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The work out music gear!

The world of work out is a lonely place and it is every man or woman to himself and herself! In this loneliness the company of good music provides the comfort and zeal to get your work out of the day done!

Now this may vary from person to person and there may be many who would not listen to any kind of music for reasons personal to them so if you are one who would never listen to any music while working out then I guess you are very different!

So for everyone else who like to listen to something while workout a good gear is very pertinent so that it does give you the entertainment you deserve without creating a distraction.

Let start with Running

Most runners whom I know who listen to music while running either stream it through their phone or take a portable mp3 enabled headset. From the mobile or a music player it is my personal opinion that carrying a big bulky phone strapped to your wrist is a cumbersome preposition indeed! Now streaming through the wired earphones (except for the phone which does no longer have the headphone jack then their life is literally in dongles!); is good in that you get a clear sound but the wires hanging on your neck do not make a pretty sight and many times do get in the way of effortless work out! So many opt for the Bluetooth option but understand that even the best Bluetooth earphones like the one I have called the Samsung Level U can have distortion while running especially in windy areas and also chugging along your phone all the time is not an option for me! So I have stuck to TF card reader earphones like the Iball or Zebronics. These are pretty good and light weight and have a good battery back up but I have always felt them to be low in volume. So I and you can upgrade yourself to the Iball or Sony Walkman series which have better drivers and amazing sound effects! In fact the Sony Walkman is both Bluetooth enabled and it is an independent mp3 player with added advantage of being water proof! So you can even take it to swimming! Beat that! The only problem which remains is that if you are running in the outdoors then the outside noise is also cut off which can be dangerous. We will come to this below! For now if you run and you are a music lover then you can use the Mp3 enabled earphones or headphones or use the Bluetooth ones.

My other two work out muses are Inline skating and Cycling! I try to mix and match between Cycling, Running, Inline Skating, Swimming and Badminton so that work out has variety and that is certainly a spice of life!

So when I initially used the Bluetooth or MP3 headphones then while cycling or Skating there was always the risk that the high speed may cause problem when I would not be able to listen to an incoming vehicle or another cyclist! This is even when I usually just work out in our apartment in the designated area only!

Also while Skating I need to listen to the gravel and change in sound of the wheels to support myself since any major in my age is not an option (of any age for that matter). Even while cycling I need to hear the change of gears and that sound can be very faint but useful! So I initially just decided to leave listening to music completely and seeking ways to listen to the best of both worlds!

Then a sunglass released by a company called the Arkwist caught my attention! This works on the principal of bone conduction hearing and the best thing is that your ears are open to receive the ambient noise! This was good and I investigated further to see few other bone conduction hearing phones! These are theoretically sound good though they are still in the infant stage of development. So wait a little while before you jump ahead and buy them!

Then I finally found my answer albeit temporarily in a headset called the Soundgear! This light boomerang shaped contraption hangs on to your neck and gives you a focussed sound bit! It is also Bluetooth enabled and has a TF card reader! Now you can listen to the songs without disturbing others and still get the ambient noise! There are ones from Bose and Jabra and other cheaper versions readily available in online portals! This is from my one month of using this amazing Soundbar and frankly I am quite satisfied!

Of course the main aim should be a proper workout but it is the team which makes it happen! The perfect dress, the perfect shoes, the perfect watch ( You can read my earlier blog for this!) and now the perfect music palyer!

So work away and enjoy!!

PS: the snap above has the soundbar placed on my neck!!

My Search for the perfect Smartwatch for workout

It all started with the very limited work out which I used to do just to show of the highly inaccurate early smartwatches. Mind you, I am mentioning here only of watches less than 10k since the high end watches are for serious sportsmen and not for people like me who have recently got the fitness bug and just want to note their slow progress!

So after lots of basic smartwatches like the Platronics Yoga and some generic ones called the Capcha! (which incidently was mp3 and sim enabled!) I settled for a while with a company called Noise Loop. We will come to this later; lets see what was bugging me!

