Colourful bike

Colourful bike, originally uploaded by tilak.dutta.

I wonder if these colours blur into white when it's moving...

Greyhound Breakdown

Greyhound Breakdown, originally uploaded by tilak.dutta.

I hate taking the bus. There was an accident on hwy 69 just north of Parry Sound on Christmas Eve. We were stuck on the bus for 2 hours stopped. They don't let you off so we watched enviously as the people in their cars went for a strole. I learned you should always sit near the front on Greyhounds. When they are stopped idling, all the energy from the engine running gets converted into heat that has to be dissapated through the radiator at the back of the bus - and it gets stupid hot back there...

Boxing Day

Boxing Day, originally uploaded by tilak.dutta.

This picture was taken shortly after 9am on December 27th outside the Future Shop in Sudbury. I think these coffee cups are the remnants of the line-up of eager shoppers waiting for first crack at Boxing Day deals. (All stores are closed on Dec 26th in Sudbury so effectively our Boxing Day is December 27th.)

Lamp eating tree

mmmmmm....lampy...., originally uploaded by tilak.dutta.

I thought this looks like the tree is trying to devour the lamp.

Stephen Lewis and SAFER

Stephen Lewis and SAFER, originally uploaded by tilak.dutta.

Tonya and I attended a talk at convocation hall on Nov 28th to raise awareness of sexual violence taking place in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The evening was put on by SAFER and the Stephen Lewis Foundation. Tonya tells me that SAFER was started by a bunch of U of T grad students.

Anna Maria Tremonti, originally uploaded by tilak.dutta.

Anna Maria Tremonti was the moderator for the evening. (She's from CBC radio). She started off the evening by introducing Dr. Mukwege.

Dr. Denis Mukwege, originally uploaded by tilak.dutta.

Dr. Denis Mukwege is the founder and director of the Panzi Hospital in Bukavu. He spoke in french with translation from Ms. Aissatou Diajhate. He spoke of the problems in his country and what the Panzi hospital was doing to help. Since 1998, civil war has killed 5 million people in the DRC and hundreds of thousands of women have been raped and tortured. His hospital provides free care to 3,500 victims of sexual violence each year. Dr. Mukwege works with a team of 6 surgeons to repair women’s extensive internal injuries. He spoke frankly about how rape was being used as a weapon of war.

Eve Ensler, originally uploaded by tilak.dutta.

Eve Ensler is most well known as the writer of the Vagina Monologues. She began by performing a harsh monologue written from the point of view of a girl who was kidnapped along with two of her friends. Her captor raped her repeatedly over a number of years and eventually impregnated her. One day she finally escapes with her child.

Eve, originally uploaded by tilak.dutta.

After the performance, she made a point of saying that she'd spent the better part of getting over her own rape as a "white person in a country where [she has] resources." It's unimaginable to her how some of these girls in the DRC might ever be able to move on with their lives.

Stephen Lewis, originally uploaded by tilak.dutta.

Finally, Stephen Lewis spoke. Stephen Lewis is a reknown Canadian politician. In the 70s he was the leader of the Ontario NDP. In the 80's he was Canada's ambassador to the UN. From 2001 to 2006 he worked as the UN's special envoy for AIDS in Africa. He made a passionate, even shrill at times, plea to the rest of the world to help deal with AIDS in Africa.

At this talk, he called the world's ignorace of sexual violence in the Congo the "festering scar on the first decade of this century...". He wants people to amass a "movement of outrage" in order to get politicians to make good on the many promises they've made to help the women of the DRC. He said that Canadians in particular should be ashamed of our inaction. We pledged to help, but then did nothing.

He explained that a large part of the conflict in the DRC is due to the extraction of a mineral called "coltan". 70% of the world's coltan comes from these areas. Rape is used as a method of scaring people away from one of these mining towns so the operation can be taken over. The women that are raped as well as their families leave (and leave behind thier wealth) because they are ashamed of what has happened to them. They move to a new place where they may be able to start over.

The audience..., originally uploaded by tilak.dutta.

The audience paid very close attention to the panel. During the question period we found out that they've been teaching people with no previous medical training to become emergency surgeons with very good results.

