Baby corn manchurian

I found some baby corn at the Chinese grocery the other day and what better to make than baby-corn manchurian? Here’s a quick look at it -

And what better to eat it with than jeera rice?

Both being very traditional and well-followed recipes, I am not going to bother giving them here. If anyone needs to know, drop me a line… Bon Appétit!

The man.. the master.. the legend

This one had to be mentioned. By now, every single Indian in the world must have touted it wherever possible.. the immediate tweets and FB statuses said it all… Sachin Tendulkar, India’s own God of Cricket achieved the impossible – a double century in an ODI (One Day Internationals).

Read all you can read here.

Watch the highlights here.

For this moment in history, let us all take pride in this man.. in this game.. in this achievement. Hail Sachin! Signing off as a proud Indian…….

Does Karma exist?

Note: In this context, I am purely talking about "payback" and not the destiny cycle as defined by Hinduism.

  

Do you believe in Karma? Like if someone did something wrong, do you believe that eventually, surely it  will bite them in the ass? And even if you believed it, does it make you feel any better about the injustice that was meted out to you? No offense to anyone, but I only believe in Karma to the extent of limiting my own "bad" actions so as to not suffer from something else in the future and then wonder if that "bad deed" was what caused the sufferance in the first place. If only everyone followed this give-and-take policy, people would be erring on the side of caution. As for how it affects other people, I find no solace in consoling myself that they will pay for it, especially while I am nowhere around to witness it. You know what I mean? If someone stole your ideas and profited from it (not too scientific, mind you or on the lines of plagiarism), what good is it going to do you if you believed that he/she will somehow pay for it in the future? And that too after they benefited from your ideas. And it seems much more satisfying to take things in your own hands. And this isn't one of those take-the-law-into-your-hands kind of situations either. This is something personal... something you want to do... something for which laws don't exist.. something that just surpasses the moral boundaries that you've set.. something that is so irritatingly important for you to settle for yourself... something that you owe to yourself... something. Bah, Karma isn't waiting around to redeem you. It's off busy with the bigger bad-doers. So you might as well take this in your hands right? Glad you agree. Only the piece of your mind can bring peace to your mind. Ah wordplay! Time to grab the fictitious bull by the horns.

PS: Any violent actions against anyone/anything are strongly discouraged (unless it's a stress-buster/punching bag, in which case, go for it!!)

Save the tigers - PLEASE!

This is an appeal to all of you individually. And if any authority ever comes across this and they should, I wildly hope that this "park" is shut down, the tigers rescued and treated and their dignity, restored. The fate of my favourite animal literally moved me to tears. You can read and see evidence of this ridiculous cruelty here - http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1252500/Exposed-Dark-secret-farm-tigers-bodies-plundered-make-185-wine.html. And please, please spread the word.... Blog it, Buzz it, FB it, whatever... The power of the word is greater than we think and it's the absolute least that we can do.

The mouthpiece

Are you one of those people who can speak to anyone else, stranger or not, with equal ease? Well, that just makes life simpler, doesn't it? Especially for the people around you. For as long as I can remember, the people in my life have used my unabashed-ness as their tool to information. I have always been the one they ask to call someplace and find some information, be it to check if someone's flight is arriving on time or make reservations at a restaurant. And in fact I was so used to getting on it by myself, that it took me a while to realize that everyone else around me was just as eager to dump the responsibility on me too. I suspect my mom was on the same boat as me. It's all ok now when you are old/young enough to get away with most things you are asking about on the phone. But being a trained "mouthpiece" from very young has it's disastrously comical outcomes. 

I once remember when I was really little, maybe 12, when my brother was back from some eye appointment and it hadn't gone well and he had had some allergic reaction to some drops or something like that. Me being me, I called the doctor's office to enquire what had gone wrong. The doctor's husband picked the phone and I asked for his wife. He asked me who was calling and as naive as I was, I didn't want to admit to being the patient's kid sister. And so I told the next obvious thing - that I was his mom. Now when I think back about it, I can laugh over it... but it was humiliating back then when the husband did handover the phone to his wife while audibly saying, "It's a child saying she is your patient's mother."  Gulp.

