Ramanan's Musings

This year has been an interesting and fleeting one. To hide from the world's current events, I immersed myself more into audio books this year - 56 to be precise. Did not have much time for hard copy books this year. Will try and read actual physical books in 2026.  December 2025 The Starless Crown — James Rollins Subterranean — James Rollins Contagious — Scott Sigler November 2025 Enchanter's End Game — David Eddings Castle of Wizardry — David Eddings Dark Matter — Blake Crouch Magician's Gambit — David Eddings October 2025 Queen of Sorcery — David Eddings The Olympian Affair — Jim Butcher The Aeronaut's Windlass — Jim Butcher September 2025 Pawn of Prophecy — David Eddings First Lord's Fury — Jim Butcher Princeps' Fury — Jim Butcher Captain's Fury — Jim Butcher Cursor's Fury — Jim Butcher Academ's Fury — Jim Butcher August 2025 Furies of Calderon — Jim Butcher Battle Ground — Jim Butcher Brief Cases — Jim Butcher Nexus — Yuval N...

 So, I do read a lot but dont generally keep track of what I am reading. So a new goal for 2025 is to record what I read during the year. First in this series is what I read in 2024. Favorites are highlighted in bold font.  January, 2024 Fire & Blood, George R. R. Martin Hidden Systems: Water, Electricity, the Internet, and the Secrets Behind Systems We Use Every Day, Dan Nott February, 2024 Total Power, Vince Flynn, Kyle Mills The Three-body Problem, Liu, Cixin March, 2024 The Making of a Manager, Julie Zhuo Enemy at the Gates, Vince Flynn, Kyle Mills Oath of Loyalty, Vince Flynn, Kyle Mills The Lions of Lucerne, Brad Thor Blue Moon, Lee Child April, 2024 Night School, Lee Child The Bomber Mafia, Malcolm Gladwell Code Red, Vince Flynn, Kyle Mills The Cradle of Ice, James Rollins May, 2024 Artemis, Andy Weir Cowboys and Aliaens, Joan D. Vinge Hell's Foundations Quiver, David Weber Winter World, A. G. Riddle Blowback, Brad Thor Grasp: The Science Transforming How We Learn, ...

 It is the day after election day and curiously I am disappointed and relieved at the same time. I am disappointed that more than 50% of my fellow Americans decided to vote a convicted felon to the presidency. But I am relieved that it wasn't a close call. I am sure that the country could not have suffered through another insurrection moment like the previous Jan 6th event. For this, I am grateful and very relieved that DJT got a significant majority. Does this mean that I value democracy and that this relief comes from the fact that the democratic ideals were preserved in this victory? Maybe.  As a loyal registered Democrat, I did the dutiful thing and voted for Kamala Harris even though I wasn't entirely convinced she was the right person for the job. I guess I was also guilty of ignoring the warnings about the big shift to the left by the Democrats. It is particularly painful in California where the left-leaning Democrats have taken this to the extreme. Yet, I still gave th...

Yesterday, I bid farewell to the LastPass Password manager with whom I had a long association. A little over 10 years ago, I saw the writing on the wall and realized that I needed help with password management and nervously signed up with this new and up-and-coming password manager called LastPass. To encourage more users, LastPass offered a 5-year deal for $60. I signed up for this deal and was pleasantly surprised by what the tool could do. As it is with a lot of startups, the energy levels are high when starting out and new releases brought new functionality regularly. But that pace dropped off precipitously and in the last few years, they sort of sat on their laurels and the tool became passe and dated.  To compound their problems, a series of hacks last year exposed their basic claim of security for your passwords. Unknown hackers managed to clone several password databases and then using state-of-the-art computers, they managed to crack user master passwords even those that w...

