I know I must have complained about this for 100's of times in past. I know I discuss this with ALL my Indian friends. And they all agree and still they keep repeating themselves. Each and every one of them. I really want to know why.
Ok let's give some context to this babbling. I am in Las Vegas. And I am stuck in a situation that I don't know the solution to. I am sharing room with one of my very good friend who happens to be an American. Consequently, I am usually with her. Since this is a conference, I am meeting a lot of my old friends who happens to be Indians. Now since I don't want to abandon either of my friends, I plan things to get all of them involved.
I spent one such an evening today. I wanted to walk down the strip (that's the main touristy road of Las Vegas). So I was with my American friend when one of my Indian friend called. I invited him to join us. That was my mistake. That guy kept talking to me in Hindi the entire time even though he knew my other friend don't understand Hindi. And he is one of those friends who agrees with me when I say that I don't like people who converse in a language not known to everyone in the group. And still he kept talking in Hindi. I kept answering in English. It was such an awkward situation for me.
I am honestly trying to understand the motivation behind such rudeness. It's not habit. It's delibrate rudeness. If that was habit, my concious effort of replying in English would have had some result. And this is not the first time this happened. Most of my Indian friends do this. One of them actually apologise while she is doing that and still continue to do that. That irritates me even more. It's acknowledging the rudeness and still keep doing it. What's the point of apology then? Getting a free pass for being rude?
I fail to come up with any excuse in defense of my friends here. I completely fail to understand the reason behind such blatant rudeness. Can anyone explain it to me?
November 13, 2008
November 9, 2008
Spam
I don't get the logic behind spams. Why would anyone waste time sending the most absurd messages and trying to find ingenious ways to avoid spam filters?
I don't get the logic behind the viruses either. You know to spend hours to create a program that will destroy the machine it will end up in.
I get the system hackers though. They are simply trying to earn few quick bucks. I know that quiet often these three are related but not always.
Anyway, today morning I got a spam on my Yahoo account. The sender was: Breaking News. The subject: Barack Obama dies due to heart attack. Though, I am not sure whether it is a hate mail or a spam or both? Either way, I don't get the point of the mail. There was nothing in the body of the message. Or may be it's a psychic vision mail. Oh well, I will never know. Somehow my mind keep reverting to that mail. Like a song stuck in the mind.
Anyway, I am off to Vegas tomorrow for a conference. Will be back Friday. Don't know whether I will get a chance to blog or not during this time though I am certain there will be a lot to blog about. Like, how making us sit through presentations all day long in Vegas should constitute to human rights violation. But then, at least I get to go to Vegas that way...
I don't get the logic behind the viruses either. You know to spend hours to create a program that will destroy the machine it will end up in.
I get the system hackers though. They are simply trying to earn few quick bucks. I know that quiet often these three are related but not always.
Anyway, today morning I got a spam on my Yahoo account. The sender was: Breaking News. The subject: Barack Obama dies due to heart attack. Though, I am not sure whether it is a hate mail or a spam or both? Either way, I don't get the point of the mail. There was nothing in the body of the message. Or may be it's a psychic vision mail. Oh well, I will never know. Somehow my mind keep reverting to that mail. Like a song stuck in the mind.
Anyway, I am off to Vegas tomorrow for a conference. Will be back Friday. Don't know whether I will get a chance to blog or not during this time though I am certain there will be a lot to blog about. Like, how making us sit through presentations all day long in Vegas should constitute to human rights violation. But then, at least I get to go to Vegas that way...
November 6, 2008
Boundaries
I have been itching to write for past few days but have been too busy (still have two poster and two HWs to finish by Sunday) but I can't delay it any longer.
A lot happened since I last wrote. For starters, Obama won . Gay marriage was banned in 3 states including California.
I have been listening to radio and TV, scrolling through news for past few days. It's the same theme every where. People are celebrating for electing first African-American President of United States (even though Obama never campaigned as an African American. And as much as I know that was one of the major reason for his success. That and economic crisis.). And when they get over that, they are debating gay rights. And that is what my post is about.
Today morning on National Public Radio they were talking about overturning the ballot in California in a court by declaring that gay community is a minority. Hence majority doesn't get a right to vote on their civil rights (well gays certainly don't get to vote on whether straight marriages should be legal or not.). It is a great argument. In a democracy (where majority wins), the rights of minority should be protected by the constitution. The arguments against it are based on "Overdoing" it. Actually, all the arguments I have heard so far against gay marriage are based on that notion of overdoing it.
For example, this lady who says:
Technically gay marriage has nothing to do with locker room access or any school policy for that matter. It only ask voters opinion about whether gay couples be allowed to get married legally. Locker room issue is simply an exaggeration that has nothing to do with current debate. It's a mere speculation.
Having said that, I agree there is always a danger of overdoing anything. The greatest example being our own India, the biggest democracy in the world. We have certainly overdone ourselves in the name of protecting minority in a democracy. Hence the problem of extreme reservation and pseudo-secularism. We live in pseudo-democracy in India. I wonder if some day they will declare that it's illegal to belong to majority. But I digress. We were talking about overdoing something. And that's where the concept of putting boundaries comes in. You need to draw a line somewhere. For example, the argument that eating food makes one fat so we should not eat. The act of 'eating' is not the culprit here, but 'overeating' is. You need to draw a line between eating well and overeating. You need to draw a line between eating for health and eating for taste.
Similarly for any issue, political or otherwise, you need to draw a line. Most of the time it's a line between stepping on someone's basic civil rights and being over-accommodating. None of them is good. None of them is right. But stepping on someone's right for the fear of being over-accommodating is simply ridiculous. And not allowing two person, who care deeply about each other and wants to spend their lives together, to marry is stepping on their rights. This is not right. In any country, in any time.
Another big deal that most of the gay right opponent makes is about "Protecting our children." . I am not really sure what they want to protect their children against. It's not like being gay is a disease or something that one can immune or "protect" their children against. Or are they protecting them against the concept of being gay? May be they think if they don't offer a choice, there will be no gay people.
And lastly, let's not forget religion. For some reason, Churches (an all other religious institute- as far as I know) prohibit gay marriages. And even though I am an atheist, I believe everyone have a right to practice their religious beliefs. They have a right to not acknowledge gay marriage religiously but they should not be able to do that legally. If a Church doesn't want to marry a gay couple, it's their right. But that doesn't give the Church a right to say that they can't be married anywhere else or that they don't have any legal right to be married. That is so wrong.
Anyway, I had enough of these arguments. Most of them have been infuriating me for past few days. And don't get me started with the adaption proposition in Arkansas. According to the proposition, an unmarried couple can not adopt kids. So they don't acknowledge gay marriage then unmarried couples can't adopt kids. And still there orphanages all over the world that are filled with kids. How is that fair? To anyone? As one of my friend puts it:
P.S.: BTW, California ballot's Prop. 2 (about farm animal rights) passed. Somehow average Californian have more compassion towards farm animals than towards gays. Call me old fashioned, but I still prefer humans over animals. (Not that I opposed Prop. 2 or anything. I am just saying..)
A lot happened since I last wrote. For starters, Obama won . Gay marriage was banned in 3 states including California.
I have been listening to radio and TV, scrolling through news for past few days. It's the same theme every where. People are celebrating for electing first African-American President of United States (even though Obama never campaigned as an African American. And as much as I know that was one of the major reason for his success. That and economic crisis.). And when they get over that, they are debating gay rights. And that is what my post is about.
Today morning on National Public Radio they were talking about overturning the ballot in California in a court by declaring that gay community is a minority. Hence majority doesn't get a right to vote on their civil rights (well gays certainly don't get to vote on whether straight marriages should be legal or not.). It is a great argument. In a democracy (where majority wins), the rights of minority should be protected by the constitution. The arguments against it are based on "Overdoing" it. Actually, all the arguments I have heard so far against gay marriage are based on that notion of overdoing it.
For example, this lady who says:
You have no idea what their agenda is. To give you 1 example: If a boy tries to go into the girls' locker room, should he be denied access simply because he is a male? Intellectually, answer is no, but in practice, of course the answer must be yes. A teenage boy say I feel like a girl today and he is allowed to go to the girl's locker room. If he feels like a male the next week he doesn't have to. If you deny his access, he is allow to sue. We want to protect our kids. This is just only 1 example I am giving you. We don't hate gays or Les, they already have most rights we do.
Adoption issue. Go research on the kids who grew up in a gay family if they can tell you weather it is a healthy environment.
Only a few percentage are gays and Les. Only 50% do get married. Those who do get married, another 50% of them get divorce in 2 years. This is out in the open if you go do some digging. Trying to change the nation upside down just to accommodate the few percentage? and put our kids at risk?
Technically gay marriage has nothing to do with locker room access or any school policy for that matter. It only ask voters opinion about whether gay couples be allowed to get married legally. Locker room issue is simply an exaggeration that has nothing to do with current debate. It's a mere speculation.
Having said that, I agree there is always a danger of overdoing anything. The greatest example being our own India, the biggest democracy in the world. We have certainly overdone ourselves in the name of protecting minority in a democracy. Hence the problem of extreme reservation and pseudo-secularism. We live in pseudo-democracy in India. I wonder if some day they will declare that it's illegal to belong to majority. But I digress. We were talking about overdoing something. And that's where the concept of putting boundaries comes in. You need to draw a line somewhere. For example, the argument that eating food makes one fat so we should not eat. The act of 'eating' is not the culprit here, but 'overeating' is. You need to draw a line between eating well and overeating. You need to draw a line between eating for health and eating for taste.
