The one I’m at now is the Civic Centre Resource Library, next to Vaughan City Hall. It’s one of the nicest libraries I’ve been to in terms of size and design. They have a coffee machine where I get a cappuccino every time before sitting down to read a book (currently The Everything Store: Jeff Bezos and the Age of Amazon by Brad Stone) and play chess.

At home, with all the available screen distractions, I rarely sit down with a book. But at the library, it’s easy, and I really enjoy it. I should just visit the library even when I’m not waiting around for someone. There’s a spacious, recently renovated multi-floor library (Albert Campbell) about five minutes from my house, and I’ve been there a few times both by myself and with Adele.

The Civic Centre Resource Library, like all public libraries, is open to everyone. You simply walk in and find a seat. There are all sorts of seating options: long desks by the glass windows with bar stools (where I usually sit), large tables with chairs on both sides, rooms with comfy couches, round tables with chairs around them (I often see students working together there), and small rooms for meetings. There’s also an outdoor courtyard in the middle of the building with umbrellas and round tables for the spring and summer. I haven’t been to the upper floor yet, but there’s a 3D printing room as well.

Today’s window seat faces the road. On my side of the street, the ground is covered with snow. I see cars going by in both directions and some commercial buildings across the road. The gently falling snow looks beautiful. I can’t hear the noise of the cars thanks to the well-insulated glass windows. Inside, it’s quiet, warm, clean, and comfortable.

OK. Back to reading.

Here’s an excerpt from Chapter 8: Fiona (about the Kindle e-reader):

Bezos unshackled Kessel from Amazon’s traditional media organization. "Your job is to kill your own business," he told him. "I want you to proceed as if your goal is to put everyone selling physical books out of a job." Bezos underscored the urgency of the effort. He believed that if Amazon didn’t lead the world into the age of digital reading, then Apple or Google would. When Kessel asked Bezos what his deadline was on developing the company’s first piece of hardware—an electronic reading device—Bezos told him, "You are basically already late."

That was last year, during his first season with the Dodgers, when he only hit and didn’t pitch. Even that was enough to help the Dodgers reach the postseason and eventually win the World Series.

I remember only watching highlights last October, maybe parts of the live game in the World Series. I didn’t understand much of the game back then, especially the batting and pitching stats everyone talked about.

Ohtani wasn’t the best player in the World Series (that was his teammate Freddie Freeman), but since baseball is a team game, he was still part of the championship-winning team in his first postseason and first year with the Dodgers.

This season, I kept following the Dodgers through highlights and the occasional article. I still hadn’t watched a full game. Like last year, Ohtani was among the home run leaders, so there were plenty of highlight videos to watch. But his return to pitching was the main story for me and the baseball press. He did OK as a pitcher.

Somehow the Dodgers made it into the post season as a wild card.

My hometown team Toronto Blue Jays also made it to the playoffs earning a bye to the quarters (division knockout) because they topped their division.

It was during the playoffs that I started watching parts of full games, longer recaps, and reading game articles mostly about Dodgers, but some Blue Jays too.

That’s when I began learning the rules and what the key batting and pitching stats meant. This postseason was when I truly started enjoying baseball, now that I understood it better.

While I enjoyed the Dodgers games, my heart was fully in Game 7 between the Blue Jays and Seattle Mariners. I let out a huge scream when George Springer hit a 3-run home run to put the Blue Jays up 4-3 in the bottom of the 7th. Wow!

Last year, I attended a regular-season Blue Jays game with my brother Raymond, thanks to tickets from my sister Michelle. They were playing the Astros, someone hit a home run, and the stadium erupted. I can only imagine what it felt like to be there for Springer’s homer.

So the Blue Jays came back from 2-0 and 3-2 series deficits to win Game 7 and reach the World Series for the first time in 32 years! They’d been strong all season, so while it was a remarkable turnaround from last year’s last-place finish, it wasn’t entirely surprising.

Meanwhile, the Dodgers swept the Milwaukee Brewers 4-0 in the semifinals. Ohtani started Game 4 and delivered what many (including the Brewers’ manager) called the best postseason performance ever: 3 home runs as a batter, 10 strikeouts and 6 scoreless innings as a pitcher. I watched that game off and on but missed the big moments live.

World Series: Blue Jays vs. Dodgers

Game 1
I was on a flight to Vancouver when Game 1 started, but the captain kept us updated on the scores. His announcements were the usual boring flight style — sometimes clear but emotionless, sometimes unclear. Fortunately, a Blue Jays fan near the front started shouting updates (probably during the massive 6th inning). It was clear, exciting, and had the whole flight cheering. By the time we landed in Vancouver, the Blue Jays had won convincingly, 11-4.

Game 2
Yamamoto pitched a complete game, allowing just one run, as the Dodgers won to even the series. I didn’t watch live but followed the scores.

Game 3
I watched Game 3 from a Squamish, BC hotel. The view of distant snow-capped mountains (Mt. Garibaldi?) at dusk from my window was beautiful as the game started live. Trailing 4-5 in the bottom of the 7th, Ohtani hit a home run to tie it. For the next 10 innings, neither team scored though both came close.

Most remarkable to me: the Blue Jays refused to let Ohtani bat again (walking him 4 times). It was well past midnight; I could barely stay awake. I’d decided “one more inning” before bed, then Freeman won it for the Dodgers with a home run in the bottom of the 18th. In such a marathon, there were many heroes; my vote goes to Dodgers reliever Will Klein, who threw 70+ scoreless pitches until Freeman’s winner.

What a game!

Game 4-6
Writing this on Christmas Eve a few months later, I don’t remember much about Games 4–6 except: Ohtani pitched and lost Game 4; the Blue Jays kept scoring and beat Blake Snell in Game 5 to take a 3-2 lead heading to Game 6 in Toronto.

