Snowman

After a lot of planning and procrastination,we eventually got down to making a snowman. We have had 2 major snow storms and a few minor ones but as the rain depleted the snow banks we decided to wait no more and get down to it.

The hands are part of a dismantled scarecrow for our cherry trees and the hat is an inverted flower pot. Hopefully there will be a snowfall tonight to "whiten" the snowman and the grass patches that have appeared

What to expect in 2009

As we move to the end of the year most people reflect on the year gone by and mull over the ups and downs in their lives. I think it would be more relevant to do some crystal ball gazing into the future...

This is how I visualize the year 2009

Change : Barack Obama has promised the US that he would bring change; and through his change he would bring change to the world at large. I see the world being so entwined financially and hence politically that every country (almost) would be impacted by the moves of the other-- which is a good thing as most contries would want economic prosperity and that would drive better economic cooperation.

Auto Bail out: The US has decided to bail lout the ailing auto industry. Who are they bailing out? The North American auto companies, namely the BIG THREE ( GM, Chrysler and Ford). These companies are in trouble because for years now their assembly lines have been churning out cars that no one is buying. The companies arguably provided jobs and sustenance for approx a million plus citizens in US & Canada and its any ones guess how this spilled over to the ancillary industry which was surviving because of the auto industry. To my mind the bail out will stabilize the situation for a few months but as the consumers continue to buy better cars from Japan, Korea & Germany the Big Three will be in trouble again. More fuel efficient, more green, more hybrid is the need of the hour. It's not difficult to guess who is winning on this score currently. Infact I urge you to google a company by the name " Better Place". This company ( surprisingly American, based out of PaloAlto in CA) is selling mileage in place of cars. A bit like you sell talk time on your cell phones. You dont buy a car any more you buy a mileage plan ( like talk time), the car comes free. I think the US is bailing out the wrong auto industry!!!!

Canadian Auto Connection: Connceted with the US auto industry is the Canadian arm of the Big Three. These Canadian workers also face a bleak future incase the US firms go down. The Canadian Govt has done well to bail out the Canadian arm else the US companies would have been forced to close their Canadian operations. Remember what i said before, incase these North American auto companies do not make better products, sooner or later they will be faced with the same situation once again.

Canada: Canada is impacted by the US recession as 90% of our exports go to the US. A receding US economy implies the export volumes go down which implies that Canadian manufacturing and assembly lines need to slow down so that they do not build beyond inventory/ stocking limits-- which leads to closures/layoffs. Though this is largely beyond Canadian control what otheralternative does Canada have?

Mackenzie Gas Project: Ever heard of the Mackenzie Gas Project? Apparently there is tonnnnnns of oil under the frozen grounds of NWT ( North West Territories). A proposal to build a 1220 kms piple line connecting the oil feilds in NWT to the North American markets has been doing the rounds in Ottawa but has been embroilled in red tape. This project if sanctioned would open up the economy in Canada( like a game of scrabbles when some one provides an opening to a whole new side of the board) . It would not only provide new jobs but also build infrastructure for the vast open spaces of Canada's northern states. This project is so vital that it could kick start the Canadian economy and also provide an alternative to the "Better Place" technology ( I talked about earlier) - at least in the short term by giving a shot in the arm for the North American auto industry while they revamp their operations to take on the Japanese / German cars on quality. In effect the Mackenzie project would

• Open the economy by providing new jobs
• Build Infrastructure for the vast undeveloped open Northern provinces
• Provide the North American auto industry a chance to survive and revamp operations inspite of superior auto products coming from outside the North American region

I hope, some one in Ottawa is listening!!

Dec 08, 1984

Exactly 24 years back I met Anita at Delhi. I must have been 25 (if I got my maths right). Indra Gandhi had just been assasinated in Oct and the country was on fire and we were impacted as well. Our wedding which could have been in 1984 was pushed out to the summer of 1985. Those were pre cell phone and email days. Communication was via the plain old postman and "trunk calls" ( any one knows what this was?) were made from the telegraph office and communication was done through letters ( paper and pen stuff). It was during those days that we looked as we did above.

Panera Breads

Panera : Being "almost" vegetarian in Canada is a bit of a problem and it was a pleasent surprise to see a Panera open up near Square One. Pankaj & Shalini had introduced us to Panera breakfasts during many of our visits to the US , so having spied a panera in the neighbourhood , Anita & me drove down in a fair bit of snow for a bite around dinner today. We were immediately impressed with the warm ambiance and subtle lighting. Though predominantly a breakfast joint we relished the soup and sandwich along with some Hazelnut coffee. We would have liked to linger on there but had to hurry back as the kids were locked out ( they had forgotten to take the house keys).

