Life Nowadays

Lip Service

Dan — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 20:23:00 GMT

Here is a peck of quotes about kissing...

"Any man who can drive safely while kissing a pretty girl is simply not giving the kiss the attention it deserves."
-Albert Einstein

"I do not know how to kiss, or I would kiss you. Where do the noses go?"
-Ingrid Bergman

"Hollywood is a place where they'll pay you a thousand dollars for a kiss and fifty cents for your soul."
-Marilyn Monroe

"Kissing is a means of getting two people so close together that they can't see anything wrong with each other."
-Rene Yasenek

"I kissed my first girl and smoked my first cigarette on the same day. I haven't had time for tobacco since."
-Arturo Toscanini

"Many kiss the hand they wish cut off."
-George Herbert

"Excuse me while I kiss the sky."
-Jimi Hendrix

Twelve Days Is Eleven Days Too Long

Dan — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 02:03:00 GMT

We don't need a formal declaration of recession to know that we are in one. But for those few who still don't believe we are in a financial slump, maybe this year's Christmas Price Index from PNC Wealth Management will change their minds.

According to this PNC website the total cost for the items in the song “Twelve Days Of Christmas” is $21,080.

The cost are as follows:

1 partridge     = $   20.00
1 Pear Tree     =    199.99
2 Turtle Doves     =     55.00
3 French Hens     =     30.00
4 Calling Birds     =    599.96
5 Gold Rings     =    349.95
6 Geese A-laying     =    240.00
7 Swans A-Swimming     = 5,600.00
8 Maids A-milking*     =     52.40
9 Ladies Dancing**     = 4,759.19
10 Lords A-leaping**     = 4,413.61
11 Pipers piping**     = 2,284.80
12 Drummers Drumming**     = 2,475.20

If True Love actually bought the items repeatedly as the song suggests, then the total cost would be $86,609. This is up $8,509 dollars from last year. For most of us, twelve days of Christmas is just twelve days too long.

* minimum wage
** per performance

Strange Fruits

Dan — Thu, 29 May 2008 22:06:00 GMT

Sure, it's strange to have cube-shaped watermelons, but have you seen a pyramidal one? How about cucumbers that slices into heart or star shaped bits. Link.

Have you heard of the Miracle Berry (also known as Magic Berry)? It's a fruit with Miraculin, a type of protein that when it binds to the tongue's taste buds causes subsequently eaten sour or bitter food to taste sweet. Some say it made sour lime taste like limeade. Link.

Going Bananas? Or should I say going, going, gone bananas? Now there's nothing unusual about this fruit and people haven't shaped them into bulbous balloon animals (not yet anyways). But apparently, this fourth largest harvested crop in the world is in danger of extinction, the common Cavendish variety that is. Link.

Lastly, if you don't like eating fruits, maybe you could wear them... as earrings! Link.

This truly is a weird wonderful world.

The Road Not Taken

Dan — Thu, 29 May 2008 11:45:00 GMT

One of the poems I loved reading since childhood is Robert Frost' The Road Not Taken. It has come back to memory lately and since it has been several years past my childhood, I had grown to appreciate it more now. Here is Robert Frost's poem...

The Road Not Taken

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that, the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

Eh, What?

Dan — Thu, 22 May 2008 01:48:00 GMT

I have a cold that is clogging up my ears so I can't her very well lately. On account of this, I'm listing eleven quotes related to noise, silence, and hearing.