But the Blue Jays’ scoring machine faced Yamamoto again, who allowed just one run (like Game 2). The Dodgers won Game 6, forcing a decisive Game 7.

Game 7
The last time a Canadian team won a pro sports championship was the Raptors years ago — and before that, the Blue Jays with back-to-back World Series decades earlier. Toronto, and all of Canada, was fully invested in Game 7.

I’d root for the Blue Jays against anyone except the Dodgers. Still, I thought they were clearly the better team throughout the series and entered as favorites.

Ohtani was the starting pitcher, and like Game 4, the Blue Jays scored 3 runs off him before he was pulled after 2 innings. In the top of the 9th, with the Blue Jays leading 4-3 and needing two outs to win, up came Miguel Rojas. Down to his last strike after a foul, he hit the most improbable home run to tie it 4-4 shocking Blue Jays fans and commentators alike. That swing will be replayed and talked about for years.

In the bottom of the 9th, the Blue Jays had the bases loaded with 1 out. Out came Yamamoto. It was nerve-wracking to watch. Everyone was on the edge of their seats. It was nerve wracking to watch. I can imagine everyone was at the edge of their seats. Miguel Rojas (yes, that guy), threw off-balance but in time for the second out. Later, many faulted Blue Jays runner Kiner-Falefa for sliding into home but one step short.

With 2 outs, the final play was pure drama: outfielders Andy Pages and Hernández both dove for the ball. Pages caught it despite the collision. Had he not, the Jays would’ve scored to win. Instead, it went to extra innings!

The Dodgers threatened but didn’t score. Yamamoto got his 3 outs. The 10th inning ended without any results. In the 11th, Blue Jays’ Bieber retired Rojas and Ohtani. Then Will Smith hit the game-winning home run. The Jays came close to tying it, but a broken bat and double play ended it. Heartbreak for Toronto and Canada. Back-to-back World Series titles for the Dodgers.

It is rare in sports finals where the best meets the best, and it goes the distance. I have had the good luck of watching many of these (F1 2021 final lap between Verstappen and Hamilton, Wimbledon final between Federer-Djokovic, the two Stanley Cup finals between Florida and Edmonton, and the French Open finals between Alcaraz and Skinner).

As with many aspects of China, I had heard plenty of positive things about the country’s high-speed trains, with their impressive speed being a recurring highlight.

Our first train journey was from Beijing to Xi'an, covering a distance of about 1,150 km in 6 hours, with a top speed of 300 km/hr (that is Formula 1 level speed).

In contrast, the Canadian Via Rail train covers 500 km from Toronto to Montreal in 5 hours (100 km/hr).

The remarkable thing is I didn't feel it at all inside the train. It was smooth and stable. I could tell the speed from the digital displays and had some sense it was going fast from the pace at which trees, posts, and buildings were passing us. But I really felt it when we were stopped at a train station and another train zoomed past us at high speed. It was a blur. Our train shook a little. Wow!

The train stations are like airport terminals both in size and design. There is a baggage security check before you enter the station. Inside, you have open, high-ceilinged, curved roofs with no pillars, just like airports. Like most places we visited, tickets are digital. Similar to the final check at airport gates, there was a ticket and ID scan before we entered the platforms.

All three train trips departed and arrived on schedule.

The station, platform, aisle, seats, and toilets were clean and in good condition. In the train, staff were regularly coming by to collect garbage. They had both western-style and squat toilets. There was enough overhead storage for lighter bags. We kept our larger luggage bags (the ones we check in at airports) in the storage near the doors, in space in front of the first row or last row seats.

Unlike the trains in India or Canada, where you have to climb steps to get into the train car—making lifting luggage bags physically stressful—all high-speed trains we took in China were level to the platform (like subways), making entry and exit with luggage easy.

In all train cars, there was a hot water tap that dispenses boiling hot water. This was a welcome feature that let us make hot beverages to enjoy. Others used it to make cup-o-noodles.

The view of the towns and countryside from the train was enjoyable as well. What impressed me was that the roads, bridges, and buildings, whether in the city or outside, were all in good condition. I got to see small houses in villages and towns (some of them had large gates that reminded me of the tanneries in Kolkata, India). There were plenty of scenic views on the train journeys, but the ones that come to mind are the massive mountains I saw when we were close to Huaihua station (on our way to Fenghuang Ancient Town – Zhangjiajie National Park).

The scale and level of development in China is at another level compared to the two places I have lived (Kolkata, Toronto). I can't comprehend how they are able to build it and maintain it well. I hope to return to China again. The whole trip was short and hectic, but I enjoyed every bit of it.

Chess

The video of Magnus Carlsen banging the table after losing to Gukesh Dommaraju in Norway Chess Round 6 got a lot of news (my brother shared it with me too). I don't know exactly what people are saying on Reddit or YouTube about it, but most probably don't like it, given chess is generally a quiet sport and chess players don't show their emotions much (remarkably, most players analyze the game with their opponents right after it ends).

Magnus immediately apologized and shook hands with Gukesh after, so all is well.

When I play chess online at lichess.org, even for an amateur like me, it can get very intense. My heart rate goes up to 125 bpm (same as when I do medium-intensity cardio exercise). I can't even imagine the pressure and intensity the pros must be going through.

Of course, Carlsen doesn't lose much, and his first loss to the current World Champion Gukesh must have upset him 10x.

I followed most games of Norway Chess 2025 and it was interesting until the last round. Magnus won the tournament but it was close (Gukesh could have won it; Fabiano was close too).

Chess is my favourite sport now. It's also the only one I play.