Antrix: Antrix came down forthe weekend today. Having got over some major assignments he seemed a bit relaxed and was happy to be back and looking forward to some home food as well. To make sure he got his fill of home cooking, Anita spent a great deal of time cooking up some delicious things. I believe a cake is on its way tomorrow.

The world has become very IT/ Internet dependent and I could see the helplessness in Antrix who was grappling with a faulty graphics card on his Mac. It was as if he did not know what to do with himself without his laptop. Fortunately a trip to the Apple store at the down town Eaton Center assured him of a replacement within a week. Meanwhile ofcourse he has to make do with some random behaviour on his laptop.

Winterizing the Garden in -5 Deg Celcius

This Sunday, though the sun shone bright, the temperatures were well below zero. We pruned some rose bushes and the cherry trees. There had been a snowfall a few days back and you can still see some snow on the grass. The same tree which is now bare (pic below) can be seen with a bright yellow plumage in the top picture. We spent a good part of the morning racking leaves and tending to the yard

Univ of Western Ontario

This weekend we went to London. No, we did not cross the Atlantic --- all we did was drive 2.5hrs to London, ON, where the Univ of Western Ontario is located. The weather was really crappy as it rained all day and though the roads were empty the drive was a bit slow due to the slippery roads. (Aayush's pic on top had to be taken in the rain and I had to persuade him to stand in the rain before i could take the snap-- hence the grumpy face.) At Western we visited the Richard Ivey School of Business where they run the much reputed HBA ( Hons Business Admin)program. A Harvard educated dean gave us an introductory lecture and succeeded in impressing us. We did get a feel of the richness and the highly interactive nature of the program. Another wonderful option we found was the ability of engg students to graduate after 5 years with a degree in Engg and an HBA. As parents who want the best for their kids we obviously wanted to grab the opportunity but I feel we need to exercise caution at these seemingly "fabulous" opportunities.We fail to take into account the load on the kids as they attempt to grapple with two majors.

We also had the good fortune to meet up with Gureet and Buneet while we were there. Gureet gave us some sagely advise on the way we should prioritize the universities for Engg & business. Given the way the Univs market their own it was nice to get a first hand info from Gureet who was uniquely positioned being an alumni of Queens and a current student at Westen.

The engg program at Western also offered a common first year for all disciplines where students could confirm what they actually wanted to persue as against the "gut" feel option that they are forced to adopt in most other places of learning.
After a quick tour of the Spencer Engg building, we were very thankful to Gureet, who dropped us off to the parking lot and saved us a walk in the torrential rain.

I am not sure which univ Aayush will eventually make it to, but as a parent who has been involved with the process I feel most Canadian Univs are "almost" the same. It does not really matter -- what matters is that the course & location he selects "fits" in well with his aptitude and aspirations. Time alone will tell what is in store for our son Aayush.

Queen's Univ Open House

This week was the open house at Queen's Univ in Kingston. We woke up early to make the 3.5hrs drive down to Kingston and having bundled a sleepy Aayush along with some food ( aloo parathas) and drink we hit 401 E. The drive has always been something that I look forward to and today was no exception. The 401 was traffic free, it being a weekend and we were there in approx 3 hrs. The first thing about Queen's is that it looks like you are in England because all buildings are built like English castles. Later in the day when we found it was a Scottish Univ with an Eastern campus located across the Atlantic in UK, it sort of all fell in place. We found the staff and the students extremely friendly and in fact the introductory lecture was hilarious( in a good way and may have given me some ideas for my Toastmasters lectures). We took the campus tour and visited the Commerce and Engg faculties. I was educated by a 4th year student of the difference between Commerce and economics which my education thus far had equated as synonyms. The commerce faculty is quite revered and I believe a sought after course for many a high school grad. Aayush is quite likely to apply for the commerce course at Queens

Aayush drove us back from Kingston in 3 hrs and though he kept telling us to relax and take a nap while he drove -- both Anita and me we were wide awake :) we still consider him a new driver!

I forgot to mention the univ is beautiful and lends itself to photography. I had to implore Anita and Aayush to sit on a bench while I captured the pic above..