Most of the basic truths of life sound absurd at first hearing.
- Elizabeth Goudge

I did never know so full a voice issue from so empty a heart: but the saying is true 'The empty vessel makes the greatest sound'.
- William Shakespeare

Ten people who speak make more noise than ten thousand who are silent.
- Napoleon

Silence is not a thing we make; it is something into which we enter.
It is always there. All we can make is noise.
- Mother Maribel of Wantage

Not merely an absence of noise, Real Silence begins when a reasonable being withdraws from the noise in order to find peace and order in his inner sanctuary.
- Peter Minard

We need to find God, and he cannot be found in noise and restlessness.
- Mother Teresa

Historians are like deaf people who go on answering questions that no one has asked them.
- Leo Tolstoy

If thou are a master, be sometimes blind; if a servant, sometimes deaf.
- Thomas Fuller

From the persistence of noise comes the insistence of rage.
From the emergence of tone comes the divergence of thought.
From the enlightenment of music comes the wisdom of... silence.
- Visions of Gregorian Chants

(John of the Cross) points out that the divine music can best be
heard in solitude and silence. The sonorous music is not a physical
sound that vibrates the eardrum but something transcending the
senses. Physical solitude and silence remove the distracting noises
that prevent us from hearing on deeper levels.
- Charles Cumming

What you do speaks so loud that I cannot hear what you say.
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Green Copper Lady

Dan — Fri, 09 May 2008 01:03:00 GMT

A picture of Liberty Enlightening The World. (July 206)

When I redesigned the website I lost the link to the original photo so I'm posting another Liberty photo here. It simply is a beautiful sculpture and of course it reminds me of the freedom and democracy she symbolizes.

Feliz Cinco De Mayo!

Dan — Tue, 06 May 2008 01:28:00 GMT

It's party time, Mexican style. I'd like to celebrate Cinco De Mayo but Life Nowadays (this website) and life nowadays (my reality) is not giving me enough time to party. Well, I'll just grab a Corona later and chill. I am happy though that I managed to finally post the new website design. Still a few things to adjust here and there but overall it's fairly done.

Check out the new section,Lexis Flexis. Basically a vocabulary builder blog. Feel free to subscribe to it if you want coz' like most great things on the Web are free. The Profiles page will be the next step once I get Lexis Flexis going smoothly.

Hola!

Redesign In Progress

Dan — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 01:15:00 GMT

Hi there.

I've been silent here for a while. Well, that' life nowadays - sometimes, you get so busy you don't get enough time to sit and type. Oh, alright, maybe part of the reason was that I felt lazy at times.

Well, I'm back now and, in fact, I'm redesigning the site so it's easier for me to update to. In the meantime, please be patient if you get a missing link here or the web design gets crazy sometimes.

By mid April (this year 2008 of course), the new design should be in place, by May 5th (hey that's Cinqo de Mayo), new content should be available to you Googlers, web surfers and bloggers out there. Till then enjoy your own life nowadays!

-Dan

Dozen Quotes About 'Em Words

Dan — Thu, 13 Sep 2007 23:53:00 GMT

Words, words, I love words. As a tribute here are some words about, well, words.

"We are students of words; we are shut up in schools, and colleges, and recitation rooms, for ten or fifteen years, and come out at last with a bag of wind, a memory of words, and do not know a thing." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Nothing is more common than for men to think that because they are familiar with words they understand the ideas they stand for." John Henry Newman

"We have too many high-sounding words, and too few actions that correspond with them." - Abigail Adams

"Short words are best and the old words when short are best of all." - Winston Churchill

"Don't use a long word if a diminutive one will do." - William Saffire

"If a word in the dictionary were mispelled, how would we know?" - Steven Wright

"All words are pegs on which to hang ideas." - Henry Ward Beecher

"It would be interesting to know what it is men are most afraid of. Taking a new step, uttering a new word." - Fedor Dostoevsky

"Bare lists of words are found suggestive to an imaginative and excited mind." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

"My words fly up, my thoughts remain below. Words without thoughts never to heaven go." - William Shakespeare

"A word is dead when it is said, some say. I say it just begins to live that day." - Emily Dickinson

"The paper burns, but the words fly away." - Ben Joseph Akiba

Pee Brained

Dan — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 23:13:00 GMT

When I woke up on July 18, 2007 it wasn't even raining. By the time I got in the car forty-five minutes later, it was pouring. I had my wipers sloshing at top speed and still visibility was poor. My usual fifteen minute commute was definitely not happening; half an hour into my drive, I was still nowhere close to work. There was flood in almost every street corner I crossed. There were broken down cars at the most inopportune places. Railroad crossings were barred down and the trains would come crawling slowly or they wouldn't even come at all. Now, this seem frustrating but in reality I was o.k. with it - the last thing I wanted was to get into an accident. How many accidents have occurred because people rush in inclement weather? I was patient and smug about it as other cars honked their horns without achieving anything.

