Perfect Vacation, Airport Security and my latest read

Its been quite a while since i wrote some thoughts and actions i have been upto lately. I have been off work from New Years Eve till now and it has been an enriching experience. I cancelled my trip to India...and that was sad for multiple reasons....it depleted my chance of a perfect vacation and also depleted my pocket of $250. Sometime i wonder, why we have to pay to cancel a ticket? These Airline companies will surely find another person flying to India in no time. If they dont..the travel agencies will be waiting for it to happen so that they can coax a client with higher prices. I understand the cancellation charges for a domestic airline(since i experienced my flight from Omaha to Denver was close to empty and so was my flight from denver to sacramento), but its absurd to charge 1/5 the price of the ticket as cancellation charges.

This was my first New Year since the Millenium that I spent with family and I admit it was a welcome change. I love hanging out with friends and paartying but internally i am family guy per se. I think living in USA makes you appreciate your family that much more( esp if they are in another country) and since i havent seen my parents for 3 years, it was a pleasure to be with them and spend my New Year with them. I would have loved to spend the New Year with family in India but spending it in USA gave my dad some joy as he had a dream to spend the New Year here atleast once.

My idea of a perfect vacation is where you have the following:
1) A bed which permits you to sleep for 12 hrs atleast
2) A great TV and have bountiful of movies and food.
3) Family or Friends.
4) Dont do too much( I recently went to Orlando to meet my best buddies and we were in the hotel or in Daytona beach or a dance club just hanging out. As much as i wished to see Universal Studios etc etc..i did not see it since i would lose time spent with my pals.)

Airport Security in USA is probably the most under-discussed topics of the year. People talk a lot about security officers being racial and some of the reports i hear about racial profiling maybe true but the fact remains that you wont know till you are a victim. I have been almost never been subject to special security screening and since security officers usually base it on computer generated "SSS" on the boarding pass, it is easy to know when you are selected. I got pulled this time in Omaha airport and I observed 10-20 people behind me or ahead of me in the line did not have the "SSS" screening done. I lazed around a little after my screening was done, slowing down the process of me getting up and leaving to my boarding gate and realised that so far nobody in front or behind me had gotten the "SSS" which begs me to the question: Is the "SSS" generated in the boarding pass truly random or is it monitored by people or is it monitored by an AI program that scans First and Last Names generated and matches it to the common English names? I might sound far-fetched and too much opinionated but as soon as they pulled me over I noticed the eyes of the security officers to each other saying " check him ". Technically i was not a victim of profiling but i wondered why non-whites get "SSS" tagged most often?. Another incident in the airport prompted me to say this- One of my relatives had an "SSS" on her kid's boarding pass and the kind was 4 year old. My question to the airport authorities is this: How can a 4 year old kid know anything to jeopardize the security of an airplane or airport for that matter?

I am currently reading Michael Crichton's "State of Fear" which debunks the theory of global warming with some eye-popping facts. Lot of critics recognize this book as a fast paced thriller but many are unsure of believing that the world is not affected by the greenhouse gases. I will discuss more on this topic sometime soon.

