Sunlight at last!

Look at the incredulity! Madrasis are rejoicing at the sunlight after 5 days of torrential rain. I am sure we will start hating the heat from tomorrow. That is life!

Water had entered our house. There was no power, no milk, no newspaper since last Monday. I did manage to blog something by going to my friend's house.

The newly laid roads are again in bad shape. Still, the water has not receded completely off the roads. The Government as usual couldn't mitigate our sufferings.

Added to the owes was the tragedy in Bombay. I feel sorry for them. Again, the Government has failed miserably though they helped end the trauma. The security of such a famous hotel in Bombay was found wanting.

Don’t replace; just upgrade!

Unfortunately my laptop belonged to an ancient era. Also, there is no way one can go for a memory upgrade in laptop computers. That why, desktop PCs are still preferred over any other type of computers.

And we never have to replace some of the existing accessories like RAM in desktop PCs. We can simply upgrade to larger memory card or stick. This way, we can save money and thus contribute to a green environment because we don’t add to the garbage.

But many people buy memory cards which really can’t serve their purpose. It is essential to know your PC before you decide in favor of memory upgrade. You need to know what type of memory your computer can adopt.

If you are not sure, ask around in the Internet.

Bear cub grieves to death.

I read a moving story of a bear cub that could not endure its mother's death and died. The news story appeared in Times of India, yesterday.

This incident took place in Coonoor, a hill station in India. The four-month-old bear cub died of shock soon after her sick mother breathed her last on Friday night.

The mother bear is reported to have died of internal bleeding due to infections in her lungs and intestines. The veterinary doctor who performed the autopsy on the mother bear said that he has come across a few such cases in the past.

I was unable to digest the tragic news for several hours after I read the news. The bears are supposed to live a life of closely affectionate family.

Don’t miss Sopranos’ Last Supper.

A girl student studying in Sydney approached me for a special math coaching session since she is going to be here for another 30 days. I politely refused at first because I really don’t have time. Also, I don’t take class for a single student. It is a waste of resources.

The girl, naturally disappointed, was leaving my office with a heavy heart. Just as she was packing her text books that she showed me, a few attractively colored papers fell on the floor.

I picked them up and saw they were brochures and tickets for several Las Vegas Shows and all were meant for the last week of December. They all bore the address of ShowsLasVegas.com, the largest Las Vegas shows ticket seller in the U.S.

The girl told me that she will be spending the December holidays in Las Vegas with her relatives before returning to Sydney. Because, tickets for a few special shows in Las Vegas like Rita Rudner’s comedy and Sopranos’ Last Supper are very difficult to get at the last minute, she booked them online in advance.

I realize that the students studying abroad are more affluent and also lucky.

Are people programmed to be fat?

It was a bit shocking when I read that moms are to be blamed if their children grow out to be fat. The article I read in our local daily cites that high-fat diet in pregnancy causes changes in fetal brain and leads to obesity in kids.

Sounds scientifically logic of course but how many ‘just married’ women are aware of this truth? But what about already fat married women? Will they be taking Leptorexin to shed weight before they get pregnant?

Ah, the wonder pill Leptorexin is said to contain garlic among other natural ingredients. Garlic is the best agent to increase metabolism.

Thank you mother for taking care of your eating habits as I never had to take any kind of food suppressant!

Scary attraction for women.

What attracts women in men?
These kinds of definitely not useful studies and research are being carried out irrespective of economic recession, natural catastrophes, violence against vulnerable. But the results after these studies are always amusing if not useful.

It is the turn of Englishmen to take up the study on why Harrison Ford ans Sean Connery were liked by women all over the world.

The result in short: Women find men with facial scars sexy!

The result in detail:
Many women find Ford’s scar on his chin and Connery’s on his face as unique beauty marks that boosts the sex appeal of the two Hollywood celebrities.

But why?
Who can reveal the subconscious values? These studies can only make some guess.

The British study has suggested that scarring associated with violence may signal to a woman that the man has a risk-taking personality or above average masculinity, both of which might appeal to women for short term relationships.

I liked this phrase at the end of the newspaper story: MARK OF A MAN

Source: Times of India dt 18th Nov 08

PS: Incidentally, my husband has a big scar on his right cheek. (Smile)

Figure out for yourself!

Just as I was leaving the computer shop after getting the ink tank refilled, I noticed a billboard that boldly announced that there are discount diet pills exclusively for women. This is odd! I never heard that diet pills are gender biased.

I once heard that most diet pills work as appetite suppressant. If that is the case, won’t people gain back the lost weight once they stop taking the diet pills because the appetite will again be normal?

I intend to check the consumers’ feedback on these basic doubts on weight loss tablets. Though I may never need to take them, a little bit of knowledge apart from mathematics won’t do any harm.

Top colleges in the U.S.

I must start compiling a lot of resources now for the benefit of my students who will be completing their school in March 2009. I used to conduct a "seminar on higher education in the U.S." during the month of January every year.

I have already compiled a database of top universities and colleges in America. But I too have to up date my database-right?

I found a website called Unigo where all the top educational institutions in the U.S. are reviewed. It’s seems to be a great place for high school leaving students to find out what life is really like at America’s colleges, and to make friends who can help them find the school that’s right for them.

