In Hibernium

I am in Hibernation People. Hope to be out of hibernation pretty soon. And as our very own Mr. Universe would say

I'll be back

Photos that will never make the news 1 !! 

The CCF flag football team with a winning regular season 

Eating out 'Dhaba' Style 

What do I say ...

Want to make some money ?
Want to get married easy ?
Want an excuse to steal a car ?

Quote for the day

"A psychiatrist asks a lot of expensive questions your wife asks for nothing."
-Joey Adams

Bill of non-rights continued ....
ARTICLE II: You do not have the right to never be offended. This country is based on freedom, and that means freedom for everyone -- not just you! You may leave the room, turn the channel, express a different opinion, etc.; but the world is full of idiots, and probably always will be.

"Birthday bums"
Mr.Pink I got you on film!!  

The Bill of non-rights

- This is courtesy of Meagan Owens.
"We the sensible people of the United States, in an attempt to help everyone get along, restore some semblance of justice, avoid more riots, keep our nation safe, promote positive behavior, and secure the blessings of debt free liberty to ourselves and our great-great-great-grandchildren, hereby try one more time to ordain and establish some common sense guidelines for the terminally whiny, guilt ridden, delusional, and other liberal bed-wetters"
Article I

"You do not have the right to a new car, big screen TV, or any other form of wealth. More power to you if you can legally acquire them, but no one is guaranteeing anything."

This is how the student government elections are held in India

Quote for the day
"Laws are like sausages, it is better not to see them being made."
Otto von Bismarck

Just another manic Monday ...

It surely has been a manic Monday today. I have been closeted in the same room for more than eight hours. One of these days I going to look like the computer monitor that I keep staring at. Its a strong sense of deja vu that I feel (I thought my Computer Science teachers looked and acted like computers).

I managed to go to Church yesterday, after a gap of few weeks. There is so much difference in the way in which the timings work in an Indian Church. The service seemed to go on without any time limit. Inspite of being in the Pacific Time zone the people acted as if they were in the Indian Stretchable(Standard) Time zone. Can't complain about it though, more prayer the better is what I say zzzzz

Want justice(mostly skewed) in some parts of India try the Panchayat (Village court). They have take over where the medieval witch hunting courts left of.

Sex education Indian 'ish'style.

Bearing their cross


Quote for the day

"Never go to bed mad. Stay up and fight."
-Phyllis Diller

The mark of the beast - enter the Alien

This is one of the scary stories I remember from Sunday school about the 'Last days' spoken of in the book of Revelations 16:16-18

16 He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads,
17 and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
18 Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man: His number is 666.

This is one of those scary parts of the Bible. Well where am I going with this ????? To RFID. ( a not of warning for the non-geeky person - This post may make your brain fry) RFID is an old technology that has been brought back from the backburner, due to the reduction in its cost and the ability to mass produce it.

So what do we use RFID for? It can be used for a wide variety of uses mania to store the data on stuff that it is attached to. RFID consists of a small chip and a antenna and is wafer thin. RFID would allow the scanners to read the data in the chip from more than 20 feet away. RFID is going to be used to replace Bar codes. The various scenario's that they can be used for are : Checkout at shops - All you would have to do is to run your cart through a scanner without taking out a single object. Stores can know when a product has to be reordered. It can be used to make sure that the product is not out of date. It can be use to authenticate people by embedding these chips in people (connection to the revelation story).

Whats so bad about it? It is actually a very good technology which would make our lives very simple. The trouble lies with the privacy issues involved with it. Using the chips in the products we buy it would be very easy to track us. Big corporations can use it to see the buying habits of each individual customer. In spite of the corporations commitment not to do so there have been a couple of incidents already where they have tried to do it. And frankly using it to authenticate people will bring about macabre incidents of missing limbs. So you could have credit cards that can be read when they are in your pockets without you taking it out.

Whats so good about it? Shorter lines in stores. The stores will never be out of stock. You won't get outdated products. Your turkey with a RFID can tell your oven how it wants to be cooked. You can keep track of your pets and kids (helps in Mexico where kidnappings are the order of the day).

The company that is leading this foray into the new technology is aptly called Alien. Companies like Walmart and GM are lending the corporate support to this endeavor.

