Losing our legacy!

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

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

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

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

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

Wild Flowers and Hiking Trails

Whenever I go hiking the only things in abundance that are noticeable are wild flowers. Like any tourist and wanna be photographer I shoot pictures of these creations of nature and post them on my blog. Here are some examples:

Protect Your Identity and Safeguard your life!

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of LifeLock Twitter for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.
Identity theft is a real, fairly common and a serious problem that is facing successful people in the developed world today. If one's identity gets stolen it takes long time and thousands of dollars of spending before the mess can be sorted out.

The best way to protect your identity is to ensure that it doesn't get stolen. The most common way people hack and steal your details is via the internet.  Remember there are hackers online all the time looking to steal passwords. Have you ever wondered How hack-friendly is your password? There are many services that promise to protect your identity but I don't think there is none as good as LifeLock.

LifeLock is a the leading provider of identity theft protection service. LifeLock provides clients a multi-pronged strategy to ensure identity theft protection. It is one of the most technologically advanced service provider in this area.

Identity theft has led to individuals and families going bankrupt, losing credit, and getting their personal health information compromised among others. Lot of people dismiss identity theft as something that happens only to rich people, that is false. Households with an annual income of 100K have the highest identity fraud rate of 7.4%. Once identity gets stolen it can cost around $1,513. Identity theft is becoming more and more common - last year (2011) over 11.6 million people were subject to identity frauds and they lost over $18 billion. That is a whopping number both of people and the money.

A huge contributing factor for identity theft is smartphone ownership. Nearly 6.6% of victims own smartphones, 6.8% victims use social media, and 10.1% are linkedin users. Isn't that amazing? Now would you like to be one of them? Of course not! Get LifeLock and you can be assured that no hacker can reach you and steal your identity. It takes only 0.000224 seconds to hack a 6 character password, so it is better to have a bigger and more complicated password.

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A website for Geeks and discount lovers!

Majority of my friends are into the information technology (IT) profession. They are what one would call 'geeks' they live and breathe technology, gadgets, software, hardware, and other cool stuff. I have always wanted to be one up on them and give them information about latest gadgets and cool gizmos. For a long time the information I gave them was already old.

Now I have found the Geek Blog which will keep me ahead of my geeky friends. This blog offers the most contemporary information on the latest cool gadgets, gizmos, innovations in technology and other related stuff. How I found this website is itself quite an interesting story.

I was looking for some discount coupons to buy a gift for a friend. I found this website with Toys r us coupons and was immediately taken. As I browsed more I found more discount coupon codes and offers. I was surprised at the amount of information, discount codes and offers that this website has.

I found LL Bean coupon code which was another bonus for visiting this website. Now I am waiting for the opportunity to surprise my geeky friends with all the new information I have gathered here.

Mineral Wells State Park

I recently visited Mineral Wells State Park. As I have already written this is one of the few hilly areas around the metroplex. Will write more soon...

College Artworks

Recently I started an art appreciation class and one of the assignments in school is to go round the campus and document the art works that I can see. Well I went around the campus with my camera and captured the images of what I saw. Some are good, others are well... I will let you decide...

Content Central - The Brand New Document Management Solution from Ademero!

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

Businesses, both small and large, are always managing documents. These maybe contracts, workflow solutions, contracts, bills, invoices, etc. There is a constant need to monitor and manage documents if the business has to function smoothly. Large corporations invest in creating content management systems and software and with the advent of internet some have hosted content management. This kind of investment may not be feasible for small and medium businesses.

Here is where Ademero Business Services step in. Their main service is to provide hosted document management software, document imaging, and related professional services for businesses that handle large amount of documentation. Hitherto businesses depended on paper documentation and management and it was labor intensive to locate specific documentation. Now with document imaging and hosted document management solutions from Ademero all documentation is practically at finger tips.

Just imagine if you are a business owner and you are looking for a specific contract that you implemented several years ago. With hosted documentation that converts scanned images into searchable text it can be accomplished in minutes. This is the power of Ademero's solutions.

Ademero's Content Central is a cutting edge platform for a businesses document management and workflow solutions. It is a completely based software that can be accessed using any popular browser including Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, and Google Chrome. Users can log in with a unique username and password and do every operation they need to do in document management. This includes document capture, indexing, searching and retrieving documents and of course distributing them to single or multiple users.

Think of the ease with which you could disseminate information about new products or services to your clients; or perhaps the great new deal you are offering for Thanksgiving or New Year, etc. Perhaps you want to have a conference of associates you can deploy information about it through Ademero too.

The biggest advantage of this system in my opinion is the ease of operation, and access. Every user can access this from any computer all they need is an internet connection and browser. Administrators can install a single copy of Content Central on a windows server and voila it is available for everyone to use.


This document management system has to be experienced to appreciate its benefits to your business. The deployment is quick and controlled at the same time. It is login based access so it has security you can choose who gets to see what. Once logged into the system users can create documents using PDF-based electronic forms or scan documents using appropriate devices. These documents will simply be converted into searchable PDF files once on Content Central and be available to users who have privileges to access them.

