Life Etc Etc

The mind craves for outdoor recreation but where do you go? Fortunately Canada, the land of tranquil lakes and alluring regional parks has a number of avenues for trekking and outdoor activities. Where: Hamilton, Ontario. half an hour drive from Toronto, Ontario. Why:   Webster Falls Tew Falls Dundas Peak Need I say Anymore? For the record: Tew's Falls at 41 meters is just a wee bit shorter than Niagara Falls at 52 meters.   Webster falls stands at 22 meters and the lush greenery surrounding the place is a sight for sore eyes. The walk leading up to the falls and the sight of the falls is one which I will certainly treasure for a long time. Dundas Peak overlooking the Dundas town is a very popular selfie spot . The elevation of about 150 m with jagged rocks and a view of the Spencer Gorge is a nice place to rest and reminisce after a hard day's trek.  Dundas Peak: Dangle your legs but not yourself When to Visit: May to Octobe

What do you do with memories ? The bad ones you discard right away but what about the good ones? Some become photos, some find their place in videos, some end up as trophies, certificates, or even memorabilia but what about the rest? What do you do with them? Ok! Ok! I hear you guys. I am coming to the point. A year and a half ago while I was busy making arrangements to shift houses, my father handed me a large green folder and said, "Son! now you decide what to do with these." The weight with which he delivered those words told me that there was something important in the folder. When I looked inside, I was surprised to see my childhood report cards, newsletters & news paper cuttings which carried my name, my school id card, my first bus pass, birthday greeting cards the list goes on and on. My childhood flashed before my eyes and I was really happy to spend that afternoon glossing over all the folder contents. But the happiness soon gave way to a dilemma when

As a sports fan, I have endured countless debacles over the last few decades. I still remember the Indian Cricket Team collapsing like a pack of cards in the 96' World Cup semi-final , can recall Dhanraj Pillay's tears when India lost a medal chance by a whisker in the 2000 Olympics, still dwell upon what would have happened if Saurav Ganguly elected to bat first instead of putting Australia in on a flat track in the 2003 Final and still find it hard to digest Andy Roddick's  ultra narrow loss to Roger Federer in the 2009 Wimbledon Final . Every hurt is different, some fade away with time and some live on, only to flare up every time a similar incident happens. A devasted Mithali Raj along with Harmanpreet Kaur  Today those hurts of the past flared up again when an inexperienced but talented Indian team lost to an English team resembling a well oiled machinery. This was not just any match it was the World Cup Final and it was a final we were winning. As someone

It was a perfectly drab morning and I was gearing up for the day ahead by peering through the sports headlines. Nothing exciting struck me until I laid my eyes upon an ongoing quarterfinal match at The Queen's Club Championship between Tomas Berdych and Feliciano Lopez . Now Berdych vs Lopez is not exactly a match-up to crave about like Federer vs Nadal. Both men are in their 30's which is the age where most players retire. Both men are seemingly past their prime and both haven't exactly set the tennis world on fire in the recent past. If it was another day or time I would have moved on to do something else but today was different, I decided to go ahead and watch the match. You ask me why? I still wonder why? Is it because that both Berdych and Lopez are genuine grass court players? Is it because that on their day both men are extremely dangerous players? Is it because that it was a match up of styles between the power of Berdych and the silken finesse of Lo

The Plot Neville Strange is handsome, athletic and wealthy. He is a gentleman who wears his heart on the sleeve and cannot help but be sportive even when he loses a tennis match at Wimbledon. His good looks and impeccable manners make him irresistible to all women. Neville is planning for a fall vacation at Gull's Point  with both his wife Kay and his ex-wife Audrey . Neville plans to use the vacation to make it up to Audrey for leaving her to marry Kay. Kay reluctantly agrees to Neville's plan but deep in her heart resents Audrey very much. Ted Latimer , the childhood friend of Kay Strange is tagging along with the couple to Gull's Point. Ted cares for Kay beyond anything else and carries a flame in his heart for her even after her marriage to Neville. Thomas Royde , the Malayan planter and cousin of Audrey is coming to Gull's point too. Thomas adores Audrey and intends to ask her hand in marriage during the course of the vacation. Lady Tressilian is the m