I read in Springwise that Unigo offers tens of thousands of original reviews, videos, photos, documents and more about 225 of America's top colleges. They have a team of 18 full-time editors, 300 on-campus interns and more than 15,000 students, the results are all searchable within an interactive community built around student-generated content.

People laugh because ...

An old student of mine (SriRam)keeps in touch with me through email. Even though I rarely reply, he is relentless in his effort to get my attention.

Ok, SriRam, I owe you one for sending me this excellent quote.

"People laugh because I am different, & I laugh because they are all the same.. Thats Called "ATTITUDE":- Swami Vivekananda.

Great, just great-don't you agree?

But this attitude is inborn in my husband; it seems he never cultivated. And when he recounts his experiences because of this attitude, I didn't voice my opinion but continued to have the opposite of the attitude.

And now I am admiring this quote. What an irony!

The dreaded check-in at the airport.

I just returned from the airport after seeing off my brother-in-law who is on his way to Kuwait. The ride to airport was smooth, thanks to the grade separator at the Kathipara junction.

The airport was unusually less crowded. The stalls were empty. The toilets were unclean as ever. My brother-in-law stood in the check-in queue for more than an hour. The counter staff at the Kuwait airlines was dead slow in issuing boarding pass.

But surprisingly, when my brother-in-law finally reached the counter, he was relieved to have gotten his boarding pass in less than 2 minutes. I wondered then what took the airlines staff so long to attend to the previous 15 passengers.

I have seen some very quick processing at the counters of Lufthansa and British Airways. Oh, well! Efficiency too naturally varies-right?

New adventure at Disney world, Orlando

Not many foreigners are aware of Epcot, a new theme park at Disney World, Orlando. In Epcot, there is a particular entertainment that seems to excite everyone when they even read about it.

Located at The Land pavilion at Epcot, visitors can take a flight aboard Soarin', an exhilarating hang-gliding journey over the magnificent landscapes of California.

I was surprised to note that at a time, this flight can accommodate 87 people. Must be quite big a hang glider. Visitors aboard are treated with exciting flying time over San Francisco, Redwood Creek, Napa Valley, Monterey, Lake Tahoe, Yosemite National Park, Palm Springs (actually shot in nearby La Quinta over the golf course at PGA West), Camarillo, Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, San Diego, Malibu and Los Angeles.

I will tell you where you can get a discount of up to 80% on your first 2 attraction tickets.

If you happen to plan your Disney vacations during this year Christmas holidays, please visit orlandothemeparkvacations.com and book your tickets before November 15^th to enjoy a big discount and ensure hassle free holidays.

How Obama won?

How Obama won the presidential election? You should tell me the exact reasons or the correct strategies that sent him to the White House.

Newspapers attribute several people's hard work for his success and they have singled out Anita Dunn, the veteran political consultant who oversaw the ‘war room’ of the political campaign, using combine message, research and policy.
Anita Dunn

I would personally agree with this view though the work of others such as David Axelrod who was the campaign mastermind. The journalist turned-political consultant shaped Obama’s message of hope and stood by it even when Obama slipped in the polls.

David Axelrod

After reading several newspapers and articles online, the following solid reasons for Obama's win seem to be appropriate.

* His favorable outlook for the middle class Americans

* His promise of ending the recession

* His economic view of cutting down the offshore outsourcing

Of course, above all, we really can't rule out the change in the White House expected by the citizens of the U.S.

Can we really evoke compassion?

Mahatma Gandhi fasted. The nation melted and yielded to his call. That was Gandhi and Indians of the yesteryears for you. No big crowd gathered where he fasted. The nation thought compassionately. Even the then British Government whenever he announced his impending fast.

The world is different now. We have totally different ethics. In spite of that big change in morality and attitude, newspaper report several fasts by various sects of the people. The purpose of fasting may be genuine but under the change in atmosphere, who really cares?

Just my thoughts!

The best discount furniture shop in America.

On our way to the Outer Banks, my sister-in-law stopped for refreshments and replenishment of a few food baskets. Then she headed straight to Boyles Distinctive Furniture, to browse through their discount furniture.

Actually she had no intention of buying anything when she stepped into Boyles. Since she was passing by, she thought of peeping in as Boyles Discount Furniture is famous for their top quality wooden furniture since 1949.

My sister-in-law finished her rounds and saw me standing before a mini (?) chest of drawers that was painted attractively. She wondered how it didn’t fall on her attention before. It was obvious she too liked it and decided on the spot to order one.

I was surprised. How could she expect the heavy furniture to be delivered to her home which is several hundred miles away?

Then the shop floor manager told me in great detail about their nation wide delivery in their own truck.

Hmmm…America is America!

Excellent vegetarian recipes.

I found myself drawn to a recipe blog for the past two days. There are some new recipes that I have never heard of. The author of the blog Finger Licking Food is Namratha, an Indian settled in the U.S. I thought she misspelled her name which could be Narmatha. (how dare I )

I think she is originally from Karnataka state in India. Her recipes for a change looked cookable. I mean the ingredients are all familiar to me. There are hundreds of recipe blogs and sites that mention ingredients which they seem to get from Mars.

Two recipes that I intend to try out this week are:
Curd Kodubale
Bombay Kojju

The pictures of food in her blog also seemed to be taken from her kitchen.

Thank you Namratha.