Imran Anwar's In My Humble Opinion

(Like A) Virgin / Snow (White) - IMRAN™

2012-01-30T07:36:00.001-05:00

(Like A) Virgin / Snow (White) - IMRAN™, a photo by ImranAnwar on Flickr.

I tend to stay up late in general. It gets even more likely I will stay up all night when traveling abroad. Janary 21, 2012 had a forecast for snow pop-up after I had already purchased my tickets.

To make things worse, the snow arrived earlier, wetter, heavier on a colder night making roads icy. It was a Saturday early morning so there was not even enough traffic to melt the icy road surfaces. I left even earlier for the airport than was required on normal days.

One of the most boring things in the world, besides listening to idiotic talking head hate mongers on TV, is waiting four hours prior to departure on what is already supposed to be a nearly 24 hours long pair of flights.

Seeing the snowflakes raining down heavily coating everything in a heavy white fog, mist, coat and cover was making the day even more dreary.

Then, I saw her… a beautiful princess asleep, awaiting the arrival of her prince captain, as dwarf-like machines and minions gathered to de-ice and prepare her, before awakening her engines into a mighty roar of passionate power, that would carry her over the oceans on the invisible flying carpet of jet propulsion.

But until then, there she lay, silent, unmoving, on the cold slab of frozen tarmac, her frozen white body and fuselage merging in color with the iced surface, and the snow-filled sky.

But, like beautiful, lust and love filled red engorged lips, her tail cone proudly lifted in the air, right above an orange traffic cone below.

She shone, proudly showing her seemingly shut rear entrance, next to the bright red steel lips and tips of the tail and rear control surfaces, overcoming the frigid moment, promising the warm embrace of her seat to the chosen pilot taking command of the joytstick or yoke….

(Like A) Virgin / Snow (White)…..

Silently saying, "Come, take me, ride me and fly me, to blue skies, leaving a contrail of sighs, Captain Of My Soul."

© 2012 IMRAN
DSCN0310

Swan / Lake - IMRAN™

2012-01-26T07:56:00.001-05:00

Swan / Lake - IMRAN™, a photo by ImranAnwar on Flickr.

I am just mixing up the style and subjects of photos I post here, as 2012 will shape up to be a year of major changes in my life.

I will have less time to post also, especially as I am traveling in Asia this quarter.

This is just an 'ordinary' shot compared to some of the wonderful landscapes and sunsets I have savored looking at and photographing. But this winter NY shot, on a murky brackish lake walking distance from my home, took longer to execute as the swan moved about.

I had to wait until it was perfectly framed within the hanging dead branches that would spring to life in Spring.

If you look closely you cn still see the reflection of the swan on the greenish gray water, and even see the tuft of grass hanging from it's beak.

I am posting this in the same Album (Gorgeous Greens) where I posted a photo of a swan on the same lake in lush green colors. I am not sure if it is the same swan wondering why I keep following it for so many years. :-)

I would love to have your feedback because I was not sure if I should post this shot. It had over 100+ Views on TwitPic where I test-posted it, so decided to try it here.

Let me know your thoughts, my friends. Best wishes from Pakistan...

© 2012 IMRAN
DSC_8453

Product Review: Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex Pro FireWire 800 USB 2.0 Ultra-Portable External Hard Drive for Mac STBB750100

2012-01-19T15:45:00.001-05:00

IMRAN.TV Product Review: Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex Pro FireWire 800 USB 2.0 Ultra-Portable External Hard Drive for Mac STBB750100 (Personal Computers)

Hopefully the background of my decision will help you in making a decision, especially if you're using an older Mac laptop.

Having an early 2008 Apple MacBook Pro (which I got with the faster 7200rpm 200GB drive rather than the slower 250GB one) meant my having to keep my iTunes and iPhoto files on external bus powered USB-drives for several years. Generally I use Carbon Copy Cloner for my internal drive clones to external FireWire ones, and am OK using the USB powered drives like Iomega 320 and WD 160 in the past to keep my libraries.

I did want to upgrade my internal drive to the 750GB Momentus and keep all the data in one place, but opening up the MBP, going through that hassle, and then hopefully getting an early 2012 MacBook Pro with something like a 75pGB or 1TB internal drive (whenever they come out) would mean wasted money and effort on this older laptop. So, an external bus powered drive was my practical choice for now. When I saw the 500GB bus powered 7200RPM Seagate on the shelves of the Apple Store I was tempted to buy it immediately. Then I found that this 750GB 7200RPM Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex Pro FireWire 800 USB 2.0 Ultra-Portable External Hard Drive for Mac STBB750100 version was also available in the market, and decided to go this route.

As always, ordering from Amazon was a pleasure, and even though it was fulfilled by another vendor (HPP Enterprises), even as part of a larger multi-item, multi-shipper order, everything went smoothly. The shipper was very quick in responding, understood my request to ship the drive soon as I will be traveling soon, and the drive arrived very quickly. The packaging was great from the shipper, and the Seagate packaging was OK too.

First thing you notice is how cheap, flimsy and low quality the Seagate product is in manufacture. It is a plastic case with silver sort of painted on it. It looks like some child laborer was given a spray can to paint drives, as the paint is uneven. The drive itself is light (considering how much data it lifts :-) ). The 2 interfaces included were nice to have, the FW800 and the USB2 to use on PCs. It came Mac formatted but that was irrelevant to me, as I partitioned it into 3 with Disk Utility.

The drive runs fine, fairly quiet, fairly fast. Not MUCH faster than the FW800 external powered ones, but quite good for bus powered. I did not notice the interface overheating as I have read some reviews mention. Pretty warm, but not burning hot. I did not test the USB one yet. The 200GB Carbon Copy Clone and even the 160GB iPhoto library moved over quite fast and without any errors or problems. Overall, satisfied with current (new) use. I cannot speak for long term reliability (e.g. the interface cable cheaply glued to the unit is said to be susceptible to breaking) but it is cheaper looking than it should be at $175 or so.

I am hoping the new MBP that comes out will have a 7200 rpm 750GB in it so I can then use this as the take-along on trips backup while larger desktop drives are stay at home backups. Hope this helps you in your decision as you consider a portable external drive for your Mac or PC. Please oblige with your acknowledgement if it is. Thanks.

Imran Anwar

Technorati Tags: Apple, Mac, Technology, Macintosh, MacOS X, Seagate, Storage, Reviews, MacBook Pro

Dark Of The Moon - IMRAN™

2012-01-18T04:06:00.001-05:00

Dark Of The Moon - IMRAN™ -- STOP SOPA, a photo by ImranAnwar on Flickr.

SOOC Image Straight Out Of Camera!! NO editing, tweaking, cropping, of ANY, ANY kind. Only framed in Photoshop & saved image as merely a 0.5MB JPG.

On the occassion of the STOP SOPA campaigns, and the massive popularity of the recent Transformers 3, Dark Of The Moon, movie, this was a perfect photo to complete the transition of my last several photos to something completely different.

The previous several photos had color themes transitioning from red to gold to orange to multi-colored bright smiling faces.

So, a dark night, with no Dark Knight to Transform the darkness, or crusade against global governments slow and inexorable movement to colonize the Internet, was the perfect time to go from the bright colored previous photo to this totally natural, but almost black and white full moon rising over my home in NY.

The Black and Dark Gray color theme was to complete the contrast from my previous photo, and to support the STOP SOPA efforts by leading web sites blacking out their pages to protest those government attempts to curb freedoms.

I am all for intellectual property rights, but not for them being used by governments to start controlling the avenues of free expression… of ideas, of dissent, of opinion, of protest, even of creativity.

Maybe we are howling at the moon, but the wolf, my dear friends, is often dressed in threads of government suits, regardless of what country or political system we live under.

© 2011-2012 IMRAN
DSC_6860

Less Weight More Smile Wait Less Waitress California - IMRAN™

2012-01-16T11:06:00.001-05:00

Less Weight More Smile Wait Less Waitress California - IMRAN™, a photo by ImranAnwar on Flickr.

SOOC Image Straight Out Of Camera!! NO editing, tweaking, cropping, of ANY, ANY kind. Only framed in Photoshop & saved image as 5.5MB JPG.

My first trip to San Francisco had been after I moved to the USA in 1989. I flew there to meet my brother who had flown in from Pakistan via Tokyo. Our plan was to meet there, and then make a trip to Los Angeles with my old Lahore neighbor, friend, partner in my Internet business and co-founder of the .PK Internet email system, Ashar Nisar who had moved to the Silicon Valley area the same year.

During that trip we drove to LA but took the fastest highway routes. Over the years I also flew the SFO-LAX route a few times. But, going down the famed California Pacific Coast Highway was something it took me 22 years to getting around to doing.

Making it a 2-day trip, I had a beautiful trip. {See the Big Sur photo previously posted here. }

One stop was at Stearns Wharf, in Santa Barbara, to get a late lunch.

This naturally lovely, very sweet, fun, and very service driven young waitress at a place called Longboards Grill was a delight. And in that late afternoon falling sunlight casting a glow around her light hair and face, perfectly lighting up the deck umbrellas in an explosion of colors framing the picture, it became a lovely memory of a gorgeous moment, a beautiful girl, a great trip, and a collection of gorgeous colors.

I will have to dig up the contact info she gave me to tell her this timeless photo of hers is among the very few of non-landscape/nature shots I post here. {See Cat's Eye, for example.}

Slim, slender, fit, happy, smiling, serving food quickly, she was all about being a Less Weight, More Smile, Wait Less, Waitress!

© 2011-2012 IMRAN
DSC_8151
Nikon D300 ISO200 95mm 0EV f/7.1 1/200 sec.

Happy New Year, First Sunset 2012 Atlantic Ocean, Long Island, NY - IMRAN™

2012-01-05T09:28:00.001-05:00

Happy New Year, First Sunset 2012 Atlantic Ocean, Long Island, NY - IMRAN™, a photo by ImranAnwar on Flickr.

I wish you all, my dear friends, a very happy new year. May the tides always bring glad tidings, may your days always be bright and your nights always glow with joy.

Sunset on the Atlantic Ocean, at Cupsogue Beach (Westhampton Beach), Long Island, New York. An unprocessed Nikon D300 image did have to be straightened -1.3 degrees in Photoshop before framing.

f/14 1/800 seconds, 450mm eq zoom, 0EV, ISO200, compressed to JPG format.

© 2012 IMRAN
DSC_8613

Imran Anwar Keynote Speech Filipino American Association Philadelphia An...

2012-01-04T19:45:00.000-05:00

Delighted to speak to several hundred people at this annual gala/pageant/coronation event at a Hilton ballroom in Philadelphia. I am sure it will entertain, inspire and excite you too. Your comments and thoughts mean a lot to me.

Dealing With Nasty Criminals Like The German Los Angeles Arsonist & His Disgusting Mother

2012-01-03T18:38:00.001-05:00

There was an LA Times news story about a German arsonist living in Los Angeles who started about 50 fires, causing untold damage, and endangered countless lives, because his ugly, criminal, possibly-a-prostitute, mother was being deported to Germany. I would love to have your thoughts on the interesting discussion which ensued, after I posted saying:

Imran Anwar · CEO and Founder at ICloud.PK

If she knew he was mentally ill, why did the stupid criminal b&^ch not have him committed?

Reply · 4 · Unlike · Unfollow Post · about an hour ago

Janet Margrave · Top Commenter

not that simple any more. the streets are filled with people who have mental illnesses. the states aren't interested in providing care. budget cuts affect the old, poor and mentally ill.
Reply · 7 · Like · about an hour ago
Imran Anwar · CEO and Founder at ICloud.PK

Janet Margrave I understand. But, then people who later claim mental illness for serious crime perpetrators should be able to show proof they tried to have the person committed as a danger to society. Then, the state, or whoever set them free, should be liable for the damage they do.
Reply · 4 · Unlike · about an hour ago
Paul Birmele · Top Commenter · Santa Monica College

Imran Anwar And who is supposed to pay for that? The state is broke. The feds are broke. And guess what gets cut FIRST: Mental health support. The justice system is FULL of people who should have been put in a mental institution long before they committed a crime, but there aren't any. Talk to any sheriffs deputy or jail guard. They will agree.
Reply · Like · 45 minutes ago
Imran Anwar · CEO and Founder at ICloud.PK

Paul Birmele , and who pays for THAT? The cops, the courts, the jails, the food, the upkeep, etc? We all end up paying that, ON TOP of the cost of the damage criminals do to lives and property. Almost all of whom claim some sort of insanity when that is the only way out of prison time. My proposal, seriously, is to outsource prisons…. abroad. Mexico, Pakistan, India…. then see how many people want to go to jail.
Reply · 1 · Unlike · 41 minutes ago
Paul Birmele · Top Commenter · Santa Monica College

Imran Anwar Imran Anwar They already outsource prisons. They already privatized. 264 of them in the US are private. Has it made it cheaper? no. Scarier.

I think its nice that you suggest he not have any civil rights. I assume you are a native american and have lived here for thousands of years, but the rest of us and our ancestors came to America to live a free life, with civil liberties. Saying he should lose his is stupid.

Case in point: Some people believe in profiling at airports. This is something YOU should know about. That would mean any time YOU were in a public place the cops would search your whole body. Why? Because you aren't blonde and blue eyed. But they aren't supposed to. Why? Because in America we have civil liberties.

I SURE AS HELL DON'T WANT TO LIVE IN AN AMERICA WITHOUT CIVIL LIBERTIES.
Reply · Like · 29 minutes ago
Barbara Stevens · Top Commenter · San Diego, California

Janet Margrave Neither of these two people should be here. WHY aren't they sent back to Germany? why are they allowed to stay here?
Reply · 1 · Unlike · 29 minutes ago
Dick Brandlon · Top Commenter · Teacher/ Student Teacher Supervisor at Retired Teacher

Imran Anwar Can you envision people paying taxes for this?
Reply · 1 · Unlike · 28 minutes ago
Imran Anwar · CEO and Founder at ICloud.PK

Paul Birmele , I have news for you. I AM profiled when I am at the airport. But, no one strips me down… maybe if the TSA officer was a pretty blue eyed blonde I would not complain. LOL. But, seriously, in addition to that profiling, the dirtbag Mayor Bloomberg of NY was working closely with the CIA or others to spy on MULIMS (not some suspicious individuals). Did you do something about that to complain? NY Daily News, the rag from NYC, wrote editorials defending profiling Muslims… wonder if they'd write the same if cops used profiling to catch expensive car thieves in certain uptown parts of NYC. Bigots like LOWE'S management can express their hate for Muslims and get away with it without any of my fellow Americans stopping shopping there.

BUT, hate is not against the law, crime is. This dirtbag's fat ugly b*&ch mother was illegally here, committed crimes in her own country, apparently ran a sensual massage service (with her son? who knows), and he hated America, committed serious crimes, and should be thrown in the slammer forever (or maximum sentence possible if that is not possible) after a trial. Sorry, but what part of that is taking away his civil rights?

The only good news in all this was this scumbag was not a Muslim. LOL. In that case, he'd be charged with terrorism. Sad, but true. LOL
Reply · Like · 17 minutes ago

---
Technorati Tags: Justice, Germany, Crime

Paristmas! Paris Christmas & Happy New Year! - IMRAN™

2011-12-29T06:10:00.001-05:00

Paristmas! Paris Christmas & Happy New Year! - IMRAN™, a photo by ImranAnwar on Flickr.

Paris is one of my favorite places to visit. And, like my other favorite city, Manhattan, New York, which is amazing to visit at Christmas, France's capital city is a spectacular experience at holiday season time.

My first visit to the United States, New York, was in 1987 around Christmas time, the same year I had spent my birthday Summer 1987 in Paris, among other cities of Europe.

So, it was great to return there, nearly 20 years later, but merge my NY Christmas and Paris Summer experiences with a magnificent, MY PARISTMAS… MerrY Paris Christmas.

This photo, taken at the world famous Galeries Lafayette in Paris, is one of the most unusual I have taken.

I almost lay down at the base of the Christmas tree, to capture the full height of the massive tree, and the stunning ceiling of the building. The golden decorations, balls and balloons created a unique view.

I had to do that with my pocket Nikon S6, while trying not to be accidentally thought of as a foreign born Muslim troublemaker trying to topple the tree! :-) I look forward to returning to Paris in the near future, God Willing.

As Christmas season draws to a close, and as 2011 nears its inexorable end, I leave you with this wish and prayer….

No matter how down things look right now, never stop looking up, at the bright skies and gifts of God's blessings just waiting to be placed at your feet.

Remember me in your prayers too, my dear friends. Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year to you, your families and loved ones.

© 2006-2012 IMRAN
DSCN1096.JPG

Ashes To Flashes, Dusk To Decks - IMRAN™

2011-12-19T07:54:00.001-05:00

Ashes To Flashes, Dusk To Decks - IMRAN™, a photo by ImranAnwar on Flickr.

This SOOC {Straight Out Of Camera) photo was posted on TwitPic and already got 300 views there. To post if for your pleasure I did straighten it out 0.8 degrees and framed it in Photoshop as is my style here.

I had been waiting for this sunset. The weather was just the right amount of layered cloudy, which, as I had hoped, kept its promise of offering magical layers of colors that are unique and magical once in eternity visuals to savor.

As this stunning sunset unfolded outside my home, I put my longest Nikon D300 zoom lens (450mm eq) to use and was able to capture sky colors as if painted onto a soft canvas. by God himself, with the stillest portions of water off my beach acting like a mirror reflecting the sky colors to the lower left of the image.

The plentiful flashes of light from the tower and lighthouse 20 miles away had not yet started up, nor could my camera flash have fought off the ashes of darkness that had descended on the landscape beneath me.

Day turned into night, as the golden Phragmites (reeds) turned black and the sky turned golden in preparation of itself turning black. I was reminded of the eternal circle of life, and light, and death, and dearth of light, as the delapidated deck, its dead wood decaying becoming its own coffin, dissolving slowly into the icy waters and ravages of years under the dusk…. The words of a burial phrase came to my mind, which seemed here to say….

Flashes To Ashes, Dusk To Decks….

May we be blessed to live our lives to the fullest, happiest, blessed maximum, before, like the dusk signaling the end of day, our end of days comes. And may the canvas of our lives leave a portrait of great deeds painted on a landscape of blessings God opened before us… a painting of our lives for others to see, and, if we are worthy, savor our memories as we do this dusk.

