Sights and Symbols

I'd read a modern Indian short story named "The Mighty Hand of Hanuman".
This scene made me think back to that story.
Driving by on the way to office on my scooter, I saw a strange sight.
On a 90 degree turn parked in a thicket alongside this bylane off the road was a huge Yellow Claw lying extended and prostrate as if in a prayer of supplication.
Its Chunky metal facets, dull yet metal bright, resting the massive weight on to the scattered "murram-matti" on the black tar road.
The feeling was as if this behemoth were slowly sinking its teeth into the black skin of this road.
The Orange colored body of this gentle giant with a single claw telescoping forwards, Bright Yellow in color.
Like a Crab coming up from the ocean swells to rest on land before foraging for food along this "sandy" shore.
Praying to the blue sky with wisps of a white cloudy beard for a good harvest of rocks and boulders.
Tons to be shifted by end of day. The peace of prayer before the work ahead.
The human laborers soon swarming like the Sucker Fish beneath a Great White Shark.

Today I looked out the window and saw a Picture-Perfect scene!.
A Lone Tree, trunk knotted with bark rough and tawny wood inside.
Quite lopsided, its branches on one side near totally lopped off.
A small 'tala'/pool of water near it, reflecting the sheets of rain-drops falling in drapes of white.
The mud around brownish red, with tracks of heavy vehicles forming small sluices of water.
The only contrast was a hard cut dam of granite blocks forming an artificial ridgeback mini-mountain
Near the horizon were some trees looking like shrubs, misted over by the waving curtains from the clouds
This whitened scene with a road running through it, black tar and the zebra signs contrasting against the wet outside.
From inside my cozy a/c quarters I could look out on this beautiful scene.

Good Quotes

Good quotes some of which made their way into my email signature.
Too good to be lost!!

"The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step." [Lao Tzu]

"After all is said and done, more is said than done." [Aesop]

"Small Minds discuss People,Middling minds discuss Events,Great minds discuss Ideas." [Anonymous]

"It is not who is right, but what is right, that is of importance." [Thomas Huxley]

"There are 2 things you can give your children - Roots.... and... Wings!!" [Anonymous]

"Nothing in life is to be feared. It is only to be understood." [Marie Curie]

"Good Decisions come from Experience. Experience comes from Bad Decisions" [Anonymous]

"Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans" [The Beatles]

"Television is a medium because anything well done is rare." [Fred Allen]

"Complete abstinence is easier than perfect moderation." [Saint Augustine]

"When we remember we are all mad, the mysteries disappear and life stands explained."
[MarkTwain]

"TV is chewing gum .... for the eyes" [Frank Lloyd Wright]

Silvery Fishy Story

Many years back I'd read an Article in Newstime (a local paper).
It talked about how people in West Bengal had come up with a novel way
to make use of Sewage using simple techniques.

They would make use of wasteland/barren land.
Initially bunds are created and sewage water is flooded into this.
The water is allowed to rest for a month or so.
Gravity leads to settling of the particulate matter which forms a layer over the barren land.
Exposure to Sunlight with its UV rays leads to sterilisation of the waters.
Once the waters become clear, fish eggs are put into them.

The growth of algae and insects due to nutrient rich water leads to fat fish growing.
Soon they are harvested and sold off at the market.
The layer of sediment broken down due to oxidation and bacteria makes
the barren land fertile over a few repetitions. This can later be used for farming.

I don't clearly recollect the articles take on the presence of Heavy Metals and pollutants in the sewage. What happens to those? Or is the sewage not having these things. I wonder...

Living Healthy: Fruits and Veg - Where More is Less

A normal adult requires a Total Sum of 1500 Calories per day.

Keep the Breakfast light,
Soup/Fruits and Vegetables in Lunch,
Normal Dinner.

Fruits and Vegetables contain fiber, simple sugars, are tasty with lots of vitamins and trace elements. They contain lots of water and help in detoxifying wastes from the body.
Constipation is cured.

