Random Traffic Through Nick's Brain

It’s easier to dance while working.

How does one explain rabbit ears and TV snow to kids that are used to DVD quality? … and Polaroids. (We are watching Mr. Bean. The kids love the physical comedy.)

Universal sockets would be the standard in hotel rooms and conference rooms.

My second trip to Mumbai is starting off unlike my first. Car not ready upon landing, so I had to wait 20 minutes in the heat and humidity (my favorite climate). Thankfully a few hundred mosquitos kept me company. Some were gracious enough to accompany me in my car.

… is what keeps everything from happening at once.

1. Bring a DSLR. An iPhone camera just doesn’t cut it.
2. Bring gym clothes.

Thankfully I have done both on this trip.

As it worked out, I met Dan in Bali for a week before my business trip to Singapore. Random notes.

• Upon arrival, I withdrew one meeeeeeeeeeellion Indonesian Rupiahs! I.e., $100.
• Massages were $10 an hour. Somehow I only managed to find time for 3, despite being in Bali for 6 days.
• My first breakfast included ginseng coffee and avocado juice. Mmm. Overall, the food was great.
• I felt like a horribly sexist dad because I just wanted to buy my little girl jewelry.
• I was bitten by an ant for the first time in my life. And then bitten by another few dozen.
• I don’t believe that they only produce 300kg of Kopi Luak. There was at least 60kg on sale at the Denpasar airport.
• I saw Being There on the plane. I like it even more now that I’m an adult… I didn’t quite get the absurdity of the whole thing when I first saw it when I was younger.

Things Dan and I wanted to (re)search / Google:

• Snakeskin fruit.
• Batukaru history.
• Bali poisonous snake. Thanks for making me worry for the last bit of my vacation Dan.
• Rice economics.
• Eco resort Bali.
• Ogoh Ogoh boys’ club. I think Dan was disappointed that he didn’t get to make an Ogoh-ogoh from scratch.
• Nyepi holy text or book.
• Custard apple.
• Micronesia expansion.

I’m going on vacation soon. In the past, I would have bought a travel guide / city guide. Either walk down to the bookstore in Harvard Square and ask for recommendations, or browse Amazon. Now, I prefer to have everything on my iPhone. If I search for Bali or Singapore, I get tonnes and tonnes of listings, with no good way to differentiate them other than clicking through. Notably, I can’t filter by rating. If I was confident that I’d get something useful, I’d be willing to pay $10 (well, 10CHF). Instead, I get frustrated and give up.

Anyone know of a good way to search for good apps?

I have unlinked my phone from my work email.

1. Alex’s classmate, who comes by every morning to pick him up on the way to kindergarten, has declared that they’re going to get married.
2. The depths of my packing OCD have surfaced. I’m fully packed for my trip to Bali (vacation), Singapore (work), and Mumbai (work), this weekend. Problem: I don’t have my ticket yet.

A, B, C, D, E, F, G,
H, I, J, K, L, M, O, P,
Q, R, S, Z, U, V,
W, Y, Z.
Now I know my A, B, C.
Next time won’t you sing with me?

Apparently, Alex just learned to ride a 2-wheel bike. No training wheels. Meanwhile, we’re still waiting for the back wheel for Arianna’s scooter (which is currently worn down to an oval). She tends to sing the ABC song while scooting… with a jittery voice due to the back wheel.

A couple of random notes:

1. We didn’t rent a car from Avis… we hired a car and driver. It’s amazing that the driver can afford to wait for us.
2. The pictures should be scratch and sniff. The city smelled peacefully beautiful. Some sort of combination of cinnamon, flowers, and wood.

Alex: [points at his burger patty] What is this thing on top of my ketchup? Aside: you know you are a parent if you go to Ikea just for lunch… and your toddler exclaims, “Look mom! We’re at Ikea!”

Pictures from Laax, Switzerland of our boys’ ski weekend.

There are some people who learn by getting, or taking, progressively more responsibility.

There are some people who learn by being thrown into the deep end of the pool.

Then there are the people who get thrown into the deep end and sh*t in the pool, ruining it for everyone.

– Nick, discussing learning styles – 2012-03-07

I am tired of the tyranny of ski boots, so I returned them (and their accompanying skis and poles) one day early. Now I’m frantically Googling “How to snowboard.” I think that this is a longer term thing than just this weekend. I’ve been struggling with the pain that ski boots inflict on my feet and calves for the past decade or two… I think it’s time to give up and try something new.

We’ll see what I post tomorrow after 4 hours of snowboarding.

Bonus: The chef is singing to himself as he prepares the sushi.

1. Last night I had anxiety dreams that I had to fly out to one of our manufacturing plants on short notice to solve a hardware problem.
2. Tonight I’m having anxiety dreams that the Pats lost the Superbowl (or worse, that I was unable to find out the score online at 05:00 this morning when I wake up to go to the airport to fly out to one of our manufacturing plants on short notice to solve a hardware problem).