Another forty-five minutes later, I was still on the road and I started to feel my bladder stretch. I did go before I left the house but I also drank a lot of water that morning. At first it was like a whispered reminder to stop by the restroom the next chance I got but then as I drove my bladder nagged me more and more. No problem, I thought, I'm just three to four minutes away. I mean, traffic was terribly slow but at least it was moving; well, it was, till I was just a corner away from the office then all vehicles in front of me stopped. All I needed to do was to turn right on the next corner - about 400 yards away - and then I'll be at the office where self-flushing urinals await me. So what was going on here? Cars were stopped in the middle of a three-lane road. There was a bus in front of me so I couldn't see much ahead of me. I thought maybe there's another car that conked out or maybe there was a fender bender.

"Oh, please, please, please, move", I said to myself aloud, my knees shaking like they did countless times before back in first grade. Got to get my mind off myself and my predicament. Yet, as I looked around me, all I saw was blurred by thick curtains of rain; all I heard was hard pounding rain; even the scent was the scent of rain. Urrgh. To top it off, my windows where fogging up, so I had to turn on the A/C which chilled my skin like wet fingers going over, around, and through my body. This was not helping.

I considered my options. The closest establishment I could stop at I had already passed - looking at the car behind me, I knew I couldn't back up. I didn't have a water bottle. Meanwhile, there's a lake in front of me. My options were pretty slim.

Just then from my far left, there was this blue Pontiac that weaseled its way in front of me and into the right shoulder where it zoomed pass the bus in front of me. The ticket-fearing citizen that I normally am would cuss privately at such brazenness. Not this time - it was a time for action. So, without further thought, I followed the Pontiac. As I cleared the bus and four rows of cars, I then understood why traffic was at a standstill. The road ahead was under two and a half feet of water and by the time I had stopped the car at this realization I had plowed myself a foot deep into it already. And yes, so did the Pontiac.

There were a couple of cars, halfway immersed in water, by the sides of the flooded road, obviously not going anywhere. Then there was this woman who was pushing her car stranded in the middle of the flood. Not a good idea, I thought, as the waves (yes there were waves) could cause her car to sway beyond her control and hit her.

Now, I drive a Honda Civic, which means I don't have those big SUV wheels to give me that slight height advantage. I knew if I sat there long enough, the water would seep through the cabin. It probably was already, I just didn't know it then.

So, should I wait for the flood to die down? I didn't know how long that would be since it was still pouring pretty hard. Besides, if I did, I knew the cabin will fill in with water. If I backed up, I would most likely fill my exhaust pipe with water (I kept a steady pressure on the gas pedal to make sure I was blowing air out of the exhaust pipe). And then, of course, there's my pee problem. If I wait, I'm sure to contribute some yellow liquid to the cabin pool, in which case, I would need to go back home through that terrible traffic again.

There's only one way out of this tight squeeze (can't help the pun), and that's to drive through the flood.

I bit my lower lip, clenched my fist around the wheel, and stepped on the gas. The water slid up the hood and slapped against the windshield. Here goes nothing. The engine was doing o.k. but then along the deepest part of the flood, I heard a muffled moan from the engine and creaking from different areas of the car. The car was slowing down. I felt the trunk of my car lift up some and I just prayed that the front was heavy enough to keep traction with the ground beneath. Water was now soaking into the mat underfoot. I floored the gas. Don't quit on me now, I prayed. There's a big whine from the engine but, thankfully, it didn't stop - the car kept moving forward. Oh, the wonders of front wheel drive! Inch by slow inch I plowed ahead; even gave a sympathetic nod to the woman pushing her car. I had to be careful not to skid when I pulled out of the water. I also almost missed the turn I needed to make. But in the end I made it to the office in time and still dry where it mattered.