So most of these watches had pedometers and that was the only way workouts used to be recorded and monitored. Most of them also had an app which was a basic fitnesss app and this used to get synced to the data from the mobile and then you have the amount of work out you do. Now if the workout is time senstive then most of these watches were more or less accurate on the distance and calories burned. But when it comes to measurement of running, cycling or skating distances then these were grossly inccurate! I used to run or skate for more than 2-3 km and it would register only around 500-600 m!(you would say that maybe I did run only 600m! But then I did check with the mobile phone strapped on my arms with the GPS enalbled!

This and the fact that most of these watches look like robotic toy watches which we used to wear when we were young lead me to go for the Noise Loop which was a good round watch! So it looked like a normal watch and was smart! It had bluetooth sync and also remote camera options and was my companion for some time. But it had the same problems which palgued the earlier watch and the fact that it was off all the time made it a blank coin on my wrist which I had to activate everytime I need to see the time which I might as well do to my mobile!

Then I got watches like the Noise Ignite and the Arkwist round. Both these had the best advantage that they were always on like any other watch and that they had senstive pedometers! Throw in a long battery life in spite of the always on status and you had gold! Well almost; the same distance problem was plaguing both these watches and that was a big bummer!

So I of course started the old method of strapping my mobile to my arm and running with an accurate fitness app monitoring my every view! This was good in that I knew my progress accurately but the very act of taking you big mobile every time you work out which in fact should be your lone time was not something I looked forward to!

So I started for the best thing in a watch! A GPS chip enabled watch! And of course none of them were cheap! I did not mind shelling out few more bucks but then held back since I was not a professional athelete and this does not make a good sense to invest in a watch costlier than the mobile with more risks!

So finally these are the optimum features you would require in a smartwatch if you need a good recording companion for your workout:

1. It should have an accurate pedometer

2. It should be always on for the primary function of showing the time!

3. It should have an inbuilt GPS chip for accurately measuring the distance

4. It should be light weight and hassle free

5. A long battery life is an added bonus since you cannot be charging your watch every other day!

6. It should have a proper bluetooth function for data storage and sync

7. It should be supported by an app exclusively for it so that the whole process is more detailed and catered to the individual

Of course there are more features which you require but for now this was what I wanted from my smartwatch. And now what everyone has been waiting for! Whether I have found out the perfect watch of not! Well the answer is for now yes!

My search ended with the Amazefit watch by Huami amazfit bip! This marvellous piece of engineering I got in a sale in flipkart (the watch sale had around 200 numbers for sale and it got sold out in 5 minutes!). The watch is always on with an added bonus of more light when you touch! And unlike the non touch watches like the ignite and arkwrists, this one is touch screen which is activated when you tap on a button (what a remarkable way of keeping it water proof and save battery!). Also it has a very sensitive pedometer and heart rate sensor and it has an exclusive app for data analysis and sync!

There are sections for activity like outdoor cycling, running and treadmill and also accurate weather, alarm and a digital compass!

The most important is of course that it has a dedicated GPS chip which is highly accurate (I have tested this with my phone many times!).

And the feather in the already glorious cap is the fact that the battery lasts for long long time|! All my smartwatches I need to charge atleast once in a day or two (except the Noise Ignite but that was not touchscreen and Not GPS!); but this one I charge once a fortnight with adequate use and once a month with minimal use!

Also it is so light that you dont even feel and many times I take it to sleep (when it automatically senses your sleep and monitors it!)

So in conclusion I would recommend this device to anyone who is a workout enthusiast!

Everyone want to know the price I guess! Well I got for around 6k! Now beat that or go run or it!

Don’t tell the governor by Ravi Subramanian

Book review

Rating 3/5

Spoilers….it is a fiction based on very very real people and about demonetisation so no obvious spoilers!

Trust Ravi Subramanian to come up with a novel on demonetisation as the tag line though it is in fact the sequence of events leading to it!

So you have a Mallya inspired character who is named Mallya in the novel who loots and scoots!

Then you have a starlet who wins a reality show in UK and becomes everyone’s darling! Marries an already married guy (making him divorce first of course!) And finally gets involved in IPL! Reminds you of someone!? But the likeness stops there so relax!

Then you have a spokesman in TV who goes by the name of Swamy! And files PILs everywhere!

Then there is a RBI governor called Ranjan! How direct can you get! But it hits the target Ravi!