And so I learned early... don't let the others' excuses fool you. Be it improving your language skills, or interpersonal communication, the only reason you are doing it and they are not is because they've labeled you the mouthpiece. If someone else can do it better, you should probably make them do it, even if they convince you that you are the best person for the job. After all, how hard can it be to dump back some of that responsibility on them?

Spicy Sabudana Vada

Ahhh it's been a trillion years since I food-blogged and I am sure most of you must’ve wondered if I’d stopped making different things or what. To be honest, I kinda did… Getting home late only meant that I was whipping 15 minute dinners on a daily basis. If it wasn’t quickfire bisibela bath, it was some fried rice. If it wasn’t subji-chapathi, it was noodles. And so on.. But today I soaked some sabudana (jevarusi in tamil or tapioca for the rest of you) to make sabudana khichdi. However once I got home, I thought it’d be more fun to make sabudana vadas instead. Here’s a first look-

So here’s what you need..

Tip: The sabudana becomes more than double the quantity once soaked 6-8 hours. Plan accordingly. So it's just enough if you soak half a cup of sabudana in half a cup of water. Filter after 8 hours.

Ingredient	Quantity
Soaked sabudana	1 cup
Mashed/Grated potatoes	2 large
Green chillies	3 large finely chopped
Onions	1 finely chopped
Rice flour	3 tablespoons
For seasoning
Salt, turmeric, red chilli powder	To taste

Mix all the above ingredients into a thick dough. To get the consistency right, make sure you squeeze out the potatoes and the sabudana well enough to avoid excess liquid hampering the consistency. The dough should look something like this -

How?
Ah the simple part! Make patties off them and deep fry! That’s the one-line version and that’s pretty much all there is to it. Comply with typical deep frying funda -
1. Wait till the oil is hot enough. Test it by putting a small bit of “dough” into it and see if it rises immediately.
2. Put in as many patties as your container can take and let them sit and turn golden brown on one side before turning them over and letting them brown on the other.
And voilà, here you go, one more look -

Serve with ketchup/chutney and enjoy.. Bon Appétit!

Truth or mad?

How many times have you told sometimes ridiculous truths only to be scoffed at? And what's your reaction at those times? Here's a lousy example to get you in the groove of the discussion. You missed a meeting because Murphy made you project-of-the-day. Still don't know what I am talking about? Something like this happened. You narrate your sorry tale to anyone who'd listen only to be smirked at in response, as if to say "as if". What's your reaction then? Are you just satisfied that you have indeed told them the truth and they in return, believing you or not is something that you care about or are not concerned with - after all, you did tell it as it happened. Or are you a bit like me? Going to some length to prove that it did indeed happen? Being a predominantly honest person, in that I never lie in situations of importance, it irks me if someone gives me the yeah right take on something that really did happen to me. And so I feel the need to prove it, not just to show that as far as that instance was concerned, I was right, but also to prove that every other time I have come up with something as unlikely, it did happen. Know what I mean? So where do you belong? Calm, composed and devil-may-care or just a little pissed off that people have no value for credibility however incredulous it maybe? Truths only please.

Heal the world..

Is it me or has the world totally gone mad? This is no trick question and as a matter of fact, it's only terribly easy to answer this one. Yes, the world has gone mad. Look at what's happening around us. The bomb blast in Pune... the train crash in Belgium... the earthquake in Haiti. And that's only the top 3 disasters off the top of my head. Everyday I open any news page, there's nothing to rejoice. If it's not about the Afghan war, it's about the poverty and starvation in some country. If it's not an Olympic death, it's about an Italian landslide. And what's with all those unexplained bulk airplane crashes in recent times anyways? Be it Air France or YemenAir - what's going on?? After witnessing the events that the world has undergone in just the recent past, suddenly the 2012 predictions for the end of the world is not looking so implausible after all.