I had to change the air filter, vacuum the cabin dry, blow-dry all nooks and crannies, and leave the windows open for several days afterwards - but that's a small price to pay for my stupidity. The car still works. I brought the car to the shop just to make sure - they didn't find anything wrong with it.

Don't make the same mistake I did. I was fortunate. A co-worker of mine did the same exact thing, through the same exact flood, but his car was pronounced unsalvageable. My advice: if your wipers are fanning at top speed and you still can't see much of the road, stop driving or don't even leave your driveway. Oh, and carry an empty water bottle in your car.

Avec moi, les deluge.

My First Race

Dan — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 23:39:00 GMT

Last July 31st, I went to Jones Beach for the Marcum & Kliegman Long Island Workplace Challenge, of which the company I work for was a part. There was a bunch of us from work who joined this year's race and we were all excited - some of us newbies have been practicing after office hours to make sure we don't pass out in the middle of the race. When five o'clock came, we put on our running shoes and headed off to Jones Beach. I got to the beach park early but the traffic there was slow going that it took almost an hour to finally reach the parking lot. Fortunately, I made it there before seven, and since the race started late - I had enough time to acclimate myself to the bright yet slightly muggy weather and to the palpable excitement emitted by the crowd. It's one thing to expect a large crowd - it's another to be actually in the midst of a large crowd willing to engage their bodies towards a common goal: to run a 3.5 mile race. I for one was stoked. We were a happy mob like a school of kids waiting to ambush an ice cream truck.

The starting line for serious runners (9-minute mile or better) was on the right side while the casual runners took the left. The loudspeakers, which weren't loud enough, were placed on the far right so those of us on the left side couldn't hear much - actually anything from the speakers. I swear, my neighbor's car speakers blasted Guns N Roses louder sounds than the speakers they had at the race. They set up an elevated stage where they had some people address the crowd. Again, because of the ineffectual speakers, we couldn't hear a thing. I think they played the national anthem and had some people lead the crowd into some warm-up exercises. What I was sure of though was hearing the countdown through the din, with each number sounding louder than the last. The countdown was punctuated with the sound of a horn followed by a loud cheer as people poured out of the starting line.

With people walking close to each other, it took a while before I could break into a run and when I did I found myself needing to make sudden stops and turns to avoid bumping into people. I took to the side, by the grass, when I could. I knew I was probably burning myself up too much too soon but hey, I didn't care really, I was out there to have fun and I did.

By the time I reached the first mile marker, I found myself needing to slowdown to a walking pace. I was huffing. But I never stopped though. I kept on going - I kept instructing my mind to bring one foot in front of the other. Just don't stop I told myself. By the time I reached the second mile marker, throngs of people have already passed me but also, on the positive side, I had passed a throng of people too - some of them looking much younger and fitter than me. This gave me some feel-good energy which I tried to parlay into finishing the race. Which is why even when a grandma would pass me by I didn't mind so much - I had, after all, some X-Box kids eat my dust.

Since I bought new sneakers, my shins weren't bothering me anymore, that was, till I reached the 3-mile marker. I could feel more and more pressure build up on my shins. Maybe I was leaning forward too much. I don’t know. But I stopped to rest a while and took the opportunity to take a picture of the digital display at the mile marker. 38:52 it said. Far from competition stuff but not bad for a first-timer, I thought. I pushed myself some more. I found myself needing to slow down a lot more frequently but even then I kept my slowdowns to a minimum, maybe around 10 to 20 steps. Eventually, I reached the finish line and the digital display there said that I did it in 44:53. It didn't really matter to me. At that point, there was a more pressing realization that dawned on me. I did it. I had finished my first race.

