tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2643659681114210502012-03-19T21:10:29.153-04:00Personal blog about Web, software, programming, technology, outdoors, travel, food, and everything else.shamirusnoreply@blogger.comBlogger40125http://creativecommons.org/images/public/somerights20.gifShamirushttp://feedburner.google.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-264365968111421050.post-6529172791638946632012-03-19T20:39:00.006-04:002012-03-19T21:10:29.159-04:002012-03-19T21:10:29.159-04:00

I was hoping to write this post a week ago, somewhere around March 12, 2012... or perhaps it was March 13, not really sure. It was the first really warm day this year, with temperatures reaching 70F. It was really warm, sunny, and nice, and it totally felt like summer. I took advantage of that summery weather by getting out of the office and going for a walk in the Nagog Park after lunch. Right

shamirusnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-264365968111421050.post-58197209383337739122012-03-10T19:03:00.003-05:002012-03-10T20:17:22.435-05:002012-03-10T20:17:22.435-05:00

It has been well-publicized that Netflix, partly, or perhaps mostly, due to the exorbitant cost of acquiring content rights, has started developing their own original video content, starting with the Lilyhammer series. That move puts Netflix on the path of a more direct competition against HBO. What I have not realized is that Amazon has also started developing their own content! We watched one

shamirusnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-264365968111421050.post-16179255737895424862012-03-10T15:05:00.004-05:002012-03-10T16:35:31.902-05:002012-03-10T16:35:31.902-05:00

A recent tweet by PaddleBoston (folks who operate a boat house on the Charles and from whom I buy a season pass for kayaking the river every year) pointed to an article in Boston Globe which described a recent (February 2012) sighting of a sturgeon in the Charles river! Needless to say I was quite shocked. Actually, I was shocked for two reasons. First, I certainly could not have imagined that a

shamirusnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-264365968111421050.post-13138470944983445582012-03-10T13:37:00.002-05:002012-03-10T13:59:12.658-05:002012-03-10T13:59:12.658-05:00

This post may come as a big surprise to those who follow my blog, since I have not written anything in almost 2 years! Recently I parted ways with my 7-year old BlackBerry phone and purchased iPhone 4S. That seminal event sort of gave me renewed hope that perhaps I will write more blog articles. As the first step, I installed the Blogger app for iPhone and decided to create a new post write away!

shamirusnoreply@blogger.com0Newton Upper Falls Newton42.307373 -71.217613tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-264365968111421050.post-73648820204335257002010-06-23T17:10:00.003-04:002010-06-23T17:15:03.249-04:002010-06-23T17:15:03.249-04:00

Finally! As of a few minutes ago, June 23, 2010, Bitbop is officially out of Beta and live!!! Watch your favorite tv shows on your Blackberry devices. Check it out at Bitbop.com and in the RIM's App World on-line app store. Bitbop on Android and iPhone phones is coming a little later this year.

shamirusnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-264365968111421050.post-48564021818044733812009-10-27T21:29:00.003-04:002009-10-27T21:36:33.887-04:002009-10-27T21:36:33.887-04:00

This morning I finished reading the book about Volf Messing. I used to read a lot when I was a kid, and often stayed up until the wee hours of the morning captivated by some volume. Lately though I read mostly technical information on-line and unfortunately have no time left for non-technical reading. But this book... I "swallowed" very quickly. Read half of it in one day and finished the other

shamirusnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-264365968111421050.post-69322887854171299182009-10-22T17:55:00.000-04:002009-10-22T17:56:42.201-04:002009-10-22T17:56:42.201-04:00

At my previous job, I worked from home. I had no commute. It was nice. Now I have a 45-minute commute. Each way. Every day. It's not as nice. I've had that commute for a couple months now and, pretty much since day one, I wanted to write about one particular aspect of American driving.The entire world drives in the right lane by default. Not folks in this country. For some reason, folks here have

shamirusnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-264365968111421050.post-74358194289685304682009-10-20T22:12:00.002-04:002009-10-20T22:15:02.228-04:002009-10-20T22:15:02.228-04:00

Today is October 20, 2009. It's been a long time since I posted anything in this blog... Back in August I started a new job and now have little time to write anything. I keep hoping I'd post something new "soon" and that day never comes. Finally decided to force myself to write a bit.Today was a gorgeous day, sunny and quite warm. I don't have a window in my cubicle, and so, a couple times during

shamirusnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-264365968111421050.post-56988442668669649472009-08-09T12:27:00.003-04:002009-08-09T12:58:26.769-04:002009-08-09T12:58:26.769-04:00

