Enemies of Americas Lakes

On my recent visit to Lake Sheldon I found some notices put up at the observation tower. The notices are meant to warn visitors about the threat these invasive species pose to the natural water bodies of this country and how they should be avoided or mitigated. The invasive species include some plants from India, Japan, and other parts of the world. I was thinking it is time all nations started this system of warning its people about invasive species. In India they need to put up signs about the all pervasive Parthenium plant which is from the United States that is the biggest menace for the entire country's open soil.

Auction Site for Great Deals

How would you like to get the latest iPad for less than $50? or the iPhone 4s for under $25? If you are thinking that I am must be crazy or just plain telling lies, think again. I came across this wonderful auction site known as Dealfun.com where you can buy fantastic products for pennies on a dollar.

It is a simple deal the latest products in the market are sold on this site and the starting price for all is just $0.01. Subscribers like you and me will start bidding on the products as the auction progresses, each bid will take the product price up by $0.01. That is cool isn't it. If you are not satisfied there is a 100% cash back option.

Still not convinced just visit dealfun.com reviews and find out more about the unique auction site. Of course if you want more details you can always call DealFun.com customer service hotline which works 24/7.

Then there is something I love on Dealfun.com, every day all registered members get a chance to spin the virtual wheel and win fantastic prizes including iPad 2, bid packs, and more. That is what I would call a uniquely useful website.

If you are still not a member go ahead and become one. Don't miss all the great deals available out there.

Life Forms in Sheldon Lake State Park

While at Sheldon Lake State Park and Environmental Learning Center I happened to spot some species of urban wildlife such as chameleon, and turtle. Of course there were signs warning us of alligators, armadillos, rabbits, and other species we didn't see any. Here are the more pictures of Sheldon Lake and the state park area.

Spring Break - 2012

Today is the last day of Spring Break - a week long holiday to enable students to enjoy the onset of spring. Having lived in US for the past four odd years this is the first time I participated in the break like a typical American student. Yes! I went on a short three day trip to the beach side holiday island resort of Galveston, TX. Before going to Galveston, we stopped at Houston and visited the Sheldon Lake State Park and Environmental Learning Center. This post is about Sheldon Lake, the first stop in our spring break tour.

Sheldon Lake is probably the only state park in Texas that has no entry fees. The park ranger was surprised to see me flash my State Parks Pass and thanked me for supporting them by buying the same. We took the map and went around to explore the park. This is mostly being used as an environmental learning center for high school and college students. There are several small ponds built in a row with walking trails to provide access to each one of them. Two are open to public for fishing and no license or fee is to be paid if you are going to catch and release the fish.

There are several other attractions at the state park one can walk the .5 mile pond loop trail that meanders around all the small research ponds. There are other places along the way worthy of visiting such as the Fishing Deck, Floating Deck, Bridge, Pond Center, Heron Plaza, etc. There is an interesting sub trail known as the Bent Pine Trail about which I will be posting soon. For now enjoy the pictures of Sheldon Park.

The Pond Loop Trail

One of the pond/ Aquatic Labs

One of the Fishing Ponds

A Baby Chemeleon

Feeding Your Grass For A Beautiful Lawn!

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Scotts® for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

Everyone likes to have a beautiful, lush green lawn around their homes. It is important that we keep the grass alive and healthy so that our homes are continuously surrounded by the beautiful green carpet. Last winter when it snowed for seven days non stop in DFW area I was taken aback at the damage it rendered on my lawn. That is when I started doing research to find a product that would help me feed the grass and keep it alive through the cold frosty winters.

During my extensive research I came across the Scotts® Snap® Spreader System! This is one gadget that takes care of my lawn and helps me maintain a beautiful lawn throughout the year. I will not have to deal with the mess and I wont be guessing if all my lawn is fed or not. The system will take care of this. I am going to get the Scotts ® Snap® Spreader System and keep it in my garage this year. I am pretty sure I will not let snow destroy my lawn once again.

The unique feature of Scotts ® Snap® Spreader System is its Snap Pac that connects directly to the Snap Spreader, so there is no need of cutting, opening or pouring from heavy bags. This in turn translates into no wastage, no mess and no spillage. That is not all, the system is smart too, it auto-sets the proper flow rate and ensures that your entire lawn is covered and not a drop spills out of the lawn thanks to its unique EdgeGuard feature. When you are done working on the lawn the Snap Pac self-seal makes it real easy to store.