On Your Plain White Walls

Dan — Sun, 15 Jul 2007 21:49:00 GMT

I’m a gray lizard on your plain white walls
Feeding on the bounty of flies
I see the world askew
Gigantic and round than any eyes of you
This gravity does nothing to point me up
To where heavens I should pray
Instead at times I am pulled down to your dusty floors
Fallen heavily in pain
Like some hapless lovers’ dive
Or an angel of shame
But I’m no cherub
I do what I want and I
Jump back in and dance and race
You see but flutter and scurry
You see but an undersized snake
I taste the air and all your flakes
I hear your heavy sluggish steps
As my body pulses
Spinal arc’s in verve
As I dance and race on this chalky floor
My elegance grace
These great white walls of yours

July Is National Hot Dog Month

Dan — Wed, 11 Jul 2007 23:53:00 GMT

According to the National Hot Dog & Sausage Council, New Yorkers consume the most hot dogs (question is are they Yankee fans or Met fans?). In honor of these saucy sausages, I present you with three quotes.

"Only in America, do we buy hot dogs in packages of ten and buns in packages of eight" - unknown

"A hot dog at the ball park is better than steak at the Ritz." - Humphrey Bogart

"Doctor, do you think it could have been the sausage?" - Paul Claudel

Buying The Right Running Shoes

Dan — Sun, 08 Jul 2007 12:52:00 GMT

I never had bought running shoes because I hadnever thought of myself as a runner. I buy cross-training shoes. You know to cross-train - whatever the hell that means if your primary sport is TV watching. So, when I started running, I used my cross-trainers. They were good. If along the path of my run, I ever stepped on a piece of broken glass, I didn't know it. I finished my run with all my ground-hugging digits still intact; granted, I was huffing and puffing like a geriatric wolf, my feet, however, were doing fine.

After a couple more runs later, I mentioned to a long-time runner that my lower shins were feeling a bit of a pressure during my runs - a stretchy slight-aching feeling. Right away, he nodded his head and had that "of course" expression on his face.

"You need new shoes", he said.

I was showing signs of shin splints (particularly medial shin splints). With his guidance, I finally bought my very first running shoes. Here are three simple tips I got from him.

Find out your foot type. You could be pronated, supinated or neutral. A pronated foot tend to put more pressure on the inside of the foot, supinated puts more pressure on the outside, and neutral, well, you can guess this one. They say over-pronators tend to get shin splintts more. I was, I found out, a neutral with a slight pronation. The right type of shoes would indeed help me.

Get shoes that are one to two size bigger than your normal shoe size. This will give you enough space up front (you should have at least a finger-width of space between your toes and the inside wall of your shoes).

More expensive does not translate to better shoes. You can get inexpensive running shoes that would perform better for you than higher prices-ones, that is, as long as they FIT RIGHT. And to ensure that they do fit right, the best places to buy running shoes is at a running shoe store with sales people who are runners themselves. They can, much like my running friend, observe how you walk, and recommend the best shoe for you.

My new shoes are great. Not only do I not feel pain on my shins but I find that the soles of my feet are much less traumatized. I love my new New balance shoes. I know to some that doesn't sound as running serious as Saucony or Nike but like I said its about the fit and my feet couldn't agree more.

Four Quotes From J.K. Rowling Quotes

Dan — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 00:36:00 GMT

Joining the Harry Potter mania (or should I say hype? - don't get me wrong I love the books and movies), here are four quotes from the books' author, J.K. Rowling:

"It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live."

"It takes a great deal of courage to stand up to your enemies, but even more to stand up to your friends."

"To the well organized mind, death is but the next great adventure."

"Expecto Patronum!"

Running Is A Strange Thing

Dan — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 23:21:00 GMT

Running is a strange thing, for me, anyway. I'm going on a two-day-on-one-day-off running schedule to prepare me for this 3.5 miler on July 31. It's tough for a non-runner but it is also satisfying. During all of my runs it was NEVER enjoyable - it was always a struggle - but after finishing the run, I feel great. So great that I can't wait for my next run.

Like one time I was aiming for a 1.5 mile run. Before I started my first step I thought I would be able to do a solid run. Not even halfway through it though, I start having doubts. What's this I hear about a runner's high? Oh please, if such a thing really exists, I need it now! But it doesn't happen. Second wind? nope. It's like my mind splits into two and one of them says "stop right now or you're going to kill yourself" the other says "just a little further, just a little further..."