Hockey

Before chess, (ice) hockey was the sport I followed very closely, but since I started with chess in the middle of last year, I have not followed it as much. My favourite (hometown) team, the Maple Leafs, made the playoffs and lost in 7 games in the second round. It felt inevitable they wouldn't go far.

The team that beat them (Florida Panthers, defending Stanley Cup champions) is now in the Stanley Cup finals again, playing the Edmonton Oilers (again). The first two games were both decided in overtime (1:1), and they were both very good games. Both teams are the best in the league.

The Florida Panthers won the third game comfortably and now lead the best-of-seven series 2-1. The Oilers have McDavid, so we know they will push back (last year's final between these two went to the 7th and final game).

I will watch every game, time permitting.

Formula 1

Another one I follow closely and play the simulation game on Xbox. It's the only one I also have a fantasy team in (GridRival).

After four years of Max Verstappen and Red Bull, there is some competition for the driver's championship this year, so that makes it more interesting.

The Canadian Grand Prix is this weekend, so my Sunday morning is booked. I will also try to get some practice laps on the Xbox.

Tennis

The last time I watched a long tennis match live was the Wimbledon finals (2019, I think) between Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic. Federer had match points in the fifth set but Novak saved them and went on to win. That was an epic match between two of the best players in tennis history (Rafael Nadal is another one).

I wouldn't be following tennis again if not for Carlos Alcaraz. He plays every point as if it's a highlight reel point. It's a lot of fun to watch.

When I watched him lose the first set after starting off well, it looked like he wouldn't be able to match Jannik Sinner's consistent, low-fault, and powerful shots. Then he lost the second set.

I had to go make burgers for lunch so couldn't follow the match live. I was 100% certain no matter what Alcaraz did, Sinner wouldn't lose two sets and Sinner would win his first French Open and his third Grand Slam in a row.

During lunch, my son gave me an update that Sinner was up 5-3 in the fourth set. I was 1000% sure it was over.

After lunch, I didn't even check the live game, but went straight to the French Open website to read about Sinner's win but saw nothing! I quickly opened up the TV app on the iPad and, to my pleasant shock, Alcaraz had just won the fourth set (after saving three championship points!).

From there on, I was glued to the iPad till the championship-winning forehand pass down the line from Alcaraz. My heartbeat was way above resting for most of it. Wow!

These two are just 22, 23, so I am looking forward to many more of them.

Baseball

I still don't know most of the rules of baseball, but when Shohei Ohtani made the news for his jumbo contract with the LA Dodgers, it got me interested and I watched some highlights and eventually started watching playoffs on and off.

Last summer, I went to a ball game with my brother Raymond to watch the Toronto Blue Jays and that was quite an experience.

I haven't watched a full game yet but have watched highlights as Ohtani continues to hit home runs. Hope to see him pitch.

Raymond has already written his thoughts about the trip. I have an outline and a list of little notes, but I’m still procrastinating on putting them all together.

Jenny was a very helpful and friendly tour agent, so we got along very well. My sister Michelle had hired her for her own China trip before ours, which is how we got in contact with Jenny.

As you might expect with a group of nine tourists and a lively, personable tour agent, there were plenty of interesting stories—especially about Jenny’s observations of us (Chinese from India). I’ll share two memorable moments involving Raymond.

On the high-speed train from Beijing to Xi’an, we all had assigned seats. While the rest of us sat down, Raymond decided to stand behind our last row of seats and chat with us, even though his seat was in the next car.

As the train got underway, Jenny couldn’t understand why Raymond was still standing instead of sitting in his assigned seat. She asked him to take his seat and get comfortable, but he kept standing. Finally, she told him, “I paid for a sitting ticket, not a standing ticket!”

Another thing that became clear to Jenny was that my brother Raymond is quite frugal. During another train ride (this time Raymond was seated), Jenny remarked that when you look at Raymond face-to-face, you can’t see his ears. She explained that in China, there’s a saying: if you can’t see someone’s ears, you can’t get money out of them.

Hirayama replies: Next time is next time. Now is now.

My sister Michelle recommended this movie and as soon I watched this clip, that phrase stayed with me. This is a movie I will watch again (watched it twice). The second time I watched it, I picked up something new, something I didn't notice the first time. It's a simple movie. No drama, no beginning, no end. Just a bit of life.

We had many visitors this summer (my father, brother, brother-in-law, cousins). We visited my wife's cousins in Vancouver*. There were hellos, then good-byes. We talked about next time, but no one knows when that will be. What we know is we had a good time together. There was a lot of eating out, some first-time activities (golf, casino), and a lot of "adda".

As we head into the fall season, it's become quieter, the days are shorter. We are heading to what feels like a long winter.

The kids are in the final years of high school and elementary school. According to this article, "75% of the time we spend with our kids in our lifetime will be spent by age 12". That feels true with my son, only time will tell how it goes with my daughter who will become a teen next year. They have their agenda (and they should), so there is less need for the parents in their lives. It will be the wife and me, and our bucket lists from here on.

I have work, chores, errands, and some hobbies. One new thing that may turn into a long-term hobby is chess. It started with my brother Robert sharing a YouTube video about India's rising chess stars. One thing led to another, and now I am reading three chess books, and playing with others online at lichess.org (lost: 6, won: 5). Many elements of chess makes for a good long-term hobby (self-study, challenge of memorising, calculating positions, stress and competitive rush playing online games). I try not to play more than a few games weekly to avoid getting too intense.

Besides chess, I am also following and watching more sports (hockey, F1, tennis, a bit of baseball). I have significantly reduced my movie and TV series watching.

I hope to write more.

*First time in Vancouver. I couldn't stop looking at the mountains. If I could turn back time, I would land in Vancouver, not Toronto. But that story is for another day.