Similarly for any issue, political or otherwise, you need to draw a line. Most of the time it's a line between stepping on someone's basic civil rights and being over-accommodating. None of them is good. None of them is right. But stepping on someone's right for the fear of being over-accommodating is simply ridiculous. And not allowing two person, who care deeply about each other and wants to spend their lives together, to marry is stepping on their rights. This is not right. In any country, in any time.
Another big deal that most of the gay right opponent makes is about "Protecting our children." . I am not really sure what they want to protect their children against. It's not like being gay is a disease or something that one can immune or "protect" their children against. Or are they protecting them against the concept of being gay? May be they think if they don't offer a choice, there will be no gay people.
And lastly, let's not forget religion. For some reason, Churches (an all other religious institute- as far as I know) prohibit gay marriages. And even though I am an atheist, I believe everyone have a right to practice their religious beliefs. They have a right to not acknowledge gay marriage religiously but they should not be able to do that legally. If a Church doesn't want to marry a gay couple, it's their right. But that doesn't give the Church a right to say that they can't be married anywhere else or that they don't have any legal right to be married. That is so wrong.
Anyway, I had enough of these arguments. Most of them have been infuriating me for past few days. And don't get me started with the adaption proposition in Arkansas. According to the proposition, an unmarried couple can not adopt kids. So they don't acknowledge gay marriage then unmarried couples can't adopt kids. And still there orphanages all over the world that are filled with kids. How is that fair? To anyone? As one of my friend puts it:
Okay, adoption by a single parent (take the gay argument out for now). Is it any worse for a child to be adopted by someone than to spend his childhood in foster homes, being passed around? There is a huge influx of adoption from foreign countries. Will that child be better off growing up in an orphanage, or in a home with one loving parent?
P.S.: BTW, California ballot's Prop. 2 (about farm animal rights) passed. Somehow average Californian have more compassion towards farm animals than towards gays. Call me old fashioned, but I still prefer humans over animals. (Not that I opposed Prop. 2 or anything. I am just saying..)
November 3, 2008
Can anyone explain this?
There are things we know to be implied by what we know that we do not know to be true. Just as a great many conditions I do not regret have to exist (and I know they have to exist) in order for the condition I regret to exist, a great many conditions I do not know to exist have to exist (and I know they have to exist) in order for the conditions I know to exist.
--Fred Dretske
--Fred Dretske
November 1, 2008
October 31, 2008
Happy Halloween...
The silliest thing I saw this year: Sarah Palin.
The scariest thing I saw this year: Sarah Palin.
The scariest thing I saw this year: Sarah Palin.
October 28, 2008
Critical
Every Monday we have a seminar by School of Earth Sciences. The main attraction of seminar: Free cookies and sodas. The TA for the seminar this year is a very good friend of mine. So every week I try to go there in order to help her out. Oh ok, I go there for the food. Anyway, that's beside the point.
Yesterday, there was a presentation by GCEP (Global Climate and Energy Project) director. The GCEP is an organization within Stanford that fund different interdisciplinary research projects. The organization main research focus is on alternative fuels and reducing the carbon foot print (Hence Energy and Climate).
So yesterday's presentation was discussing different ways they are trying to reduce the carbon footprint. May be due to a repeated stress on the things we(we as in human race) are running out of and the way those things are dangerous for us or may be some other reason, my brain started doing a very weird thing. Every time she will mention a possible solution they are doing research on, my mind kept coming with questions like:
P.S.: Don't worry, it was just my mind playing tricks with me. We won't run out of oxygen, at least till we have plant kingdom on this planet. That's our very own Oxygen factory. We just have to make sure that supply can meet the demand at all time. That's all.
Yesterday, there was a presentation by GCEP (Global Climate and Energy Project) director. The GCEP is an organization within Stanford that fund different interdisciplinary research projects. The organization main research focus is on alternative fuels and reducing the carbon foot print (Hence Energy and Climate).
So yesterday's presentation was discussing different ways they are trying to reduce the carbon footprint. May be due to a repeated stress on the things we(we as in human race) are running out of and the way those things are dangerous for us or may be some other reason, my brain started doing a very weird thing. Every time she will mention a possible solution they are doing research on, my mind kept coming with questions like:
What if we run out of that too?The epitome of this was when she offered a possible solution for decreasing the CO2 emission by burning the fuels in Oxygen rich environment. The process involved extracting oxygen from the air and my mind went:
Or what if, that experimentation proved to be more dangerous in longer run even though it seems like a good solution now?
What if they ignore some factor and it comes back to bite us? It's not like that it hasn't happen before.
What if we are making everything worse by trying to fix it?
Scary thought, isn't it? Suddenly, I didn't care about CO2 emmision anymore. Life is no fun without O2. C can wait. Don't you think?
What if we run out of oxygen?
P.S.: Don't worry, it was just my mind playing tricks with me. We won't run out of oxygen, at least till we have plant kingdom on this planet. That's our very own Oxygen factory. We just have to make sure that supply can meet the demand at all time. That's all.
Happy Deepavali
Yeah, I know. Deepavali is on Tuesday and that's when I was planning to post this one but for some reason, everyone is wishing "Happy Diwali" a week in advance (If you don't believe me, then check my gmail account, yahoo mail account and my orkut scrap book: they are filled with Happy Diwali messages). May be that's some latest fashion in India that I am not aware of? Whatever the reason, have fun on Diwali.
(On the auspicious occasion of Deepavali,
fire a lot of loud fire-crackers and make people deaf.)
P.S.: 1. This picture is from one of the Diwali wish emails I got last week. Most probably it's yet another forwarded mail going around for a while. Still, when I saw it, I laughed very hard so I am putting it here.
2. I changed the time stamp on this post so that it will remain on top till real Deepavali. Any new post will be below this one, i.e., if I get around to write one till then..
(On the auspicious occasion of Deepavali,
fire a lot of loud fire-crackers and make people deaf.)
P.S.: 1. This picture is from one of the Diwali wish emails I got last week. Most probably it's yet another forwarded mail going around for a while. Still, when I saw it, I laughed very hard so I am putting it here.
2. I changed the time stamp on this post so that it will remain on top till real Deepavali. Any new post will be below this one, i.e., if I get around to write one till then..
October 26, 2008
Prima Donna or Role Model or just Post Turtle..
She is Sarah Palin. She travels with her makeup artist (Emmy Award-nominated make-up artist from "Dancing with the Stars", Amy Strozzi ) who gets paid the most ($22,800 for two weeks) in entire McCain campaign. She has her personal traveling hair stylist who gets paid $ 10,000 for two weeks. She spent $150,000 for her wardrobe ever since she was nominated as running mate for McCain (Isn't she supposed to be a hockey mom? The ones that wear sweat pants and turtle necks with running shoes.). Worst of it all: It has been paid by McCain's campaign (Ok, in all fairness, I don't think that her wardrobe came from McCain's campaign money but that's hell lot of money for a governor to spend on wardrobe. I thought they were public servant. ).
Obviously John McCain thinks that "She's a role model for millions and millions of Americans. She's just what Washington needs." Otherwise he won't be spending this much money on her. Certainly not after her performance in the interviews, public speeches or vice-presidential debate. As far as playing a role model goes, I think she is a role model to millions and millions of American women who lived in 60s (or was it 50s?). Their job was to look pretty and keep their mouth shut. Sarah Palin is perfect for that job. She can certainly teach women how to be dumb.
In this millenium, she is certainly a post turtle. Ok, this analogy/joke has been attributed to many politicians but I think Sarah Palin is the best fit for this one. The original joke goes like this:
Obviously John McCain thinks that "She's a role model for millions and millions of Americans. She's just what Washington needs." Otherwise he won't be spending this much money on her. Certainly not after her performance in the interviews, public speeches or vice-presidential debate. As far as playing a role model goes, I think she is a role model to millions and millions of American women who lived in 60s (or was it 50s?). Their job was to look pretty and keep their mouth shut. Sarah Palin is perfect for that job. She can certainly teach women how to be dumb.
In this millenium, she is certainly a post turtle. Ok, this analogy/joke has been attributed to many politicians but I think Sarah Palin is the best fit for this one. The original joke goes like this:
An old rancher is talking about politics with a young man from the city. He compares a politician to a "post turtle". The young man doesn't understand and asks him what a post turtle is.
The old man says, "When you're driving down a country road and you see a fence post with a turtle balanced on top, that's a post turtle. You know he didn't get up there by himself. He doesn't belong there; he can't get anything done while he's up there; and you just want to help the poor, dumb thing down."
If John McCain gets elected, I swear I will stop reading newspapers for next four years and I will seriously consider moving out of U.S. asap. I think that will be a good inspiration for me to finish my Ph.D. asap. Hmmm..in that case it will be a good thing that John McCain wins. Well at least for my Ph.D., if not for the rest of the world.
P.S.: I have refrained so far from writing anything about Sarah Palin (my previous post was about John McCain and not as much about Sarah Palin herself. I didn't know enough about Sarah Palin then.). I didn't want to dignify her personality with any kind of response so far. But describing her as a role model to "millions and millions of Americans"(or any human, for that matter) is too much to take. I hope John McCain was drunk when he made that speech. He doesn't seem this insensible.
