You wouldn't expect anything different from mother nature in the winter months. A rain here a snow shower there, a sunshine (here) a chilly night filled with moonlight (there), an adorable view from the house (here) a not so pleasant moment sitting in the car waiting the engine to warm up (there). The winter months in New England comes with its own perils which start with cleaning your vehicle.

It is like a war out there. The first thing you do is get dressed up for the occasion. This is not easy because , for example, one moment you're cleaning up the car and the next, you feel the cold wind reach your bones and unless you want to feel them, its better to dress up ... in layers. So here I was debating whether to get out there and clean up the vehicle today or tomorrow. Wait one day and mother nature's miracles would hamper your progress. Sunshine would take care or the fluffy snow turning them to ice and then ... all I gotta say is - good luck ! Finally, I overcome my procrastinated mind and decide to venture out. As I head to pick my jacket I say to myself - dress up in layers, dress up in layers. Before I even realize, I'm suiting up in a sweater a fleece and a 4" thick jacket that I bought for myself at Burlington Coat Factory while I was in Chicago.

Dressed up like I was in the North Pole, I venture out and realize that I've got to plunge into the ocean of white flakes that have accumulated in front of my apartment. The rate at which these white flakes have traveled the earth's atmosphere was too much for the snow plowers and they decided to wait till mother nature decides to ease up. So, after I lunge through the accumulated snow and walk through the snow covered tar-road and peek at the number plates to spot my car I realize that I am only a third of my way through the entire process called "spot and clean up your car".

Now that I've spotted my car, and that I have my war cap on, I spend a few seconds , but waste no time, to decide the mode of attack. How am I going to approach this beast that has grown to be 2 feet above the roof of my 4-wheeler and more than 2' near the tires? I decide on what seems to be the best approach and take a dive. It is like cutting a cake - you start from one side and carve your way through the icing. Hands, Scrapers, Legs, Shovel - all come into play as you try to take control over what looked like a no-win situation a few minutes back.

Thirty minutes, Forty five minutes, An hour and finally it looks like we're making headway. Doesn't this look something similar to how you had left your vehicle yesterday ? I ask myself; knowing that the answer ought to be - Yes.

A Nor'easter that created havoc in New England and I fear - the winter has just started!

Saturday morning as I sit on the chair with some breakfast in my hand, staring through my window at the tree that has just bloomed and the rain drop dripping from its baby pink flowers, I ponder; have I seen this before? Of course - everyone has. I've seen it too, and have pondered about it back then, in what they call the God's own land - Kerala. Tile houses are surrounded by flowering plants and trees that get a booster shot as if life has been pumped into them as soon as the first ray of sunlight falls on them. Everything you see and experience out there is divine and is irreplicable (if that's even a word).

Well, that's the land that they all portray on websites and on the top attractions list that India carries in her pouch. Getting deep into the nooks and crannies of the inland, one would start to get the notion that maybe not. It may all be a hype. It is a great tourism destination but a state as big as Kerala cannot survive merely on tourism. Isn't there anything else out there? One would ask. And from what I've seen, there is but its gonna die out sooner or later.

The state has a unique distinction, a magnetic power if you may call it, to repel anything that comes in its path, any new notion, an idea, an industry. Anything that starts to bloom in Kerala is met with an ill fate; some do not even bloom, the idea is opposed and killed before it can even take flight. This is quite evident from the fact that there are almost no industries in the state, most of the people have fled to other parts of the country, the Middle East, the Western hemisphere and Europe.

Hartals and Bandhs are the backbone and the main reason that industries have tried to run away from the state. The state carries unique distinctions - like the most number of bandhs in the country (~100 bandhs a year in the recent times) , the maximum success rate of a Bandh has also been registered in the state. It had become such a nuisance that there was a Court ban on Bandhs and that too more than a decade ago.

Visiting Kerala a few months back, I heard from people that the state cannot go on living like this for long. Nokia was in a negotiation trying to setup a factory in India to make use of the exploding market in the subcontinent and this state was in its radar. They backed away the last minute and opened up their factory in the adjoining state of Tamil Nadu (TN) because of a fear that the labour force would spend more time on the streets raising flags and protesting than in the factory itself [overheard]. We all know the Coca Cola war that was going on a few years back. There are may more examples, which I do not wish to list here, that describe the sad story.