The following are ideal for a mid-day snack or whenever you feel bored.
Fruits - soft and hard fiber
Salads
Sprouts,
Soyabean nuggets
American Corn
Mushrooms

The Senses ComeAlive!!

In Hyderabad the electricity situation is really good ("touch-wood"!!??).

The fact is we're so much addicted to electricity that we realise the fact only when we've got to do without it. So many times it has happened that we start cursing the electricity board when they shut the power... as the pitch black envelopes you...

You feel a sudden sense of the now pulling at you... you start responding to what is around you more than what's "running" in your head... say the movie that you're watching.. or discussions about politics or 100 different things.... "Noise" as they call it in Electronics....

You start hearing the small noises, real ones... And your ears start reaching out into the darkness... this must be how our ancestors must have reacted to Their surroundings... ears peering out into the night.... sniffing it for the tell-tale signs of the leopard prowling under the trees... I guess Instinct is so much a part of us.... we don't realise it...

Slowly as your attention attaches to your hearing you suddenly realise that its not that dark!! The inky blackness around you slowlys parts into a black-brown semi-haze...The dim shadows of familiar things bulging out in awkward angles... As the surroundings organise themselves the odd shapes seem more like ordinary things....

You shake out your sea-legs... reaching out from your perch on a chair.... a bed... out towards the void....
Slowly your fingertips sense the world around you... Your memory of obstacles... chairs, sofas, carpets under your bare soles... sharp edges of cupboards, the touch of cold walls separating you from the rainy world outside.... The wariness as you approach the delicate glass or china gingerly...

You realise the the table which seemed so small in the day, suddenly feels like a long stretch... seemingly endless... though known to be finite... Things seem different seen through the sense of touch. The polish on the chairs, so smooth and hard, cold to the touch.... all these sensations lost in the "day-light" of the night...

A few "knee-jerk" reactions later you become more confident and able to navigate the familiar maze of your house... stubbing a few toes if you're lucky... scraping a knee or two in your new found confidence!

The "oh-so predictable" calls to each other as you reach out to one another through small shouts of "Nobody move... I'm coming there...!!". The search for the candles or torches in their favourite "hiding places". The glow of the gas-stove as the match-box has disappeared somewhere, though the candles were found. As the glow comes on and the darkness gives way... the other senses too give way to our Masters - the Eyes...

The glow seperates like an Aura round the candle... an irregular ball that reflects off the floor.. the ceiling, yet leaves some corners untouched. All the scattered people "busy" watching TV earlier... come together to the dining table or hall and start talking about things past... old incidents and relations come alive and refresh themselves...

The eyes now reassured of light.. seek less of it... and extra torches/candles are doused - all but one... The mood shifts from one of being put out.. to one of gathering and chattering... I wonder how different we are from the nomads gathered around a wood fire... seeking warmth and company in the open sky with only moon and stars to twinkle on them....

You feel a sense of belonging.... as the mood settles and the rhythm of the wavering candle as it slowly waves around... like a slightly hypnotic wave unpredictable yet comfortable....
flickering yet steady... Now even the candle is sometimes put out... to relax in the inky calmness of the night... as "Antakshari" starts with songs favourites of each one... as we let go of sight for sound, of seeing for hearing and feeling... The night embraces the mind... relaxing and comforting...

Soon the power-cut changes from an unwelcome intrusion to a happy accident to a welcome friend... lost for a long time in the day-to-day "hurly-burly". A long lost friend finding his way back into our life... As children the power-cut meant playing "Hide and Seek" with the neighbouring children.. using hearing and strategies in lieu of direct sight. Today they're few and far between. I guess that's a good thing... I think...

I can somewhat understand why the story "Country of the Blind" by HG Wells had such an ending...

Origin of Words

I found an interesting link on the Origin of words!!
I thought of sharing it with the others who might be interested.

For example the word 'pug' as in pug-marks comes from the Hindi word 'pag'
as in pag-chinhh ie foot steps.

