Circular vision

I am a sucker for time-lapse photography.  What I am also a sucker for are panoramic photos.

Here's a website that gives you access to some fantastic panoramic views of some hauntingly beautiful places.  Click on them and move your mouse and enjoy!

The end is nigh

The world may be ending in a few hours.  I don't care.  I'm just happy that is is (finally!) snowing again.  Where has it been so far?

All is forgiven....

(C.S. Manish 2012)

Travel: Day 10 - Puerto Rico - The voyage home

One of the advantages of teaching at a small liberal arts institution is the freedom to design and offer courses that are close to your heart. In January 2011, I was fortunate enough to lead a group of 6 students through the world of Tropical Ecology. Apart from not being in the right ecosystem, Nebraska in the winter is definitely not the place to have field trips about Tropical Ecology. Consequently, one portion of the course involved a 10-day trip to Puerto Rico where we got to see for ourselves all the things we talked about in the classroom. 

This is a travelogue of our adventures together, the sights we saw, the things we did, and the lessons we learned. (You can see all the previous posts in this thread here).

On the 10th day, it was time to retrace our steps and head back to the mainland.  An early morning wake-up call was set to give us time to pack the van, check out of the hotel and make it to the airport in time for some last minute souvenir shopping.  KM and I dropped the rest of the group at the airport and came back to the car rental agency to drop the van off.  By the time we returned some of the folks had managed to find the nearest store with the best sales and proceeded to haggle their way into some expensive-looking items at a cheaper price.

As we left Puerto Rico behind, it seemed as if even the island was "questioning" our departure.  All of us shared that feeling, too...

(C.S. Manish 2011)

Travel: Day 9 - Puerto Rico - Swinging through the canopy

One of the advantages of teaching at a small liberal arts institution is the freedom to design and offer courses that are close to your heart. In January 2011, I was fortunate enough to lead a group of 6 students through the world of Tropical Ecology. Apart from not being in the right ecosystem, Nebraska in the winter is definitely not the place to have field trips about Tropical Ecology. Consequently, one portion of the course involved a 10-day trip to Puerto Rico where we got to see for ourselves all the things we talked about in the classroom. 

This is a travelogue of our adventures together, the sights we saw, the things we did, and the lessons we learned. (You can see all the previous posts in this thread here).

Having overcome (some of) our fears of the ocean and open water, it was now time for us to confront a fear of a different kind - heights.  For the last day of the trip I had booked a trip through Yunke Zipline Adventures.  The best way to see a tropical rainforest (in my opinion) is by getting off the floor and wandering through the canopy (if you can).  Since less than 2% of the sunlight incident on the canopy makes it's way through to the forest floor, the surface layer can, at times, be a murky place.  Higher up in the canopy and in the emergent layer, there's a lots to see and it is a lot easier to do so, too.

(C.S. Manish 2011)

Travel: Day 8 - Puerto Rico - Jungle jaunts and bio-luminescent trawls

One of the advantages of teaching at a small liberal arts institution is the freedom to design and offer courses that are close to your heart. In January 2011, I was fortunate enough to lead a group of 6 students through the world of Tropical Ecology. Apart from not being in the right ecosystem, Nebraska in the winter is definitely not the place to have field trips about Tropical Ecology. Consequently, one portion of the course involved a 10-day trip to Puerto Rico where we got to see for ourselves all the things we talked about in the classroom. 

This is a travelogue of our adventures together, the sights we saw, the things we did, and the lessons we learned. (You can see all the previous posts in this thread here).

The day began with AJ demanding a hearty breakfast so we fulfilled that request, courtesy Ponderosa.  As I mentioned earlier, you can get a lot of food for less than 5 bucks!

(Sami Wysocki 2011)

After 7 days of crossing through and circling around them, on the 8th day we finally ventured into the Sierra de Loquillo mountains that make up the central spine of Puerto Rico.  It was well worth the wait.

(Sami Wysocki 2011)

The drive was quite curvy, naturally, but as we rose into the mountains, it began to cool down and occasionally the canopy would clear to show some fantastic views of the rest of the island and the Atlantic Ocean in the distance.

(Sami Wysocki 2011)

Travel: Day 7 - Puerto Rico - Downtown San Juan and ecosystem tours

One of the advantages of teaching at a small liberal arts institution is the freedom to design and offer courses that are close to your heart. In January 2011, I was fortunate enough to lead a group of 6 students through the world of Tropical Ecology. Apart from not being in the right ecosystem, Nebraska in the winter is definitely not the place to have field trips about Tropical Ecology. Consequently, one portion of the course involved a 10-day trip to Puerto Rico where we got to see for ourselves all the things we talked about in the classroom. 

