Why Flood Occur?

Its flood time. We are said to be facing one of the worst floods we have seen since 50 years or so. Somebody asked me whether I am affected by it or not. It’s funny that I had asked the same question to that person a week ago, when I read of floods in that country.

Then this question came,

"why floods occur?”

Simply put, it is because there exists a phenomenon called flood in this planet and it’s in nature’s nature to call it as and when she feels to do so (using 'natural' causes). But is that the only reason why it floods? Don’t we have to do anything with it? Should we always blame the nature?

One of the main culprits for floods in cities is garbage and poor drainage system. Even if there is a drainage system, when it gets clogged, it becomes useless. From where does this garbage come? People with no civic sense are most responsible for it. They throw everything everywhere; the worst is when that litter happens to be plastic.

I saw some TV ads by the government, using celebrities, asking the people to not to litter. Yes, that is from where we should start to avoid man-made floods. We dug up all the sand from the rivers and dump it up with garbage. Day after day trees are just disappearing…It’s natural for a river to flood during heavy rain days. Even though people know this, they encroach near riverbanks to add up to causalities and disasters. (I read about recent deaths in connection with flood (and H1N1), but not even a single politician died !) When will people ever learn?

Many a times, instead of doing sow and reap, it looks like what we do with nature is sow and rape…

Guy's Nightout...

When I wrote about rat meat, I had no idea that the very next thing would be me having a dinner with a guy who eats almost anything. Should I try to erase that dinner memory? No, it was one of the good memories I would like to keep in my memory locker coz it was a rare moment since 12 years.

I am in this city since 12 years or so. And the thought of the last time I had a dinner with my friends too pulls my memory back to 12 years. Strange days and strange things, couple of recent days looks like that......

I had no idea that the person I got acquainted very recently was someone who played basket ball for my country, a national level player…I had no idea that he did some movies, TV serials and ads. I was seeing this guy for the past 2 and a half years and only now we got acquainted….strange (oh yeah? You said strange? Man, its all coz of your introvert attitude !!)

Somewhat same with another guy that I met in the recent past. I had no idea that he holds a high position in an MNC and he travels to many countries very often.

Then suddenly this happy night came into existence when one of those guys suggested a dinner out. We all had a common friend, none other than our gym instructor. So, it became a ‘Four married men turns bachelors’ affair.

I was bit exited about this coz I never had such an outing since many years. Such moments were very common 13 years ago. That time, though I had other friends, my colleagues became good friends too and hence almost every day, we used to sit together for a cup of tea or coffee. Things started changing about one year prior to me moving into this city when guys started moving to other organizations. There weren’t any internet or mobile phone that time and none of us had any pager too. still, we managed to keep in touch, somehow, and we used to meet on weekends…and then, all of a sudden…

The one who planned it was the tall boy among us (6 foot 3 inches). The short guy (our trainer, who is about 5 feet something) had a problem leaving early plus he said he wont come to the restaurant the other guy suggested since its managed by his employer company. Then the fourth guy did not turn up…It was a disappointment for me. But somehow I convinced our trainer and we called the fourth guy; he too said 'OK, I am coming'..finally !

Two of them wanted to go to a restaurant which serve beer or liquor but here in this city, they are not allowed to serve such things after 11 pm and many of them won’t take orders after 10 pm. The time was already 9.15 and almost all such good restaurants needed at least 45 minutes drive (coz of traffic).

At last, we stopped at a place…it was a bar and restaurant. I don’t know why, but there was a broad smile on my face..

“Me and Sir will have some orange juice” said the gym man (by ‘sir’ he was referring to me).

“This milk drinking boy, huh ” said one

“No, you and Jay are too drinking….” said the third one… they both belonged to the same religion which is against drinking.

The place was crowded and we moved on to a hall which had a tag ‘Family Room’. Then a staff came and said:

“Sir, that’s a family room, you cant sit there”

“We are family, we are brothers” said the tall guy….

I could not resist laughing… one was very tall and fair and even did not look like a South Indian, one is short, one wearing glasses and one with a french beard...none of us had same built, looks, or even skin color…the only common thing among us was that we all looked physically fit.

That staff guy smiled and said:

“No, sir”

"What is this yaar? you people don't allow even brothers to sit together?" Asked the spects guy..

We moved on to another place which looked quite. None of use felt like sitting in a crowded place, especially the tall guy. But there the only table available had a tag “Reserved”

One of the staff allowed us to sit there, though another one raised some objection. I wasn’t bothered about the situation coz those two guys who came with me were highly capable of handling people and situations.

“Vodka, Cut green chilly and lemon..” says one

“Me and sir want orange juice” says another one

“So, you don’t drink?” one of them asked me

“hmmm, No…” I said

“You don’t mind a beer, at least?”

The gym man was looking at me as if I am his savior…but I failed

“No problem….”

There was this ‘you shouldn’t have said that’ look in gym man’s face…

(They ordered some chicken to snack and I ordered a plate of ‘Gobi Manchurian’ – Cauliflower)

One of them talked about cooking..

“YOU cook? I asked

“Aary Yaar ! I am an awesome cook” he gave me a kind of look, as if I asked Bill Gates ‘do you know computer programming?”

That was time I came to know that this guy eats meat…

“You eat pork?” I asked

(Other two too were non-veg but they do not eat pork coz its not allowed as per their religion)

“Pork, duck, horse, crocodile, tortoise, fish, crab, chicken, beef….I have tried all these…I could not eat octopus though, I had to spit it out”

His ‘I did not try’ list had items like scorpion, dog, rat, worms etc…

We went to another place to have food, which was on the same road..it was closing time. It was a restaurant run by Muslims and hence we can hardly expect anything Veg. They had Roti and Paneer Butter Masala but I thought I would try ‘Egg Biriyani’. The Biriyani was same for Egg and Chicken Biriyani…the only difference was I got two boiled eggs and others got one egg and one chicken leg. The guy used same ‘thing’ (that forceps kind of thing – what was its name???) to pick the chicken legs and then eggs. Usually they do not do that in a restaurant which serve both Veg and Non-Veg….I said to myself :

‘Just forget it’

I drove very slowly, while coming back…enjoying the talks…At last, when I entered our apartment’s main gate, one of them commented:

“What happened to him? He was driving so fast before and now, after having a beer, he is stopping at every hump..”

All of them laughed, including me.

Guys, you don’t know how happy you made me (though I thanked one of them, next day)…

Thanks for gifting me with a good n memorable moment (that I had been waiting for the past 12 years???)...May God bless you all...

Eat Rats !

One of my acquaintances asked me to try eating rat meat. She said her country people eat it. She even told me how to cook it. Why should a vegetarian eat rat? She said it’s very tasty. So I asked:

“There are people who eat human fetus. So, if one such person suggests you to taste it, will you try that?”

Her response was that she is not a cannibal, as if it’s very obvious. What amuses me is why that logic is not applicable for a vegetarian when he/she says:

“Sorry, I don’t eat meat because I am a vegetarian”

Is there any need for humans to eat rats, cats, frogs, dogs, cockroaches, worms etc?

First of all, it lacks esthetics. We humans are supposed to be living like humans and not like animals. We are the only creature which is supposed to be made in the likeness of God (as per Bible). We are the only beings who walked through civilizations and got fine tuned.

Assume that the Prime Minister/President of a country where people eat worms or rat is hosting a dinner for his/her counterparts from other countries. Will he/she serve worms and rats? I don’t think so. If somebody serve rat to the U.S. President, it will be considered as an insult, I guess. Because, we humans grew from the primitive stage, long back, though it looks like some people are still not aware of it.

I was asked:

“What is wrong in eating rat?”

As I said, it lacks esthetics, especially when the situation is not survival but just to satisfy an organ of 4 inches called tongue.

This could be one reason some religions specifically asking its followers to avoid meat from certain animals. When it is in their Scripture, many people won’t question it. Because they think that it is God’s words. Those who wrote the book were clever. But we have cleverer people out there.

So, who should eat rats?

Rat is the natural food for cats, snakes, owls, eagle, vulture etc…let us not loot their food.

Some might still ask:

“What’s wrong in…”

There are animals that eat even shit and among the humans we can see the subtle aspects of the entire creation, not just animals.

The choice is ours…

Scrambled Thoughts

There was a flood in Philippines, the other day. Flood or storm is not something new for them; but I thought it affected only Manila and hence I asked a friend who stay in Marikina to update me on another friend who lives in Manila. It is hard to believe but at the end, I got updated by the Manila friend that the Marikina friend is hit by flood….And my worry about a friend who lives near by a river turned negative…

It was bit hard to digest the realities. This is not for the first time I am hearing about a flood or storm. My city got a flood sometime back (a year back or so) and Mumbai too faced a flood. But this was for the first time somebody in my own circle getting affected by it.

I saw lots of people dragging God and faith into it (comments in many sites which reported/showed the flood) and this made me think about the laws of the nature. I was wondering about one thing; it is said that 70% of earth’s surface is covered with water. Why can’t this storm go to some deserted sea area to show its strength? I don’t know.

Today I read the news about the worst draught in African countries, especially in Kenya. People and animals (including cows and elephants) died/dying of draught.

