I was woken up at 4:00am by loud beeping noises from some car in the parking lot. I guess it was the anti-theft alarm triggered by a skunk or something, or maybe there was some loose contact. It was loud and continuous. It wasn't a constant beep by had different pitches and notes. Part of the time it will like a fire engine bell, part of the time a cop car's sound and so on. It would stop for sometime and then start again. I lay on my bed too lazy to change clothes,go out and see what was causing it. The annoying part was, it wasn't continuous. The expectation that it will start anytime again was not letting me sleep. Anyway, exhaustion took over finally and I fell asleep. I dreamed of getting into my car, going to office, getting the baseball bat, coming back and smashing that delinquent car's wind shields and headlight. I think I was jumping up and down on the bonnet, shouting "Stop! Stop or I will kill you..". But it wouldn't stop.. Aaaaaah!

Just finished reading "Cuckoo's egg" by Cliff Stoll. It started out interestingly, but began to be repetetive for most part. And then the ending was drawn out too long. Most of the book is like "My beeper rang, I run to the switchboard/printer, call someone to make the trace,call originates in Germany, blah, blah, blah....". Yes, this is exciting to read once, but this routine repeats ad nauseam without variation for at least 10 chapters. And FBI tells him to stop snooping, only to call back later to continue snooping. This happens 1001 times and the author writes about every one of them. Of course they happened many times in real life, but thats no reason to put every event in the book. Overall, I felt, what should have been a few chapters
novelette has been beaten thinner and thinner and has squeezed out of all excitement.

It's a picture perfect view from my balcony. It just rained a bit, so there is refreshing smell of clean air. There is no wind, so everything seems so still. There are some ducks swimming lazily in the pond. The droopy willowtree leaves add to the lethargic mood of the scenery. Shouts of children playing is faintly audible. I just woke up from a short siesta (man, I love these afternoon naps) and am sipping hot tea sitting in the balcony, swallowing the scenery also through a screen of thin vapour going up from my cup. Life is beautiful.

Now, let me go hack simplescalar.

I watched Hero today. Good movie, great visuals. The stories pace wasn't hurried, but the fights were fast and terrific. I would say it was like visual poetry in martial arts, with lot of exaggerations just like poems, but but only to convey the beauty. Should watch more Chinese martial arts movies..

When I was in California, I went to Muir woods, just north of San Francisco.The tall Sequoia trees were really amazing. Fog set in during the walk in the woods. Really, fog in between tall trees or clouds clinging to the peeks of hills etc. increases the beauty many fold. I am waiting
for pictures from my friend, I'll upload once I get them.

Going through post vacation slump. (Just want to rename the perpetual slump to whatever suits the occasion, hehe). Anyway, got lot of work in my plate, should get going on them..