Then you have a collusion between PM and FM and finally revealed that all is not as simple as it seems!

Then you have a middle man or broker who reminds you of many real deal breakers in the real political scene!

Finally you have the star of the show! The utterly confused, the utterly screwed up Aditya!

Mix all this with IPL fixing! Gold marketing!, Panama papers! big area of bank NPAs! (Which is Ravi Subramanian’s area of expertise and it shows!) And you have an amalgamation of juicy titbits to bite with relish!

In his previous work called “In the name of God” he had very eerily predicted the scooting of a jewel baron which was revealing!

In this attempt though there may not be any prediction but the nitty gritty of the financial tug of war between RBI and government has been showcased in a very apt way!

Just remember though, Ravi is a master of twists and turns and the end is never what you predicted!

Releasing during the time of demonetisation this is a great work which any banker or financial wiz would love to read! For others it’s a nice racy thriller very close to home and so it scores lots of points there!

Read it since the simple language and flow will not test you and the entertainment value is an added bonus!

The reckoning by John Grisham

Book review

Rating 3.5/5

Spoilers- The only spoiler is why and for that you must read this small print 500 pages diary!

So the most favourite Son of a farming town gets up calmly one fine day and Shoots the most respected Minister. That’s not the spoiler! That’s even given in the back cover! Now rummage though 500 pages to read why!

If an act of passion is your answer and everyone else’s from the very beginning of the book then you are in for a double shock!

The setting is a cotton producing town during the black and white and world war II era.

Since it’s John Grisham, rest assured that you will be treated to a detailed retelling of the process and procedures of the court and since it is set more than 50 years back it’s different to say the least!

With shades of his earlier work like Time to kill and more recently, the confession this one takes gloom and despair to bigger levels. Not one page has even a lasting moment of happiness or hope. The gloom reminds me of both Camino island and Rooster bar. John Grisham has decided to be melancholic and it shows as you slowly turn the pages of this tear jerker.

The description of the exploits of America and Japanese during the war though sad and brutal has been executed in the style of Ken Follett! And that’s a great thing since John Usually sticks to get court and lawyers! The end note by him mentions couple of books on this and am guessing that’s his source material!

It’s always a challenge to read such Book where not the whodunit but why did he or she do it is the thing which is racking your brain and giving you insomnia!

If you want to save yourself the torture then you can just skip to the last two pages which will give you your answer! Or you can just enjoy the journey rather than worry too much about the destination!

My only concern was that John gave more than 500 pages for mundane things and I was scared whether just two pages of climax was enough! Thank you for not leaving us Murakamised! (I have invented this term for novels mostly written by Murakami with surreal endings!!)

In the recent times I had like Street lawyer which was like the Lincoln lawyer and The Writing guidelines in Camino Island was real cool.

This one may not have been his best but it certainly ranks better than his works like Gray mountain or The Confession. But the charm of his earlier works like The Firm or Runaway Jury or The king of Torts is missing.

Regular Grishamites can lap it up while the others can take the short cut and read the first and the last chapters!

Non spoiler PS!: This may have been a true story or inspired by one!

Sputnik sweetheart by Haruki Murakami

Book review

Rating 3/5 (a Murakami fan would give maybe 4/5 because of a bold narrative!)

Spoilers- it’s Murakami! It can’t be spoiled since most of the thinking and imagination will be done by the reader!

In a narrative reminiscent of his previous works, Murakami describes the one sided love of a young girl known as Sumere and a man who is the chief narrative simply known as k!

Then there are characters who may or may not be real! Or it is very possible that the characters are real but these two protagonists are imaginary! That’s Murakami!

Of course some essence usually gets lost in translation but am sure even in Japanese only essence maybe found and not sense!

Only one more main character is present called as Miu! Now my Indian brain first thought that this was a guy but later turned out to be a gal! Which was a deviation from classic Murakami since he describes an almost classic rendering of true love albeit lesbian!

He had made similar sexual inclinations in Norwegian wood but in sputnik he had gone direct and straight! (I mean gay!) Which is of course a change of times so to speak!

Just when you may think that this may be a different Murakami, he does a Kafka and an IQ84 and introduces his famed parallel world or parallel imagination!

