Ramanan's Musings

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 ...