Quote for the day
"Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind."
-Albert Einstein, "Science, Philosophy and Religion: a Symposium", 1941

Odds and ends

Its the end of another week. Time seems to fly sometimes and iterations not fast enough. I guess most of you all in the American continent watched the debate yesterday between the devil and the deep sea (President Bush and Senator Kerry). Whatever maybe the outcome of the November poll I must applaud this part of the democracy that allows the candidates to come face to face and state their case. I wish I could say the same for the state of politics in India. If this debate were to be held in India there would be so much bad (not that there is none over here) and I could get physical.

From politics to Chinese food. I just don't understand the word 'spicy' from the people who serve Chinese to an Indian like me. More often than not I am disappointed by the amount of spice in spicy food. (For those of you who don't know me, I am South Indian and I like my food blazing hot). A word of advice to other spice loving souls out there if they say its spicy and it looks pinkish with lots of oil around it don't go for it. I don't know why I am ranting off about Chinese food, may it is because of the heartbreak given me by a Etheopian restaurant that was not where it was supposed to be ( this after I had walked 2 miles to get to it). If any of the famished soul (in California) really wants good spicy Chinese food go to any of the numerous Indian restaurants that specialize in Indian Chinese ...

On to some good stuff wnat a free ipod well go to this website. I have it from a good source that this is genuine.

A......chu......sniff....sniff....

The weather is getting to me right now. Had to take the day off yesterday trying to sleep it off(which didn't work out so good). Right now I am a little confused with the home remedies for it. In India my people say that one shouldn't drink anything cold or have ice cream if one has fever and cold but in American, people ask me drink liquids including those with ice in them to keep myself hydrated. Should I go with 'Mama knows best or ...' I like ice cream so I guess I go with that choice.

Is it just me or is that the job hunting phase always sucks. Well I am still learning lots of stuff that I need to know to get a job ... wait a minuite ... isn't my masters supposed to have prepared me for that ??

Thought for the day

"Don't be too timid and squeamish about your actions. All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better."
- Ralph Waldo Emerson
US essayist & poet (1803 - 1882)

24 There are four things which are little on the earth,
But they are exceedingly wise:
25 The ants are a people not strong,
Yet they prepare their food in the summer;
26 The rock badgers[b] are a feeble folk,
Yet they make their homes in the crags;
27 The locusts have no king,
Yet they all advance in ranks;
28 The spider[c] skillfully grasps with its hands,
And it is in kings' palaces.

Proverbs 30:24 - 28

Murdering a Language

Foreword : Before I start off, the above title is a literal translation of a Tamil saying. It is used when somebody makes a hilariously funny syntactic or semantic error in their speaking.

I just realized how non-native speakers of a language can twist a language when I was forwarded an email about the "golden utterances" of a person called Jeppiar in in Chennai(Madras). A virtually illiterate person he now owns and manages a host of educational institutions (Though this is not because of his educational skills but his political). Here is a selection of some of his best ...

* All of you, stand in a straight circle.

* The girl with the mirror please come her...{Meaning girl with specs).

* I talk, he talk, why you middle middle talk ?

* There is no wind in the balloon.

* You three of you, stand together separately.

* Open the doors of the window. Let the Air Force come in.

* Take Copper Wire of any metal especially of Silver.....

* Close the doors of the windows please. I have winter in my nose today

* Shhh...Quiet, boys...the principal just passed away in the corridor

* Once he had come late to a college function, by the time the function
had started, so he went to the dais, and said, sorry I am late, because on
the way my car hit 2 muttons (Meaning goats).

* You three of you, stand together separately.

I know and Understand that English is a descriptive language and that it offers a lot of poetic license but this is stretching it a little too far. But then the sun has set on the British Empire so I guess anything goes...

Who would have thought that they would have named a horse after me ... 

The eye of the storm - Hurricane Jeanne 

The 2004 Bowden bowl is ours!!!!!  

Last year's CCF Soccer team that lost some and drawed some. Guys and gals need the picture of this year's CCF flag football team that won some !!! 

Bloopers!!!

The following quotes are actual statements from insurance forms where car drivers tried to summarize accident details in as few words as possible.