I have not written anything for a couple weeks... Things have been busy. One week we spent a lot of time looking for a new car. Sold the old Lexus on Craig's List and eventually bought a Mini Cooper. I wrote about the old Lexus in an earlier post and showed a picture of a random Mini Cooper there... well, that turned out to be the exact model and color that we bought! Cool little car! I also

shamirusnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-264365968111421050.post-89770929309708831352009-07-26T19:50:00.003-04:002009-07-26T20:30:03.472-04:002009-07-26T20:30:03.472-04:00

I finally watched the CBS Sunday Morning show which I recorded two weeks ago, on July 12. The show was pretty good and, as a special treat for me, there was a segment by Bill Geist, who always reports on unusual, weird, strange, offbeat topics. This time he flew to Oregon, to a very nice looking (I would even say upscale) subdivision, with beautiful homes and gorgeous views. Apparently, there is

shamirusnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-264365968111421050.post-40948760308553826452009-07-26T16:10:00.005-04:002009-07-26T17:20:27.967-04:002009-07-26T17:20:27.967-04:00

Как-то сегодня у меня не получилось поехать с моим другом Энди сёрфинг в Род-Айлэнд. На велосипеде чего-то не хотелось, на байдарке тоже. Но на улицу все таки надо было выйти, и я решил пойти бегать. Начал прямо от дома, вдоль реки Чарльз, мимо нового квартирного комплекса и небольшого бизнесс-парка, через реку и по кругу внутри большего по размеру бизнесс-парка. Машин мало, зелени много, птички

shamirusnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-264365968111421050.post-19760882310607338822009-07-26T07:26:00.004-04:002009-07-26T08:03:40.894-04:002009-07-26T08:03:40.894-04:00

I climb at Metrorock on a regular basis. Rock climbing has gotten exceedingly popular over the last few years. When the gym first opened, it was fairly empty. That was some 5 years ago. Now the place is packed every night.With so many people, it's not really surprising that once in a while you see an interesting T-shirt that attracts your attention. Some are funny. Some are puzzling. Some are

shamirusnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-264365968111421050.post-42459171958319517462009-07-25T16:37:00.005-04:002009-07-25T17:36:26.436-04:002009-07-25T17:36:26.436-04:00

I happened to be in Newton Center this morning. It was a gorgeous day! I got myself a cup of Starbucks latte and decided to walk around a bit and enjoy the weather. Newton Center has a small but very nice garden, with lots of amazing flowers. In particular, they have a number of different daisy varieties. From traditional yellow daisies with white petals to cool-looking daisies with bluish center

shamirusnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-264365968111421050.post-27132699817272000552009-07-21T09:01:00.003-04:002009-07-21T09:11:04.367-04:002009-07-21T09:11:04.367-04:00

The other day, when I wrote about my second surfing experience, I completely forgot to add one photo that I took that day. My friend Andi and I went to get some food after surfing. We were sitting outside at a clam shack place. At a table next to us there were two women, most likely mother and daughter, and they had an adorable little dog, all white and very fuzzy. The dog was ridiculously

shamirusnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-264365968111421050.post-14622866677579654202009-07-20T07:23:00.004-04:002009-07-20T08:04:07.632-04:002009-07-20T08:04:07.632-04:00

Some 12 years ago, I happened to work for a computer company in Austria. They gave me an ancient PC, a set of installation floppy disks with Windows NT 3.51, and Lotus Notus of a similar ancient version. My task was to develop a couple applications in Lotus Notes. I did write the code, and it even worked. A couple people at the office who had to use that application were using Macs, not PCs, and

shamirusnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-264365968111421050.post-91875627743001014622009-07-18T19:52:00.003-04:002009-07-18T20:20:27.936-04:002009-07-18T20:20:27.936-04:00

For the second time in my life I went surfing today. Just like last weekend, my friend and I drove down to the Sachuest Beach in Middletown RI. The waves looked bigger than last week and I thought there were more of them---both good signs in my view. Last weekend, when I tried surfing for the first time, I thought that it would be easier for me to stand up on my board if the waves were a bit

shamirusnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-264365968111421050.post-88101196798430792202009-07-15T22:36:00.006-04:002009-07-15T22:58:45.965-04:002009-07-15T22:58:45.965-04:00

