Winter clouds!!!

Here in Texas the best days to look at the sky and clouds is during the early winter or fall days. The sun is bright but not blazing down and burning everything in sight. The sky has a fair share of clouds which provides a nice contrast of white against the bright blue skies. Here are some pictures I shot as I drove along the endless highways of Texas.

Happy Diwali 2012

Diwali decoration (Photo credit: Piyush's Space)

Diwali is here like every year. This year is the same as it was since I moved to the US but it is different too. The difference being I almost forgot it was Diwali today. I kinda remembered that it is sometime now but didn't know it was today. Anyway for someone like me whose entire life revolves around non-Hindus and almost all interactions are with people who are not even aware of this festival, it is just any other day.

I wonder how other Hindus are celebrating the festival of lights across the world. It is funny that when I was in India I looked forward to this very festival because I wanted the holiday from work to go out and enjoy. Here there are no holidays to look forward to. I set my own timings and days to work and I can take off whenever I want to and of course whenever my circumstances allow me to.

Anyway enough of my rambling... go ahead and enjoy the Diwali with family and friends instead of browsing the internet.

Veterans Day in America

One thing that the rest of the world must learn from Americans is the way they respect their soldiers and celebrate their leaders. Today is veterans day and every news channel, media outlet, school, college, government department, and private entity is talking about it. There have been thousands of events across the country to honor veterans and thank their families. This kind of adulation and respect naturally attracts young men and women of this country to want to serve their nation and make it great.

Today I was listening to a radio program on KERA in which a veteran was being interviewed. His only message to all the citizens was not to just thank a veteran today but to ask them for a story. In short the speaker urged citizens to make a veterans day by asking them to tell a story of their service days.

Anyone will feel good when others show an interest in their life and story. Especially so if one has fought a war and placed their health and life at risk. I wish every nation in the world celebrated their fighting soldiers the same way.

Robbery Inspired by Movies

Looks like some people learn lessons from movies. This set of criminals did at least and made away with a cool $3.1 million heist from a jewelry store. On the flip side these guys are bringing a bad name to bikers and motorcyclists who ride for fun and enjoyment. I wonder what kind of backlash there will be in Britain against motorcyclists.

Eddie Murphy'€™s new love is model Paige Butcher | Love Bites: Celebrity Relationships - Yahoo! omg!

Some guys have all the luck... :)

Eddie Murphy's new love is model Paige Butcher | Love Bites: Celebrity Relationships - Yahoo! omg! http://omg.yahoo.com/blogs/relationships/eddie-murphy-love-model-paige-butcher-002747028.html Eddie Murphy is showing off some new arm candy! The 51-year-old funny man's latest gal pal is Paige Butcher, an Australian model who's appeared in Maxim, and is reported to be about 20 years Murphy's junior. The couple made a … Continue reading → Read the full story

APNewsBreak: CO conducts more citizenship checks - Yahoo! News

300 illegal voters makes news in the US. In India there are more than 3 million perhaps even 30 million illegal Bangladeshi and Pakistani nationals voting and enjoying all the benefits that India has to offer, but still no media person or organization seems to care. When they don't care they will obviously not report.

APNewsBreak: CO conducts more citizenship checks - Yahoo! News http://news.yahoo.com/apnewsbreak-co-conducts-more-citizenship-checks-003647376--election.html There are 300 more suspected noncitizens on Colorado's voter rolls, Secretary of State Gessler announced Tuesday in the latest chapter of a contentious national debate over what Republicans say is vulnerability in the voting system. Read the full story

Dust storm shuts down interstate in northern Okla. - Yahoo! News

This happens in America. Highways full of fast cars, flanked by vast open spaces come to a grinding halt in front of nature's fury. Once again human beings are made to remember that their massive inventions are after all not so powerful against the wrath of nature.

Dust storm shuts down interstate in northern Okla. - Yahoo! News http://news.yahoo.com/dust-storm-shuts-down-interstate-northern-okla-214800712.html A massive dust storm swirling reddish-brown clouds over northern Oklahoma triggered a multi-vehicle accident along a major interstate Thursday, forcing police to shut down part of the heavily traveled roadway amid near blackout conditions. Read the full story

Buried under work!

Anger is Work (Photo credit: shtikl)

I have been so busy with work that I have rarely had days off during the past month. Hence my blogging has also been sporadic and irregular. It is generally a busy season everywhere in the world. Here in the US shopping season is getting underway in the run up to Thanksgiving and Christmas. While in India I am sure Dasara and Diwali shopping is in full swing. I am not aware of the rest of the world I am sure everyone everywhere is celebrating something or the other.
As for me I am working busy as always.

Fossils Galore at Mineral Wells, TX

Mineral Wells, Texas Historical Marker (Photo credit: fables98)

Mineral Wells is one of my liked places for a weekend getaway in Texas. I like the place because it is one of the few places around DFW with a slightly hilly terrain. I recently found out about the existence of a fossil park in this place and went to check it out. The road to Mineral Wells Fossil Park is pathetically bad, full of gravel and sand. I had to jostle along the dirt tracks raising clouds of dust at 20mph.

The fossil park is a unique location surrounded by hilly terrain and rocky outcrops. Most of them of course are private property fenced off with no access to public.  Anyway what I found at the fossil park is indeed uniquely different from elsewhere. Here one can actually collect fossils and bring them home and government encourages this kind of fossil hunting. I hunted a few and brought them home.

Losing our legacy!

A recent conversation at work made me extremely sad. Few days ago during lunch break one of my colleagues was talking about her family weekend outing to a Christian retreat in rural Texas. She was describing how peaceful and serene the locale was and revealed that every morning the retreat conducted prayers and Yoga. I was silently listening and others in the room chipped in their conversation about how beneficial Yoga was and how they all like to learn and perform the exercises and meditate during.

One of them was even saying how great "Christian Yoga" was for the mind, body and spirit. Another colleague turned to me and asked "Do you know about Yoga? I know Yoga is an Eastern practice...." I responded suitably and the conversation went on.

The reason I am sharing it here is because I am so depressed by the fact that we Indians have lost everything in the eyes of the west. We lost our independence and freedom when the Muslims started invading us. Then we lost all our wealth thanks to the marauding mobs of Muslims. We lost our identity sometime in 1400s when Christopher Columbus landed here and branded the tribal people "Indians". Then we lost our economy, and got enslaved by the British.

After independence we lost our sense of thinking what is right for our civilization, nation and society. Unfortunately we have become so selfish that we only think of what is right for me and my family, even if it means compromising our identity, culture, tradition and legacy.

I wonder what we will lose next! Maybe our history!