October 23, 2008
I. HIT. ME...
..with my own staff. There. I said it. Now don't rub it in. I have a bump on right side of my head. A few black and blues all over my knee area (do you know how much that stupid knee protrudes out? Why do we have a knee anyway? It's the most injury-prone body part, if you ask me.) Oh yeah plus my wrist, fingers, shoulders...basically anything that's used to lift a staff, is hurting. So don't blame me for not blogging. Blame the staff that keeps hitting me for no apparent reason.
October 15, 2008
Just browsing...
I think Google have some kind of time travel mechanism attached to it (the site not the company, silly). You enter a search criteria and it gives you 6,090,000 results for the criteria (Congratulations! It's somewhere on the Earth.). You start clicking to check just the first 10 results out. Just first 10..how much time will that take? 15 mins, tops, but viola! 3 hours gone. Disappeared in thin air as if they never existed. And by the end of it you have a headache (probably due to all the time travel) and you have completely forgotten what you were looking for in the first place (again supporting my time travel theory).
My last time travel got me to places of fascinating beds (of all the things and I WAS LOOKING FOR BUYING AN ALARM CLOCK..hey, I remember now!! Time travel effect wearing off.) Anyway, here are the two winners:
The first one in this category is folding TV bed. Yep. A 22" plasma TV folds in and out from under the bed. You don't believe me..watch the video.
And the next one in the same category is, Ladies and Gentlemen, a floating bed. I kid you not. It is A FLOATING BED. It's magnetically suspended above ground. Costs some millions but it does look cool. Though I am not sure where will I put my alarm clock on this one, given I finally buy one. May be they have a floating alarm clock to match it. May be I will buy the alarm clock now and some day I will buy the bed to match the alarm clock. Oh well, one can dream at least!
Right. I need to get back to that alarm clock now.
My last time travel got me to places of fascinating beds (of all the things and I WAS LOOKING FOR BUYING AN ALARM CLOCK..hey, I remember now!! Time travel effect wearing off.) Anyway, here are the two winners:
The first one in this category is folding TV bed. Yep. A 22" plasma TV folds in and out from under the bed. You don't believe me..watch the video.
And the next one in the same category is, Ladies and Gentlemen, a floating bed. I kid you not. It is A FLOATING BED. It's magnetically suspended above ground. Costs some millions but it does look cool. Though I am not sure where will I put my alarm clock on this one, given I finally buy one. May be they have a floating alarm clock to match it. May be I will buy the alarm clock now and some day I will buy the bed to match the alarm clock. Oh well, one can dream at least!
Right. I need to get back to that alarm clock now.
Managing your Mentor
That was the title of the handout I got yesterday in class. Well the class, itself is titled "Mentoring in Research". It's about how to be a good mentor. It's actually pretty fascinating class. It gives you "strategies" to deal with your mentee as well as with your mentor. Yep. Strategies.
Honestly, it's a very good management/communication/psychology class. And it is helpful but somehow it makes everything so artificial, so shallow. Like, yesterday we were talking about how personal or professional your relationship should be with your mentee or mentor. Obviously it does depend upon person to person but if you notice that a good student isn't doing well, you should actually try to talk to him/her about his/her personal problems. Why? So that you can get the best output (well actually that was not said in the class but written in the book given to us as 'reading material').
Hello? Whatever happened to humanity? Is it now a "job" to help people in distress so that you can have better work efficiency?
I knew there was a reason I hated managers.
P.S.: Yeah, yeah. I am still taking the course. I do need some better communication skills. But I am never ever going to run an emotional bank account like a manager. Sorry. Not me.
Honestly, it's a very good management/communication/psychology class. And it is helpful but somehow it makes everything so artificial, so shallow. Like, yesterday we were talking about how personal or professional your relationship should be with your mentee or mentor. Obviously it does depend upon person to person but if you notice that a good student isn't doing well, you should actually try to talk to him/her about his/her personal problems. Why? So that you can get the best output (well actually that was not said in the class but written in the book given to us as 'reading material').
Hello? Whatever happened to humanity? Is it now a "job" to help people in distress so that you can have better work efficiency?
I knew there was a reason I hated managers.
P.S.: Yeah, yeah. I am still taking the course. I do need some better communication skills. But I am never ever going to run an emotional bank account like a manager. Sorry. Not me.
Again...Now what?
Sometimes I wonder that why in the world I read news? If we arrange most depressing things of the world, newspapers would top that list. Though it also depends on your point of view. At times I do find these news pieces very funny (yeah I am talking about main news articles and not weird news types) . It's funny because there are people who actually believe whatever some of those idiots are saying or believe that they are right (Like Sarah Palin's supporters). Anyway, I digress.
The point of the post is this news article:
The point of the post is this news article:
Defection hits Afghan forces.No. It's not a surprise. I actually expected this to happen. I expect this to happen in Pakistan, i.e., if it's not already happening. U.S. and Pakistan created this monster and now it has gone out of control like all the monsters do. So now what's the game plan? Create another monster?
After fighting the Taliban for the past seven years, many working for the Afghan security forces are now switching sides.
...they deserted for ideological reasons, Nolan explained.
"When Russia came it was only one country, today we have 24 foreign infidel countries on our soil. All our men and women should come and join the jihad," Fida Mohammad, a new Taliban recruit, told Al Jazeera.
October 14, 2008
Clouds...
I was looking back to my summer's photographs and I realized clouds have been a fascination for me this summer. For example, this:
Though, it's cool isn't it?
October 11, 2008
It's Saturday Night...
...and I am home alone. Supposed to be catching up on my reading but instead I am watching the DVDs of Buffy, the Vampire Slayer while eating junkies and drinking coke. And I am bored. So bored that I actually read all the propositions going for ballot on November 4th in California (there are 12 of them). And read all the arguments pro and against them. People/groups supporting/opposing them. God. I need to stop this insanity.
October 8, 2008
Hmmm...
Lehman Brothers. Remember them? Starting of the second round of current crisis? Right them. Latest on them: Lehman Money Managers May Get $400 Million in Bonuses.
I love this world!
I love this world!
Now what?
In 1991, Soviet Union collapsed. Every one happily announced it to be collapse of communism.
Now we have a world wide economic crisis . And I am inclining towards bad practices of capitalism which incidentally started during the same time as collapse of communism.
So now what are we trying out next?
Now we have a world wide economic crisis . And I am inclining towards bad practices of capitalism which incidentally started during the same time as collapse of communism.
So now what are we trying out next?
October 7, 2008
October 6, 2008
Career Fair..
Overheard on the way...
"So when is career fair?"
"Next week."
"Cool. I lost my bottle."
Priceless...
P.S.: 1. For people who didn't get the joke: Career fair is the time when you get a lot of free gifts from various companies. Water bottle being one of the popular items that is handed out during these career fairs.
2. It's also time for a lot of free lunches and dinners, especially if you are about to graduate.
"So when is career fair?"
"Next week."
"Cool. I lost my bottle."
Priceless...
P.S.: 1. For people who didn't get the joke: Career fair is the time when you get a lot of free gifts from various companies. Water bottle being one of the popular items that is handed out during these career fairs.
2. It's also time for a lot of free lunches and dinners, especially if you are about to graduate.
October 4, 2008
Current Scenario
Honestly, if I was one of the presidential candidate at this time, I will do everything in my power to NOT get elected. I might have even considered to bolt and run in another direction.
Well I am not an expert in American history but still it looks like the worst deal ever handed out to a president except may be Franklin Roosevelt (remember the Great Depression of 1930s). But at least international status of US wasn't this bad. At least the rest of the world didn't have such strong feeling about it and neither there were ongoing wars against terrorism.
I am not sure why any of them wants to get elected so badly. Whatever. None of my business. Just that I don't want to be in the shoes of the person who gets elected. That's all.
Well I am not an expert in American history but still it looks like the worst deal ever handed out to a president except may be Franklin Roosevelt (remember the Great Depression of 1930s). But at least international status of US wasn't this bad. At least the rest of the world didn't have such strong feeling about it and neither there were ongoing wars against terrorism.
I am not sure why any of them wants to get elected so badly. Whatever. None of my business. Just that I don't want to be in the shoes of the person who gets elected. That's all.
October 3, 2008
Today's Post
..sorry about the title. It's better than the "Untitled". Anyway, here it is. Taadaa and all that...
October 2, 2008
Cute
You know how you have those words that you use repeatedly throughout the day in different ways. You know like 'Cool' or 'Great' or 'Lovely' or 'Interesting'. You roll your eyes and say a sarcastic 'Great' or when you appreciate something, you say a nice 'Great'. We all have it. We change it according to over need with the tone of our voice.
So my life started with a nice 'Great'. Everything was simply great then. Everyone was great. Then I moved to US and everything turned 'Cool'. Sarcastic cool. Appreciative cool. But recently, for some unknown reason, I have picked up the word 'Cute'. And its so not cool. There is nothing called a sarcastic 'Cute'. There is an appreciative 'cute' but that doesn't work in Karate. You know, you can't tell a guy that it was a 'cute' punch or a 'cute' kick. It can be a cool or a great kick but not a cute one. Neither can you tell after watching a frightening episode of Buffy, the vampire slayer: 'Cute'. But somehow that's what I have been known to be doing these days. Everything is 'Cute' for me these days. It's simply getting worse everyday. I am trying very hard to quit but simply can't. Any ideas for getting rid of nasty habits (or should I say 'cute' habits)?
P.S.: Please help. I am not kidding. It's getting worse by the day. I need some serious help here people.