Just take our basic behavior with one another. It sort of reminds me of a Frasier episode in which Niles wonders aloud if all social etiquette has died. So many people are no longer considerate about the many basic courtesies that at least some of us are used to... and these are not even the antediluvian chivalrous acts like holding a door open for a lady or something. These are basic at best -

1. The verbal courtesies - When did it become uncommon to thank someone for something? Not just that, taking someone for granted ranks high up there in the social non-etiquette. Returning pleasantries is another thing. Being rude is an entirely new level, which seems to occupy the most-opted for pedestal in recent times. Is it too hard to be polite upfront? Like someone once said, if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say it at all. Go figure.

2. The physical courtesies - One can only wonder how it is possible to go wrong here. And I am not talking extremist-terrorist behavior, but just ordinary everyday people in everyday interactions. You bang into someone.. you're in a hurry, but yes, everyone's in some world's-rushing-by-and-I've-got-to-catch-up hurry too, but it's only polite to apologize, no matter whose fault it was. You knock someone down.. please apologize even more profusely and help them on their feet. Do not run away in either situation, unless you tried to steal something from them and actually succeeded. Simple? You'd think so.

3. The mental courtesies - No matter whom you are pissed of at, do not take it out on another innocent person. It may have been bad service at a restaurant or just a bad dream, but taking it out on someone else only spreads the ill-humour, like ripples in a pond. So do everyone a favour, including yourself, and let it rest. Deal with it.

Don't you think just including these ultra-basic courtesies in our everyday lives will make domestic and social situations much more pleasant and easier to deal with? And yes, I realize that none of this is going to solve any of the worldly problems that I began with in the first place. But it will help us remain civil with one another and help one another out in situations that demand it. And while we are on etiquette, please show some respect for the place you dwell in as well. And yes, that means, please find a dustbin to stow away the trash or cigarette butts and refrain from spitting that gum on the road or sticking it what you think is a hidden corner, no matter how tempting it is. It's a humble request on behalf of everyone who's found gum in the unlikeliest of places and been icked out by it.

Is it so wrong to want to "heal" the world? Let's give it a shot.. one band-aid at a time.

To my Paati who bore the brunt of one of society's uncouth examples, get well soon.

Saving the souvenirs

Ever gone to a place and collected all sorts of bizarre things by telling yourself you’ll keep it as a “souvenir'”? Of course I mean those things which aren’t actually the ones sold at stores exclusively for the purpose of keeping something as a token of your trip like shot-glasses (want to see our collection? See it here. Of course it’s far expanded now) or refrigerator magnets. I mean the later meaningless things like travel tickets, or entrance tickets to the various attractions, coins and currency notes, visiting cards from interesting places and what not. More often than not, once you are back from the trip, it’s all about the photographs and all these other “souvenirs” you picked up along the way either remain ignored or worse, trashed. So for a change, when S and I picked up all these things along the way in our Prague trip, we decided to put them to place. So here it is -

Fortunately, we found all our stuff from the Rome trip last year as well.. and hence that’s a work in progress. So here’s something saved as a different sort of memory, this time in honour of the place alone and not the way we visited it. Here’s to more trips and more memories! Cheers!

Postcards from Prague

So here it is… 4 days , 1330+ pictures later, just 3 photos.. to represent the wholesome spirit of Prague. This first one says it all – a beautiful castle overlooking the entire city, a lovely river that separates the castle and the Old town and the medieval architecture if that wasn’t enough..

And then this one of the twilight. Twilight is brilliant in Prague, making the entire sky a beautiful inky blue. What better to see it against but the gothic church of Old Town? Here, decide for yourself..