Flood and draught at the same time, though not at the same place; what is the logic behind it?…now that this earthquake in Indonesia killing thousands...plus a Tsunami in South Pacific Islands... God, no wonder you are called G.O.D…
***
India's Moon mission disproved some western theories about water in the Moon...
***
Today I saw that lady whom I mentioned in one of my blogs; the one who smiled at me when I could not return couple of shots. She developed knee pain and her doc asked her to stop playing badminton…
***
I never had any idea that a recent friend of mine had a real gun (licensed) at his native place and it was a surprising shock when he invited me for hunting, allowing me to use the gun. But killing animals and me? You got to be kidding…
***
My wife learnt how to make scrambled eggs, finally…

Viral or Bacterial?

Some doctors do not like asking questions. But I have this chronic ‘disease’ of asking questions. Thus, once, when the doctor said:

“Its viral”

I responded:

“How do you know?”

Then I realized that how irritating such a question is, for a doctor. So I explained:

“I just want to know how you doctors comes to a conclusion that its viral”

That was the time I got introduced to this doctor and now he is sooooooo used to me. So, he will be surprised if I did not ask any question during a visit.

Last Friday, I went to meet him since my son was having a cold and cough. And in the present scenario, the school authorities ask for medical certificate even for a day’s absence. The doctor said:

“It’s viral only, but no need to worry”

(What he meant was, there is no need to suspect H1N1)

“......It looks like all the viruses are on a spree… did you notice that kid waiting outside? He has chickenpox; so I asked them to leave immediately..... This is not the season for that virus”

Yes, I noticed him asking me to sit in his consulting room and going outside (to attend that kid first)

“Oh, that’s interesting…usually that comes during summer..but its OK, my son already had chickenpox when he was small” I responded

“Yes, I know”

(True, but I did not expect him to remember that. So this guy has good memory, huh !)

So, how do these docs distinguish between a viral and bacterial infection?

If it is something like chickenpox, rabies (both viral), tuberculosis, syphilis (both bacterial) etc its easy for them.But what about a cold like symptom? A cough? Sore throat? Fever?

In reality, what matters is their experience (or gut feeling) if the patient visits the doc at a very early stage. Because without doing any test, they cant simply say its viral or bacterial, in the early stage. (that is one reason why they ask ‘when did it start?’…if our complaint was a cold with nasal discharge and suffering since 10 days or so, doc might rule out virus. Usually, virus infections won’t stay for more than a week. Our body will fight it out, if it can, within that period – I am talking about common cold and seasonal flu. But a bacterial infection can be chronic/ lengthy).

How can they confirm? Testing for a virus is a costly affair (plus there are very few virology labs compared to the regular labs) so what they do is checking whether its bacterial or not, if at all they want to test (usually the docs don’t suggest a test for seasonal diseases; at least my doc). Here, what they do a culture test (means taking a sample and keeping it in nutrient medium to observe whether there is bacterial multiplication. If it is positive, they conclude that its bacterial; if negative they assume that its viral).

But sometimes a viral cold can lead to bacterial infection (depends on many factors like a person's immunity, contact with infected person or surfaces etc). I have personally experienced this. This can be noticed by the color change in the nasal discharge. That is one reason why a doc sometimes prescribe an anti-biotic for a flu or cold, even though it has no direct impact on a virus. Usually, viral infections are fought out by our body using its immunity mechanism.

How do these infections differ and what is the difference between an antibiotic and antiviral?

Though it’s a silly answer, bacterial infections are caused by bacteria and viral infections are caused by virus. But the style of their attack is very different.

Virus is not a living organism and hence we can not kill them using a drug. Virus need a living host cell for their existence. They are just a shell made up of some proteins and organic compounds (means a compound which has carbon atom). Inside the shell, there is some genetic material (eg. materials found inside a nucleus) like DNA or RNA (explaining DNA and RNA is out of scope of this particular blog). They can’t reproduce themselves and hence they hijack our cells and ‘command’ them to produce their replica (virus). Usually they use up our cell and its resources, kills it, detach from the cell and moves on. One technique used in anti-viral drug is that it interferes with this detaching process in such a way that the virus can not detach. Thus we can control them.

But a bacterium is a living cell and hence it can reproduce by division. So they can survive even in non living environment (like a cell phone or door knob) for a long time and even multiply. They produce toxins and this will damage the cells that are infected by them. Since they are living, they can be killed and that is what an antibiotic do.

Its just one ‘aaaaaachum’ but there is a wonderful script behind this story…

Love Scam - Update

I thought I write an update on what has happened to Miss Rose. Well, Just now, I got another mail from 'her'. Remember that my reply was "Good try, but you got the wrong guy". But look at the funny reply I got:

Dearest sweetheart,

I am more than happy in your reply to my mail. how is your day;Mine is a little bit hot over here in Dakar Senegal.My condition here is terrible Its just like one staying in the prison and i hope by Gods grace i will come out here soon.i don't have any relatives now whom i can go to all our relatives ran away in the middle of the war the only person i have now is Rev. John Dada who is the pastor of the (HOPE OF GLORY CHURCH) here in the camp he has been very nice to me since i came here but i am not living with him rather i am leaving in the female hostel because here they have two hostels one for male the other for female.The Pastors Tel. number is (00221-767545166) and his e-mail address is ....(revernedjohndada77@yahoo.com), so if you call and tell him that you want to speak with me he will send for me in the hostel. my conditon here i don't have any right or privilledge to any thing be it money or whatever because it is against the law of this country.I want to go back to my studies because i only attended my first year before the traggic incident that lead to my being in this situation now took place.Please listen to this,i have my late father's statement of account and death certificate here with me which i will send to you latter,because when he was alive he deposited some amount of money in a leading bank in which he used my name as the next of kin,the amount in question is $6.5(6 Million five Hundred Thousand Dollars) So i will like you to help me transfer this money to your account and from it you can send some money for me to get my travelling documents and air ticket to come over to meet with you.I kept this secret to people here the only person that knows about it is the Revrend because he is like a father to me.So in the light of above i will like you to keep it to yourself and don't tell it to anyone for i am afraid of loosing my life and the money if people gets to know about it.Remember i am giving you all this information due to the trust i deposed on you.I like honest and understanding people,truthful and a man of vision,truth and hardworking. My favourite language is english and i speak english very fluently.Meanwhile i will like you to call me on 1 p.m that is london like i said i have alot to tell you Have a nice day and think about me.Awaiting to hear from you soonest.
Yours in love Miss Rose.

This time the attachment had another picture of hers. I thought 'hey this is a good entertainment'. I collected another picture of her from the net (just Google for 'love scam' and use common sense) and mailed back like this:

Hello Dear, You said you don’t have any relative, but don’t worry. May be you don’t know, but you have a twin sister. Her name is Miss Mabel. I am attaching her photo here. And you have another relative by name Miss Lilian. They are also ready to transfer millions of USD into my account. Let me see who is going to give me more...

This is the last blog on this topic since I am no more interested in this dirty scam..Those who are interested can proceed to: http://419.bittenus.com/

Finally, should you make a donation to me for providing this info?

THINK TWICE

419 Scam, Nigerian Bank Scam, Advance Fee Fraud, Russian Scam, Love Scam, Lottery Scam and so on

Most of us might have received at least one ‘419’ scam spam mail. The number 419 is related to some section related to Nigerian Criminal Code (said to be chapter 38, I don’t know). In practical sense, this section deals with obtaining wealth by cheating.


The typical mail tells that somebody died leaving millions of USD in a bank and asking our help to get it legally on a sharing basis (subject like might look like ‘need your assistance’). What happens we reply? They will ask us to send some money for legal consultation or to pay the attorney or something like that. This scam is also known as ‘Advance Money Scam’.


What if we send the money? Well, they will update us about the progress and ask us to send more money and this goes on and on.


The scam is said to be originated in African countries and even today most of the criminals involved in such scams are from Africa (mainly Nigeria). Recently one of them got arrested while visiting India (he successfully cheated some people here).


Another flavor is ‘Love Scam’. Here we might get a mail from our opposite sex saying they have fallen love with us. If we reply, they plan their next step accordingly. They collect our mail id mostly from social network or dating sites. Many people we add up are fakes (though they have their pics and every detail. If we do a google, we can find out some of the sample pictures they commonly use). Another version of this cheating is the ‘You have won a lottery’ mail.