A runner friend said that it took him three months before he broke through that struggle mode, after which, he could run four miles in good stride. Now, he has even completed an ultra-long (50 mile) marathon and has qualified for this year's New York City Marathon. It has been done. He did it. I hope that I can too one day.

I do improve with my every run, albeit small and incremental as they are. When I started I couldn't finish a mile without walking parts of it and gasping for air when I'm done. Now I have postponed my gasping to the 2-mile mark.

I'm still psyched about running and I wish this crazy hot/humid then suddenly rainy/blustery weather would let up here in Long Island so I can run out there again and try for just a little further.

Run Amok

Dan — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 01:17:00 GMT

I wouldn't say I fell off the wagon but anyone else could say that. I've stopped running for a while now. I can come up with a lot of excuses and really that's all they are.

Anyway, there's this Workplace (Running) Challenge here in Long Island and I said, why not join, what better way to start, right? So I did. A bunch of us at work decided to practice for the big run (big for me but for you real runners out there it's a measly 3.5 mile hop). We decided to start off with a one mile run. Doesn't sound tough - but like I said, I've stopped running for a while so that mile was a challenge unto itself. To start off, my shoe laces came undone after just several paces (I really wouldn't care wearing those Velcro-strap sneakers even if I would look like a kindergartner. I was probably absent from school when they gave instructions on shoe-lace tying). And then not even halfway through, I just wanted to stop. That's it I've had enough - who was i kidding. But no one else was sharing my sentiment so I went along. Some of my fellow runners where able to hold decent conversations like it was a work on the park. Somebody asked me a question and all I could do was grunt a monosyllabic answer.

Then halfway through the run my belly, having been shaken enough already, decided to push off any air it may have held inside. Oh great, here I am farting with each step I took. Thankfully, I was at the back of the pack so no one got to share my redolent contributions. I'll avoid that strawberry yogurt next time.

Three-fourths of a mile and I just had to slow down. But it wasn't that bad, I took maybe a dozen walking steps then started running again. And yes, I did finish the one mile. Though it had not been all that pleasant during the run it really wasn't that bad and the feeling afterwards of being back in the game is very satisfying. Yes, I need to stop making excuses and go running again.

Hope to see you there on Jones Beach on July 31 and don't worry I'll make sure I don't do anymore gaseous contributions.

Happy Mothers Day!

Dan — Thu, 10 May 2007 23:50:00 GMT

Where would we be without our mothers? Not reading this entry that's for sure. Which is why I would like to greet all the mothers out there a very happy Mothers Day. May your homes need no cleaning, may your children need no reprimanding, and may all the good sales fall nicely on your laps. (At the very least during May 13).

"The hand that rocks the cradle is the hand that rules the world." - William Rose Wallace

Happy Mother's Day, Mom!

Nor'easter Excuse

Dan — Mon, 16 Apr 2007 00:13:00 GMT

Long Island is currently being beset by a nor'easter. Though meteorologists have said that it is a bit unusual for one to hit this late in the season, what is not unusual is what this means to Long Islanders. This simply translates to, stay in, order pizza or chinese then vegetate in front of the boob tube.

The computer-grey color of the sky plus the narcoleptic sound of the wind rustling the trees can discourage anyone from moving a finger much less to do the laundry. I think the most laborious thing I've done today is open the refrigerator a dozen times within the last hour.

Oh well. We can't be peppy all the time, otherwise, we'll look like people selling hair care products on national TV - just too darn happy for me. Which reminds me, I can't sit here and type for too long, I have got to get back to my TV and watch the babes bounce with Gilad by a beach.

Yours truly, your miser for a day.

Four Quotes From Einstein

Dan — Fri, 13 Apr 2007 01:16:00 GMT

"I never think of the future. It comes soon enough."

"Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving."

"There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle."

"Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler."

To learn more about this renowned figure of physics, grab a copy of his latest biography.