funscopic view of life

Musca Domestica is the zoological name given to the common house fly. The term seems to indicate that the fly was adopted by humans. But it is the fly that has adopted our houses for its living. I understand that the house fly is capable of long flights of up to 4-5 kms. So perhaps the fly has many homes and it keeps changing its residence often.  One morning a fly decided to visit my house resulting in a war between self and the fly. The first indication as to its presence was when it landed on my nose directly after a long flight (perhaps). I can understand that it is tired from the long flight and needed to rest. But my reaction could not be helped. It was swift and the goal was to swat the fly and possibly kill it. That it resulted in a broken nose and scalded skin was another matter. Apparently my reflex reaction overrode several objections from the thinking part of my brain- such as 'Please do not do it. There is a cup in your hand- it can hurt your nose. The cup has hot coff...

Having successfully done 10K a few times, I was itching to have a go at a half marathon. The task did look daunting. For one it is more than twice the distance I have done so far, and I was not sure whether my age will permit a quantum jump. So I read several articles and blogs. Most said there is no age bar for half or even full marathon. However, there were a few reports of sudden death in some long distance runners.i.e one starts the run and either finish the run or the run finishes you off. On the flip side, that is perhaps a good way to go- no hospitalisation, no tubes down the throat and no worry of insurance coverage. So with no worry for this or my next life, I started preparing for my first half marathon. Is it 'half marathon' or a '21.1Km run':  Calling it a 'half marathon' gives one an exalted feeling that we are already on the half way mark of a future goal (which may never be achieved). However calling it a '21.1km' is rather odd. Why the de...

Music they say is in the genes (not sure if a mutation/ single nucleotide polymorphism has been identified). My mother used to sing and play Veena- although mostly for her own satisfaction. As a child I used to sit with her during her weekly lessons. I could sing along with her with my child's voice till my voice broke at around 12-13 yrs of age. It was as if my voice broke free of all inhibitions. Suddenly I had more than one voice to contend with- emanating from the same laryngeal box when I tried to sing. I had to learn to concentrate on one of the several frequencies (simultaneous lower scale C and E with middle scale G for example) so that in my mind at least it sounded like a harmonious tune. Like most people I continued with my bathroom singing (believing that the genes will take over at some stage), oblivious of the cacophony since by now I developed an automatic switch that cuts of other frequencies from the feedback. To my thus blanketed brain, my singing resembled that o...