Literacy rate is one of the highest in the country but isn't that big of an asset because the young task force is not able to work in the state after he/she graduates. 20% of the educated class is unemployed (three times the national average). Most of the anger can be diverted to the politics in the state and the involvement of politics in colleges and unions at workplaces. Politics itself is a fire , forget mixing it with education and work .

And when young people try to bring a wave of change, they are opposed throughout their stint in the state and they don't have any other option but to resign to the fact that here I am trying to get some common sense but its all in vain. IPL - the big thing in India these days. A few months of sport and an income that would be enough to sustain one for years. This year, though, it has been in the news for all the wrong reasons. The first half was taken over by the staggering $$ amounts that the team owners have spent and the news that there would be two new teams starting next season - Pune and Kochi.

Kochi - the port city in Kerala and the most happening place in the state. Young crowd that grasps anything that comes in its way, reflects it back to the audience watching and gives a "foreign" look to the city. The new announcement was grabbed with both the hands by the people and the dignitaries of the state. But when it seemed like everything was going smooth, the so called chair of the IPL started throwing dirt indicating that a minister of the cabinet (M Of State for external affair) Dr. Shashi Tharoor (who is an MP from Thiruvananthapuram) was involved in wrongdoings and was involved in obtaining the bid for the winners (Rendezvous).

If there's anything we can learn from the state's history it is the fact that we shouldn't be surprised. As I mentioned before, anything and everything that has attached itself to the state has encountered a road block and the matter has always gotten worse thereafter. Here's a guy who has left a United Nations job to come and serve for his country and finds himself amidst a storm initially and now a hurricane. Should he be targeted for his novice? It looks like he underestimated the state of Kerala and what it is capable of. The name in itself is enough to malign a good deed - he should have known that.

About a month back the state government sent out a letter to the Big B of Bollywood, Amitabh Bachchan, indicating that they would like him to be the state's brand ambassador to promote tourism. BigB agreed only to be rejected a couple of weeks later. The government says it was yet to make up its mind on the matter. The fact was the BigB was promoting the same for the state of Gujarat, India, and they were questioning the fact that he's supporting the state were riots took place a few years back. I mean, come on - grow up. If you need time to think over then just say so before jumping the gun and sending out the letter and being made fun of in the public.

So, at the end of the day, even though many of its (Kerala's) social indicators are on par with the developed world and it has the highest human development index in India, it finds itself in a huge conundrum ... how to save itself. Low infant mortality, high literacy rate, highest life expectancy in the country, lowest school dropout, high gender ratio (women outnumber men), low population growth, lowest rural poverty in the country - are all statistics that look great on paper [stats courtesy BBC]. Even after achieving these positives, the state has one of the highest suicide rates, highest unemployment of the educated class, lacks industries that can make the state sustain itself and politics/unions that threat to shake the pillars and topple the building with a bandh/strike few often. Anything that touches the state or its affairs - turns into coal.

It looks to me that we are observing two extremes here. One extreme will eventually be successful. Which one? We need to wait and watch.

PS - Just my thoughts. Am sure all may not agree.

The next two weeks are probably the biggest weeks that we would see for a while in this part of the world - 

The first week of Nov marks the end of the longest Daylight Savings in American history - finally an extra hour of sleep.

We could see some early snow in this part of the world this time. Winter's started early and its a bit harsh already - all awaiting the Snow.

With the economy in doldrums, the fate of millions could depend on how things unfold in the coming weeks. 

And oh yeah, the elections are next week too. The fate of millions would be decided when the next President of the United States is chosen. The campaigning thus far has been one of its kind with both Joe the plumber and JOe the CEO having a role to play ;-).

I'm looking forward to it  - the Time Change. How about you ?  

They are playing Chicken with the economy out there as we close in to hit the DOW 10,000 mark. No one knows what's going on but at the end of the day we've ended up in a bigger trouble with the House of Representatives rejecting the 700 billion dollar bailout plan. 

Not sure if they have an alternate plan but the folks who said 'Nay' better come up with a word or two as to how to salvage some pride. The whole world would soon start making a mockery  of the US Economy (which right now looks in shambles) if these politicians try to play a game right now.

777 is the biggest drop ever ( in terms of points) that we've seen and with the future of several Banks  at stake who knows what's in stake for us this week. Going into the vote today we all had a perception that it would be passed but they came out empty handed. And now they're talking about trying to present it again and get it passed.