The first half is completely Sumere and her lesbian fantasy while the final half is the journey and subsequent destination (this is Murakami so not the end!) Of K!

To be fair though in this one there is a partial sense of fulfillment though most of the closure and questions are literally left in the sky!

And yeah the novel has nothing to do with Sputnik or Sweetheart! Wasn’t that clear!!?… Good…. That means you have been Murakamised!!

Taking a break from Murakami to get back to reality and also since John Grisham’s new book is released!

Have fun reading this (for Murakami fans!) Or not (for everyone else!)…..

Men without women stories by Haruki Murakami

Short Stories Collection

Book review

Spoilers- You can never have spoilers in Murakami stories!

Rating- 3/5 (If this was my first Murakami I would have given it negative rating! But I know what to expect so it’s a fair and neutral 3! For a Murakami fan like always it would be 8-10/5!!)

Some time back I was following a car and like always I noticed the bumper sticker! I love bumper stickers mostly in the big vehicles! They are cool guides! Mostly though it will just be some common things like SOUND HORN OR DRIVE SLOWLY! but in this case it was written, “don’t follow me! I don’t know where I am going!”

That’s Murakami for you! He will start by sometimes describing the most minute details like in the first story about a lonely actor (not a spoiler by any stretch!) He describes women driver and after a description of three paragraphs he finally gets to the point! Only to shock you with the abrupt end! And in the end the driver being a woman is of little consequence! If it was Higashino am sure that the girl driver would have turned out to be the actor’s lost daughter!

Now a book called men without women would obviously have men in situations where women have either died or left or just gone Back to reality (since it’s Murakami!) So that’s not a spoiler in any count!

If cliffhanger is the theme then Murakami is the king! So he continues in the subsequent stories like the second one describing a lonely guy whose close friend tells him to go on a date with his girlfriend! And just when you think it’s bizarre Murakami again you are struck with a time warp! And twenty years later it’s status quo! You would then say much ado about nothing!!

Then you have the doctor who has loveless affairs all over without marriage and finally the one love he had gives him the boot!

You then have a story about a guy and a bar and an unfaithful wife added by cats (his favourite just like in Kafka on the shore!) And snakes! And a rare closure! Just kidding! No closure here! Imagine what you can and go to the next story!

You get some common themes in many stories. The lady or the married gal or the housewife is having an affair! And turns out to be a Heartbreaker or a sea creature (Sea Sucking Eel!). It is apparent that women and marriage are things that don’t impress Murakami or he doesn’t have high opinion of either.

Then in an ode to Kafka he has a sequel to the Samsa of METAMORPHOSIS! again starts with a bang and doesn’t end! Yes! That’s Murakami for you! It’s like life! There is no closure! It’s a flow! Just because the pages have finished doesn’t mean that the story has to end! The show must go on!

The book ends with the story named after the book, men without women! Of course here also great space is given on the affair of the man and woman but how and when she dies is just left unanswered! The impact it had on the man is reflected.

It’s like a soap opera to which you are hooked and the time for the particular episode to end is near! You grit your teeth fervently hoping that it doesn’t end in those three dangerous words!…TO BE CONTINUED! With Murakami it is that and also the fact that it will not be continued or closed! Make your own conclusions!

Once apparently Murakami looked in the sky and thought why it should not rain fishes! And lo it did in his Kafka novel! Whether it makes sense or not, it’s something to ponder about that Murakami sometimes writes whatever comes to his mind without any inhibition! Maybe that’s why he has such a fan following and also maybe why an equal number of people would like to rip out their hair after reading his books!! As far as I am concerned, I like my hair and sanity so I will just remain neutral!

Since it’s a short story collection I have this great fear that the story will end now! Or now! Every page gives me a dread of being the last page! And of course my fear gets realized when it does turn out to be the end! You would ask, so what happened!!? The answer would be… You have been Murakamised!!

Kafka on the shore by Murakami

Book review

Mild spoilers

Rating 3/5 (only because I am not a fan of this genre! For a fan of this genre the rating would have been 10 out of 5! )

Before reading this one which is apparently one of his best works, I had finished the highly acclaimed Norwegian wood (which I felt was a total let down!) And then IQ84 (A mammoth of close to 2000 pages of mayhem and fantasia!). This is my third Murakami and by now I have at least understood what to expect from him!

