Lake Lavon, Wylie, Texas

I had blogged about our visit to In-Sync Exotics, a rescue center for wild cats such as Tigers, Cougars, Lions, Leopards and other endangered animals. I also mentioned that this shelter/ property is located in a beautiful location... stone's throw away from Lake Lavon, a large lake/ dam/ reservoir of fresh water. Being a piscean I can't help but be fond of water and whenever I come across a large water body such as Lake Lavon, it fills my spirit with its enormity, beauty and a sense of awe. Beneath the surface, every water body is the habitat for millions of living organisms, plants, algae, fish, etc. And of course a sense of adventure is always there around water. Water sports have always been a draw to my spirit and soul.

Since I had forgotten to carry our camera I could not get any pictures which flatter my photography skills. But I did manage to get some decent pictures of the Lavon Dam thanks to my wife's blackberry.

Sluice gates of the dam

This railway track passes by the dam.. I am sure view from the train would be spectacular

I am neither fond of this picture nor photographing trash.... But then even in an environmentally aware society like the US, trashing up lakes and natural water bodies seem to be very common..

Another View of the Dam Gates

One of the simple but efficient features to help people. Tubes to rest fishing rods after casting. If we could install it on dam piers in India, I am sure lot more people will get into fishing both for food as well as sport...

Pornography Detection Technology

Internet has brought with it several advantages: speed of communication, enhanced processing, data transfer, e-commerce, websites, e-mail, online telephony, etc. This has helped individuals and businesses improve productivity to a great extent. On the flipside Internet has been responsible for so quite a bit of problems too. For example, internet has made access to pornography easy and fast.

Businesses are working hard to tackle the challenge pornography poses to their productivity. No matter how many firewalls, trackers and other devices are installed porn-addict employees find a way to access porn at work. Confronting them directly has the potential of creating hostile work environment. At the same time porn at work can't be tolerated. Now there is a brand new tool, SurfRecon ERT (Emergency Response Tool), which helps businesses, remotely analyze computers in the official network for pornographic content. This enables HR/ IT executives to discretely detect pornographic content on the official networks and gather evidence to take action.

Visiting a Wild Cat Rescue Facility

Yesterday I finally was able to make it to In-Sync Exotics a facility which cares for exotic cats. "Exotic cats" are those Tigers, Lions, Cougars, Leopards and similar wild animals that have been bred in captivity to satisfy the whims, fancies and satiate an individual's pride. Some of them have even been subjected to cruel treatment such as getting de-clawed, de-toothed etc and they obviously don't have the capacity to get back and live in the wild.

Recently I heard a statistic which made my jaw drop... "There are more Royal Bengal Tigers in captivity in Texas, than there are in the wild". After visiting In-Sync and listening to the stories of these large, adorable cats I am more than convinced that this statistic is quite true. Apparently there are several Petting Zoos and amusement parks in Texas where they bring in 2-week old tiger cubs and have visiting children take pictures with these cubs. Once these cubs reach an age of 3-3½ months, they are too large to be carried by children and too dangerous too. At this point in time they are just discarded, and this is when In-Sync and other similar shelters come into play.

These shelters are permanent residence for these cats till their death. Committed volunteers help the non-profit take care of the animals. Funding is completely by private donations. Looks like I will be spending a substantial amount of my weekend time at In-Sync soon....

How to create a Caller ID Spoof

Technology brings with it several advantages but sometimes the same advanced gadgetry can prove to be the bane of our lives. Take for example the telephone caller ID, it is such a useful feature, that enables you to know who is calling well before you pick up the receiver and say hello. But people have learnt how to use this feature to avoid certain callers, debtors, pesky sales people etc. Another big trouble with caller ID in my opinion is that I can't make an anonymous call to my wife and play a prank on her.

But now I found this wonderful website which offers Free Spoofing services. You can now call someone from your phone and not let the person on the other end know your number. This is possible in just three easy and simple steps. Right now this service is available only in the US but I am sure this will soon become global and people will start using this quite a bit. And once this becomes very common they will invent something that spoof the spoofer, but till then go ahead and enjoy the caller ID spoofer.

My American Travel Pictures

Since arriving at the US in October 2007, I have visited nine out of 50 states of this continent-sized nation. I have been to California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, New York and New Jersey. Though I have carried my camera to most of the places I have visited I haven't had the good fortune of getting great pictures. I post pictures on this blog from time to time whenever I shoot good pictures. Here are some I think are good... would appreciate your opinions on them....

Painted Desert National Park, Arizona

River Paluxy, Glen Rose, Texas

Grand Canyon, Arizona

How to find best Web Hosting Services!!!

One of the common problems of every business relates to webhosting. Finding a reliable webhosting provider to host company's website is quite a challenge. The proliferation of internet has made so many choices available that it is very difficult to ascertain who provides the most reliable webhosting service.

But there is hope in the form of a new website which provides user reviews of hosting service providers. The main aim of this web portal is to provide unbiased and independent reviews of web hosting providers. At this portal we can find cheap professional web hosting services, some of it under $10 a month. Everyone is allowed to post a review of the website service provider they are using or have used in the past. These reviews will help others who are on the lookout for service providers.

My favourite section of this website, however, is the Informative Blog. The blog features comphrensive articles about latest internet technologies. For example the post on "What a Web Server is and how it works" was a very educative piece. This enabled me to learn about what all happens at the backend of our websites.

This website is a one-stop-shop for all kinds of website related information and services. It will clarify all your doubts and clear confusions related to webhosting and internet.