I am yet to tell you the best feature: Content Centrals powerful search tool. You can use names, dates, and keywords to find the document you are looking for. The system also features an integrated e-mail and fax tool that allows distribution of the documents on board without any need for external devices or software.



Now you must be thinking that a software solution that advanced as this would cost the moon. No it is extremely affordable and priced according to the number of users that are going to access the system. Ademero is the way to go forward if you want a smooth document management system.

Now you can get download a trail on Ademero's website and learn all about their services. It is going to save you time and money. In this economy both are very valuable.

Rock Climbing area in Mineral Wells State Park

Rock climbing in Dallas area means going to a gym and ascending their epoxy resin walls. This can be done throughout the year and through the day. On the other hand real rock climbing is pretty much impossible in the Dallas area or so I thought till I visited Mineral Wells State Park. Here there is a small area in one corner known as the Penitentiary Hollow where there are medium sized rock formations ideal for top-rope climbing. So for people in Dallas who want to do real rock climbing the few months of the year when it is pleasant and not extremely cold or hot Mineral Wells is the answer.

Lake Mineral Wells State Park

Lake Mineral Wells State Park is one of the few areas around Dallas where one can see hills and rocks. This is one of the large lakes that dot the area and not too long ago it was believed that the waters had healing properties and people from all over the country would come here for a bath. The city and its water was so famous that at one time the mineral water originating from here was the most sought after. Anyway now since there is more pollution and modernity has set in nobody visits this area for the special water. This is now a small country town which attracts adventurers for its outdoor activity offerings. The state park offers bicycling, hiking and rock climbing options.

US declares Haqqani network a terrorist body - Yahoo! News

Finally after what seems like eternity, having lost many lives both American Soldiers and Civilians US government has recognized that Haqqani Network is a terrorist group. I wonder why it took them so many years, lives, and destruction. I guess as long as it was people from India and other countries where this network operates through its allies were victims America didn't care. Now that their own soldiers were being targeted they have started this process. I wouldn't be surprised if tomorrow the US announces a few billion dollars in aid to Pakistan. This has been the typical strategy of America during the past several decades. Pinch the child and rock the cradle. Let us see what happens...

US declares Haqqani network a terrorist body - Yahoo! News http://news.yahoo.com/us-declares-haqqani-network-terrorist-body-152453023.html The Obama administration declared Friday that the Pakistan-based Haqqani network of militants is a terrorist body despite misgivings about how the largely symbolic act could further stall planned Afghan peace talks or put yet another chill on the United States' already fragile counterterrorism alliance with Islamabad. Read the full story

Visitors being chased by a Bison!!!

Fined for paying in cash!

In America if you don't conform to the game of economy you will be punished. Here is a guy who paid his doctors bill in cash with pennies :) and got slapped with a hefty fine. In India people fighting for small change, specially with autorickshaw drivers, restaurant cashiers, bus conductors, vegetable vendors, and other petty shop keepers is common. It is probably only in America that people are punished if they pay using coins!!

Surprising Passenger on a Motorcycle!

18 percent Americans don't have enough for food!!!

America continues to dominate the world militarily, economically, and politically, but a significant percentage of its citizens are finding it difficult to afford two square meals a day. On one hand there are super rich multi-billion dollar wealthy Americans and then there are those who work(ed) for these people who are literally living a hand-to-mouth existence. When I was in India, all that was mentioned about America was that everyone in this country was rich and there was hardly any poverty. Since I moved to the US in 2007 I have seen with my own eyes the state of this country. Yes there is a lot of riches in this country, there are extremely rich people and even the poorer people own cars. The overall level of comfort these people enjoy is far superior to most lower-middle-class folk elsewhere in the developing world. There is the weak underbelly of America which fades under the glaring brightness of its wealth. This is a small but growing population of people who are finding it difficult to make ends meet, not just that... they are finding it difficult to put food on the table. Reference: Yahoo News

Happy Independence Day 2012

Today is India's Independence Day and I am amazed how naive Indians in the US are. They call it India's birthday and there is no greater absurdity than this. India was not born on August 15, 1947! India was freed from the clutches of the oppressive British and we gained independence. That is it.

I would like to think this as some sort of a conspiracy of the liberal media, the so called intelligentsia, and of course those who consider it fashionable and cool to say that India was nothing till the British occupied and gave us an identity. I wonder when Indians will really recognize their true heritage, history and identity and say the right things.

The way things are going on, I don't think it will ever happen. Our people will unfortunately remained enslaved by the popular myths and media images that make them think and identify with this erroneous image.

Save a Life only if you have money to pay the bill!

In America everything comes with a price tag, even performing acts of kindness and bravery. Even if you save someone's life you have to pay a price for it. This is what a young American found out recently. I read about this lifeguard on Yahoo News. He rescued a drowning boy off the west coast of America and was promptly slapped with a $2600 hospital bill. It is routine in the US that everyone is taken to the emergency after the slightest adverse event. This lifeguard was also transported in an ambulance, even though he was fine, uninjured and he was the rescuer not the one who was drowning. After a few weeks he got a bill from the hospital. Of course there are enough generous souls in the US and someone footed the hospital bill. Instead of commending him for saving a life and giving him some kind of a bravery award, he got a bill from the hospital. It does really sound absurd to me. Next time I see a drowning person I should think twice if I have the money to pay the hospital, before jumping in to rescue.