© 2011 IMRAN
DSC_8539

Fiery Red Blue Sky Turns Blue Water Liquid Gold - IMRAN™

2011-12-17T20:57:00.001-05:00

There's nothing that makes my spirits soar than flying over ocean beaches and yachting havens, in, under and through blue skies… except yachting and sailing in New York even in mid-December, under fiery red skies turning the cold calm Great South Bay waters beneath me bubbling hot liquid Gold. Unedited iPhone 4S photo taken across from my blessed home at sunset, as the only other mariner out there also heads home.

Technorati Tags: Boating, iPhone, Life, New York, Photography, Sailing, Yachting

The Cold Man & The Sea - IMRAN™

2011-12-12T06:50:00.001-05:00

The Cold Man & The Sea - IMRAN™, a photo by ImranAnwar on Flickr.

In keeping with the series of photos you have loved, The Old Men And The Sea, The Odd Man And The Sea, The Young Woman And The Sea, and The Young Boy And The Sea, I am happy to share this photo for which I braved the frigid weather on the Fire Island, Long Island, NY, beach last evening…

The Cold Man And The Sea is the perfect title. It is reflective of the hands in the pockets, as well as the fact that one of the waves rolling on to the shore soaked my dress shoes & socks, drenched my feet, and chilled my bones until I got the car heater warm enough on the drive back home to start to thaw me out!

Absolutely no color editing, changes or color processing done to this photo from the Nikon D300 working optimally again.

I hope you will enjoy this cold and coldly beautiful moment with warm feelings (and in your warm homes or offices).

© 2011 IMRAN
DSC_8471

The Young Boy And The Sea - IMRAN™

2011-12-09T04:06:00.001-05:00

The Young Boy And The Sea - IMRAN™, a photo by ImranAnwar on Flickr.

A starkly different scene, and set of colors, from two of my favorite photos previously posted… The ODD Man & The Sea (Nikon D300), and The Young Woman & The Sea (iPhone 4S), this photo was taken with my pocket Nikon Coolpix S6 during a wonderful trip to one of the most beautiful places I have been, The Baths at Virgin Gorda, in the British Virgin Islands.

I was trying to take some good shots before we had to leave to catch the ship, and I wanted to do so before the small boat with several men on it would pop into the middle of the frame.

But, this young boy, oblivious to the travails of travel schedules and science of scene setting was just running around.

I decided to capture the shot, and succeeded in catching him in mid-stride, confidently taking on the wild blue sea yonder but under his feet as the sands of time of the future awaited him.

And I wondered, if, by some weird chance of verbal fate, the little boy near the big rocks could possibly from some place called Little Rock.

I hope you will relive the first time you met the ocean when you enjoy this photo. What were your first memories of the sea?

© 2008-2011 IMRAN
DSCN3537

The Young Woman And The Sea - IMRAN™

2011-12-05T06:24:00.001-05:00

The Young Woman And The Sea - IMRAN™, a photo by ImranAnwar on Flickr.

You Belong To The City by Glenn Frey is not just an inspired, amazing, timeless, poetic and rocking work of musical art, it is a song that, at one time or another, resonates with all of us as we pass through the stages in the play we call life. The song is even more special to me. It is one of the select songs I consider the soundtrack of my life.

It was thus ironic how quickly it came to mind when I met an old young beautiful intimate beloved friend, from recent years past, for an unexpected dinner and evening together. I had been planning to go to Smith Point beach to catch what was sure to be a beautiful sunset and dusk, when we connected on the phone after a very long time. So, we ended up going there together, a place we had last been several years ago, together, and with another love past and gone.

She, always patient, loving and caring, waited while I captured photos of the setting sun with my new Apple iPhone 4S. Not knowing I was watching her, she stood atop the forlorn log that had made the sands of Long Island its temporary home. And, I saw a moment that was as magical as it was timeless.

The Young Woman And The Sea, I said to myself as I clicked.

The wide angle view from an external lens I was testing on my new iPhone, the moment, the lighting, the log, the way the sun reflected on her golden tresses from the right, and the incredible way the tide had made the sand flow in the shape of angel wings around the log she stood on, I saw a timeless and absolutely unique moment in time…. a surreal almost masterpiece-like painting of life, accidentally brought to life, etched into memory, and now captured for the ages, by a mere cell phone camera.

I quickly snapped this photo and, later, at home, as I imported it into iPhoto, something struck a powerful chord....

We had been going through amazingly tumultuous and yet interesting and wonderful times in our respective lives when we last met and shared many wonderful experiences. And, as time, life, circumstances, people, events and fate dealt their hands, their blows, their stabs, it meant we continued our separate, still event-filled, surreal, sometimes happy, sometimes sad, journeys through life, until we got together again tonight. As these thoughts passed through my mind, in my ears Glenn's voice rang out truly, how "So much has happened, but nothing has changed".

As I pasted the lyrics to that wonderful song below for your pleasure, I could not resist but tweak some of the words (I hope the Text shows how I replaced some of the words {strike-through font} with ones even more suited to this moment {shown in bold}).

As you, gentle readers, dear friends, lovers old, new and future, read these words, just know, your most difficult, arduous, lonely journey is shared with me. It is shared by those you love, loved and will love. We may not be on the same part of the road, or hitting the same bumps at the same exact time, but, sooner or later, our paths will cross. I will take your hand, and be there for you. I promise.

One day, you will look back on the cold stormy nights and know that you did make it... because….

You Belong To The City

The sun goes down

The night rolls in

You can feel it starting all over again

The moon comes up

And the music ocean calls

You're getting tired of staring at the same four walls

You're out of your room

And down on the street beach

Moving through the crowds sand through the midnight heat winter freeze

The traffic ocean roars

And the sirens seagulls scream

You look at the faces waves, its just like a dream

Nobody know where you're going

Nobody cares where you've been

'Cause you belong to the city

You belong to the night

Living in a river of darkness, beneath the neon moon light

You were borne in on the city sea-tree

Concrete Sand under your feet

It's in your blood, its in your moves

You're a woman of the street beach

When you said goodbye

You were on the run

Tryin' to get away from the things you'd done

Now you're back again

And you're feeling strange

So much has happened, but nothing has changed

You still don't know where you're going

You're still just a face in the crowd

'Cause you belong to the city

You can feel it

You can taste it

You can see it

You can face it

You can hear it

You're getting near it

You want to make it

'Cause you can take it.

You belong to the city

You were borne in on the city sea-tree!

Original lyrics © Glenn Frey
Photo, prose, and this work © 2011 IMRAN
IMG_2294

Sun Way Sunday - IMRAN™

2011-11-27T22:41:00.001-05:00

Sun Way Sunday - IMRAN™, a photo by ImranAnwar on Flickr.

Fall in New York is a time of contrasts, and surreal colors.

Because of some currently unresolved issue in my camera, it is not recognizing lenses, defaulting to the slowest speeds. Trying to get it to behave I randomly changed many settings back and forth, and kept shooting. Consider this random surrealism.

The clouds were dark initially but brightened and filled with color as the sun slid down. You can make out the steamy fog starting to form on the Atlantic Ocean in the left of the photo, making the terrain in the distance on that side hazier than straight ahead.

This accidental almost vintage toned shot just heightens the contrasts -- between the pinkish yellow sky from a sun bursting forth under clouds and the pale yellow green of reeds, drying grass and evergreens -- providing an interesting backdrop for the almost bleached looking boardwalk, like a path, a walkway to the Sun.

Sun Way, Sunday.

Have a great week and rest of the year, my friends, as the nights get colder, and longer, and, as the clouds get darker, and lower, remember, the bright new sunshines, the brave new springs, like hope eternal, will spring forth around the calendar's corner.

Hold my hand, and come with me...

© 2011 IMRAN
DSC_8329

The Hands Of Time On The Sands Of Time: Eid Mubarak - IMRAN™

2011-11-11T15:23:00.001-05:00

The Hands Of Time On The Sands Of Time: Eid Mubarak - IMRAN™, a photo by ImranAnwar on Flickr.

Different worlds, different nations, different holidays… one planet, one day in time…

Eid Mubarak, Veteran's Day, 11/11/11….

All events, some twice a year, some annual, and some once a millenium, all reminders of the inexorable march of time, the hands of time, the ebb and flow, of life, of history, the world at our feet, across the sands of time.

Unedited/unprocessed iPhone 4 photo framed in Photoshop in about 5 minutes of work. Ironically, I had no time to work on the photo about time.... I had to do other work. Name text not perfectly centered, etc. but it's the thought that counts.

© 2011 IMRAN
IMG_2137

Imran Anwar on Imran Khan: Why The Future Of Awakened Pakistan Is Not In One Man's Hands

2011-10-31T00:00:00.000-04:00

The news media are buzzing about a rather large political protest gathering that took place in Pakistan. People seem galvanized and gravitating more to a national hero Cricket player, turned populist politician. Much that I am happy to see the silent majority Pakistani public starting to rise, I do not have much hope for the person they are following, even though I like and respect him. Here's why.

Imran Khan was about a decade ahead of me at Aitchison College, Lahore, Pakistan, and about 100 years ahead of me in popularity (and dashing good looks :-) ). He will always have my respect for sacrificing his popularity not for wealth but for a Cancer Hospital (in the memory of his late mother). With that one mission in life, he has done more good than Zardari, Benazir Bhutto, Nawaz Sharif and Pervez Musharaff combined could do - even if they had tried.

However, there were two reasons Imran Khan struggled in his quest for national power.

Initially it was the typical curse of Third World countries like Pakistan... the same "awam" (عوام - public/populace) that curses crooked politicians is also the one that votes them in to power. Why? Because the crooks are the ones who will help peddle influence illegally, to get things done when voters ask for favors. Someone supposedly aboveboard will not. So, he, like Imran Khan, will stay on the fringe and not get real power. This one sad realization was one major reason I said good bye to my political aspirations in Pakistan when I left 20 years ago. (I do salute Imran Khan for staying and putting up a good fight, even at great personal risk).

Now that the Arab Spring in the Middle East, the Occupy Wall Street in the United States, and far more importantly, the middle class uprising in India against corruption has vested interests and tyrants (political and economic) running for cover, Imran Khan may have a real chance.

But, that brings us to the second serious problem. He is still hampered by lack of any clear (articulated) PLAN that he would execute on, if he was in power. Even his speech in his largest rally (which is being reported on by media including the New York Times, etc.) was another "letdown".

Image via Wikipedia
The only Pakistani leader who could get away with rambling speeches, and still have a million people or more listening and jumping into action, was the late, once-great, later-tyrannical, deposed and hanged Prime Minister, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto. Imran Khan is nowhere near that man's stature, statesmanlike quality, popularity, or even vision. In the end, even with his charisma (that Bill Clinton would want to learn from), speaking ability (that Barack Obama would dream of achieving without a teleprompter), it was Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto's hubris, putting the interests of his crooked henchmen ahead of the nation's, and having no more vision and plan beyond getting re-elected, that got him hanged by General Zia-ul-Haq and the military.
Image via Wikipedia
Imran Khan needs to do more than gather 100,000 people (and make a meaningless speech).

Even I can make a speech about what the problems in Pakistan are, name who the crooks are, and why we need to solve the problems....

But, without saying HOW I would solve the problems, WHO I would have as my trusted and nationally trusted lieutenants to execute the plan, I too would be as useless in power as Imran Khan will be - if he does by some twist of fate find himself in government.

Unfortunately, even 15 years in politics getting to this point, Imran Khan, whom I would love to see in power compared to the current crop of so-called leaders, has neither stated his vision, nor articulated his strategy, and neither has he shared a roadmap and execution plan. That is what makes Pakistan's leadership void doubly sad.

Even worse, regardless of his Western education and former lifestyle, Khan's current wave of popularity is driven by a populist state-the-obvious (politicians are crooks and have done nothing for Pakistan), blame-USA fervor (while sometimes sounding like a Taliban apologist).

Yes, the current leaders and even the opposition are crooks. News Flash: So are the ones in the USA and other countries. (Italy's Premier could give Pakistan's Asif Ali Zardari a run for the money and the scandalous behavior). Yes, the USA has a shameful record in Pakistan. Yes, Pakistan's spineless sellout leaders have allowed even more exploitation for their own power. But, Pakistan had economic problems since independence. It has had ethnic near-civil war in different regions for decades before 9/11 or America's arrival in Afghanistan.

Without addressing specific problems that Pakistanis themselves tolerate -- and allow their leaders to create -- neither the cronyism-loving leaders, populist personalities, nor well-intentioned analysts, or worse, power-hungry dictatorial generals, can change the country's future.

As I have said in my own public speaking and on radio & television.... "National destinies are created by people, not by leaders, dictators, pedagogues, or sycophants. Pakistan needs to be saved not from America, but from (illiterate, violent, extremist, close-minded, crooked, corrupt) Pakistanis, by Pakistanis (who still believe in the great future that the nation is capable of achieving)."

What do you think?

© 2011 Imran Anwar
IMRAN.TV

Technorati Tags: Barack Obama, Commentary, Democracy, IMRAN, Opinion, Pakistan, Politics, Arab Spring, Occupy Wall Street, Bill Clinton

Let's Talk TV: How The Post-PC Era Enables Mac/PC To Dominate The Post-TV Era

2011-10-29T12:14:00.000-04:00

I read an article in InfoWorld about the evolutionary paths of Apple's iOS and OS X operating systems. The more I thought about it, the more I became convinced that the next evolution of these operating systems is also an incredible opportunity for a parallel paradigm shift -- from a newly emerging Post-PC to a Post-TV era. Here's why.

In my opinion, there are many different options open to Apple, in what strategy to follow. That also means several options for the technology industry in general to contemplate, rather than wait for Apple's moves and then trying to play catch up.

It would make perfect sense to see these "two" Apple operating systems (both with similar underpinnings) follow the typical development path -- of launching bare essential features, adding features, improving usability, improving performance, and then bringing in new features to start the cycle over again.

In this next decade, all this will be happening in an area not just of convergence in the technology arena (from cloud computing for consumers and converged infrastructure data centers for corporations), but also the form and factor areas of consumer & technology products; the convergence of entertainment & communications; and melding of the time we spend living, working & playing.

Image via Wikipedia
We had laptops/desktops, and we had smartphones/iPhones. Then came the late Steve Jobs' iPad. Even as a Mac and Apple fan from it's launch as a company, a platform, and a way of life, I was not certain how big a market iPad would find. It went on to create a whole new market category.

More people increasingly expect to be able to do everything they can do on a laptop now on their iPad and even iPhone in many cases. And the reverse of that is an increasing expectation too. People want user interface, display quality, and app features from the mobile platform to be fit where appropriate on the desktop/laptop, the PC that is.

We can easily imagine retina quality laptop displays (requiring higher resolution handing in the computer OS), touch interfaces, etc. making their way into laptops and desktops.

By the very nature of us living in an increasingly mobile world, the lower price point for cell phones versus laptops, the greater convenience of tablets than carrying laptops, etc. we can obviously continue the market share of handheld mobile devices to grow over even increasingly 'mobile' wireless connected laptops.

But, much that I agree with Steve Jobs' contention that we live in a Post-PC age, it does not, at least in my opinion, mean the end of the PC. Instead, it is my contention that there is a huge opportunity for laptop (and desktop) makers to avoid becoming the platform that dies out and instead to make it the coming second age of the PC.

At the very least they can build in 3D, much more powerful iterations of Siri-like (voice recognition and context driven intelligent assistant) logic on board, rather than requiring an internet connection as the iPhone 4S version requires. These are just some of the features they can add, but they also have a huge opportunity to pull a side-slide instead of being left behind in a paradigm shift.

Everyone agrees that the TV industry is ripe for massive change - one that even Apple and Steve Jobs failed to truly deliver on with AppleTV.

Image via CrunchBaseWith the visionary, one-man-industryial-revoltion-creator, Steve Jobs, gone, Apple has a chance to deliver on this vision. At the same time, competitors, from Sony to Samsung, Mitsubishi to Microsoft, Goldstar to Google, all have an opportunity to remake an industry and remake themselves. As a bonus, they could prove Steve Jobs wrong on his Post-PC contention.

Let mobile devices with cloud connectivity increasingly make Personal Computers less important for "Computing". Instead, make PCs drive the TV experience that industry and society are ready for, even though they don't know it.

Here is just one small bit of how I see this near-term future... [Long 'Vision' Sentence Alert].

The ability to have the same device intelligently streaming exactly the programs we want to see on our big screen, the ads we are less likely to scream at, an ability to click a micropayment to skip a commercial at a particular cliffhanger moment, an ability to click our Likes or + on shows, specific scenes, even product placements, or characters, all while working on a video our 1080p iPhone or smartphone recorded that day, being edited in iMovie, automatically shared in the cloud, and onto new services that enable friends and fans to show appreciation (or make micro-payments) for our masterpieces, with built-in mechanisms for leading channels to track popularity of our creations on the fly in dynamic new content marketplaces, and bidding on them in real time, so they get added to their programming catalogs and we get paid... all while watching House on any TV in the house.

Welcome to the Post-TV PC/Mac. It is time for your company and you to think of Mobile representing the Post-PC world -- with a parallel universe emerging, where the [PC/Mac/Your Product] is the hub of the Post-TV era.

Tech, television and electronics company leaders... Do touch that dial. Let's change the channel(s).

What do you think? Have your people call my people. Let's Talk TV™.

© 2011 Imran Anwar
IMRAN.TV

Technorati Tags: Apple, Cloud, Cloud Computing, Google, IMRAN, Imran Anwar, Steve Jobs, Television, TV, iPad, iPod, Mac, OS X, iOS, AppleTV, Microsoft, Samsung, Sony, Mitsubishi

The Ultimate Defeat In The Race Of Life - IMRAN™

2011-10-25T14:27:00.001-04:00

The thrill of victory, the agony of defeat. That is what living life to the fullest, on the edge, is all about.

With every mountain climbed, there are many spills, falls and crashes we must endure.

The Agony. The Ecstasy. Rinse, and repeat.

But, some of the things that define us, our passions, can also be dangerous, or fatal, like flying, or motorcycle racing.

One moment you are leading and on top of the world, the next, in a micro-instant, it's not just the end of the race, it's the ultimate defeat. The end of life.