Etymology is the study of the origins of words: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Etymology

You can have a look at the funny, interesting and engrossing book 'How to build a better vocabulary' by Morris Rosenblum, Maxwell Nurnberg
A paperback edition, it is available quite cheaply.
Though mostly used by TOEFL students it is very interesting :-)
Many words have interesting stories behind them. Like the phrase 'Cutting the Gordian Knot' which is explained in the book. It starts every chapter with a funny and apt Cartoon. I especially liked the one which goes - "No, No. This is a stalactite and That is a stalagmite'

Happy Reading

Travelling Genes?? Women Hit the Road

Came across this interesting factoid (is it a fact or just fancy statistics??)

From ibnlive :
http://www.ibnlive.com/news/accidentally-porn-hot-on-web-trail/10728-11.html
"Among other surfing trends in both the sexes, it seems more
men visit sports and investment sites (42 and 39 per cent respectively) while at work
than women (18 and 20 per cent respectively).

Women, on the other hand, seem keener on travel and shopping-oriented sites (60 and 53 per cent) than men (52 and 43 per cent)."

And here's the interesting part Curiously I observed in matrimony search that almost 80-90% of women claimed Travelling as a hobby. Is there a link here?

I'd read somewhere that Men tend to spread their genes by travelling a la' Sindabad the sailor with a home in every port... and that women tend to spread their genes by small jumps nearer to their place of birth. Hmm... come to think about it, women travel just as much, as their husbands homes may not be close by.... Anyway just a thought....

Blogging without Blocking

Have you ever thought
"I've got a lot of interesting things to talk about... It's just that I can't think of anything to write"
(OR)
"I wish I could write something, I don't know what but..."
(OR)
'A recipe for Free Flow Bloggage'

1)Save the IDEA!
Start a stub or Draft Blog with Just the Title
and maybe a reminder about what you wanted to talk about.
Common source of ideas you mention in conversations with friends....
Like "hey did you know this..."
"I saw something funny today..."
"It was great in Darjeeling at this time of the year... I remember"...
Anything that would make interesting conversation is a good starting point.

"I feel..."
"I think..."
Opinions.

Interesting mails that You wrote lying around in your mailbox.
Chat conversations with friends still accessible through your chat client.
[Note: This Blog is derived from a chat conversation with a friend on how to increase blogging... See bottom of the blog]

2) Grow Mt. Everest an inch at a time!!
Jot down each thought as a word on a line by itself.
Don't worry about grammar or completion.
Capture as many thoughts as you can before they disappear.
Now you can go about elaborating and expanding each word into a sentence by itself.
Once you have this working set, Expand words into sentence.

When you have enough sentences, Group them into paragraphs.
When you have enough paragraphs. Rearrange them into Intro, Middle, Conclusion/Summary paragraphs.
This process takes anywhere between a few hours to 15-20 days.
Depending on your idea flow and enthusiasm or time available.

There are still some old drafts that I haven't posted.
Their time will come.

3) It's more like making a scrapbook of random thoughts and ideas which you can share with friends in far away lands and in time visit years later... Enjoy the process of setting aside some memories for tomorrow.

4) Express Yourself!
Write it more like as in a conversation with a friend. This avoids getting stuck on format and concentrates on the "what you want to say". The chat session for this blog below is one such example.

5) Finally publish the draft version as a full blown Blog. It's no good waiting for the perfect blog.

6) Share your blog with everyone. Add a link to your email signature to your blogspot. This will ensure that your blogs get the attention they deserve. I regularly mail my blogs to my friends just in case they don't read from blogspot. It's just a rough pad for writing good emails. It's better than just forwarding stuff onward.

