Breeding like Rabbits

There are quite a few rabbits next to our apartment. They always run and hide behind the bushes whenever I return home from work ;) Plus recently my wife ran into a snake during her afternoon walk and became quite squeamish. She is going to get more dosage of snakes when we visit the zoo this Memorial Day Weekend. Our friends from the bay area are visiting us. According to my wife, God could have easily decided not to create these reptiles and always wonder what they are doing on this planet ;)

Talking about rabbits to my friend here brought up an interesting anecdote. His friend somewhere in the Utah had a male rabbit. His mother in law or somebody had a female one. They wanted to experiment with the two rabbits during some family vacation. They put them on the same table - the male rabbit looked to the left and the right for a second and immediately pounced on the female rabbit for mating. Just a few seconds elapsed before the family people pulled them apart - they didn't know quite what happened, but a month later or so, they were blessed with about 7 baby rabbits ;) They were apparently quite clever in selling them off to kids and other families in the neighborhood.

Looks like humans have a reasonably long life time considering their size. Elephants live longer than mice and rats which have a very short life span. The housefly has only 3 days on this planet. It is said that the bigger the animal is, the longer is its lifespan. But of course there are obvious exceptions. Some parrots live upto 150 years. Tortoises live for centuries. I can't believe this evolution thing. Even though it may have happened over millions of years, looking at the number of species on this planet, it seems highly improbable. May be I have to look into the theory of intelligent design ;)

Curb your Enthusiasm

I don't think I have ever blogged about this, but this has become one of my all time favourite TV serials! I never watch the original show on HBO, but I rent DVDs. These episodes have Larry David at what he does best - nothing! Larry David stars as himself and basically messes up his life over and over again without any learnings. That's the part you are supposed to forget - he won't learn from his mistakes. He has reached a point where he hates himself for what he is, but he continues to be. He questions the fundamental tenets of the society he lives in and expects the people to behave his way....and of course he gets disappointed ;) Larry David is an amazing actor actually. He is so good at the various emotions that he portrays, particularly the portrayal of frustration, bewilderment, shock, etc. Watching these episodes is a decent way to get a peek into the personal lives of so many TV celebrities. I am not sure how original they all are, but you could guess. It also features Ted Danson, the famous sitcom guy that George envies (in Seinfeld). Once in a while it features Elaine (Julia Louis Dreyfus). Elaine of course is great. I don't know where Larry picks his cast from but they are all great and so down to earth in acting. They all are so natural. The episode is designed in such a way that you almost feel a part of it. Normal camera angles - nothing funky, absence of the background laughter and inclusion of other random noises like traffic, birds and general stuff - all of them make it as realistic as possible. A special mention goes to Larry's wife - Cheryl - I don't know what her original name is. She has to be congratulated for putting up with Larry - for all the trouble he causes ;) I highly recommend that you watch "Curb your Enthusiasm"!

Move to New office

We have moved to a new office today. This building is nice, but I feel much more isolated here than before. I don't like it at present. I'll have to see how it works out. The commute has gotten worse though the place is physically closer.

Not much

these days. The new car is running fine. Life goes on. I am existing. Nothing much to report. My life is a stationary process. You come back after five years and take a look at me, nothing much would have changed. I would have grown older for sure.

Raagapella's acapella concert

Acapella - without instrumental accompaniment; A cappella music is vocal music or singing without instrumental accompaniment, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. A cappella is Italian for like in the chapel (music); the term is due to restrictions on the use of instruments in medieval churches. It is often misspelled as a capella, which is derived from the Latin spelling, or even acappella.

We attended one such concert this evening - performed by a group of Stanford students who call themselves Raagapella. They are such a hit that they will be performing with Rahman on July 16th in Hollywood Bowl! Rahman is performing at Hollywood Bowl baby. Quite amazing, I have to say. He never ceases to amaze me. I guess July is going to be a busy month - first week is Seinfeld's show and the next one is Rahman. There's also July 4th weekend.

Things to do - May 7th

• Check address with DMV
• Call insurance and update them of new car
• Plan something for memorial day weekend
• get the rental car reimbursed from 21st century
• get medical bills reimbursed
• get the bike back from LA
• 
  

Car bought today! Honda Civic LX

Yes, I finally managed to get the car. It was not in the color that we preferred. We wanted the Nighthawk Black Pearl with Ivory interior. It was an awesome combination and of course I didn't get it. I'll get to the details - I got the 2006 Honda Civic LX Auto 4 door Sedan in the Galaxy Gray Metallic color and Gray interior. I didn't ask for any accessories. I got it at Honda World Downey for about $18,300 out the door. I have stored most of the car's information in my gmail account. The car now has about 160 miles in it already 'cause I drove it from there. I have parked my motorcycle at my friend's place in El Segundo. The drive in the morning was ok - it was a little tiresome but I made it in one nice piece. It has almost been a month since I lost my car - the accident date or the date of loss was 4/7/06. Today is May 6th. The civic is a much nicer car than Corolla in general. The handling is pretty good, the tires are wider, the interior design is done nicely, it's been designed with care, better pick up (140hp) and better resale value. I wish I had bought the hybrid Accord ;) Apparently it didn't do too well last year so they manufactured lesser numbers for this year.