The other day, I signed up for a penpal site and the very next day, I got a mail which read:



HelloMy name is Miss Rose am 24yr old . I saw your profile today on allpenpals.com and it really acttract me alot i believe that you are the man i have been looking for to share my love; How is your health? i hope all is well with you. I believe that we can move from here ; but remember that distance;age and colour dose not matter what matters is the true love and understanding; in my next e-mail i shall include my pictuer; i been waithing for your reply mail me with this mail address (rose.frank83@yahoo.co.uk) for further introduction.Bye hopeing to hear from you soon. pLs contact me with this mail (rose.frank83@yahoo.co.uk)

I wanted to test how they respond if I reply. So, I said 'If you mean a friendship, you are welcome'. Within 6 hours, I got a reply:

(I came to know that irrespective of the reply we give, they sends same reply with one of the pic they use for this purpose)

My Dear,I am more than happy in your reply to my mail.How was your day today? .Mine a little hot over here in Dakar Senegal.My name is Miss Rose (24years) single and never married, i am from monrovia in west Africa and presently i am residing in the refugee camp here in Dakar Senegal as a result of the civil war that was fought in my country last three years.My late father Dr FRANK BENSON was the chairman managing director of(FRANK BENSON INDUSTRIAL COMPANY LTD),in MONROVIA the capital of my country,and he was also the personal advicer to the former head of state before the rebels attacked our house one early morning and killed my mother and my father in a cold blood.It was only me that is alive now and i managed to make my way to a nearby country Senegal where i am living now as a refugee.I would like to know more about you.Your likes and dislikes,your hobbies and what you are doing presently.I will tell you more about myself in my next mail.I have Attached my picture in my mail bye and have a nice day.Hopeing to hear from you soonest. Miss Rose.

(I traced the mail and it originated from Senegal; or they successfully changed the IP)



Miss Rose !!!

For which I replied:

‘Good try, but you got the wrong guy’, the result was…

The next mail was from one Ms.Gloria Pattugalan from Philippines !. This was a real surprise for me and could be a pure coincidence. I hardly think that those criminals know of my Philippine connections. But this time the mail originated from Czech Republic.


The mail reads as follows:

Hello,My name is Ms.Gloria Pattugalan, daughter of Late Judge Nathaniel Pattugalan of Philippines. My father survived an attempt murder in life on the 27th of October 2005. And was killed 19th of January 2007.Since the first attempt till date his murderers have not been identified .I am afraid of my life because i believe his death has to do with the government or politicians because my father was against corruption.After the first attempt on my father's life, he went to secure US$3 Million outside the country.I would want you to assist me retrieve this money,so that i will come to live a new life in your country.Yours sincerelyGloria Pattugalan


This time I wish to reply :


“NO NO, wait, don’t come to my country, with USD $3 million, we can buy a small private island in Philippines with nice white sand beach and then we live happily ever after…”


The first thing one should do if one gets such a mail is to mark it as Spam and ignore it. If got accidently opened, just delete the mail. Or if you want some time pass, give them some stupid reply (at your own risk since I don’t know what will happen to you if the other guy gets arrested one day and the police trace all the contacts [for police, your stupid answer could be ‘code words’])


What if somebody don’t want to ignore it but want to know more about it? One can get lots of information from here, including samples of most of the mails getting circulated:


http://www.419scam.org/

timeLess ...

Prologue:

I sent a mail to a friend of mine asking some questions (of that person’s area of expertise) and that person mailed me back telling that I can expect a mail very soon. I waited…one day, one week…it is now one month..

Another mail, another person and this time a reply came (at least) starting with ‘sorry for the belated reply’

Same day, I got one more mail (from a relative) starting with ‘sorry for the belated reply’…

Some similar non mail experiences follows…

(Yes, I know its just coincidence)

* * * * * * * *

“I want an appointment with God” I called up His secretary

“May I know who is calling?” a cute and sweet voice asked.

After verifying my credentials, I got an appointment.

“So? What do you want to ask?” He was yawning

“Why is this? Why those delays? Why didn’t they get time to reply though they wanted to ?”

“It’s a secret...”

“Tell me…..”

“Can I trust you?”

“Well, I think you can”

“They did not get time, right? They will not"

"Why?"

"Light, darkness, water, heaven, beast, man…..sorry, I forgot to create Time”

“But you are the…”

“Shhhhhhhh”

Back to Badminton...but

Long after the ligament tear (after a break of one and a half years), I returned to badminton court to give it a try. I requested my gym coach to come with me to give some practice to observe how the knee reacts. We tossed the birdie for some time and it made me soooooooooo happy. I could not sleep that night because of the excitement.

I was surprised to see the way my gym coach played. About one and a half years back (that was the time I started learning badminton and it ended even before I could play 20 hours in total), I used to beat him in singles and now I am nowhere near him. He got sculptured into a fine player and I came to know that he already beat many of them who ‘taught’ him how to play.

I got chance to practice for two weekends (about 15 minutes for each session) and then the court wasn’t free for exclusive use. So, I played some double games with others. I used to tell them that I had a ligament tear and I am still struggling and hence I am unable to move fast or take net-shots by leaning forward (body weight shifts to our front leg). The result was amazing !

My opponents started targeting me. They placed the shuttle in such a way that I have to run or lean. Once I even got smashed on my eye (and I had to consult an eye doctor). Thus, some people started thinking that they lost the game because of me. Some got irritated. And yes, there were couple of them who said ‘ its OK’.

Once, a lady who was playing against me smiled when I missed couple of easy shots. I could not take it because I had to run. But her smile irritated me and so I told her:

“Don’t smile, I will hit next time”

“You hit” she responded

I missed once again and she laughed and told me

“You should play like that, OK?”

“Sure” I replied

I missed another one too and she repeated it again

“Like that, OK?”

“Yes” I said.

Though I smiled, inside me, it was kind of rage. But we lost the game. I said we will play one more game. And I this time I played madly and hardly missed any return shot. We won for 15-7. Then I smiled at her and I told her that I was playing with injury. But what was the real result?

I ended up with ice pack and rest for two days…the pain stricken back.

God, why is this world like this? Where is his answer?

The other day, there came two kids. One was 15 and another one 17. The 15 year old boy plays really well. He spent some time playing with me giving tips and correcting my mistakes. And last Sunday, I was sitting with my racket without any company. That 17 year old (he knows about my knee issue) came and asked

“You want to play badminton?”

He did not trouble me with his skills…He did not made me run..We did not play as a game and hence nobody won, nobody lost..

May be that was His answer…

Countries to Visit ...

Which country/countries I wish/wished to visit?

My wish started with Russia. From childhood, I wished to visit Moscow. That time, Russia was U.S.S.R, and was said to be one of the most powerful nations in the world. The first foreign magazine I had seen during my childhood is ‘The Soviet Union’. It was colorful and most of the time, it had some pictures of snow or people wearing winter dress. As a kid, I thought living in snow is fun.

When I grew up, I became a member of the House of Soviet Culture Library. They had a theater too where they used to screen Russian movies. I read lots of Russian literature during that time. I mostly read translations in my mother tongue and then started reading in English too. I cant recollect the name of the authors, but I can not forget Mikhail Sholokhov, Leo Tolstoy, Alexander Pushkin, Anton Chekov, Maxim Gorky (that building/campus was named after him – Gorky Bhavan), Fyodor Dostoyevsky etc. At some point of time, I wished to study in Russia; but I had no idea how.

Russia and U.S weren’t friends that time. There was ‘cold war’. I had heard the word ‘cold war’ during my childhood but I had no idea what exactly it is. Since my love was for Russia, I did not like the U.S. And hence I did not fancy visiting U.S.

Years passed and I became a member of ‘Trivandrum Public Library’, which was one of the oldest and the largest libraries in my city (established during 1829). They had a huge collection of books. I started reading travelogues. This made me think ‘ I wish I could visit this place… oh ! I wish I could visit that place’. Thus, Egypt, Singapore, Bali (Indonesia), Tibet, Greenland, Paris etc started coming into the list, apart from Russia. My wish to travel to the Gulf region was only for the purpose of looking for a job.

Years passed. Technology changed and internet was a revolution as far as information is concerned. I was able to get lots of info about any country. Still, travelling to a distant country was not easy. One needs lots of money and we Asians need Visa to travel to almost every other country. I always wished to have some friends from around the world. When a real Russian, that too somebody grew up in Moscow became a friend of mine, I became very happy. But when I listened to the real stories, I understood that the Russia in my dream was not real.

I got some good friends from Philippines, the U.S., Australia, Thailand and Indonesia. And naturally, I wished to visit those countries. Yes, Estonia too got added up to that list, recently. When one of my cousins got settled in Germany, Germany too got highlighted (another cousin got settled in the U.S. , about 20 years ago…now, two more cousins live there.. but U.S wasn’t on my list till I got a friend from there).

Philippines dominated my internet friends list and thus Philippines became the ‘must visit’ place and topped my list. Indonesia stood second at some point of time. Some months ago, when the ‘racism in Australia’ thing was going on, I got a chance to visit Australia. But by that time, I ended up with no friends there. Though the reason for rejecting that opportunity wasn’t lack of friends there, I was sure that having some friends would have made me consider it seriously.

Thailand became an attraction because of Lord Buddha and there too was a friend connection.

I was almost sure about Philippines visit. I made plans to travel to Philippines during the end of 2009 or early 2010. It wasn’t because Philippines became my dream country but it was because of the friends element. Through my friends (especially one) I saw many places in Philippines. I even saw some places ‘Live’ using webcam. Slowly, not just the people, but ‘the country with lakes and beaches’ too became my favorite.

But things changed over months or years. Friendships started getting scattered. People started moving away from me for this or that reasons. There is no point in getting emotional about it, I know. And it is wise to accept the realities. Thus Philippines started climbing down the ladder. Thus Hong Kong went ahead of Philippines when I planned a vacation, last time..

