Monday, September 30, 2013

Destination Set to Nowhere

So i was gonna title this blog post Destination Anywhere but all the Italian food i was eating made me change it to Destination Set to Nowhere - also the name of a concept album by Italian band Vision Divine.

Spent the last Sunday of September riding pillion on a Bullet....it was a divine experience..
The day was supposed to involve a gang of friends but it was down to just two of us in the end. I'd even cancelled a request to preach at a church...don't know why our friends bailed out.. maybe it's the rising price of fuel?

A Long Ride...

A good long ride can clear your mind, restore your faith and use up a lot of fuel

We decided to ride anyway..not that i feel old but this quote.. 

Pick a Direction and Go

Young Riders Pick A Destination and Go...Old Riders Pick a Direction And Go

..pretty much sums up how we proceeded...no destination just a direction..Out of the city, on and on..straight road with no end and then Rajesh decided to go off the main road...


We were attacked by two wild apes... i believe they had shape shifting powers too..However, since it was a Sunday they decided not to eat us.. well as you can see not true but we went a little crazy in the forest..maybe it was the deafening silence..or us feeling right at home in the trees....Finally we made our way out of the grove.. and back to a road.... welcomed by a herd of cows...

BBC - Bullet + bulls + cows


Two Wheels Move The Soul

 Four wheels moved the body. Two wheels move the Soul.

Soul happy; but stomach was empty...We decided it was high time we lunched.... so after getting back onto the main highway.. we rode on in search of a decent dhaba...And find one we did!

BCC - Beer, Chicken & Cucumber

...and not disappointed with the food...plus drink..
of course we did not get drunk.

a little Blue & more of Bubbles

Truth be told we basically rode more than 60 kilometeres out of the city just to have lunch at this super dhaba....After the meal...we both agreed that our mission for the day was accomplished and decided to head back home....on the way we stopped for a while near a lake...

First come First Fish basis

We were lucky enough to catch some fishermen who'd just come in with their fresh catch...Out of the water..into the weighing balance..into our hands..Rajesh decided to take one home...

Out of Water Into Weighing

(Sorry for the colourless photos above.. just trying to make the photos artsy ...)


After the aquatic break, back on the road...came across this...
beyond a doubt..Transformers exist!




To all our friends who couldn't make it... hope you are present next time around..

The motorbike ride reminded me of childhood days..riding BMX cycles with friends..just enjoying the ride..no destination as such..even then, i remember we used to go for long rides down winding roads...

Anyone up for a cross country ride let me know...on Cycle..i'm ready to get the proper ride..
...right now it's pretty much city exploration with my Toxin FireFox..

In The Woods 

work to eat
eat to live

live to ride
ride to work


Saturday, September 21, 2013

Peace, Gratitude & Free Software

So, 21st September happens to be the International Day of Peace
(Observed by All UN Member States)...

..dedicated to world peace, and specifically the absence of war and violence....In 2013, for the first time, the Day was dedicated by the Secretary-General of the United Nations to peace education, the key preventive means to reduce war sustainably...

 Today also happens to be (drum roll......) Software Freedom Day. That's right..

Visit the SFD website: www.softwarefreedomday.org

SFD is a worldwide celebration of Free and Open Source Software (FOSS). Our goal in this celebration is to educate the worldwide public about the benefits of using high quality FOSS in education, in government, at home, and in business -- in short, everywhere!

Don't know if there's anything happening out here in India recognizing SFD..
Anyway on to other days.. this is what i noticed on my Firefox home..
 World Gratitude Day is September 21.

Today also happens to be my birth day... On gratitude..well what can i say it's good to be alive. Recently finished playing Borderlands 2 (main missions) and i'm happy...or as Borat would say.. Great Success!

 Well a couple of side missions are left but i pretty much enjoyed playing as
Axton the commando.. caught The Hangover Pt. II on TV the other day and i noticed this..


by default Axton in Borderlands 2 ain't bald and doesn't sport a beard...but i chose
my custom skin as seen above....now...Zack Galifianakis as Alan Garner in the Hangover II.. bazinga!

this important observation prompted me to create the graphic below..
with all the difficulties that i faced in Borderlands playing solo.. felt it was apt..


I tend to think of myself as a one man wolfpack
(Zack / Alan Garner in the Hangover Part I had a head full of hair.. )
click here to watch the scene where he gives the wolf-pack speech.

and then it occurred to me that it would look good on a t-shirt...
maybe make another one..which led to the graphic below..

i'd like more of the world go back to being wild
 I’d like more of the world go back to being wild.

Hayao Miyazaki announced his retirement recently.
I pulled out the quote from this old interview..Awesome work and awesome white hair he has...
(Do not mistake the above graphic as a portrayal of Narendra Modi or the KFC man..)

Have been re-watching cartoons from Studio Ghibli.
Hayao Miyazak
i is the co-founder of Studio Ghibli and director of many of its films.

So next up on my list.. some folks with awesome beards.. Zakk Wylde, Gandolf, Confucius,
Chris Adler, Jesus Christ, Leonardo da Vinci, Dave Grohl, ...

If you've come this far...Get a yourself a new t-shirt..
by clicking this link and downloading the file. Well, you'll have to find a printer first..
to print the graphic - the One Man Wolf Pack..
(Vector PDF file - scalable without loss in quality)