1. Coming home I drove into the wrong house and collided with a tree I don't have.

2. The other car collided with mine without giving warning of its intent.

3. I collided with a stationary truck coming the other way.

4. In my attempt to kill a fly, I drove into a telephone pole.

5. I had been shopping for plants all day and was on my way home. As I reached an intersection, a hedge sprang up, obscuring my vision and I did not see the other car.

6. I had been driving for forty years when I fell asleep at the wheel and had an accident.

7. I was on my way to the doctor with rear end trouble when my universal joint gave way causing me to have an accident.

8. My car was legally parked as it backed into the other vehicle.

9. As I approached the intersection a sign suddenly appeared in a place where no sign had ever appeared before, making me unable to avoid the accident.

10. I told the police I was not injured, but upon removing my hair, I found that I had a fractured skull.

11. I was sure the old fellow would never make it to the other side of the road when I struck him.

12. I saw a slow-moving, sad-faced old gentleman as he bounced off the hood of my car.

13. The indirect cause of the accident was a little guy in a small car with a big mouth.

14. I was thrown from my car as it left the road, and was later found in a ditch by some stray cows.

15. A pedestrian hit me and went under my car.

16. I thought my window was down, but I found out it was up when I put my head through it.

17. To avoid hitting the bumper of the car in front, I struck the pedestrian.

18. The guy was all over the road. I had to swerve a number of times before I hit him.

19. The pedestrian had no idea which way to run, so I ran over him.

20. An invisible car came out of nowhere, struck my car and vanished.

21. A truck backed through my windshield into my wife's face.

22. I pulled away from the side of the road, glanced at my mother-in-law, and headed over the embankment.

Well that should keep the German's happy

Whiz kid who ?

Wish this was true ??

Reality TV - Indian style

This is a very unusual and sad story of a woman caught between two men. It also goes to shown that the public is a bunch of scoundrels. I wonder how much reality is too much. This story is a classic example of the conflict present in the Indian Judicial system where there is no Uniform civil code but a code according to a person's religion. Which is compounded by the fact that the religious interpreters are a bunch of fundamentalistic morons.

On a more lighter vein

I always suspected they were two blocks from the same rut(English translation of a Tamil proverb)

Help for the American reality TV contestant

The reality TV scene

Politics Indian 'ishstyle' and American 'style'

Indian 'ishstyle' 1 : Hold rallies with thousands of people b(r)ought to it.
American 'style' 1 : Hold Conventions with a boys choir and lots of hats.

Indian 'ishstyle' 2 : Have a 'apolitical' Yatra(tour) through the whole country to feel the common man's pulse
American 'style' 2 : Fly around the country on a private jumbo jet and feel the common man's pulse.

Indian 'ishstyle' 3 : The 'official' spending limit for the election is 7000$ constituency
American 'style' 3 : It goes in the millions

Indian 'ishstyle' 4 : Pay for the election using bribes and underhanded dealings
American 'style' 4 : Pay for elections using wife's fortune

Indian 'ishstyle' 5 : Main issue is 'National Security' and NOT the Nation
American 'style' 5 : Main issue is 'National Security' and NOT the Nation

Indian 'ishstyle' 6 : Main advertisements are posters on public walls
American 'style' 6 : Main advertisements are bumper stickers

Indian 'ishstyle' 7 : You can buy your votes
American 'style' 7 : You can buy your official

Indian 'ishstyle' 8 : Politics is hereditary if you have a 'Gandhi' surname
American 'style' 8 : Politics is hereditary if your from Texas and have oil in your blood

Indian 'ishstyle' 9 : Names on roll go missing in the cities
American 'style' 9 : Names on roll go missing in certain counties

Indian 'ishstyle' 10 : You can choose any fool from among the hundreds or thousands
American 'style' 10 : You have to choose between only two.

Licensed to kill ... do you see the killer in me ??? 

Strike 1

Well its a wonderful day out there and I have got a 90% on my IBM database associate certificate exam. One down and one more to go. I think I see the light at the end of the tunnel ...

Did you know that buying prescription drugs from Canada is illegal. I wonder what the FDA would say about the tons of drugs that Indians bring into the US every time they come back from India. Meagan a Junior at FSU from Tally/Perry is livid about it, she says "... we SO should be able to buy prescription drugs from Canada ..." She says her prescription drug which costs 300$s here costs only 45$s on an online Canadian pharmacy. President Bush are you listening, this could be a section of your swing voters ...

