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.
-*-*-*-

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???