Sunday, March 05, 2006
Skiing first time?
There are many articles on this topic. But here is one that gives you things which really matter. Straight from the heart -
1) Dress waterproofly, not necessarily warmly. Why? It's simple. Skiing is on SNOW, which is COLD. So if it happens to touch your body while you are skiing (or falling), you will be very uncomfortable and wont be able to continue for long. And because skiing is a relatively strenous exercise, your body WILL get warm soon. So it's more important to dress waterproof and less important to dress a whole lot to keep yourself warm. The following would be necessary and sufficient:
-A pair of underwear, regular. Use thermals if you have 'em. It's ok if you dont.
-A full-sleeve shirt/T-shirt
-something called a "bib", which you wear in place of pants. It has straps that go over the shoulder and get buckled up. Search for it on google to see the pictures. Then go and buy from Target/Walmart. About $20.
-A jacket that is waterproof.
-Regular socks and shoes.
-A cap/hat that covers your head and ears.
-Gloves
Optional
-----------
-) Sunglasses
-) Sun-screen
-) Thermals
-) Warm socks
2) Take lessons. Take lessons. Take lessons. Yes, it's expensive ($70-$80 per person per day inclusive of everything), but completely worth. It will certainly shorten your learning curve. You must know the ABCD before starting to read English. The instructors will teach you ABCD of skiing. Yes, the investment is worth.
3) Accept the fact that skiing is strenous. If you are with average stamina like me, you can start at 10 am and expect to continue until about 4 pm (6 hours). Beyond that, you are spoiling your next day. You WILL get tired, but it will be very satisfying at the end of the day.
4) Realize that you WILL fall, and also realize that you WILL NOT to hurt yourself badly when you fall. Snow cushions you reasonably well. Doesn't matter how often you fall - but it's important to fall. Falling brings you psychologically closer to the snow beneath you. You will slowly lose the phobia of falling if you fall more. That is the key to faster learning.
5) Don't get disappointed if you can't get a hang of it the first time. It takes atleast 3 full days of skiing (maybe separate days) before you can try to make sense and patterns out of it, before you can realize your limits and strengths, before you get comfortable with the equipment and your body movements.
The rest matters less and is sometimes not in your control - the time, place, type of equipment, what to learn first, who to go with, the type of instructor, etc. So dont worry about those and take them in your stride.
It's one thing to listen to pros with awe-inspiring skills, but most pros are not good teachers (anymore). Ask beginners like me who like to ski themselves and would like to see you start skiing too :-)
Let's go hit the slopes!
1) Dress waterproofly, not necessarily warmly. Why? It's simple. Skiing is on SNOW, which is COLD. So if it happens to touch your body while you are skiing (or falling), you will be very uncomfortable and wont be able to continue for long. And because skiing is a relatively strenous exercise, your body WILL get warm soon. So it's more important to dress waterproof and less important to dress a whole lot to keep yourself warm. The following would be necessary and sufficient:
-A pair of underwear, regular. Use thermals if you have 'em. It's ok if you dont.
-A full-sleeve shirt/T-shirt
-something called a "bib", which you wear in place of pants. It has straps that go over the shoulder and get buckled up. Search for it on google to see the pictures. Then go and buy from Target/Walmart. About $20.
-A jacket that is waterproof.
-Regular socks and shoes.
-A cap/hat that covers your head and ears.
-Gloves
Optional
-----------
-) Sunglasses
-) Sun-screen
-) Thermals
-) Warm socks
2) Take lessons. Take lessons. Take lessons. Yes, it's expensive ($70-$80 per person per day inclusive of everything), but completely worth. It will certainly shorten your learning curve. You must know the ABCD before starting to read English. The instructors will teach you ABCD of skiing. Yes, the investment is worth.
3) Accept the fact that skiing is strenous. If you are with average stamina like me, you can start at 10 am and expect to continue until about 4 pm (6 hours). Beyond that, you are spoiling your next day. You WILL get tired, but it will be very satisfying at the end of the day.
4) Realize that you WILL fall, and also realize that you WILL NOT to hurt yourself badly when you fall. Snow cushions you reasonably well. Doesn't matter how often you fall - but it's important to fall. Falling brings you psychologically closer to the snow beneath you. You will slowly lose the phobia of falling if you fall more. That is the key to faster learning.
5) Don't get disappointed if you can't get a hang of it the first time. It takes atleast 3 full days of skiing (maybe separate days) before you can try to make sense and patterns out of it, before you can realize your limits and strengths, before you get comfortable with the equipment and your body movements.