Thanksgiving in NYC, Ideal Car and NFL

I had been to New York for Thanksgiving and it was a dream come true. New York is probably one of the most buzzing and active cities in the world. NYC is known for all its hype, action, media etc. but what struck me the most is that living in NYC is just like being part of an high octane action movie. If you live in the city (especially downtown Manhattan), you will not be surprised why you hear the term "City that never sleeps" tagged to New York. I must term my trip as adventurous especially considering the fact that we( Myself and 2 of my friends whom i met at my workplace) drove past Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania before we reached the Big Apple. The best part of the road trip was it was unplanned and we had our share of close shaves and crazy occurences. We had to drive through the Pocono Mountain Range and exactly at the time we drove around the area, there was a snowstorm with almost zero visibility. Add the weather drama to my road-wingmen snoring in the car and you see the darker side of roadtrip adventure. Despite all the driving hazzles, we made it after 15 hrs of night driving on white tar with lots of caffeine seeping through our veins. Driving in NY Downtown was one more challenge left to encounter at the end of our night driving saga and soon I felt i was driving in India. Taxis drive like Auto-rickshaws and I bet that no cop in downtown every handed a speeding ticket with the traffic over there. We took this road trip to meet our pals mainly to avoid expensive Thanksgiving flights and partially also for the kicks only a roadtrip can give. Can you guess what part sucked the most(of the trip): PARKING in Manhattan for 3 days cost us $120. The best part of the visit though was not seeing the Empire State Building or Statue of Liberty or Times Square but it was the time I spend with my buddies and laughing our ass off at the live comedy act at Comedy Cellar close to NYU. Sometimes, it is the simple things in life that we ignore or take for granted are the most memorable moments of our life... for example hanging out with friends, laughing aloud like hyenas, eating food of a different cuisine, taking the train from one town to another, the quick walk from one building to another in the freezing cold. I realised that vacation is not only about visiting places but enjoying the most common stuff we miss doing during our weekly work routine or the weekend.

Zen and the art of Car Decisions :

Just when i thought i found the ideal car in Acura TSX ,my new roommate bought a Honda Accord for almost $25K and his statement about the difference between Accord and Acura TSX inspired me to search about Accord. Accord fits the bill of a family sedan perfectly but doesn't give the sporty feel of the Acura TSX. As a result it's performance is not comparable to the TSX. However if the price is the most important criterion , then Accord is a great buy. My logic goes like this: If i can pay $25K, it should not be too much of a hassle on my living if i get my ideal luxury car for $30K. You live only once and so its imperative you enjoy your life while you can.

Now to write my own Analysis Section of the NFL( sorry Peter King) - Sunday Evening Running Back:

Ladainian Tomlinson( a.k.a LT a.a.a greatest running back ever ) was proclaimed as the best running back (of all-time)in football by his coach-Marty Schottenheimer. Since Marty was a defensive coach for a long time before becoming head coach, the statement holds lot of value. Last year, Denver's coach Mike Shanahan made a statement that LT is the best running back he has seen in the NFL. Why do so many coaches and analysts concur on this statement by Mike(Not everyone will agree with Marty)? It is because LT gives so many options when you hand the ball to him. He is San Diego's #1 Offensive Weapon as he can run, catch and throw the ball. Why is his skills so great? It is not because he can run fast or make you silly on an open field but his ability to make you miss in short spaces that separate him from all other running backs i have seen or probably will see. He has had some great runs during his career but since i follow his success and failure closely, I observed that his best run of the season was the 8 yd TD run against New England where he was so close to the ground but never went down on multiple contacts. He showed to me that he can gain those tough yards and still make home runs possible. Last week against the Washington Redskins defense, he stiff armed a redskin linebacker on his way to a touchdown which to me was one of hardest things to do for a running back his size and speed. This run coupled with the move against Ty Law which made him look silly just made me think "Marty finally made the media notice something they were waiting for a big name coach to announce." I have only one question for LT? If you are the best running back in football why dont you have 100 yard games for about 13 of the 16 weeks in the regular season. LT is a great running back but is not as consistent as Walter Payton or Emmitt Smith or Barry Sanders. Until he reaches the level of consistency of 100 yd-2 TD performances every week i will not accept LT as the best running back of all time although all of us know he has the talent to be the greatest.

Heading to the significant games on unoffcially NFL's "Rivalry Weekend":

Dallas Cowboys at New York Giants: This is the most important game of the week. I think the Cowboys are overrated and they will struggle to beat New York. I am really concerned of the Giants defense but Cowboys dont have an offense to light up the scoreboard. So the Giants should win unless they dont screw it up like they did in Seattle.

Cincinatti Bengals at Pittsburgh Steelers: I like Cincinnatti in this game despite all the criticism that they cant win the big game against the Steelers. I think we need a change in dominance and I would love to see Chad Johnson in the playoffs.

Denver Broncos at Kansas City Chiefs: The biggest challenge for Denver is whether they can keep their "Most Disciplined Team" tag going for one more game. If they can, no Willie Roaf or Larry Johnson can help KC. Denver has a better overall team than KC and should win despite all the history of December games at Arrowhead against them. If the Broncos lose this game, the Colts fans better start booking their flight to Detroit in February.