So my life started with a nice 'Great'. Everything was simply great then. Everyone was great. Then I moved to US and everything turned 'Cool'. Sarcastic cool. Appreciative cool. But recently, for some unknown reason, I have picked up the word 'Cute'. And its so not cool. There is nothing called a sarcastic 'Cute'. There is an appreciative 'cute' but that doesn't work in Karate. You know, you can't tell a guy that it was a 'cute' punch or a 'cute' kick. It can be a cool or a great kick but not a cute one. Neither can you tell after watching a frightening episode of Buffy, the vampire slayer: 'Cute'. But somehow that's what I have been known to be doing these days. Everything is 'Cute' for me these days. It's simply getting worse everyday. I am trying very hard to quit but simply can't. Any ideas for getting rid of nasty habits (or should I say 'cute' habits)?
P.S.: Please help. I am not kidding. It's getting worse by the day. I need some serious help here people.
September 30, 2008
Photo time
Since I can't write, I am posting photos for next few days...
Somewhere in Southern California, most probably Tejon Ranch
Technical Writing
Ok, the reason I can't write these days: I am taking Technical Writing class this quarter. It means, I find 202 mistakes in every sentence I write (ok that's an exaggeration. It's actually the course number ENGR 202W). It means I forget what I was writing about. Like now, I rearranged all the previous sentences (I know it still have mistakes) and now I have no clue why I started this post.
Oh well, at least you know the reason behind my less frequent postings (No I am not going to rearrange this sentence. I am not. I am not. I am not.). As if I didn't have enough complexes in my life that I have to expand on my inferiority complex of poor language skills (Yeah I know, there is no connection between the previous sentence and this one and that's the point. I AM NOT REARRANGING.).
Guess I should go and start writing something technical. (No, I am not putting a subject in starting of this sentence either. Deal with it.). You guys have a good day...
Oh well, at least you know the reason behind my less frequent postings (No I am not going to rearrange this sentence. I am not. I am not. I am not.). As if I didn't have enough complexes in my life that I have to expand on my inferiority complex of poor language skills (Yeah I know, there is no connection between the previous sentence and this one and that's the point. I AM NOT REARRANGING.).
Guess I should go and start writing something technical. (No, I am not putting a subject in starting of this sentence either. Deal with it.). You guys have a good day...
September 28, 2008
Disaster Zone...
I declared my room disaster zone two days back. I have to unpack, rearrange and organize everything in my room. How bad is it, you ask? Today morning when I woke up: I opened my eyes, saw my room and went inside my sheets trying to hide from it. It was like waking up to find a nightmare in front of you. You would need a GPS to navigate through my room.
And to add to it, my back and shoulder hurts as I started my Kenpo Karate again this week. Actually we got started on Staff now (my first weapon). It was very exciting and very tiring. My wrists are in a pretty bad shape. Anyway, I should go back to my room now..
P.S.: 1. Ok this isn't necessary but I was excited about it too so have to write it down. I start to teach in Kenpo Karate now as I am a blue belt. It means I should know my stuff well and should be able to explain it to the beginners. Its a different type of challenge but I am excited about it.
2. An antidote that, again, I need to write. Yesterday I was demonstrating a technique to a beginner (white belt) and I actually sent the poor guy flying. It wasn't intentional, honestly. I didn't know I could do that. But I need to confess, it was very empowering to realize that I have that kind of power!
And to add to it, my back and shoulder hurts as I started my Kenpo Karate again this week. Actually we got started on Staff now (my first weapon). It was very exciting and very tiring. My wrists are in a pretty bad shape. Anyway, I should go back to my room now..
P.S.: 1. Ok this isn't necessary but I was excited about it too so have to write it down. I start to teach in Kenpo Karate now as I am a blue belt. It means I should know my stuff well and should be able to explain it to the beginners. Its a different type of challenge but I am excited about it.
2. An antidote that, again, I need to write. Yesterday I was demonstrating a technique to a beginner (white belt) and I actually sent the poor guy flying. It wasn't intentional, honestly. I didn't know I could do that. But I need to confess, it was very empowering to realize that I have that kind of power!
September 25, 2008
From Cheeky Quotes
Gun control? We need bullet control! I think every bullet should cost 5,000 dollars. Because if a bullet cost five thousand dollar, we wouldn't have any innocent bystanders. - Chris Rock...why didn't administration think of this. It's so easy to control violence.
Voooohooooooo....
...I am back in Stanford. Away from that pesticide tasting air; murky, dirty, polluted skies; scorching sun and unbearable heat; waking up at 4 and working till 10; running around for some stupid HR team building exercises. I AM BACK IN STANFORD. Back to Kenpo Karate, beautiful weather with forget-me-not blue skies, green trees, sleeping late, getting fresh vegetables, good Indian restaurants. I am back HOME.
Joined two classes this quarter along with Kenpo Karate and my research. Seems to be an extremely busy quarter. But then there always be procrastination. So keep checking!!
Joined two classes this quarter along with Kenpo Karate and my research. Seems to be an extremely busy quarter. But then there always be procrastination. So keep checking!!
September 11, 2008
Battery Down..
..finally. I have reached a stage when all my creative juices have dried up. I just don't have anything to write about. Guess that's what they call writers block or may be it's just I need a break from all the work. I have finally manage to over-exhaust myself, I guess.
Whatever the reason, all I know that I am not able to write anymore. Not that I didn't start any post in past few days. I have approximately 4-5 drafts. Somehow every time in the middle of the post I am overcome by the feeling that that's not what I want to write about and BAM! I can't write anymore. And that's so weird because all I do on this blog is ramble, whine, complain and rant. And if I can't do that anymore, I am not sure what can I do? That's my life people. I complain, I rant and I whine. That's who I am! I am an expert in that. You know that song from movie Bemisaal:
P.S.: 1. On second thoughts, doesn't every one who blogs does that because they like to complain or rant? Ok not the tech bloggers or photobloggers but rest of us. You know either we complain about the current political scenarios or the economic situations or social problems or personal problems. We all are here for one reason and one reason only: WHINE. Actually scratch that. It should be: WHINE PUBLICLY. Oh ok. I like to write too. But that's a different story but guess that's the only reason readers actually read us whine about anything and everything. Whoever came up with the idea of blogging must be a good psychologist (or psychiatrist: I will never know the difference). They must have figured out that every human needs to whine so let's give them a space on web to do so. And see how successful it has become. Simply brilliant.
2. Ok. That was a long Post Script. Should have written that in the post.
3. PARDON MY ENGLISH. I am too tired to make much sense right now. Hopefully you can make sense out of this post. All the best!
4. Yay! I finally published this one. No more saved drafts. Does that mean that my writer's block is gone? Or does that mean I am unhappy again?
Whatever the reason, all I know that I am not able to write anymore. Not that I didn't start any post in past few days. I have approximately 4-5 drafts. Somehow every time in the middle of the post I am overcome by the feeling that that's not what I want to write about and BAM! I can't write anymore. And that's so weird because all I do on this blog is ramble, whine, complain and rant. And if I can't do that anymore, I am not sure what can I do? That's my life people. I complain, I rant and I whine. That's who I am! I am an expert in that. You know that song from movie Bemisaal:
Khafa hoon, Khafa hoon, Khafa hoon,That song was written for me. That's why I have this blog and now I can't complain! Aw man. No. Wait a minute. Does that mean that I am actually happy and I can't find any thing to compalin about? Weird. Ok. I know the solution now. I need to get unhappy and that too very soon. Any ideas?
Kisi baat par main kisi se khafa hoon
Main jinda hoon par jindagee se khafa hoon,
Khafa hoon, Khafa hoon, Khafa hoon
(I am indignant, I am indignant, I am indignant,
For some reason I am indignant with someone
I am alive but I am indignant with (with or on? Pardon my English) life,
I am indignant, I am indignant, I am indignant)
P.S.: 1. On second thoughts, doesn't every one who blogs does that because they like to complain or rant? Ok not the tech bloggers or photobloggers but rest of us. You know either we complain about the current political scenarios or the economic situations or social problems or personal problems. We all are here for one reason and one reason only: WHINE. Actually scratch that. It should be: WHINE PUBLICLY. Oh ok. I like to write too. But that's a different story but guess that's the only reason readers actually read us whine about anything and everything. Whoever came up with the idea of blogging must be a good psychologist (or psychiatrist: I will never know the difference). They must have figured out that every human needs to whine so let's give them a space on web to do so. And see how successful it has become. Simply brilliant.
2. Ok. That was a long Post Script. Should have written that in the post.
3. PARDON MY ENGLISH. I am too tired to make much sense right now. Hopefully you can make sense out of this post. All the best!
4. Yay! I finally published this one. No more saved drafts. Does that mean that my writer's block is gone? Or does that mean I am unhappy again?
September 7, 2008
September 6, 2008
Wanna waste time?
If you don't have anything to do or if you have a lot to do and you are procrastinating instead of working: checkout the new tabs on the Grad Life. I spent last few hours trying to make it work. Most probably I got rid of most of the bugs but there might be few around so kindly let me know if you find problem in any of them.
Happy Surfing..
Happy Surfing..
September 5, 2008
Smart move
Ok. I have been refraining from writing anything about election anymore but McCain's latest move has compelled me to do just the same (though I have resisted it for a week). If you don't know already, he nominated Sarah Palin, the governor of Alaska as his running mate. She will be vice president if McCain is elected.