The Panel, originally uploaded by tilak.dutta.

It was a very eye-opening and depressing evening.

Day and Night

Day, originally uploaded by tilak.dutta.

This is a tree in my neighbourhood in Sudbury on Christmas day. Our neighbourhood was a winter wonderland today.

Night, originally uploaded by tilak.dutta.

This is the same tree on Christmas Eve night.

yrrem samx

After the snow, originally uploaded by tilak.dutta.

I spent a couple of hours walking around my old neighbourhood in Sudbury taking pictures after the snow fall on Christmas Eve. Here's one from the path on my way to my old elementary school.

(I don't have the ablity to write backwards or access to software to flip this image. Found some online photo editors...but it was taking too damn long. So, I'm sorry. You'll have to use your imagination.) Merry Christmas.

Skating

DSC05008, originally uploaded by tilak.dutta.

The first skating adventure at Nathan Philips marks the start of the winter for me.

Smile

Guaranteed smiles, originally uploaded by tilak.dutta.

We discovered a new method of getting people to smile in group photos: give them a laptop with a funny video. Seems to work every time. In this case, I think it was an "elf yourself" video: http://www.elfyourself.com/.

PS...The use of a mac for this picture is purely coincidental...the great debate continues: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLbJ8YPHwXM

Snowmageddon?

Snowmageddon?, originally uploaded by tilak.dutta.

The media decided to call this snowfall "snowmageddon". http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7013466275. Makes it sound evil. Big white fluffy sinister snowflakes. I guess snow can be evil if it wants to: http://www.lifeisajoke.com/pictures922.htm

Frosty

Frosty...don't jump!, originally uploaded by tilak.dutta.

This is a picture I forgot to post from this year's Nuit Blanche. I think Frosty is contemplating suicide. A snowman balanced on a railway overpass...

Nathan Philips' Lights

Nathan Philips lights, originally uploaded by tilak.dutta.

I think they're going for an oasis look here...Good job on the lights this year....

Happy Binary Birthday!

Binary birthday, originally uploaded by tilak.dutta.

It is Tonya's 27th birthday today.

There are 10 types of people, those who understand binary and those who do not.

Warning: Anyone who posts comments like the one below loses 10 points:

"There are 10 types of people, those who understand binary and those who have friends."

Tree

White Christmas tree, originally uploaded by tilak.dutta.

This is the tree at Yonge and Dundas. The LEDs change from white....

Blue Christmas tree, originally uploaded by tilak.dutta.

...to blue...

Very nice.

100 Days

100 Days, originally uploaded by tilak.dutta.

I didn't really want to buy this sandwich...but when I saw that it would last for 100 days, I couldn't help myself. They must have designed anti-bacterial breads and luncheon meats. My attempt at reverse engineering this anti-spoiling technology failed. It tasted like a regular sandwich. Perhaps I should buy another and wait out the required 100 days and then repeat my investigation.

Better yet. I should make a timelapse of how the sandwich stays exactly the same over 100 days and then set it to some cool music like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_vFd16w70E&feature=related

A perfect circle

A perfect circle, originally uploaded by tilak.dutta.

This is my highschool physics teacher Mr. Mewhiney. He had an uncanny ability to draw perfect circles as shown here.

NPS

skating, originally uploaded by tilak.dutta.

The first night of cavalcade of lights. There was a DJ and some great tunes getting people festive.

Frats

Frat snow man, originally uploaded by tilak.dutta.

We're supposed to get a dumping of snow starting tomorrow night. On the upside: more snow men. This one was on the lawn of one of the frats...if you couldn't tell.

Bad Design

Bad design, originally uploaded by tilak.dutta.

I was stuck late at the hospital with no options for food except for this vending machine. I tried to get the healthy choice - a granola bar - labelled D10. So I entered: "D", "1",...but before I could realize there was no "0" key I got the Twix bar in D1. Damn. I think this is bad design.

Worst

Worst, originally uploaded by tilak.dutta.

I'm going to stay on the theme of my building for a while. Here's what I found in my elevator one day.

Mushiness

Mushiness, originally uploaded by tilak.dutta.

This sign was posted in the laundry room of my building.

Free Tibet

Free Tibet, originally uploaded by tilak.dutta.

