IMRAN® In My Humble Opinion: August 2026

Monday, August 31, 2026

Tokyo, We Have An Addiction - IMRAN®

Friday, August 28, 2026

German Shepherd K2 Experiencing Mysterious Condition - IMRAN®

Sunday, August 23, 2026

Relatively Less Unhealthy Eating - IMRAN®

Relatively Less Unhealthy Eating - IMRAN® Obviously the cheese and later smothering in salad dressing reduce the healthiness, but, hey, at least it’s not junk food. © 2026 IMRAN® #IMRAN #food #fruit #salad #health

Saturday, August 22, 2026

Walking / Stick / Figures – IMRAN®

Dead old vines that once sapped the life out of now‑deader trees twist into walking/stick/figures suspended high above me in the backyard of my Long Island, New York property in late summer. Their contorted shapes look frozen mid‑stride, as if nature paused a strange parade overhead.

#IMRAN #NewYork #LongIsland #trees #nature #BlackAndWhite

Sparkling LIRR Platform & Trains ~20 Stories Beneath Skyscraper Lobbies & Grand Central Terminal Manhattan New York - IMRAN®

#IMRAN #NewYork #LongIslandRailRoad #Manhattan #architecture #transportation #trains #engineering I❤️NY!

Sunday, August 16, 2026

German Shepherd K2 Guarding His German Engineering Rides - IMRAN®

#IMRAN #GSD #GermanShepherdDogs #MercedesBenz #cars

Amazon Is Crushing It. Literally — IMRAN®

I’m all in favor of saving costs and packing materials. And Amazon is crushing it. Literally. Unfortunately, not in a good way.

Surely it doesn’t require a rocket‑science degree to know this: Don’t shove big, heavy, toxic carpet‑cleaning chemicals into the same flimsy pouch as a box of cereal and other food items in the name of sustainability.

The cereal’s crunchy clusters were pulverized. The jar was dented — though at least its lid didn’t pop off from the impacts the edible items received from the chemical containers.

Amazon didn’t just deliver the order… it delivered a demolition demo.

#IMRAN #Amazon #CustomerExperience #CommonSense #sustainability #UrUXSux

Monday, August 10, 2026

Pleasantly Petrifying Photography! — IMRAN®

My beloved late father gave me my first camera — a Diana — when I was seven, growing up in Pakistan. That’s how I began shooting black‑and‑white 35mm film. Agfa‑Gevaert is a name I still recall, followed later by Ilford and others, with Kodak and then Fujifilm as I ventured into color photography a few years later. Soon color became my only medium. Then came digital, from the very day the Apple QuickTake became available.

I barely find time to post even a fraction of my 100,000 color photos, let alone convert images to monochrome. Some photographers choose black and white as their primary medium. For me, certain themes simply gain mystery and drama when stripped of color. Fallen trees, rock formations, even portraits of old, wrinkled faces take on an ironically ageless quality sans chromatic distraction.

This dead tree on my Long Island, New York property already looks mysterious in color — you’ll see that when I post it later. But in monochrome it takes on a truly, pun intended, petrifying presence. Almost like a movie fable talking head emerging from a tree trunk.

The detail becomes even more interesting when zoomed in to any area for detail. There are dozens of zoomed crops I can imagine posting out of just this picture to illustrate the point.

Are you into B/W?

#IMRAN #NewYork #LongIsland #EastPatchogue #HeronPointe #GreatSouthBay #photography #autobiography

Sunday, August 09, 2026

Where’s The Beef? Literally. - IMRAN®

#IMRAN #food #humor #FalseAdvertising #UrUXSux

Saturday, August 08, 2026

Historic Grand Central Terminal, Manhattan, Entrance From 42nd Street - IMRAN®

#IMRAN #NewYork #Manhattan #architecture #travel #GrandCentral

Thursday, August 06, 2026

Grand Grand Central Madison, Modern Magical Magnificent Midtown Manhattan Marvel — IMRAN®

Barely made my first actual LIRR train trip out of the new Grand Central Madison last night. After nearly four decades of calling Manhattan home, it still feels surreal to descend into this massive and grand new world carved under Midtown.

This photo is from one of the station’s signature escalators. It’s about 182 feet long, dropping roughly 90 feet below street level. It’s a part of a project that took over 15 years and cost around $11 billion and finally connected the East Side directly to Long Island.

My meetings in the city had been related to innovation for the future of public safety and law enforcement. Ironically, the etched figures you see on the glass — Lady Justice with sword and scales — are part of the station’s art program, symbolizing law, balance, and the civic institutions that define the city above.

The green‑and‑steel color scheme isn’t random either. It’s meant to echo the historic tones of the original Grand Central while giving the new concourse a modern, almost tunnel‑to-the-future feel.

A long day, a tight connection, but a moment worth capturing. Have you been there?

#IMRAN #NewYork #LongIslandRailRoad #Manhattan #architecture #engineering #LIRR

Sunday, August 02, 2026

“The Dutch” Treat — Salmon & Salad Light Lunch — IMRAN®

A long, challenging Wednesday had already started off on the wrong foot — but at least not foot in mouth. An early‑morning LIRR failure stole two extra hours, created unnecessary drama, and caused me to miss meetings with people who were flying out soon afterward. By the time I finally made it to Manhattan, several back‑to‑back sessions and no breakfast meant hunger was clearly the order of the day.

That made our light working lunch with a few technology leaders at The Dutch — right at the Sullivan and Prince streets intersection — feel especially welcome. It’s a lively spot where our semi‑private corner still felt open to the energy of SoHo. Victoria, our server, was gracious, attentive, and kept the pace just right.

Two of us went for the light salmon over greens, while the others mixed it up with different dishes. My plate was fresh, flavorful, and fairly filling. But as anyone who loves salmon knows, a salmon‑and‑salad combo has a way of making you hungry again a few hours later — which is exactly what happened to both of us who ordered it.

#IMRAN #NewYork #Manhattan #seafood #dining #food #salmon #SoHo

Saturday, August 01, 2026

K2 Posing For A Portrait From 300 Feet - IMRAN®

“Rain Over Manhattan” - IMRAN®

One, I bought this raincoat the same year I started writing my first novel, “Happy Endings”, in Manhattan, in 1993. It took me 33 years to complete. I rarely used this beautiful deep blue London Fog raincoat in that time.

Two, “Rain Over Manhattan” is the title of Chapter 2 of that novel.

Three, it was pouring rain the day I was headed to Manhattan for what became an eighteen-hour workday. Long, but great. And fortunately it didn’t rain when I had to be outdoors.

Four, In a season of surprises, July of 2026 has been my favorite summer month in 31 years of living in my blessed Long Island home, and nearly four decades in New York. It has provided beautifully mild, even cool, weather — thereby minimizing the need for air conditioning at home.

I am grateful for everything.

#IMRAN #books #Manhattan #StoryTelling #memories #HappyEndings #gratitude