Back to School.....

Image Courtesy Dandelion Blu

New year brings with it lots of new things.... including a brand new semester of academic drudgery... but I kinda enjoy it and the above cartoon is definitely not a representation of me. It would be if I get frustrated and can't achieve the academic goals I have set out to achieve. Right now my situation is more like the graphic below.

Image Courtesy Maconaquah Middle School Guidance Department

Struggling with information overload and trying to juggle school, job, life, and lots and lots of books. When this happens often times something often keeps falling off if you are not an expert juggler, which I am definitely not, so when things fall down I have to stop and pick up from where I stopped at. It is going to be a challenging semester and I sure hope I can get through with the grades I wish and keep my job, life and sanity intact.

Happy Pongal and Makar Sankranti

Back home in India and at the homes of Hindus Worldwide today and tomorrow are being widely celebrated as Pongal and Sankranti. These are basically celebrated and perceived as harvest festivals by most people. There is a greater meaning however, this is the day when the Sun's northward journey aka Uttarayan starts. This festival has been celebrated for several thousand years across the world. Way back it was celebrated in South America by the Mayans, who built the fantastic temples that are still a marvel to modern architects.

Maya is a historical/ mythological character in Hinduism, he is the architect of the gods and demons alike. Legend is that when Lord Shiva, destroyed the three cities built by Maya, he was spared and banished to Patala Loka (nether world). The earth is a globe and if one were to trace a straight path through the earth from India, it would probably end up around South America where Maya was sent. The Mayan people were his descendants. Therefore it was not a wonder that they celebrated the Makar Sankranti also.

Anyway this blog post is a message to all my readers, friends and family wishing you all a very happy Sankranti and may the future be full of revolutionary and positive changes in your life.

Low Cost Quality Eye Glasses From Zenni

Many of my family members have been wearing glasses since the past several years. My dad, brother, and sister have probably spent several hundred dollars buying replacement glasses when they break them or the fashion changes. Every time they replaced their glasses they cribbed about how expensive they were.

I recently suggested them to try Zenni Optical, the one stop shop for cheap eyeglasses made using the most modern materials. Like everyone else they were also skeptical about the quality of these low cost eyeglasses, but these apprehensions vanished when they got their vision accessories on hand.

Now that my family is convinced about the merits of Zenni Optical I would like to tell the rest of my circle how it is possible for this company to offer quality eyeglasses for such low prices. It is quite simple actually, Zenni sells their product direct to the customer, i.e. you. There are no dealers, distributors, stockists, or retailers and virtually no advertising budgets.

Another unique feature of Zenni is that they don't sell other brands. They manufacture their own brand ZENNI and sell them to you. This has enabled Zenni to drastically cut the cost of their quality eyeglasses.

Recently Zenni Optical was reviewed by Examiner.com where everything about this eye glasses company has been explained.

If you want a new pair of glasses just go to Zenni and save yourself a lot of money. In this economy it makes a lot of sense to save money.

Happenings in Bengaluru!!!

Though I am in the US in body and physique, my heart and soul are in Bengaluru, India and in our farm at Kadvekere Doddi, Kanakapura, India. Meanwhile our farm is being managed by my good friend Anand who has promoted a venture known as Basic Halli, an adventure, nature getaway from the Silicon Valley of India.

I recently received an update that the first harvest of organic vegetables is available to people. Hopefully during the next harvest I will be present to pick the fruits off of our farm. But for now I content myself in looking at the pictures of the produce and the area.

A different New Year Resolution

I came across this news article online about a man in Frisco, TX whose new year resolution was to celebrate his weight loss of the previous year. Chris Kern lost 120 lbs during the past year and became healthier, fitter and happier. He is now training to run a half-marathon.

Now that is what I call a real new year resolution. In this context the New Year is just a date on which he took the pledge to lose weight and cut down on unhealthy eating in order to be healthy and perhaps set an example to his three children.

Most people make resolutions only to break them a week down the line. In fact I myself have started several projects only to abandon them after sometime. This kind of resolve and determination is truly admirable. Chris Kern's blog is quite informative about his journey from 325 lbs to 200 lbs.