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[Original Chat conversation : in Hindi]
Jab bhi kuchh aisaa soojhta hai to mein ek stub article daal detaa hoon....
Nahin to achhe ideas gayab ho jaatey hain....
Idea save karke rakh diya to baad mein build karna easy hotaa hai....
Whenever I get some time... I just fill in some points in the blog...
To be expanded later.... Helps to keep the momentum going...
So the blog builds up over time.. as a draft and one day when I feel its good enough to post I post it....
Till now I've managed to post a huge no. of blogs in this way and more drafts are in the pipeline all the time....
Somewhat like emule!! :D
First thing I did was to search for any interesting articles I'd written in my mail box.... Uploaded those as drafts....
Then slowly edited them to make them more readable....
>>>>>>>>>

How to meet Interesting People

Why is it that you come across most people who don't match your wavelength?
The Theory of Insulators made up as me and my brother took long walks in our colony, has some answers.

Note : Here by Interesting I mean how much of a match exists between you and the other person.

Imagine a cart-wheel with spokes connecting you the center of the wheel with the rim of the wheel. These are the not-so-alike people on the wheel rim.

Each one of these people in turn form the center of their own wheel. It's a good chance that they know someone who matches your tastes more.

Short Answer make friends with people who're unlike you (maybe even not too interesting or downright boring/irritating!!).

They'll have friends whom you're dying to meet.

Insulators :
They are people who're not quite like you but who know people directly or indirectly whom you'd like to meet i.e whose wavelength matches yours.
The more unlike you the insulator is the more likely he knows someone you really would be interested in.

------
There is another Theory about People called 'Six Degrees of Separation' (there's even a movie with Will Smith in it.)
It says that between you and ANY other person in this world there are only (max) SIX people forming a chain of acquaintance/friendship.
-------
The website called Orkut.com (and Gmails invitation system)
exploits this Network Theory to build communities of interest and friends. If you search for any person who's a member Orkut will show you his profile and the path/links of common friends you share with that person.
-------

"One website to rule them all and in the website bind them"

Using RSS Feeds to get pull all your favourite sites into 1 place.
A onepoint access for all the sites you visit or are interested in.
Get all your favourites sites and links on Your own google homepage :
Link : www.google.com/ig
Link: www.google.com/reader (for RSS feeds)

Using Strong Passwords

This is a good article I found somewhere

>>>>
Some tips on selecting a password :

A strong password is a password that is difficult for others to determine by guessing or by using automated programs.

To create a strong password that is easy for you to remember but hard for someone else to determine, try one of these techniques:

Merge two or more words, and combine the words with numbers and symbols. For example: Walk[My]Dog, Po#34tato, Champions=1995.

Abbreviate a phrase you'll remember. It could include numbers and symbols, or words that you can substitute with numbers or symbols. For

example: I ride my bike 5 miles each Saturday could become the password

Irmb5meS.

Use punctuation and numbers to combine the initials of people or objects from a familiar group, such as your favorite athletes, friends,

movies, books, or historical figures. For example: Gandhi, Abraham Lincoln, and Joan of Arc could become the password 1G,2AL,JA.

Drop all vowels from a favorite saying, and then add numbers or symbols. For example: Walk three dogs could become the password Wlk3Dgs.

To be strong, a password must:

Contain at least seven, but no more than 16, characters.

Combine three of the four different types of characters:

Uppercase letters (for example: A, B, C).

Lowercase letters (for example: a, b, c).

Numerals (for example: 1, 2, 3).

Symbols (` ~ ! @ # $ % ^ & * ( ) _ + - = { } | [ ] \ : " ; ' < >

? , . /).

Not be a common word or name, or a close variation.

Some service providers require that a strong password also:

Not be the same as any of your four previous passwords.

Not be a minor variation of your old password. For example, if your

old password was Champions=1995, a new password of Champions=1996 would

not be acceptable.

Important

Don't use one of the above examples as your password!!!!

Don't write down your password.

Never give out your password in an instant message conversation or

share it with anyone else.

If you have more than one e-mail account, for instance, one for work

and one for personal use, you should use a different password for each

account.

So...just go to Hotmail and check out how strong your password is!!! jus njoy with gr8 paswords.........use atleast one special symbol in ur password.........
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