Marco Simoncelli Dies Motorcycle Racing. RIP. Click http://j.mp/rWjEzD For Video.

Savor your passions and every moment alive.

Technorati Tags: IMRAN, Imran Anwar, Life, Racing, Motorcycles, Motorsports, Formula 1, Death

Neighs Ease Nigh High Seas - IMRAN™

2011-10-24T03:39:00.001-04:00

Neighs Ease Nigh High Seas - IMRAN™, a photo by ImranAnwar on Flickr.

neigh/nā/ Noun: A characteristic high-pitched sound uttered by a horse.

nigh/nī/ Adverb: Near

Harbour Island, Eleuthera, Bahamas, is one of the most beautiful places I have visited.

The luxury resort (Coral Sands) my then companion and I stayed at was expensive, but right on the beach, and absolutely worth the experience.

Relaxing on the talcum powder soft pink natural sand, as the day was ending, I witnessed this pair of horses, making soft neigh sounds, feeling ease as they headed home, nigh the high seas, with a cruise ship passing by in the distance of the shining Caribbean waters.

© 2007-2011 IMRAN
DSCN 1862

Empire Of The Sun - IMRAN™

2011-10-17T05:10:00.001-04:00

Empire Of The Sun - IMRAN™, a photo by ImranAnwar on Flickr.

Empire Of The Sun is a 1987 movie, directed by Steven Spielberg, which came out during the years of my first arriving in the USA, and settling into New York City. Then, more than 2 decades flew by. As a result, it is still on my list of movies to see.

But, that title has always remained with me. Even as I captured this breathtaking, SOOC (Straight Out Of Camera {except framing and titling} unedited, unprocessed), photograph.

It was taken from my yacht, in Biscayne Bay, returning from the Atlantic Ocean, on what had initially appeared to be a gray afternoon.

My then companion and I almost decided not to go out, but, a day of boating, on the ocean, beats a day driving around town. So, off we went.

As we headed back towards home port, in Coral Gables, Florida, timing the crossing of the channel to coincide with the sunset hour, I planned to capture the abandoned homes of Stiltsville silhouetted against the sun.

The sun was getting more rich, the haze more like natural camera filters. The clouds were really layered like thin muslin sheets across different distances and altitudes, creating a once in a million year combination of patterns, colors, hues and shades.

I had no idea, that without any skill on my part :-) , the Nikon D300, and the f/14 1/800 second ISO200 0eV exposures would lead to possibly the most stunning series of photos I had ever captured in my life.

Some will need to be straightened because I was slowly letting the Sea Ray Sundancer drift, its twin 8.1 liter Mercruiser engines idling, as I both maneuvered the boat with one hand to position the boat, and clicked the camera with the other hand, to capture the sun from different angles, and from between and behind different structures. The water was choppy.

As I stood in the cockpit, with no vessel or persons around me for miles, the vast openness of the darkening Atlantic Ocean to my left, other homes of Stiltsville behind me, choppy waters of Biscayne Bay and the Miami skyline to my right, with no other souls in sight…

I gazed at the sight that lay ahead…

And, it made me gasp out to the Creator, "Oh, My God!"

I felt what I was, and remain.... a humble, insignificant, man, in front of nature, and God.

But, also, in that same moment of clarity I knew...

I am the master of my fate, the captain of my soul, the architect of my destiny. And, some of the brightest visions lie behind the darkest clouds, saddest scenes, and foreboding skies.

At that spot, in that moment in time, I realized…

I am the ruler.... of my own Empire Of The Sun.

© 2008-2011 IMRAN
DSC_0954

Technorati Tags: D300, Florida, IMRAN, Imran Anwar, Life, Nikon, Philosophy, Photography, Miami, Sundancer, Sea Ray, Movies, God

The Morons Behind America's Next War... With Pakistan!

2011-10-10T15:05:00.001-04:00

There's a so-called writer Steve Clemons at The Atlantic, who is probably on the CIA payroll, and writes articles to generate hate or negative opinion about whoever his puppet masters want to target for attack next. You can almost see the tails wag these dogs almost in unison in typical neo-con publications. His latest "article" is about "America's New War with Pakistan"...

You can almost imagine the conversation... "OK, what do you want me to write against them... OK.. Yes, please. The usual payment to the usual account. Thank you. Consider the article done and posted."

No surprise my comment below was deleted though it is neither offensive nor abusive.

I wonder what this writer's position was when now-terrorist former-hero Haqqani was a state guest in the White House with none other than US President Ronald Reagan... You know, that time not too long ago in a galaxy quite nearby, when US tax dollars were being spent to teach DDD (dead dog dictator) Zia how to crush democracy, create the ISI, fund black ops, and how to shove zealotry into a moderate Muslim Pakistan (and basket case Afghanistan) to make people consider the war against the Soviet occupiers an Islamic Jihad.

Ah, the irony, the irony. Good old fashioned conservative Christians in power funding with American tax payer money the creation of madrassahs and indoctrination programs, to teach young boys and men to kill or die fighting non-Muslim occupying armies....

Oooops, fast forward 30 years and that is our American soldiers now paying the price for that policy...

Once again, Pakistan was befriended when USA needed it, then used, abused, dumped it like a used Kleenex and now now, suddenly, puppet writers in many publications are writing op-eds about Pakistan as the new enemy.
So, so, predictable.

Imran Anwar
IMRAN.TV
http://blog.imran.com
Technorati Tags: Afghanistan, America, Christians, CIA, George Bush, IMRAN, Imran Anwar, ISI, Pakistan, Politics, Ronald Reagan, Security, Taliban, USSR, War

Solar Fire, Solo Flier - IMRAN™

2011-10-05T03:10:00.001-04:00

Solar Fire, Solo Flier - IMRAN™, a photo by ImranAnwar on Flickr.

Steve Jobs, visionary, genius. Thank you for everything. RIP.

Hat Trick +2 ! My 5th flickr Explore in a row.

My 45th Photo to make it in Flickr Explore on October 5, 2011!

Smith Point County Park Bridge is a place which has many special meanings to me.

It is a place I visited with my beloved Father when he was in the USA in 1996, at a time of great difficulties for me.

Over the 15 years since, it is a place I visit by road like others do. It is a site I have boated, sailed and yachted by, on both the bay and the ocean sides. It is a sight I have flown over, spreading my wings over its beaches and near-by islets, to practice flight manuevers. Its parking lot offers a level of comfort -- as an potential emergency landing spot (assuming it is not crowded), especially during fall and winter flying on the ocean.

Walking on it, I have felt its sand in my toes, and I've marched across the asphalt to walk up to the bridge to capture some of my most spectacular sunset photographs.

This was not a particular clear or bright, day, much like the murky uncertainty that surrounds us as individuals and even as nations and a human race. It was not even an interestingly cloudy day, when the infinite variations of cloud shapes always ensure differing shades of red.

But, as the golden sun set, as it set the sky alight with a solar fire, I got what I was waiting for.

An image, a moment in time, a symbolic alignment of man, machine, planet, and the universe with the stages in life I have faced in the last 3 years….

A solo flier appeared when all other birds had given up and gone home. A natural aviator, silently, hopefully, bound for its destination unknown, knowing somewhere along the way it would find its mate, and its dreams would come true…. even as a seemingly endless night appeared before it.

And, even as I was posting this picture, little did I know that someone of far greater significance would be flying away, forever, within hours of my posting this photo. Steve Jobs, RIP.

A Solo Flier Against A Solar Fire.

May we all soar above our troubles and find all the joy, love, and happiness we seek, deserve and desire.

© 2011 IMRAN
DSC_7850

Technorati Tags: IMRAN, Imran Anwar, Inspiration, Life, Nature, Nikon, Philosophy, Photography, Prose, Sunset, Travel

I Eye Parade Of Blues, Blue (Parad)Eyes - IMRAN™

2011-09-30T08:52:00.001-04:00

I Eye Parade Of Blues, Blue (Parad)Eyes - IMRAN™, a photo by ImranAnwar on Flickr.

These are heavenly shades, here on our beautiful planet, Earth. They are real colors captured by my 6 year old Nikon S6 pocket camera, not Photoshop creations.

The blue sky merging into the blue sea water in the distance and the turquoise heavenly bay in the foreground are a vision of heaven on earth. If you see the original size image you can see people on the float in the water and frolicking on the beach.

These are the colors you see in the Caribbean. Thanks to my friend Rona for locating the name of the place, Caneel Bay, St. John's, that I was trying to remember.

The lush green trees and foliage, the private beach just epitomize my view of living in paradise. Don't miss this amazing place, called Trunk Bay, St. John's, US Virgin Islands, where we had spent the day before I took this photo returning to the ship.

© 2008-2011 IMRAN
DSCN3435

loc: 18.342240 , −64.786674

Sailing Stunset - IMRAN™

2011-09-21T03:47:00.001-04:00

Sailing Stunset - IMRAN™, a photo by ImranAnwar on Flickr.

I only had my iPhone 4 and 6 years old pocket Nikon S6 in my pockets as I went sailing/racing with my friend Peter Ehatt and his wife Jean.

The bay, between Smith Point beach and the landmass of Long Island, became our playground, as we first met the challenge of almost no wind, followed by a rapidly chaning wind that, at one point during an aggressive maneuver, almost had us capsize in a comedy of errors. Note to self, learn to swim properly.

But, it was all worth the zigzag rushing to get in place at just the right time to take this stunning, pastel, orange, pink, red, gold explosion of natural colors captured by the Nikon S6. The trees and the bridge in silhouette completed the mood.

The image does not have the fine resolution of my Nikon D300 12MP shots, but the colors were still magical.

The unreal reflection on the water made it almost appear like a bowl of a golden liquid with a fire dancing atop it.

To top off the evening, as we headed home, the same spot the sun had set lit up with mid-summer fireworks. But, the memory of the day was definitely this, Sailing Stunset!

© 2011 IMRAN
DSCN1265

Technorati Tags: Boating, IMRAN, Imran Anwar, Long Island, New York, Nikon, Photography, Sailing, Summer, Sunset

Stunning Final Weekend, Farewell Summer Of 2011 - IMRAN™

2011-09-19T18:24:00.000-04:00

The final weekend of Summer 2011 came to a stunning end, and shades of blue filled the water and the sky. Shades one was more used to seeing in Florida and Colorado. As the Summer of 2011 passed into the pages and cells of memory.... the chilly winds of Fall started blowing kisses, arriving on my shore, before the selfish lover of Winter starts demanding long dark nights.... while dreams of new Spring Loves, and the passionate embraces of Summer of '12, filled my heart, mind, body and soul.

The View (aka The RiverView), in Oakdale, at the the Great South Bay, Long Island, NY, is one of my favorite Sunday brunch places, to come via boat, car or motorcycle.

This final stunning weekend of Summer 2011 was one for the ages. It was a bit windy, but the incredible blue sky colors were shining through even in this unedited Apple iPhone cell phone video clip.

Hope to see you as Summer 2012 arrives, one day, soon.

iPhone 4 Video: © 2011 Imran Anwar http://imran.com
Audio: "My Only Sky" © Storm Gordon

Technorati Tags: Boating, iPhone, Long Island, New York, Photography, Seasons, Summer, Video, Weather, Yachting, Sailing, Sunday

Natural 3D - IMRAN™

2011-09-14T12:11:00.001-04:00

Natural 3D - IMRAN™ -- 100+ Views Within Hours Of Posting!, a photo by ImranAnwar on Flickr.

SOOC Image Straight Out Of Camera!! NO editing, tweaking, of ANY kind. Only framed in Photoshop & saved image as 6MB JPG. Handheld, 450mm zoom ISO250 at f/5.6 1/60 seconds with flash.

Walking around my home after a morning of rain, I shot several photos of the wonderful flowers that were blooming in the beds.

I was amazed by the almost 3D effect this photo's bokeh background, the foreground flower and the sharply in-focus buds, created.

No editing on these natural colors, brought to life by firing off the flash - though it was morning and an outdoors scene.

© 2011 IMRAN
DSC_7363

Question The Tough Questions To Ask In Cloud Computing

2011-09-13T15:52:00.001-04:00

I am on record as suggesting that tough questions need to be asked by everyone (including clients, media AND vendors) before jumping on the Cloud Computing bandwagon. (See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYl-tzTHtQk which I recorded even before having a day job at the leading Cloud Computing Converged Infrastructure vendor.)

I read a recent article, Some tough questions you need to ask your cloud provider, by Rutrell Yasin. It is in the respected GCN (Government Computer News), a publication I also recall being interviewed by in the past. That was during my days of being CEO, EverTrac, the pioneer in location-aware eBusiness solutions, including tracking people and assets, indoors and outdoors, in the late 1990s.

In it, the writer quotes Wolf Tombe, chief technology officer within the Customs and Border Protection’s Office of Information Technology. I am certain Mr. Tombe is far smarter, more experienced and clout-carrying in government, technology, and probably even Cloud Computing circles than I am.

But, I also respectfully disagree with his contention that some applications are "easy wins moving to the cloud, such as e-mail and collaboration tools".

If "easy" refers to how quickly and conveniently an app can be deployed onto a cloud or converged infrastructure, then I would say, most apps, whether email, or ISV created vertical solutions, can be migrated with reasonable convenience and the expected amount of work.

If the contention is that somehow email and collaboration are no brainers to put in the public cloud, I strongly disagree.

I think that is over simplistic and dangerous. What apps are no-brainers to move to the public cloud should depend on the mission-critical or sensitive nature of the data or functionality in the app, not what the app itself is.

For example, even the simple email and internal discussion files of a nuclear weapons design agency with just 100 people would be far more critical to protect than, say, all the accounting data of a widget making company with 5000 employees.

So, as I have said before, tough questions need to be asked... by clients, by media, and even by vendors. The stakes are too high, the opportunity for Cloud Computing to be a globally beneficial tool is too huge, and the threats too serious, for any of these elements to be glossed over.

Technorati Tags: Cloud, Cloud Computing, IMRAN, Imran Anwar, Security, Convergence, Converged Infrastructure, EverTrac, GPS

Have American Airlines Pilots Become Paranoid Bathroom Attendants?

2011-09-12T15:45:00.001-04:00

Like everyone else, I was seriously concerned about the threat of new terror attacks on the 10th Anniversary of September 11. I was more worried about vehicle borne or even lone wolf suicide bombings than someone still managing to pull off a terror attack using jet airliners.

So, I read with interest the news reports of two separate planes that caused national security alerts, with fighter jets being scrambled, and passengers being questioned, after landing, for their… drum roll… extended use of the airliner toilets.

A news item in particular was very strange… An American Airlines "pilot became nervous when he noticed that several passengers were making frequent trips to the bathroom."

I am all for safety and being alert, especially on the 10th anniversary of 9/11, but what kind of airliner pilot is more focused on how many people are going to the bathroom than flying the darn plane? Is he SuperPilot that he can see through the locked cockpit door? Or did some ditsy (male or female) flight attendant cause the scare? They should consider taking a job in a restaurant to keep track of bathroom visits by patrons.

Also, I am all for a couple deciding to make out on planes, trains and automobiles, but (if that is indeed what had happened on a Frontier Airlines flight) for a couple to try pulling that off (no pun intended) in an aircraft toilet on 9/11 suggests the Moron gene's presence.

Maybe airlines should not issue coupons (like drink coupons) on how many times and for how long passengers can go to the bathroom. eBay can set up a new marketplace to trade in toilet time futures.

A separate news report during the hunt for possible terror plotters mentioned how police were searching for stolen vans and similar vehicles.

That made me think… how dumb must be those retards who would steal any vehicle, much less a potential bomb-carrying-capable van on or around 9/11. I really wish they get caught, and even if they're simply Grand Theft Auto fans, I hope they are shipped to Guantanamo for the crime of being extra stupid, and for causing extra concern for the whole nation.

Finally, I am thankful that 9/11 2011 passed solemnly and uneventfully from a security perspective, but I remain concerned, and we must remain vigilant. We are not out of danger, and we are all in this together.

What were your thoughts on 9/11/2011 and how have your thinking and you changed since 9/11/2001 ?

Technorati Tags: Aircraft, Airlines, AlQaeda, Aviation, Flying, IMRAN, Imran Anwar, New York, Opinion, Pilots, Security,Terrorism, Travel, Commentary, 9/11

Is Pacific Ocean Big? Sur(e)! - IMRAN™

2011-09-09T05:37:00.001-04:00

Is Pacific Ocean Big? Sur(e)! - IMRAN™, a photo by ImranAnwar on Flickr.

About 18 years ago, my friends based in California, and I, had taken a brief trip along the famed Pacific Coast Highway (Route 1), from San Francisco / San Jose to the towns of Carmel and Monterey.

It was a beautiful scenic drive, and a great time with friends, who, like passing time, can move into the memory drawers of life.

This year, after a hectic business trip to Santa Clara and San Jose, I changed my return flight, from San Francisco - Long Island, to a departure from Orange County, near Los Angeles.

My goal was to take a 2 day slow drive along Route 1, and get to visit a dear cousin, who had visited me with her then-brand new husband (LOL) about 12 years ago in NY, and whom I had long promised to visit.

My trip was delayed because unexpected meetings meant I could not depart from Santa Clara til about 3 PM.

That is when I actually started calling around for hotels to have another interesting twist. It was coming up on the last weekend for many families before schools started. So, there were no hotel rooms available anywhere, except for $500 or more per night.

But, I plugged away, sitting in the parking lot doing searches on my iPhone and calling around but in specific areas on the ocean route.

I was also sorely disappointed that the day of this trip was completely overcast weather in California.

I decided to head towards Irvine and Newport Beach (where my cousin and her husband and three daughters I had never met lived). My plan was to stay the night in a scenic place, which I ended up picking Cambria to be. (A lovely place, where I also got a reasonably priced, well under $200 or so compared to $500, for an only remaining room, on the ocean, with breakfast included, so it was quite a bargain at that time).

But, as I made my way down Route 1, I realized that my photography plans were pretty much foiled, both by the weather, the lateness of my departure, and a misbehaving camera.

One primary place to visit on my list had been the Big Sur area, and its rocky structures along the cliffs and hills along the Pacific Coast.

Interestingly, as I got to that area, the sun had started falling, but the clouds were lifting enough for the sun to cast a hot yellow red tinge on the rocks of Big Sur. At the same time, a contrasting fog was rolling in from the ocean just a mile or two further away.