Well I think as an Indian I am above the FDA (snickering), I just import drugs that are over the counter in India and prescribed here. There are only three general purpose drugs we usually bring. One magical tablet that can be used for various illness ranging from a small headache to fear to cold to ... another to take of the internal working of the body especially the stomach ... and a third I have no idea why I brought. Probably some of you are wondering if these three drugs are enough for all kinds of illness ... the answer is YES. Its a psychological thing, our bodies are tuned to it. My cousins who is a very successful software developer states "... I just don't understand why my headache can only be controlled by the drug I brought from India ... maybe its in my head ...".

In India every pharmacist is also a de facto physician. With a population of more than 1 billion we do need all the help we can get. Well these drugs that I had brought with me from India have names, my father used to tell of yesteryear when the drugs used to colour coded(in villages in India) with just three colours, all in liquid form. So everybody got a medicine which was a different combination of these three base medicines.

Well the number of tablets I have used from the hundreds I brought -- none

Laters

Driving to meet charley on Florida's turnpike 

School children call for cuts in math and Science Funding

Of course the heading is not true. But what a headlines it would have made. I am still in the learning black hole of life with no end in sight. The last weekend has been full of DB2 DBA stuff without my weekly dose of line dancing. How worse can it get. Can you believe that certificates have more value than your Master's degree when you are trying to get a job. Well I guess I'll just have to suck it up and study till I get a job ...

On the note of studying

Guess how new languages are born

Surviving Hurricanes 101

Become a reporter!! Have you ever wondered how these hurricanes don't seem to cause any damage to reporters. They stand there wearing their rain coats right next to the hurricane's land fall area with trees flying all around. I always thought they had a thick skull but now I know that they are thick all over.

FSU's President Mr. TK finally took his head out of B*** as my bro Joshua wanted him to and declared a holiday for Hurricane Ivan. I wonder why he took more time to decide on closing down for a hurricane than for a football game.

If you don't want your beach house to be blown away, don't build on the beach.

In the battle between human ingenuity and nature's fury the nature always wins

Its back to studying for me now. Can't believe that I am still studying after graduating!!

NoViCe

Religious freedom ...

Coming from a religiously diverse country like India and living in one, I have not really appreciated this particular freedom. And it may not be presumptuous in saying that most of us (Atleast people who are reading this) don't appreciate it.

This kind of apathy has allowed countries to take it for grated to trample on the religious freedom of the minority in this age of the common man. The US justice department's report has just brought Saudi Arabia into this group. It makes us wonder why Saudi Arabia was not singled out before. Was their oil enough to cover our eyes to their abuses ???

Religious repression is nothing new in that it has been followed by all races to promote their dominance, since time immemorial. This kind of repression has now been given a new meaning by people who want God out of every sphere of public life. They claim to be broadminded and enlightened, but are just as narrow minded as the religious heretics they claim to shun. By Shunning anything and everything to do with "God" they are not being as inclusive and liberal as they claim. Any society that claims to be religiously free must not just be either "Can't have prayer in school" kind or "Can have only one kind of prayer in school" kind.

How religious are you?

The Saudis reply.

The Chinese reply

What the Justice department missed

NoViCe

Africa

Considered the dark continent (I don't know if it is figurative or literal). Africa is so far removed from the rest of the world in terms of its economic and living conditions. You hear of the big nations talking about their relief packages and humanitarian aid, but I don't see any concerted efforts to see that the continent as a whole makes a stride towards a better life.

"Give a man a fish and you will feed him for a day, teach him to fish and you feed him for life "

I believe that there are some vested interests who want the continent of Africa to remain in the 'dark'. The only sure way to keep a people down is to make them eat out of your handouts and not help them to be self reliant. Compounding the fact is that most of us are in the dark about what really happens there. We don't care as long as we have food to eat and way of getting money.

Did you know that slavery is still practiced.

If you want to do your mite you can contribute to Hope for African children

Matthew 25 35-36
for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.'

Laters...