And here’s one last picture.. this one for a quirky fact. The longest escalator in all of Europe in the Metro station of Namesti Miru.. At a whopping 88m high and an arduous 2 minutes 30 seconds long and over 400 steps, it’s one hell of a “ride”. What’s worse? The advertisements on the side walls are also posted at an angle. So, if you lean to read them, you may feel a slight spin of vertigo chugging along with you. And the worstest part? The escalators are at least twice as fast as anything normal you’ve gone on before. That means quick step-on and quick step-off. With no elevators in sight on most Metros and the extra'-tall, extra-long ride ahead, it’s an everyday amusement for the “fearless” and intimidating for the rest. Ok ok, I sense it’s enough build-up. Here’s a pic; And what you think is the top, is not. Go figure.

Dobry Den from Prague!!

Playing the trump card..

Of course in many situations what I am about to say won't probably matter... but if it does, would you be complaining? For instance, merely asking the flight check-in people if there are seats available in first class on a sparingly-filled plane has enabled many people who wouldn't otherwise buy an exclusive first class ticket to be able to travel in first-class comfort, all because of one thing - they asked. The people who asked certainly aren't going to be the ones complaining. But I bet it'd invoke a bout of incredulity or grumbling from others in earshot at the "luck" you chanced out at... But here's the thing... not many people bother asking at all. They either think it's embarrassing if turned down or unethical or plain weird. Mostly it's the first one. They are too embarrassed to try. But here's the other thing - where better to "embarrass" yourself than in front of a bunch of strangers you are hardly likely to set eyes on again. And even if you did, it's not like asking for first class seats is going to reduce your standing with them in any significant manner. So, why not?

So after all this subconscious analysis about similar situations, I decided it was worth a try to get a piece of all this action. People were kinder and more giving than we gave them credit for, after all. So what was I to lose by trying?

First try. So when I sent an email reminder to our hotel in Prague, intimating them of our time of arrival, I dropped in the hint that it was our wedding anniversary trip. And guess what? We'd only booked a simple double room but they gave us a spacious top-floor suite at no extra charge. And I am only guessing that this and the part where they threw in the complementary breakfast every morning was all because of this simple mention on the email or sheer good luck.

Second try. Mention the occasion at Hard Rock Café at dinner. And voilà, chocolate fudge sundae on the house with a souvenir

Third try. The word at Khajuraho, the fabulous Indian restaurant on Old Town. And? Free gulab jamun for dessert and a handy little embroidered purse for me.

So there we go.. three attempts and no strikes. Of course none of the attempts were totally legitimate in trying to get extra favours from the attending staff. What was just a mention of the date was acknowledged for it's merit. And that's why there was no risk of embarrassment and a weird sense of "accomplishment" in these deeds. So is there any of you out there with tried and tested experiences to share? Find the comments section and tap away...

And yes, some Praha pictures are lining up to make their way up on MindBlogging. Keep watching this space! Thanks :)

Pirates of the movie industry..

Just today when S was watching a series of videos on Indiaglitz, I eavesdropped on an interview by Karthi, the star of the recent movie, Aayirathil Oruvan. It was basically a plea to stop piracy and avoid the flooding of bootlegged copies of the movie on CDs and Internet likewise. And it sparked this entire blog and a worthy discussion at that.

Of course anyone with the slightest scruples of morals would agree that it is indeed unfortunate for the producers who dished out all that money in making the movie to not get their fair share from the movie watchers. But you know what? All of that makes sense if you were pretty petty sitting in India with a million theatres available to see the movie, and still chose the slow internet + download-cap ridden broadband to sit and download a lousy copy of the movie to see it at the comfort of your home. Indeed I know of no one who does that. On the other hand, bootlegged CDs and DVDs are a real problem. What's shocking in some cases is that the print is pristine. Practically as good as what the late "officially-released" versions are likely to have, indicating that the leak is somewhere high up the order, alongside the copies being distributed to theatres for shows. And that comes down to trusting the wrong people, which is up to the distributors.