What is a haiku?

During my school years (90s), I fell sick often. I remember being sick before exams (pressure?). I remember going to the pharmacy to get specific medicines for malaria because I had it many times before. Another problem I often had was a sore throat. In class 5, my sore throat problem (tonsilitis?) became so bad I had surgery to get it removed. I don't think it completely solved the problem because I continued to have a sore throat and avoided cold drinks/popsicles/ice cream. The funny thing is, after the tonsil removal, I got an ice cream to soothe the soreness from the surgery.

For reasons I still don't understand, when I moved to Canada, I didn't have the sore throat problem anymore (except when I got the flu). So, I no longer avoid cold drinks or ice.

During my school days, when I was sick, it was often a total rest situation. No school, no chores. Just bedrest. I guess the symptoms were severe, or maybe, mentally, I was unable to handle the symptoms.

It changed when I started to work in my 20s, or maybe even earlier during college when I had obligations (like giving tuition). I still fell sick, but it was no longer a do-nothing-else situation. I would still go about what I had to do. I guess that's what growing up means. I developed resilience and mental toughness, enabling me to overcome pain, weakness, and other symptoms.

For most of my working life, including the last 18 years in Canada, I have tended to take a sick day off as a rare exception. I continued to work through the symptoms. It helped that I worked from home.

I write this while being sick (flu-like symptoms) since Christmas day. So, the week between the 25th and the 1st was spent in bed watching Netflix or sleeping. Unfortunately, I had to cancel three dinner invitations.

The kids aren't allowed to skip school if they have mild symptoms (except when it's contagious). They don't like it. Often, I would make them go to school only to get a call from school that they are sick and need to go home. You can't win with kids. They will get their school to do what they can't. When she gets home, she is fine! I said "she" because, in recent memory, it's just been my daughter who's pulled this trick, not my son.

Fortunately, my kids are healthier than me.

In early 2020, when the COVID pandemic started, I fell sick again, and after a few days of trying Tylenol and not working, I finally went to the doctor's office. Dr. Raj, my family doctor, was fully clothed in quarantine attire with a face mask covered by a face shield! It was maybe March/April, we were in the first lockdown. COVID testing had just started. So Dr. Raj asked me to get it tested.

I went to a temporary portable office on the parking ground of a hospital for testing. All the nurses were similarly covered in extra layers, with masks, and face shields. The nurse inserted the swab down my nose beyond what I thought was possible. It was very uncomfortable. I was in tears. But she was gentle, calm, and friendly, and it helped. She had glasses, and I remember her telling me her glasses and face shield kept fogging all day. We don't deserve our doctors and nurses.

Days later, I got called and told that it was negative.

It was a relief, but at the same time, it was another push I needed towards getting healthier. I started doing cardio from YouTube videos from an Australian couple. Their channel is called Team Body Project, and their mantra: "Progress, not perfection" was the right message, at the right time for me. It helped me get started, and kept me doing cardio even today, some three years later.

As I get news of the death of another person in my father's generation, it tells me nature is slowly turning over the page for their generation, which means that my generation is next.

The most painful part is you don't get to meet them again. They are no longer part of your life, and you are no longer part of theirs.

My catholic faith tells me after death, the soul departs and stands in judgment. Depending on how we live our lives, we go to heaven, hell, or purgatory (pre-heaven). Hindus and Buddhists have different ideas of death and the existence of an afterlife.

We are all humans first, so I find it hard to believe there are different ways depending on your faith. If anyone actually came back from death and wrote a book or did a podcast, I would be happy to revise my thinking.

We have one life, and when it's over, it is over. We don't exist anymore. There is no soul, no consciousness, and we don't go anywhere. There is no "me" anymore. That's what I think.

Imagine billions of dead people hanging around in some "place"! I can't see God, who created day and night and seasons, keeping all of them around forever. It doesn't even include all other living things like dead dinosaurs.

When I think of life and death, I rewatch two videos.

First is Steve Jobs's Standford University Commencement speech, where he shared three stories from his life.

The second is Randy Pausch's Last Lecture. The ending makes me cry every time I watch it.

When its not winter, I go for walks, bicycling to the nearby cemetery. It is a pleasure to read the short stories and quotes on tombstones. I forgot the stories and the quotes, so it is time for another walk to the cemetery.

What is the meaning of life?

My brother shared two photos of a parrot that flew out of the cage. Ashok, the parrot's owner was watching, as Babai (another resident) was trying to make the parrot fly back.

I wrote a poem inspired by the parrot's daring escape attempt. My daughter Adele drew the picture from the original photos.

parrot wanted to explore the world
but babai brought out his merch
parrot watched babai's lungi unfurl
and it scared it off its perch

it wants to be free
it doesn't want the cage
but Ashok won't let it be
not at this stage

it tried through the dental window
but got lost inside
the screaming patient, though
got a short respite

now it's back in the cage
wondering when it will be
tired, but full of rage
when will it be free?

While in Chennai, I would visit my cousin Peter Tseng, then a chef at The Park, Chennai. A restaurant near his place served vegetarian thali on a big steel plate with various vegetarian dishes in small bowls and rice in the middle. The waiter would deliver the thali to the table, then return to put ghee on the rice and dal powder.

I had vegetarian thali before, but not the dal powder. The combination of the ghee and dal powder was delicious. Years later, I would remember it whenever I had vegetarian dal rice at home in Scarborough, Canada. On one of our Masala Dosa dinners at The Nilgiris restaurant on Markham Road, I noticed they were selling dal powder at the counter! I finally found my old friend.

