Human mind works in bizzare ways!

When was the last time you ate something that didn't agree with your system and you ended up farting away, suffocating everybody around and embarassing yourself? It is at those moments that people wish they had never eaten that tantalising junkfood. Well there is no alternative, if you eat lot of wrong type of food it will cause you to fart and create embarassing situations for yourself as well as those around you.

But you don't need to despair. Someone out there who is fond of eating fart-inducing foods has been creative enough to invent something which will neutralise your fart. Did you cringe in your seat and wrinkle your nose, don't do it, there is brand new product from The Pond Inc called "Subtle Butt" which is being marketed as a fart neutralizer. This product promises to eliminate smelly flatulence.

There is no magic to it, it is just an activated carbon fabric pad, measuring 3.25" x 3.25" square. This pad is stuck to the inside of your underwear with self-adhesive strips. Whenver you fart, the Subtle Butt filters the gas and lets out plain air. The pad absorbs the gas first and neutralizes its odor and lets out plain air. Now you can eat as many burritos you want and still have a social life.

Don't worry it is not priced to kill, a pack of five pads cost only $9.95.

Check out the demonstration video... It is kinda gross, so I'd advise you to exercise caution before clicking play.


Read about more bizzare products here

Book Review: Into the Den of the Bear and the Lair of the Dragon on a Motorcycle

Epic biker’s odyssey
Into the Den of the Bear and the Lair of the Dragon on a Motorcycle by Werner Bausenhart; Legas, Canada; Price: Rs.900; 203 pp

Cross-country biking is not new to two-wheeler aficionados across the world. Men and mobikes taking off to far-flung destinations is old hat for intrepid and free-spirited souls who wish to explore the world. One such adventurer is Dr. Werner Bausenhart, a former professor at the University of Ottawa, who during the past decade has biked across the Americas and travelled down the west coast of Africa.

“Motorcycle adventure travel is mainly a man-thing, although lately a few women seem to have been bitten by the bug as well. It is a disease without a cure. The symptoms are well known, but not well understood, particularly by the female half of the population. We, the sufferers, need space; no, more than that: we need the vista of wide open spaces. We need adventure as a fish needs water. We need a bit of danger in our lives to add zest to an otherwise prosaic existence,” writes Bausenhart, the author of this travelogue. The ambitious eventful excursion on two wheels took Bausenhart across two of the largest countries in the world — Russia (the eponymous den of the bear) and China (the dragon’s lair). Refreshingly Bausenhart’s thrilling adventure narrated in this book began after his retirement from Ottawa University which he served faithfully for 27 years — proof there’s a lot of life after retirement.

The Russian leg of the 31,686 km journey on a BMW R 100 GS PD began in London and ended in Vladivostok via Moscow, Novosibirsk, Irkutsk, and Khabarocsky, and return was via Beijing, Kashgar, Islamabad, Tehran, Ankara, and Istanbul — an eight month long odyssey.

Liberally peppered with route maps, monochrome photographs and illustrations, this book is an easy and entertaining read. Conversations with a multitude of locals, fellow travellers on the road and policemen and inevitable haggling with border officials provide useful information on local cultures and practices of each country.

“Although the highway to Minsk was excellent, I did not make much time, since at every little town I was stopped by their traffic police, only to admire my motorcycle and to make conversation. This I loved. This was the very purpose of my journey, to meet the locals. In Minsk I was chased by a city cop on a motorcycle for no apparent reason. He pulled me over at a traffic light, and with a smile pointed out at his motorcycle: it was a BMW, the same type and year as mine, but in police livery. The two of us went through an instant ritual of male bonding, a ritual that was to be repeated again and again throughout the trip. After all boys will be boys, no matter what nationality and where they may meet,” writes the author.

Like Bausenhart’s earlier books 8 Around the Americas on a Motorcycle and Africa Against the Clock on a Motorcycle, this comprehensive travel diary would particularly interest the multiplying tribe of bikers — majority of whom entertain ideas of hitting the highways full throttle. A series of vignettes and a tour d’ horizon of societies and cultures en route, mark the meandering jaunt.

Indeed as one pours over lengthy paragraphs, it’s arguable that the unique selling proposition of this travelogue is the valuable advice it contains on required documentation, bike maintenance, road and riding conditions and how they affect the motorcyclist, sea crossings by air/ sea freight and basic security precautions. A concluding appendix of hard data provides details of exact distances between towns, camping sites and most importantly, includes the author’s rating of hotels in which he lodged.