The Snap PERKS program began on March 7, 2012. Right now there are some great Snap Perks, all you need to do is go on Facebook and "like" Snap perks on Facebook and you will be among the first to know about Scotts great promotions and contests.

Swamped by Work/ School - Blogger lays low!!!

That would be the headline of any news story about me at this point in time. It has been many days since I even opened blogger. When the year started couple of months ago I had made a resolution to blog more regularly, exercise, go to the gym, hit the hiking trails, bike, swim, etc, etc. Life happened and now here I am at the college library after finishing up a project due day after tomorrow and trying to scribble or should I say hammer out a few sentences here. Anyway the timeline for the semester to end is getting closer, which means work load is getting heavier. Thank god for spring break which starts next Monday, I will be off to Houston and of course the golden beaches of Galveston to enjoy a few hours of fun. Then back home to hit the books because the day after Spring Break is a big test which I have to succeed in. See y'all later...

Ervin Park, Mckinney - Green Space for everyone!

I visited Ervin Park sometime last week and it is indeed a wonderful open space for everyone to enjoy the outdoors. The park sited on the outskirts of McKinney is not too far for the city residents to get to and at the same time being set amid ranches and farms there is enough serenity and isolation. Since it is still winter the greenery is yet to sprout and the landscape looks pretty boring and grey. I still think this park with its nice mountain bike trails and walking paths holds great promise for people interested in spending time outdoors.

Unlimited Sales Leads for only $39.95 a month!

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of infofree for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

One of the biggest challenges for a small business owner or budding entrepreneur is to find marketing prospects or potential customers. Considering the tough economy and an immensely competitive marketplace it has almost become impossible for small business owners to sustain their enterprises.

I recently came across a brand new sales support website known as infofree. The unique feature of this online platform is that they provide you unlimited sales leads and mailing lists for a very low price. You can use these leads and find hundreds or even thousands of new customers and skyrocket your sales revenue. Right now you can avail their special offer of just $39.95 per month and derive immense benefits.

While Infofree is all about getting you easy sales leads there are many other advantages. Here are some of the salient features:
1. Unlimited Business credit profiles
2. Qualifying sales prospects based on various criteria: age, business credit profile, bankruptcy filers, geographical area (map and area code)
3. Over 50 databases to search prospects from
4. You can print any number of sales leads you wish to follow up.

Infofree is committed to helping you increase sales and to this effect there are lots of new features coming up. Things like getting alerts about new prospects, local weather & news, emails, postcards and surveys, and content manager, among others.

If you want to avail of the special offer you just need to use the coupon code BLOG39 when you sign up. You can get unlimited sales leads for only $39.95 a month.

Electronic Cigarette Hurt Too!!!

In America the latest fad among smokers who are trying to quit the habit is to smoke electronic cigarettes. These battery operated gadgets claim to have no health risk, sold in several flavors, and are advertised as being a safe alternative to traditional cigarettes. Unfortunately for a Florida man trying to use this option to give up smoking this didn't hold good. His electronic cigarette exploded in his mouth due to a faulty battery and he is now injured, disfigured, and suffering. I bet he will probably go back to smoking regular cigarettes... after all in his case that seems to be the safer option :).

'Just crazy': Up to 30 people fight at funeral

Funerals are solemn occasions where people usually remain in quite reflection and memories of the departed. I have not attended many funerals in my life because in my culture, people whose parents are alive are prohibited from attending one. My knowledge of funeral traditions in the American Judeo-Christian culture is that they are very solemn occasions of prayer and reflection.

Unfortunately one of the funerals in Arizona didn't happen to be like that. It became worthy of news, even though the departed was a common individual. How did it happen? Some of the mourners started fighting amongst themselves and the cops had to come and break up the scuffle. This happened in the Developed Western nation of America who claim to be the most advanced civilization on the earth.

Read More: 'Just crazy': Up to 30 people fight at funeral

A great new way to organize your life!!!

I am a very organized individual, I like to have everything classified into categories and in their right place where I can find them. Some of my friends call me a control freak but I am just particular about having all the things I require at hand. One of the things I had been struggling with was how to save and organize my favorite websites and online links. The bookmarks/ favorites toolbar in my browser is simply inadequate to cater to all my wide interests. I found out about clipix while browsing online and I am totally convinced that this tool will help me organize my life totally.