 Again, it has been several years since I have had the time to write another blog post. Life gets in the way. The kids are growing up too fast. Parents are growing old too fast. Different sorts of issues to face as you step through these phases in life. More on that in a later post.  This post is dedicated to the humble men and women scientists of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO). Long ridiculed by the Western world for their ambitious goals (see NYT's cartoon picture depicting the Indian scientist as a farmer with a cow knocking on the door of the Elite Space Club).  The immortal words of Sir Winston Churchill , "Never was so much owed by so many to so few" are very apt to describe what ISRO has been able to accomplish. The 1.4 Billion Indians are grateful to the ISRO for this achievement. We (as in most of the Indians settled here in the US) have no right to share the limelight with the men and women engineers of ISRO. These are hard-working, lower-middle-c...

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...

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/...

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 ...

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!

Phew - it is over. My personal challenge of finding at least one geocache per day for 366 straight days. Thats  weekdays and weekends, folks. Yup - rain or shine, one geocache per day. Now that it is over, I will take a well deserved break and NOT find a cache tomorrow (Apr 17, 2013). The unbroken run will end on April 16, 2013. Feels like I have achieved my Mount Everest climb!

February 2, 2012 was when I officially joined the geocaching bandwagon and registered a user name at the geocaching website. The first family hike for geocaching was at the local Vasona park and while the record suggests that this was our first cache, I think we only found this one on our second attempt. At this point, you are probably wondering what a geocache is? A geocache is usually a container of some sort containing at least a piece of paper that we call a log. Object of the exercise is to find this container which is usually hidden in plain sight and sign the log to get credit for the find. Of course, containers come in all shapes and sizes and some are really devious. The cache owner posts the GPS location of the hide on the geocaching website and folks can download these coordinates onto their smart phones or GPS devices.  The really hard to find containers are the little itty bitty ones called nanos . These are very small and really blend in with the surroundin...

I feel almost guilty that I haven't written anything in such a long time.Writing is a passion of mine but I hardly make any time for it. I blame the people in my life - they want me to do my share of the chores!!. Anyways, rants aside, my goal this year is to fully document the new shared family passion - geocaching . The 4 (soon to be 5) year old and I have been hiking the hills of Almaden this past year and we have been raking in the geocaches. The little one is quite the hiker and I am a better man for it - okay well, maybe that is the nice way of saying "I lost a few pounds walking all them hills". I hate to call it a sport because that brings in all the competitive connotations but it is a great family activity that everyone should look into. Some of us eager ones are so hooked that we challenge ourselves by trying to achieve crazy goals such as one cache per day for at least a year!! Yes, that's right - my goal is to reach 365 days of continuous caching wit...

It is 7.46am on a Saturday morning. I have just changed the diaper of the new princess in our family and as I sleepily stare into her beautiful face, it occurs to me that the world is slowly becoming a Borg kingdom - yes, when I say Borg, I refer to the race of humanoid creatures made popular by Star Trek. Just look at the many ways people interact in the world today - phone, email, blogs, twitter, and facebook. With everybody having a virtual persona these days, doesn't it feel like we are slowly evolving into the Borg? One huge collective consciousness that seeks and destroys any other intelligent forms of life. Yup, this is my pithy observation for the day. Live long and prosper!!

Just got back from a camping trip at the Big Basin State Park. There is nothing like camping out in the woods for a couple of nights. The peace, tranquility, and the solitude of the forests is an experience that deserves to be repeated every so often. Of course, the same two nights out camping will make you relish those hot cooked meals and a nice soft bed!! The two year old REALLY likes the outdoors. Even 2+ mile long hikes in the mountains wasn't enough to slow him down. He walked and hiked those trails like an expert and even waded in ice-cold pools (in his undies) and still had energy to play with the glow sticks at night. He is one tough cookie. For the parents, it was a joyous occasion to see their child interact with the other children and play as GOD intended them to. No fancy toys - just nature. On the final day, the little one got up extra early and was rewarded for his good behavior by the presence of a few deer that wandered over close to the camp site. The little one ...