Now?

Every country in this world will have some good and friendly people living there, isn’t it so? I seriously considered that thought when a ‘white’ lady told me ‘ I will be the last person to consider your skin color’ in response to my ‘I am brown, just in case you want to know’.

So, now, I wish I could visit every country in this wonderful world. No country is same, though it is difficult for me to distinguish people from many Asian countries (other than Indian sub-continent). Every country is special in one way or another.

Alas! Now I feel like meeting my old buddies first and then proceed further...

Content Filter

Which is an easy way to filter internet content to safeguard kids (for example) against porn etc?

There are some exclusive parental control software applications available for this purpose. And some internet security suites too provide such features. But we need to pay for the good ones. There are some free browser based filters too, which I think lacks flexibility.

So, is there any free and flexible application for this purpose?

I don’t know whether this is the best and you can’t filter individual words too, but still one can give OpenDNS a try.

OpenDNS is a DNS service. It is said to be fast and reliable too. (Why you need another DNS service? Sometimes our default DNS might fail to resolve addresses. For example we might have experienced a situation where our internet works but can not go to specific sites owned by yahoo, google, Microsoft etc. This could be because of DNS issue. With OpenDNS, there is no or less chance for such situations).

This is what company says about them:

“OpenDNS is the leading provider of free security and infrastructure services that make the Internet safer through integrated Web content filtering, anti-phishing and DNS. OpenDNS services enable consumers and network administrators to secure their networks from online threats, reduce costs and enforce Internet-use policies. OpenDNS is used today by millions of users and organizations around the world.”

OK, back to content filtering. OpenDNS offers a decent content filtering service. What we have to do is to route our data through their servers by changing our DNS settings. For that, all we need to do is visit

http://www.opendns.com/

and press ‘Start using OpenDNS. And Press ‘Computer’ in case what we want to configure is our computer (we can configure our mobile, router etc too). They provide very good assistance (plus they have a forum, video tutorial, support and blog too, in case we need more info). Just follow the instructions depending on your Operating System.

If we want to keep things permanent, we need to create an account (free), so that we can add our network and manage accordingly. Once it’s done, all we need to do is go to ‘Settings’ Tab and select the filtering level. It is better we use ‘Custom’ since we have the choice to decide what to filter and what not to filter. If we want to allow or block a particular site, that too is possible.
Once done, press ‘Apply’ and sign-out, its done !

But what if we are using Dynamic IP? That is, the IP that changes every time we switch off and switch on our modem? All we need to do is download a (free) Updater application provided by them and install it. This will take care of the rest by refreshing the IP address automatically.

Last, but not at all the least, READ THE PRIVACY POLICY before you use this service. Just like all other free sites, OpenDNS too collects your IP address. This too uses cookies and collects some basic information. And don’t forget to read the FAQ, when you get time.

Some fun/game applications available with some social networking sites get our consent (when we start using it) even to use the entire content we have with our profile including the photos we upload. So, make it a habit to read the Privacy policy when you are availing any service over internet, irrespective of what it is.

Note:

DNS- Domain Name System. Every site we visit has some numerical address like our street and door number. This is the Internet Protocol Address or IP address. (Here, protocol means a set of standardized communication rules using which data can be sent from one computer to another over internet). It is a difficult task to remember long numbers for every site and hence there is this Name resolving system. For example, when we type http://www.google.com in the browser’s address bar, our DNS server (all of us have one, provided by our Internet Service Provider) translates it into 74.125.19.103 (I think so; it can be a different number for you). If you want to find the IP address of any particular site, do the following, for windows users:

Press Start – Run

You will get a command window. Here, type:

Ping www.google.com (I mean the name of any site you want to check)

Then connection will be established and you can see a message like:

‘pinging www.google.com [74.125.19.103] …

The number we see in brackets is the IP address.

Type ‘exit’ without quotes to come out of the window

Satan ... Satan worship or In Satan's Good Books...

Over 5-7 years ago, there was this free MSN chat rooms. I personally was involved in a particular room, as a co-moderator, for sometime but I used to visit many other rooms related to religion, spirituality, science and computers. I still have many interesting memories of that ‘olden’ time.

Once I was in one atheism room. I was just observing what is happening there. Then suddenly somebody entered the room and said this (following is not verbatim):

“Repent, you sinners, even now it’s not too late”

Then some people who were in the room responded to it in different ways. I found it interesting and amusing. So I too participated in it, supporting the atheists, for fun and to observe.

Me: “Sinners? whom do you call sinners?”

“All of you”

Me: “Well, now you are in this room, and I understand that you are a believer. What if there are others like you?”

“I mean the atheist ones”

Me: “why should they repent?”

“Else they will not get eternal life.”

Me: “oh yeah?”

“Are you teasing me?

Me: “no, I am not..can I ask you something?”

“Sure”

Me: “after our death we will go either to hell or heaven, right? And where can we find Satan?”

“Yes, you are right…you can find Satan in the hell, of course”

Me: “and what will happen to the ‘sinners’?

“On the judgment day, they will be sent to hell”

Me: “you said hell is Satan’s place. What authority your God has to send somebody to hell? What if the hell authorities reject it? Or are God and Satan friends?”

“You are questioning God and his powers..you have to pay for that”

Me: “really? Will they accept credit card?”

“I really pity on you…God will punish you”

Me: “Sometime back I too did some ‘scripture’ reading. I believe in myself and not in your God. I believe in some socialistic principles and I do good to people. So, there is a possibility of me going to heaven. But I think I better worship Satan, if what you say is right. You said after death we will go either to hell or heaven. So I will be safe either way. If I land in heaven, its fine, I will enjoy it. But if I go to hell, since I worship Satan, he will reward me. so, that also is fine for me. And on a second thought, if God can send somebody to hell, then Satan can send somebody to heaven too, right? What if he sends me to heaven? ….so, which one is the better bet, worshiping God or worshiping Satan?

That person called me many names (swear words) and left the room :(

(NB: This is not my personal belief on God/Satan. I was doing a discussion for 'academic' purpose)

Happy Onam..

Today is Tiruvonam (second day of Onam). The most important festival for the people of my native State. I had a feast at my in-laws' place. It was a good day..Wishing everyone out there a very happy and prosperous Onam...

Why did I..?

Sometime back, I had a ‘clash’ with a Known Psychologist from the U.S. over one of my blogs. Later, I posted an apology. After reading those blog series, a friend of mine reacted:

“Why did you say apology?, You were telling the truth.”

Whereas my wife’s reaction was:

“She insulted you. I don’t like her”

So, why did I…..?

It has three main reasons:

I too understand mind/people, though I don’t have a trailing PhD in Psychology after my name.

I wanted to avoid enmity; and more importantly,

I wanted to observe and study…

MileStone

I am a milestone over the highway.
Cars and vans, bikes and trucks
Men and women, boys and gals
They all passed me in ones and groups.
Some looked at me; some did not
Some stared at me; some did not
‘Yes!, we are almost there’ some
Shouted with cheer; and some
Said ‘Oh No ! long way to go’.
And Some? Some did not see me
And they lost their way, somehow.

Creatine and Migraine..

Can supplementing with Creatine monohydrate result in migraine headaches?

Well, I think it can. It has something to do with the body type also. Some people require more water than many others (like me). If such people has the history of migraine too, one has to be a little more careful with Creatine. Why coz, the presence of creatine forces the muscles to draw more water into it. If there is not enough water, it draws it from blood causing a pressure imbalance that can trigger migraine (remember that migraine is a vascular issue). And hence one has to drink lots of water. For people with the history of migraine plus need more water should drink at least 3-4 liters of water if supplementing with creatine. Says who?

Says me. I did not read any research paper on this but I did a research on my body at my cost. And it’s a fact. When I started getting migraine on a regular basis, I started keenly observing my diet. And found that the nutritional supplement I was taking had creatine. Then one can ask, a supplement can contain many things and creatine is just one among them. So, how can we conclude that creatine is the culprit?

Easy. Stop that supplement and take creatine alone for a short period. And I did that. I took 5 gram of creatine per day and experimented with different quantities of water intake and found out that the quantity of water we drink has a lot to do with the migraine we get (and the muscle cramps, obviously). When I tried very little of creatine and lots of water, it did not end up in migraine. That means creatine may not be a direct trigger for migraine.

Well, I stopped playing with creatine when my doc told me that I am playing with my own kidneys since creatine is excreated through kidneys (urine) and not through stools. So, if you are supplementing with creatine, drink lots and lots of water, plain water. IT IS A MUST. Else you might end up damaging your kidneys (yes, I know, the manufacturers too ask us to drink enough water).

And there is one very important thing about supplements. If you have doubts about supplements, ask a medical doctor and not your fitness trainer.

No reason..Wrong reason

Sometimes, we lose our friends for no reason. And sometimes it is for wrong reasons.

A close friend of mine started walking away from me for no reason. Another friend (?) of mine kept me at bay thinking that I am not educated and knowledgeable. Third one kept away from me for years thinking that I am physically handicapped !