The scene was surreal… the green trees and sandy, muddy, rocky mountainside was appearing saturated in yellow, the rocks jutting out from a darkening blue were almost overexposed looking white, while the hills just a few miles away merged into a hazy blue layer of hazier bluer mists, with the waves rolling onto the sliver of sandy beach were a beautiful combined shade of turquoise and teal.

All in all, it ended up being a unique, once in a lifetime, set of weather conditions, of a small slice of our planet worth seeing in many different lights.

Is the Pacific Ocean Big? Sure. But, at Big Sur it is just a tiny microcosm of what makes our beautiful blue planet the home not just of our living beings, but our souls that feed on the beauty of nature.

I hope you enjoyed this travel experience I am sharing. Thank you.

© 2011 IMRAN
DSC_8113

Technorati Tags: California, IMRAN, Imran Anwar, Nature, Nikon, Photography, Travel

Peek Beak Peak Color Curves - IMRAN™

2011-09-08T16:17:00.001-04:00

Peek Beak Peak Color Curves - IMRAN™ — 550+ Views!, a photo by ImranAnwar on Flickr.

SOOC Image Straight Out Of Camera!! NO editing, tweaking, of ANY kind. Only framed in Photoshop & saved as JPG.

As you know, I love wordplay, especially in the titles and descriptions of my photos.

But, despite being lucky with planting flowers around the house, I have little knowledge of the names of the vast majority of popular plants. Blame it on my hating Botany and Biology as subjects when I was growing up.

Also, flower closeups do not often have external elements to tie into a word-play story.

This picture was hard for me to title, except that I wanted to say something about the bird like beak on these plants in flowerbeds of Rockfeller Center, New York City, recently.

Then I realized the multiple puns possible. You can look at the sharp shape, and see the range of colors you would find in the iPhoto or Photoshop histograms of fall foliage photos if you wanted to improve the photo. (This photo has NO enhancements done to it).

Peek Beak Peak Color Curves.

Other ideas welcome. :-)

© 2011 IMRAN™
DSC_7418

End Of Summer, Beach, Fireworks, Bellport, NY - IMRAN™

2011-09-01T20:27:00.000-04:00

Riding back from sunset photography at Smith Point Beach, Long Island, New York, I realized that End of Summer Fireworks were starting up at Bellport Dock, on the beach, near my home.

I barely had time to stop the motorcycle when the show started. I did not even have time to pull out my Nikon D300 from the carrying case for some high resolution shots. Instead, I simply grabbed the iPhone 4, and shot this clip still sitting on the R6, with my helmet and racing gloves still on!

Unedited iPhone 4 video exported to YouTube with iMovie on Mac OS Lion, September 1, 2011. I did not even know this song (Fireworks © Roxette and used with Thanks and full credit to them) existed in my own iTunes library. I only found it because I searched for Fireworks and found two.

The amazing wording (listen to the lyrics) about lovers, the beach and fireworks in the sky is perfectly suited, and the song is the right length too.

Please enjoy, and Like, and Share the link with your friends. Thank you. Have an awesome remaining summer and rest of the year.

Video: © 2011 IMRAN
"Fireworks" Song: © Roxette

Serene Sunset Smith Point Beach NY - IMRAN™

2011-08-31T11:56:00.001-04:00

As Hurricane Irene became a recent distant memory, and as the sun set on Ramadan, the month of fasting for Muslims, a sweet serene sunset spoke of peace, of man, nature and nation, at Smith Point Beach, Long Island, NY. It soon gave way to a stunning, moonless, starry night, with the Milky Way so clear it made you think it was a strand of light clouds. Happy Eid Mubarak to my fellow Muslims, and Peace to all.

Technorati Tags: Eid, IMRAN, Imran Anwar, Long Island, Muslims, Nature, Pakistan, Photography, Sunset, Video, Ramadan, Hurricane Irene

Soar Winger - IMRAN™

2011-08-20T03:11:00.001-04:00

Soar Winger (Prayers Appreciated) - IMRAN™ — 350+ Views!, a photo by ImranAnwar on Flickr.

It was Christmas Day, sunset. It was my late mother's birth anniversary, whom I lost 20 years ago, aged just about 51.

It was just a few days after the sudden passing away of my beloved Father, who lived 17 years after her, and never married again. He visited her grave to spread rose petals on it, to the end of his days, even when he had to be physically carried there after being paralyzed by a massive stroke.

I stood at the spot on Smith Point Bridge where he and I had gone, during his 1996 visit to me. I had been going through a difficult time in my life. And, he was there for me.

As I stand alone facing far greater challenges, deep crises and troubles, all coming together in my life at the same time, I look at this photograph and think of what my parents always taught me.

Always look up. Always look forward. Never be a sore loser, nor an ungracious winner. Fly as high as your dreams take you. Soar, Winger.

Your deepest prayers appreciated for the souls of my beloved parents, and for me to overcome the many crises I face all at the same time. Thank you.

© 2008-2011 IMRAN
DSC_1539

Cats Align A(n) Island, Not Catalina Island - IMRAN™

2011-08-15T00:22:00.001-04:00

Cats Align A(n) Island, Not Catalina Island - IMRAN™ — Explored! — 400+ Views!, a photo by ImranAnwar on Flickr.

My 38th Photo to make it in Flickr Explore on July 6, 2011!

Tahiti and many other places remain on my list of places to go with someone special in my life one day, but until now, The British Virgin Islands, especially the waters and beaches of Tortola and the Baths at Virgin Gorda remain the most amazing I have seen, savored and soaked into my soul.

These catamarans and sailboats are soaking in the sun and were aligned with each other and an island in the distance.

Though I have not been to Catalina Island, the word play was to oeasy to pass up...

Cats Align An Island, Not Catalina Island.

I am certain the tranquil scenery and stunning colors will tempt you to put these places I have been blessed to go also on your list of places to visit.

Travel Far, But Never Forget Home!

© 2008-2011 IMRAN
DSCN3472

The Odd Man And The Sea - IMRAN™

2011-08-07T14:09:00.001-04:00

The Odd Man And The Sea - IMRAN™ — Explored! — 800+ Views!, a photo by ImranAnwar on Flickr.

My 37th Photo to make it in Flickr Explore on June 20, 2011!

No color editing or processing of any kind, no filters. Photo, taken from top deck of moving boat, had to be straightened in Photoshop. Click photo to see detail!

As the humming engines got me underway over the waters of the Long Island Sound, I saw a sole figure in the distance. The odd man out(doors). One man, an odd figure (i.e. not an even number :-) ).

A fisherman, who had braved the waters, slippery rocks, currents and tides for the perfect catch. As the accelerating boat, figure and sun came in line, I held on with one hand on the railing, and got my perfect catch... this photo (except having to straighten it :-( ), taken at a 450mm Zoom, handheld, with only one chance before the moment would be like "the one that got away" in fishermen's stories...

Exposure 0.001 sec (1/1250), Aperture f/18.0, Focal Length 300/450 mm, ISO Speed 320...

I See. Clicker, Tuna/er, Snapper... Caught! The Odd Man And The Sea!

Also view: The Old MEN And The Sea

© 2011 IMRAN™
DSC_7739

I Drop To Focus On Drop Focus - IMRAN™

2011-08-05T05:29:00.001-04:00

I Drop To Focus On Drop Focus - IMRAN™ — Explored! — (You Have to Click It For A 3D Feeling) — 500+ Views!, a photo by ImranAnwar on Flickr.

My 36th Photo to make it in Flickr Explore on June 14, 2011!

Walking around the house after a mid-May rain shower, I saw these flowers my neighbor planted.

I dropped to my knees, in the wet grass, and focused on getting the drop in focus and the rest out of focus. I did not want to drop my focus on a drop focus effect.

I got it even better than I could imagine. Stare at it, and that drop of water looks like 3D.

Photo is as taken by the Nikon D300, not softened in any computer program.

© 2011 IMRAN™
DSC_7365

Sky So Solar Red, Or Land O' Orlando - IMRAN™

2011-07-31T22:40:00.001-04:00

Sky So Solar Red, Or Land O' Orlando - IMRAN™ ———— (No Editing Or Processing!) — 400+ Views!, a photo by ImranAnwar on Flickr.

SOOC Image Straight Out Of Camera!! NO editing, tweaking, of ANY kind. 1/320 seconds 450mm handheld photo at f/9 ISO200. Only framed in Photoshop.

A sky so solar blood red, with a melting gold sun melding with the hot earth, or land o' Orlando!

© 2011 IMRAN™
DSC_7118

Freeze Frame! Boys (of) Summer, Play Ball! - IMRAN™

2011-07-28T03:25:00.001-04:00

Freeze Frame! Boys (of) Summer, Play Ball! - IMRAN™ — 300+ Views! (Click Pic To See Ball Midway In Midair), a photo by ImranAnwar on Flickr.

My 35th Photo to make it in Flickr Explore on June 7, 2011!

Baseball. The All-American pastime. A moment frozen in time, as two bitter rivals, like Gangs of New York, vie for victory over each other. This handheld shot caught the ball literally in the air hurling from the pitcher's hand to the strike zone.

An old flame of the time, a big Mets fan, took me to my first baseball game on my birthday in 1993. We had apartments in the beautiful Monterey, and from our apartments we could see Yankee and Mets stadia. Later that year, my old Columbia Business School roommate, Jim Malley, who had moved into another luxury building across the street from mine, took me to a Yankees game.

Generally, I am not a big Baseball fan - still loving Cricket over it. But, I root for NY teams, whoever they play against. Between the Yankees and the Mets, my tendency is to cheer for the Yankees. (Sorry, Beth! LOL)

Then on my birthday in 2002 my THEN lovely girlfriend (and one of the nicest people and prettiest girls I ever met, Catherine) took me to the Mets game, again.

After that I did not go to any more games. Until 2009, that is. At that time, my lovely girlfriend (Kathryn) took me to another Mets game, at the New Mets Stadium. It was fun. (Note to self... what is it with beautiful blonde girlfriends always being Mets fans! LOL).

In May this year, in an unexpected last minute plan with my childhood friends (whom I have a reunion with every year) had us in Manhattan for the weekend of my birthday. Spur of the moment, we decided to go see a Baseball game and got two for the price of one... a Yankees-Mets game at the New Yankee Stadium.

It was a great game. It started at about 6:30PM, with the sky still pale blue. And it ended under the bright lights of the arena. The Yankees won 7-3.

Among several shots, this one was a good representative photograph... of the Boys (of) Summer, (as they) Play Ball...

Now I need to see an extra 2 Yankees games to bring the total number of games of each team I have watched back in balance. :-)

© 2011 IMRAN™
DSC_7468

Turn & Bank Over River Banks To Airport, Port & Beach Newport Beach To Port - IMRAN™

2011-07-20T12:49:00.001-04:00

Turn & Bank Over River Banks To Airport, Port & Beach Newport Beach To Port - IMRAN™ — 900+ Views!, a photo by ImranAnwar on Flickr.

My 34th Photo to make it in Flickr Explore. Front Page on June 3, 2011!

I love flying. I love yachting & boating. I love the beach. I love travel. I love water. I love California. I love waterfront living. I love marine. I love marinas. I love wordplay. I love banks (along beautiful rivers, NOT financial institutions!).

This photo, taken through an aircraft window with a 5 years old pocket Nikon S6, has all of that - and more.

A banking turn in a plane is changing the direction of the aircraft while also turning by controlling how inclined it is to the horizon. I loved this steep banking turn to port (the left side of a plane or a yacht), as the aircraft banked over the banks of the beautiful riverlike body of water, over a sort of (boating) port and beach, near Balboa Island's Yacht Club and marinas, on the way to the airport at Newport Beach.

© 2010-2011 IMRAN™
DSCN1058

Location

Three ⚡ Lightning ⚡ Strikes And You're Out(side)! - IMRAN™

2011-07-13T15:30:00.001-04:00

Three ⚡ Lightning ⚡ Strikes And You're Out(side)! - IMRAN™ — 650+ Views!, a photo by ImranAnwar on Flickr.

Being blessed to live on the water, away from city lights, the wide expanse of the Great South Bay beyond my home beach is always a source of visual treats.

From dark moonless nights with flying white foam covering roaring waves, to moonlit nights on a silky smooth mass. From No Visible Horizon nights when earth, wind, sky and water merge into one, to the most spectacular displays of lightning, seeming to set alight the aptly named Watch Hill on the also aptly named Fire Island... places I love being by boat, in all kinds of weather, in all seasons, in all stages of life and in all types of light.

But, as I clicked way on my Nikon D300 on this magnficent fireworks filled sky, with the smell of burning Ozone in the air, and the atmosphere rich in sensual moisture and dripping in an almost sexually charged energy. The mood, the scene, were, to say the least, Electric.

As massive thunderbolts and lightning struck across from my home, as I captured this photo, I was reminded of the risks....

Three (Lightning) Strikes And You're Out(side)!? :-)

© 2010-2011 IMRAN
DSC_6728

Camera Nikon D300, Exposure 30, Aperture f/18.0, Focal Length 48 mm

Eye Inbound I - IMRAN™

2011-06-27T13:24:00.003-04:00

Eye Inbound I - IMRAN™, a photo by ImranAnwar on Flickr.

One final look at a stunning sunset painting the cockpit & Long Island Sound golden to my right, my home & the Great South Bay pink to the left; before turning full focus on landing.

I set up final approach, destination KISP.

Pink skies filling my eyes, Pink Floyd's words in my mind's ears....

"Can't keep my eyes from the circling sky, Tongue-tied & twisted, Just an earthbound misfit, I"

... my spirit silently calls God in control from heavens above, my senses call Air Traffic Control in towers below.

"New York Approach, Skyhawk November-Two-Four-Three-Eight-Siera inbound for landing, full stop Islip, is at 2000 feet, 8 miles Northeast of you, with information Zulu."

Radio 118.0. Altimeter two-niner-niner-two. Transponder squawk 4377 & ident. ATC controllers Eye Inbound I as I light up their radar scopes.

"Three-Eight Sierra, Radar Contact. Maintain altitude at or below 2000. Number 2 for landing Runway 24 following Southwest 885."

"Three-Eight Sierra is number 2 following Southwest. Traffic in sight."

Before landing checklist. All items check. Reduce airspeed 120 knots to flap deployment range. 110 knots as ground passes below at 120 mph. Mixture Rich. Fuel Tanks Both. Landing lights On. Strobe on. Adjust course to port, correct for wind. Heading south-west, following Southwest.

Start descent. Speed down to 90 knots. Descent rate steady, ground rushing up 500 feet per minute. Apply rudder. Nose pointed to landing spot. Line up Runway 24.... Runway numbers on spot.

Wind updrafts assert themselves. Adjust power. Adjust attitude. Wings level. Stay in control. My plane, I tell the wind. Wind calms. Adjust trim. Looking good. VASI Red Over White; We're Alright.

"Three-Eight Sierra, you are cleared to land. Caution, Wake Turbulence."

Maintain glide slope. All instruments green. Throw in full flaps. Reduce power. Field is made. Pass last obstacle. Power idle. Hand on throttle, ready to go-around.

Right on the numbers. Maintain centerline. Ground effect. Ground effect. Ground effect. Back pressure. Rudder. Centerline. Back pressure.Back pressure. Stall Warning horn whistles. Back pressure. Stall Warning horn louder. Three feet, two feet, one foot… Back pressure. Main gear touch down. Wheels kiss the runway. Bleed speed. Nose wheel is down. Hello, solid ground.

A squeaker! Thank you, God, for the gift of flight and the bounty of a safe return to earth, as stationary runway lights fly past.

Not done yet. Flaps up. Motors whirring. Switch Comms. Strobe Off. Transponder Standby. Pass runway 33L. Expect exit Taxiway Bravo.

"Ground, Three-Eight Sierra is on Two Four, taxi to Mid-Island."

"Three-Eight Sierra, welcome back. No delay. Exit Bravo-Charlie-cross runway 10/28-Sierra-Whiskey to Mid-Island. Southwest 1673 is pulling out and holding for you."

"Three-Eight Sierra, no delay. Bravo-Charlie-cross runway 10/28-Sierra-Whiskey to Mid-Island. Thank you."

New York Home, I'm coming home!

© 2011 IMRAN™
DSCN1182

PS I post very few pictures of myself here. For that I use FaceBook (feel free to connect facebook.com/IMRAN.TV ) but posting this at the insistence of my good friends there that are also friends here on Flickr. I hope you enjoyed this summarized memory of a recent flight.

A Star(Gazer Lily) Is Born - IMRAN™

2011-06-17T22:18:00.001-04:00

A Star(Gazer Lily) Is Born - IMRAN™ — 300+ Views!, a photo by ImranAnwar on Flickr.

SOOC Image Straight Out Of Camera!! No filters. No tricks. NO editing, tweaking, of ANY kind. 14MB original Nikon image only framed in Photoshop and saved at 4.6MB.

StarGazer Lilies have always been one of the most beautiful flowers in the world to me. They were literally the first that I planted when I was blessed to build a home on the South Shore of Long Island.

Not only does the name evoke that romantic fool spirit of childhood innocence and an unbelievable confidence of reaching for, and goind past, the stars... it also has the most stunning set of colors I have seen on a flower.

Here's the cool thing. This photo was shot, with NO filters, with NO backdrop, outdoors in bright sunlight. The black background with spectacular foreground was simply achieved by an unusual set of shutter speed and exposure control. (Note: I do not even own a macro lens).

What takes my breath away is the range of colors, and the breathtaking detail, even in a merely 4.6MB small version. (Click to see it larger and see the universe within one flower, like the galaxy clusters that are the nurseries of stars in the heavens above.

I gaze at these stargazer lilies in the day, until it is night, and I am one withe universe, gazing at the stars from where I came, and to whence I shall one day fly away.

© 2010-2011 IMRAN™
DSC_5186

Bring Kissable Tulips To Lips - IMRAN™

2011-06-13T17:40:00.001-04:00

Bring Kissable Tulips To Lips - IMRAN™ — 500+ Views!, a photo by ImranAnwar on Flickr.

SOOC Image Straight Out Of Camera!! No filters. No tricks. NO editing, tweaking, of ANY kind. Only framed in Photoshop..