Let me start by making the statement that it took me four years to start understanding the US politics and demographics. In simplest terms, as it stands now: Republicans (Presidnet Bush party, McCain is the candidate) represent the conservative section of US society and believe me, they are CONSERVATIVE. To the extent they want Creation science to be part of high school curriculum. Everything written in Biible is true to its last word, which incidentally includes the belief that the Earth is flat.
The liberal section of US society is represented by Democratic party. Obama is its candidate. Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton belong to that party.
Now coming to current issue. McCain has been often described as rich and out of touch with real people. So there comes his running mate: Sarah Palin. She is supposed to be closer to masses. You know why? Because she accepts of smoking marijuana in her youth. She eloped with her high school boy friend. She comes from a big family (third child of four kids), and have a big family: Five kids. And above all, her teenage daughter is preganent. How much closer can you can go to real people of US? In her latest speech, she told Obama to keep away from "us". You know what "us" stands for? It's a reference to conservative people of US. The people who 'clings to their gun and Bible' as the phrase goes.
I am so looking forward how the world will look like if McCain is elected. It was a smart move on his part and strengthens his chance to win but he lost his crediblity in my eyes.
Sometimes I think that as US always wants to interfere in other people's affair and wants to run the world, the international population should have say in it's presidential election. Afterall, they are the one who suffer the consequences.
Let me start by making the statement that it took me four years to start understanding the US politics and demographics. In simplest terms, as it stands now: Republicans (Presidnet Bush party, McCain is the candidate) represent the conservative section of US society and believe me, they are CONSERVATIVE. To the extent they want Creation science to be part of high school curriculum. Everything written in Biible is true to its last word, which incidentally includes the belief that the Earth is flat.
The liberal section of US society is represented by Democratic party. Obama is its candidate. Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton belong to that party.
Now coming to current issue. McCain has been often described as rich and out of touch with real people. So there comes his running mate: Sarah Palin. She is supposed to be closer to masses. You know why? Because she accepts of smoking marijuana in her youth. She eloped with her high school boy friend. She comes from a big family (third child of four kids), and have a big family: Five kids. And above all, her teenage daughter is preganent. How much closer can you can go to real people of US? In her latest speech, she told Obama to keep away from "us". You know what "us" stands for? It's a reference to conservative people of US. The people who 'clings to their gun and Bible' as the phrase goes.
I am so looking forward how the world will look like if McCain is elected. It was a smart move on his part and strengthens his chance to win but he lost his crediblity in my eyes.
Sometimes I think that as US always wants to interfere in other people's affair and wants to run the world, the international population should have say in it's presidential election. Afterall, they are the one who suffer the consequences.
September 3, 2008
Google Chrome
Did you hear about the latest browser from Google? They call it Chrome. Unfortunately, my office network doesn't let me access it. I am waiting to go home today and try it out. As they explain in this comic book, it's going to be a multi-processor browser instead of a multi-thread browser. The result: it will be faster than the usual browsers and shouldn't eat up as much memory. I am however conerned if having a multi-processor browser will slow down other processes on my laptop? We will see.
Update: I downloaded Chrome on my laptop. On an average it's not much different from Mozilla Firefox. Javascripts run slower than Mozilla Firefox or Microsoft IE (I have to use IE at work :( ) or Safari. Hopefully they will fix the problem soon. It does have some nice features too. Guess I can grow to like it someday. For now, Mozilla Firefox will do.
Update: I downloaded Chrome on my laptop. On an average it's not much different from Mozilla Firefox. Javascripts run slower than Mozilla Firefox or Microsoft IE (I have to use IE at work :( ) or Safari. Hopefully they will fix the problem soon. It does have some nice features too. Guess I can grow to like it someday. For now, Mozilla Firefox will do.
September 1, 2008
Caste System
I am a movie buff. I have always been. I like watching movies. In theaters. In nice theaters actually. Not the ones we have in our town (I have watched movies even there). I also admit that I have stop following Bollywood for past four years but I haven't stop going to theaters to watch movies. I watch Hollywood instead. But I digress.
For past few years, I have had opportunity to interact with people from different states and culture which included Bongs (a lot of them actually), Assamese, Tamils, Mallus, Gults and Oriya. Most of them had the same story. They weren't allowed to watch the Hindi movies, listen to Hindi songs as kids. Somehow, they were bad influence. (Forget about Hindi literature, even hindi speaking populace of India avoid that for some reason.).
Another general trend in all the non-hindi speaking (= Hindi not first language) is that if you talk about Bollywood with them, they have a tendency to point out the actor/actresses/singers/music directors that belong to their particular region. They do acknowledge other actors/singers but the best one is always from their region. That celebrity will be their favorite too.
Few years back, I never thought about an actor as a south Indian or Bengali or anything. I simply liked them or disliked them. I liked Kajol as she is a great actress. I liked Rekha for her grace. I liked Sushmita for her personality. I don't understand why they are defined as a bong or southie? Does it even matter? All these people who feel so proud of these celebrities being associated with their region, do they think that if they went to these celebrities and told them that they belong to same region as them, these celebrities will treat them differently? If not, then whats the point of showing off?
I know people who actually followed Saurav Ganguly in Ranji trophy matches just because he is a bong or told me that Kishore Kumar is better than Mohammad Rafi because Kishore Kumar is a Bengali (though I am not sure that Kishore Kumar ever wanted to be known as one). It didn't have anything to do with his ability as a singer but the family he was born in. How is that fair? And then obviously, they have so much superior knowledge of music and such fine arts than poor us (Hindi-speaking population) that we should take their word for it, even though they have been listening to Bollywood music for only 4-5 years while we virtualy grew up on it. I am not sure what offends me more: the arrogance or the unfairness.
Unfortunately, these are the people who had chance to receive highest form of education but some how the education part of their studies skipped them. They are supposed to be more cultured than us (and thus their arrogance) but they forgot to learn about manners, decorum, honor and justice. They boast their unfairness instead of being ashamed of that. I simply can't comprehend which culture accepts that and how is that superior?
P.S.: I didn't mean to judge any community in this post. I am just rambling. I have some very good friends in each of these communities and I still don't like judging people based on the community they belong to. I strongly believe that every individual is different and whether I will get along with him/her depends on our compatibility rather than their place or family of birth.
For past few years, I have had opportunity to interact with people from different states and culture which included Bongs (a lot of them actually), Assamese, Tamils, Mallus, Gults and Oriya. Most of them had the same story. They weren't allowed to watch the Hindi movies, listen to Hindi songs as kids. Somehow, they were bad influence. (Forget about Hindi literature, even hindi speaking populace of India avoid that for some reason.).
Another general trend in all the non-hindi speaking (= Hindi not first language) is that if you talk about Bollywood with them, they have a tendency to point out the actor/actresses/singers/music directors that belong to their particular region. They do acknowledge other actors/singers but the best one is always from their region. That celebrity will be their favorite too.
Few years back, I never thought about an actor as a south Indian or Bengali or anything. I simply liked them or disliked them. I liked Kajol as she is a great actress. I liked Rekha for her grace. I liked Sushmita for her personality. I don't understand why they are defined as a bong or southie? Does it even matter? All these people who feel so proud of these celebrities being associated with their region, do they think that if they went to these celebrities and told them that they belong to same region as them, these celebrities will treat them differently? If not, then whats the point of showing off?
I know people who actually followed Saurav Ganguly in Ranji trophy matches just because he is a bong or told me that Kishore Kumar is better than Mohammad Rafi because Kishore Kumar is a Bengali (though I am not sure that Kishore Kumar ever wanted to be known as one). It didn't have anything to do with his ability as a singer but the family he was born in. How is that fair? And then obviously, they have so much superior knowledge of music and such fine arts than poor us (Hindi-speaking population) that we should take their word for it, even though they have been listening to Bollywood music for only 4-5 years while we virtualy grew up on it. I am not sure what offends me more: the arrogance or the unfairness.
Unfortunately, these are the people who had chance to receive highest form of education but some how the education part of their studies skipped them. They are supposed to be more cultured than us (and thus their arrogance) but they forgot to learn about manners, decorum, honor and justice. They boast their unfairness instead of being ashamed of that. I simply can't comprehend which culture accepts that and how is that superior?
P.S.: I didn't mean to judge any community in this post. I am just rambling. I have some very good friends in each of these communities and I still don't like judging people based on the community they belong to. I strongly believe that every individual is different and whether I will get along with him/her depends on our compatibility rather than their place or family of birth.
August 31, 2008
Pervez Musharraf
Few days back I wrote that I don't much like Musharraf. A good friend asked me for the reasons. Vir Sanghavi has written my answer to that question, that is, if you are interested to know.
Hmmm...
Well when you have four days off and you decide to pass the plan of driving to Las Vegas with friends to take a break (finally), you don't have much to do. So I watched few movies, read some books, browsed some internet, talked to some friends (okay, probably I shouldn't put this here as there are still friends I haven't called in ages),listened to some music and slept a lot. And still, I have a day left!!
Anyway, that wasn't point of this post. It was this slideshow about how to make killer blog (Browsing internet). Okay, I don't have any intention of killing any of you and hence I wasn't searching for anything like that. I was just browsing through the Technocrati's top 100 blogs when I found this. So I went through the slide show.
Well I have problem with a lot of these points as the presentation starts with "Blog because you want to" and jumps right into the marketing aspects and all those things. You know, link to other bloggers, interact, network, engage the commenters and all that (Ok they have a lot of other points too). You see if I was good in networking, interacting and all those things, I wouldn't need to blog and get an identity in virtual world. I would be happy in my real world! Moreover, if I blog because I want to why should I care whether someone reads it or not?