All that required to reason could be a few open moments…

Understanding H1N1

The WHO declared swine flu as a pandemic (an epidemic that is geographically widespread; occurring throughout a region or even throughout the world). So far it is the pandemic of 2009.There was panic around the world. What is this H1N1?

I am NOT talking about the symptoms or treatments or precautions to be taken or what one should do or what one should not do or when to meet a doc or diagnose or treat the flu or anything like that. What I discuss here is some very basics about the virus that cause swine flu.

What is A(H1N1)?

That is the technical name given to a virus that cause flu or what is called ‘swine flu’. There are basically three categories of virus that can cause influenza or flu in humans and they are Influenzavirus A,B and C. The swine flu virus belong to Influenza A virus family (Orthomyxoviridae family, to be specific).

Why is it called swine flu?

Swine flu has three stages. This virus can cause flu in pigs. This flu can spread from pig to pig and that is the first stage. Then this flu virus enters into humans (and undergoes some modifications) who are taking care of these infected pigs and that is the second stage. At the third stage, virus spreads from to human to human and that is what we are facing now. As we can see, the roots points to pig and hence somebody named it swine flu. But the cause of infection is NOT eating (cooked) pork.

Why this virus is named H1N1? Or what dose those number mean?

H (or HA) stands for hemagglutinin and N stands for neuraminidase. These two are proteins found on the surface of the virus. The number was given on the basis of its form/type. So far, 16 variants of HA has been identified (H1 to H16). Same is the case with N. There are 9 types of neuraminidase (N1 to N9). Swine flu virus has H1 type of hemagglutinin and N1 type of neuraminidase (other than these two proteins, an Influenza A virus has 9 more proteins in them).

Why does H1N1 cause pneumonia?

Not just the H1N1 but the all the viruses that comes under Influenza A category are said to be pneumotropic. That means these viruses have some special affinity for lung tissues. That is the reason why some people developed pneumonia after getting infected by H1N1 flu virus. People who had earlier history of lung related diseases are more prone to develop pneumonia and not every one who gets infected by H1N1.

Finally, how serious is H1N1 infection?

A very healthy person might not require any antiviral medicine (like Tamiflu). A combination of rest and nutrition is what our body needs to fight it out in most of the cases. It is like any other seasonal flu and mortality ratio (about 1%) is not very high (or that is what I understand from the statistics given by W.H.O). In MANY of the death cases, it is said that, those died had some history of other illness (like pneumonia, high blood sugar, asthma, bronchitis, hypertension etc or people who are less immune – means who used to catch seasonal diseases almost all the time).

Swine Flu and Helmet !

Finally swine flu reached here in my city too. When I mentioned death in my earlier blog, I had no idea that death in the form of H1N1 is going to visit my city.

The first H1N1 death here happened to be a teacher from my son’s school. This was a slight shock for many of us.

Is H1N1 that serious? I read lots of stuff and finally got fed up. The reality is no one exactly knows. This is because it’s said to be a new strain of virus. It will take some time to understand the virus and develop a proper vaccine (the vaccine just got developed is said to have some serious known and unknown side effects like paralysis or even death) There are doctors and experts who think that it’s not serious. And on the other side too stands a set of qualified doctors and experts who say it is serious. After all, those who died include medical doctors too.

There was this statistics showing normal flu death is more than H1N1 related one. Is that true? For me, it looked clever. Because in that representation, this particular strain [A( H1N1)] stands at one end and all other flu viruses stand at the other end as a single entity.

(There are lots of viruses that cause flu. Flu causeing viruses in human are mainly classified into Influenzavirus A, B and C. H1N1 is a subtype of Influenzavirus A. There are many other members in the same family like (H2N2 [caused Asian Flu), H3N2 [caused Hong Kong Flu], H5N1 [caused Bird Flu] etc). H stands for Hemagglutinin and N stands for Neuraminidase. These two are proteins found on the surface of the virus. H number and N number is assigned based on the structural form of these two proteins. The structure differes from strain to strain)

How is the government handling the issue? The government should be ashamed of themselves. One needs to understand that H1N1 came to India after many deaths in the Americas. India should have taken it seriously when we saw the reality that a country likes US had hundreds of victims. This is very important coz the US is a developed country and it has all the machineries to handle such issues where as India is a developing (since ages) country which do not have any such system to handle such emergencies.

The most stupid decision the government came out with was approving ONLY government hospitals to handle H1N1 cases. We all know what government hospitals are known for – dirtiness, lack of facilities, rude staff, lack of staff, no accountability, irresponsibility…. The Indian government should have taken a lesson from Philippines. They allowed major private hospitals to screen and admit H1N1 cases (India too did it at last, when things went worse).

What is the ‘cure’ for H1N1? Around the world, docs depended on one brand of anti-viral tablet – Tamiflu. What was the procedure to get Tamiflu in India? One need to get it confirmed by the labs, even if one had classical H1N1 flu symptoms. How long will it take to get it confirmed by the lab? Initially it took even 5 days. Most of the people who died here got the test result after their death ! (And the souls hesitated to take Tamiflu !; am kidding)

Why is this? Coz there were one or two labs who can do the test. At this point, the government needs to consider one thing. India has the second largest population in this world and keeping just one or two virology lab is ridiculous. This is more important than sending a mission to moon.

Yes, the government came out approving more labs and more hospitals when their initial facilities failed to meet the situation. When the death toll crossed 20, government came with a new norm for Tamiflu. Now the doctors can start the drug before the lab result arrives.

Is the government and the beaurocracy committed to people as they swear? When the government implemented the helmet rule, they said its for the safety of the people. What they wanted was to save people’s life !!! HAHAHA

Now that we got a chance to see how the government and beaurocracy love their people. Why is it so?

Its all coz of the thrash politicians and their system.

Fragmented thoughts..

“You are not bothered, are you ?” asked my wife to me.

She is going through some BIG stress. She talked her issues at office to me since I can understand it. Yes, things at her work looked something stupid but at the end, I told her some silly thing that happened to me that day. That was when she asked me that.

Well, she had genuine reasons to get stressed or worried, I understand. But sometimes I (unnecessarily?) go logical and here too I saw some logical reasons. Well, I can’t tell that to her, so I just shared her concerns and tried to dilute the stress.

We can be philosophical with others but when something happens to our dear ones, we worry. Its natural, I guess. Its kind of bad time, it looks like. Stress stress and more stress.. I just got a news letter I subscribe and it read like this:

“These are stressful times. Whether it’s the latest economic news, personal health issues, family problems, or world events, you are faced with challenges that can cause stress. Stress has been linked to heart disease and stroke, influences cancer and respiratory diseases, and can trigger asthma, arthritis, and gastrointestinal problems…….”

The swine flu finally reached my city too. Today, I sent my son to school, as usual and then I came to know that they closed school for 5 days (I got the SMS message from school bit late. He waited for his school bus and finally came back since the bus did not come). Death of couple of kids can add stress to parents.. Death is the ultimate reality (though we can come back) but its very hard to digest when someone close to us dies.

Sometimes some kind of people can give us more stress that too at bad times. I have a friend who goes very philosophical (but lives truly materialistic) and says ‘everything has a reason’ whenever I fell ill or shared my worries. But the typhoons in her country, her illness, her family issues…..such things were ‘big issues’ for her. She was sad the other day when her country’s former president died of colon cancer (she was 76). That time, I deliberately went philosophical and said :

“people die and it needs a reason”.

As I expected, my friend did not like that and avoided me for couple of days. I was thinking of my father that time. He was damn healthy. I have never seen him falling sick with flu or cold or any such seasonal diseases (at least I don’t remember not even a single instance other than his last days). But he died at the age of 55 !.

Anyway, I think it is better we don’t go philosophical when somebody is in heart mode than head mode. Now I think it was good that I wasn’t in touch with that friend when my mother died.

This thought reminded me of another friend of mine. We weren’t in good terms when my mother died. But even after two years I can tell that she gave me one of her most memorable moments for me. A total contrast to the other friend, though both share many identities….

I was thinking of death, the other day…

Death, dead body, graveyard or even the thought of such things can give us fear, in general.

It was night and I was waiting for the lift to come….

(There is a glass covered area near out lift. And from there we can see a part of our own car parking lot to kilometers and kilometers. Next to our boundary, there is a temporary colony of workers. They are from far away places and they work for a construction company which is building an apartment just about half a kilometer away from our apartment. Once the work is over, these workers will move to new location.)

I saw a dim light in that colony. And in that dim light, I saw a new grave. Somebody died there and they buried the body there itself. It was decorated with orange and yellow colored flowers. It looked really spooky.

“……look, I have seen an accident spot where the skull got crushed and brain came out…I have been to mortuary and seen bodies of some accident victims…it was just in front of my eyes that blood started oozing out of my mother’s mouth…” : me

“OK OK, will you please stop this?” : my wife

I stopped...

Windows 7 Beta RC RTM Crack Keygen...

I deleted my older blog about windows 7 (which can be found below this blog). Because, it is not the truth now (as on this date)…the scenario changed and I don’t want to mislead people. I was talking about the genuine Windows 7 release when I wrote my first blog about Windows 7.