Justin, Texas - An American Village

Yesterday we had to travel to a small town known as Justin, about 35 miles from Carrollton, Tx. When I first heard the name Justin, my mind immediately went back to Bangalore, India where our office assistant was named Justin. So I wondered what kind of a city this was named Justin... Nevertheless we drove down the highway to reach the rickety town of Justin dominated by horse and cattle ranches.

According to the city website, this area was originally settled by a band of French colonists who in 1848 established the Icarian Colony. The community was abandoned a year later, and the area remained sparsely populated until the early 1880's. The formation of the city started in 1883, when one Chet Helm and Riley started selling town lots. At that time there was no name to this settlement/ community. A year later an enterprising individual opened a general store and four years later, the Santa Fe extended its rail line from Fort Worth to Purcell, Oklahoma. The tracks were laid contiguous to this yet unnamed community.

In January 1887, the 100-strong community petitioned postal authorities for a post office to be named Justin, in honor of Justin Sherman, chief engineer of the Santa Fe rail line. Since then the population of the city has not grown much, today Justin is still a small city of about 3,000 people. It looks like any small town in India, for example Tumkur, Ramnagar but only the infrastructure is a shade better. There are quite a few leisure facilities such a tennis court, athletic track and of course a large Church.

Of course the biggest difference is perhaps the basic civic infrastructure, smooth roads (though narrow), good drainage system and clean drinking water piped to every home. If these things could be achieved in India we would not be far behind the rest of the First-World nations. What needs to be done to achieve this is hard working people and corruption free establishment.

City Park, Justin

Trading Post (Antique Store), Justin

Water Supply location for Justin city

Any city in US must have a church....

Superbrain YOGA

Watch the video below and learn the amazing technique to improve your cranial capacity. But well I am pretty certain 95 % of Indians would already be aware of this exercise... not as Superbrain Yoga but as a punishment or as a prayer to Lord Ganesh (God of knowledge and wisdom).

When I saw western researchers, doctors and teachers using this technique to enhance brain capacity of their students/ patients, I went back in time when I was in school and my teachers used the same method to punish dull students. But I guess the teachers themselves were unaware that this type of activity is actually brain stimulant and has been carefully camouflaged as a punishment and handed down over several generations. The same goes with repeating the procedure as obeisance for Lord Ganesh with a prayer for enhancing our knowledge... it actually enhances our brain power.
Well now once this research (by westerners of course) becomes popular and accepted across the world, people who look down condescendingly upon Indian (particularly Hindu) religious practices will have a better understanding, I hope.

Efficient Property Management

Owning a piece of real estate or some kind of property gives one a sense of achievement and financial security. At the same time property ownership comes with its own share of work: managing, renting, rent collection, background checking of renters, eviction, maintenance, etc. Do these tasks sound daunting? Well, if they do, don't let them prevent you from investing in property. There are numerous Real Property Management companies which help home owners like you.

Columbus Real Property Management handles properties all over Ohio. They received the "2008 Franchise of the year honorable mention" award for their great work last year. Columbus helps home owners, especially of single family homes, by taking over the full management of the property. They will do all the hard work: advertising, showings, leasing, rent collection, and evctions if needed. All you need to do is to sit back and relax.

My Experiments with Poetry - II

This is the latest poem I scribbled while taking a break from studies at the library... wonder if it is worth anything or just few words spun together without much consequence... I look forward to reading your comments...

Road Travel
Riding thru lanes, streets, crossroads, highways and boulevards
I see vistas of happiness, grief, hope and loss
Scenes of prosperous grandeur and sights of abject poverty

As I make my way through villages and cities, I wonder sometimes:
When the world is so beautiful And full of goodness and beauty
Why do people fight in the name of religion and polity?

And when I feel tired, lonely and hungry I wonder
Am I on the right path Or have I taken a wrong detour
Is this tour an adventurous reverie?
Or is it a grand plan gone badly wrong?

I am not alone meandering across nations
For there are others on the road
Searching for love, adventure and livelihood

My dear friend these roads are not only for us to enjoy
It is for all those who seek adventure.
And a break from their daily grind

So learn to share the road like families share homes
And you will reach your dream destination
Safe and sound within a reasonable span of time.
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Kaufmann - a quaint little wild west town

Yesterday we visited Kaufmann, a city of about 8,000 people located way south-east of Dallas. The reason for our visit was quite mundane, we wanted to check out an estate sale and also to take a look at semi-urban Texas landscape. Kaufman is characterized by vast open spaces with tiny residential communities dotted here and there. This city presents a completely different picture of America, no high rise buildings, narrow and mostly pot-holed streets, bushes and weeds in most backyards, etc. Kaufman could easily pass off as a small town, say Mysore (Karnataka) in India, if not for its sparse human population and heavy vehicle density. The few things that remind us that we are in the US is the fact that most houses are in good shape, very few people on the streets and every home has at least one truck and a car.

One of the pleasant experiences we had in this small town was meeting with a fellow South Asian... not from India, but from Pakistan. After coming to US, I have interacted with several people of Pakistani origin, but none have ever been as friendly or humble as this young chap in a convenience store in Kaufmann.