I agree if you create something you do want people to appreciate it but networking to increase traffic on your blog doesn't necessarily mean that they appreciate your work. They are either being polite or employing the same strategy as you are, i.e., read and comment on other people's blog.
For me blogging is a place to express myself, good or bad, right or wrong. People, in general, frustrates me and since my upbringing stops me to tell that on their face (and still people think I am too blunt/rude :( ) so I write it down here. And that's why people whom I interact on daily basis don't know that this blog exists.
P.S.: Don't worry. This isn't an assumed identity. I can't do that. I tried. Honestly. I tried writing under an assumed name but simply couldn't pursue it (there's a lot in the name especially when it's mine. I don't know about the rose). I need to be myself even though I don't want to be known.
Anyway, that wasn't point of this post. It was this slideshow about how to make killer blog (Browsing internet). Okay, I don't have any intention of killing any of you and hence I wasn't searching for anything like that. I was just browsing through the Technocrati's top 100 blogs when I found this. So I went through the slide show.
Well I have problem with a lot of these points as the presentation starts with "Blog because you want to" and jumps right into the marketing aspects and all those things. You know, link to other bloggers, interact, network, engage the commenters and all that (Ok they have a lot of other points too). You see if I was good in networking, interacting and all those things, I wouldn't need to blog and get an identity in virtual world. I would be happy in my real world! Moreover, if I blog because I want to why should I care whether someone reads it or not?
I agree if you create something you do want people to appreciate it but networking to increase traffic on your blog doesn't necessarily mean that they appreciate your work. They are either being polite or employing the same strategy as you are, i.e., read and comment on other people's blog.
For me blogging is a place to express myself, good or bad, right or wrong. People, in general, frustrates me and since my upbringing stops me to tell that on their face (and still people think I am too blunt/rude :( ) so I write it down here. And that's why people whom I interact on daily basis don't know that this blog exists.
P.S.: Don't worry. This isn't an assumed identity. I can't do that. I tried. Honestly. I tried writing under an assumed name but simply couldn't pursue it (there's a lot in the name especially when it's mine. I don't know about the rose). I need to be myself even though I don't want to be known.
What life's all about..
I was packing this weekend and found an old diary (probably from my late teen years). In the diary I found some old newspaper clippings. Its been a long time since I saw them. Among those clippings I found this beautiful poem (it's a long one though). It's by Shanaz Hussain:
Have you ever seen the autumn leaves turn from green to gold,Melancholic still beautiful, isn't it?
A carefree flower burning with flaming colours and exotic perfume
Burn and die in golden sunlight
That's what life is all about
With a smile on your lips and a prayer in your heart
If you truly love me, you'll set me free.
Have you ever seen the romantic scarred, dreamy moon,
As you walk alone on a moonlit night,
and its soft silvery glow invisibly bathes your body
You looked into his eyes and your secret world explodes,
He looked back into your soul and saw the naked truth,
Your eyes were the mirrors of your heart,
It made no sense, your life's first love
Then the dawn of truth smashing all fragments of reality, truth and dreams,
The lovelorn moon disappears behind dark menacing angry clouds
That's what life is all about
With a smile on your lips and a prayer in your heart
If you truly love me, you'll set me free.
Have you ever seen a silent volcano
Boiling with life as if the bowels of the Earth are in anguished turmoil,
Then the flaming sea of burning writhing emotions
Pouring down hill like the fires of hell,
Destroying everything that comes in its fiery path
That's what life is all about
With a smile on your lips and a prayer in your heart
If you truly love me, you'll set me free.
Have you ever seen the shell-pink dawn of life,
Followed by the flaming rising golden sun,
Then the magic turn from gold to silver,
The high noon of life where all material things must be acquired,
Then by the law of nature left behind,
Meteoric success achieved at lightning speed,
One golden minute studded with 60 diamond seconds,
No second chance given-for they are gone for ever,
It is sunset. The heavens are aflame,
As the ball of fires settles in the inviting velvet arms of the night
One beautiful life has just burnt out, another just born.
As the world watches dumbfounded,
For others a good life meant a 100 years,
She lived a complete life time with the rising and setting of the sun
That's what life is all about
With a smile on your lips and a prayer in your heart
If you truly love me, you'll set me free.
Have you ever thought of people who burn their candle at both ends
They know it's time to go, they will not last the night,
But as they burn themselves, they give a lovely light,
Leaving their footprints in the sands of time,
That's what life is all about
With a smile on your lips and a prayer in your heart
If you truly love me, you'll set me free.
Have you ever heard a Nightingale sing
In a cage struggling to escape every moment
Looking for a chance, of the tiny door left open,
It steals out, then realises its wings are clipped,
The world rejoices, it gt its freedom at last, but cannot fly,
It stumbles, falls, rises. its wings grow again,
Only to fly far far away, for ever and ever, never to return,
Lost in the expanseless horizon,
Just think, if you love something, set it free,
If it is yours, it will come back to you,
If it does not, it was never meant to be,
That's what life is all about
With a smile on your lips and a prayer in your heart
If you truly love me, you'll set me free.
Have you ever built sand castles by the sea side,
Each particle of golden sand another childhood dream
The sunlight sparkling on your desires etched in mud,
Then the engulfing massive emerald waves,
Gushes over you and your dreams, in moments are washed away,
The roaring waves recede-the sand is still there
Just you and your dream castles are washed away,
Swallowed and drowned, part of expanseless sea,
That's what life is all about
With a smile on your lips and a prayer in your heart
If you truly love me, you'll set me free.
Have you ever looked into a mirror,
You will see a face you know-
It's the one you love the most, in happiness and pain,
The reflection will always be there-
But then you look into it again, it is still you,
Or you think it is you-
It is not clear, you freeze with fright, you sweat, you tremble,
You wonder, "Why can't I see myself, the way the world sees me, the way I always did,
Is my reflection not me, I wish I could clearly see!
Is this the Will of God, if so, then let it be."
That's what life is all about
With a smile on your lips and a prayer in your heart
If you truly love me, you'll set me free.
Have you ever seen a pink lotus plant grow from the silt and mud,
Into a tiny sapling, then a tiny bud,
Then a stunning flower exuding beauty and fragrance,
The bees humming a sensuous tune around it,
You see it bloom, the glaring sunlight basking in its exotic glory,
Then it is night the lotus wilts and dies,
That's what life is all about
With a smile on your lips and a prayer in your heart
If you truly love me, you'll set me free.
August 29, 2008
For now...
...this template will do. Its elegant. It has three column. And it somehow makes the posts look royal. I like that.
August 28, 2008
Its over..
..well almost. I did my final presentation. well sort of. I have to do another presentation on the final day of internship and write a report. But I am done with the work, mostly. I feel very relaxed now even though I am still too busy.
I went to Disneyland for the third time last weekend but I enjoyed being in Disney for the very first time. As they say it, you enjoy doing things with your friends rather than with random people you know (ok not that random they were my colleagues but still not equivalent to friends). I am not trying that out anytime soon. From now on, I will live in FRIENDS ONLY zone. Random people stay away. Trespassers will be prosecuted.
I went to Disneyland for the third time last weekend but I enjoyed being in Disney for the very first time. As they say it, you enjoy doing things with your friends rather than with random people you know (ok not that random they were my colleagues but still not equivalent to friends). I am not trying that out anytime soon. From now on, I will live in FRIENDS ONLY zone. Random people stay away. Trespassers will be prosecuted.
August 22, 2008
Fingers crossed
Day three after Pervez Musharraf stepped down and fighting rocks north-west Pakistan.
August 20, 2008
Life on snooze
I realize I have been writing a lot about current affairs lately. And I sound very frustrated/angry. The reason I usually don't like to read newspaper or listen to news. I can't read the news objectively and not get emotional about them. It just makes me angry.
Anyway, to steer the mood towards lighter side, I went Ph.D. Comics browsing and discovered the latest t-shirts there. Loved this one:
Anyway, to steer the mood towards lighter side, I went Ph.D. Comics browsing and discovered the latest t-shirts there. Loved this one:
I told you so..
Its day one after President Musharraf stepped down and already Taliban is active. Hope they would realize it soon enough. Before Pakistan is under Taliban control. That would be a disaster for all of us.
P.S: My previous comments are here.
P.S: My previous comments are here.
THAT'S MY TAX MONEY
For some reason, we in India don't have a psychology of thinking the money spent by the govrnement/ bureaucrats/ministers as our money. Its government's money and government has unlimited amount of money and its ok for them to waste it. And that's why we never bother to stop and get angry at what our tax money is used for. That's right, if you work in India and pay taxes every March, you are paying for the fancy cars, air travels, parties and any such expenditure fancied by the politicians/bureaucrats. Your hard earned money. The money for which you worked the entire year.
Why am I talking about this, all of sudden? I just finished reading this editorial by Vir Sanghavi (one of my favorite columnist). The issue in the article is Kashmir. I have known for years that Kashmir enjoys a speical state status (Article 370) but have never stopped to think what it means till now. Here is what that means, in terms of your money:
And all this for what? To be criticized by the world, to be preached human rights by Pakistan, and worst of all: to be condemened by Kashmiris themselves? I would rather have my tax money (though I don't pay taxes to Government of India anymore but figuratively speaking) invested in Bihar even though I know that major part of that will go to the pockets of corrupt ministers and bureaucrats but at least we won't be condemened for that.