Some features of the car: 4 speaker AM/FM/CD audio system that's mp3 and windows media audio compatible; 2 spoke steering wheel tilt and telescopic adjustability, cruise control switches at fingertips, front bucket seats, flat rear floor, fold down back seats, latest i-VTEC, a Drive-by-Wire Throttle System, 16 valves and 1.8 liters, 140hp, 5 speed automatic transmission, re-engineered suspension and steering systems, front disk and rear drum brakes, standard anti lock braking, electronic brake distribution, day time running lights, active head restraints, speed sensitive volume control, air conditioning with air filtration, 16 inch wheels, security system with remote entry, cruise control, power windows with auto up/down driver's window, power door locks, spare tire, etc.

Lull

I have not been blogging regularly. I like it when I write long paragraphs which mostly don't have any meaning. It's a means of venting one's steam. My life right now revolves around work, which is very hectic (at least that's what I have been telling people) and hunting for a new car. Until I buy one, I am going to be researching all kinds of cars out there. I am particularly attracted towards the Honda Accord Hybrid, but they are asking for too much money (more than 30K). You might get some tax benefits, but then it doesn't justify spending so much on a car. I would buy that car had it been $26K out the door or something like that. But it may be the car of the future. I think hybrid cars are so cool. They would offer me more excitement than driving a BMW or Audi or an Infiniti G35. May be because I am an engineer, I love the fact that the same size car drives for longer with the same amount of gas! Apparently the engine shuts off when you stop the car so that it saves some fuel. Why didn't people think of this before?

As I mentioned Honda Civic is selling like hotcakes because it offers pretty good mileage. Mileage is the one selling point these days. Looks like the Japanese cars are eating into the American cars' marketshare. Speaking of which, "Cars" is coming out in theatres sometime. By Pixar - so it must be good.

My wireless connection is pathetic today, so I can't work properly. I think I am giving an excuse, but it is too slow for me to work. So I thought I would write a few words here. I had gone to my friend's place who has loaned me his car for the time being. He seems like a very nice guy. He is a major photo enthusiast and has done some really neat work with his digital cameras. Too bad he works as an engineer. Actually too bad that I am an engineer. I can't help but wonder what the hell I was born for exactly? What's the purpose? I think I am an artist at heart and look at everything from that perspective. My perspective has changed in the last one year dramatically, but still there are so many things to understand. I have lost out so much on history I have to say. My friends are too smart when it comes to pulling events from the past and discussing about them. I just know enough to get by and I am too far from being a walking source of information. All my knowledge is very specific. Not very broad. It has broadened over the last several years, but still I lag behind. All this is just a thought. May be I am not lagging behind, but only talking to the wrong people all the time.

There are multiple reviews for me to do at work. This weekend, I want to go to Orange County and hunt for cars there. I think I'll get them for cheap there. If I do, I would like to call these dealers in San Diego and tell them what kind of a deal I got. These guys are too arrogant. I haven't called parents and parents in law in quite some time. I don't feel too good about it. I would want to call them soon. I used to reply to emails instantaneously at some point of time. These days so many emails are marked as unread in my inbox.

I am not sure what I am going to do for Memorial Day weekend. I would want to do something. Flights to Seattle are very expensive - $300 a person. It may not be that big of a deal, but I have to do some planning to go around various places. Mount Rainier is one great option. Seattle itself is supposed to be nice. Let's see. Ok, I'll stop here for today.

Anything to Declare?

Yes - please don't buy a car that's been labelled the motor trend car of the year. On top of it, if the car is in so called high demand, the dealers become arrogant pricks and don't try to help you at all. They are all blatant liars. I don't know why this country's car business is like this. They can make it so much easier for us and them. So much time is lost in all these things. I like it in India - you decide on a model and you pay a fixed price. You'll get the bike/car. No real hassles. Here it is always a draining experience. I still don't have the civic. I guess the dealers in San Diego price the car higher than those in orange county/LA. I guess I have to try my luck in those places next weekend.