Now that the RTM (Release To Manufacturers or Release To Marketing – given to PC manufacturing companies to be given along with Windows 7 preinstalled PCs. This kind of version comes after RC) got leaked from somewhere. One is said to be from Lenovo and other one from MSDN. Both these versions are available in the net. Not just that, serials, keygens, timer nukes and loaders too are there to heat up the Windows 7 thrill. If this is the way Microsoft is handling things, we can expect a Gold version too in the net, very soon.

Anyway, I liked Windows 7. And I recommend PC people to give it a try. Just go for the genuine one available with Microsoft (but it will stop working by March 2010).

OLD BLOG:

I happened to see in some forums people asking for a crack or keygen or a serial to activate the all new operating system from Microsoft, the Windows 7. As a user of Windows 7, I wonder why people need a crack to activate it. Why? Let us check out some facts.

Windows 7 which is available to the public is still RC (Release Candidate) and not the Gold (final) version.

The RC is available for download till August 20 2009. And can be activated within 30 days.

RC will work till March 1 2010 (then it will shut down every two hours till June 1 2010)

Microsoft will give you a product key for free and all you need is some (free) account with them like a hotmail or windows live.

What we are getting now is the fully functional version of Windows 7 ultimate and they started providing updates too.

Check this out :

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-7/get/download.aspx

If somebody is looking for a crack, that means that person already has a copy of windows 7 and what is needed is just a product code to activate it. Microsoft says:

Just need a Product Key? It's easy to get. If you've already downloaded the RC or have an installation disc, start the download process above by selecting your version and language. You'll be asked to enter your Windows Live ID, and to answer a few registration questions. Then you'll see the product key you can use to activate the RC, and you won't need to go through the download process again.

There is no final release available now. So how can these cracks convert the RC into a final version? Why one need a keygen when Microsoft gives you a valid key for free? So, why one need to take the risk and tamper with a genuine operating system for no reason at all?
Well, I don’t see any reason at all.

Note: RC or Release Candidate is very close to the final release but not yet ready for sale. Usually it will undergo some more final testing process and then gets officially released.

Tinidazole Side Effects / Reaction

This is a first hand (personal) experience on the reaction/allergy/side effect aspect of Tinidazole, a commonly prescribed anti-protozoa/antibiotic drug.

I was advised to take ZOXAN-TZ tablet (ciprofloxacin 500 mg, Tinidazole 600 mg) for a suspected Amoebiasis.

Day 1 (24-Jul-2009)

I took the first tablet at 8.30 pm on 24th (24-Jul-2009). Within 2 hours, I felt tingling under the skin in my mouth.

Day 2 (25-Jul-2009)

I woke up with swollen lips and penile itching (with slight swelling). Inside the mouth also, I felt some discomfort, especially in the palate. I felt the skin under the lips very sensitive (as if it’s getting thinner). Eyes became blood red, watery, itchy and painful. There was headache too. Felt like I am facing some vision problem too. The white coating on the tongue became thicker.

I met the doc and he asked me to discontinue the tablet and put me on Citrizine.

Eating/drinking became difficult

Day 3 (26-Jul 2009)

There developed ulcers/sores inside mouth, throat and under the lips. Lips and angle/corner of lips became very dry (when I sneezed, lower lip got broke and blood started oozing) and there was hyper-pigmentation (became dark/black).

It was very difficult to have food.

Day 4 (27-Jul-2009)

Wasn’t able to open my mouth (because of the dryness of corner of the lips, if I force open, it would tear and result in ulcer/sore).Hyper-pigmentation in lips became more prominent. But the penile itching almost went off.

Eating and drinking became more difficult mainly because of the pain. Wasn’t able to eat any solid food and hence was on a porridge diet. Was unable to eat anything hot (even slightly hot).

Called up doc and he asked me to take Folic Acid.

Day 5 (28-Jul-2009)

When I woke up, my lips were sealed. This was due to the odema in the ulcers on the lips. Lightly applied water and managed to open my mouth. It was a painful affair.

I felt the ulcers in the mouth more viscous/slippery and more spread than deep. Coffee, tea, health drinks, milk, even water was difficult co consume due to ulcerous pain

Day 6 (29-Jul-2009)

White coating on the tongue reduced. Overall pain looked like a little more stinging. But started reducing as hours passed. Skin on lips started coming off (yes, the entire skin that went hyper- pigmentation has to go and new skin has to replace it). Was able to open my mouth without much trouble. Started eating solid food.

Day 7 (30-Jul-2009)

Some relief, finally! Pain got reduced and now its (the pain) mainly from a particular ulcer which was the biggest ulcer in size. There is slight difference between the regular mouth ulcer (aphthous ulcer/canker sore) and this ulcer caused by reaction. This ulcer did not show any tendency to go deep but it was more wide or spread. Under the lower lip, it was a group (about 15)of small ulcers. Later on some of them joined together and gained some size.

Today, the skin on the lips started coming off more easily. But the new skin looked like darker than the one I had before this reaction. It was tight (if I smile, I could feel the stretch) and shiny/glossy but very soft.

Day 8 (31-Jul-2009)

I am sporting a new skin on my lips since the old one got peeled off. But still, I am feeling the tightness. I feel the stretch when I smile too. Hyper-pigmentation is there in the new skin too. looks like this skin too should go and new one should come. But the skin is very soft and hence there is no possibility of this getting peeled off today.

Ulcers under both the lips are still there but the pain reduced. I am getting a feeling (when I touched it with the tip of my tongue) that it’s on the healing process. The main pain generator still is the one big sore on the palate somewhat near the left tonsil.

Day 9 (1-Aug-2009)

Today, the new skin on the lips started coming out. And the hyper-pigmentation started getting lighter. There is less tightness of skin on the lips. I can smile without much trouble. Still there are ulcers under the lips but they are not that painful. The BIG ulcer on the palate too became less painful.

Day 10 (2-Aug-2009)

99% of the ulcers under the lips disappeared. The Big ulcer is in healing mode and became painless, though it’s still visible as an ulcer. The skin on the lips are still coming out. Color of the upper lip is almost back to its original stage and the lower one is still undergoing some peeling off process (that I don’t know) to get back its original color.

Hope the pain days will end and everything will be back to normal in a couple of days.

(NB:The doc gave it in writing that its 'Allergy to Tinidazole)

An Interview Memory

I was watching a satire TV show. Someone gives an application to the agriculture department for financial aid since he lost his crops during floods. He faces many hurdles (getting lots of certificates like proving he is male, he is the person who actually files the application etc) and the show ended this way – after seven long years, the funds get sanctioned and the officer visits the applicant's house to disperse the money. The officer meets the son and asked him to call his father to sign the paper (so that he could handover the money). Son shows a picture on the wall and says that his father is no more. Then the officer tells – now there is another issue, please bring a death certificate. And then the dead man in the picture asks – Sir, should I myself come with that certificate?

Then I told my wife that I too faced similar situation to get the insurance money (though it was a small amount) when my father died. That thought lead me to an interview I attended and then to my student life.

The interviewer (the boss) goes through my certificates and asked:

“What I notice is your academic performance went down and down after every course... your 10th, pre-university and degree. And you said you dropped out from your masters. Why?”

“I had personal problems that time”

“Like what?”

I thought I better start from pre-university since 10th grade is the starting certificate with him.

“I had developed some severe eye allergy before my PUC final exams. It took long time to cure thus I was unable to study well...... It was during my second year degree that my father died. There were many complications and I had to run around getting many certificates and it was very hard to concentrate on my studies”

I was telling the truth. Those were years of disappointment and frustration. My father’s post death events were something really odd considering it was a normal death. Police, postmortem, spelling mistake in a crucial certificate which messed up many other things… migraine during the exam days too played a spoilsport…

No need to say that I lost that job.

[Later, I met many of my schoolmates on the road/bus/sales tax office etc. Many of them became post-graduates, including those guys who were not near me in the class ranking (I stood at 2nd or 3rd position, most of the time, during high school days)].

If fate can come in the form of a human, I want to invite him/her for a cup of coffee. It would be a silent conversation, isn’t it? Me looking with ‘why?’ face and fate sitting with a smile face…

I Spy You

“Jay, can somebody spy on me, including my activities in my home, if I use my computer?”


I was asked this question by a friend of mine, since one of her friends told her that it is possible. Or may be she really suspected that this particular friend is doing that. I did not take her seriously that time. But I asked his credentials and she told me that this guy is a Russian spy working for the US (waahhhaa). I did not believe her but the stuffs she told about him made me think that he knows something. I gave her some general tips about internet security.


Ok, how can we secure our computer 100%? There is only one way, don’t use internet. Keep it standalone and use only genuine software. Is that practically possible?


The answer is ‘No’ and this means there is nothing like 100% privacy if we are using internet. Our browser discloses some basic information about us to every site we visit. But my friend’s fears were much deeper. She wasn’t bothered about her IP address or browser type or location or operating system details being exposed. But she suspected that her camera and microphone is spying without her knowledge. Is that really possible?