With over 35 percent of Americans being obese there is a need for this man's example to be emulated.

Happy New Year 2011

I'd like to use this opportuity to reflect on the significance of the beginning of a new year. What does the new year mean? Is it just an opportunity for people to let down their hair and party all night, get drunk, hang out with friends. Or is there something more to the beginning of a new year.

Personally speaking I come from a totally different culture where a New Year doesn't begin on January 1st, rather our new year is on the first new moon day after the Spring Equinox. This day is known as Ugadi and we celebrate it by eating a neem flower with brown sugar with a promise that we will accept both bitter and sweet experiences in the coming year equally. This is quite significant to me because there is some kind of meaning to the beginning of a year.

I still don't understand the main significance of January 1st apart from the fact that it is the beginning of a year. Of course some people make resolutions and try to keep them up in the coming year, but most of us generally party hard, drink and forget all about the day once we are back at work the next day.

Nature Reigns! But.....

Public parks in Texas are generally vast sprawling locations with good tree cover, walking trails, lake, etc. These are havens for several species of wildlife such as snakes, hare/ rabbits, bob cats, etc. But these havens are being destroyed slowly by a species of bugs... litterbugs... this species is very intelligent, and aware but some members just don't seem to care and spread their litter everywhere irrespective of whether it is a tranquil park or a freshwater stream. The pictures below explain everything.

Another Year Coming to an end....

It is that time of the year again when Americans exchange gifts, take holidays, meet with their extended families, etc. It is the end of the year holiday season... formerly known as Christmas season. Anyway the point of this blogpost is to say that another year has gone by and there has been few changes in the situation of the world and in my life. I still go to school and work weekends. I switched careers early this year.

One of the highlights of this year was that finally I was able to visit India and spend some quality time with my parents and sister's family. That apart life has been pretty much the same throughout.

The bone chilling cold season has started in DFW area and everyone is now attired in thick jackets or sweaters.

Smelly Problems :)

This afternoon I was listening to the radio and on PRI (Public Radio International) I heard this story about Brussels' subway. As I heard the story I smiled and remembered the days when I was traveling in North India with my NRI friend. I had never left India at that point in time so I was not used to the so called "better quality of life" that is accessible in first world or developed nations. My friend, (if he reads he will understand, others need not know his name) continuously complained about the pungent odor of human excreta while walking around narrow lanes of Delhi's famous Connaught place aka Indira Chowk aka Indira Chowk. All the time we were in Delhi (about 24 hrs) he glorified London, and Singapore and said that there was no foul smells in and around roads, railway stations were clean and odor free and et al. At that point in time I just agreed because I had not stepped out of India and there was indeed an overpowering odor in some places we walked around.

This afternoon I listened to this program titled "A smelly problem in Brussels' subway" I remembered my dear friend's complaints about India and lack of civic sense of our people. Well it seems like even westerner's of first world nations are no better. The video below accompanied the article online and it gives a sense of the problem faced by the establishment in Brussels.

When More is actually less!!!

Yesterday me and some of my friends decided that we'd celebrate the end of this semester by going out for lunch and also treat our professor who has been so nice to us. We decided to head out this Thai place in Allen, TX. The ambiance was great, food was good, and the service was comfortable also. There was one catch with the place though, the restaurant levied an auto-gratuity of 18% on groups of 5 and over. What this means is that whether one likes it or not the restaurant will charge you 18% over and above your check amount. It is like deciding the tip amount for you, even if the service were shoddy and you didn't enjoy the meal you will end up forking out an extra 18%. I was completely surprised to see this concept of auto-gratuity.

I have heard of businesses providing a discount when there is a large order. Because of the volume of business they offer a small discount so the consumer feels better, but this is completely opposite, the more business you give the more you pay. I guess this can happen only in a capitalist economy driven by businesses, such as the US. It is possible for the restaurant owners to pay less for its wait staff because they will charge the customers extra if they come in groups... even a family of five will be slapped with an 18% auto-gratuity...

