Who Knows?

Not only is he unable to pronounce the word "nuclear" ... it seems our top administrator is unable to tell the truth about damn near anything.

Exhibit 1: He didn't know Jack Abramoff (courtesy of the AP):
“The guy saw me in almost a dozen settings, and joked with me about a bunch of things, including details of my kids. Perhaps he has forgotten everything, who knows,” Abramoff wrote in an e-mail to Kim Eisler, national editor for the Washingtonian magazine.

Exhibit 2: He didn't know about the plight of New Orleans for almost 2 days:
The earliest official report of a New Orleans levee breach came at 8:30 a.m., hours after Hurricane Katrina roared ashore. Word of the possible breach surfaced at the White House less than three hours later, at 11:13 a.m.

One things certain, perhaps we're just as dumb as he is, Who Knows?

Mmmmm ... Spicy Venue

Lunch yesterday was at the Spicy Venue with Venkat and Srinivas. The food there is wonderful! They earn their name as well - I left sweating profusely! One of the most interesting aspects of lunch there is the choice of music. I was treated to a large selection of 80's classics such as Boston's "Hooked on a Feeling." I find it entertaining that on the other side of the globe you'll be listening to American 80's music in a local Indian restaurant. Next post I intend to put some of my pics up.

I bid a fond adieu to Harrie from Funambol last night. He spent the day on the AP Tourism Office's tour of Hyderabad. His analysis you might ask? "An encounter." Well put Harrie. Godspeed on your trip back to Nurembourg, and I hope see you again soon! (Perhaps next time in Milano!)

Impeach Bush

I've consciously avoided straying into the political on my blog, but enough is enough. The more I think about where our country has been led, the less I can resist the urge to say something. Bill Clinton was impeached for lying about oral sex. No one died, no one's civil liberties suffered, the nation didn't spend billions of dollars. As we all know, it recently came to light that the Bush administration called for domestic spying under the banner of "terrorist surveillance." I'm not sure what legal grounds they really think they can base this on (I know the argument about "war making powers" ... weak!) but it occurs to me that executive action in direct contravention of established US law is exactly why we have the mechanism of impeachment. Mr. Bush took an oath to uphold and defend the laws of this land. He's broken his oath. I don't think you can find an argument which would support his actions. It seems plain that congress is impotent to take any action on this issue. A sad commentary on the whole of our government now, but we elected them and until November we've got what we've got. We do have a recourse to address our grievances and that's in the state legislatures. Click the ribbon in the upper right corner if you're interested in learning more.

This isn't about leftist/rightist, conservative/liberal, democrat/republican. It's about whether or not we are a nation of laws. Reflect on that thought a while ....

-Michael

Tough Weekend in India

Wow, did this past weekend suck! It all started late Friday night when I was rudely awoken from my sleep with the sudden urge to worship the porcelin god. After a good couple of hours of praying on the bathroom floor, I crawled back to bed. It was at this point when I realized I was running a fever, and that another worship service might be in order. Given that I was a LONG way from home, I thought it wise to contact someone to let them know my plight. I called up my supervisor to get the ball rolling. When I called him I had one thought on my mind, when was the next flight back to Boston. He had different thoughts ... I'm sure he wanted to get the most value from this flight, and after all he's in his house with his family. He did a great job supporting me however ... people from the hotel and my company were calling to check on me no more than 20 minutes later. I had no interest in a trip to the hospital or a visit from a doctor. If it was a stomach bug, it would pass. The next day (Saturday) I awoke to find the fever was still hanging around, but the nausea had passed. Good thing I brought the Advil. I started eating those and they really kept the fever (and headaches) in check. By Sunday morning I was rid of the fever, but I started having chest pains! Let's see: Nausea, fever/chills, chest pains ... umm, can you say symptoms of a heart attack!!! That's right, now I'm freaking myself out thinking I might have had a heart attack, and I'm 9,000 miles from home. I finally decided the proper course of action was to take a visit to the hospital, which I did today. This is where the story turns: ECG, vitals, everything else - normal. Doctor's assessment: I'm having some anxiety issues from my issues at the beginning of the weekend. I love to hear the good news, but now I feel like a fucking hypochondriac. That's a tough pill for someone like myself to swallow. I don't go to doctors unless I'm really sick. This is twice in 3 months I've thought I'm having some cardiac related issues. I know I need to get in better shape, and I think that thought in my subconscience is shaping my self-assessment when it comes to issues such as these. I'm getting on the wagon and fixing the underlying issue here: I'm going to get in pisser shape. I'm also going to work on my meditation. I should've spent some time this weekend clearing my mind before I let it take control of me. Mostly, I need to get back home and make some turns on my snowboard. I've not had near enough of that thearpy this season, and I think it's really affecting me in other ways.

Back in Hyderabad

Well, I made it! I was surprised when I arrived to see that the Hyderabad airport had been remodeled a bit. The changes they had made were wonderful!! Last time I was here it took almost 2 hours to get my bags. This time it took less than 30 minutes to go from airplane seat to car seat and on my way to the hotel. Makes a difference after you've been flying for over 24 hours. The weather here is about as far from Boston as you can get. 90+F every day. The food is about as far from America as you can get as well. I'm trying to diet - this means cutting carbs and let me tell you, that's a real challenge in India. Rice is served (and I mean SERVED) with every meal. I've been good for the most part ... the exception being last night when I buckled and ordered the chicken fingers. They're just so good, yet so bad for me. I paid my pentence and did 15km on the exercise bike this morning. Then I had a breakfast that was almost 100% protein. Hopefully I'll be able to maintain my discipline tonight when it's dinner time.

There's mobile blogging, then there's ...

How about posting a blog entry from the business class section of a 747-400?!?! I'm currently in Seat 5A on my way from Boston, MA to Hyderabad, India via Frankfurt, Germany. Boeing has built an inflight wireless network system that is absolutely killer! I was making VoIP calls earlier with my wife and my boss. The quality was surprisingly good! I've even got a power port here for my laptop!!! Amazing how far along we've come in the realm of air travel. Not quite sure how all these people made to my blog searching for "casino quality clay poker chips." I do remember looking for a nice set of those a while back ... guess I blogged it and Google did the rest!

Anyways, as I stated earlier I'm headed back to India! I have to say I was sad to leave home this time :( I had a great weekend snowboarding, and after such a weekend I wasn't ready to put my home environment on the other side of the planet from me. However, this is only a 16 day trip and I'm sure it will go by quickly. The captain says we're going to land in 25 minutes. I need to get off, but I'll keep the blog up to date while I'm in India. Watch this space for some pics!