It gives me immense pleasure to celebrate the milestone of reaching 50 blog posts . This has not been an easy journey, there were days when I wanted to stop it all and there were some when I couldn't frankly figure out what to write. Quite often I found myself stumped, stupefied and shackled but figuring a way out through the hurdles that mind imposes made this journey extremely rewarding. After all life is all about mending your mind and getting the job done. ' Life Etc Etc ' is the best job I had after my regular job but little did I know how far I would come when it all began six and a half years ago. It was the last semester of my MBA and as part of my 'Internet Marketing' course we were all supposed to create a blog and write at least six posts before the end of the semester. I always wanted to provide an outlet for my perspectives. With my experience in blogging, I thought this would be a great chance to hone my business writing skills and update myself on

The Plot It's 1973, the Cold War is at it's peak and the war with Vietnam has just ended. William Randa ( John Goodman ) working for the top secret organization ' Monarch ' has pulled all the possible strings to procure government permission for exploring the remote and hitherto untouched ' Skull Island ' in the South Pacific. The goal of the mission - To excavate and unearth the hidden treasures on the island which has so far been inaccessible to all civilized life. Accompanying the scientists on this dangerous expedition are expert forest navigator ex-Capt. James Conrad ( Tom Hiddleston best known as Loki in Thor and The Avengers ), the Sky Devils helicopter squadron led by embattled and disgruntled Lt. Col. Preston Packard ( Samuel L. Jackson ) and truth seeking war photographer Mason Weaver ( Brie Larson ). What dangers await the team on Skull Island? Is Kong a savior or a destroyer? Will anyone escape the island alive? To answer all of these questions.

The turn of the millennium signaled the business end of school for me. With the retirement of most of my favorites I no longer found the time to follow and watch tennis. But all of that was about to change with the comeback of a  hero  whom no one gave a chance. 2001 Wimbledon I had just finished school when the 2001 Wimbledon Championships rolled in. I had plenty of time on hand but had no interest in the championships as Pete Sampras the defending champion was in ominous form and with all due respect to Sampras I had no interest seeing him lift the trophy once again. Two days into Wimbledon I was extremely surprised and thrilled to know that Ivanisevic was playing in the championships on a wild card . By that point Ivanisevic had almost retired with a recurring shoulder injury. If a slump in form and fitness wasn't enough his father's heart problem and sister's cancer diagnosis pushed him to the edge. Ranked 125 in the world , his final attempt at glory was a

2017 Australian Open is done and dusted. Roger Federer is once again the Australian Open Champion standing tall at the end of it all. The news headlines have been talking all week about what a great comeback this is from Federer. While I agreed with them, I couldn't help but go back in time to remember the comeback of comebacks . Yes, back in the day there was a comeback made by a man who was all but forgotten. He was a fighter, a champion and a hero for all seasons . He was Goran Ivanisevic . Goran Ivanisevic I hadn't started watching tennis yet when Goran Ivanisevic (Pronounced as ee-wan-is-a-witch ) burst onto the tennis scene as a precocious teenager. The year was 1990 and Goran stamped his presence on the Wimbledon Championships when he gave three time Wimbledon Champion, Boris Becker a real scare in the semis . The next time we heard about Goran was in the 1992 Wimbledon Championships. I had only just started watching tennis in 1992 but little did I know t

2016 has been a banner year for social media apps such as Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram each trumping the other with exciting innovations to wow their respective user bases. As someone who dabbles in mobile apps here are 5 trends which I believe will revolutionize the world we live in the years going forward. Btw, I hope you like salt because you can only take the trends below with a pinch (Nah! I believe you need a bucket) of salt.  1. Facebook Stars : Move away Film Stars as Facebook Stars take center stage. In cricket, an all-rounder is someone with career stats of more than 2000 runs, 100 wickets and 100 catches. Similarly, a Facebook Star is someone with more than 1000 friends, whose every update receives a minimum of 300 likes and 100 comments. Facebook Stars are the traffic constables of the social media world, when they post something everything stops and even people who are fast asleep wake up to respond. What talent! What power! What im

New Year is upon us and this holiday season is the perfect time to sit back and relax with some exciting movies. Steven Spielberg's   Duel  is one such movie which can pump some life into a sagging evening or a drowsy afternoon. The Plot  Mild mannered and middle aged salesman David Mann ( Dennis Weaver ) is driving on a freeway in the California desert for a business trip. David is essentially non-combative and even his wife complains against his pacifist approach when he doesn't react after one of his acquaintances misbehaves with her. With a sensitive personal situation on hand, all David wants to do is finish the trip and get back home as early as possible. That's until he runs into the Truck. On a narrow two lane freeway the truck completely halts David's momentum. Recognizing that time is running out, David overtakes the truck only for the truck to overtake him again. The cycle repeats and soon the game of overtaking takes a nasty turn when the truck runs