The rest matters less and is sometimes not in your control - the time, place, type of equipment, what to learn first, who to go with, the type of instructor, etc. So dont worry about those and take them in your stride.
It's one thing to listen to pros with awe-inspiring skills, but most pros are not good teachers (anymore). Ask beginners like me who like to ski themselves and would like to see you start skiing too :-)
Let's go hit the slopes!
Thursday, March 02, 2006
Googled Google
So I got lucky enough to visit the Google campus (Mtn View) a few weeks ago. A kind soul (yes, they do have such people there), a friend of a friend (ok, a friend) let us (me and an other friend) in as guests. It was a fascinating visit to say the least.
From the outside, it appears just an ordinary workplace. Security is present at all entrances in the huge parking lot. Nothing exotic about the buildings - it is the old SGI campus. We found our way to the visitor's building. We signed in using an electronic signer/label-printer (give it a good name) - that was impressive. When I's at Microsoft doing my internship, they didn't have such a thing there (it was all manual) - but that was 5 years ago. eBay currently has a hybrid process. :-)
We headed straight out to their famed, acclaimed cafe. It has a stunning variety of food, which appeared more stunning because the food was free - absolutely free (read that again) - Indian, Italian, Mexican, American (yes, there is such a thing), followed by a variety of desserts. The food quality if awesome. It won't be an exaggeration to say that there, I've had the best coriander-chutney so far. Same goes for Roasted Chicken, for my friend.
Turns out, Google interviews its Chefs with the same intensity as it interviews its employees. (there goes my chance to cook for Google). There was also a news agency there, trying to set up its backdrop with Google's name on it. The cafe was full of hungry free-fooders when we went. To prevent 'unauthorized entry' (isn't hunger enough authority? oh well), they have security guards randomly keeping an eye on the badges. :-)
We then walked into the building where they host most of their engineering folk. Inside is surely a pretty place - lava lamps, colorful posters, each paper-millionaire's cube has its own identity made out of unique things. Everyone has envious huge-screen monitors (bigger than big-screen) on their desks. There are also some funky permanently temporary cubicles set up. Also passed by their (discount) massage room. They don't have a museum kind of a thing set up yet - they should.
We then sat down talking. Exchanged a bunch of questions and answers. I learnt that Google has a flat reporting structure - employee to manager to VP. Larry and Sergei hold meetings regularly where they discuss upcoming products (sorry, visitors are not allowed). Timings are generally flexible and you can choose not to do anything special with your 20% time! :-)
We headed out with a full stomach. All in all, worth 2 hours spent. Hope to do that sometime again! :-)
From the outside, it appears just an ordinary workplace. Security is present at all entrances in the huge parking lot. Nothing exotic about the buildings - it is the old SGI campus. We found our way to the visitor's building. We signed in using an electronic signer/label-printer (give it a good name) - that was impressive. When I's at Microsoft doing my internship, they didn't have such a thing there (it was all manual) - but that was 5 years ago. eBay currently has a hybrid process. :-)
We headed straight out to their famed, acclaimed cafe. It has a stunning variety of food, which appeared more stunning because the food was free - absolutely free (read that again) - Indian, Italian, Mexican, American (yes, there is such a thing), followed by a variety of desserts. The food quality if awesome. It won't be an exaggeration to say that there, I've had the best coriander-chutney so far. Same goes for Roasted Chicken, for my friend.
Turns out, Google interviews its Chefs with the same intensity as it interviews its employees. (there goes my chance to cook for Google). There was also a news agency there, trying to set up its backdrop with Google's name on it. The cafe was full of hungry free-fooders when we went. To prevent 'unauthorized entry' (isn't hunger enough authority? oh well), they have security guards randomly keeping an eye on the badges. :-)
We then walked into the building where they host most of their engineering folk. Inside is surely a pretty place - lava lamps, colorful posters, each paper-millionaire's cube has its own identity made out of unique things. Everyone has envious huge-screen monitors (bigger than big-screen) on their desks. There are also some funky permanently temporary cubicles set up. Also passed by their (discount) massage room. They don't have a museum kind of a thing set up yet - they should.
We then sat down talking. Exchanged a bunch of questions and answers. I learnt that Google has a flat reporting structure - employee to manager to VP. Larry and Sergei hold meetings regularly where they discuss upcoming products (sorry, visitors are not allowed). Timings are generally flexible and you can choose not to do anything special with your 20% time! :-)
We headed out with a full stomach. All in all, worth 2 hours spent. Hope to do that sometime again! :-)