Every time I eat dal rice (typically Wednesdays), I add ghee and dal powder to my dal rice to recreate the joy I first enjoyed in Chennai. The bag of powder lasted me a few years, but it was finally finishing.

Luckily, I met Peter on my recent India trip, and he gave me a gift bag from Chennai that included a bag of dal powder! He called the dal power "Podi" (the Tamil word).

While I have been home-brewing hot coffee for years with the Aeropress, I only tried iced coffee last year. The cold brew method requires a dedicated accessory, more effort, and a long (overnight) brew time, so I didn't try it. Then I watched James Hoffmann's video on iced filter coffee, tried it, and enjoyed the result. It follows the Aeropress philosophy of easy, quick, practical, and great-tasting coffee.

My method is different in three ways:

1. Aeropress instead of V60
2. Smaller, stronger cup
3. Hot-water volume varies for precision

The James Hoffmann video uses a V60 brewer, but I use Aeropress. Aeropress is more effective for strong small cups because we can use the inverted method and steep the coffee longer for better extraction.

Instead of the 15g coffee:250g water ratio, I use 14g:200g from Tim Wendelboe's Aeropress recipe. He also has an iced coffee video that follows the same method as James Hoffmann, with additional commentary on coffee bean choices that work well.

My ice cubes don't weigh 70g. I watch the scale as I drop them in to get it between 70g to 75g. The hot water volume is then adjusted such that 200g is the total weight of ice, and hot water.

The more hot water we can brew coffee with, the more coffee we extract. James Hoffmann experimented with various ratios and arrived at 40% ice as a starting point. For me, 40% or 80g of ice was a bit more, as the ice didn't fully melt when I mixed in hot coffee. At 35% or 70g, it almost completely melts. I still have to stir it a bit.

Things we need:

• Aeropress
• Scale that can weigh at 1g or even better 0.1g increments
• Kettle
• Grinder
• Coffee beans (light roasted, fruity)
• Ice cubes
• Tumbler (whiskey glass types)
• Frothing Pitcher
• One chopstick

Steps:

1. Boil water (to boiling point)
2. Measure 14g of beans
3. Grind medium-fine (Aeropress grind)
4. Invert Aeropress (link to the inverted method)
5. Pour in ground coffee
6. Put ~70g of ice into the pitcher

The next step depends on the actual weight of the ice. If the ice cubes weigh 75g, I pour 125g boiling water into the inverted Aeropress. For 73g of ice, it is 127g of water. This goal is to get exactly 200g of ice and hot water.

I stir the ground coffee and hot water with a chopstick to maximise the coffee extraction, and then press the plunger in as far as needed such that the water level is close to the top. I found it makes less mess this way when we flip.

Put a paper filter into the cap and lock it tight over the Aeropress. Let the coffee grounds and boiling water steep inverted for 1 to 2 mins (no need to time it).

Add 4g of sugar to the 70g of ice.

After steeping, flip over the Aeropress onto the pitcher (which has ice and sugar). I gently stir the Aeropress to capture the coffee grounds stuck to the rubber and then press the coffee through.

I remove the cap to push out the left-over coffee grounds with the filter into the waste bin, then rinse the Aeropress.

Stir the coffee in the pitcher with the chopstick to make the sugar dissolve properly (some sugar will be left).

I add 4 or 5 ice cubes into the glass tumbler to chill the coffee. These will melt a bit and dilute the coffee making the last sips weaker, but it is OK. I did think about getting one of those larger ice cube trays.

Pour out the cold coffee from the pitcher into the tumbler. By now, almost all the ice should have melted. There will still be some sugar left in the pitcher. I ignore it most of the time, but sometimes, I can't let it go, and add a bit of hot water, swirl it, and then pour that into the tumbler.

Clean up, and enjoy!

Around spring this year, when we felt optimistic about travelling, there were many destinations on the list: Chill out at a beach resort in Cuba, the Dominican Republic, or Mexico; multi-purpose visit to Vancouver (wife has relatives there) along with a road trip to Seattle; and some others that I don't remember now. NYC wasn't even in consideration.

Vancouver-Seattle came out on top and I started looking at flights, ferry rides, car rental options from Vancouver to Seattle etc. Then we started worrying about the unpredictable COVID restrictions and if we would be able to freely travel etc. NYC entered the picture as a more flexible closer alternative, and that is what we ended up with.

There are different aspects to travel and food is one of them (for me) so I started making a list of things to eat. NYC is a popular place and there is plenty of food ideas from YouTube (including Mark Wiens), and Netflix shows (Somebody Feed Phil).

Here is the list I made:

Must try

• Ivan Ramen
• Xi'an Famous Foods (hand-pulled noodles)
• Kat'z Delicatessen
• The Halal Guys - Gyro and Chicken
• All'antico Vinaio (sandwich from Florence, Italy)
• Mercado Little Spain

Burger places

• Clinton Hall
• 7th Street Burger
• Bronsons Burgers
• Peter Luger

Pizza

• Di Fara
• Lucali
• Scarr's
• Kesté Pizza & Vino
• Angelo’s Coal Oven Pizzeria

Bakery

• Ferrara (Italian bakery in Little Italy)
• Domninique Ansel Bakery

We got to four of them (Clinton Hall, Kat'z Deli, The Halal Guys, Xi'an Famous Foods). So we have to come back to NYC for the rest.

Clinton Hall chain of restaurants is famous for their Double Smashed burgers. After watching Statue of Liberty from the Staten Island ferry (twice), we walked to their Financial District restaurant. There was plenty of outdoor seating with games available to play (like big blocks of Jenga). It was hot and humid so we went into the sportsbar-styled indoor restaurant for the AC. The burgers were good and we enjoyed them. The fries were ordinary and disappointing. Unlike the happy-with-Maggi me, the wife's tastebuds have a wider range. She liked the burgers and enjoyed them too but she thought it was overpriced at $19.