Clipix is an online organization tool, it is like having an ever expanding clipboard where you can continuously place the stuff you like, want to look at later or even would like to remember always. I love way clipix lets me organize my links I can create different clipboards for each of my interests, say I have a clipboard for my vacations, another for my school stuff, a separate one for the movies I'd like to watch, etc. I will never get disorganized with this tool.

I have started to clip my favorite sites, links, articles and other stuff that I want to have constant access to. I will share it with my friends and family so they know what I am interested in and if we share common interests they can clip the links too. That is what I call being super organized. You can see one of my clipboards below.

Promoted Post

Cars Cops Fear

In America your status in life is determined by the car you own, the house you live in and the clothes you wear. It doesn't matter if you are eye deep in debt, so long as you pay the minimum amount due on your credit card nobody bothers you. Miss a payment and everyone is after you to recover their debt and you will be on a downward spiral.

I found this article/ slide show titled Cars Cops Fear interesting. Cops in America have good cars and nice motorcycles but like in India their cars are simply not fast enough to out run some of the cars that fly on the roads here. At least cop cars here can out run most cars. The slide show lists a fleet of four wheelers that could easily outrun the fuzz. But in America it is not easy to run with these cars also, simply because not many people own them and cops will trace out the owner and ticket them.

Savings on Prescription Medicines at Walgreens

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Walgreens for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

As healthcare costs skyrocket the prices of prescription medications is also rising. There seems to be no way of getting around this price rise. Now with unemployment at 8.4 percent and continuing economic recession this high cost of prescription medications is hurting millions of Americans.

As a responsible pharmaceutical retailer Walgreens has come forward to do its bit and support the people and operate a sustainable business. Walgreens has a unique offering for those of you who depend on prescription medication for our daily health maintenance. The Prescription Savings Club at Walgreens enables members to save on over 8,000 brand-name and all generic medications. Just imagine the amount you will be saving over a years time if you are filling your prescriptions regularly. That is not members get discounts on flu shots, pet prescriptions, nebulizers and diabetic testing supplies.

If there are so many benefits you must be wondering that the membership must cost dearly. That is not true Walgreens is right now offering a special discount on annual membership for the Prescription Savings club. Your entire family including a spouse and dependents under 22 and pets are included in the club membership for just $35 a year. If you are a single person then the membership is only $20 for a whole year.

Membership rewards include bonuses on Walgreens products and photo services too. In this economy I don't think things can get any better. You can find out more by liking Walgreens on Facebook and of course if you follow Walgreens on Twitter you will be instantly updated about the latest offerings, schemes and discounts.

US, Taliban talks on prisoner swap?

I read this news article online on MSN.com titled US, Taliban talks on prisoner swap falter. I am amazed that America is even talking to Terrorists. These inhuman people should be eliminated and not negotiated with. The Taliban by far is one of the most cruel militias in the world and they pose a threat to the human race itself. They wouldn't bat an eyelid before taking the lives of innocent civilians including children and women. I don't think their cadres should be shown any mercy, let alone the respect they are getting from the most powerful country in the world.

I wonder why America is doing this. They should simply issue a counter threat: "For every American soldier killed in captivity by the Taliban, US will eliminate a 100 Taliban operators on field and in prison." This will ensure elimination of this nemesis on the earth. In order to establish civil society across the world, thugs like these should be taken out.

Healthcare Gap in US impoverishing families

Having lived in the US for over 4 years I have come to understand several nuances of this society and culture. The infrastructure such as roads, parks, libraries, sporting arenas, etc are astounding and accessible to everyone. These are important amenities for the citizens but there is one more important need that remains largely unfulfilled is healthcare. There is pretty much no government hospital in the US. If you are one of the 50 million odd people who don't have health insurance then god help you if you fall sick. A simple emergency room visit could run into couple of thousand dollars and that is serious money for the average middle class family in the US.

While browsing the internet I came across an article titled Iconic skier’s death points out U.S. health gap which gives some hard facts about the health gaps in the US. According to the article over 700,000 families file for bankruptacy in the US every year because of healthcare bills. This includes several senior citizens who don't have any income other than social security and savings, they end up having to sell/ mortgage their homes to pay medical bills.

