbledon. And that would be a tough ask to top for anyone in future.

I am sure a sense of deja vu would have prevailed over those commentators watching this game. Because 28 years back, two giants clashed in a similar fashion. Only thing, that time, the defender prevailed.

Nature Blesseth...

One of my friend from Pune said this about Niagara falls when we first went there few years back -"Ya deshala nisargachi punyayi laabhli ahey ", (Mother nature has blessed this nation); I wouldn't blame him for exaggerating. For first time visitors, Niagara can have that kinda effect.Niagara of course happens to be a Desi Pilgrimage. And I am not sure if it is worth the hype. But anyways.

As we drove through Montana last weekend and tried to sink in those scenic views, my friend's statement kept haunting me. I kept wondering how can you even frame this place's beauty in words? Would you call "Mona Lisa" a painting?
It would be cheapening it's worth, isn't it? You would call it a masterpiece. Painting would be technically right term, but calling it a masterpiece would do some justice to that classic piece of work. The Glacier Forests, are a nature's masterpiece, IMHO. And if you have to see "nisargachi punyayi", this place would be a good start.

As you go past Apgar Village due east from the West Glacier entrance you go to the "Going to the Sun" road. There's this legend among native Indians from Montana, about a Guru who came to rescue the tribes living there. The Guru it seems came from the mountains, stayed with them, taught them how to deal with extreme weather conditions, taught them skills and how to deal with wildlife and once he was satisfied, disappeared into the Sun via those mountains. And that's how they say, the road got it's name.

The natives still have a substantial presence in those mountains and have mixed with the non-natives to a large extent. There are several interesting anecdotes that Matt told us while we were on our excursion.



As we started getting a feel of Montana we figured it had more to it than snow peaked mountains and wild life. It had a culture. A Cowboy culture if you will. As you drive through those rustic towns and villages to go to the West Glacier entrance, you can't help but feel being part of the Cohen brother movies. The old worn-ed out automobiles, the wide roads with a small "kaam chalau" deli somewhere in between with one man manning it and then of course the huge massive ranches with white picket fences around them for the richer and heavier folks of the state. Those ranches with horses grazing in wide open front yard are to me, signature snapshots of Montana. This state is in some sense a representative of the WILD WILD WEST. Only, it's greener,cooler and much more mountainous than it's southern cousins.

But all said and done, the Glacier Forests are the real deal. This is the tourism basket of the state. It's where most people collect every summers. The park remains open only 5 months a year andthat's when most pictures are clicked . I hate myself for not having a powerful Nikon. My amateurish photographic skill would have got a fillip. I could have done some justice to this place's awesome beauty if I had one of those black monsters.

It's almost like humans wait for seven months, while nature's movie is under production which would be premiered in summers. And then man opens the lock to the Glacier Park gates. Mother nature unfolds a cinematic magic. A blockbuster that lasts for next five months attracting thousands to it's magnum opus.

They come from all over the country. In different shapes and sizes. Via different routes. Some go for trail and hiking , some take the bus tours, while still some others just camp in there with their RVs/Tents around the grand lakes. One couple we met had come from Ohio on their motorbike. They had driven around 2000 miles to reach there. And the dude just could not stop clicking his Nikon. It was mesmerizing to say the least.

I think the word Picturesque gets a new meaning near the "Many Glaciers Park" on the east end. I wish we could have another day to take the trail toSwift current lake. But then as a rule, number of days are always less. We made do with taking a shorter trail on the Logan pass itself.

I would let the remaining talking on the post be done by the pictures we took. It would make more sense than my nonsensical blabber anyways....

Ladies and Gentleman, presenting, The Glacier National Park.... 08

Photo comments :
1. 'Going to the Sun' Road
2. The serene Lake McDonald's snap taken from Apgar Village
3. Two wild goats near Logan Pass. Snap taken from the car.
4. Jackson Glacier
5. "Many Glaciers" Hotel in 'Many Glaciers Park' on the East.
6. US 2 Highway
7. Chance encounter with Mama Grisly on the way to Polesbridge
8. Near Logan Pass
9. The St.Mary Lake with a small little island tree in the middle
10. Lake McDonald's lodge lobby


Dos and Donts:
# Plan a one day hike on any of the trails on 'Going to the Sun'.
# Sunscreen and Jacket are both necessary as you move higher.
# Take a guided tour on one of the Red Buses.
# For Camping, the West Side of glacier is better.
# Rafting is recommended, although we did not go for it.
# Logan Pass is touristy. I won't spend too much time there.
# Book a motel within the Park. McDonald's Lodge recommended.

Wooooooooooooshh!

Off to the the Glaciers for the weekend.

Cheers!

Espanol!!!

So it finally came down to Spain vs Germany. Two of footballs power houses. Spain being the chronic underachievers and Germans , some may say, over achievers. I would usually take "over achievement" as a positive; because that suggests that Germans usually played beyond their potential and raised the bar of the game each time to achieve what they did in all these years.

Normally I would have supported Germany, but last Sunday I was for Spain. For one I wanted them to release their "chokers" tag. It's like I would usually support Yankees but if Red Sox has not won for 88 years and meet Yankees in finals, I would root for them. (Remember 2005? or was it 04. Anyways)

I have sympathy (which I know I shouldn't) for chokers. Like South Africa in cricket. How such a talented lot end up screwing everytime, is still a mystery for me?

Coming back to the finals, I would have preferred a higher score than 1-0. Nevertheless Torres's superb flick of his toes more than made up. Although the score of 1-0 did not really do justice to the dominance of Spain in the game, it also did show some German resilience.

Finally more than anything else Soccer won. Euro showed us that Soccer is alive and "kicking". The Europeans are shedding off that extra cautious 'defensive' approach they acquired in last few decades. The high scoring games, barring the finals, showed that. Also Turkey was the story of the tournament as far as I am concerned. And the way they made mockery of so called top teams, goes to show soccer wouldn't be a monopoly of Latinos and Euros for too long, hopefully.

It was fun 21 days. Can't wait for 2010 WC. Nothing gets bigger than that.