Wanting to explore this small town we decided to drive around and see what Kaufman has to offer and chanced upon a quaint war memorial. Christened the Kaufman County Veterans' Memorial Park, this memorial celebrates the sacrifices of American soldiers in various wars the nation has fought. A list wars given in the memorial's website includes the following wars:

• Spanish American War April 25, 1898 - December 10, 1898
• World War 1 April 6, 1917 - November 11, 1918
• World War 2 December 7, 1941 - December 31, 1946
• Vietnam War December22, 1982 - May 7, 1975
• Granada & Panama August 24, 1982 - July 31, 1984
• Desert Storm December 20, 1989 - January 31, 1990
• Iraq April 17, 2003 - Present

The memorial project has cost the city of Kaufman over $250,000 and there are other maintenance and enhancement expenses in the future. One of the features of memorials and public monuments in the US, that continue to impress me is their careful conceptualization and execution, which evoke pride, patriotism and exude a sense of aesthetics. For example this veteran's memorial is shaped like a five edged star, the symbol of Texas, has the American eagle bust in the epicenter of the monument and of course the flags of Texas, US, Kaufman, etc fly proudly in the monument. Of course there is a Patton Tank placed at the extreme end of the monument to complete the effect.

I firmly believe that we Indians have so much history in our country that we have begun to forget its value. We should learn from the west in this regard and start celebrating our war heroes and remembering that our freedom was won at a great cost and we need to honor those who sacrificed for the sake of the country.

Movie Review: Gangs of New York

The United States of America, perceived as the land of unlimited opportunities, heaven on earth, land of ultimate freedom, a place where wealth can be made, the world's most powerful nation, etc... But like every other nation in the world, it has its own share of slums, underworld gangs, thugs, crooks and prostitutes. This murky underbelly is carefully hidden away under the towering sky scrapers and grandiose buildings.

What was it to live in this land of freedom and opportunity a century and half ago? This is what the film Gangs of New York attempts to re-create and it does very successfully. Set in 1846 the movie stars Cameron Diaz, Leonardo DiCaprio, Daniel Day-Lewis and others. The story is pretty historical as it is a movie and there is a substantial amount of reality in this according to a National Geographic study.

The movie starts off in the year 1846 with the protagonist Leonardo DiCaprio getting released from the prison and returning to the neighborhood in Manhattan where he was born and grew up. As he approaches the five points neighborhood, DiCaprio is witness to hordes of Irish immigrants landing into the US, in a bid to escape sure starvation due to the Potato Famine and of course persecution from the British Crown and nobility. But the original settlers (who call themselves "Natives") don't want new immigrants and they are standing at the docks yelling humiliating abuses at the immigrants.

DiCaprio, himself an Irish immigrant-settler and has seen his father being murdered in cold blood by Bill the Butcher, the undisputed king of underworld in New York. Young DiCaprio is thirsting for revenge and his target is Bill the Butcher. DiCaprio starts off being a small time thief and gets into the Butcher's brotherhood of thugs. In his life of crime he tangles with Cameron Diaz who is another petty thief and pick pocket in the same gang. Love blossoms between the two much to the angst of DiCaprio's best friend, who reveals the former's true identity to Bill the Butcher.

DiCaprio's first attempt to kill Bill the Butcher fails and he is thoroughly beaten up and knifed. In retaliation DiCaprio decides to start his own gang of Irish settlers and wrest control of Five Points from the original English settlers (Natives). This coincides with the American civil war era when Irish immigrants were ordered to get drafted into the army to fight the southern states against slavery. In frustration the immigrants rebel and riot and of course there is the clash of gangs in which Irish emerge victorious.

The Gangs of New York is a brilliantly made movie and performances of all the stars are captivating and cinematography is hypnotic. It has a few subtle lessons about American history, social equations and immigration. The original British settlers who landed in the US and started killing native Americans and taking over their lands were intolerant towards Irish immigrants in the 19th century, now a substantial section of the white population of the US hates increased influx of Indian technology workers. Things are pretty much the same: American's hate immigrants, especially those whom they think are taking their jobs.

Another subtle reinforcement that the White people try to make is that America belongs to them and not to the native Americans who were here thousands of years before the settlers came in. It is common for people of color in the US to be referred to as "Asian Americans", "African Americans", "Indian Americans" but to themselves they say "Americans" implying that the country belongs to them. This movie in which the original settlers call themselves "Natives" is one such attempt. To understand these messages one must watch The Gangs of New York.

Inspired-in-India movies win Oscars

The entire world... 20% of the world definitely... billion plus people in India and millions of people of Indian origin across the world are in a daze of jubilation after last night's Oscars. Slumdog Millionaire a film set in India and based on a fantastical rags-to-riches story of perseverance, determination, optimism and positive thought won not one but eight Oscars and two were given to music maestro A.R. Rehman.

I have watched the movie Slumdog Millionaire and my personal opinion is that when I see it as a movie, it is a brilliant work of art. But when I watch it as an Indian and Hindu I simply feel that this movie is subtly targeted at tarnishing the image of India and Hindus particularly. All the protagonists in the movie, the hero, heroine, his brother and family are Muslims and poor. The villains in the movie; corrupt cops, malicious reality-show host, taxi drivers, etc are Hindus. Then the tourists who show lots of sympathy are Americans.

Anyway about the other movie, a documentary about how a girl with cleft lip was ostracised by the village and this foreigner comes to her rescue and funds her surgery and makes her beautiful and accepted again. Once again this documentary also makes a hard hitting story of India's poverty and that despite its economic growth the country still can't afford to take care of its people.

I wonder why it is only this kind of movies get to Oscars and receive awards. The music in Slumdog Millionaire was nothing so great in my opinion... I am no music expert but with my limited understanding of Music I believe that several of Rehman's past scores were far far better than the Music of Slumdog Millionaire.