Phew!! 

Earth Hour:  is an international event that asks households and businesses to turn off their lights and non-essential electrical appliances for one hour on the evening of 29 March at 8 pm local time until 9 pm to promote electricity conservation and thus lower carbon emissions. [wikipedia].

It came as a surprise to me, it really did. Early morning yesterday I was getting my daily dose of News when I read that the Nobel Peace prize this year was being awarded to the UN Climate change panel and Al Gore.

The selection committee probably did not receive any nominations this year, 'cause nothing else could explain their selection. First of all i'm having tough time understanding what Global warming (or creating environmental awareness) has got to do with peace. Some might say - Of course there is but I don't buy that. I mean if they wanted they could have given Gore an environmentalist award or something but Peace prize ?? What a farce.

If you see there are quite a lot of folks around the world who devote their entire life for the cause and should be recognized (The prize is more of a recognition than the $$ amount you get). And if we talk about the work this guy has done (making a documentary - An Inconvenient Truth) - that itself has got so many inaccuracies.

Searching the 'net' I found quite a lot of articles written in the last couple of days on the topic. One of them I came across is this. How to win a Nobel prize. Soon they will come up with 'How to win a Nobel prize for dummies' and you could buy it in stands around the world.

To prove a point Mr. Gore would probably have to buy an HEV for himself; Oh - how would he go and collect the prize then? Nevermind - he has his private jet !! :P

A $5000 bond from the government. Yup, that was what Hillary Clinton has in mind for the future American kids. A proposal that would help parents start an account to use for paying for further education of their kids. Now, approximately four million babies are born each year in the US. So the total amount (roughly) would be four million times five thousand dollars = twenty billion USDs. Wow !! Is this a small amount? And ever wondered where this money would come from? Of course, the tax payers money.

I'm not a supporter of Candidate A or Candidate B but hearing comments and statements like these, which (we all know) are nothing but a vote buying scheme, how could one pay no attention? Why should every citizen (or a non citizen) pay tax which ends up being helpful for a few? Isn't eliminating income taxes for children's education a better Idea? On top of that, why pay for someone who may not end up going to college at all.

A Week after Clinton's speech, Sen. Barack Obama came up with statements like ... "It’s a tragedy that many Americans have to ride the bus or have to settle for a Toyota. Cars are a sign of hope. My proposal allows for all families to have an American-made car, which will bring hope to millions of Americans that have none."

What?? Did I read that correct? Is it a tragedy that many have to ride the bus? I think they should look at other countries and learn something and try not to mess around with mother nature by promising cars and contributing towards global warming.

It really didn't matter. Last time I checked, USD was stronger than CAD. Last week though, CAD went on to register a 30 year high beating USD ... and then becoming equal to it. As of today, 1USD = 1 CAD (okay its 1.0031 but the decimals are for ppl trading in billions).

Point is that it didn't matter. It took me a while to realize that; couple of weeks to be exact. The story goes something like this -

The place where I used to stay before, we had a washer dryer in the basement and I didn't have to make occasional trips to the bank and fetch quarter rolls. But out here, I do ... and its not always what you think you got (a roll of quarters i.e). So couple of weeks back I made a trip early SAT morning to the nearest bank to fetch some. Intention - do my Laundry over the Weekend.

Sunday evening I tried to do that but the machine simply wouldn't accept my quarters. Thought that the machine-slots would be filled to the brim with coins and ditched the plan. A week later tried the same thing. Again - same thing !! Frustrated, thought of calling the landlord and requesting him to fetch the deposited coins in the machine, so that I could use it.

Came back to my hut and a closer look reveled that one of the coins was a Canadian qtr. No wonder it didn't get pushed through the machine slot. Sigh !! Adulteration?? Oh yeah, happens quite often and anyone could squeeze in one or two Canadian coins in the roll and chances of him/her getting caught are bleak.

So after struggling for 2 consecutive weekends, I said CAD != USD. But guess what, the very next day (or the day after that ... I can't remember) read that CAD is on a 30 year high and that its equal to the USD. Way to go !! Its not just that, the weakening dollar has made many other currencies stronger; some have shattered the records, some would follow suit soon ......

"The Indian Space Odyssey" read the headline in one of the Indian newspapers.
"India stayed up to track Sunita's return" read another one.

