Posted on

A Getaway before Baby – Beacon, NY

Sarika and I have been on somewhat of a scheduling “kick” — whatever we want, we schedule it in and make it happen.

Before our baby girl arrives, we wanted to take one last trip together. We decided this is not a trip for just the two of us, but the three of us, so throughout the trip we decided to take some video for our baby to be, and we figure we will share it with her one day.

Enter Beacon, NY:

We debated renting a car, but did not want the hassle, so a quick trip on MetroNorth Rail brought us to the lovely and historic town of Beacon.

Pro tip: Buy the ticket at the station and you can purchase discounted tickets to Dia: Beacon, the stunning art gallery built from in the former Nabisco-factory.

Day 1: Arrive in Beacon

We booked a room in this lady’s home on Airbnb.com – the Beacon Bamboo Forest – it was quaint, cozy and simple. By saving some money on room and travel, we feel comfortable enjoying ourselves a bit more for lunch and dinner.

We wander main street, enjoy looking into all the quaint stores and have a pastry at All You Knead. Next we go to Denning’s Point Distillery and I enjoy a bit of a tasting — I never thought I would be much for gins and whiskey, but these were actually very good.

We then enjoyed a little stop at More Good, a syrups, bitters and tea manufacturer in Beacon, NY. I have a feeling these folks may disrupt Coca Cola, and other major companies. They are pitching better tasting and healthier drinks to speciality restaurant chains, and grocery companies. At some point, the world will need to move onto a better tasting soda and after trying their drinks — I think that day is coming.

We continued down Main Street until we arrived at Gino’s Italian Ice and could simply not resist a cup of italian ice. I think it is the best treat — tasty, but not too heavy. We continued our walk until we arrived at the water fall, where we enjoyed the sound of the water and the heat of the sun.

For dinner, we went to Towne Crier for some dinner and live music from The Whispering Tree. We stuffed ourselves with a veggie burger, grilled cheese and black bean soup.

We came back to our Airbnb, popped in a DVD (Queen to Play) and enjoyed a nice foreign film. I have to admit, it was the first time — in a long time — that I had watched a DVD and I loved it. Each time Sarika and I watch something on Netflix, there is an option to back out, but not so much with a DVD…there is a joy in committing to a movie and enjoying it for its art — whether you like it or not.

Sarika and I fell asleep as we enjoyed seeing and feeling crazy baby kicks in Sarika’s belly.

Day 2: Dia: Beacon

The next day, we woke up and enjoyed a coffee, waffles and eggs at Homespun Foods. From there, we got ready and took a nice walk to the Dia: Beacon.

It is hard to describe the gallery, but it is a very unique experience — some of it is larger-than-life and some is so subtle. The joy of the gallery was the public tour, which is incredibly worth it.

Running away from a spider!

After Dia: Beacon, we walked back to Main Street. Sarika pushed through walking up-hill despite being 8 months pregnant. I was, as always, very impressed.

We enjoyed some tasty Mexican food at Tito Santana and recalled are gratitude for the day we had already enjoyed.

Tito Santana’s Tacos = Tasty.
normal Sarika shenanigans 

To end the evening, we went to Howard Cultural Center and enjoyed flamenco…

and, Sarika bought an origami nest with two doves….

she was so happy to have her little doves nest…

Beacon: Day 3:

On our way back to the train station, we enjoyed a quick stroll at the Long Dock Park before catching the express train back to NYC…

Posted on

10 Days in Ireland

Sarika and I are about to leave for Ireland in a couple of days! Ahh, the feel of a trip to Europe. The freedom to experience the joy of history, nature and travel.

This will be my third time to Ireland; and, Sarika’s first trip. There is still so much to see and experience. The Irish people always delight me with their energy.

On Wednesday, we will head to the Emerald Isle. The feeling is palpable.

For my part, I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel’s sake. The great affair is to move; to feel the needs and hitches of our life more nearly; to come down off this feather-bed civilization, and find the globe granite underfoot and strewn with cutting flints. ~ Robert Louis Stevensons
Here is our rough itinerary:

Day 1: Arrive in Dublin and head straight to Newgrange for a view of the sacred history of Ireland.

Day 2: Boyne Valley Driving Tour

Day 3: The Sally Gap

Day 4: Cliffs of Moher and the Burren

Day 5: Ring of Kerry

Day 6: Gap of Donloe

Day 7: Michael Skelling (Weather Permitting); otheriwse, Valentia Islands

Day 8: Cork

Day 9: Dublin

Day 10: Robert and Joanna’s Wedding!

Day 11: Robert and Joanna’s Wedding

Day 12: And, we are back to the big Apple!

Transportation: We will be driving counter clock-wise around the country from Dublin.

Accommodations: We are going to keep it nice and comfortable with some Bed and Breakfasts.

The Intention: All things spiritual — from Irelands Celtic past, to finding Irish fairy’s and whatever else the Island has in store for us.

Posted on

A Credit Score for Your Entire Life?

Reputation management or a "social credit system" would be a way to measure trustworthiness and promote the Chinese governments vision of an "ideal" society.

Accelerating the construction of a social credit system is an important basis for comprehensively implementing the scientific development view and building a harmonious Socialist society; it is an important method to perfect the Socialist market economy system, accelerating and innovating social governance, and it has an important significance for strengthening the sincerity consciousness of the members of society, forging a desirable credit environment, raising the overall competitiveness of the country and stimulating the development of society and the progress of civilization.
~ China Copyright and Media

In the United States, our credit score can either make our lives a lot easier, or hell.

The idea of "social credit score" would be a way to measure "trust worthiness" based on an individuals behavior in what they buy, what they say in an email, etc.

Inevitably to create a system like this it would require breaking down society into behavioral cohorts, categorizing humans based on socio-economic demographic.

I will hold off judgement as to whether this is good or bad, but a couple questions to consider:

  1. Are you the sum result of your actions? Or, your intentions? Or, a combination?
  2. How do emotions and thoughts impact our behaviors? Can a system measure or predict this?
  3. What role does the spiritual and cultural play in behavior? Can a system account for this?
  4. What about companies that are analyzing your shopping and online behavior to determine and influence your purchase patterns? Where is this already showing up in your life?

Read the whole article here: China Is Building The Mother Of All Reputation Systems To Monitor Citizen Behavior: China's proposal is like a credit score that could encompass your entire life, from work performance to Internet activity.