On the down side the book could have done with professional editing, production, and colour — instead of black and white — photographs. Nevertheless for the growing tribe of subcontinental bikers, Bausenhart’s recitation of an epic odyssey is certain to prove inspirational. It demonstrates that anyone with the ability to win friends and influence people can do likewise. All it takes is a bike, a bit of money, and lots of time.

House Cleaning: My most hated task!

When I was at home in India, weekends would be a time of joy and enjoyment. I would look forward to Saturdays when I would set out with friends to explore the back country, climb mountains, trek in forests etc. I was happy and footloose because the housework was being taken care of by the maid and my parents. Now having moved to the US and living here since the past eight months, I have stopped looking forward to the weekend. Because Saturdays mean lots and lots of hard work. Vacuming the house, cleaning the bathroom, washing clothes, taking out trash, dropping newspapers for recycling etc.

I can manage tasks which involve going out like taking newspapers or trash out... but house cleaning is something that I would rather not do and spend time in front of the computer. How do I avoid this? There are many strategies to avoid this weekly cleaning torture. One thing I have learnt is that surface cleaning is easier than thorough cleaning. So when food drops accidentally on the floor, just take a napkin and wipe it clean. If there is dust on the carpet just push it aside or spread a mat over it and it will appear clean.

Apart from being a big pain vacuming consumes lots of power and shoots up our home electricity bills. So one of the reasons I avoid vacuming the home is to cut down on electricity bills. But vacum cleaners don't come with any such ratings and they just guzzle electricity like water. I have realised that picking up dirt whenever we notice would postpone my vacuming periods from weekly to fortnightly. And ensuring that dirt is not seen in the main open areas of the house will also help. What is out of sight is presumed absent so we won't bother cleaning and thus saving on energy.

The only way I feel that one can vacum regularly and still not get shocked by electricity bills is by adopting technologies which don't consume electricity. A recent innovation is the Dirt Devil vacum cleaners from AccuCharge. The Dirt Devil, Stick Vac and Hand Vac consumes 70% less energy. Do I hear "wows" and "aaahs", yes it does and you can use the savings to go out for dinner, fill up gas and go on a trip or whatever. This feature has enabled AccuCharge the first cordless cleaning technology to earn Energy Star approval.

Remembering my desert adventure

Couple of years ago I was visiting UAE and took the opportuity to participate in a day long desert drive, dune bashing and belly dancing package tour. That was in 2005, my first time outside India and in the real desert. Though I had visited Deserts in Rajasthan, it was different to be in a developed desert where even the restrooms and toilets were air-conditioned and where wild camels roamed around.

Dune bashing is also referred to as "White water rafting of desert" because it gives so much thrill and adrenalin rush to participants. I rode a buggy as well, up and down sand dunes rising dust storms wherever I went.

Then the real dune bashing was done seated inside the plush comfort of a monstrous Toyota Landcruiser driven by a Lebanese driver who expertly manouvered the SUV up and down sand dunes. There were instances were my heart leapt to my mouth and I felt certain that our vehicle would tumble like a match box down the high unsteady sand dunes in the middle of nowhere. After a few years I remember those memories with a rush of excitment whenever I look at the pictures.

Of course I enjoyed watching the Belly dancer gyrating to the beat of desert music. Few other tourists enjoyed dancing with her while I contented myself photographing them.

Solutions to create your own space online

So you have a great new spiritual philosophy and want to disseminate the knowledge about your thoughts through the internet. In the fast paced world that we live in, internet is one of the quickest, cheapest and most effective way of spreading information to millions of people at the same time. Moreover Internet like God and philosophy transcends national, regional and continental boundaries and is accessible anywhere, anytime. Most business, social, cultural, government and religious organisations in the world have their own websites which serve the puposes of giving information, collecting data about users, soliciting support/ donations etc.

In order to have your own website you have several options, you can go to a website hosting company and pay them exhorbitant amounts of money and let them host your website. Then there is Network Solutions, which offers just two great packages to create a web site of your own. You could use existing templates and opt for the do-it-yourself website design package or alternatively you could use opt for the Do-it-for-me package, where there will be a professional web site designer to do your work. The do-it-for-me package includes professional copywriting, setup and designing of your website.

The do-it-yourself package starts at just $4.95 a month and what's more your domain registration is absolutely FREE. You couldn't ask for more for your small business or for a church ministry starting out new. There are hundreds of attractively designed ready-to-use templates online waiting for you to modify and create your website with.

All these services come with a 30-day warranty. If you're not satisfied, simply cancel your order within 30 days of purchase. Moreover there is a technical support team waiting to help you create the best website for your business. This is free and available 24/7 over phone or e-mail. Don't you think this is the best place to shop for your new website? Start right away.