Though most people associate Tulips with Holland, the flower actually originated in Central Asia. A national flower of Turkey, its short lived life is nevertheless one of delicacy, color, splendor and uniqueness.

The bulbs that I planted in a cold winter of 2010 burst forth in bloom in the wet, windy, cold and damp spring of 2011.

The Red-Yellow-Green traffic light colors of the photo are forgotten seeing the luscious pink with speckled white and ivory tones of the subject of this photo.

© 2011 IMRAN™
DSC_7338

Cold Beautiful Sky On Fire - IMRAN™

2011-06-08T13:26:00.001-04:00

Cold Beautiful Sky On Fire - IMRAN™ — 400+ Views!, a photo by ImranAnwar on Flickr.

SOOC Image Straight Out Of Camera!! NO editing, tweaking, of ANY kind. Only framed in Photoshop & saved image as 4.2MB JPG.

The end of April, one of the rainiest I have ever lived, in 2011, possibly the windiest cloudiest year I have lived on Long Island, gave just enough cloud cover to make the sunset, finally visible after dozens of sunsets burnt to dull nothingness by wet dark clouds.

In the words of Jefferson Starship,

Will you light the sky on fire?
Will you light tonight like
You did the night before?
Hey, you could take me higher
Than the diamonds in the sky

As this day was coming to an end in New York, the last day of the life of a once freedom loving later genocide-inspiring terrorist was starting.

Within about 24 hours this photo, Usama Bin Laden, whose desire to teach America a lesson led to the policies that set fire to the Middle East and rained death over Afghanistan, whose henchmen and hell-bound dogs of urban war unleashed the fiery torrents of suicide bombings on innocent Muslims, Christians, Hindus, and Jews everywhere....

As Bin Laden's last 24 hours of raining death on fellow Muslims in the name of Islam, and on democracy lovers in the name of freedom, started, .... I saw the promise of a cloudy night of uncertainty, and, before a bright new dawn could rise, the symbolism of this peaceful, cool, beautiful Sky On Fire.

May Peace Be With You.

© 2011 IMRAN
DSC_7312

Untouched, unedited, unmodified Nikon D300 photo ISO200, 300-450mm, f/5.6. 2.3eV, 1/125 second to compensate for nasty Nikon bug that makes Nikon's own lenses show up as "Non-CPU" unrecognized lenses with no way to change aperture. Nikon makes great cameras that always have manufacturing defects. Shame!

Blessed, Beach - IMRAN™

2011-06-04T23:45:00.001-04:00

I do not fancy myself a poet. And, though challenges remain in my life, as for most of us, the blessings that abound cannot be counted.

I could not resist tapping this out to my friends and followers from my iPhone on a (chilly) night, standing at the beach of my blessed home at Heron Pointe, New York....

Walking along the rippling waterline on my beach. Definitely not T-shirt temperature. New Moon a thin orange sliver, perched atop the horizon, wants to get cozy under the (cloud) covers - but they're nowhere to be found. Shiny stars glint in the night's cold eye, as dark skies silently hear the wind's sighs. I stand still, on my own will, humbled, as I realize again - How Blessed Am I !

June 4, 2011 − 1145 PM via iPhone

© Imran Anwar

Technorati Tags: Beach, IMRAN, Imran Anwar, Life, Long Island, New York, Night, Philosophy, Poetry, Prose, USA, Moon, Blessings

Field & Stream (& Streaks) Of Gold - IMRAN™

2011-05-31T12:14:00.001-04:00

Field & Stream (& Streaks) Of Gold - IMRAN™ — 300+ Views!, originally uploaded by ImranAnwar.

My 33rd Photo to make it in Flickr Explore on April 25, 2011!

A late November cloudy day in 2010 still turned into a golden moment when I looked out from my home. Field & Stream magazine would love the streaks of Gold, running through the sunset-lit reeds, rippliing waves reflecting light and the clouds with their blonde highlights on deeper reds.

The title is a wordplay on the magazine name, Field & Stream; Fields of Gold; Streaks of Gold; etc. :-)

© 2010-2011 IMRAN™
DSC_6847

Memories And Memorial Days - IMRAN™

2011-05-30T10:51:00.001-04:00

19 Years And A Million Tears Ago. Mother's Memory 2/2 - IMRAN™ _____(Kindly Read) — 1400+ Views!, originally uploaded by ImranAnwar.

May you all have an awesome, safe, happy Memorial Day, and every day you take time to honor the memory of the fallen, the departed.

May those who died fighting to protect us live on forever in our memories.

May today mark the start of a new chapter, a new life, a new set of memories, for the best that lies ahead beyond tomorrow.

May we share the time and experiences in giving birth to those memories, together.

And, may we remember each other when time is an echo, love is a heaven, and life is a memory.

Please click the photo to read Mother, Memory.

Technorati Tags: Family, IMRAN, Imran Anwar, Life, Nikon, Philosophy, Photography, Sunset

Pray, Japan : Heian Shrine, Kyoto - IMRAN™

2011-05-29T13:03:00.002-04:00

Pray, Japan : Heian Shrine, Kyoto - IMRAN™ — 400+ Views!, originally uploaded by ImranAnwar.

The Heian Shrine, in Kyoto, Japan was a place I visited only once, during a memorable nearly 2 month long stay in Japan. It is a busy place, with lots of visitors. I had to be very patient, and click in perfect timing, to get this shot with not a soul in the photo frame.

How time flies.

Built in 1895, on the 1100th anniversary of the founding of Kyoto, it was nearing it's own 100th anniversary when I arrived there. And that was nearly 20 years ago.

How time flies. How life flows, until we are nothing but a dim afterglow, in the corridors of history, long forgotten even as the places we tread, as emperors or visitors, live on forever.

May the clouds of radiation dissipate from the skies of Japan, and may it again shine in its glory as a home to one of the finest people in the world.

With memories of this temple, a place to Pray, Japan and people long gone or recently lost, in my heart and on my mind...

© 1995-2011 IMRAN™
Minolta 7000i Photo Scan

Technorati Tags: History, IMRAN, Imran Anwar, Minolta, Photography, Red, Travel, Travelogue, Japan, Kyoto

Monday, Tuesday; Just Another BluesDay In Paradise - IMRAN™

2011-05-26T10:22:00.001-04:00

Monday, Tuesday; Just Another BluesDay In Paradise - IMRAN™ __ Explored! — 500+ Views!, originally uploaded by ImranAnwar.

My 32nd Photo to make it in Flickr Explore on April 11, 2011!

I love the water, and I love red sunsets and blue waters. But, there are few places on earth where I have enjoyed singing seeing the blues on any Monday or Tuesday, than any BluesDay in the British Virgin Islands's heavenly beaches. The Baths, at Virgin Gorda, are a MUST SEE in your lifetme.

© 2008-2011 IMRAN
DSCN3541

Technorati Tags: Caribbean, IMRAN, Imran Anwar, Nature, Nikon, Paradise, Photography, Travel, Water

Joy Of Flight (Even On A Cloudy Day) - IMRAN™

2011-05-14T20:08:00.002-04:00

Cloudy, dull, a chilly day;
No reason not to fly away.
Runway lined with aviators,
Modern airborne gladiators.

Throttle Full, Rudder Right,

No traffic in my line of sight.
Total calm, no fear, no fright,
My spirit already taking flight.

Engine roars, rushing airflow,

Defeating gravity, Here I Go!
Farewell ground, Hello sky,
Joy of flight makes me cry!

- Imran Anwar

iPhoetry: Tapped on an iPhone sitting in a small airplane pilot seat

Technorati Tags: Aviation, Flying, IMRAN, Imran Anwar, iPhone, Life, Pilots, Poetry, Avionics

Brand New Day, Bold New World, Of Global Brands Popularity

2011-05-09T13:39:00.006-04:00

There was a time, even in the 1950s and 1960s, when you could go to the least developed place in the world, that had no electricity or running water, yet be sure to find just a select few brands recognized by everyone, not just the educated elite in those countries.

These most definitely were Coke and Mercedes Benz, and perhaps a handful of others. In the 1970s and 1980s Levi's and Pepsi, started showing up. Even though some technology companies like IBM were doing business globally, they were unknown or irrelevant to the masses.

That is not the case today. As I tweeted today:

World Top 10 Brands: Apple top, Google, IBM follow - http://bit.ly/iRdI5Z

Not only is a technology (and increasingly consumer electronics now) company, Apple, the world's most valuable brand, it displaced another technology company, Google. To show the trend even more clearly, IBM actually rose up, to become number 3.

Other global brand stalwarts like McDonald's, and especially Coke, have fallen.

They remain in the Top 10, but it is amazing to see the impact technology has had on the global society in just a few years. Don't forget, it was literally 10 years ago that Apple, coming back from near death in the late 1990s with the Return Of Jobs, launched the iPod and MacOS X.

Ten to twenty years ago most people in the world would not know the difference between Unix and other similar sounding words. Today, the world's most valued brand is based on Unix, a variant of MacOS X running on Mac, iPad, iPhone, and counting.

Today we may think that Cloud Computing (or the impact it has) is limited to big corporations. I daresay, there is nothing stopping Cloud vendors of today from being the Apple of tomorrow.

Steve Jobs, and Apple, see that, as we know from their acquisition ($4.5 million!) of the icloud.com domain name. But, surely there will be many more new entrants of today that could be on that Top 10 List in 2020, if they have the vision.

What do you think? Will your brand be one of them? And, what are you doing today to make it happen?

© Imran Anwar

Technorati Tags: Cloud, Cloud Computing, IMRAN, Imran Anwar, Marketing, Strategy, Branding, Brands, Apple, IBM, Google, Coke, McDonalds, Steve Jobs

On Mother's Day, Honor Mother's Memory - IMRAN™

2011-05-08T01:33:00.001-04:00

19 Years And A Million Tears Ago. Mother's Memory 2/2 - IMRAN™ _____(Kindly Read), originally uploaded by ImranAnwar.

Happy Mother's Day to those blessed to be Mothers, and those lucky enough to have their parents, especially their mothers, with them. For those of us who lost the single most important human relationship God created... please honor, Mother, Memory.

2/2. The saddest day of my life, 19 years and a million tears ago.

I flew out of JFK the night of February 1, 1992, headed to Pakistan - where it was already 2/2/1992. I was going to see my beloved parents in Lahore. But, I was en route via Karachi. My Mom had insisted I stop there to condole the death of a relative and a friend's father there, the previous week.

The powerful PIA Boeing 747 jet engines hurtled me across the North Atlantic Ocean, erasing 600 miles per hour between my mother and me. But, there was an invisible infinite eternal distance of space and time growing silently, a cosmic chasm that no theory of relativity and no known power in the universe could shorten.

As the plane was flying towards Europe, life was flying away. As the aircraft was coming in for a landing, unknown to me, my mother's soul was taking off into the heavens beyond this world.

Landing in Karachi, I was smiling and happy, when I disembarked, clueless about what tragedy had struck me but I was unaware of. At my cousin's insistence (who was at the airport waiting for me) I went to the airline counter to check the status of my connecting flight to Lahore that was supposed to be for a few days later.

I was charming the young lady checking my reservation, asking her for a front window seat. She looked at me in a puzzled manner that I did not understand then. As she quietly typed on the keyboard my curious eye made me read a telex message on her desk, facing her.

As I read the upside down text, my breath left me, my heart stopped. I felt the hand of death clutch my heart...

"Please give priority seating...
Passenger Imran Anwar needs to be on next flight....
Has to attend Mother's funeral."

That is how I found out that my mother had died while I was on my way to her. She was just over 50 years old.

Instead of seeing my Mom to open the bags of gifts I was carrying for her and everyone, I would barely get home in time to carry her body for burial. Instead of her pinching my cheeks as she loved to do, all I got to do was touch her cheek one final time. As I had fallen on my knees next to her, she seemed just to have fallen asleep, forever.

18 years later today, to the day, not a day goes by when I do not shed a tear for my beloved mother. Tears roll down my cheeks as I write these words, and every time I relive that moment.

Ami, I will love you forever, even after I die.

© IMRAN
DSC_3808

Need Lots Of Green For Diamond Encrusted Gold — IMRAN™

2011-04-26T15:46:00.001-04:00

Need Lots Of Green For Diamond Encrusted Gold — IMRAN™ ---(Click To View Detail), originally uploaded by ImranAnwar.

My 31st Photo to make it in Flickr Explore on April 6, 2011!

This mid-June photo on a fairly hot day was suprising to me in many ways. One was how bright and clear that day was at a time of year when hazy and humid is more common.

Next was how much of the dew was still on the flowers in direct sunlight despite it being nearly Noon.

Lastly, what was amazing was the tiny diamond like specks of water droplet reflections shimmering and shining like jewles encrusted in a gold leaf.

As you know, you need lots of green (money) to buy so many diamonds encrusted in Gold. But, this moment was free by the blessings of God, despite it being the toughest ever financial phase of my life.

Even if you have nothing, or are about to lose everything, take a walk - and see the wealth, the jewels, the treasures God still blesses you, and us, with that we are lucky enough to be alive to enjoy.

© 2010-2011 IMRAN
DSC_4998

Sun (Street) Light - IMRAN™

2011-04-25T20:04:00.001-04:00

Sun (Street) Light - IMRAN™, originally uploaded by ImranAnwar.

SOOC Image Straight Out Of Camera!! No filters. No tricks. NO editing, tweaking, of ANY kind. Only framed in Photoshop..

I caught this beautiful sunset from my hotel window in Orlando, Florida during a recent trip there to give a speech at the HIMMS 2011 conference.

I was able to balance the Sun right above the little structure visible under it.

The sun silhouetted the street lamp shade and the castle like outline of the buildin go the left.

© 2011 IMRAN
DSC_7112

G(l)O(w) GREEN! - IMRAN™

2011-04-24T20:42:00.002-04:00

G(l)O(w) GREEN! - IMRAN™, originally uploaded by ImranAnwar.

My 30th Photo to make it in Flickr Explore on March 29, 2011

This is one of the most unnatural looking yet completely natural colors I can recall capturing. This non-HDR shot shows stunningly high dynamic range of my neighbor's highly Neon bright Hydrangea to the side of my house at high noon.

It was nearing mid-day when I stepped out of the house to take some pictures on an especially vivid, blindingly bright, Summer day in June.

Usually the weather at my home at that time can be somewhat hazy from humidity and heat on Long Island, New York.

This day it was definitely glowing warm and the sun was almost vertically above. These plants are at the corner of my neighbor's house, and partly shaded - but the grassy grounds that stretch behind the house were awash in the bright hot light of the sun.

I cannot take credit for the spectacular colors the Nikon D300 captured at ISO280. I was simply shooting in Program mode - while bending over backwards (literally) to frame the three depths of flowers aligned but visible for a bokeh effect and playing with the 100-300 (450mm eq) lens.

I hope you too can feel the heat and afterglow from this image.

© 2010 IMRAN
DSC_4992_PSF

Bursting Heart On Fire - IMRAN™

2011-04-20T13:38:00.001-04:00

Bursting Heart On Fire - IMRAN™, originally uploaded by ImranAnwar.

4th of July Fireworks at Watch Hill & Davis Park, opposite my beach on the Great South Bay, Heron Pointe, East Patchogue, New York. I am sure the plan was not to have these fireworks (shot over 15 seconds) to make the shape of a heart like this photo, but this is what it came out as.

Technorati Tags: Fireworks, IMRAN, ImranAnwar, New York, Photography

Eye's Iris Pierced By Ultra Violet (Day) Light Iris - IMRAN™

2011-04-14T21:18:00.001-04:00

Eye's Iris Pierced By Ultra Violet (Day) Light Iris - IMRAN™, originally uploaded by ImranAnwar.

My 29th Photo to make it in Flickr Explore at #44 March 16, 2011

SOOC Image Straight Out Of Camera. Stunning Nikon D300 RAW image simply framed in Photoshop with *NO* editing or processing of any kind. Framed & saved as 4.7MB JPG from 14MB original.

This was a particularly blindlingly bright day of the Summer of 2010. My life was still in turmoil, in a seemingly endless downward spiral. I still jauntily walked around my house, soaking in the sun, and the blessings God still bestowed me with.

Nikon in hand, I clicked on many of the flowers around my home that were in full bloom.

I did not know how much longer I would live in that dream home, had no way of stopping the total nuclear meltdown like stage that my life had gone through, financially and emotionally, from being away to Pakistan for most of the year after my Father's sudden death.

Walking by the flowerbeds he had seen many of the same bulbs bloom during his stay here in 1996, I let the bright white light of the sun and the ultra-violet, indigo, dark orchid range of colors the iris flowers fired melt into the irises of my eyes. And my camera.

Here is a flood of colors, with green blades, like light sabers battling the violet laser light of the flowers.

© 2010-2011 IMRAN
DSC_5009

Sun D(r)own(s) In Loving Lava Of Volcano Sky - IMRAN™

2011-04-07T21:42:00.001-04:00

Sun D(r)own(s) In Loving Lava Of Volcano Sky - IMRAN™, originally uploaded by ImranAnwar.

SOOC Image Straight Out Of Camera!! NO editing, tweaking, of ANY kind. Only framed in Photoshop & saved image as 7MB JPG.

I've been living and boating on the Great South Bay, between Patchogue, Bellport, Fire Island and many of the amazing Long Island inlets for 16 years.

Every Eastbound cruise has me hooking around the channels from the Great South Bay into Bellport Bay, near the shallows of Howell's Point.

Finally, on February 27, 2011, as I was running an errand, I realized that the sun covered by layers of clouds would create a spectacular sumst. I rushed home, grabbed the Nikon bag, and on a whim headed to find my way to Howell's Point.

Taking the meandering roads off of South Country Road, I finally arrived at my destination.... only to find the road so flooded that there was water up to the doorsills a quarter mile up the road.

Risking stalling the engine, I slowly drove through that water until the front wheels of the car were up high enough on the sand which had washed on to the road so I could actually get out, twist and stretch my leg out to not disembark into the flooded street.

I then made my way to the point I had seen for 16 years - and gazed upon this magnificent sunset.

The Nikon did it's thing. I was only there to bemesmerized by the lava color filled sky, from a muted sun feeding a volcanic eruption of passionate colors into the moist cloudy embraces of the sky....

What a way for the day to climax into the depth of night.