Grabbing defeat from the jaws of victory

This would be the refrain of every Seminole fan (I am chief among them) who watched the FSU vs Miami game. This game brought back painful memories of the Indian Cricket Team's losing tradition. This was chocking of the highest order. I just hope that they bounce back through the rest of the season.

Have you ever heard of a nagging wife?? Well this man was sick of it. I don't condone his actions though

what does 100 stand for ??

A little bit of politics. Do you know that there are
100 elected criminal politicians in the Federal Parliment of India??


How I wish that I could stand them all up in a straight line and mow them dow (Thats the devil in me speaking) ... all I am going to do is pray for now ... till I can get them to stand in a straight line.

NoViCe

International terrorism ...

Well the bush administration has doubled the number of deaths due to terrorism for last year to 625. I don't know if this estimate is an accurate one, (I think there are more deaths in India alone) but it does pose a question on the nature of enemy we are fighting. Gone are the days when the 'enemy' was a fellow nation state, the new 'enemy' has no such defined stature. Terrorist are various things to various people, some even call them freedom fighters and martyers. The latest major incident is the attack by chechen rebels in Russia which has left scores dead. The Russian Government calls them terrorists (which is obvious from the tag "rebel"), but for such an attack to be possible and for the movement to be sustained there has to be some other driving force ... a force we can only debate about ...

NoViCe

P.S : This was posted before in a different blog of mine

The joys of job hunting

Come to think of it I can't think of any. My job search has now exted to almost a month. I havn't been interviewed yet, that part will come once I finish my DB2 certification. Right now all I do is get read the DB2 handbook, work on the computer (I know people who know me would find that hard to believe) I do have my distractions, Harry Potter, Astrix, sleeping and last but not the least eating.

The long hiatus - 3

This is after the short hiatus. Life isgoing on pretty hectic what with learning DB2 DBA and trying to find a job. Continuning on with my tale ...

Meeting Charley

Following the graduation me a few friends of mine decided to go on a trip of florida. Nature did not take kindly to our plans and decided to send Mr. Hurrican charley our way. Undeterred as only the young and foolish can be we went ahead with our plan. It was quite an event full journey. I saw more of florida than in my entire two years there. The first port of call was Tampa, followed by Naples to meet John (My roomate who also happens to be a new bridegroom). Just as we reached Naples the evacuation order was given. We then decided to go to greener pastures ... the Miqusukee tribal reservation, where we were officially certified as Aligator catchers.

Or next station was going to be Key west with Homestead in between but aur attempts were thwarted by Charley. The course was then changed to go to Miami. The following morning we had wonderful and scenic drive down US highway 1 and A1A along the coast through Ft Lauderdale, West palm before we decided to meet our nemesis Charley at Orlando.

Charley struck Orlando 10 minuites after we found a shelter at Days Inn (this after searching for a place stay for almost an hour). We spent the night without current since Charley had decided that we didn't need it and struck the sub station right next to our hotel. I can't complain about it though, the wonderful green and blue spark when it struck the power line ... the tree flying across out window ... the low lying signal lights(maybe not that) ... the lightless restroom which had to be used with out closing the door ... and near lack of traffic on our side of the interstate as we left Orlando.

The final port of call was Perry, where Koshy annan got to strut off his guitar playing and singing abilities. It was whirlwind tour but it definitely was worth meeting Charley!!!!

The Strom Chasers

Koshy - Captain / Driver
Ulysses - Navigator with a limp
Akhilesh - The photographer / In house malayalee
Sandeep - Metrosexual / Guy who wants to be in the picture

Till Laters ...

The long hiatus - 2

The graduation

I did finally graduate. I believe in the idiom " Be differnt or be damed" ... and different I was, fortunately or unfortunately I was almost at the back of the line so I didn't hold up too many people. It was walk to remember, with me walking like a lion er forget the lion part, I did walk slowly and gracefully (my word for a limp). Inspite of my slowness to get a better picture of myself taken, the official photographer managed to screw it all up. I did sorely miss my family (not so easy to travel half way across the world) and old friends at my graduation. But I didn't lack good support from my new friends at FSU.

The Graduation was followed by a lunch at 'Ming tree' a Chinese place, sponsored by my very good friend Koshy annan (annan standing for elder brother in Tamil). Had a surprise cake from Swapna brought to me by Akhilesh & co (Sandeep).