So though I am not swimming in the Murakami sea!; I am gently floating on the surface without thinking of drowning! If that makes sense then welcome to the Murakami world!

Also about this book, Murakami has told that you may need to read this over and over again to understand the book! In the days of Twitter and Instagram I really don’t think many have time or patience to read any book as bizarre as this even once (but I do know many who have read this one many times! Now that’s a pickle!)

So you have a kid who is 15 with mental age of a big guy who runs away and is still running away from home, reality and everything else! and (like IQ84) this one also has a parallel track of another dude who is around 60 but with the mental age of a kid who cannot read!

So while the first one talks to his alter ego (of imagination or maybe a real crow! I or Murakami doesn’t really know or care!!) which is a crow! And the other dude can talk to cats! (At least in the beginning when nothing makes sense! )

It starts with a modern reimagination or retelling of the Oedipus Rex story with bizarre twists and if you had cringed with Oedipus complex then here you will just retch (or not if you are Murakami fan and this is just a CONCEPT!)

So in the usual Murakami style you have talking cats, talking stones and even a dog which can do telepathy!

You have the regular worm hole like phenomenon where reality and imagination overlap!
It’s your routine bizarro world where like the dream theatre album, the dream and day unite!

I am truly amazed though at the frank sexual innuendos and fantasies! The description of other books and musical stories are pretty vivid and well put. It definitely shows that the author is well read if nothing else. Even the simple description of rain or beach or even a poem is so abstract that you either love it or hate it! I have learned to tolerate it!

According to The Guardian there will be three types of people after reading this one! First who will like the book and Murakami and rave about it and support it with full intent! The second are the neutrals while the third are the ones who will ask themselves why they had to torment themselves so much and hate both the book and Murakami!

I have felt all the above in different pages of this book! But I have never been able to understand the hype (apparently neither can Murakami!)

In the end you have more questions than answers! You have to use your own imagination to fill in the gaps! If it’s answers you are searching for then you will be sorely disappointed! But then you don’t read Murakami to get answers!

Basically, the reader, the story and the writer are in their respective fantasy worlds! So just read and don’t try to make sense! This is not the Kiego Higashino world where 1+1=2! Here everyone and everything is simply on the dream and fantasy shore!…. Just like kafka!

Some may find it a bore! Some may read it many times more! But one thing is sure that it will shake you to the core!

Kashi by Vineeth Bajpai..

Book review

Mild spoilers…. None to change the course of your opinion though!

Rating…3/5

Finally the adventure which started with one book got its final season in this one! (Or is it!!?)

My daughter Kashika lept up in Joy seeing the title of the book thinking that I bought this one because of her!

In the same treatment as with his earlier works like Pralay and Harappa; Vineeth takes the gore many steps further and gives a generous dose of death and mayhem!

The battle scenes and the description of the chief villian reminds me of the beast villian and war scenes of Bahubali!

Though I pre ordered this one, I could get to it only couple of days back and I had to brush through the previous books to remind myself of the story till now!

The fact that both Patala prophecy by C Doyle and Kalchakra by Ashwin were also written on similar lines, it was a miracle that I did not mix up the characters and story with this book!!

So Vidyut who is the original hero and Devta has been shown to be taking over the mantle of humanity! A parallel track describes Manu in a similar manner!

The middle description of scriptures in the style of Ashwin Sanghi was more vocal and open in this book! Everything from templar knights to religion to terrorism to black plague and most importantly world trade centre attack have been given juicy theories! Don’t fringe now please just because it’s an Indian and not Dan Brown who has written this!

The author also mentions several real conspiracy theories and a special mention about Yuval Noah Harari means that he himself is well read!

So with an overdose of puranas and religion, this is a good way to spend your three hours wanting for more!

To those who drool over anyone who abuses curses or demeans the scriptures, you can give this one a pass and save us the review stating the abysmal grammar and vocabulary nuances!

For those who liked the works of Amish, Ashwin or C Doyle or even Dev Dutt Patnaik, you will like this one too!