Almost everyone who use computer know that there is something called ‘cookies’. Some people don’t know why it is there and some know why it is there. There are cookies which spy on us and there are cookies we need for normal functioning of most of the ‘considered safe’ sites (like an e-news paper ). And most of us delete these cookies very often and thinks that that is the end. But that is not the case.


The lion’s share goes to the lion. In the same way the giants in the internet are responsible for lifting information from our computer and many a times, we might have given them the right to do so when we accepted the terms and conditions without reading them. Most of the animated stuffs in the net is flash based and for that we need to install flash that comes from Adobe. This is free. Here we need to understand that anything that comes free in the net has something attached to it, in general.


There is something called LSO (Local Shared Objects). There are similar to cookies; like a bunch of cookies in a single file. (LSOs are not kept by individuals but by websites and can be deleted using some tools or browser plug-in, that is not my topic here, this time.)What do they do?


-they are never expiring - staying on your computer for an unlimited time.

- by default they offer a storage of 100 KB (compare: Usual cookies 4 KB).

- browsers are not aware of those cookies, LSO's usually cannot be removed by browsers.

- via Flash they can access and store highly specific personal and technical information (system, user name, files,...).

- ability to send the stored information to the appropriate server, without user's permission.

- flash applications do not need to be visible- there is no easy way to tell which flash-cookie sites are tracking you.

- shared folders allow cross-browser tracking, LSO's work in every flash-enabled application

- the company doesn't provide a user-friendly way to manage LSO's, in fact it's incredible cumbersome.

- many domains and tracking companies make extensive use of flash-cookies.


(courtesy :Netticat)


This is controlled by Adobe’s flash and unfortunately, a normal computer user can not delete it (well, anybody can do a Google and find out how to delete it. but most of the normal users might not have even heard of LSO, in the first place. Then how can they delete?). Secondly, we can not make any setting changes at our end. When flash is installed for the first time in the computer, it asks for some settings and it will be stored as our default setting for every site we visit. These LSOs can lift more information than a normal cookie. So, how can we control them?


Either we need to make changes for every site we visit individually or we need to go to Adobe’s site and set the Global settings for our flash. Most of us are not aware that there exists such a site from Adobe where we can set our privacy settings related to flash.



Adobe's Global Flash Privacy setting site:


http://www.macromedia.com/support/documentation/en/flashplayer/help/settings_manager04.html


Global Privacy setting gives us two options – Always deny and Always ask


What is Always deny? Adobe says:


“If you select Always Deny and then confirm your selection, any website that tries to use your camera or microphone will be denied access. You will not be asked again if a website can use your camera or microphone. This action applies both to websites you have already visited and to those you haven't yet visited.”


This shows that using flash programming, a web site can access our camera and microphone (that is how web based video and audio chats work).


So, it is better every one of us visit Adobe’s Global flash setting page and make sure that our privacy settings are fine. And we can have a look at the present LSOs sitting in our computer too.


Back to my friend… I told her to not to worry about that kind of spying. Just because you have a mic and cam in your computer does not mean that anybody can access them without you knowing it. Logically, it is possible to un-mute our mic using a script (using the mixer API, in the case of windows). That is not at all a kid's play.



Even an embassy got hacked the other day, so what privacy we normal people can expect with our free anti-virus and firewalls?


Well, if CIA has not kept their server in our house, there is not need to worry too much about somebody trying to spy on us using our own cam and mic (that too with out we knowing) provided we are not discussing super secrets that can trigger some nuclear weapons, sitting just in front of our computer.


Always follow some general internet safety measures when visiting web sites and most importantly use common sense !

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince - Change for a Change?

We have seen this happening – a popular book going the silver- screen way. I had watched many such movies, after reading the book. When the movie goes in a different track than the book without any solid reason, I used to ask myself:

“So, the real story teller don’t know how to tell the story?....even after making his/her book so popular and gaining such a fame?”

Same thing happened with some Harry Potter Movies. What makes the script/screenplay writer or the Director think that they are one step ahead of the original writer in telling stories? Do they think that they know how to make it more appealing on the screen? I don’t know.

I was thinking the same when I watched the 6th Potter movie – Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. Every one of us, who had read the books know that Potter is damn courageous. Sometimes even reckless. When he is up to something, he will go to any extend. Look at a situation in this movie:

Dumbledore and Potter go in search of a Horcrux. When one has to give something that weakens them (blood), Harry asks why can’t he give it. Then, when one of them has to drink the magical liquid, he is ready to do that. That is how the real Harry is as per the creator, J.K.Rowling.

Now look at the death scene of Dumbledore. Harry stands there just like a spectator (though he was hiding), when he sees Draco attacking Dumbledore, when he sees the death eaters, and even when Snape killing Dumbledore. It is very hard to digest this. Yes, Harry swore to Dumbledore that he would obey him, but still, its hard to believe that Harry will stand there just watching Dumbledore getting killed. Coz that’s not the real Harry Potter we know.

Lets go back to the original story…

‘Go and wake Severus,’ said Dumbledore faintly but clearly. ‘tell him what has happened and bring him to me. Do nothing else, speak to nobody else and do not remove your Cloak. I shall wait here’

‘But-‘

‘You swore to obey me, Harry – go!’

Harry hurried over to the door leading to the spiral stair-case, but his hand had only just closed upon the iron ring of the door when he heard running footsteps on the other side. He looked around at Dumbledore, who gestured to him to retreat. Harry backed away, drawing his wand as he did so.

The door bust open and somebody erupted through it and shouted: ‘Expelliarmus!’

Harry’s body became instantly rigid and immobile, and he felt himself fall back against the Tower wall, propped like an unsteady statue, unable to move or speak. He could not understand how it had happened – Expelliarmus was not a Freezing Charm-

Then by the light of the Mark, he saw Dumbledore’s wand flying in an arc over the edge of the ramparts and understood. Dumbledore had wordlessly immobilised Harry, and the second he had taken to perform the spell cost him the chance of defending himself.

See, that’s Harry and Dumbledore knew it (so is the case with all those who read the books). He would have taken ANY risk to save Dumbledore and that’s why the Headmaster immobilized him. Harry is a boy of exceptional courage than a boy of exceptional magical skills.

Unlike many other books (that became movies) Harry Potter has a super-high reader base. One need to consider that. Of course we need to add or remove something when we want to fit a book into a 2 hour movie. But changing the very nature of the main character does not sound good for me. Was it more appealing than the book?

Sorry, those who rewrote the situation did not look like smarter guys than J.K.Rowling, at least for me.

Footnote:

Did I like the movie?

Of course I did.

Do I recommend the movie?

Yes, I do.

Emma goes Britney?

The new Harry Potter movie is out. When we like Harry Potter (in this case), it is natural for us to like those who played those characters on screen. Once again, thus its very natural we showing some interest in whats happening with those actors.

That was the reason I checked out ‘what is latest’ with Daniel, Rupert and Emma (that was the order I checked). I watched/read some interviews with them, saw some pictures etc. When I reached Emma, it was a shock. I went to Google images and typed Emma Watson and (just above the pictures Google show related search) Google suggests : Emma Watson wardrobe malfunction!

What happens when we are in such a situation? We would check what happened to our favorite actor. Those who respect Emma might even pray to God since they don’t want to see some ‘kind of’ pictures of hers. But…

Now in a Harry Potter related Quiz, even if there comes a question like “what was the color of the panty Miss Granger was wearing……”, there is no wonder.

Was that a real malfunction? Well, her that particular robe behaved as it should behave on any windy day. But still, we can call it as a wardrobe malfunction…but

What about the ‘other’ malfunction? We all know that the paparazzi, media men, fans... all love taking pics of celebrities. More rare the picz the more happiness/money it gives. The whole world knows (or should I say ‘saw’?)what happened to Britney spears when she stepped out of a car wearing a mini-micro (I don’t know the name of such a dress) and not wearing any…

Emma, who is known as a bright girl, should have thought of this when she stepped out of a car in a similar fashion. Yes, there was a difference. Britney had nothing to cover but Emma had something made of ‘see-through’ material..

I was a person who had respect for her…

A Mulla Story

Mulla Nasruddin was sitting on a river bank. Then someone shouted to him from the opposite side:

"Hey! how do I get to the other side?"

"You are already on the other side!" Nasreddin shouted back.

In the name of Gays !

We have seen enough human killings in the name of religion and it still goes on and on…So religions and religious people always fight with other religions and religious people?

Last week witnessed a strange unity among the religious sect…..Lets fight our common enemy – the gays !

A high court gave a ruling favoring the gay community and this was the reason for the unity.

Religion believes in God, irrespective of which religion it is. God is the base of a religion (There are exceptions like Buddhism, I understand... but there Lord Buddha got raised into the level of God, isn't it so?). I have never seen religions uniting in the name of God. Instead, many religions grew like cell division (eg. There is only one Jesus and there exists approximately 38000 [Thirty Eight Thousand] Christian denominations). Somebody approached the Supreme court to question the High Court’s ruling. Many religious leaders said in unison that they don’t accept the rights of gays. Someone even said it’s a ‘disease’ and can be cured..

Whatever it is, it was nice to see these god-guys hugging each other..