Went out for sushi tonight, to a fairly nice place on the edge of Newton and Watertown, called New Ginza. I usually get one or two rolls that I already know and like, such as Alaskan Roll. But I also like to try new things. Celtics Roll sounded really good! Check out its description: Tuna, yellowtail, salmon, cucumber, avocado & alfalfa sprout, outside with 3 kinds of flying fish roe. Ummmm...

shamirusnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-264365968111421050.post-70100039607300453402009-07-13T10:38:00.003-04:002009-07-13T11:04:46.511-04:002009-07-13T11:04:46.511-04:00

My muscles are sore today. Especially my back and shoulder muscles. It's actually a good feeling. In case I forget, my body reminds me that yesterday I got a lot of exercise. I've had similar soreness a couple times before. One time was when I kayaked 20 miles in the ocean for the first time. I was totally wiped then. The second time was when I took a class learning how to properly use a large

shamirusnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-264365968111421050.post-61391030582505953262009-07-11T20:08:00.003-04:002009-07-11T20:18:37.022-04:002009-07-11T20:18:37.022-04:00

The other day we bought a yellow melon at Whole Foods. It looked like it would be sweet and juicy. The outside look could be deceiving, but in this case it turned out to be completely true. This is easily one of the tastiest melons I have ever had! So sweet, so very juicy. Oh my! It's like drinking the most ripe, the most organic of them all melon through a straw! Except you're

shamirusnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-264365968111421050.post-25265524053861958752009-07-11T16:41:00.003-04:002009-07-11T16:56:54.748-04:002009-07-11T16:56:54.748-04:00

My friend Andi and I went mountain biking today. For the second time we chose a trail somewhere in Belmont, MA which runs over a variety of terrains: through a wooded area, past community gardens, where people grow flowers and vegetables, through a couple gorgeous lush meadows, and across a wooden bridge over a small creek. Sections of the trail that pass through the meadows are flat, easy, and

shamirusnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-264365968111421050.post-77187503367008358332009-07-11T14:48:00.005-04:002009-07-11T16:11:36.751-04:002009-07-11T16:11:36.751-04:00

Every year I buy a season pass at the Charles River Canoe and Kayak and like to kayak a 6-mile round-trip from the Newton boathouse to the Moody St dam in Waltham and then back. Usually I start out paddling slowly, enjoying the scenery, but gradually my strokes become faster, more forceful, and more furious even, and I end up zooming forward in a fast-flying kayak. Somehow, that happens outside

shamirusnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-264365968111421050.post-27999006993142989382009-07-11T09:44:00.003-04:002009-07-11T10:16:10.069-04:002009-07-11T10:16:10.069-04:00

I spent a couple months in Moscow slightly over a year ago, in January--March 2008. Things were pricey! I had to have my usual coffee at the first Starbucks coffee shop that opened over there. My double tall latte came in at over $6. Here in Boston it's about $3 or so. Apparently, they took "double" quite literally. Other things, from yogurt to cars, were on the expensive side as well. No

shamirusnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-264365968111421050.post-65413839028176665312009-07-07T09:43:00.005-04:002009-07-08T16:08:12.222-04:002009-07-08T16:08:12.222-04:00

The last time I saw my friend Keith from North Carolina was on November 15, 2006, almost 2 years and 8 months ago. We used to do a lot of things together years earlier, before he moved to North Carolina. We had not seen each other for a few years, and he happened to be in the Boston area on business. We both like good food and decided to get together at Blue Ginger, an awesome restaurant in

shamirusnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-264365968111421050.post-40260640669136937682009-07-05T19:27:00.008-04:002009-07-05T20:26:21.114-04:002009-07-05T20:26:21.114-04:00

I like Southern food. I like Cajun food. If you're ever in Lafayette, Indiana, make sure you try crawfish etouffee at Cajun Connection. Yummy! Wash it down with some Pinot Noir and you will be in heaven!Speaking of heaven. Heaven on Seven that is. Chicago has four restaurants on every corner, and then 4 more above them, on the second floor. You can probably go to a different eatery 365 days a

shamirusnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-264365968111421050.post-16850676790367552322009-07-05T16:30:00.005-04:002009-07-05T17:17:44.841-04:002009-07-05T17:17:44.841-04:00

We've had nothing but rain this Spring. June was all wet and foggy as well. It's finally starting to turn around. Perhaps in honor of the Independence Day, warm, sunny, totally gorgeous weather continues for the second day today. This is what summer should look like!Perfect weather to be on the water! I decided to go kayaking and packed my photo camera and my new video camera, hoping to paddle

shamirusnoreply@blogger.com0