Ramanan's Musings

On my daily walks, I listen to audio books - a lot of them thanks to our well-stocked local library. For a long while, i listened to non-fiction, self-help type of books as well as books that teach you stuff like how startups work, or books by Simon Sinek that teach you to question the why, what and how of each task. Of late, due to the recent turmoil between the US and China, the works of Robert Kaplan  has caught my eye although these are hardbound books and not audio books. Anyway, I am meandering ... the reason for this post arose out of a scene from the famous book by Frank Herbert, Dune . BTW, I highly recommend this audio book. Even though I have read the book before, the audio book version has made the book much more magical for me. Now to the point ... in this scene, Paul Atreides walks into a room to find his friend, mentor and sword master, Gurney Halleck,  threatening to kill his mother, the Lady Jessica due to a misunderstanding over who betrayed Leto Atreides, Paul

This is a review of the  New Balance Men's 608 V5 Casual Comfort Cross Trainer https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B07B3W9QFH/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Bought on: September 26, 2019 Pros: Good stability around the heel area Wide toe-box that limits calluses on toes. The liner lasted longer than most. Walked about 700-800 miles in these shoes. Cons: Once the liner goes flat, the foot tends to push forward and rub against the toe box. The sole doesnt last very long.  My feet are supinated and therefore the outsides of the sole wear out much faster than the rest of the sole and quickly makes the shoe unbalanced - see picture below. See the picture below - the material near the back of the leg came apart due to friction.  Did not last one year.  This is the new shoe I ordered and will be the next one I will review: ASICS Men's Gel-Venture 6 Running Shoe https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MYZ7XWO/ref=ppx_yo_

As is the norm, life throws you a curve ball when you least expect it. We had been making several plans and were about to make a big change in our lives when the COVID-19 contagion struck the world with a bang. Now, several months into this pandemic, it feels like we are making little or no progress at all. All travel is now effectively shut down. Working from home is now an everyday event. Weekdays merge into weekends with no fanfare. There is not much to do. But in a very surprising way, folks including our family have been finding new things to do. A lot of people have jumped into cooking various dishes at home or baking up new treats. Gardening is now very popular as well. For me personally, it has been about walking.  Even before the contagion struck, I had started walking more, listening to good audio books to help me walking further and further. What started as a lunch time activity, is now something I do religiously twice a day. Two hours in the morning and at least an hour

Hi there, Back here again after a long sojourn of more than 5 years. Life has been busy. A and S (my 12 yr old and 9 yr old) are very busy individuals with heavy schedules which pretty much dominates our schedules. Since my last post in 2013, much has happened. Here is short list of events in my life worth mentioning: A and S started school. A is now in middle school (in 7th grade) and S is in 4th grade. My significant other got her B.S in Computer Science, got her teaching credentials, passed the CBEST and CSET exams and is currently a 8th grade Science teacher. She teaches now at a local school and no silicon valley commute for her.  I left Cadence after completing 15 yrs and landed a job at Xilinx Inc which is walking distance from home. No more silicon valley commute for me too!