Kat'z Deli is a legend that was featured in many YouTube videos and Somebody Feed Phil's Netflix show. There was a lineup of maybe 15 people outside but it moved fast. As you enter, they gave us two tickets and directed us to a specific counter (they are called cutters). It was busy inside but we got a table without waiting long. We got two sandwiches: pastrami, and beef brisket. The beef brisket was a bit dry but the pastrami was delicious. We loved it. Wow! Now I understand why Kat'z is so popular. At $25 per sandwich, it's on the higher side but for a good-sized, loaded sandwich, and that juicy flavourful pastrami, it was worth it. Two sandwiches were enough for the four of us.

The Halal Guys is one of many halal chicken and rice food carts popular in NYC. At $10 for a rice combo, it was inexpensive but filling and tasty. They gave us packets of white sauce to add to the rice. That sauce was the secret magical ingredient. We got two rice and one wrap and ate it at the hotel's dining area. While we were eating, someone passed us by and he said it looked yummy. It was. Their hot sauce was very hot but I added a little. While it was filling and enough, we regretted not getting one more rice combo. If we stayed in NYC longer, this would have been a repeat item for sure.

There is another halal street food cart that had a long line up but we didn't try it. It is called Adel's Famous Halal Street Food at West 50th & 6th Avenue. The line was at least 20 people long and didn't shorten for the 20 mins or so I was observing it. Something for the next time.

Xi'an Famous Foods is a Chinese chain restaurant famous for their hand-pulled noodles in spicy sauce. Since the kids didn't eat spicy food, we only got two. I have eaten many varieties of noodles in Toronto but I had never eaten this style. It was a different kind of spicy (cumin). The fresh hand-pulled was chewy and the only regret I had was not eating it at the restaurant right away. That would have been even better. Now I have to look for Xi'an styled Chinese food in Toronto.

Besides the ones on my list, we had other interesting and satisfying meals including a stone-baked pizza on the street near Watkins Glen State Park, Shake Shack burgers and their curly fries (under Brooklyn bridge), Union Street Pizza near Union Street station in Brooklyn (this was near our hotel), Whole Foods deli at Columbus Circle, and many sub-sandwiches from the deli close to our hotel.

Out of the ones that we didn't go to, Ivan Ramen was the one I was looking forward to and it is the one that's been on my list for NYC for years (I went through a ramen phase). I hope to visit NYC again for work or pleasure and will put Ivan Ramen at the top the next time.

Adele

Adele: Dad, now my knee hurts.
Me: What about your thigh? Is it better?
Adele: Thigh doesn’t hurt anymore.
Me: At least it’s going down.

Parking

I stopped the car right in front of the busy Costco entrance to load things. I thought it would be a 2 seconds pit stop, but it took longer.

Dumb idea. All cars behind me had to go around.

One dude in a Mercedes Benz SUV yelled at me as he made the pass: What The F@&$ Man!

Returns

I dreaded returning the swimsuit at Costco on a Saturday morning. Instead of a 20 people queue, I was surprised to see only one person in front of me!

I asked the Costco guy walking by: "What happened? No lines?"

He said: "They knew you were coming."

I did a better job this time. Very few photos were underexposed. I am writing these down if I ever get to do it again.

Settings I used:

• External YongNuo flash was pointed at the ceiling, slightly angled forward
• The white card on the flash was raised to reflect light to the faces
• Flash was in automatic TTL exposure mode (I regret this)
• Camera on Shutter Priority (Tv in the dial)
• Shutter set to 1/100th
• ISO set to Auto (it picked 400 for all the photos)
• Aperture was Auto
• Autofocus (9-points covered most of the view)

I made 117 photos on birthday eve when they set up the decorations. Then, another 200 pictures for the birthday party dinner.

The photos were first reviewed in FastRawViewer to decide which ones to reject. Photography Life has a good article on using FastRawViewer. I use a simplified culling process.

FastRawViewer is keyboard friendly:

• Left/Right arrows navigate
• x for Reject (moves into a _Rejected folder)
• z for Zoom
• p to show edges, fine details (indicates in-focus area)

The selected photos were then copied to an SD card and imported into the iPhone, where basic edits were applied in Darkroom app (something I learnt recently from Sean Tucker's YouTube video). From Darkroom, the edited photos were exported into Google Drive and shared.

Things to try next time:

• iPad would be better than iPhone for Darkroom
• Manual power mode in flash
• ISO from 400 to 640 (half stop brighter)?
• Fuji + 18 f2 + Flash?

Why did Trudeau call an election now? Trudeau must be tired of compromising with the other parties (before this term, he had five years of majority rule where he didn't have to rely on them). The timing of the election is puzzling, but I am guessing he calculated his popularity is at its peak. His forecasts might have circumstances (economic, Covid) not getting any better next year. While it may not look well-timed now, Quebec, Alberta were out of Covid lockdown when he called elections in early August, and things were opening up in Ontario. Cases were going down, and vaccination rates pointed in the right direction. Those were sunny days.

Polls aren't predicting what he wanted: a majority government. Instead, he is likely to get another minority (his 3rd consecutive term). I don't expect it to last a year before the opposition gives him a no-confidence and votes him out. Next year this time, we might have another election, and the chances of Trudeau getting back then would be near zero (I can't see Canadians giving him another term).

When Trudeau won in 2015, defeating Harper, he got a rare majority government and near 40% of the votes (polls have him at 31% today). He made a lot of promises many of them he kept (most famously marijuana legalization, carbon tax, 50:50 male:female representation in his cabinet). He also handled Trump's presidency well (especially tariffs and NAFTA renegotiations, although a lot of credit for that goes to Deputy PM Freeland). Finally, I give high marks to Trudeau's patient, persistent, and firm response to the COVID pandemic.