A Rambutan got Fined :(

“…..why can’t you do that?” my wife

“Because I am a law abiding citizen” me

“If that is the case, it will be very difficult for you live in this world”

“You started seeing me some 11 years ago…Before that too, for about 30 years I was living in this world just like this”

“Why are you shouting?” To son “your dad is in a bad mood from the time he got into the car”

"And look at the way YOU are talking.."

(she was poking me for every word she said)

That was yesterday…yesterday is past…

Today is today and it’s a new day…but still I am the same law abiding citizen, you know.

I had a lot of chores to attend. I wrote it down in a small slip and started ticking it out one by one….one of the items was
…
Buy Rambutan
…
I had inquired with a fruit seller the other day about Rambutan and he said it will come next day. But the problem is this guy’s shop is about 7 km away from my home. So today I decided to buy some. Oh man it is really costly. 200 bucks for a kilo. So far, my Rambutan memories were sweet and now that this price tag is adding something sour to it. But I swear I did not feel jealous about a friend of mine who has even a small ‘Rambutan plantation’ of her own in her native place (Laguna). If the Rambutan I bought were exported by her, she better return my money..grrrrrr

I was thinking whether I should try one while driving or not. Then I decided that I will eat one as soon as I reach home. I proceeded to my next destination with lots of Rambutan memories that took me miles and miles away and that made me feel happy.

I was waiting at a traffic signal. The light became green and vehicles started moving. I was just behind a government bus. As soon as I crossed the light, I heard some beep sounds and then looked at the light…it was Red….it looks like the camera caught me…I am sure about that bus. Since it’s a government transport bus, nothing will happen to the bus or driver. But what about me? will I receive a notice very soon? I got a little worried. I really didn’t mean to jump the signal. I wasn’t able to see the light since I was just behind a tall bus…

With this thought in my mind, I moved on and reached another cross. I was bit cautious this time. I need to go to the right and I saw a ‘No Entry’ board ahead of me. There was small road ahead of me and I thought may be we are not supposed to go ahead and hence I turned right. When I proceed a few meters, there stands a policeman. He asked me to stop the car. I parked my car and approached the Inspector with my papers. He smiled at me. That was a real shock to me coz usually these guys are rude, corrupt and non-co-operative. And he said:

“Sir, I don’t stop vehicles unnecessarily. There is no right turn from there..you have violated two rules.”

“Two?” asked me.

“Yes.. Obstructing traffic and breaking No Entry…so, you have to pay 200 rupees. Will you pay?”

“Is there any other choice?” I asked

“ No” he smiled at me

“Then I will pay. But Sir, I really did not know that there is no right turn”

(There was right turn sometime back and it looks like this new rule came after there came a new fly-over near that road.)

“OK, I will do one thing. I will make it 100. And charge you for the No Entry”

He asked me to handover my license and said he don’t need the registration paper or insurance (how sweet !). These guys have got new Blackberry equipment which can generate a receipt and keep the data on a centralized computer system. Thus they can find out how many times a particular person broke rules. After some limited time, the drivers’ license will get cancelled.

“Thank you sir….sorry for the trouble” I said to him. He smiled again (No wonder he is in traffic and not in law and order)

……wife came back from work

“See, this is what happens when you break rules…”

No comments from her..(it could be because she was hungry)

See, even law abiding citizens get fined…

What was the cost of Rambutan? 200 bucks per kg...What was the fine? 200 bucks !

This world is…

Pakistan and the Real Face of Terror

Finally, it is official. It was Pakistan governments’ policy to promote terror. India knew it from the beginning. The US knew it. Almost every intelligence agency in the world knew it. But all others except India kept mum coz none of the countries in the world want India to emerge as a super power. They all liked to see India being troubled by terrorists. Countries like the US supported it by supplying money and weapons.

This is what the Pakistani President Mr.Zardari said the other day:

“Militants and extremists emerged on the national scene and challenged the state not because the civil bureaucracy was weakened and demoralized but because they were deliberately created and nurtured as a policy to achieve short-term tactical objectives. Let's be truthful and make a candid admission of the reality….The terrorists of today were heroes of yesteryear until 9/11 occurred and they began to haunt us as well..”

-Asif Ali Zardari, President of Pakistan

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/World/Pakistan/Zardari-admits-terrorism-nurtured-by-govt-for-tactical-use/articleshow/4755029.cms

The US and the west will never allow India and China to become friends. They don’t want India and Pakistan to be friends either.

India said it very clearly, long ago - Pakistan did not become a victim of terror but it has become a victim of its own policies.

Now Muslims started killing each other. Mosques are getting bombed by Muslims themselves. I believe most of the common people in Pakistan do not support terrorism. The US has no right to kill the innocent Muslims in Pakistan and Afghanistan in the name of fight against terrorism. Now the US live in fear. They fear that some attack will come from somewhere. If at all any such thing happens in future, I am not surprised. The US need to understand that every nation is a proud nation for that country’s citizens.

This reminds me of a saying in my mother tongue ‘ Valeduthavan valale’ which means something like - the one who raise a sword will face a sword, one day. Its like a goon who killed getting killed by another goon.

Let us support peace and not war.

Seek, and you will find...

'…And God said “See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food” '

- Genesis 1:29 (The Bible)

Petrol price hike

The petrol price got hiked by more than 4 rupees per liter. But we the common man with some common sense knew it, isn’t it so?

At least I knew it and I had mentioned it somewhere in a blog, when there was price cut. The cut came before the general elections just like many other election stunts. The ruling party wasn’t sure about a come back and they just took a chance. If some other party comes into power, the headache goes to them or if they win again (like what has happened now), they can increase the price and the common man would pay since there is no other choice.

Many of us already faced salary cut…many others lost jobs and now the price of all the essential commodities also will go up, naturally.

Long time ago, politics was considered as public service. But now, it has become just a (dirty) business and we find political entrepreneurs and employees and not social workers.

Once again it got proved that politicians will go to any extend to grab the power, to any dirty extend.

Garlic Thoughts

My garlic connection started when I was a kid. On those days, whenever I fell ill, the first thing I could expect was my father coming with some fresh garlic juice (in a kind of measuring cup [made of stainless steel] called ‘gokarnam’ in my native language). If I spit it out, he used to scold and threaten me harshly or even beat me. I really hated that. Cold, flu, fever, stomach ache… it all attracted garlic, the smelly garlic. Even now, it stays like traumatic memory somewhere within me.

Why did my father do that? I hardly think he had a clear idea about the medicinal effects of garlic. But almost everyone living in my State that time had some idea about many herbal plants. These were passed on to us by tradition. Because my place was the land of Ayurveda, the herbal system of medicine. Thus, garlic, cardamom, ginger (both raw and dry), honey, neem, basil, turmeric….they all played other than culinary role during my childhood (and even now).

India is the second largest producer of garlic in the world (first being our neighbor China) and its part of many traditional dishes. How do science and religion see garlic?

Raw garlic has the following (found out as of now):

Carbohydrates
Sugars
Dietary fibers
Fat
Protein
Beta carotene
Thiamine
Riboflavin
Niacin
Pantothenic acid
Vitamin B6
Folate
Vitamin C
Calcium
Iron
Magnesium
Phosphorous
Potassium
Sodium
Zinc
Manganese
Selenium

Scientifically, it has been proved that garlic is capable of preventing some cancers (eg. gastric cancer; one can refer studies/materials by the United States National Cancer Institute). It is useful to control cholesterol too. There are so many other uses of garlic, including repelling many insects and mosquitoes.

But most of the religions are not that friendly with garlic. People from some sects of Hinduism and the Jain community avoid garlic. Yes, they don’t eat garlic at all (some don’t use even onion). Till the time I am writing this, I don’t know whether any particular Hindu scripture talking about garlic (I mean asking us to avoid) other than some books on Yoga.

There is a Christian myth. When Satan left the Eden garden, garlic arose from his left foot print and onion from the right. And it became part of white and black magic among the Europeans.

And in Islam, Prophet Mohammed said whoever ate garlic should not enter the mosque.

My father used to crush the garlic to take the juice. Why? I am 100% sure that he just did that without knowing the science behind that. It might sound strange, but one can find Allicin (this has antibiotic, anti-inflammatory and many other properties) in garlic, only after crushing it (some chemical changes happens then).

Since garlic has proven medicinal effects, it may interact with some medicines. Too much of garlic can lead to bleeding (hence should be best avoided at later stages of pregnancy) and thus affect a surgery or a child birth. Thus its logical to avoid too much garlic during periods too. Over dose of garlic can poison us. We might even get headache, diarrhea, nausea etc as a result of eating (too much of) garlic. The immediate after effect of eating garlic is halitosis or bad breath. Even our sweat will become smelly. So?

So, if we want o avoid dating somebody, the best bet is garlic !!!… An apple may be able to keep the doc away, but garlic in the morning can keep almost everybody away from us, the whole day….

Wound and a Kiss...

"Faithful are the wounds of a friend,
But the kisses of an enemy are deceitful"

- Proverbs 27:6

in ME

"As the mighty wind blowing everywhere rests always in the sky, all created beings rest in Me"

- Bhagavad Gita 9:6