© 2011 IMRAN
DSC_7171

Sure Rocky Shore Rocks For Sure - IMRAN™

2011-04-02T18:13:00.001-04:00

Sure Rocky Shore Rocks For Sure - IMRAN™, originally uploaded by ImranAnwar.

This is one of the most interesting, spectacular and delightful places I have ever traveled to. The Baths, at Virgin Gorda, in the British Virgin Islands are a wonder of nature. What was likely an eruption of red molten rock from the earth, is one of the bluest of blue places I have ever seen.

The rocks, like pebbles strewn in sand, line this area of caves, nooks and crannies, to steal a kiss, or more in, for lovers seeking virgin spots to leave their mark.

The rocks in the middle of the picture almost made me title this photo in memory of the statutes of Easter Island and the rocks at Stonehenge -- StonesUnHinged. I'll hang on to that title in my mind for another photo more suitable for it.

I hope you get to savor some of these sweet spots made for lovers, for love, for passion, without ration.

Let's rock on, my beautiful friends and lovers past, present, and near future.

© 2008-2011 IMRAN
DSCN3526

Reddish, (Sun)Set, G(l)o(w)! - IMRAN™

2011-03-28T23:25:00.001-04:00

Reddish, (Sun)Set, G(l)o(w)! - IMRAN™, originally uploaded by ImranAnwar.

This picture, taken on the Western side of my home community, shows one of my favorite colors in the world filling the sky.

The sailboat masts and the dying last leaves on trees bowing to the coldness of impending winter are silhouetted by the fiery sun that feeds our planet energy.

A Reddish Ready Sunset is Set to Go Glow!

© 2009-2011 IMRAN™
DSC_3590

PS Sorry, haven't posted pics since Feb 7. Been traveling for work non-stop. Posted this from Orlando where I came to make some speeches at HIMMS.

Can't See The Forest For The Trees. ForesTree - IMRAN™

2011-03-21T15:20:00.001-04:00

Can't See The Forest For The Trees. ForesTree - IMRAN™, originally uploaded by ImranAnwar.

Driving from Long Island, New York, to Hopkinton and Southborough, in Massachusetts, in late October, 2010, I saw one of the most vivid clear blue skies above me.

Zipping along on I-495 (which is numbered the same but completely separate from the I-495 Long Island Expressway that I use to get to my home in Long Island), in the Bellingham and Franklin areas, I saw an approaching clearing to the right of the road.

Though the side of the road was rutted from rains and wheels of trucks that may have passed over it, I was smoothly able to pull over.

This picture reminded me of the beauty one can find even in the stark days of Fall and approaching Winter.

And, it made me wonder, if a tree falls in a forest in Fall,..... but then I wondered, if I was looking at a scene of forestry, or ForesTree, or just a densely packed series of dull wood and bright reds and greens, which the Nikon D300 (with eq. 450mm handheld zoom) captured.

But, it did make it hard to see the forest for the trees.

© 2010-2011 IMRAN
DSC_6798

Lava Sky On Fire, Birds - IMRAN™

2011-02-28T15:30:00.001-05:00

Lava Sky On Fire, Birds - IMRAN™, originally uploaded by ImranAnwar.

In late chilly fall,
Falls early night.
My eyes rise,
To fiery skies,
Of legend & lore,
Making spirit soar.
Heeding my call,
Birds take flight.

© 2010-2011 IMRAN
DSC_6852

PS Forgive me, friends, 18 hours days and nonstop work travel is making me remiss in leaving comments but I do view your photos on iPhone on the road, just hard to leave comments. Thanks for your continued visits.

Technorati Tags: IMRAN, Imran Anwar, Nature, Nikon, Photography, Poetry

Budding Gen(i)us - IMRAN™

2011-02-06T21:17:00.001-05:00

Budding Gen(i)us - IMRAN™, originally uploaded by ImranAnwar.

Though I do not know the name of this flower bud's genus, I just know that the soft , luscious, suggestively inviting textures of pink on it could make any budding genius rise to the occassion - of taking a stunning, unedited, image as this came out. The silky wall of pink of an already blooming flower and the bokeh with green higlights in sharp and soft relief completed the effect.

Can you see what turned the camera on so much?

© 2010-2011 IMRAN
DSC_5703

Technorati Tags: IMRAN, ImranAnwar, Nature, Photography, Pink

Sitting. Bricks! - IMRAN™

2011-01-17T00:04:00.001-05:00

Sitting. Bricks! - IMRAN™, originally uploaded by ImranAnwar.

This is just being posted for entertainment, not photographic excellence or stunning displays of nature as I love to do.

I was being driven from Sargodha, in Punjab, Pakistan to my home in Lahore. As the car zoomed by the dusty plains and fields, passing through tiny towns and barely visible villages, I was shooting pictures with the Nikon D300 through the car window.

It was too hot to open the window, so I just took the chance of possible window reflections appearing in the photo. You can see some of the motion blur on the bricks and the man's headgear. The unedited photo still ended up looking well structured by the rule of thirds. But, what I enjoyed was the subtle gray sky, the brilliant green leaves, the rich fire orange red bricks lighter colored than the almost red tinged skin tones of the had working laborer, radiated by decades of manual labor beneath a non-sheltering, sweltering sky.

This scene was shot literally at 60mph or more, at 1/1000th of a second, while also slightly turning my body to capture it as the car went by this scene. I laughed thinking about the title that had already popped in my mind as I was taking the picture. I didn't know how well-placed the bricks and the squatting man would be in the resulting photo.

Here in America, even when people don't fully observe posted speed limits in work zones, where sometimes there are more people in hard hats standing holding up signs to SLOW down traffic than are actually doing the work, we are are more considerate than drivers in developing countries like Pakistan.

The speeds with which traffic zooms through work area made me think of what bodily reactions of people here would be.

They would definitely be doing more than... Sitting, Bricks. ;-)

© 2010 IMRAN
DSC_2532

2011 Reflections - IMRAN™

2011-01-04T11:26:00.001-05:00

2011 Reflections - IMRAN™, originally uploaded by ImranAnwar.

1/1/11. All ones.

One more opportunity to focus on the number One priorities in life. To be the One you wanted to be. To live to the fullest the one life you've been given.

Mark my words. This year is over.

No, I am not kidding. It was hardly a few days ago when I was wishing you a Happy New Year 2010. Even though it was a difficult, in some ways tortuous, tumultuous and terrible year, it too flew by, like the many years of life.

Despite the challenges, the pain, the sorrows, the shocks, the twists of irony it smashed into life, it was one more blessed year of life, of health, of ambition, of strength, of courage, of resilience, of overcoming. And, it went by far too fast.

Don't let this new year do the same.

2011 is here. It started with 1/1/11 and gives you, me, all of us, every single opportunity to be all that we want to be, to achieve all we want to achieve, to live all we want to live.

Take One moment, to dwell on these reflections, 2011. Make it the brightest new day of the brightest life you can live.

© 2011 IMRAN

Liquid Diamonds And Gold Leaf On Green Velvet

2011-01-03T11:33:00.001-05:00

Liquid Diamonds And Gold Leaf On Green Velvet - IMRAN™, originally uploaded by ImranAnwar.

Although it was nearly mid-day on June 15th, 2010, the bright almost-Noon sun above had not yet managed to sizzle off the moisture from early morning's dew drops on these flowers at the entrance near my home.

The Nikon D300 did a great job capturing what caught my eye in the first place... the needle sharp reflections of moisture were shining like tiny crystals and diamonds embedded in petals that looked like pure Gold Leaf, positively glowing above the bokeh background of dark leaves, like a fine jeweler's velvet green display to melt a viewer's heart and turn it to solid resolve of a buyer.

A golden moment, a jewel in time, in every sense of the word. What do you think?

© 2010 IMRAN
DSC_4994_PSF

Technorati Tags: Imran Anwar, Nature, Photography

Cat's In The (Rocky) Cradle. Catamaran & Sailboats At Baths, Virgin Gorda, British Virgin Islands - IMRAN™

2011-01-01T09:33:00.001-05:00

Cat's In The (Rocky) Cradle. 2010's Grown Into A Year In History. Catamaran & Sailboats At Baths, Virgin Gorda, British Virgin Islands - IMRAN™, originally uploaded by ImranAnwar.

The Baths location at Virgin Gorda, in the British Virgin Islands, is one of my favorite places in the world. I had a most amazing trip there not too long ago, as part of a 7 day Caribbean cruise. But it is definitely one place I would love to go by my own boat.

I have a sailboat (but never learned to sail!) but just enjoy motor yachting and boating far too much. So, God Willing, I hope to visit there one day again.

This was just a spectacular day, with the most magical blue colors captured by the pocket Nikon. The shallow waters surrounding the rocks are full of colorful fish you can walk among. Like the words of the great song, Cat's In The Cradle, your Catamaran, or Cat, can be safely cradled near the rock clusters.

A boating paradise, a lover's delight, a God worshippers place to just be in awe of his bounty.

As 2010 comes to a close today, as you make new year's resolutions, make yourself a promise that you will try to visit this, or places like this, in your lifetime, that make you love spending time with the ones you love, love the planet we are on, love the time we are given here, and the majesty and love of our Creator.

© 2010 IMRAN
DSCN3536

Christmas. Trees. Stunning Sunset Sky Long Island New York

2010-12-31T04:09:00.001-05:00

Christmas. Trees. - IMRAN™, originally uploaded by ImranAnwar.

Though it becomes harder to navigate iced over boardwalks or trudge through snow covered sand, winters also provide some incredibly clear atmospheric conditions.

Even with cloudy skies, the low humidity makes the air crackle with energy, sizzle with color, especially as it comes time for Christmas. Trees, at the Southwest side of the marina at my home, silhouetted against the majestically cold fiery sky complete the Holiday mood. Untouched, unedited photo.

Merry Christmas to those who celebrate, Happy Holidays to everyone.

© 2010 IMRAN
DSC_3663_PSF

In Loving Memory Of My Beloved Father, Anwaruddin. Last Man, At Land's End.

2010-12-21T18:33:00.001-05:00

In Loving Memory Of My Beloved Father, Anwaruddin. Last Man, At Land's End - IMRAN™, originally uploaded by ImranAnwar.

Today is the 2nd death anniversary of my beloved father. It was literally at this hour, when I was expecting a phone call from him. The phone rang. I answered, "Hello, Abu (Dad)!". Instead, it was my brother in law saying my Father had just taken his last breath.

This photo, taken at one of the darkest times in my life, was poignant in many ways.

It was coming close to my beloved father's first death anniversary last year when I stood at my beach at home, alone, gazing into the distance, thinking of him, my Mother long gone, life, and the end that one day comes too soon.

The spot I stood at, when I took the photo on October 20, 2009, was where he and I had stood to watch a sunset exactly 13 years before that day, when he visited me in the Fall of 1996.

In a twist of fate, he had come to be by my side at a time of turmoil in my life. He literally cashed in his life's savings and brought them over to give everything to me, to tide over even a few months in that rough patch.

Things improved, great times came about, and I was able to repay him with gratitude for being the greatest father ever.

Last October, as I stood on the beach, the crisis I faced was 100 times worse than 1996. I was on the verge of losing everything I had built with 21 years of hard work in America.

But, what was most difficult was not the material loss, but knowing, I was so completely alone, now that he was gone for one year. I knew I would recover financially, if not here, somewhere else, if not now, someday in the future. But, I would never overcome the loss of both my beloved parents.

As these thoughts washed over me, I looked in the distance and the lone man standing at the end of a dilapidated pier, like a last man, at land's end, felt so symbolic of my state of affairs, and my state of mind.

Even as I saw myself in this picture, I was struck by the contrasts and the dichotomy that is so like our lives. Dark clouds on one side, with bright pink sunset light on the other, lighting the sky.

Here's to us always being true to ourselves, even when we're the last ones standing at the land's end of our own lives.

© 2009-2010 IMRAN
DSC_3393

Microsoft's "All In" Journey "To The Cloud", Full Of Hot Air, But All Out Of Gas

2010-12-20T23:53:00.003-05:00

Kevin Murphy (a former CTO in a Cloud Computing firm, and now a very capable colleague of mine, in a well-known market leading Private Cloud Solutions venture) and I were discussing the so-called Cloud Computing "To The Cloud" campaign by Microsoft, just a few days ago.

Today I read an article by Jeff Kaplan, one of my fellow contributors to the very respected INTERNET EVOLUTION media site. Jeff's piece was titled: "What Microsoft's 'To the Cloud' Ads Really Promote".

He is right that the definition of Cloud can still be considered somewhat fluid. But, quite frankly, among actual cloud buyers and vendors, there is enough general understanding and agreement of it, that Microsoft's ads cannot use a vast, errrr, umbrella definition, where everything can be stuck with the Cloud tag.

I ask: If McDonald's burgers can be promoted by a coupon in an iPhone app, is suddenly Hamburger the latest "solution" going "to the cloud"?

I agree with Jeff about how various consumer-driven technology companies' (like Amazon, Apple) great success with cloud based solutions has been a huge driver for the corporate acceptance of the concept. Nothing in these Microsoft ads makes a Cloud Computing industry or corporate buyer think of Azure, their cloud platform offering. So, one assumes the target audience for the ads is consumers.

I think Jeff gives too much credit to Microsoft, thanking them for giving everyday meaning to users to make cloud a tangible benefit providing service. But, that is counter to the already stated fact that Apple, Amazon, FaceBook, etc. were what even Salesforce's go-to-market approach was driven by. So, in that case, Microsoft is offering too little, too late for the consumer cloud services business.

Almost nothing I see in the Microsoft cloud ads shows anything that is a specific service or feature or offering or value added solution from Microsoft. Or something they are not already familiar with.

But, that is typical of Microsoft. When you don't understand something well enough, try to confuse everyone else.

At least even AT&T's decade-old ads of "putting your kid to bed from a world away...." and "the company that will bring it to you, AT&T..." clearly showed the vision, and their attempt to stake a claim in the then-budding network based services future. They were touchy feely, but showed specific use-cases in a not-so-distant future. And they showed how the telecom network (a primary business of AT&T at that time) would be the carrier of such services.

Microsoft's ads for Cloud are about as lame as their Windows 7 ads, where a dweeb (I hope that is not a dirty word) walks around the house describing things in Windows 7 that were "his idea" — yet were doable in PCs and Macs for years. I am sorry, it was because it was "his idea" that the new Windows laptop I am required to use for work still has Windows XP running on it.

So, what do I make of these Microsoft ads?

In typical fashion of a big company with shallow understanding and deep pockets, they annoy those who know what Cloud is about, confuse those who don't know what Cloud is, and just enrich TV channels and an ad agency — with touchy-feely ads which mean nothing, today, or in the future.

That is just In My Humble Opinion. What do you think of those ads?

---
Imran Anwar is founder of Internet email in Pakistan, co-founder and co-owner of the .PK ccTLD of Pakistan, and founder of the credit card industry there. As a New York based technology, cloud computing, strategy, marketing, media and business professional he is often seen and heard on global media like CNN, Fox News, Express TV, WWRL and many others. These are Imran's personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect those of any employer, parent company, client, family member or other persons or organizations. Phew!

Technorati Tags: Advertising, cloud, Cloud Computing, computing, IMRAN, Imran Anwar, Marketing, Strategy, Technology, Television, TV

Crossing The Bridge, Without Hitting Rock Bottom - IMRAN™

2010-12-19T02:48:00.001-05:00

Crossing The Bridge, Without Hitting Rock Bottom - IMRAN™, originally uploaded by ImranAnwar.

I am writing these words, and posting this photo, while visiting San Francisco, California.

This photo was taken just about 2 years ago, just 3 weeks before the passing away of my beloved Father in Pakistan.

A lot of difficult things were going on in my life, but I was not worried. I have always remembered the advice he gave me.

Prepare for the worst, but always Hope for the best.

I have therefore always believed in "crossing that bridge when I get to it" and knowing that life can always surprise you.

Even then, I had no idea on that day, as I crossed the Golden Gate Bridge at sunset, that my life would so quickly unravel.

A few weeks later, my Father was dead, gone forever, but living forever in my heart and memory. People who had seemed to be a part of my life showed their true colors, in my time of direst need, when an economic downturn led me to lose almost everything I had worked 21 years to get. But, other human beings, some good people, and some angels in disguise, continued to hover nearby with their love and support.

The next nearly 18 months were a surreal experience. I could be tempted to say, "It was a living hell"... but it was not.

Every day, every loss, every negative news, every lost opportunity, every closing door, every humbling experience, made me realize how very lucky I was, and am.

I realized that the worst day of that life was better than not being alive. The most difficult situation I faced was nothing compared to not having my health and abilities.

And, the roads were narrow and long, the lonely walks even to go get food, in snow and rain, were cold and brutal.

And the shaky, fog covered, rickety bridges, kept on appearing in the road ahead...

And I kept on.... as my father would have wanted.... as I knew no other way, and there was no other path, but ahead.

I kept crossing the bridge, but believing in God, even more, every passing day, that he would never let me ever experience, or feel, like I had hit Rock Bottom.

These rocks at the foot of the Golden Gate Bridge are a poignant reminder of where I was and where I passed.

Te dark alleys of life I passed through in the last 2 years in the time after this photo was taken, the journey I am still on, and, at every step, confidently and boldly looking up at new horizons.... with my head bowed down in complete surrdener and gratitude. Thank You, God.

© 2008-2010 IMRAN
DSC_1363_PSF

Sea(rch) Light, See Bright Sea Of Light, On Ocean Of Time Slipping By

2010-12-11T18:32:00.001-05:00

Sea(rch) Light, See Bright Sea Of Light, On Ocean Of Time Slipping By - IMRAN™, originally uploaded by ImranAnwar.

Thank you all. My 26th Explore! October 29, 2010.

It appers no sooner has the morning sun appeared when we find out we have rushed through to the end of another magnificent day.

No sonner has a new year risen, that it is time to start preparing to bid it adieu.

This bright sea of light under a darkening but joyous red sky, at my home beach, on Long Island, NY, was taken on January 10, 2010. And, today, it is already coming to the end of October, 2010.

A bright, silent moment to reflect upon the silent majesty of our humble lives.

To step back, feeling the sand in our feet and sands of time sliding through our fingers.

To see how the cycle of a day that flashes by so quickly, suddenly becomes the passing of a lifetime.