Atlanta Falcons at Carolina Panthers: Vick has tormented the Panthers in the past. This time though Steve Smith will torment the Falcons. Say goodbye to Michael Vick and his 2005 playoff hopes.

Green Bay Packers at Chicago Bears: Chicago has the best defense of the year and also has the better team in the matchup. Sorry Brett, despite your mastery of QB position , beating Chicago in Chicago especially with the current GB team is a tall task. Watch out for Chicago in the playoffs-they may enter the NFC championship game in January.

Oakland Raiders at San Diego Chargers : Can Oakland stop LT at home? Can Randy Moss start to show up? Watch out for Kerry Collins air attack on the San Diego corners. I want to see another great LT run in the playoffs and so I would have taken the Superchargers any time

+ a.a.a stands for Also Annointed As

Enjoy your weekend!

Car Shopping, Mid Season Awards!

I am Car Gazing for some time now as i plan to sell my 1998 Honda Civic for a new Car and its been a hard to decide on a new Car.I am totally confused on what car to buy. Initially i thought i will go for a beamer-BMW 3 series looked cool and then i calculate the expenses i need to pay to maintain the car: $600 loan + $200 insurance + $200 gas ...oooph...and there goes $1000 of my salary. I then scaled down after my colleagues, well-wishers and also my mental calculator let me decide that lesser loan to pay is the way to go. Considering the possibility that i may sell the car in 3-4 years i had to consider depreciation value. Here were the factors i looked at:

1) Looks
2) Comfort
3) Driving Experience
4) Standard Features
5) Cargo Room[ Especially considering that i may do some road trips]

I am comparing the new Honda Civic 2006 with Subaru Impreza 2.5 L Si, Toyota Scion tC, Acura RSX and Mazda 3 and Scion Tc. So far, my favorite has been the Scion tC.I test drove a Scion TC and I was flabbergasted by its speed at low rpms. It has amazing brakes, great steering control, look and feel and the only drawback being cargo space. Next week will be time for some actual hands on experience comparison.

Sports Update:

NFL Tidbits:

Peyton Manning got over the hump on MNF? Yes he did. I am still not convinced about Indy's defense. How good are they will be known when they face the Cincinniti Bengals and Pittsburgh Steelers! I still think they are the best team in the league till proven otherwise.

My Mid Season Awards:

MVP: Peyton Manning/Steve Smith. If i were giving this award, i would give it to Steve Smith but Peyton will win it because voters prefer QBs

Offensive MVP: Steve Smith. You remove him from Carolina and their offense is as good as dirt

Defensive MVP: Dwight Freeney. He has single handedly troubled all quarterbacks and made Indy's defense look menacing.

Offensive Rookie of the Year: Ronnie Brown

Defensive Rookie of the Year: Demarcus Ware

Comeback Player of the Year: Steve Smith. I considered Mark Brunell, Kyle Vanden Bosch, Mike Anderson but SS impact is too significant compared to the others.

Coach of the Year: Mike Shanahan. Check out all the preseason ratings of AFC West. Whether it was ESPN or SI.com or anyone else, nobody thought that Denver will succeed with the Cleveland Castoffs in defensive line. Tom Coughlin was a close second. I think he has done a great job in NYC but if you look at the schedule- Denver beat SD,NE,Philly,Jacksonville,Washington[ All possible playoff teams]

Surprise Team of the Year: Cincinatti Bengals. Giants are close second.

Disappointment of the Year: New England Patriots/ Philadelphia Eagles.

Watch out for next year- T.O will have a new team and contract.

NBA Observations:

Entire League to Mr Stern: Please hand the trophy to the Spurs. Lets all play for academic interest and for showing off our suits.

Regaring Miami Heat: Mr. Riley- why do you think everyone was surprised at the roster makeover?

Surprises: LA teams winning and Nuggets losing:)

Predictions of the year: Lebron finally will make the playoffs and Carmelo Anthony may be an All-Star.