But it isn't all roses with Trudeau. Ethical issues like his family's close ties to the WE Charity that was about to get a $912 million government contract raised doubts about corruption and competence. As well, the inappropriate pressure his office applied to the attorney-general for leniency in the SNC-Lavalin bribery case for political reasons (SNC-Lavalin threatened to move their 9,000 worker company from Quebec to elsewhere) betrayed poor judgement.

I don't know much about Conservative Party PM candidate Erin O'Toole or what promises they are making. I know more about NDP's Jagmeet Singh, although their promises are unrealistic and require a blank check (they are the 3rd major party that has never governed Canada).

Here are some of the things that I care about:

• A greener environment with fewer plastics, less human waste, price on emissions
• Affordable childcare
• No privatization of healthcare
• Keep religion out of public policy
• Less secretive governing
• Smaller budgets (waste less on Defence, bad IT projects)

The biggest issue with the Conservatives is their core supporters are in the oil money-dependent province of Alberta, so I can't see how they will do anything about a greener environment. On the other hand, Trudeau's Liberals and I align on most of these. They aren't perfect but the best option we have. So I think Canada will be better with him as a Prime Minister, but does he deserve another 5-year majority rule? I am not sure.

Michelle on the walk

Biking on the sidewalk just past McDonald's near my house, I met Michelle Chen (my friend's aunt). I waved at her as I passed her. It took a few seconds for her to complete the facial recognition (I don't think she has ever seen me on a bike with a helmet), but she did wave back.

Michelle is our travel inspiration. Before the pandemic, she would show us videos of her world travel over Thanksgiving dinner at her place and tell us stories. The last time we had such a gathering, she mentioned they were going to Las Vegas for the week before Christmas. So before the dinner was over, I had booked our first Las Vegas trip to join her group. There is magic in her turkeys.

New Kennedy Station

On the downside of the bridge near Rainbow Village (twin red 17 storey buildings where I used to live), I saw the nearly finished new Kennedy Station for the upcoming Light Rail Transit(LRT). It is a modern see-through glass-walled structure that will open to the public in 2022. This station is the first stop in the subway for Scarborough. It also connects to local buses, inter-city trains (GO Transit), and the ageing but special Scarborough-only overhead trains. I like train rides. I have gone on streetcars just for the journey.

Chan Chey

At the beginning of the bike trail, just past the silly walk section¹, a group of people were walking ahead of me. The little girl in the group was the first to notice me on the bike as I got close. She yelled out Chan Chey (bike in Cantonese) to her family and quickly got everyone to move to the right side of the trail.

Father, daughter roller skate

As I got to Jack Goodlad park, a girl was learning to roller skate with his father next to her. She lost her balance and fell, and the father started to pull her up. She said "No No No" loudly, clearly not quite ready yet. Both father and daughter were laughing throughout this awkward situation.

Community Garden

Crossing Kennedy Road and into The Meadoway, the first thing I see is Givendale Allotment Garden. It is a city-managed community garden where people get a small section to grow whatever people tend to grow in their backyard, except this is in a public space.

There are many like this along The Meadoway. When I bike past them, I slow down or stop to observe what goes on in there. I once saw a man carrying a large squash from one of these community gardens to his apartment nearby.

Father, son both in bikes

Further along, I stopped next to a father and son both on bikes at the Warden Avenue crossing. The son's helmet had a pointy thing on top like a shark fin. After crossing the street, he started accelerating and told his father to race me! race me!.

Cricket

The Meadoway is mostly a bike/walking trail with not many people around but it gets more lively at Wexford Park.

With the hydro tower as a backdrop, a group of boys played cricket with a tennis ball. They had a proper pitch and wickets. I stopped to watch an over of live-action. I was expecting slower than medium-pace bowling and less than athletic fielding given the casual game setting, but I was pleasantly surprised.

The bowling was faster than I expected, and there was only one wide ball in that over. The batting was good (no one got out), but the biggest surprise was the fielding.

The fielders (some with grey hair) got to the balls in time, didn't fumble, and made very accurate throws back to the wickets. What was even more impressive was the fielders covering behind the bowler or wicket-keeper when the throws came in. These weren't street cricketers like me. They were good.

Adele lookalike (younger version)

After crossing Victoria Park Avenue, I rode past a young lady walking her dog. She looked like a young Adele (the singer). Shortly after that, the bike trail ended at Eglinton Avenue, and I turned around to back. Yes, I did see the young Adele lookalike again.

Shred Here Now

On the way back, the last thing I remember was a delivery truck container permanently parked in a commercial area with the words Shred Here Now² and a phone number on the side. I have no idea what it was trying to advertise to people walking or biking along the trail. My first thoughts went towards the crime/drama themes.

I have been an on-and-off fan of Mark Wiens’ food videos. Last summer, the wife and I watched every video in the Round the World Trip for Food playlist, where he travelled to nine cities in Asia, Europe, and the US in about a month. He started in Bangkok, then Mumbai, Muscat, Istanbul, Rome, Stockholm, Barcelona, Lisbon, New York City, Hong Kong, and back to Bangkok.

We watched one video a day, so it took us weeks to watch all 39 videos. It had all things we like about his videos: We travelled virtually to new places with him and learnt about the food in those places, but what I enjoyed the most is his description of the food, the eating experience, and his expressions as he tastes them (sometimes, when I enjoy the food, I copy his signature head tilt too).