This is a travelogue of our adventures together, the sights we saw, the things we did, and the lessons we learned. (You can see all the previous posts in this thread here).


The 7th day of our trip was also the last day of the Fiestas de la Calle San Sebastian in Puerto Rico.  I knew about the San Sebastian Street Festival but since I know a little bit about large-scale parties from my days as a Mountaineer, I figured the best time to visit Old San Juan would be in the morning while the revelers would still be in bed sleeping off the effects of the previous night's festivities.

And I was right...

(C.S. Manish 2011)

Rather than drive into town and get mired in traffic while returning we took the bus.  Surprisingly, this was a first for some of the folks on the trip.  Wonders never cease. The lack of an extensive public transportation system in Nebraska reveals itself in the strangest of places.

(Andrew Jacobsen 2011)

Don't bag it, Sachin

Dear Sachin,

Years ago, Sports Illustrated begged another sporting legend to not quit the sport.  Today, it's my turn to follow their lead.

So, don't bag it, Sachin!  Some time ago, Times of India asked: Endulkar?  My reply today is an emphatic - No!

Several folks are telling you it is time for you to retire from cricket.  I have three things to say about it.

1)  It is NONE of their business to tell you when to retire.  That's a personal choice that is entirely yours to make.  Don't compound their mistake.  Their cries for you to retire are, in reality, cries for you to be dropped from the Indian team.  Those are two different things.  You've been playing cricket for your entire life and competitive cricket for 4/5ths of it.  Who are they to tell you when to stop?

2)  I don't want you to make the same mistake, too.  Retiring from international cricket is different from retiring from playing cricket.  It is very obvious that you love the game very much.  Keep at it.  Play Ranji Trophy, play county cricket.  Play the game for the love of it and not for the trappings that come with it.  If Graeme Hick and Mark Ramprakash could be productive into their mid-40's, so can you.  Heck, it would it really benefit Indian cricket if the Ranji players got to bowl to the likes of you and VVS Laxman.  It would give the selectors a clearer idea of how good they really are.

3)  To hell with how your legacy is being impacted the longer you play.  Don't fret it.  In the end, these last few flickers of the flame will be forgotten when your whole body of work is looked at.

When it comes time to discuss legacies, no one really cares any more that...

• Sourav Ganguly's last Test inning was a golden duck, out to a spinner, of all things.  At least his fate was the same as Don Bradman's, in that regard.
• Muhammad Ali was pounded into submission by someone named Trevor Berbick in his last bout.
• Pele spent the last three years of his career playing for the New York Cosmos.
• Michael Schumacher spent his last three years racing for Mercedes without winning a single race.
• Jerry Rice did not catch a single pass in his final game, in a playoff no less....for the Seattle Seahawks.
• Wayne Gretzky's last season with the New York Rangers fetched him only 9 goals (in 81 games).
• Sunil Gavaskar was bowled for 4 in his final international inning by a journeyman fast bowler.
• Michael Jordan spent his last two seasons with the Washington Wizards and did not even make the playoffs in those two years

Do you want me to cite more?  You get the point, don't you?  Legacy is over-rated.  You will not tarnish your legacy by playing on as long as you wish to.  If the selectors are bold enough to drop you, so be it.  They are simply dropping you from the Indian team, not stopping you from playing cricket.  That's what you value more, isn't it?

You are still among the best batsmen India currently has.  You are among the best outfielders in cricket.  Until someone else comes by whose contributions are vastly superior to the ones you can provide, I feel you should play.  After all, when you did play a Ranji Trophy match recently you made a century almost for fun, toying with the bowling.

Go back to being the kid who hated to get out, the kid who treasured the 13 one-rupee coins he won for not getting bowled, the kid who couldn't stop smiling when the World Cup was won, the kid who loved cricket for cricket's sake.

The Aussies will be here in a few months.  I look forward to seeing you take them on.  And if the selectors decide otherwise, I'll still look forward to you playing some first-class cricket and making centuries for fun.  Like how it used to be.  Like how it can be.  Like how it should be.

Because one day you, and only you, will know that it is time for one last fling.  For one last inning.  For one last battle.

For love of the game.



Sincerely
Jaunty