Another small bit of news that I read related to this legendary movie which won two oscars for Indian and eight for a movie set in India is about the singer of the Oscar-winning song. Sukhwinder the singer of the song Jai Ho which won Rahman the Oscar attributes the success to Lord Shiva. In an exclusive interview to NDTV Sukhwinder said:

"Today is Mahashivratri and it s lord Shiva who blessed me and the whole team of A R Rahman to get this international honour. Jai ho is not just a song. It connects me spiritually to the Almighty. It has spiritual
connection. I was confident that the song will win Oscar because you know the Oscar award ceremony has taken place on this spiritual day of Mahashivratri."

But this will never become global news... I wonder why???

Secure Internet via VPN

Internet browsing, e-mail, downloads, e-commerce, online shopping, auctions etc have become a norm. Security and service issues are the biggest concerns in modern electronics-driven world. There is a new
vpn based internet which aims at providing higher level of service and security using a 128-bit encryption. This advanced level of encryption offers enhanced protection to your information over the internet. Secure internet is still the quest of a large number of people. Maybe the solution lies in new technologies, till something superior comes around.

Cave Home Up for Sale!!!

People have strange tastes and fancies and when they live in the US, the eccentricities seem to go a little haywire. This is what happened to a family in Festus, Missouri (MO), US. They bought a cave on a 3 acre property and remodeled the grotto into a home and a fancy one at that. The cave has hardwood floors, fancy kitchen cabinets and all the comforts of any city home.

But unfortunately the owners are now caught up in the home mortgage crises like most homeowners in the US are and may lose the home to their bankers if they don't come up with the money within 60 days. So what do they do? they have put up the home (cave) for sale on Ebay for $300,000. They are trying to raise money through friends and family to keep the home. Here is my best wishes for them to raise money to tide over the crises and continue to live in a dwelling which they have so painstakingly crafted in the lap of nature.

Learn about file extensions online!

One of the most complex things I faced when I was new to the world of computers is the myriad varieties file names. Each file name is divided into two parts and the latter is known as an extension. One can usually identify the type of file based on its extension. For example file extension dat indicates a data file. These files are built in such a way that they can store any information type. It can be text, data, and both etc. The DAT file is perhaps one of the simplest to handle, it can be edited with a text editor. But to open the file one needs to have the software that was originally used to create it.

Coming back to the original purpose of this post, some file extensions can really fox users. When one is in such a situation there is the file extension library which has information about pretty much all types of files. The online resource can demystify your dilemma and tell you what is the exact type of file you are dealing with.

Inspiring Feel Good Video

One of my close friends forwarded a link to this video. When I watched it for the first time I couldn't quite understand. So I watched it again and this time I paid more attention on the voice... then I understood the message. This is basically a feel good video meant to inspire viewers/ listeners. Heavy on text and voice with very little video element, this presentation has been crafted such that the message is rendered in a very persuasive manner. Thought I'd share it with my blog readers and elicit their comments.

New Models at the Mumbai Auto Show 2009

I found this video on zigwheels.com.. the comment attached to the video mislead me into watching (or should I say enduring) the entire 5.5 minutes hoping to get a glimpse of the new motorcycles from Royal Enfield. But then apart from bad presentation and reporting the video contains a fleeting glimpse of the two wheeled wonders. Anyway this is one of the most mediocre works I have ever come across. Hope they will do a better job next time around.

Long time, No see!!!

Well, what do I say? I have not blogged since 4-5 days because nothing significant happened. My routine has been quite the same... classes, library and home. Pretty boring.. huh... well that is how life is if you are in the US and belong to the burgeoning student community. You can't work outside of the campus and with the economy the way it is, on-campus jobs are all taken by local students, so that leaves us international students jobless. The best we can do is to spend maximum time in the library either studying or browsing the internet.
If one is supremely lucky and has found a good group of friends in the college then you could go and hang out in the student life area and play pool, Table Tennis or something like that. But otherwise life is pretty boring as mine is right now...

Another Racing Fatality

Motorcycle racing is a very dangerous sport which attracts only those who dare. The sport is most common among the young and reckless and it is not uncommon for promising young racers to get martyred on the tarmac or dirt. The race track took another life today in Costa Rica. American freestyle motocross racer Jeremy Lusk (24), succombed to his head injuries today, two days after a serious crash, while attempting a backflip during a competition.

A high-achiever motocross rider, Lusk had a successful 2008 season during which he won a gold medal at the 2008 X Games, and silver in Best Trick when he landed the first double-grab Hart Attack backflip. He won a bronze helmet in Freestyle at the Moto X World Championships in his hometown of San Diego. Here is a video of his crash taken from Youtube.



Motorsports is thrilling and gives one the rush of adrenalin which most other mainstream competitive sports give. But this rush is intimately attached to the possibility of severe and at times fatal injuries to the participant, however good he/ she is. Life hangs in balance when one gets astride the metal steed and revs up the engine to enter the arena of motocross. If one comes out alive and unscathed then he/ she gets to live another day and ride another course, otherwise.... well... otherwise... the rider becomes a memory like Jeremy Lusk became two days ago....