Make the best of every minute, every moment.

Live every breath with every depth of soul you can muster.

See the bright sea of light that reminds us of todays gone and tomorrow around the horizon.

Until, if we are blessed, the last vision we have is a bright sea of light, a golden pathway opening before us, beckoning us, our souls, over the horizon, into the promise of the great unknown.

May we do the best we can when we are here. May God Bless our souls when we are gone.

© 2010 IMRAN
DSC_4383_PSF

On Securely Making Cloudy Claims About Cloud Security

2010-11-29T06:12:00.004-05:00

PC World reported on the speech by a former hacker known as MafiaBoy, who was arrested for lots of insidious activities. Now, he was a guest speaker, in Toronto, Canada, at a forum organized by a well-known Japanese storage vendor.

His contention was that Cloud Computing has serious security vulnerabilities and that Security is an afterthought among vendors.

I am certain the reformed hacker is a very, very, smart man. I am positive, no amount of security can be enough to ever guarantee perfection. However, the whole approach and message was a bit yawn-inducing for me. He was restating the obvious, wrapped in a bit of irresponsible FUD (fear, uncertainty, doubt), with a ribbon of future "I told you so" claims tying it up nicely.

That is like someone being arrested for throwing medical trash into a town's water tank, and then going on CNN or Fox News Channel to make a generalized claim, like, "There are serious vulnerabilities in our whole nation's public drinking water supply." That person can then sit back while people wonder if they should all be drinking bottled water only.

Some of the other contentions of people who like hearing that kind of message, commenting at the PC World site, were that Cloud Computing is nothing but Client Server with a new label. OK, if someone said Cloud Computing is sort of like On-Demand Computing — but with both the ON and the DEMAND parts kicked into high gear in the marketplace — I would have agreed a bit.

Yes, of course, many of the concepts of Cloud Computing are derived from the evolution of previous computer system architectures and paradigms. But, if Cloud Computing is exactly the same as Client-Server, then it is even more "same" as mainframes and dumb terminals of yester-century.

For the first time in modern history, the true power of the Internet can be harnessed by every one, and every business, at every level, for almost every function, with the same type of access previously only giant multinationals could afford.

Even with the Internet boom, the overall benefits to us, ordinary people, were limited in type and scope.

We could enjoy email accounts of our own. With a bit of web hosting, using $5 per month packages, we could put up web sites as slick as the biggest multinationals (whether someone ever visited our web sites or not).

But, we could not venture into scaling beyond those basic limits.

A company with 20 employees could not afford true ERP or CRM solutions. An art movie studio with 5 creators could not expect to take on a movie requiring 10,000 hours of rendering time, without their idea being passe' while their 5 PCs or Apple Macs chugged along for 5 years.

Now they can rent software as a service (SaaS), platform as a service (PaaS), or a ton of infrastructure as a service (IaaS) as and when they need, without needing a million Dollars budget.

These, and countless other, aspects of cloud computing are leveling the playing field for individuals and the smallest businesses, which no Client Server solution did.

The benefits big business are gaining from Cloud Computing are even more obvious. From hardware and software license cost savings, to energy savings, to better utilizing available resources with available headcount, reducing total cost of ownership for once without having to resort to the typical head count reductions of past years, are just a few. Quick provisioning of application development and test environments, in hours, affordably, and then spooling it down, are additional examples.

So, going back to our esteemed and honorable ex-hacker's contentions about Security, let's ask: Is Security important? No. It is not important, it is ESSENTIAL.

But, for anyone to say that Cloud vendors are thinking of security as an afterthought is absolutely ridiculous. It is even more silly posturing than politicians of all parties typically indulge in, with meaningless statements that raise their audiences' fear levels. Just recently I wrote a popular item, which discussed the Cloud Security Alliance's good work, especially in the area of enabling greater levels of governance, risk management and compliance in Cloud.

An important thing to keep in mind is that Next Generation Data Centers, with highly converged and virtualized infrastructures, are not being created out of thin air, with paper, glue and paint. They are being created by integrating, and hardening, existing parts of the solution stack - virtualization, network, compute, and storage.

None of these elements consists of some untested new gadget created in a lab by two geeks and their dog. Each element has industry leaders, and strong competitors. Each has its own security postures, needs and mechanisms. And, vendors who are putting together the entire vertical stack, either from in-house, or partner technologies, are all working to build additional wrappers of Security. Trusted Multi-Tenancy, authentication and access control, encryption of data at rest and in flight, are just some examples of additional wrappers being built around the "core-stack" and what is in the "box".

Is this all perfect? Of course not? But, even the most secure, non-cloud, current data centers of big corporations have shown how Security can be breached.

From millions of credit card numbers being stolen, to WikiLeaks, even when Security is the most talked about topic, e.g. in financial services, government, military, healthcare, etc., some "misguided" (read malicious) person can find a way into any system, or may already be inside the system (as an employee).

What is required is for people like the former hacker to specify examples of where they see major vulnerabilities, how they would fix them, or how they suggested the fix and some vendor(s) or clients did not listen. I will be happy to take him to industry leaders at industry leading companies even better known than the large firm he was a guest of.

But, then, he better have some specific risks and vulnerabilities identified, with specific recommendations and proposed solutions. Otherwise, there are plenty of people who can sit outside complaining about a "problem" without being part of a "solution." Who has got time for those.

What do you think vendors need to pay more attention to, immediately, to make Cloud Computing more secure?

===

Imran Anwar is founder of Internet email in Pakistan, co-founder and co-owner of the .PK ccTLD of Pakistan, and founder of the credit card industry there. As a New York based technology, cloud computing, strategy, marketing, media and business professional he is often seen and heard on global media like CNN, Fox News, Express TV, WWRL and many others. These are Imran's personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect those of any employer, parent company, client, family member or other persons or organizations. Phew!

Technorati Tags: cloud, computing, Imran Anwar, technology, Cloud Computing, IMRAN, Imran Anwar, Security, Technology, Strategy

Orion's Belt And Ocean's Beach

2010-11-23T23:19:00.002-05:00

Orion's Belt And Ocean's Beach
by Imran Anwar

Standing, in time, vast Ocean's Beach,
Towering over tiny grains of sand,
Some dark, wet, others pale and dry.
Gazing up, hours, at blue moonlit sky,
Sparkling stardust, ours, waiting at hand.
Orion's Belt, my spirit pants to reach.
One day, I'll be among those stars,
Smiling at beautiful life from afar!

© 2010 Imran Anwar

Governing Governance, Risking Risky Analysis Paralysis & Complying With Compliance In Successful Cloud Computing Initiatives

2010-11-17T22:09:00.008-05:00

The Cloud Security Alliance, just announced a new stack to address issues of governance, risk management and compliance for the nascent but exploding cloud computing industry. InformationWeek has a good short news report on the subject.

I consider this welcome news, from two perspectives - as an individual professional opinion; and as the opinion of someone leading vertical solutions and service provider offers planning & management, at an industry-leader cloud technology company.

Cloud Computing has been fortunate that its hype only slightly exceeded the real world benefits it provides, and its ad-hoc, vendors and clients deciding what's best for them, implementation of governance, risk and compliance management were "just good enough" to keep the ball rolling. For early adopters, and for those seeking immediate TCO (Total Cost of Ownership) and ROI (Return On Investment) value of next generation data center models, with highly converged virtualized infrastructure, this was not a show stopper.

But, for the Cloud industry to evolve to the next stage, where it literally can explode to the stage, which would make the latest set of analyst predictions, such as those quoted in the article above, actually likely to come true, governance, risk and compliance issues had to be addressed sooner rather than later.

The challenge in every new paradigm (or even what some consider a repackaged old paradigm enabled by technology capabilities that enable the concept to take off this time) is to balance between extremes along those three lines of concerns.

I have called attention to these topics in the past in print and online. My concern has been that overly excited buyers, and sell-at-all-costs vendors could lead to risky behavior on one side of the spectrum, while analysis paralysis would keep a huge majority from losing out on the benefits of cloud computing.

What is needed, as I have said before, is a pragmatic and practical approach; rather than utopian and impossible drives for perfection, that cannot be achieved in one, much less, three areas of importance like GRC. Add to that the complexity and impossibility of agreement, a situation in which every stakeholder brings their own colored and colorful viewpoint.

The need is for comprehensive, but not onerous, approaches to governance; risk management without seeking absolute, "perfect", impossible to achieve, levels of "zero risk"; and compliance standards that enable enterprise and service provider moves to cloud models, rather than being roadblocks. These are are all essential steps without tripping up clients or vendors.

The CSA's latest contribution to successfully achieving these is a free GRC stack, a set of toolkits, for enterprise customers, vendors of cloud & security solutions, as well as those tasked with auditing IT. The toolkits are, Cloud Audit, Cloud Controls Matrix and the Consensus Assessments Initiative Questionnaire (Apparently they did not spend much time on coming up with a better name for this last one!). You can download the GRC stack free.

This is not, by any stretch of the imagination, GRC nirvana. There will be many significant areas, from Department of Defense related federal requirements, to the extremely granular levels of security an increasingly networked global financial system requires, and many others.

But, I hope, and remain confident, that this will be the first in an ongoing series of steps towards ever-improving quality of governance, risk management and compliance standards, which will help cloud vendors and users alike.

—

Imran Anwar is founder of Internet email in Pakistan, co-founder and co-owner of the .PK ccTLD of Pakistan, and founder of the credit card industry there. As a New York based technology, media and business professional he is often seen and heard on global media like CNN, Fox News, Express TV, WWRL and many others. These are Imran's personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect those of any employer, employer's parent companies, clients, family members or other persons or organizations. Phew!

Technorati Tags: IMRAN, Imran Anwar, Technology, Cloud, Cloud Computing, Compliance, Risk, Governance

Non-HDR Unnaturally Natural High Dynamic Range High Neon Hydrangea At High Noon

2010-11-15T06:23:00.003-05:00

Non-HDR Unnaturally Natural High Dynamic Range High Neon Hydrangea At High Noon - IMRAN™, originally uploaded by ImranAnwar.

This is one of the most unnatural looking yet completely natural colors I can recall capturing. This non-HDR shot shows stunningly high dynamic range of my neighbor's highly Neon bright Hydrangea to the side of my house at high noon.

It was nearing mid-day when I stepped out of the house to take some pictures on an especially vivid, blindingly bright, Summer day in June.

Usually the weather at my home at that time can be somewhat hazy from humidity and heat on Long Island, New York.

This day it was definitely glowing warm and the sun was almost vertically above. These plants are at the corner of my neighbor's house, and partly shaded - but the grassy grounds that stretch behind the house were awash in the bright hot light of the sun.

I cannot take credit for the spectacular colors the Nikon D300 captured at ISO280. I was simply shooting in Program mode - while bending over backwards (literally) to frame the three depths of flowers aligned but visible for a bokeh effect and playing with the 100-300 (450mm eq) lens.

I hope you too can feel the heat and afterglow from this image.

© 2010 IMRAN
DSC_4990_PSF

Technorati Tags: IMRAN, Imran Anwar, Nature, Nikon, Photography

Mast(er)s Of The Sea

2010-11-11T09:45:00.001-05:00

Mast(er)s Of The Sea - IMRAN™, originally uploaded by ImranAnwar.

As a late Fall sun started to set on the golden hills along the Golden Gate Bridge, still relatively late compared to New York's earlier forays into winter darkness, at 7:45 PM, I braved the breeze and decided to walk across the length of the bridge.

Along the way, I managed to shoot some pretty spectacular sunsets you have seen here earlier, made special by my managing to catch scenes without the ongoing rush of traffic spoiling the shot.

With the Pacific Ocean beckoning the sun into it's calming lap to the right of me, I looked down to my left and saw the idyllic scene of sailboats, masters of the sea, sitting in silence, as cosmic winds of photons swept by them to crash glowingly into the amber green earth behind them. A golden moment to remember, from whereever I see, to shining sea.

© 2008-2010 IMRAN
DSC_1308_PSF

Pink Blew On Sky Blue Sky

2010-10-29T08:43:00.001-04:00

Pink Blew On Sky Blue Sky - IMRAN™, originally uploaded by ImranAnwar.

SOOC Image Straight Out Of Camera!! NO editing, tweaking, of ANY kind. Only framed in Photoshop & saved original 16.2MB Nikon RAW image as a 5.5MB JPG.

I've seen some of the bluest skies in the world in my travels. The soft yet crisp blue of Colorado to the beatific blues of the Bahamas's skies, blues like that make other places' skies sing the blues.

Yet, this completely unedited RAW Nikon image of the sky over the delectable pink flowering tree's blooms was simply breathtaking.

The soft luscious tendrils of pink were aroused in excitement from the warmth of summer's passion. They yearned to reach for the sky, caressing it's distant face with sweet brushing motions. The sky lit up, tickled pink.

I think you will appreciate the unusually lovely pink and blue shades. What a wonderful world in everything around us.

Taking the picture was interesting. A neighbor of mine was working on something so I borrowed his 6 feet (2 meters) ladder to precariously climb atop it to get close to the blooms. I would have caught them even sharper if it were not for a a very windy day at the start of July that was whipping the branches wildly. But, more than focus (the bokeh in the back looked nice) the colors are just amazing to me.

© 2010 IMRAN
DSC_5174_PSF

Impossible Is Nothing: Sailboat Sailors' Masts Support Solar Mass

2010-10-26T19:08:00.001-04:00

Impossible Is Nothing: Sailboat Sailors' Masts Support Solar Mass - IMRAN™, originally uploaded by ImranAnwar.

This sunset to the side of my house, silhouetting my neighbor's home and the mast of my sailboat next to others, was an interesting contrast of solid colors, themes, ideas and visual & verbal imagery.

It seemed as if the masts' as black rods were levitating a white hot solar mass floating above them, in a red hot sky on a cool November evening.

As I reflect at Dawn on this bright image of dark silhouettes of Sunset one year ago, I am reminded of the power of miracles. Surreal events in our life that can make the impossible become possible. Guaranteed things that we take for granted that do not transpire. Such is the magic of life. Such is the drama of living.

All we can do is live every day, knowing, believing, that Nothing Is Impossible.

And, Impossible Is Nothing.

© 2009-2010 IMRAN
DSC_3608_PSF

Eyes Froze On Rose With Sense Of Sensual Unfurl

2010-10-17T18:35:00.001-04:00

Eyes Froze On Rose With Sense Of Sensual Unfurl - IMRAN™, originally uploaded by ImranAnwar.

SOOC Image Straight Out Of Camera!! NO editing, tweaking, of ANY kind. Only framed in Photoshop & saved ~14MB Nikon RAW image as a 5MB JPG.

It's everywhere I see. It's everywhere I imagine. It's everywhere I touch. It's everywhere I feel. A sense of sensuality.

Lovers wrapped beneath white silky sheets in the dark of night, or in the open broad daylight vision of lust as pink petals unfurl against sheaths of green splendor in the grass.

My eyes froze on this stunning rose in my flower bed in a spectacular Summer afternoon at home. The luscious pink petals parting like the lips of an inviting Lolita, making the stem and bud beneath it rise, responding to the lust of life, to push up, seeming to bend its tip around the lower petals of the budding rose.

Is it only me? Or, does sensuality not drip from every moment of this stunning life and world around us?

© 2010 IMRAN
DSC_5156

Technorati Tags: Green, IMRAN, Imran Anwar, Long Island, Nature, New York, Nikon, Photography, Prose, Pink, Sensual

Golden(Star)Gate To A Nearby Distant World - IMRAN™

2010-10-07T11:07:00.001-04:00

Golden(Star)Gate To A Nearby Distant World - IMRAN™, originally uploaded by ImranAnwar.

Just a few meters/yards in distance - and a few moments in time (the distance between two events) - away from the Golden Gate (Sun Hanging On A Wire) photo, of a universe seemingly divided, was this surreal Godly vision. (Human operated camera at 1/2500th second f/25 at ISO1600).

A setting sun, exopsing rising new horizons, railings glowing red hot but with a soothing welcoming tone. A bird soaring on a heavenly rich red Gold colored sky, from what you see to shining sea, a red hot molten lava color but so cool to soak in the view of, a pacific ocean of calmness emanating from the Pacific Ocean waters, glowing through clear airborne fluids and fogginess of moist inviting and approaching night.

O'. what a wonderful world.

© 2010 IMRAN
DSC_1387

Plum Sky, Fire Fly

2010-10-06T14:24:00.001-04:00

Plum Sky, Fire Fly - IMRAN™, originally uploaded by ImranAnwar.

What I found interesting about this handheld photo, of Red, White and Blue fireworks captured to the side of my home (as opposed to the ones behind the house overlooking the Great South Bay) was the hot flare brightness contrasting with the plum colored smoke filled cloudy almost foggy sky.

© 2010 IMRAN
DSC_5190

My Boat, Bay, Sun, NY Boat Basin

2010-10-02T11:43:00.001-04:00

My Boat, Bay, Sun, NY Boat Basin - IMRAN™, originally uploaded by ImranAnwar.

Thank you all. My 25th Explore! September 16, 2010.

I've been traveling with limited access so I am sorry not to have responded to several hundred comments, dozens of emails, and have also not had a chance to comment on friends' photos

I love boating. I love yachting. I've taken both my Sea Ray SunDancers (23' and 40') to NYC from Long Island, several times over the years. Motorboating around Manhattan, especially at sunset, when the sun reflects on Manhattan's stunning skyline, is best seen from the New Jersey side. Nothing more spectacular than to see My Boat, Bay, Sun and the NY Boat Basin.

Well, technically speaking, this is not a Bay. But, the width of the Hudon River, between Manhattan, NY and New Jersey, is wider than some Bays I have boated in.

The NY Boat Basin at 79th Street, is a delightful and unexepected vision in one of the world's busiest cities. Joggers and bikers zip by you as you walk along the waterfront. The marina has a few decent sized boats, but not the mega-yachts you would expect to see line the slips.

The area is not far from where the Miracle On The Hudson flight crash-landed safely in the river.

This image of the setting sun, reflecting on the water, tinging everything with liquid Gold light, was captured near the end of Summer 2010.

The arch of the structure I took this photo from (where I also photograpged the dazzling Daisy) makes a delightful curved silhouette almost as if it was done by a computer.