Then there was the pool party for the whole Junta, well atleast they got to get into the pool ( I had the satisfaction of watching my friends have fun). I guess I couldn't have asked for a better graduation (Well maybe a few more of my friends and family could have showed up). So for those who missed I got it all on DVD ..........

More of the long hiatus to follow

Till laters

The long hiatus

Hi there people. I guess most people are wondering that I have vanished from the face of the earth. Loads ofthings have happened in the last 20 or so days. I managed to sprain my ankle, graduate from college and move to california, not to mention have a meeting with charlie. For those who don't know Charlie; he is the latest Category 4 hurricane to hit Florida that created more than 11 Billion dollar worth of damage.

First the the leg sprain story ...

I have successfully sprained my ankle for the first time ... playing (of all things) raquetball. This helped create a number of firsts form me in the US. First time in a wheel chair ( ever). first time in a ER, first time taking my X rays ... Well the timing was impecable, just 4 days before I graduted, but thanks to American ingunity, I was able to limp across without the use of crutches. Hurray for the walking cast.

There is more to follow ....

Rest in next

"Watch" in the washing machine and other tales

Strange heading ??? well the incident was stranger than the heading. I had been searching for my watch for the last two days without success.  I finally find it today of all places on earth inside the washing machine (one of the miracles that I can attest to in my life).  If only I could find a million dollars that way ...

In other stories ... a hurricane just went through my house ... not a real one ofcourse but I am trying to pack to go to California to get a job and am being restricted by the amount of luggage that I can carry on the flight. I need a miracle to stuff 400 pounds into a 100 pound limit.  If only I could figure out what is real important and what is not. Though the more important worry for me now should be how and when I am going to get a job ... oops got to go ... laters ...

Natural born killer ... er ... shooter

This weekend was very satisfying, I got to do (only for the second time) something that I loved to do - Shoot. Perry is a small town an hour from where I live. There lives the Owens family who were gracious enough to take me to their shooting range.

The weather was a little too hot but I can't complain after the fun I had. I tried shooting my hands at shooting three targets with deadly accuracy. Mr. Owens pumped up my ego by giving me his stamp of approval as a natural shooter. I even had something called "snakeeye", which in shooter's jargon means hitting the same spot with two or more bullets. I also had a chance to try out a "1911" / Colt 45 . That gun can kick up a big recoil. I did get tired with the shotgun, its heavy and can hurt your shoulder. Well One of these days I am going to get myself a few of those guns. What am I going to do with it? I have no clue, but who cares I am in America and I can have them.

You can have a look at the pictuers and a short video soon at my website.

Till Laters

 

Graduated ...

Well I have officially finished all my Master's requirements after successfully defending my project yesterday. Ready to be baptized with fire and enter the big bad real world. 20 years of education ... That's a lot I should say. 

The first two years was spent in New Delhi India, at a school called Cornel Central Academy where my mom was a teacher.  Probably the only time in my life when I was on top of the class in academics :D. This was followed by a year of home schooling by my mom who is a certified English teacher.  Then spent a year at Holy Angels Madras.  The primary schooling was done at Loyola Matriculation school. Moved to Don Bosco, Egmore for the rest of my schooling. When I graduated form High School I was so frustrated with studies I didn't want to continue further. But continue I did,  with my Bachelor of Engineering degree from Thangavelu engineering College. Those were some of the best years of my life.

Followed that up by flying half way across the world to pursue my Master of Science degree from Florida State University. And now I am out of it... Ready to go on to the next level . 

Till later

Tubing, rollercoasters and fireworks

After a hiatus of almost two weeks I am back. The last week has been pretty busy. There was the July 4th weekend and the visit to Wild Adventures in Valdosta not to forget tubing down the Ichnetucknee.

July 4th was good as usual. There are two things that have really over awed me in the US, one is the monuments in Washington DC and the other is fireworks. There is nothing to beat them. This year I spent it at North wood Baptist church.