It was reality television at its best. Packed with spine-chilling thrills, nerve-wrecking action and ending with an outburst of cheers and tears, Sunita Williams’ journey back to terra firma was watched with rapt attention throughout India. While some Indians performed pujas through the night, others tracked her return by the microsecond on the NASA website. Most, though, just chose to sit glued to their television sets.

The timing couldn't have been better. My last post - "what a week" highlighted my displeasure towards news channels in US. All these years in the US I have been watching Fox News, CNN and some local news channels to get to know the news from different parts of the world. Here's how it looked -

Thanks to BBC World - they announced their entry to the States and that they would try to come up with the other side of the story. This would be great; at least one can get out of the monopoly prevalent out here.

Quite a happening week I'd say, not only in this part of the world but the Asian subcontinent had a fair share -

The much awaited finale of 'The Sopranos' was deemed as the final whack. Though, I've heard a lot about the series, didn't quite want to watch the series. When the screen suddenly went blank towards the end, many people went insane. Started jabbing buttons on their remote control, yelling while panicking and even checking their cable connection to make sure that the screen indeed "went blank". They said -

The Hilton-going-to-jail saga came to an abrupt end and was aired by news channels throughout the evening. So much for CNN and Larry King and the Daily news channels providing news from across the country US. I think I will stop watching CNN one of these days. Larry even aired interviews and had his typical set of questions - oh well!

Conan O'Brien has a smart way of putting things and mentioned that she was dearly missing her facial cream which left her skin dry - sob sob.

Apple iPhones are finally to hit the market on the 29th. They've come up with some good promotional ads - see them here.

They've also come up with SAFARI for windows .... mmmmmmm

Also - the new leopard's out there. Trying to conquer time and space.

Sports

Playing around on Google is fun. Playing with Google is double fun. People visit places, they drive, they fly, take the train. But what would you say if you're asked to swim? Amrita visited London recently (she's gotta blog with a detailed write up and 'more' snaps to prove that though) ; I thought hey - it would be a good idea to visit London - spend your vacation there. It would be a dream come true fomme.

So I open up the much reliable Gmaps and here's what I find ....


Pay attention to - Item #9 and you'd see what I mean. And then #10 asks me to take a "slight right". Pay toll and reach my destination "London" after traveling 3,722 mi in about 29 days 6 hours. I wonder, amongst other things, how they'd have calculated my swimming speed :P.

Just a quick comparison. Can you spot the 10 differences between these two video feeds? Let me give you a heads up. The first one is the actual Apple 1984 video while the second one is a spoof. Watch both, they're interesting in their own respect. I do recommend you put some thought into the second one ...

I don't have a digital timepiece [thank god], I'd have to wind my analog watch, one hour ahead tonight/tomorrow morning - thanks to the DST which, as you all know, takes place 3 weeks earlier this year.


I've been reading about it and hearing about all the "patch" work going on now-a-days. While some claim that this could turn out to be a mini Y2K problem, I don't believe there should be an issue. Will have to wait 3 more weeks or so and keep an eye on the stats provided by hospitals, the airline industry, business week, IT industry etc... Here are some facts I was able to extract from the net -

Reuters -

• Softball teams, which gather on playing fields after work, will be able to start their seasons earlier, as will backyard barbecue enthusiasts.
• Candy manufacturers see brisker sales at Halloween as children will have an extra hour of daylight to go door-to-door begging for sweets during the late-October holiday.
• Some in law enforcement think evening crime rates could fall.
• Orthodox Jews, who wait until sunrise to say morning prayers, lobbied against the provision.
• Airliners complained it would throw their international schedules further out of sync with Europe, costing the industry millions of dollars.
• The energy savings would translate into a 10.8 million-metric-ton reduction in carbon emissions over the next 13 years. While 10.8 million metric tons of carbon emissions may sound like a lot, it pales in comparison to the 5.9 billion metric tons the United States emitted just in 2004 [DOE].

• A few days before the time shift, start going to bed a little earlier each night – even 15 minutes earlier for three days can make a difference. In addition, set your alarm clock for 15 minutes earlier. [are you kidding me?]
• The Monday morning commute the day after DST starts is especially hard, and is associated with a spike in sleepy-driving crashes.