On the other hand, I am certain that less than 10% of the people want to see a shaky handy-cam footage of a movie on a CD that cost 30 bucks (Indian rupees) anyways rather than pay a bit more and hit the cinemas or wait further for a decent copy to turn up. But the real conundrum lies with the actions of people living away from immediate access to these movies. Eg. People like me. What do we do? None of these movies release here in Paris (Hindi and Tamil alike) unless they are of exceptionally big banner (read Rajinikant). And hence the pseudo-Indian market is strewn with copies of the latest movies, weeks after the release. So are we morally wrong to buy them as the only opportunity to watch the movies? Or is it worse downloading a semi-decent copy of the movie before all the copyright infringements pounce in and wipe them off the Internet? In this case, is it the fault of the distributors for not catering to scattered audiences across the world or is it ours for wanting to see them with the best solution to the earliest-possible-time-cum-least-cost problem?

All the same, I know of people with extremely high morals who would never buy music unless it was the original CD, and the likes of that. I must admit that my ethics aren't on that kind of pedestal as far as the entertainment business is concerned. It was like I was trying to explain to S. It isn't that I go looking for opportunities to "pirate", but I don't unconditionally stop them either. In other words, if someone invited me to watch a downloaded version of a brand-new movie, I wasn't going to call in the cops and raise hell. Unfortunately I guess most of us are in the same page. Which brings us to the other big issue. Are we at fault for downloading these movies/songs or does the blame solely rest with the people who first obtained pirated copies and put them up for download? For a wafer-thin argument siding "us", if it wasn't freely available, we weren't going to do anything phenomenal to find it, are we? Another of those grey areas in the context of right or wrong. And since this topic relates to something we've all done or seen done in the past, I'd like to hear from the rest of you on where you stand in this whole issue from the moral viewpoint and otherwise. Anti-piracy? Prove it.

Proof that it's Kaliyug

Birds getting "divorced"! What more evidence did you need? Here's the news article - http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/gloucestershire/8477351.stm

What's the world coming to?

The GMail search engine..

We all know that Google has become synonymous with search engine. Indeed an entire verb has evolved and now, "googling it" is practically the doorway to information. But recently I have used GMail as an effective search engine - for my friends. Those of you on my Gtalk would've seen the now-familar, "Someone, where are you?" status message under my name. Call it bizarre, but I have had responses to these statuses. Either the "missed" people or closed friends have responded, either enquiring welfare or giving me location information, both of which was deeply appreciated. See? Mission accomplished. Thanks, GMail.

On a different note, I have been trying to wean myself this past week from addictive GMailing. And I daresay that the first step to succeeding is to remain logged off from chat throughout the day. First step? Check. Next Step? Only check email at random intervals. Am working on that... After all, mountains can't be scaled in one day by foot.

The Lazy Susan earring organizer

Ah so it was one of those days where I was trying to find places for some of the things I had and just find some other things. So I ran across this lampshade which I hadn’t hoisted up on the bulb in one of the rooms and I figured I wasn’t getting around to it any time soon. And just then, I couldn’t find one of my favorite pair of earrings. And all of a sudden I decided to put the 2 together. Sure, S thought I was nuts when he saw me piercing the earrings I could find on the lampshade, but only until he saw the finished product. Here’s your first look.

Well, so the centre spindle of the lampshade rests on an empty wine bottle. And so, guess what? it spins freely and just like the displays in stores, I can check out everything to choose whatever I want to wear. The other upside? I can put them back the right way each time. Of course I have to keep this thing near my bed because I am less likelier to take off my earrings any other place.  But anyhoo, here’s another look at this resultant piece of an hour of joblessness.

Oh and one side, I’ve clipped my hair accessories. Oh, a win win all the way!

Oh BTW, do you know that the phrase Lazy Susan has an interesting story? You can read it here. Cheerio!