For those who have read the first two books, you have no choice but to read and get a closure! Or would you!!?

Kashi, the temple is only black but it’s also blue!

The girl in room 105….by Chetan Bhagat

Book review

Rating 2/5

Spoilers…the only major spoiler is the end which will not be shared in the review! Rest of the book there is nothing left to spoil!!

Let me be quite frank in admitting that I pre ordered the book before the screenshot controversy and I never waste a book so though personally my opinion of CB has gone literally down the drain like his works, I did finish the book.

The review is hence very biased and may show my hatred towards him and hence his book. In this context I am sure that getting a neutral review of a CB book is now close to impossible!

Reading CB was usually a recap of the next bollywood screenplay and in the context some of his earlier works like Two States or Half Girlfriend was tolerable but am sure no producer will touch this one even if CB paid him!

Imagine that first the life and then the character of his leading lady is lost and do you expect any producer to make a movie on that!!?

Some recurring themes like IIT and coaching classes have already been used in his earlier works so I am guessing that the story warehouse is low in stock!

Starting with a love story of Ranjanaah style it gets the treatment of Baghi 2 when the lead investigates (rather amateurish I must add!) a murder and finally it become Crime patrol and Savdhaan India!!!

In his usual style he brushes upon controversial topics like Muslim and RSS and loud prayers and finally Kashmir!!….of course it’s just peeling the edge without any deeper probe or use!

And the greatest irony is that he describes a married old prof who is a pervert and tries to exploit his student! Look in the mirror sometimes CB….

So all in all an exercise in futility which can be finished quite fast considering the simple language and bare minimum vocabulary! I am sure the Hindi curses used in the book are a result of Sacred Games!

So read it to just rant about it like me!.. if you inbox me I can save you the strain and give you a personal summary of the book!

Oh CB why do you do this!??….
But I liked the end note! This is not a spoiler!….the way you unfriend someone…. sometimes it’s better to Unlove someone!…

IQ84…

By Haruki Murakami…..

Book review

Mild spoilers…. nothing which will give the story away!

Rating….3.5/5 (only because I am not a big fan of fantasy or magic or voodoo or dystopian fiction!)

Let me start by this line…(this is not in the novel though!)

‘ The sky was blue and he looked at the moon…’

If it’s a normal story then the sky is actually blue and there’s only the moon!
But if it’s Murakami then apparently you have to think and read beyond the words! Maybe the sky being blue is only a reflection of your loneliness or melancholy!….maybe the moon is not normal in the true sense of the word! In any case you must read between the lines!!

But then why this special treatment to Murakami!? Because he has apparently established himself as the master of Surrealism and abstract! I made the grave mistake of reading his previous Norwegian wood as a routine coming of age story but apparently there was so much more in between the words and some unsaid emotions! Still think it’s over hyped though!!..

So while Murakami can get away with magic, mayhem and dystopian fantasy; any Indian author mentions the word magic he or she is immediately hanged by the literary rope! Not fair at all!!

My second step onto Murakami territory was slow! Close to 2000 pages (this book was apparently realeased as three volumes and sold more than a million copies!)

To be fair though the language, the grammar and the retelling was pretty straightforward and clean which made the pages turn (or swipe! Since I read it as an EBOOK!) pretty fast!

One of the problems with Ebook is that you may not know the size of the book beforehand (note to self- see the end page number next time!!).

This is a major problem since my time is rationed to the last minute and to devote so much is an ardous task indeed! And the fact that Murakami takes long time to come to the point does not help one bit!

In a short brief this is a love story which transcends time (and year!!) And the way all the characters gel in is quite good!

So on one side we have a bored mathematics teacher who in spite of having an affair with a married woman is lonely in life and on another side we have a trainer by day and assassin by night green peas (read the book!) Gal!…made for each other you might say!!

Lots of sex and violence in between with an almost casual description (different I would say!).

Then you have a confused half baked (literally!!) Girl who just fades in and out along with many quirky characters who are nothing but props!

The alternate and parallel narrative is very nicely done though! And when you get the flow you actually feel sad that it’s over!

Predictable ending though some questions are left hanging in the sky!

If anyone has read this then we can discuss!

Next Murakami here I come!…..kafka!