Tubing down the Ichnetucknee was also fun. It was a flying start with the raft flying of the back of the truck. The tubing itself was wonderful, I got to see the log that I almost drowned under last year (it had been cleared from the river this time around). I did try my swimming expertise but had to give it up due to the onset of cramps. It was really fun to watch me struggle with a cramped leg trying to find a log to hold onto. The fact that I am here and in some aligator's stomach is due to Whitney, my snorkeling friend who was at hand to get me back on track. That experience has encouraged me to take a swimming class.

The visit to Wild Adventures was marred by rain, though I did manage to ride on my first rollercoaster. I think I'd like to try some more. Maybe the worlds biggest rollercoaster at Cedar Point...

Ciao

Incoherent ramblings .....

The start to a new month and hopefully the begining of the end of my college life. Its been a long harduous one but I think I have lost as much of my bran cells as I could in the last 20 years of scholastic life. I just can't wait to defend my project and get out of it. Right now I am waiting for a professor who is on vacation in europe to reply to my eamil sent a week back.

For those of you who are interested in the paranormal this is a good site to visit. It was sent to me by a friend who will need me by her side if she goes there ;)

ciao later

NoViCe

Murder most foul ....

I read this shocking article about a dowry death in the United States of America. This is another reminder of how prevelant dowry is among the Indian community. The fact that all those involved in this episode were well educated does not speak well for the indian education system. We churn out computer specialists, engineers and doctors but seem to have forgotten to teach basic respect for human life.

The cultural police go around burning shops for selling valentine day cards and attacking the "western" culture but have forgotten the ills inside the house! Nobody seems to be bothered about the effects of dowry on the Indian society. I don't know if this is because of the parents who think giving dowry is a status symbol or because of the GREEDY BEGGERS who think its better to live off of somebody else's money rather than earn their money. There seems to be a standard dowry price for various occupations in different communities.

IAS officers - 2 crores(20 Million Rupees)
Doctors - 1 crore
Engineers - 50 lacs
etc.
Add to this the jewels and the other articles like cars and houses. The plundering does not stop here but continues on and thats when it really becomes dangerous.

Does this speak well of our educated young men?? Selling their degrees? Have we indians lost our self respect that we can't even earn our own livelihood? Its a shame that we talk about the advancement in technology and the economy but don't do anything about this despicable reality. I have come across students (my peers) who boast that their engineering education is an investment on their dowry.

Are the In-laws only to blame for this? what about the girls families that don't take a stand for their daughter? We are more worried about what will happen if a girl comes back home rather than the torment she is going through. What about the society? we gossip about a separated or divorced girl. Is that all we are? a nation with the oldest civilisation ... a nation that kills its daughters for money?????


Isaiah 22:4
Therefore I said, "Look away from me, I will weep bitterly; Do not labor to comfort me Because of the plundering of the daughter of my people."


NoViCe

Late night chats and birthday parties

Well yesterday was my mom's birthdays, I hope she liked the roses I sent her from half way across the world. And today happens to be one of my friends birthday.

Me and him had a long late night chat on a variety of issues about the Indian Culture that we are from and the American culture we are living in. I guess we guys get philosophical when we have nothing better to do or when caffine drives the sleep away!

Most of the discussion revolved around the colour of beauty. which is discussed in the other blog. American culture won out on this topic because I haven't come across anybody equating beauty and colour. We did touch base on a number of other topics but none seemed to infuriate me like the topic of shade of the skin colour.

From skin colour to hardwork.. I came across this article about perseverence and determination.

Hope you guys have a wonderful day

till later ...

Birthsays ... birthdays ... and more birthdays

Hey it looks like a season of birthdays of my friends. Two out of the 5 people in my family are born in June. It looks like a nice idea to use this blog to get the names all out there. Fallon, Rajesh, Justin, Mani and Holly so far.

My Cousin Samuel celebrated his 6th Birthday on the 19th. He is one cute kid and can sing more than 30 songs by heart... if only I could do it at this age ... Not that I don't sing, I think most people can vouch about my ability to render "Leaving on a jet plane" , "It's amazing ...". I know my friends love me to death, 'caus if they didn't I would have been shot a hundred times over.

Well I take the verse "Make a joyful noise to the Lord ..." a little too seriously!!!!!

Ciao

The first essay

Here goes my first post on this site. I just came across this news article that really scared me. It involved the slashing of 17 horses ... It so happened that the culprit was another horse. Now who would have thought of that ?????

till later ...