The weather is blech here today. Another picture from last summer. This demonstration took place in front of the Chinese Embassy on St. George.

Media, originally uploaded by tilak.dutta.

To me, the media's activies were as interesting as the event itself.

Lights in the sky

Helium, originally uploaded by tilak.dutta.

Last weekend, the Newmindspace kids took a bunch of big balloons, filled them with helium...

LEDs in snow, originally uploaded by tilak.dutta.

....strung a bunch of LEDs to the balloons...

Higher than CN tower, originally uploaded by tilak.dutta.

....and let them go. They were aiming to get them higher than the CN tower. Looks like they did it!

IQ test

IQ test, originally uploaded by tilak.dutta.

Tonya and I went to the Lawrence West shopping centre yesterday. This is a sign we saw while sitting in the food court through a mirror. Which direction are the washrooms? Left or right? I got this wrong.

See mouse over the picture for the answer.

A nicer time

chair barn, originally uploaded by tilak.dutta.

It was cold this morning. I decided to think back to the summer. I took this picture on the way to a friend's cottage. I'm not sure what was going on here or what look this farm was going for...but it was interesting.

Mom and Pop

Mom and Pop, originally uploaded by tilak.dutta.

Tonya and I went to Peoples foods again a while back. I think these are the owners. What a great place for breakfast.

First Snow Fall

First Snow Fall, originally uploaded by tilak.dutta.

This is what it looked like outside my building today. It was a beautiful day. I was a little upset that I choose not to ride my bike today.

Accident

IMG_0730, originally uploaded by tilak.dutta.

I found this accident on King street a couple of days ago.

IMG_0725, originally uploaded by tilak.dutta.

The bus and cab were blocking both lanes. So 6 streetcars were backed-up waiting for the accident to clear. Makes that case for dedicated streetcar tracks...no?

How to tie a shoe...

MVI_0720, originally uploaded by tilak.dutta.

Tonya decided that I needed to learn how to tie my shoes. This is her lesson.

MVI_0721, originally uploaded by tilak.dutta.

It was agreed that my shoe technique was not very efficient.

Free AGO

Line up, originally uploaded by tilak.dutta.

The line to get into the AGO was huge at 8pm on Saturday for the free-bee weekend. It stretched all the way around the corner on McCaul to OCAD. I guess people really like their free art.

AGO opening, originally uploaded by tilak.dutta.

It was a cold, rainy day to be waiting in line outside. I wonder how long the line would have been if it were nicer. In any case, the wait was worth it. Frank did a great job.

Firetrucks

Firetrucks, originally uploaded by tilak.dutta.

I was working at the lab late on Saturday when the fire alarm went off. This is a regular occurance for us. We tend to get a fire alarm once a week or so.

Bumper Stumper

On time, originally uploaded by tilak.dutta.

I like seeing license plates that take some effort to decrypt. Someone should make a game show out of this.

Oen Eening & Wekends

DSC04510, originally uploaded by tilak.dutta.

Don't they realize this looks silly?

Rememberance Day

UC, originally uploaded by tilak.dutta.

Every once in a while, the Engineering students at U of T do something worthwhile with their time as opposed to precariously balancing VW's on buildings. This was the display they put on King's College Circle for Remembrance Day.

ERTW, originally uploaded by tilak.dutta.

McCrae, originally uploaded by tilak.dutta.

They even had poppies placed under Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae's cross - the author of Flanders Fields.

In Flanders Fields

In Flanders Fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

PS. This is my 100th post.

AGO Redux

AGO Redux, originally uploaded by tilak.dutta.

The AGO is getting ready to reopen. There seems to be a lot of excitement around about this.

Photography Meet-up

Rosalie taking a picture, originally uploaded by tilak.dutta.

I tagged along with Rosalie to a photography meet-up last week. After a "lesson" in a coffee shop, we headed out to try out what we had learned. The only problem was that a group of 7 photographers tend to scare everyone else away. So, all of my pictures ended up being of our own group. Here's Rosalie taking a picture down a street toward the sky dome.

Photo Meet-up, originally uploaded by tilak.dutta.

Here another one of the same street but now Rosalie is joined by a second photographer.