Fort Richardson - The site of Native American-European conflicts

I haven't been able to blog for quite sometime, since I have been caught up with academics. But here goes a brief blog about Fort Richardson which I visited about 10 days ago. Fort Richardson State Park, in Jacksboro, Tx, sited about 85 miles from DFW Metroplex, is one of those places where one can experience the real wild western side of Texas. These are places which very few people outside US would have heard about, much less visited. According to local history and the information available at the "Park Interpretative Center" this was apparently the site the very bloody "Indian Wars" (I would call it "Massacre of Native Americans by Colonizing White people").
When I heard about Fort Richardson, I imagined that there would be a fort like the ones we find in India. High ramparts with several bastians surrounding the perimeter of the fort and canons all over. But when we finally got there after meandering our way through miles and miles of empty flat lands I was pretty disappointed to know that there was no fort indeed. It is just a vast open space like any other plain in Texas with a few old (less than 200 years) buildings.
But I must give credit to Texas Parks and Wildlife who have made this place worthy of a picnic, hike and outing in general. There are hiking trails with boulders which could be explored, the creek which slices through the terrain leads to a dam where one could enjoy a swim during the hot Texas Summer months...
This is definitely not the place for those who seek history... it is only a place to feel the vastness of Texas and enjoy hiking in the wilderness. Some of the remaining buildings of the Fort are posted below.

Entrance to the Park

The interpretation center which also houses a small museum

Hospital building - where wounded white soldiers were cared for - there is a morgue behind it also

The Bakery of the Fort

Another picture of the Hospital

The Guard House - or whatever remains of it

This place was a limestone quarry, now filled up with rain water

Quarry lake - another view

Amazing Biker Video

Man on a Bike Performs Stunts While Being Lit on Fire. - Click here for more free videos

Is India entering the era of "Free Love"?

The 1960s aka Hippie era saw the spawning of a subculture in the American continent. The era was characterised by youth rebelling against their original conservative cultures and seeked freedom to enjoy music, dancing, drugs, sex, creative expression and even politics. At that time India was still a very young nation and with an economy crawling like an insect dignified survival was the main priority of the majority.

But now 4-5 decades later India is booming... or should I say "Shining"... Never in the recent history of the nation did youth ever have so much money, freedom and access to technology. Colleges are full of young, enthusiastic and vibrant students. Modern offices of technology companies are brimming with energy of the same youth who have passed out of colleges and are striving to achieve wealth and fame.

The youth of India are rich, reckless, and rebellious. Hence they are trying to do and almost succeeding at things which their parents would not even have dreamt about.

I read this news report titled Kissing in public by married couple not obscene: HC in the Times of India. It is interesting to see the number of youth resorting to public displays of affection unabashedly. This displays courage, freedom, rebellion and of course making a statement that we are no less than anybody anywhere in the world.

Few years ago Moscow banned kissing in metro stations and the ban extended even to married couples. Today the Delhi high court gave a free rein to married couples in the matters of public display of affection. Married couples are allowed to kiss, caress and show their affection in public places without the fear of breaking the law. It is only a matter of time before this will be extended to un-married couples too. I am pretty sure some smart lawyer will make it happen soon.

And then what happens... India will enter the era of "Free Love". I would like to know what everyone feels about this topic. Should India allow this free display of affection or not???

Royal Enfield V-Twin

I received this video as an e-mail forward from one of the groups I am a member of. This guy in UK had a dream of building a 700 cc V-Twin motorcycle using two Royal Enfield Bullet engines. He is one of those characters who is not just a dreamer and decided to do it, and the result is this fully functional V-Twin motorcycle engine. Sounds great and I am sure runs smoothly too. I wish Enfield guys will take note of this biker's innovation and try to produce it commercially in India so that Bullet enthusiasts will have something more than the 350 and 500 cc bikes to ride and rave about.

Freezing cold creates ice everywhere

Temperatures really dropped to sub-zero levels for a few days during last week and I was walking around wearing 3-4 layers of warm clothes. One morning I came out of the house to find my car caked completely in ice and had to wait for about half an hour after switching the car heater for the ice to melt and then start off my day. The same evening as we sauntered out to get some fresh cold air, I thought I'd capture some images of the ice and here they are for your reference. Ice is on the plants, trees, bushes, homes, roofs, cars and on the floor. The most dangerous part of all this is if you are not careful you will most definitely slip and fall and break your bones.

Karnataka - A video presentation

I was going through some pictures of my travels in Karnataka and thought it would be a great idea to share them all on youtube in the form of a video presentation. Here is the result....

Humor in the classroom!!

Once again my good friend forwarded this trove of school jokes and as I read the mail I couldn't help but laugh my head off. I thought it would be a great idea to share all of them online here on my blog.

Dilemma: English or Hindi
Teacher: 'What is your name?'.
Student: 'Mera naam Suraj Prakash hai.'
Teacher: 'When I ask a question in English, answer it in English.'
Student: 'My name is Sunlight.

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Teacher: 'What is your name?'.
Student: 'My name is Beautiful Red Underwear'
Teacher: 'What kind of a name is this? Don't joke tell me the right name'
Student: 'My name is Sunderlal Chadda."

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Happenings in the history
Teacher: What happened in 1869?
Student: Gandhi ji was born.
Teacher: What happened in 1873?
Student: Gandhiji was four years old.

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Subject explanations
Question: What is the full form of maths.
Answer: Mentally affected teachers harassing students

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Attitudes, Analogies and Relationships
Teacher: Now children , if I saw a man beating a donkey and stopped him then what virtue would I be showing ?
Student: BROTHERLY LOVE

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Teacher: Because of Gandhiji's hard work what do we get on 15th August.
Student: A holiday

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Teacher: Tomorrow there will be a lecture on Sun. Everyone must attend it.
Raju: No mam! I will not be able to attend it.
Teacher: Why?
Raju: My mother will not allow me to go so far!!!