Tissue Donation/ Trade continues....

I listened to another episode of the story on human tissue business on radio today. This part of the story focused on the scams, rackets, and frauds that had taken place in this $1 billion business. The story focused on one funeral home director from New Jersey who made so much money out of this business that he had heaters installed under his driveway because he didn't want to shovel snow during winters.

This guy is a dentist who had lost his license and yet he lived in style in a mansion with all the comforts. How did he manage this, he simply bought corpses from other funeral homes and sold them to tissue banks, who in turn sold it to doctors and hospitals. Everyone in the loop made a profit for themselves.This guy apparently forged documents that reportedly created a paper trail showing that the family of the deceased had consented to the tissue harvesting and continued on with his murky deals.

What is next? Is it going to be human farms, breed people in order to kill and harvest their organs and tissues? Or would it be go to war with a nation so you can kill their citizens and harvest tissues? What will it be? I definitely don't want to guess!

The Murky side of tissue donation!

English: Logo of NPR News. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

When I got my drivers license renewed one of the questions in the form asked me if I wanted to be registered as an organ donor. Feeling righteous and thinking that my body will be helpful to fellow human beings even after my death I obviously ticked the box and enrolled as one. When I signed up I was not aware of how much money my body was worth and who would benefit from it. Now after listening to a series of news reports on National Public Radio I have become painfully aware of the sleazy market that exists in this country for human tissue "donations".

As I listened to the radio program I was shocked to know that the organizations that harvest tissue and organs from dead humans are actually "For Profit" corporations whose CEOs I am quite sure make millions off of salvaging dead bodies who sign up for donations thinking that some poor soul somewhere in the world would benefit. That is not true either. Most of these 'donated' tissues are used in cosmetic surgeries.

That is not all, there is a well oiled machinery in morgues across the world to harvest human tissues and sell it to these corporations who pass them on to doctors and hospitals in the US for a fee of course. Most of these dead bodies are scavenged without the permission or even knowledge of their families, clandestinely in morgues.

Since there is little or no regulation or tracking of these tissue grafts nobody knows whose organ is being transplanted on whom and who is making money.

I am amazed at the way corporations are cheating common people even in their death to make a few $$$. Wonder what it will be next, will there be human farms to harvest organs in third world countries like Sub Saharan Africa, and South & South East Asia??? I wouldn't be surprised if these corporations powered by their capitalist arrogance and greed attempt this.

Like Geeky Stuff? Here is News you could use!

I consider myself a gadget lover/ geek/ gizmo freak or whatever you call people who love to have the latest and coolest electronics. I always look for and try to acquire the most cool gadgets and gizmos for myself. I visit various websites and online forums to keep myself updated about the latest gadgets that are hitting the marketplace.

One of the best sources of information on this subject is the ThinkGeek site that provides fantastic details and features all the latest cool gadgets, quirky gizmos and geeky stuff. The website is unique in many ways. First it provides the latest news and information about state-of-the-art gadgets and new innovations. Second it is a great place to find coupons, discount promo codes and free stuff. These things help you save money and enable you to buy more cool gadgets.

This week the site features a Home Depot coupon that will help me get some real cool home improvement tools and implements. Then there are GoToMyPC promo codes that help me get some real cool accessories for my computer.

Among the gadgets I found on the site I simply loved the I Sight Twin LED lights, a simple attachment that helps you keep your hands free while you negotiate your way in the darkest of the nights.

Crazy or Stupid or Plain Idealistic - I don't understand

The Fort Hood Massacre by US Army psychiatrist Major Nidal Hassan made headlines across the country several months ago. Then there was a lull as the army decided to investigate the case and court martial Hassan. Meanwhile he was placed in a military prison in solitary confinement.


This morning I read a news item titled  Juror bias worries Hasan’s legal team which elucidates that the legal team appointed to defend the renegade ex-soldier's religion will have an adverse effect on the case. My first reaction was of shock, which soon transformed into outrage and then frustration not only with the media for publishing such a news item but also about the army lawyer who is stating such.

In my opinion a nation's most important citizens are the soldiers - those who defend the borders, followed by the police - who maintain peace in the civil society and then comes everyone else. This man who belonged to the first group turned his guns on his colleagues and killed 13 soldiers in cold blood. There should be no doubt about what he did and how it will impact the society. I don't care if he is a Muslim or Christian or Jew the fact is that he killed soldiers who are the protective arm of this great nation. He should be brought to justice and given the highest punishment that he deserves.

Instead of urging the jury to pass the most severe judgement these lawyers are worried about the murderer? I simply don't understand. I just hope the jurors will take the right decisions and pronounce the appropriate judgement.