© 2010 IMRAN
DSC_6183PSF

loc: 40.786872N, -73.9841W

Technorati Tags: Boating, IMRAN, ImranAnwar, Manhattan, Photography, Yachting, NewYork, LifeStyle

Balance Of Power Balance On Flower

2010-09-30T08:32:00.001-04:00

Balance Of Power Balance On Flower - IMRAN™, originally uploaded by ImranAnwar.

SOOC Image Straight Out Of Camera!! NO editing, tweaking, of ANY kind. Only framed in Photoshop & saved 14MB RAW image as 4MB JPG.

As the world grapples with terror and fear, death and destruction, threats of preemptive attacks and death raining from the sky trying to eradicate those who blow themselves up in crowds of innocent people, it makes one wonder what kind of planet we have turned this into.

As a nation united on 9/11/2001 now stood a nation disunited in the United States of America on 9/11/2010... As the Islamic Republic of Pakistan was flooded, by water and downpours of tears mourning the death the life giving liquid caused, as so-called Islamists murdered thousands more Muslims in suicide attacks while the corrupt leaders fought over who should have the right to rape and pillage the country.... As the....

As this non-stop flow of horror stories of so called humanity in my own two homelands made the news, my hopes were raised by this simple shot taken in the flower beds of my next door neighbor. A beautiful bright yellow butterfly, in a perfect balance of power, balanced on a yellow flower, in perfect matching colors and in perfect harmony, giving me hope... Yes, we CAN all get along.

© 2010 IMRAN
DSC_5730PSF

PS Stopped at the side of the road en route to Boston and typed these lines quickly to post for your enjoyment. I will check for typos and grammar later. Thank you for your appreciation.

Technorati Tags: IMRAN, Imran Anwar, Nature, Nikon, Photography

Build Bridges Of Faith, At Golden Gates

2010-09-10T03:10:00.001-04:00

And God Said, Let There Be Light. Build Bridges Of Faith, At Golden Gates To A Bright Interfaith Future - IMRAN™, originally uploaded by ImranAnwar.

As I had walked across the Golden Gate Bridge, in San Francisco, California, at sunset, the falling sun seemed to slide down the support cables.

The scene, as I took this un-cropped photograph, and the image when I look at it today, remind me of the ball dropping at New Year's in Times Square, New York with Christians' Christmas festivities all around at that time.

I am writing these lines at 3AM on September 10, 2010. It is nearly 9 years since that same great city, New York, was attacked, and the world was torn asunder by evil doers killing in the name of religion. While bigoted American right wing politicians use false logic and other fallacies as an excuse to attack Islam, Muslims around the world, in the meantime, are being killed by the same AlQaeda in even greater numbers than American Christians, Muslims and Jews killed on 9/11. But, that is ignored by the bigots.

I am also writing this one day before another hate monger, a so-called pastor in Florida, who looks more like an illiterate inbred retired porn star than a man of God, is planning to fan the flames of bigotry and hatred, by burning the Muslims' Holy Book, the Quran. He is more like an agent of Lucifer and secret brother of Osama Bin Laden than a real Christian or a true American.

I salute the many Christian and Jewish religious leaders who have spoken clearly and boldly against this bigot. President Obama and leaders around the world, US military leaders, and media personalities have been clear in expressing their feelings. I salute even more the everyday Americans, including far more Christians and Jews than even American Muslims, who have been heard on radio and TV, seen on blog posts and in new media outlets, condemning this hate monger. And, that makes me believe again, that a new day may be dawning soon, even as the sun sets and darkness seems to loom.

Today and tomorrow also marks the end of Ramadan and the start of Eid celebration for Muslims around the world. It is also the Jewish New Year. And the imagery of the photo becomes even more poignant.

The brightness of the sun verging on bright, but risking falling into darkness, hanging on the thread of hope for peace, but split like the photo frame, into left and right, upper and lower portions, further split by the railing - like the barriers of intolerance, bigotry, hatred and ignorance that divide the world.

How ironic that this philosophical imagery battle is played out on, what else, but a bridge, which is more of what the world needs. A golden light gate opening.

A bridge between people. A bridge between nations. A bridge between faiths. A bridge between yesterday and tomorrow, appearing today.

May this Today, be a Happy Eid and Rosh Hashanah and may the coming Thanksgiving and Christmas season allow the barriers to break down, for the light of love and peace to spread, for hands and hearts to reach out, across the barrier and over the bridge, in interfaith and internation brotherhood... for love, for peace, forever.

© 2008-2010 IMRAN
DSC_1408_PSF

Technorati Tags: IMRAN, Imran Anwar, Ocean, Photography, Red, Sunset, Sun, California, San Francisco, Golden Gate Bridge, Image, Light

Warm Thanksgiving Feeling(s) Chilling On Chilly Easy Labor Day

2010-09-06T09:32:00.002-04:00

Waking up wrapped in cotton sheets, I am seeing the shimmering silky satin sheetlike sheen spread over the Great South Bay waters - at the back of the place I'm blessed to call home.

The unexpectedly cool weather is a reminder of heartwarming coming Thanksgiving, and for Thanks Giving to God. For every day of life, every moment of joy, for the amazing parents and adventure of life, for what has been and all that & those who are yet to come.

As the year hurtles towards a close, as life rushes towards an eventual end, all I can think, as tears of gratitude fill my eyes, and words of shukrana (شکرانہ) ring in my ears, for years, decades, of blessings it would take me centuries to count.

Thank you God, for letting me appreciate and unwrap every moment like a precious gift and every day like Eid (عید) & Christmas Day.

---

iPhone4 Video Clip

Daily Times Pakistan Runs Islam Bashing Palestine Smashing Zionist AIPAC Ads

2010-09-04T10:18:00.003-04:00

I am a big proponent of peace in the Middle East. I have also always questioned the Pakistan policy of being anti-Israel when so-called enemies of Israel and thaikedaars of Islam, the Arabs, quietly go about doing business with Israel. I am always amazed by the Pakistani public, which cannot stop making speeches about Jihad against India to liberate Kashmir, completely ignore the traditional Palestinian support of India. Plenty of people used to have posters of Yasser Arafat on their walls, though he considered India's late assassinated Prime Minister Indira Gandhi his "sister".

When all is said and done, Pakistan and Israel have more in common than not. They both won freedom from the British Empire. They were both created in the 1947-48 timeframe, as nations carved out of the land of another nation's land for a religious minority. They are surrounded by much bigger enemies from the other religion. Though they are both created for the people of a particular religion, they both haze sizable minorities.

They also have both been traditionally moderate liberal societies where their respective fundamentalists have assassinated leaders considered too modern or moderate. Both are also US allies, but of course the Jewish influence of US politics is a subject books can be written about while in Pakistan's case any such influence could be listed on the back of a folder paper napkin.

Both nations' cultures and societies have tended to be entrepreneurial and generally kids are encouraged to study (though Pakistan's vast illiteracy rates versus Israel's high literacy rate are a sad comparison). Engineers and Doctors are among the most popular professions, not to mention Lawyers.

Both also share the shameful treatment of their religious minorities. In the case of a Pakistan, though, it is a small evil minority of terrorists willing to kill themselves to blow up fellow Muslims in mosques. In the case of Israel it is a far greater state sponsored display of terrorism when kids throwing rocks in OCCUPIED PALESTINE are shot dead, when in their zeal to kill a Palestinian leader the Israeli Air Force drops 1000 lb. bombs into a residential neighborhood, killing innocent civilians and not the actual target.

What gives Israel this seeming Green Light to commit mini-genocides, theft of occupied land, state to state terrorism and official piracy on the high seas, is the shameful weakness of the USA. In America it is considered political suicide to question policy (a political topic) on Israel (a country) because the often-Jewish-owned or controlled media organizations here (easy to check the ownership of the top newspaper and magazine chains here) and the Zionist lobby will brand that person an anti-Semite!

From Marlon Brando to Oliver Stone, as I wrote even in 1996, even the gods of Hollywood have bowed to the Israeli lobby. None is more insidious, or more an intellectual-terrorist, than AIPAC, in its meticulous targeting of anyone who dares raise a voice against Israel.

So, while I am praying for peace in the Middle East between Palestine (Occupied) and Israel (and also between Pakistan and India on a liberated Kashmir), until AIPAC stops its shameless and insidious control of dissent and debate on Israeli policy of the USA, I have to consider organizations like it and other Zionist fascist genocidal groups in Israel as enemies of peace, Palestinians, Pakistanis and people everywhere, just as AlQaeda is.

AlQaeda tries to destroy America and the world openly. Organizations like AIPAC will gladly burn America and the world on the altar of their domination and control agenda. (Please note, considering AIPAC and the Zionist lobby to be evil is NOT anti-Semitism - which is the typical attack-response we expect and get when anyone questions these insidious entities.)

So, while I would love to see Pakistan and Israel also normalize relations, and leverage the hardworking and smart people they both are blessed with, I find it abhorrent that a newspaper like the Daily Times (which I believe is owned by a PPP Governor in Pakistan) does not seem to care that it's web site shamelessly displays blatant Zionist Lobby advertising.

Yes, I know, it's an online ad from Google. But, site owners have control on what they want advertised or not. Even my personal site http://imran.com has Google ads where I recall setting it not to display alcohol, etc. ads. I do not have a huge staff to even monitor this as the Daily Times owners do.

What a shame that for a few pennies this supposedly Pakistani Muslim newspaper and its owners (in dangerously high positions of power in Pakistan) are showing their complete lack of character. What the Daily Times does is like some paper called The Jewish Daily Times running an ad for a German pro-Nazi group. Jews don't all hate all Germans, but I am sure they don't go running Nazi Party ads for a few cents or paisas, as the Daily Times is doing.

But, then, what would you expect from a newspaper owner family that shamelessly steals intellectual property from newspapers and content creators - despite being repeatedly asked to stop.

Here is a screen capture of the friend of Sehyooni AIPAC Daily Times Lahore Pakistan on, ironically, Friday.

Fog Horns Way Into (Long Island) Sound Vision

2010-09-03T13:26:00.004-04:00

My 23rd Photo In Explore! September 3, 2010.

A Long Island Sound Vision To Remember.

It was Wednesday. News was pouring in that Hurricane (or Tropical Storm for some people) Earl was racing up the Eastern Seaboard of the United States. It was headed towards Massachusetts by Friday, with a glancing blow expected on Long Island.

Ahead of the storm's impending arrival, I knew the air would start getting moisture laden. Since there was no heavy cloud cover, it meant there was a good chance of catching the setting sun's light through the hazy prism precursor of nature's looming fury.

I had to drive back from Boston to New York. Even though the ferry ticket for car & driver ($50) and a bite to eat ($20) would add to the cost, it was a calculated gamble I had to take.

I timed my Boston departure to ensure I would get on the New London, CT Cross Sound Ferry to Orient Point, NY departing at 6PM.

This would ensure I would be making the nearly 17 miles long angled crossing of the Long Island Sound (Atlantic Ocean water between Long Island's North Shore and the states of Connecticut) as the sun would be signing out in anticipation of the hurricane's outer edges.

I-395 was a pleasure to drive on as traffic was clear enough for me to arrive at the terminal by 5:30 PM. I boarded the ferry, posted a few tweets and FaceBook Wall updates and got ready for the ride.

The haze was getting heavier and the late afternoon sun made the sky behind the New London skyline appear to glow a dull orange tinged gray.

But, I smiled. From my experience photographing sunsets yachting in Miami, Florida, I realized it also meant the Sun would likely become more and more gold-red as it set. A photographer's dream.

I snapped photos ( 12-14MB RAW Nikon D300 images, presented here at less than 4MB framed) from the top deck of the ferry. The wind was gusting, in my face, slapping my cheeks, bringing tears of joy only a mariner knows and loves standing against, yet being one with, nature's power.

Despite the whipping wind the water inside the Sound to the West was eerily calm as you can see in this photo. It was protected from the wind's effects by the body of Long Island.

As the Ferry approached the North East tip of Long Island, and Orient Point Ferry Terminal came into view, I realized that the best shot of this marker with the Sun over and behind it would be from the lower deck. As the boat's droning engines hummed, the vibrations of powerful motors lifting the bow (nose) cone reverberated under my feet. The vessel carrying it's cargo of nearly 100 cars and several hundred people arced into the space between Block Island and Long Island, where, in an irony of names, the waters of Block Island Sound and Long Island Sound collided in total silence.

Nikon strapped around my neck and behind my shoulder, like an assault weapon that shoots beauty and joy instead of bullets, I did my best (wannabe) action movie star impersonation.

I confidently moved on the rolling deck towards the staircase. Hooking my arms around the railings on either side of the stairway down, I took a leap of faith, childish joy and adrenaline rush.

Sliding down, like sailors we see going down submarine stairways in movies and TV shows, I ensured that the Nikon lens was hugging me tight in front and not likely to hit the metal frames.

Landing on my feet like a Shock and Awe soldier, in one fluid motion I was already stepping towards the side of the boat, with a "Shoot & Ahhh!" moment facing me.

My left hand was starting to zoom out the lens while the right hand was powering up my shooting weapon, as a well trained Marine(r), while the "actor/director" in me wrapped that (silent) movie scene of my non-Hollywood action star career in one take.

I crouched, semi-kneeled, camera up to my face.... The viewfinder framing perfect moments of beauty going by at nearly 20 mph...

At this close distance and relatively high speed, wind gusts and the turning boat's rolling motion were all conspiring for the perfect capture to elude me.

I knew, I had faith, I could do it. I knew it was the start of a new month, a new phase, a new chapter, a new mission.... like my own action movie, it was, The Hunt For Red September.

The moments are in caught in a warm hued freeze frame. I click. I frame. I shoot. I dot not ask questions. Time slides by. Water rushes by. One moment merges into the next. That moment, yes, that one, there it went. It would never return in this space-time continuum. I have to capture it for all eternity.

I twist to my right, still zooming, framing, aiming and keeping the camera level, as the structure seems to be sliding to the right and the sun behind it trying to escape the camera frame. I shoot again.

I knew, this is it. My mind raced, my soul stood still. I clicked. I shot again and captured this Sound Vision in a miracle of life, light and line of sight. (This is the full frame, no cropping, luckily even the horizon is fairly level so no straightening done either).

The Hunt For Red September.... Mission Accomplished.

© IMRAN
DSC_6498PSF

Jet Bƒlew, Ready To Land In Air, ƒLowering Landing Gear

2010-08-25T10:05:00.002-04:00

Jet Bƒlew, Ready To Land In Air, ƒLowering Landing Gear - IMRAN™, originally uploaded by ImranAnwar.

It was an extremely bright afternoon in early Summer 2010, It was taken on the same day as the very popular Pink Flood picture of a different bush.

The previous day I had noticed these flowers (name, anyone?) at the front of my neighbor's home to the East of my house. I made it a point to step out and take a few shots on this day.

Even though this is just a 5MB JPG from a 14MB RAW image, shot at 1/500 seconds, ISO 200 at 450 mm equivalent zoom. No cropping, no color boosting. In taking the picture I had accidentally set exposure to −1eV so I had to brighten it to fix that mistake. Sorry, can't claim SOOC on this one.

I am still stunned by the texture details the Nikon D300 captured on the flowers. It is pretty amazing for a handheld shot at that zoom level (even though I say so myself :) ).

The pink specks, the almost paper/fabric faux-flower like edges, the serrations on the leaves and the gold and white stamens on white and pink petals.

The bee appears frozen in time, stopped in mid-air. As it gets ready to lower it's "landing gear", almost like landing on a flower in the air, you can see the sharp upward hooks of its feet.

It contrasts perfectly with the crisp flowers in the foreground and the softly luscious bokeh of pink and green the Nikon and Nikkor lenses do such a great job of capturing on command.

I hope you enjoy the textures and details of this as much as I do.

© 2010 IMRAN
DSC_4912

Grass Bokeh Chloride, Fluoride Toned Bee Rides, Purple Butterfly Bush New York Summer Morning - IMRAN™

2010-08-21T16:52:00.001-04:00

Grass Bokeh Chloride, Fluoride Toned Bee Rides, Purple Butterfly Bush New York Summer Morning - IMRAN™, originally uploaded by ImranAnwar.

The grass in my backyard provided the ideal nearly uniform green backdrop.

The interesting thing was the way a growing patch of drying grass (the sprinkler guy needs to adjust the way they distribute water) makes the background look like a fake gradient fill in Photoshop! It is not. It's, sadly, a patch of dry grass I need to manually water soon but looks great in this photo!

Against this really natural gradient of a somewhat chloride tinged backdrop, a fluoride tinged yellow bee, made more bright by the rising sun's rays from the left, savored the glowing purple flowers on the butterfly bush on my back deck.

This shot was taken with a NIkon D300 on a (by my standards) early morning of this Long Island, New York, summer of 2010.

I actually had to reduce the saturation on this photo or you would have thought the original photo was a fake colored image.

This 2' tall bush I planted has now grown to 10-12' and hosts a flood of butterflies in the summer months.

Enjoy the rest of summer.

© 2010 IMRAN
DSC_5082

Sun Day Fire Sail. Fiery Red Sky Silhouettes Sailboat Masts

2010-08-18T12:56:00.001-04:00

Sun Day Fire Sail - IMRAN™ White Hot Sun Sets On Stunning Fiery Red Sky With Sailboat Masts In Silhouette On Long Island, NY, originally uploaded by ImranAnwar.

SOOC Image Straight Out Of Camera!! NO editing, tweaking, or color processing of ANY kind. Only framed & titled in Photoshop..

The stunning sky on fire was ringing in the end of the day with the ring of the massive fiery sun cradled by tiny dark tree branches. It silhouetted my neighbor's home and the trees around our property. The masts of sailboats in the marina stood silent, in awe of the patterns in the fire-lit sky, but ready to sail.

As the tired sun melted into the puffy pillows of billowy clouds underneath, it reminded me of Sunday Sales or SunDay Fire Sales on bedding, mattresses and furnishings. Hence the title, Sun, Day, Fire, Sail.

The Nikon D300 captured this unedited, unprocessed, JPG at 1/1250 second f/18.0 ISO 200 and exposure bias of -1.33 for the pure darkness of the silhouettes but still managing to capture the tree branch crossing in front of the sun. A part of the branches seems to crown the sun even as it bows out for the night.

© 2010 IMRAN
DSC_3621