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Teacher: 'Can anyone give me an example of Coincidence? '
Johnny: 'Sir, my mother and father got married on the same day same time.'

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Teacher: How old is ur father.
Sunny: As old as I am.
Teacher: How is it possible?
Sunny: He became father only after I was born.

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Teacher: There is a frog, Ship is sinking, potatoes cost Rs3/kg...Then, what is my age?
Student: 32 yrs.
Teacher: How do you know?
Student: Well, my sister is 16 yrs old and she is half mad.

Suspended for winking at the President

This video newsreport stuck me by surprise. Apparently a Cleveland fire fighter band member John Coleman winked at President Barack Obama as he participated in the inaugural parade and his superiors took serious exception to this act and suspended him for six weeks.

Coleman, a member of the Cleveland Firefighter's Memorial Pipes and Drums is clearly seen winking at the president in the above video. It is a miniscule... quite negligible gesture but the bosses of Coleman are not happy, they feel that he has broken protocol and compromised the decorum of the band.
I wonder what would happen if someone in India were to wink at the Prime Minister during the Republic day parade?? :):D

Some Great Jokes

My wife sat down on the couch next to me as I was flipping the channels..
She asked, 'What's on TV?'
I said, 'Dust!'

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My wife was hinting about what she wanted for our upcoming anniversary.
She said, 'I want something shiny that goes from 0 to 100 in about 3 seconds.'
I bought her a scale.

*-*-*-*-*

My wife and I were sitting at a table at my high school reunion, and I kept staring at a drunken lady swigging her drink as she sat alone at a nearby table.
My wife asked, 'Do you know her?'
'Yes,' I sighed, 'She's my old girlfriend. I understand she took to drinking right after we split up those many years ago, and I hear she hasn't been sober since.'
'My God!' says my wife, 'who would think a person could go on celebrating that long?'

*-*-*-*-*

When our lawn mower broke and wouldn't run, my wife kept hinting to me that I should get it fixed. But, somehow I always had something else to take care of first, the truck, the car, playing golf - always something more important to me.
Finally she thought of a clever way to make her point. When I arrived home one day, I found her seated in the tall grass, busily snipping away with a tiny pair of sewing scissors.
I watched silently for a short time and then went into the house. I came out again and I handed her a toothbrush. I said, 'When you finish cutting the grass, you might as well sweep the driveway.'

*-*-*-*-*

A great one liner about marriage
Marriage is a relationship in which one person is always right, and the other is the husband.

Ted Murphy's Twitter

The internet brought it with wave after wave of innovation. First the email, then websites, social networking, advertising, blogging and now Twitter. This is the latest platform which helps people keep in touch with their friends, family, fans, readers etc... I recently found ted on twitter and saw that his profile is really cool. He seems to be using twitter completely well and getting popular by every passing hour. This is a great step forward, I need to start one myself.

Amazing Jessica Cox - The armless pilot

I recently received an e-mail forward with a set of pictures of this amazingly determined young woman Jessica Cox. Born without arms Jessica Cox, is a native of Tucson, Arizona (USA), she has done almost everything that any normal person of her age could do.

Her latest achievement is to obtain a pilot's license to fly a plane using her feet - one manning the steering column and the other the controls. Her license allows her to fly upto 10,000 ft on light sports aircraft. She steers her car through the meandering roads of Arizona effortlessly with her feet.

Human beings are amazingly talented and possess phenomenal strength. If only they are lucky to realize this innate strength in themselves there is no feat that can't be achieved. But the crux is in realizing this strength... because very few people end up working hard enough to realize this strength there are only few super achievers in this world, rest of us invariably end up as mediocres or what is called "Normal".

Jessica Cox Picture Gallery

Movie Review: Sur - A Stupid Musical

I recently watched this Hindi Movie Sur - The melody of life starring singer Lucky Ali and other non-descript actors. The movie was supposed to be a romantic musical drama but failed miserably in the box office when it was released in 2002. I had liked one song in that movie when it was released and thought about watching it but never got down to going to the theatres for this flic. Now after wasting three hours in front of the idiot box watching this boring and quite stupid movie I am glad I didn't waste money and time to go to the theatres to watch this.

Anyway the movie features Lucky Ali as renowned singer Vikramaditya Singh (note the name - Vikramaditya - one of the most honorable Hindu kings in Indian history) who brings Tina Marie from Goa to nurture her talent and make her a great musician. In the school there is a student Aqib who is always ridiculing Tina's humble beginnings.

Over a period of time Vikramaditya trains Tina and ensures her trasnformation into a brilliant vocalist and talented music composer. But deep within Vikramaditya is jealous of her talent. Hence he starts snubbing her and insulting her at every opportunity and even steals one of her compositions and produces an audiotape which outsells his own previous ones.

The people who know the truth, Aqib and Tina are totally devastated by his actions. An angry Aqib quits the school and a devastated Tina returns home and decides to give up everything and become a nun. Meanwhile a guilt-ridden Vikramaditya hits bottle. His assistant Divya makes him realize his folly and he heads out in search of Tina with a vow of making her a star. He finds her in a convent and begs and pleads with her to sing with him again. Finally she relents and a few minutes before the program, Vikramaditya disappears, leaving the entire stage for Tina, who delivers an enthralling performance and wins everybody's hearts. Vikramaditya returns to his school humbled and continues teaching and mentoring young students. Tina goes on to become a great musical phenomenon.

