Brown Motion

Unlike the Temptations that sang about - I got sunshine on a cloudy day... in the title song 'My Girl', I do not have any fancy lyrics.  But my readers can hum along.. not sure why they would be here reading about my 'gut reactions' in the first place but hey if they are for some perverse reasons I ought to at least put a spin on it. The title was however prompted by my amazing ability to release methane on a regular basis and contribute in small part to the overall warm feeling we get.  With or without sunshine.  Global warming here I come. No seriously - I just finished reading one of my favorite authors' latest rendering.  Bill Bryson's 'The Body'. It turns out our body is mostly microbes.  By the number of unique DNA that one would find in an average human there are more of these little guys than human DNA.  By weight they contribute about 3 lbs in mass (same as an average brain).  Hmm. These help us with all kinds of things that makes us ...

Humans are bizzare animals. It is evident in their knee jerk reactions to a lot of daily events.  The outcome of these ill thought reactions costs them dearly than if they had taken a calmer perspective of things. Case in point.  Coronavirus. While it is important to acknowledge the virus and its symptoms and its causes the reaction seems out of proportion.  Long lines to get the hell out of the entire country of China (with no international carrier flying in) when the epicenter is a small province with a specific set of conditions that triggered the virus to jump to a human is a case study in Panic Pandemic not viral pandemic. Also the fact that when treated the symptoms go away and person fully recovers has been ignored.  It is being treated like a death warrant.  It is like a global dead humans walking movie. The cascading repercussions of this reaction is the effect it has on global capital markets.  Stocks swing from one end to another....

LOL. I got to thinking - you know idle mind and all. How are sales of Corona beer these days?  What with the Chinese malady being labeled coronavirus. Is there a virus in the bottle baby?   No crooner can make this shit up. What can Mcafee do?  Such questions come to mind.  Is there any intel inside? Coronavirus is just another genetic mutation that uncontrolled human growth begat for its brethren as it is wont to do time and again.  Few of our species will die as yet another microorganism takes control for a period of time until human ingenuity quashes its spread.  And the two football stadium sized hospitals that China is standing up in record time to house what it thinks will be thousands of patients. Meantime people are freaking out. From global stocks to local clinics and chat groups the phrase has lit up emotion and runs to the clinic. I was surprised to see an article actually claiming some of our species think that the virus is i...

To my readers who are flushing money down the drain with their premium subscriptions to all manners of + and minus channels and flix and subprime offerings.. There is a free show in town.  It is called Nextdoor.   Endless hilarity - all for free. Some sample threads that I read recently include - Need newborn photographer.... and people proceeded to provide tips Man walking on street - detail videos of some random dude walking on the road - reported and commented 45 times by concerned neighbors as it was a rare instance of a man walking on a road - what's the matter with this clown?  Why no car? Excessive and random use of emojis... many people just have a field day posting some random crap and load it with all kinds of emojis like they threw up as they were typing Weird videos of people stealing in convenience stores and the hilarious name calling among people that post Rants from people who go to a buffet and create a mini riot because there is no vege...

I flew SW by Southwest.  To chill.  To gather in the gathering place.  My favorite isle in the WWW. Oahu. Hawaiians call it 'The Gathering Place'.  Most populous of the Hawaiian archipelago in the Pacific it is second oldest island in the chain.  The largest and youngest island is not Oahu but Big Isle of Hawaii, the furthest east and it's still forming as witnessed by Pele's activities in Kilauea national park. But Oahu is where I first landed on the US shore and a quarter century later remains a favorite haunt, albeit to visit for few days. This trip was memorable for a variety of reasons.  I reconnected with a dear old friend whom I befriended during our first landing 25 years back.  He is of Sri Lankan descent and a gentleman.  He regaled me with his exotic tales as I listened raptured.  From almost getting killed in Tesla's newest vehicles to having a pet pig for a companion the stories were uniquely his and I expected nothing l...

Brands come and go. Tree hugging millennial and Z generation is brand fickle so the rotation of brands is more likely to speed up.  Here are some well thought brainy ideas for the our marketers to consider as we enter 2020. Luxe SUV for the insider stock selling elite called 'Ghosn Escape' from Infiniti  a less luxe and smaller version released in Mexico will be called 'Car los lux' from Nissan Recyclable underwear made from polymers that does not need washing - 'Undyniable' Lowest glycemic index sweetener derived from recycled plastics -  'Poly C-wrap' (rhymes with syrup) - only available in 2 liter recyclable bottles at Costco Psychologist services for ADD clientele branded as 'Shrink wrap' (sold in 1 hour sessions - subscription for a years worth at a discount if paid in full) Newest beverage with multi colored bubbles, bobas and caffeine -  'Bobble heads' Quite unique and unlimited audio channel subscription - headsets fr...

America it seems has once again fallen in love with their national sport.  Football. Statistics for latest season as tracked by trackers that track all things money indicate that attendance as well as eyeballs on screens were up on average 5% from prior years. When the 49ers played their conference championship last night the Levis was packed to its gills or waist?  Super Bowl in Miami this year is already boasting of headliner singers and crooners and rappers to entertain and enthrall the people paying to attend with tickets running as high as the cost of a fully loaded Tesla X. Hey if you got it flaunt it and then worry about debt. Right? After watching my first season of football (purely for material) including 10 full games with eight different teams (read corporations doing business) below are some rookie (not novice - see my lingo is changing) observations - There are 11 supersized humans on each side that competes at any given point on the field. The field ...