Well, what can I say. I've never felt anything (I mean anything different) whenever this "annoying" stuff happens twice a year. The, so called, Jet lag when you do an Intl. travel is something, I'd say, makes you go crazy for a week or two. That doesn't mean other people won't have problems right ? If you need any info - follow the tips suggested by American Academy of Sleep Medicine.

Hope you have a nice Sat/Sun and be careful while Springing Forward :)

Carl Kruger is the name. New York state senator - his occupation. What's he up to? Introducing a legislation to ban the use of Ipods or Cell phone while crossing the streets of NYC. What this means is that, soon you could face a fine of $100 if caught red handed.

Now, the report mentions "listening to Ipod or talking on a cell phone, using Blackberry and Video games". Does that mean that I'm good to go if I use a gadget manufactured by any company other than Apple? Probably not yeah? But the way these product names are used (anything that's plugged into your ears is now known as an Ipod) you could end up in trouble. A while back Google came up with a correct usage of the word Google and I thought it was justified. Apple would definitely come up with something similar.

So NYC residents, be careful while crossing the streets. If not for the vehicles on the road, a fine of 100 bucks. Kruger says "3 pedestrians in Brooklyn have been killed since Sept 06 'cause of negligence while crossing the street, plugging in a gadget into their ears. This electronic gadgetry is reaching the point where it's becoming not only endemic but it's creating an atmosphere where we have a major public safety crisis at hand."

He's got a point, but is this the right kinda way to go for it? What do ya think?

What was an advertisement campaign by one of the leading Ad firms (Turner Broadcasting), turned out scaring the hell

outta Bostonians. Well, I was at work when I heard the news, glad that I was inside one of those buildings and not on the road; for all the major bridges in the city were closed as traffic piled up. Although this happened on the 31st of last month, I could hear people talk about it on talk shows, on the train, Radio, Blog etc... etc... even yesterday.

The campaign was allegedly for the popular cartoon Aqua Teen Hunger Force, for its 5th season scheduled for a release on Feb 23rd. Bostonians had the right to get scared for the gadget consisted of magnetic blinking lights and had wires protruding out from them. Turner ended up apologizing and has agreed to pay ~ $1 million for causing a security alert.

Two men were arrested by cops and were later released after placing a cash bond of 2500 bucks. Here's what they had to say at the press conference ...


Lol - "Thats not a hair question"

I'm sure we all have our own perceptions on how the modern world is changing/adapting itself to the changes. Here's an example (got forwarded via email) -


OLD VERSION...

shelter so he dies out in the cold.

MODERN VERSION...



The World is stunned by the sharp contrast. How can this be that this poor grasshopper is allowed to suffer so?

Arundhati Roy stages a demonstration in front of the ant's house.

Medha Patkar goes on a fast along with other grasshoppers demanding that grasshoppers be relocated to warmer climates during winter.

Amnesty International and Koffi Annan criticize the Indian Government for not upholding the fundamental rights of the grasshopper.

The Internet is flooded with online petitions seeking support to the grasshopper (many promising Heaven and Everlasting Peace for prompt support as against the wrath of God for non-compliance).

Opposition MP's stage a walkout. Left parties call for "Bharat Bandh" in West Bengal and Kerala demanding a Judicial Enquiry. CPM in Kerala immediately passes a law preventing Ants from working hard in the heat so as to bring about equality of poverty among ants and grasshoppers.

Lalu Prasad allocates one free coach to Grasshoppers on all Indian Railway Trains, aptly named as the 'Grasshopper Rath'.

Finally, the Judicial Committee drafts the Prevention of Terrorism Against Grasshoppers Act [POTAGA]", with effect from the beginning of the winter.

Arjun Singh makes Special Reservation for Grass Hopper in educational Insititutions & in Govt Services.

The ant is fined for failing to comply with POTAGA and, having nothing left to pay his retroactive taxes, his home is confiscated by the Government and handed over to the grasshopper in a ceremony covered by NDTV.

Arundhati Roy calls it "a triumph of justice". Lalu calls it 'Socialistic Justice'. CPM calls it the 'revolutionary resurgence of the downtrodden' . Koffi Annan invites the grasshopper to address the UN General Assembly.

MANY YEARS LATER...

The ant has since migrated to the US and set up a multi billion dollar company in silicon valley.100s of grasshoppers still die of starvation despite reservation somewhere in India.

About Me

Name: Rajesh

Location: Boston, MA, United States

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