To click or not to click

I remember an older, simpler time when taking a photograph was a Big Deal. The strap had to be carefully worn around the neck. The "focus square" was centered on The Object (or is Subject?) of the photograph. If the subject included people, a countdown was begun "Smile..Ready.. 3.. 2..1" Press the button half down and then completely. The counter would increase by 1. And you would have to wait for days to see if it came out OK. And by then there was no going back. So you had to get it right the first time. Because camera film was expensive and printing the pictures to see them was more expensive.
But now thanks to technology, we have these little point and shoot wonders. We can take pictures without worrying about the cost. We can take LOTS of pictures (no heart sinking when the counter has reached 31) We get instant feedback on how it turned out and can take another, better one accordingly. But Technology Is A Double Edged Sword (Its not for nothing that this is a favourite debate topic)
I love taking pictures but I hate sorting through them. As i usually have 5 variations of the same Subject with different degrees of blurriness from different angles.
Now the dilemma I face when I'm in the moment - is to take the pic or enjoy the moment. Taking pictures is being on the outside looking in. There's a tradeoff between participating in the moment and being able to look back and share that moment in the years to come.
This started with visiting my nephew. At that time, I was determined to spend as much time just being with my nephew. Pictures be damned. If he was doing something cute, i didn't want to see it through a digicam screen. I wanted to see it happening right in front of me. Of course I enjoyed. And on the last day, in the hour before I would have to leave for the airport I would scramble to the camera to take some standard pictures. So all I have of those times are some standard poses where he is either drowsy or cranky. I have nothing to show for the first time I saw him or the first time he saw me and let me carry him or the time he fed me or the "tataaa" routine with his dad. I have memories and they'll have to do. He is growing up and new stories are created and i need to hang on to the old ones to keep from losing them. Here is when pictures/videos would be nice. To trigger buried memories.
I started dwelling on the "To click or not to click" again when I went through the ridiculous number of pictures from Hawaii and, in particular, the sunrise at Haleakala. It is a beautiful experience. And I regret spending so much time behind the camera. Watching it from the little 2" X 2" screen to take pictures. When i should have been seeing it through the naked eye (well, naked eye plus contact lenses). The pictures I've taken are not bad - my camera is a decent one. But even now if I type "sunrise at haleakala" on google images, i find pictures far, far prettier than the ones I took. I could so easily link to them in my album (giving them credit) Of course, I could not print their pics but honestly none of the pics I've taken are print-worthy anyway. Its going to be a long time before i get to experience the sunrise above the clouds again (if ever) and I wish I had not squandered the opportunity to experience it for the sake of a few pictures that would, at most, get a few "likes"

Calories is a zero sum game.

As part of the annual ritual of resolving to lose weight, I have been taking baby steps on the treadmill.
Now every article about losing weight successfully essentially boils down to "Eat Less. Exercise More."
For the most part I have always found the latter easier than the former and so I would go ahead and exercise and eat to my heart's content. Sometime last year, I stopped going for a walk ( I forget why exactly but it was probably my Laziness rearing its ugly head and speaking in its dulcet tones about how its so much nicer on the couch watching TV than it is to go outside) But I continued eating to my heart's content, relying on what i thought were my skinny genes(pun NOT intended) Alas! It was the daily exercise from ballooning into, well, a balloon. I was not a naturally thin person ( I too join the chorus of the unfairness of it all now)
Now the eating less part is for the most part under control except when it comes to sweets. I love sweets. I have sweet teeth.
Resisting sweets is incredibly hard and I usually succumb to the temptation. But now I believe I have found a way to suppress the instinctive grab the hand makes for sweets. And I am going to share it with you FOR FREE because well if you're still reading this, you deserve *some*thing.
So, getting back to The Secret to Suppressing Diet Dangers :-
Make the sweet yourself. Or read the recipe for your favourite sweet. See how much of sugar goes into that.
(Yes, yes there are healthy alternatives to the recipes. But when you try the healthier version, you realize its a mere shadow of the real thing. A compromise that neither satisfies the sugar craving nor helps with the caloric intake for the day.
The real thing is delicious but it is the forbidden fondue. (Fruits are healthy and hey the sugar is natural!)
The amount of SUGAR and/or butter that goes into that tiny little dessert ruins the appetite.

And so when you are faced with temptation - a sinful dessert, judge it on the ingredients that go into it and the time on the treadmill required to zero it out. And the hand will reach out for water instead.