IMRAN: In My Humble Opinion

Cold‑Hearted Self‑Control Crushing Factory — IMRAN®

When it comes to ice cream, self‑control has never existed for me since childhood.

Yet I had been disciplined enough to drop 35 lbs. in six months, which took real commitment. And even staying away from the ice cream aisles in stores.

But back on Long Island, after indulging in a Pakistani‑Indian buffet in Port Jefferson, I couldn’t resist driving all the way to Ice Cream Cottage, in Shirley. It is home to one of the best ice cream places on the planet.

I hadn’t been here in several years. But you can see, I made up for it in one visit. Like an old junkyard where cars are recycled, this place is where self‑control goes to be crushed and melted, faster than… drum roll, please…. ice cream on a hot summer day!

© 2026 IMRAN®

New York Home Sunset Early December 2024 - IMRAN®

© 2024-2026 IMRAN®

Do You Recognize/ Remember What These Are? - IMRAN®

Time to put in recycling. But I wonder if you can recall or recognize what these were for? 🙂

© 2026 IMRAN®

Delicate Balance Of Nature & Humanity - IMRAN®

So much of our future as a species depends on the delicate balance of nature.

© 2026 IMRAN®

30-Year Old Butterfly Bush Long Island New York Home iPhone No-Edit CloseIp - IMRAN®

© 2026 IMRAN®

T-Mobile - Pathetic 5G Service Long Island New York.

If considering it, I suggest using a better carrier.

This is the highest speed I got in 5 tests (3 did not even complete the upload portion). Dialup modems would be faster.

German Shepherd Dog K2 Guarding New York Home & Car Near Midnight- IMRAN®

© 2026 IMRAN®

Manhattan New York At Summer Sunset In Second 1212 24-Hour FL-NY Drive In 2 Weeks - IMRAN®

Spectacular summer sunset spans steamy skies all across area around my magical magnificent Manhattan. Screenshot from iPhone video taken crossing the Verrazano Narrows Bridge.

My 2nd 1212 mile 24-hour drive door to door from the Tampa Bay, Florida place to the Long Island, New York abode in 2-weeks. Grateful to get home safely again.

© 2026 IMRAN®

Like A Firefly (Filled Night) - IMRAN®

Summer nights at the blessed Long Island, New York, home have been beautifully mild most of the last few weeks. Add to that the magical sight of fireflies lighting up the property before sunset. My German Shepherd, K2, sat watching too.

I actually reduced exposure on the iPhone camera for their flashes to be easier to see on a darker (ground in the back) background. Talk about natural wordplay. Like a bulb going off. Like a firefly. And (I) like the song (reference).

© 2026 IMRAN®

Manhattan New York At Summer Sunset In Second 1212 24-Hour FL-NY Drive In 2 Weeks - IMRAN®

Spectacular summer sunset spans steamy skies all across area around my magical magnificent Manhattan. Screenshot from iPhone video taken crossing the Verrazano Narrows Bridge.

My 2nd 1212 mile 24-hour drive door to door from the Tampa Bay, Florida place to the Long Island, New York abode in 2-weeks. Grateful to get home safely again.

© 2026 IMRAN®

Do You Know Or Did You Relate To Catcher In The Rye, Now 75! - IMRAN®

Catcher in the Rye turns 75 this year. Growing up in Pakistan in a British/Cambridge‑style school system, J.D. Salinger’s novel was never part of my curriculum — so I didn’t read it and get to know about it’s protagonist Holden Caulfield until I came to the United States in the late ’80s.

What struck me then, and still does, is how Holden sees the world with a mix of sharp skepticism and aching vulnerability. His obsession with “phoniness” isn’t just teenage rebellion — it’s a complex lens on authenticity, loneliness, and growing up.

Have you read it or revisited it recently? What stayed with you?

© 2026 IMRAN®

My Very Active Neighbors With Beautiful Toys On Stunning Tampa Bay Winter Friday Dusk 2022 - IMRAN®

© 2022-2026 IMRAN®

Let Sleeping Dogs Lie - IMRAN®

© 2026 IMRAN®

At End Of Great Long Day Of Meetings At Microsoft’s SoHo Manhattan Office - IMRAN®

Since 2012 90% of my Microsoft office photos have been taken at the awesome 11 Times Square Manhattan location. Probably 8% have been in other states and cities. So only maybe 2% of the posted ones were from the very cool SoHo location in lower Manhattan, where this was taken just before the 4th of July holiday this year.

© 2026 IMRAN®

Wild Turkey Inspects My Car At Long Island New York Home — IMRAN®

On July 2, I stepped outside and found this wild turkey strutting around my car like it was performing a driveway inspection. No drama, no buildup — just a perfectly timed pre-July‑4th‑weekend cameo from a bird with zero respect for personal space.

In 31 years of living at this home, I’ve seen small foxes, regular herds and even an albino-like deer, unwelcome raccoons, rapidly multiplying rabbits, even more unwelcome large flocks of migrating geese who destroy the grass, some pheasant like birds, but never this bird.

I don’t drink, but with America turning 250, even I had to laugh. If I were a drinker, this would’ve been the universe’s cue to pull out a bottle of Wild Turkey bourbon and toast the bird for showing up so perfectly on brand.

© 2026 IMRAN®

Old New York Standing Tall Over Law & Order And The Lay Of The (Legal) Land(scape) - IMRAN®

Only in downtown Manhattan do you get juxtapositions like this — a neoclassical chapel holding its ground beneath a towering early‑20th‑century skyscraper. This is the Chapel of St. Paul, a landmark with roots stretching back to the 18th century, paired with one of the Civic Center’s classic high‑rise government buildings. The Latin inscription “Beati qui ambulant in lege Domini” (“Blessed are those who walk in the law of the Lord”) has watched generations of New Yorkers rush past on their way to courtrooms, offices, and city business.

I’ve walked through this area many times since first landing in New York nearly four decades ago. The brick plaza, the columns, the carved pediment, the skyscraper rising behind it.

It always feels like a reminder of what makes this city different. New York doesn’t erase its layers; it stacks them. Colonial-era faith, Beaux‑Arts ambition, and modern civic life all sharing the same few square feet. That’s why my new novel is also a love letter to New York.

It’s one of those corners of Manhattan, where history isn’t something you read — it’s something you walk past on your way to the next meeting shaping the future.

© 2026 IMRAN®

Red Geometry In Art In Heart Of New York City Government - IMRAN®

This bold red sculpture sits in the downtown Civic Center area, just steps from City Hall — one of those unexpected bursts of color and form that interrupts the seriousness of the neighborhood. Its sweeping circles and intersecting steel arcs are part of artist Alexander Liberman’s lifelong exploration of monumental red geometry, pieces he designed to create a moment of pause in places that rarely slow down.

Liberman believed these forms were “interruptions in time,” a way to make people look twice at their surroundings. And he was right — even in a district defined by government buildings, courthouses, and the daily machinery of the city, this sculpture feels almost like a heartbeat. A reminder that art can soften even the hardest edges of urban life.

I’ve walked past it many times, and every time it seems to shift in perspective slightly — sometimes a burst of energy, sometimes a quiet moment of reflection. That’s the power of public art. Sculptures transform a space without necessarily being obtrusive.

This was taken on a hot summer late morning when people’s temperatures were turning red even before the hottest days of the year.

© 2026 IMRAN®