Performances of all artists/ actors lack maturity and professionalism. Some of the songs are good, but apart from that the movie is completely passable.

Now if the movie is so bad why am I writing about it here. I was just wondering about the nomenclature of the artists in this movie.

Vikramaditya, the jealous, under-talented teacher who steals his students composition is named after one of the most honorable kings in India's history. Vikramaditya is known for the justice and fairness with which he ruled India.

Tina Marie, a Christian, is the highly-talented youngster who is mentored by the former. In reality it is the British (Christians) who stole everything from India.

Aqib, a muslim fights for justice and getting Tina her due. Quite surprising isn't it....

I wonder if the names were chosen purposefully or if it were just an accident? Only the director can answer this question...

Paintball an entertaining sport!!!

In modern games apart from computer-based war games the sport of Paintball is one of the most entertaining activities I have participated. Teams playing paintball fight like it is a real war, but at the end opposing teams get together and enjoy a drink before going home.

Paintball needs spme special gear such as guns, color dyes, pellets etc and one of the best places to buy gear is Ultimate Paintball. You could go to paintball online and get cool stuff from Tippmann, Spyder, Smart Parts, Dye, Empire, Draxxus and other paintball gear. The best part of this online store is that they offer free shipping and their prices are really competitive. So if you are looking for great paintball stuff just go to Ultimate Paintball and order online.

Movie Review: Enemy at the Gates

I recently watched this 2001 movie Enemy at the Gates. The film is based on a true story of a Russian sniper Vassili Zaitsev's fight against the German army during the siege of Stalingrad. The movie begins with a very sombre note of a under equipped Soviet army getting battered by the better equipped Nazi forces.

The main reason why I am totally impressed by this movie is the way in which a relatively unknown soldier is made into a national phenomenon and his name is deified to inculcate a sense of national pride and global respect. Vassili Zaitsev is a normal soldier fighting for his country like millions of others across the world. But by making a movie and highlighting the story of achievements in an exemplary movie format he has been made a phenomenon.

I wish our Indian film makers would learn from hollywood about the type of movies to be made. Instead of sticking to the stupid love-sex-violence formula which don't provide any intellectual stimulation, Indian film makers should start thinking about making movies which create a sense of national pride, patriotism and a sense of the Indian identity among its viewers who are primarily the uneducated and undereducated masses.

Plot Summary
The initial scene is specially scary when we see groups of young Soviet recruits being pushed into the battle. They have one rifle for two men and an officer is screaming on the megaphone: "When the one with the rifle falls, the one behind picks up the rifle and fights." The motivational speeches work and unarmed and under armed soldiers rush into a confrontation with the third reich, knowing well that they are facing certain death. If they advance the enemy bullet is likely to get them and if they retreat their own officers will kill them as deserters.

Vassili Zaitsev played by Jude Law is one of the soldiers who displays exemplary marksmanship and kills five German soldiers with as many bullets. This feat gets noticed by Political officer Danilov (Joseph Fiennes) who writes about Vassili in the army newspaper and thus begins their journey to fame. Vassili goes ahead daily killing German officers and virtually creates panic among the army of the Third Reich. Not to be out done the Nazi army calls in their best sniper Major Konig (Ed Harris) to eliminate Vassili. At this point the story takes a turn and becomes a cat and mouse game between the two snipers leading to one triumphing over the other.

There is a little love triangle between Jude Law, Joseph Fiennes and Rachel Weisz which leads to some complications in the story. Jude Law plays the central character Vassili and Rachel Weisz plays his lover Tania, also a Russian soldier. Their stellar performances are very efficiently supported by Ed Harris who plays Major Konig (German sniper) and Joseph Fiennes (Political officer Danilov).

Antiquated Enfield Commercial

I chanced upon this TV commerical of Royal Enfield Bullet on youtube and thought I'd share it with my readers. This is one bike which I probably owned for the longest period of time while I was in India. I have ridden several motorcycles since parting with the Bullet but none have come anywhere close in terms of the feel and riding comfort of this big thumper. It is on this motorcycle that I doscovered the joys of riding in the backroads of rural India... places where there are no roads but only foot trails... places where rivers flow across the roads... places where traffic is so thick that one has to inch along for hours before opening the throttle. But all said... Enfield Bullet is the bike...

Russia... Going back in time!

When the whole world is progressing in terms of lifestyles, social patterns, ways of expressing love and affection, technology etc... some nations are taking retrograde steps. Couple of years ago when I was in India there was a flurry of activity in the country's college and university campuses. The authorities were trying to enforce dress code for students, especially girl students. Naturally numerous feminist organizations protested against the diktats and reasoned that women should be free to wear or "not wear" what they want.

Anyway I guess the Indian university administrations and students have made peace I suppose. But this news item I read on CNN shocked me completely. According to a Reuters report authorities in Moscow, Russia are considering imposing a ban on Kissing on the city's underground rail system. If couples are caught Kissing, then they could be fined or even jailed. And this ban could extend even to married couples and also to plain hugging. Anyone and everyone caught hugging or kissing in public places would be fined and/ or jailed under the new set of regulations.

Well... well... well... I really don't know what to say. When Indian newspapers and feminist organizations fought for liberating women from the clutches of dress codes, I thought it was a necessary move and that women should be allowed the freedom to choose their attire. But now Russia, the seat of global revolution in communism and socialism is passing laws to constrict its citizens expressions of affection.

I wonder if the nation is slowly inching backwards towards the middle ages. First kissing and hugging ban, then there will be restriction on holding hands, then on women and men travelling and working in the same room and so on...