P.S.: I hate paying taxes. Not because I have to give away my money but the way government uses it. In US, major part of my tax money is going to US defense to bully rest of the world or to social security to pay the homeless get their drugs. The worst part is that I don't even have a right to vote here even though I have duty of paying taxes. How is that fair? At least I should have a say in the way they use my hard earned money. And trust me, I work really hard for that.
Why am I talking about this, all of sudden? I just finished reading this editorial by Vir Sanghavi (one of my favorite columnist). The issue in the article is Kashmir. I have known for years that Kashmir enjoys a speical state status (Article 370) but have never stopped to think what it means till now. Here is what that means, in terms of your money:
Under Article 370 of our Constitution, with the exception of defence, foreign policy, and communication, no law enacted by parliament has any legitimacy in Kashmir unless the state government gives its consent. The state is the only one in India to have its own Constitution and the President of India cannot issue directions to the state government in exercise of the executive power of the Union as he can in every other state. Kashmiri are Indian citizens but Indians are not necessarily Kashmiri citizens. We cannot vote for elections to their assembly or own any property in Kashmir.
Then, there is the money. Bihar gets per capita central assistance of Rs 876 per year. Kashmir gets over ten times more: Rs 9,754 per year. While in Bihar and other states, this assistance is mainly in the forms of loans to the state, in Kashmir 90 per cent is an outright grant. Kashmir’s entire Five Year Plan expenditure is met by the Indian taxpayer. In addition, New Delhi keeps throwing more and more money at the state: in 2004, the Prime Minister gave Kashmir another $5 billion for development. (Its DOLLAR 5 billion and not Rupees. Imagine how much they have to increase the taxes or cut down on something more essential (parties and such expenditures are never cut down and you know that) to match that kind of expenditure.)
...
The other cost of Kashmir is military. Many terrorist acts, from the hijacking of IC 814 to the attack on parliament have Kashmir links. Our response to the parliament attack was Operation Parakram, which cost, in ten months, Rs 6,500 crore and 800 army lives? (Kargil cost us 474 lives.) Each day, our troops and paramilitary forces are subjected to terrorists's attacks, stress, and ridicule.
And all this for what? To be criticized by the world, to be preached human rights by Pakistan, and worst of all: to be condemened by Kashmiris themselves? I would rather have my tax money (though I don't pay taxes to Government of India anymore but figuratively speaking) invested in Bihar even though I know that major part of that will go to the pockets of corrupt ministers and bureaucrats but at least we won't be condemened for that.
P.S.: I hate paying taxes. Not because I have to give away my money but the way government uses it. In US, major part of my tax money is going to US defense to bully rest of the world or to social security to pay the homeless get their drugs. The worst part is that I don't even have a right to vote here even though I have duty of paying taxes. How is that fair? At least I should have a say in the way they use my hard earned money. And trust me, I work really hard for that.
August 19, 2008
Pseudo-secularism
And I thought thats our speciality. Isn't US supposed to be a secular state and thus is trying to "eradicate" fundamentalist groups from the world?
Reminds me of doha from Kabir (my favorite sufi-poet):
Reminds me of doha from Kabir (my favorite sufi-poet):
Bura jo dekhan main chala, bura na milya koiP.S.: Told you, I can't rhyme to save my life but I can sure appreciate poetry.
Jo dil dhunde aapna mujhse bura na koi.
(When I tried finding "evil" in others, I couldn't find any.
When I searched my own heart, I found I am the worst of all.)
August 18, 2008
Pageants
Pop-up quiz
Question 1: What does a beauty queen wants?
Answer: World peace and eradication of poverty from the world.
Question 2: What does a US president wants?
Answer: Resolve middle-east issues and establish democracy in the world.
Real question is: Does either of them really care about these issues? Or do they just want the crown?
Even more importantly: Can either of them actually resolve these issues? Do they have any authority to even attempt to resolve these issues?
The last few questions are subjective and don't have any right answers associated with them.
P.S.: I am fed up of the election campaigns. The ambigous stands on controversial topics, world peace speeches with no concrete plans: can we just get over them?
Olympics
Another olympics. Another embarassing time of life. For past week I have been frequently asked by my colleagues about whether India has a team in Olympics and everytime I simply want to disappear. And like every Olympic season, there will be talks about pathetic condition of Indian sport in the newspapers and as soon as Olympics are over we all will go back to our lives. We will again tell our kids that sports are waste of time and they should concetrate on studies. They should become doctor or engineer.
Even though being an Indian is embarassing during Olympics, there is a bright spot for me this time. Its called Stanford Olympics team. Well its part of US team, of course but we do keep our own Medal count. So far we have got 3 golds, 1 silver and 3 bronze and still counting. Its far more medals than India have. Wish we did at least as good as Stanford. But alas! Its a daydream and will remain so forver.
Anyway, for now I can atleast say: GO CARDINAL.
P.S.: Stanford sports team is called Cardinal. And maroon is Stanford color. Just FYI.
Even though being an Indian is embarassing during Olympics, there is a bright spot for me this time. Its called Stanford Olympics team. Well its part of US team, of course but we do keep our own Medal count. So far we have got 3 golds, 1 silver and 3 bronze and still counting. Its far more medals than India have. Wish we did at least as good as Stanford. But alas! Its a daydream and will remain so forver.
Anyway, for now I can atleast say: GO CARDINAL.
P.S.: Stanford sports team is called Cardinal. And maroon is Stanford color. Just FYI.
August 17, 2008
August 16, 2008
Honesty
Two months back I lost my wallet while visiting Stanford. I have been in Bakersfield since. I am in Stanford for the weekend and was going through my mails and guess what? Someone posted my wallet back! It doesn't have any cash in it, obviously. I think they used it to courier the wallet back to me (I think I had $20-$30 cash in the wallet). It has all my membership and gift cards (I blocked the credit cards and have received new ones already).
The return address on the label says Postmaster, Main Post Office so I don't know who to thank to. Keeping an id card with your mailing address in the wallet helps.
I am so glad that there are still people who are honest and go into all the trouble of sending things back to the rightful owner. They could have easily tossed it in the garbage bin but they took pains to send it back to me. I am touched. My sincerest thanks to stranger who went through the trouble of sending my wallet back.
P.S.: Its my favorite wallet too. I have been trying to buy a new one for two months but none of the wallet I saw were as good as this one. I am glad to have it back.
The return address on the label says Postmaster, Main Post Office so I don't know who to thank to. Keeping an id card with your mailing address in the wallet helps.
I am so glad that there are still people who are honest and go into all the trouble of sending things back to the rightful owner. They could have easily tossed it in the garbage bin but they took pains to send it back to me. I am touched. My sincerest thanks to stranger who went through the trouble of sending my wallet back.
P.S.: Its my favorite wallet too. I have been trying to buy a new one for two months but none of the wallet I saw were as good as this one. I am glad to have it back.
August 14, 2008
I am still here..
..despite all the rumors you might have heard on the contrary. But I won't say I am back as yet. I am again traveling over the weekend and the weekend after this and weekend after that and next and next. So you get the picture how busy my already hectic life is at the moment.
And inspite of all this traveling and never ending schedules and desperate attempts to catch some sleep in between them, I have been missing blogging. I have so much to write. And I will, whenever I could catch a moment in between.
Let me start by whining about the latest trip. Do you know U.S. airways now charge you $15 for first check-in baggage, $25 for second bag and $100 for the third? They make you check-in your baggage if your hand bag is oversize and charge you for that. And as always, the airport security doesn't allow you to carry any shampoo bottles or such things so if you are planning to carry that stuff, you need to check in your baggage and hence pay them. Its such a ingeniious scheme to rip you off. Wanna hear another one of that? As you probably know, you are not allowed to carry water and in case you thought you will drink water in the plane instead of buying it at the waiting area, guess what? You would have to pay $2 for a bottle of water which is expensive than buying the water at the terminal ($1.45).
To top all this, as I was coming out of the terminal at Phoenix airport (I changed planes there for Houston), a salesman stopped me and tried to sell me a US airways master card! You know, the ones that earn you mileage when you use them. Who wants to earn US airways mileage? Honestly, it was an official trip so all my expenses were paid otherwise I would have been far more furious right about now. If you are planning a trip, please avoid US airways at all cost especially for long flights. They stink.
And inspite of all this traveling and never ending schedules and desperate attempts to catch some sleep in between them, I have been missing blogging. I have so much to write. And I will, whenever I could catch a moment in between.
Let me start by whining about the latest trip. Do you know U.S. airways now charge you $15 for first check-in baggage, $25 for second bag and $100 for the third? They make you check-in your baggage if your hand bag is oversize and charge you for that. And as always, the airport security doesn't allow you to carry any shampoo bottles or such things so if you are planning to carry that stuff, you need to check in your baggage and hence pay them. Its such a ingeniious scheme to rip you off. Wanna hear another one of that? As you probably know, you are not allowed to carry water and in case you thought you will drink water in the plane instead of buying it at the waiting area, guess what? You would have to pay $2 for a bottle of water which is expensive than buying the water at the terminal ($1.45).
To top all this, as I was coming out of the terminal at Phoenix airport (I changed planes there for Houston), a salesman stopped me and tried to sell me a US airways master card! You know, the ones that earn you mileage when you use them. Who wants to earn US airways mileage? Honestly, it was an official trip so all my expenses were paid otherwise I would have been far more furious right about now. If you are planning a trip, please avoid US airways at all cost especially for long flights. They stink.
