Getting nostalgicFri, 28th Sep '12, 4:15 pm::

I like to get nostalgic often, not because I miss good ol' days but because I want to refresh my memory. If you never look back to the past, the memories will slowly fade away. Every time I recollect something from the past, I strengthen my memory of it and can recall it again in the future with ease. The problem with refreshing memories of wonderful forgotten experiences is that they are already forgotten! How do you recall that which you don't remember you once experienced?

I've noticed that I start to remember long-forgotten events precisely when I am making new memorable events. Last week I went to a conference where the host used a handheld Tibetan Singing Bowl to beckon the audience and it reminded me of a trip to Darjeeling that I took with my family over fifteen years ago where I got to play these bowls myself. We even bought a bell that you could play by brushing the striker around the circumference instead of hitting the metal. A couple of months ago I was setting up our new bunny cage and I had an instant flashback to 1991, when I volunteered at my boarding school to clean the bunny cage, so I could avoid mandatory early morning lectures.

Obviously not all forgotten memories are wondrous stories of glorious times had. Sometimes as I'm falling asleep, my brain starts flashing Chirag's Top 100 Most Embarrassing Moments videos, from the time I broke my dad's friend's accounting software system to the time I told another kayaker that I've been paddling for years and promptly flipped over in the middle of the ocean. My brain (and sometimes my wife) does a phenomenal job at making sure I never forget these unflattering moments. That's why I actively try to remember the other times when I didn't make a complete fool of myself so that when I grow old, my past won't seem like a series of gaffes and uncomfortably silent moments.

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Surgery and ProgrammingFri, 14th Sep '12, 1:10 pm::

If you've ever wondered what life is like in the Mehta household, it is sort of like this video: Doctor and Ice Cream Tester.

After watching the video, Juliet immediately changed her daily "Honey! I'm home!" greeting. Now she comes home after a long day of hard-work doing surgeries and asks me, "How was your day at the ice-cream factory?" Cracks me up each time, especially since it's mostly true. I sit on my sofa with my legs up, typing code away all day - sometimes making things red and green in Excel, sometimes making rectangles more rounded. And yet every other day she'll hear me complain about everything from restrictive software licenses and DRM to crappy Internet connection and the never-ending torrent of user errors.

She just pats me on the head and says "Wow! They ran out of Strawberry flavor? That must be torture..."

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My superpowerThu, 6th Sep '12, 10:45 am::

I have discovered that I have a superpower. I can cause rains and thunderstorms! I say this with full confidence because of the last five times I have filled up my pool with not-so-free water, it has rained within 12 hours. Last night I filled the pool after over a week of no rains. I checked the weather forecast beforehand and there was no chance of precipitation. It's raining so hard right now, the pool is overflowing.

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Labor Day vacationMon, 3rd Sep '12, 7:45 pm::

For the Labor Day weekend, Juliet and I went to a cute little resort in Lake Wales, FL called Chalet Suzanne. We also went to Bok Tower Gardens and Spook Hill. Here's our photos.

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