Written and directed by an Emilio Estevez who also plays the protagonist in the film, it is a slow moving but engaging affair. I did not know till I looked him up but this dude is the son of veteran actor Martin Sheen (clearly a stage name) and much different character from the looks of it than his bombastic bro Charlie. The movie depicts a stand off between a 100 homeless dudes and the Cincinnati police during an epic cold snap in the city.  These bums take over the city library as an overnight shelter.  In so doing they recruit the librarian played by Emilio to be their voice and their impromptu advocate who also ends up barricaded inside the library. The film tries to show the disparity between the haves and have nots bordering on being a Marxist propaganda.  The characters play their parts with much aplomb including the venerable Jeffrey Wright as the library head. Of all the actors in the film, one of the Baldwin brothers (I think its Alex) is surprisingly c...

The year is 2020.  I am reading a book written by one of my favorite non fiction writers, Michael Lewis.  This one is from two decades ago called 'next - the future just happened'. In the book Michael goes on to show how change was happening fast around the year 1999 and the internet was becoming a pervasive force that very few really understood. But the thesis of the book is to say that those that did not jump into the flow and take advantage of the change that was imminent were likely to be left behind.  And a whole lot of folks did get left behind. Anticipating change and being amenable to it is a good thing.  Stasis can kill.  However, there is another side to that coin. Having information now accessible at the click of a mouse was the new norm but it did not foresee all of the (unintended) consequences. Back in the day the phrase in America was 'armchair quarterback'.  When television antennas beamed an NFL game to a cathode ray tube the pub...

I grew up with watching a lot of adults working their ass off to feed the family.  My dad or my father in law or their friends all slaving away from factory floors to cubicles to some running their own businesses. One theme common to these aging adults was their sprouting hair from all orifices visible to me. Nose hair and more dominant their ear hair.  It just grew as a natural evolutionary code from eons past and no one paid any attention to it.  Their work did not suffer and they were the same family focused individuals they always were. Enter 2020 - that too the bubble called Silicon Valley.  It is official.  Not only are hirsute characteristics passe, they are frowned on and can cost you your job or at least a promotion. When a recent out of work adult friend of mine told me he had gone bald I worried.  I asked if he was doing ok healthwise.  His response - 'dude I shaved it off to get ahead'.  'In my career.' Apparently the whos w...

It so happened that the Faithful aka 49er fans were celebrating their successful run up during the 2019-20 season and were about to witness a matchup with people from Minnesota.  On home turf aka the grass at Levi's' stadium. Not far from the hullabaloo, a mile or so away, 'we' as in the familia embarked on discovering a new food truck that was serving Bombay street food. Pav Bhaji hut so labeled because of the only food it serves (a soft pliable bun or Pav - derived from Pan in portuguese and the bhaji or spicy mixed vegetable slurry hammered for hours to perfection on a very hot griddle.  This truck it turned out was accompanied by other Bombay style street food that served Vada Pav and Misal and other tongue tinglers. The truck had been on the radar but for one or the other reason we never had a chance to get down there with the appetite and mood one needs to delve into the spicy fares from the motherland. So this past Saturday we did.  Right off Lawrence...

Important meal of the day.  To me they are all important. But what made this even more so was that I was able to bring globalization to my plate in under 10 minutes flat. Using product from Costco, Safeway and Trader Joe's I was able to assemble /cook this flavor variety in my plate with food from four continents. American farm fresh egg (fried) with Hawaiian bread toasted light. North American butter added a creamy flavor before the toppings were added including - a slice with Irish Cheese (Europe is covered) and corn syrup while the other gets a dose of Korean made Kimchi (Asia). The side of blueberries is from Chile (S. America I got you). Now I am full.  Until its time for lunch.

Someone quoted that we live in Amazon's world now.  We just don't know it. From its origins as an online bookseller to running some of the world's largest cloud computing platforms, to selling almost any product online while also selling fresh produce and variety of other foods and exotic Sauternes and cakes for all occasions to pouring beer on tap; through its brick and mortar presence this company has made huge strides in all manner of business. I for one am an outsider.  And I got a chance to look in.  Literally.  For someone who has only bought some printer ink on Amazon a few years ago (I like to feel my melon and socks before I buy), I got to visit one of their large fulfilment centers in San Francisco area. It is located in the farm country where land is cheap.  It is about two hour drive outside of San Francisco proper.  But the warehousing and fulfilment operation they run there is top notch. Tracy fulfilment center Waiting ...

Disclaimer - this blog is mostly meaningless drivel meant for the enjoyment of the blogger.  Do not consider this as sage advice.  In fact do not consider this as any advice. There are many vices.  Have been since man started keeping count.  It is in the bible etc. One vice is addiction.  To anything.  It translates to dependency in the extreme.   One popular addiction in today's world is for 'cheap money'.  As in borrowing at low cost.  To finance all manners of profligate hobbies.   Stationary bicycles to fast food and other oxymorons come to mind. The world is awash in it.  Central banks have their hands tied.  The great economic collapse of 2007-08 triggered financial tsunamis that shook the foundations of economic theory and global banking.  Printing money was the only ticket.  Couple that with monetary policy that allowed interest rates to be held at all time low spurred the economic engines aga...

Coming to America 25 years back I did not know of this Tom Hanks. As it happened my introduction to this great actor was watching a Bob Zemeckis directed film called 'Forrest Gump'.  And it clicked.  It went on to win the Academy award for best picture and so on but I was introduced to a prolific character actor. Much like Forrest I consider myself somewhat dimwitted in many matters but am never one to back down form a challenge. The 'life is like a box of chocolates, you're never sure what you're gonna get' line resonates with me except it also takes the form of people I meet, or the kimchi I get or the donut that may or may not exist when I walk upto the checkout counter. The donut collection at a local boba tea place The pickled collection at a local Korean barbeque One of my favorite things... a sweet elixir from Hungary..the puttonyos or sweetness is what you want to watch.  My favorite is a six.  At the local warehouse store that ...