Short circuit

Ever wanted to cower in the corner and pray for the dark forces to take you? Well, you’d probably understand that feeling if you’ve ever done circuit training at the gym. After my first evening at it, I am kinda wishing it was the good old days of comparatively easy-peasy Total body Workout Wednesdays at SD. This was pure hell. The only time I was truly relieved was when I was at the last lap of the 3-repetition circuit. And that was of course knowing that it would all be okay soon. That I would soon breathe normally again. And that I may just survive.  I am never going to see a pot of yogurt the same way again and think – oh it’s just 45 calories if this is the way I have to burn it. Lol. Talk about learning things the hard way. Ah well, the joys of burning all those calories only engulfs you when you step out to the freezing cold and don’t feel it. Every cloud has a silver lining. Of course people like S view the cloud itself as a silver lining in this pretext. Here’s hoping perceptions change and I enjoy gymming as much as he does (I bet that’ll happen once the bathroom scales and the mirror start talking to me). That should put the fuse on this short circuit, shouldn’t it?

MindBlogging goes global..

I check the visitor map for MindBlogging periodically just to see where the word has spread. Today I had a nice surprise in store. Here, see for yourself!

Thank you all for visiting even in this time of sporadic posting! I promise I have 3-4 posts sitting as drafts just waiting for completion. And I am getting to it. Meanwhile, as always, keep visiting and keep commenting. Xoxo.

I swear........

Not everyone is an "emotional" person. By that I mean that not everyone is prone to express their emotions in the most obvious of manners for all to see. For instance, some people are easy to be provoked to tears/tirades/laughter etc., but some others are not. I, for one can reflect either extreme as I please and according to situation. But by default I think I am a more expressive person. My face/eyes give away my reaction before it's vocal. However, this isn't what I am talking about here. Some emotions drive us more strongly than others. And identifying it may help us focus it in a more desirable manner than leading to detrimental effects. For some people it's sadness... some others it's jealousy. But for me, it's anger/rage. It's my most palpable emotion. Sometimes I feel so strongly about something that I can almost feel the adrenaline coursing through my veins and me wanting to explode. Thankfully I've started streamlining it. To address the immediate problem, I've realized that a slew of well-chosen expletives/ghastly profanity against the situation really really helps. And no, thinking it does not have the same effect as verbally expressing it, no matter how un-ladylike it maybe. In fact I think I read a news item on BBC a while back, which said that this was a scientific fact that swearing actually takes away pain. They meant physical pain but it also addresses the psycological side to some extent. And it has another advantage. You don't end up breaking something to vent out your frustration and since it's all verbal, as long as it's not against any one person in particular (and they hear it), no harm done! Ok so you've made your "peace" with the situation by swearing it away, but there is still all that extra energy that your body is feeling at that time. Put it to use. Often I get a lot of work done if I was pissed off at something. Consequently inadvertant train delays/broken-down equipment yield some of my most-productive desk work. Funny, yet true! Anyone else on the same train of thought? Voice up!

The case of the missing atta bag..