To reflect or not to reflect on my second Father's day, that is the question bugging me this month. I suppose I should enthrall you all with my pithy comments and insights into fatherhood but I think I can do one better. I found this article while waiting for a build to finish at work and for more reasons than one, the salient points made in this article can be applied to my life ad verbatim. Enjoy. Father's Day: Things I've Learnt From My Baby

Beezees, Beezees - seems this is A's favorite word these days and no he is not a Bee Gees fan. This is A's version of the word "Bicycle" :). Yes, we have joined the biking nation. The Mrs has a brand new Raleigh 7-speed bike while I purchased the very slick looking Trek Allant . A has a very cool child seat on which he lords over the Mrs. directing her to pedal faster :). I havent been bicycling for a _looong_ time. The last time I remember bicycling was when I was 16 and enjoyed pedalling furiously to go to school at Vidya Mandir, Luz, Chennai. I used to go from Besant Nagar to Luz in about 40 minutes - a distance of about 7.3 kms. Well here is the route: View Larger Map

I seem to have very little time for myself these days given the tight schedules at work, the backyard construction project, and the tight schedules at home and so new posts will be few and far between this new year. It has finally happened. The good citizens of US of A have elected a Democrat president who seems to have a conscience. But it remains to be seen if he can undo the damage caused by the exiting plutocrat . Much is expected of him and if the first few days are anything to go by, hope still exists for this land of opportunity. This small glimmer of hope is the only thing that is keeping severe depression at bay. Every where you turn, it is bad news followed by more bad news. I can now imagine what Frodo must have felt at the base of Mount Doom. In all this turmoil, our little family has found a safe harbour in the eye of the storm. Our days are spent wondering what new trick our little boy is going to learn or what new car seat to buy. A is keeping us focused on his needs ...

Obituary for "Hat" The proud and gallant head-covering made of woven straw met a grizzly end on Oct 17th, 2008 at approximately 3pm near Los Banos, California. "Hat" as it was affectionately called, had a very happy life right from when its owner, Ramanan purchased it at Disney World, Orlando, Florida on July 1st, 2003 for the princely sum of $14.99. A veteran of many campaigns over the years, "Hat" was cherised and loved by its owner. "Hat" had survived many trips to the wilderness (even a trip to New York) but it meets its match in the hands (and teeth) of a pudgy and pugnacious (and possibly hungry) eight month old strapped to a car seat in the back seat of a Volkswagen Passat station wagon. "Hat" succumbed to the brutal attack somewhere between the towns of Madera and Los Banos on highway 152 (heading west) and was the only casualty in an otherwise wonderful 5 day trip to Yosemite and Bass Lake. "Hat" is survived by owner,...

I spent most of yesterday uploading pictures of Adith's eighth month and pics from our recent trip to Yosemite to the popular flickr web site. Dont ask me why flickr is popular cause I wasnt very happy with their interface. Okay - they do have some nice tools to help with the uploading but organizing the pictures wasnt very intuitive. How do I sort the pictures in a group pool? If someone knows do let me know. After much soul searching, the mrs and I have decided to splurge on a new iMac - the one with the 24" screen. Hopefully the new Apple computer will come with some decent applications for photo editing and perusal.

It has been a while since I made time to pen a few thoughts. A _lot_ has happened in the last few months that has left me emotionally drained. Here are a few salient features from the past ... My parents made the pilgrimage all the way from Chennai to the west coast of California in the end of April' 2008 to visit their first grandchild (A). Airline travel is getting to be a big pain these days what with the new baggage regulations and the fuel surcharges. The flying time from MAA to SJC is a grueling 19 hours - enough to shrivel up a bonny lad of 18. Imagine what this does to travel weary grandparents aged 65. The weather in sunny California is not what it used to be. It was May but the weather was averaging a chilly 60 degrees Fahrenheit much to the discomfort of my parents who are used to 20 years of steady 85 degree Fahrenheit Chennai temperature . Due to the chilly weather, my father suffered a mild heart attach - or a myocardial infraction to those of you savvy in medical l...