When I give a spoonful of rice to my kids, my mouth opens up as well. I have noticed this with others too. If I enjoyed watching him travel and eat, imagine how it would be doing it in person. His videos make me hungry for food and travel, especially to places like Thailand where I haven’t been. Before the pandemic, we had plans to visit Europe for 2020, and I had plans to visit India in 2021. It has been long.

Anyways, back to Mark Wiens. My son Aiden was watching a Mark Wiens video with us one day. Aiden also has a YouTube channel where he shares videos of him playing video games with his friends, including live commentary. I asked him to work in Mark Wiens’s quotes in his next video. He agreed. So I wrote down all the interesting Mark Wiens quotes from the video we were watching.

These are the quotes:

• Say Hello
• This is a huge production
• Almost ridiculous
• Oh, Wow!
• So good
• That’s the life-changer right there
• Amazing Day
• Oh, that’s good too
• Ultimate Best
• Unbelievable
• Awesome
• Oh, Man!
• Get ready
• That will change your life
• That’s style man
• Loosen the belt
• Incredibly Special Day
• I am going to take you and me to ____
• In the basket
• That is all you can ask for
• Oh, that’s insane
• That’s a game-changer
• That’s absolutely incredible
• Things are really starting to heat up
• I can’t wait
• Absolutely insane

To help Aiden work these into his commentary while playing Minecraft, my daughter Adele and I wrote these into pieces of paper and showed him one by one. He did manage to improvise all of them into his video, but many got cut in the editing.

Watch it yourself and see if you can figure them out. Enjoy!

Canada swiftly went into full lockdown mode while others took more time, and when they eventually did, people didn't cooperate.

I only know about three countries: Canada (where I live), India (where my parents and brothers live), and the US (because of the conman-who-was-president).

The population of Canada is 38 million, India is 1,374 million. For every person in Canada, you have 580 sq. meters of space. An Indian gets 50 sq. meters. [wikipedia]

India has 37 parties in the Lok Sabha, Canada's House of Commons has 5.

Indians are more social than Canadians. Things in Canada are more computerised, requiring less human interaction.

India makes Covid-19 vaccines; Canada doesn't. India doesn't have universal tax-funded healthcare like Canada.

You get the point.

I don't hear people in India complaining about Canadians, but I listen to people in Canada (mostly from India) complain about India's people.

First, it was about India not being effectively locked down, and then it was about people not social distancing, then about not wearing masks, then about the competency and pricing of the medical system, and now it will be about people in India being hesitant to take vaccines.

People in India are well equipped to decide on their own. They have their unique circumstances. If I sent one of those Canadians (from India) back, they would do the same as everyone else in India.

Of course, I think social distancing, wearing a mask, and vaccines are a good idea, but my father doesn't need me to tell him this. He never asked.

The day I can give him a glass of water and be there for him in person, I will provide him with unsolicited advice on how to take care of himself.

A typical sandwich has two slices of bread and something between.

The top slice of bread (or bun)

The top slice of bread (or bun) of a sandwich is its public face. It gives the eater the first impression of what the sandwich is. The shape of the bread, grilled or not, crust or not³, brown or white, flat, or curved...

Even when you have a side view of the sandwich with all layers, you still tend to judge it from the top slice.

Sometimes, they decorate it with something to tell it apart. A piece of tin foil, or pieces of coriander, or sesame (I hate it), or a short toothpick with a coloured plastic wrapping.

The special thing in the middle

The thing in the middle gives the sandwich its name (Ham, Turkey, Beyond Meat, Vegetable⁴). It's what we are eating the sandwich for. It's the biggest deal.

The middle something is also where all the creativity and variety exists.

At Subways, you get white or brown bread, two choices, but for the middle, there are so many choices it boggles the mind. If you aren't a seasoned Subways eater, you might as well go with the Sub Of The Day to spare yourself from the stare of the Subway guy and the next customer breathing down the back of your neck (pre-pandemic).

The middle something is also critical for vegetarians¹. When Beyond Meat was introduced, I thought it was for meat-eaters, as a way to occasionally or gradually eat vegetarian. Then I talked to my vegetarian colleague about it, and I learnt something interesting.

Plant-based meat substitutes like Beyond Meat are a good thing for her family, giving them something to eat at burger restaurants in Montreal or when they are travelling to the US (you get tired of cheese pizza and fries). Even at home, she is now able to make meals with a recipe for meats. That is the beauty of a drop-in substitute like Beyond Meat in contrast to things like soya chunks that isn't a like-for-like substitute.

So we covered proteins in a sandwich. If we are eating the sandwich for lunch or dinner, it will also include some vegetable and tomato², and other things like mushrooms, cheese, and condiments.

The bottom slice of bread (or bun)

The bottom is typically made of the same ingredient as the top slice but it is not the same. It is shaped for holding up the entire thing and tends to be flat on both sides. Besides bearing the full weight of the sandwich, and being the least visible, it is also the least appreciated. Sounds familiar?!

It might not be the one that the sandwich is judged on or the one that the sandwich is desired for but without the bottom, there is no sandwich.

It is also the one that gets the ugly (but very important) thumbs of the eater instead of the tender grips of the slender and more coveted index and ring fingers.

So what are you?

Just like a sandwich, in a family, siblings think of themselves as different parts of a sandwich. At work, in a team, some will get more attention than others, but everyone is required to make the teamwork, even the bottom slice.

Unlike the sandwich, in life, we get to switch roles: we may start as the lowly bottom slice, carrying all the weight and soaking up all the grease, and itself being sandwiched between the special middle and the cold plate. With time, effort, and luck, we can become the top slice or even the special middle.

Or does it matter at all? Whether you are an important part of the sandwich or not, ultimately your job is to get eaten. Would you rather be the eater instead?