This is one of those real-life mysteries to which the solution lies only in conjuncture but with no sure-shot evidence whatsoever. So, it being a lazy Sunday morning, I finally conceded to the loud grumbles of our famished tummies at 11:30 in the morning to try and make something quick for lunch. A quick peek into the fridge confirmed the worst. All I had was a couple of bell peppers and some peas. I had potatoes and onions elsewhere and so I thought I’d whip up a random subji and make a couple of parathas each for S and me. I washed the bell peppers and placed my onions and potatoes together with them on the cutting board. I decided I would make the dough for the parathas first so that while I made the subji, the dough would get some “sitting” time which makes the parathas come out so much better. And so I took out my conventional dough-kneading bowl and set it on the counter and leaned over to reach out for the bag of Pilsbury atta. Only it wasn’t there. Don’t you just hate it when that happens to you? You always leave something somewhere and the next time you look for it, it isn’t there. Needless to say, I was completely bamboozled, considering that the Atta bag was the one fixture in it’s own corner on the floor (I keep it there owing to lack of any storage space whatsoever in my minuscule kitchen). What ensued was a hunt, a clean sweep of the kitchen and the hall even… and no atta bag. The bag in which the Pilsbury atta bag sat was there, but empty. Also missing was my measuring ladle. And so I racked my brains. When did I last make something with it? It was one of the weeknights for dinner. Thursday I guessed. When did I take out the trash last? Also Thursday. Did I accidentally throw it out? And so I recalled my garbage –throwing sequence. No, I only had one trash can for the kitchen and yes, I threw out only one garbage bag. Of this I was certain. In the disbelieving wake, I continued to rummage the already-checked cabinets and the obviously empty floor and under the sofa and what not, irking S in the process and with no result or explanation. The only only possibility was that the dudes who came to check the exhaust on the kitchen’s heater unit yesterday thought they were cleaning up when they picked up their trash and my atta bag and left. This is only an assumption of course and there’s no telling it did happen. And if it didn’t, it means I have no explanation left. Hmph.

The digital photo conundrum

Ok, moment of truth. How many of us have thanked technology for coming up with digital photography? Almost all of us I bet. Every household now boasts at least one digital camera. All the uncles and auntys are totally familiar with the USB cable and picture transfer, all the way to the uploading of the images on the internet and web-sharing as well. The good old days of film roll are now obsolete and so are the first digicams that had floppy disk/zip drive memories. Now's the age of miniaturization, what with the advanced memory devices which started out at SD and have gone well and beyond micro-SD to built in large memories too. Everything's as perfect can be.

I have a confession to make. I am not entirely satisfied with this arrangement. Back at home in India, we have a huge cabinet stuffed with picture albums that document the childhood of my brother and me. It has all those trips we made as a family, those birthdays, those family outings, my brother's upanayanam, our Kuwait days, and what not. And sifting through these pictures every vacation is a trip down memory lane for me. And though I can do a similar thing on the laptop, sifting through folder after folder of saved photos, I don't do it. And even if I did the warm glow of memories isn't as strong. I don't know why. There's another problem in this. In the days of the film roll which restricted us to 36 pictures per roll (with a charge for development and approximately Rs 5 per "maxi" print), we were judicious in our usage of the roll. And hence every photo was thought out and worth it. Come the digitial era, of course we are thankful for it eliminates the mental tension of waiting for the photos to develop - Was the film inserted correctly? Will Ihave a blank roll? Were too many pics blurred? No tension at all. Instant previews. A bit blurry? No problem. Take 3-4 pictures extra just to make sure you got everything right. You can always delete the ones you don't want later. But hang on a second... how many of you actually go through all the pictures and delete the ones that don't need to be kept? I do. And it's a tedious process. Add to that "selecting" a maximum of a 100 photos from a folder of well over 500 per trip to share with family and friends. And then "working" on them - brightness, contrast, blah blue... And then adding comments to these pictures (ok that's not mandatory but somehow people got very attached to the comments I give under each picture and so now it's no longer an option)... and uploading everything. It's all a big abuse of digital memory and I am only one of the million doing this. And after this tedious process, I kind of lose the interest to sift through those pictures again for a long time. And that's true of every trip/occassion. And so when you think of wanting to relive some of those memories, more often than not, you end up going to your own Picasa album of the event (it has a more concise set) than to the real folder which has one too many extra pictures.

And what about prints? Are you one of those very few who take select prints of your trip just for the keeps? Or is it the one odd blow-up or the personalized calendar? If you are like most people it's the latter. Thanks to all of this... when my laptop crashed and lost a good deal of pictures from recent trips, I experienced no tremendous grief. I still had the Picasa albums... and so what if they weren't the real high quality? I wasn't doing anything with them anyways. Sad but true. I'd love to hear what the rest of the world thinks on this whole conundrum. So if you have something to say, say it!!