When I studied psychology we were taught the Maslow's hierarchy of needs in which the most basic need for every living being is physiological needs and then followed by safety. The safety is addressed pretty good with a efficient law enforcement and defence sectors. But the physiological needs unfortunately is not being addressed by the society in the US. If you don't have money and/ or insurance you are simply doomed to lose everything in case you have a health emergency.

Your Messy Cubicle can win you $1200 Office Makeover!

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Contest Factory for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

Do you think your cubicle/ office space is the worst in the world? Can you prove it by making a video showing what makes it the most pathetic cubicle? If you can do it, you have a chance to win a $1200 office make over.

Yes it is true, you can enter the Pimp My Cube Contest on Contest Factory and if you are the winner you will get a $1200 office makeover. How do you go about it? It is pretty simple, all you need to do is to make a video of your office/ cube and explain to the world why it is a horrible place to work. The next step is to upload it on Contest Factory website and invite your friends, family and associates to login and vote for your video.

Everything you do on Contest Factory site will earn you sweepstakes entry points. Contest Factory judges will watch all the videos and select the grand winner as per their criteria which includes the maximum number of votes, best video and most compelling story.

Now for the prizes the grand prize is valued at $1200 and can be used to upgrade your office/ cube with one of the three packages that include: a brand new high end computer system, or new office furniture and decorations, or you could even get a high end entertainment package which includes a stereo, espresso machine, etc.

The contest ends on January 31, 2012. If you are worried that your video may not be the best to win $1200, there is a second sweepstakes prize of $200 gift card which will be awarded to a randomly chosen winner.

So now don't delay your contest entry, there is very little time but enough to make you a winner. As I said before just make a video of your pathetic office, upload it and invite everyone you know to vote for it. You may be the winner of $1200.

Happy Republic Day 2012

Image by Akshay Shah via Flickr

Today's is India's Republic Day - the day when India became a sovereign republic day with its own distinct constitution. India's Republic Day Parade is one of the most famous events that takes place in the Capital. I have never attended one in person but I have watched the live telecast on TV several times in my life when I was in India.

Next time I am in India I hope it is during this time so I can go to Delhi and watch the parade with my own eyes.

Alone in this world

Alone in this world

Image Courtesy Internet

Why do I feel alone?
Whether I am one
or I am with someone
I still feel lone

I am sure there are
souls who feel similar
as if they were alone
despite surrounded by millions

I wonder why??

Upgrade your cellphone and get paid for it!

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Cellitused, Inc. for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

What would you say if you were offered money to give away your old cellphone and get a new and modern one? That would be great isn't it, you don't have to wonder what to do with your old phone nor do you have to accumulate unnecessary things at home. This is exactly what Cellitused.com is offering to do.

Under their new plan known as "Get Paid to Upgrade!" the company is offering you a unique opportunity to upgrade and get the most modern cellphone without worrying about how to dispose your old one. Moreover they are actually showing you a way to make money off of your old, used cellphone.

Some of us are early adopters and want the latest technology. Now that the iPhone 4s is here I am sure lot of us want to upgrade from our old 3g and 3gs to get this brand new model with a robotized talking voice. You can easily Sell Your iPhone to Cellitused.com and upgrade to the phone of your choice.

By upgrading your cellphone you will be doing mother earth a great favor too. Cellphone manufacture involves loads of different hazardous chemicals such as arsenic, antimony, mercury, etc. These chemicals can pose serious environmental hazard. By selling your old cellphone you are contributing to minimize this risk.

Not only cellphones you can recycle your old electronic devices at Cellitused.com. You are assured of a great cash price on Cellitused.com for your old electronics. Founded in 2006, Cellitused has been in the business buying and selling used cell phones, ipad and other smartphones. You can sell even broken ones and make extra cash and also save the environment.

This is what I call a "double whammy"

A Friend

When I was happy and laughing
The whole world was with me
When I was sad and grieving
There was only one by my side!

When I was rich and famous
Everyone wanted to meet me,
Know me, & spend time with me,
Only to boost their egos

But when When the wealth and notriety were gone
With them went everyone but one
The one who has been with me as god's boon
More in times of sorrow than in joy

That is you none other than
My friend - the one who is always there
as a pillar of support
like the northern star to a navigator