Of course the newsreport is pretty old... I am reading it after a few years.... :):):)

Involved in an Auto Accident? Find solutions here!!!

In most parts of the US it is possible to live without legs but not without a set of wheels. Therefore it is not surprising that this country consumes 40 percent of the world's fuel and accounts to nearly 30 percent of all the green house emissions.

Quite naturally automobile maintenance and repairs is a big business in the US. But like all other places there are good places and there are bad places and finding a good place without burning fingers is the key here. Suppose you are in Colorado, the mountain state of the US, where keeping your automobile in top running condition is vitally important. How would you find auto body shops denver, that is good and that is in location convenient to you? The simplest way to do that is to visit the Collision Repair Experts online directory.

This website is perhaps the best online directory and the simplest to use too. The site offers you facilities to search by zip code, city name or even by state and city. The best part of this website is that they don't list every shop in the area, only those that meet stringent listing requirements are listed on this site. So when you visit a shop from this website you can be assured that they meet all the requirements. One of the requirements is the customer satisfaction index, a least rating of 95 % is required to be listed here.

Book Review: The Courtesan and the Sadhu

The Courtesan and the Sadhu, A novel about Maya, Dharma, and God by Satya Avatar; Dharma Vision LLC; Price: $20.95; 361

One of the most difficult challenges that every Hindu parent living in western societies faces is how to educate their children about the complexities of Sanatana Dharma. With its multitudes of gods, numerous texts, hundreds of sampradayas, thousands of religious gurus and numerous regional, caste, and linguistic communities, Hinduism is perhaps the most fragmented religion in the world. One of the reasons for Sanatana Dharma aka Hinduism to be such is its open and accepting philosophy. Hence there is not one straightforward, black and white way by which one can explain all the tenets of Hinduism to children, teenagers, and young adults. This ambiguity in the faith often leads to fundamental questions in a teenager’s mind.

This need to explain Hinduism to his teenaged son motivated Satya Avatar, who hails from Mysore, Karnataka (South Indian) to write a novel drawing heavily upon certain historical incidents in India’s history. “More than four years ago, my son came to me and asked me how we related to God in Sanatana Dharma. As I progressed in formulating an answer to my son’s question, it occurred to me that the best way to explain the basic tenets of Sanatana Dharma to my teenage son was to write a novel set in ancient India and explain the tenets through the spiritual journey of the characters in the story,” writes the author who came to the United States in 1978 to pursue graduate studies at State University of New York at Buffalo where he received his Ph.D in 1981. Since then he has worked in the high-tech industry where he has held several technical and management positions in research and development, product management, and marketing.

Set in ancient India just after Alexander’s invasion, The Courtesan and the Sadhu takes the reader through the spiritual journey of two seekers: Kautilya and Manu. The former is a highly learned and erudite Vedic scholar, whose life takes an unexpected detour, and he ends up building the Mauryan Empire. Although successful in re-establishing dharmic values in the Indian subcontinent and getting rid of the vestiges of Alexander’s invasion, he continues to have inner struggles about the path he has chosen.

Manu, the other seeker, is an elite warrior in the Mauryan Army but ends up becoming a seeker of Truth at a young age. Disappointed in love, he tries to find answers to his spiritual questions, first as a Buddhist monk and later as a Sadhu. In this story, the author takes the reader through the intriguing journey of the two seekers as they finally overcome Mâya to reach Moksha (emancipation).

The book starts off with Kautilya being asked by a Greek (Yavana) general to modify the Vedas and perform a yagna (vedic ceremony) to praise his accomplishments. A completely angry Kautilya decides to take matters into his hands and seek help of the king of Patliputra to chase the Yavanas out of the Arya land (India). “As Kautilya entered Pataliputra, he was surprised to see that it was much larger than he had imagined. It was a well-planned city with large boulevards and stately buildings. The city was bustling with commerce, and trade. There were stores stocked with expensive and fine jewelry, clothes, and furniture. Many stores were selling vegetables, grains, and wine. He could also see many dance halls, restaurants, and temples,” explains the author speaking about Kautilya’s journey.

One of the most interesting facets of The Courtesan and the Sadhu is that apart from being an absorbing story, the book subtly teaches the readers about Hindu theology and scriptures. Written in the deceptively simple style characteristic of American writing Satya Avatar effectively communicates the anger, insecurity, adventure, pains, fears, and wonderment the characters of the story. The author has taken pains to describe in exacting detail the various aspects of his story and how they relate to various aspects of the Sanatana Dharma and its allaccepting philosophy. This book would be highly useful to all those people who wish to learn about Hinduism and its philosophy.

“It is interesting to note that for Manu and Kautilya, Dharma without a Creator God was not acceptable, whereas for Chit-Ananda and Chandra Gupta, the existence of a Creator God was immaterial. What mattered to them was the spiritual experience in the material world. The greatness of people of Aryavarta is that they respect and honor all these paths with or without a Creator God,” concludes Satya Avatar in the epilogue of his Magnum Opus.

An Effort to Transform the USA

The largest (geographically) and the most powerful democracy in the world (USA) is in facing its worst crisis in history. When in crisis what do American's do? They go shopping, do business and improve economic value of their nation. This is exactly what Michael Tchong wants to do, he has started a new venture known as Reinventing America through which he hopes to rid the country off its crisis and put it on a path of progress and peace. The website stresses heavily on values, virtues, transparency, ethics education and similar measures as a solution to the present crises.