I think this is an unethical practice.

Foggy Morning Drive

Winter has set in... the evidence is this picture shot while driving to college couple of days ago. The visibility was pretty low but everyone was still driving at 50-60 miles per hour. Anyway that is life in America, fast and furious.

Lake Views in Plano

Plano city has a few small lakes of its own. Though the city gets its water supply from Lavon Dam located in Wylie, Plano is proud of its lakes and water bodies. The city protects these natural water resources pretty well. Every water body is pretty much stocked with fish, has a trail around, and is located inside a green belt area or park. Here are some pictures of a lake in Bob Woodruff Park, Plano.

Frisco City Hall Art Displays

One unique feature of Frisco, TX is the city's patronage of visual arts. The Texas Sculpture Garden is a unique example of how businesses in the city have contributed to create an open air museum of art and sculpture. I had been to the Frisco city hall recently and was impressed by the many sculptures on display in the grounds of the city hall. Here are some pictures of the sculptures I saw out there.

Fall Colors in Plano, Texas

One of the biggest national natural events in the US is the occurrence of fall colors. Almost ever state in continental US has its share of fall festivals to celebrate the change of season as evidenced by the changes in colors of leaves. Trees, plants and shrubs change the color of their leaves in preparation for a cold icy winter. This change from Green to red to yellow to brown and finally falling is a phenomenon worth watching out for. Aspen, Colorado is known for one of the best places to view fall colors. When I first came here people said that there is no fall color in Texas, but in the past three years I have been here I have seen fall foliage. Here are some pictures of what I saw recently along the road.

Bar Breast Examination by a Quack!!!

It is interesting the wide array of things people get convicted for. This man who became a woman is still obsessed with the female anatomy. I bet he is wondering how the natural ones feel like as apposed to his/ her artificial ones. So he figured out that posing as a plastic surgeon would get him access to female bodies and it did... but only for a short time. Now he/ she will be put away for a long time and can wonder about the female anatomy behind locked doors at leisure.

Road Views - Mobile Pictures

I am of the opinion that for the most part we spend our life on the road. We go to work, run errands, visit friends, check on family, go to movies, etc and every time we step out of our home we can be certain of hitting the road. How many of us actually look at the sights around the road that we commute by? Most of us just drive past without bothering to look left or right. Well I simply can't do that and here I am with some of the vistas of the road in Plano, Texas. I captured these pictures as I drove, or walked in and around Plano, and surrounding areas of Dallas Metroplex.

Sights of DFW Metro area

Sometimes as I drive around I just turn around and click a picture from my mobile phone. These pictures are not great in terms of quality, technicality or any such aspect. It is just hard cold truth of what I see... I shoot images such as these not to impress anyone, but just to document what I see as I drive around the city running errands and leading my daily life.

I have traveled 7 out of 50 states in the US and I must say that the best roads are in Texas. Though there is not much traffic like in East Coast or West Coast of the US, the roads here are something one needs to marvel at. It is amazing how the roads have been built and continue to be created. The above picture is of President George Bush Turnpike, a toll road on which one can see cars whizzing past at 70+ miles per hour. There are Multiple bridges built at many levels to separate traffic into different directions, exits, and entries. As you can see there are six different roads, each with at least three lanes in this picture.

Because Texas is still a sparsely populated state it is still possible to view an sunrise as we drive to work early in the morning.

An Amazing Film

I found this movie on Youtube about a cougar trying to hunt a bear cub and how survival instincts work in the animal kingdom. It is indeed one of the best short films I have seen.

Photography on the Move!!!

Earlier I had talked about how one can use modern technology to preserve their fondest memories on canvas. Well this time I would like to talk about my little but powerful mobile phone camera. I have one of the most basic phones the LG sliding phone. It is great instrument to talk, communicate and have some fun with. The camera that I had hitherto ignored is a really cool gadget, as I discover now. I shot some images recently as I meandered my way around doing my daily activities, going to school (college)... working..

Capturing and Preserving Memories!!!

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