August 7, 2008
Pakistan moves to impeach Musharraf
Good news for democracy, bad news for the rest.
I am not a fan of Pervez Musharraf but he has managed pretty well given the mess Pakistan is in. As much as I understand regional politics, removing him would mean handing over Pakistan (and most probably Afghanistan and Kashmir too) to Talibans. It might be good for democracy in Pakistan and its definitely good for Zardari and Sharif but I am not so sure about rest of the world including India especially when Pakistan have nuclear power.
I am not a fan of Pervez Musharraf but he has managed pretty well given the mess Pakistan is in. As much as I understand regional politics, removing him would mean handing over Pakistan (and most probably Afghanistan and Kashmir too) to Talibans. It might be good for democracy in Pakistan and its definitely good for Zardari and Sharif but I am not so sure about rest of the world including India especially when Pakistan have nuclear power.
A quick note.
I am busy.
Oh ok, I know I should give more explanation than that. You guys are smart enough to guess that much.
For past two weeks I have been busy making presentations and poster. Its a very frustrating thing to do for me at the moment (in normal circumstances I love to present: To talk about my work and get feedback). I started my internship a month ago. I had to go to Disney land and THUMS island for two days in middle of week (it was an official trip!) two weeks back. Didn't get any work done that week. And then I wasted another week for a stupid presentation and now I am making poster for this internship event. Its like out of six weeks I have been here, I wasted three weeks in these stupid things.
The problem is that most interns are finishing up their internship in August so its ok for them (the company or rather the HR) to organize such event and give everyone a chance to present their internship results but its not fair to me. They never gave me chance to work on my things and now they expect me to present. I know I can present my intentions (which are, btw, good :) ) but I can't have a presentation full of word slides or a poster full of words. I need to have some pictures and for that I need to work. Honestly, at this moment I want to work. You know actual work I am supposed to do. I am very excited about it but they are not letting me work and its so frustrating.
Anyway, next week I am going to Houston present this stupid poster so won't have much access to internet. We have to again attend another Baseball game (I hate Baseball games and I don't see the point of attending one but alas! I have to. Stupid HR.). Bottom line of this whole rambling: I AM BUSY. I HATE HR. I WANT TO WORK. :(
Oh ok, I know I should give more explanation than that. You guys are smart enough to guess that much.
For past two weeks I have been busy making presentations and poster. Its a very frustrating thing to do for me at the moment (in normal circumstances I love to present: To talk about my work and get feedback). I started my internship a month ago. I had to go to Disney land and THUMS island for two days in middle of week (it was an official trip!) two weeks back. Didn't get any work done that week. And then I wasted another week for a stupid presentation and now I am making poster for this internship event. Its like out of six weeks I have been here, I wasted three weeks in these stupid things.
The problem is that most interns are finishing up their internship in August so its ok for them (the company or rather the HR) to organize such event and give everyone a chance to present their internship results but its not fair to me. They never gave me chance to work on my things and now they expect me to present. I know I can present my intentions (which are, btw, good :) ) but I can't have a presentation full of word slides or a poster full of words. I need to have some pictures and for that I need to work. Honestly, at this moment I want to work. You know actual work I am supposed to do. I am very excited about it but they are not letting me work and its so frustrating.
Anyway, next week I am going to Houston present this stupid poster so won't have much access to internet. We have to again attend another Baseball game (I hate Baseball games and I don't see the point of attending one but alas! I have to. Stupid HR.). Bottom line of this whole rambling: I AM BUSY. I HATE HR. I WANT TO WORK. :(
July 29, 2008
July 26, 2008
Life Lesson #2: Brick Walls
"Brick walls are there for a reason: they let us prove how badly we want things"
Randy Pausch is dead. If you don't know who he was then probably you haven't heard his last lecture. Randy Pausch was a computer science professor in the Carnegie Mellon University. He was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and knew about his terminal illness. In his last lecture (he later wrote a book with the same title which became an instant best seller), he doesn't talk about his illness or anything like that. Its a lecture about the life lessons he have learned. Its an amazing lecture. Its a long lecture too (1 hour and 16 min) but worth watching. Its one of the most inspiring lecture I sat through (in virtual world, of course).
Randy Pausch is dead. If you don't know who he was then probably you haven't heard his last lecture. Randy Pausch was a computer science professor in the Carnegie Mellon University. He was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and knew about his terminal illness. In his last lecture (he later wrote a book with the same title which became an instant best seller), he doesn't talk about his illness or anything like that. Its a lecture about the life lessons he have learned. Its an amazing lecture. Its a long lecture too (1 hour and 16 min) but worth watching. Its one of the most inspiring lecture I sat through (in virtual world, of course).
July 25, 2008
July 24, 2008
Where Dreams Come True...
I am not sure whats so amazing about Disney Land. I have visited better theme parks. The rides here are ok (Indiana Jones ride was the only one that I actually liked). Or may be we were there for very short time (6 hours). And most of that time was spent standing in queues for the ride. The average wait time was an hour. The longest we waited was 90 minutes and the ride was over in 5 minutes. I was pretty disappointed. I am not looking forward to my next visit to Disney land which is in two weeks. I will try concentrating on taking more pictures this time... The time will be better spent that way.
P.S.: Don't be fooled by the picture of the castle, its pretty small in real life. I didn't even see it at first. And I was looking for it everywhere...
Project Snapshot #73, #74
I was in Disney Land the day before yesterday and here is the shot with the clock for the time!
Date: July 22, 2008
Location: Anaheim, CA
Titled: DisneylandAnd the drive back home.
Date: July 23, 2008
Location: Bakersfield, CA
Titled: Drive
July 22, 2008
Project Snapshot #72
I was waiting at a signal coming out of market place at Ming Avenue when I took this..
Date: July 21, 2008
Location: Bakersfield, CA
Titled: Marketplace
July 20, 2008
Project Snapshot #66, #67, #68, #69, #70 and #71
Ok. I slagged again. But here are past few days of Project Snapshot.
The first one is from a road side where I stopped to take the shot. I was lost on my way back. Note the gate in the side-view mirror.
And next day I went through the same route to explore further. Here is what I found.
The first one is from a road side where I stopped to take the shot. I was lost on my way back. Note the gate in the side-view mirror.
Date: July 15, 2008
Location: Bakersfield, CA
Titled: LostAnd next day I went through the same route to explore further. Here is what I found.
Date: July 16, 2008
Location: Bakersfield, CA
Titled: Gate
Ok. I was in gym the next day (yep. I joined one here. I am in Yoga classes) so couldn't take the shot on time. Here is the shot after I came out. The sun was already setting. Here is the shot.
Ok. I was in gym the next day (yep. I joined one here. I am in Yoga classes) so couldn't take the shot on time. Here is the shot after I came out. The sun was already setting. Here is the shot.
Date: July 17, 2008
Location: Bakersfield, CA
Titled: SunsetNext day was the day off for me. So I was reading The Chronicles of Narnia when the alarm went off. So I just took picture of first thing I saw which happened to be my laptop abandoned in one corner.
Date: July 18, 2008
Location: Bakersfield, CA
Titled: ShadowNext day, Saturday, I was outside in my back yard when alarm went off. The curious thing is that one of my fence board was broken. I don't know how it happened and I need to report it to my property manager but I am not sure I want to do it. You see now I can see the fountain from my back yard. Well, I will decide about that later. For now, here is the project snapshot..
Date: July 19, 2008
Location: Bakersfield, CA
Titled: BrokenAnd finally today, I was cooking. So here is the shot from the kitchen...
Date: July 20, 2008
Location: Bakersfield, CA
Titled: TapJuly 19, 2008
Gay Marriage Killed the Dinosaurs
Don't ask me how I landed there, but one fine day last week I found myself at facebook-group called "Gay Marriage Killed the Dinosaurs". I died of laughter. Honestly. Among the postings at the group-site(which included a lot of cartoons from all over the net. They have deleted them now, for some reason.), I loved the top ten reasons for Gay Marriage to be illegal and they are:
01) Being gay is not natural. Real Americans always reject unnatural things like eyeglasses, polyester, and air conditioning.
02) Gay marriage will encourage people to be gay, in the same way that hanging around tall people will make you tall.
03) Legalizing gay marriage will open the door to all kinds of crazy behavior. People may even wish to marry their pets because a dog has legal standing and can sign a marriage contract.
04) Straight marriage has been around a long time and hasn't changed at all; women are still property, blacks still can't marry whites, and divorce is still illegal.
05) Straight marriage will be less meaningful if gay marriage were allowed; the sanctity of Britney Spears' 55-hour just-for-fun marriage would be destroyed.
06) Straight marriages are valid because they produce children. Gay couples, infertile couples, and old people shouldn't be allowed to marry because our orphanages aren't full yet, and the world needs more children.
07) Obviously gay parents will raise gay children, since straight parents only raise straight children.
08) Gay marriage is not supported by religion. In a theocracy like ours, the values of one religion are imposed on the entire country. That's why we have only one religion in America.
09) Children can never succeed without a male and a female role model at home. That's why we as a society expressly forbid single parents to raise children.
10) Gay marriage will change the foundation of society; we could never adapt to new social norms. Just like we haven't adapted to cars, the service-sector economy, or longer life spans.
Luckily, I did download few photos uploaded at the site before they deleted them. Just a few that I couldn't resist. I don't have proper attribution to give here but I still can't resist putting them here...
And what does Sanctity of marriage mean, you may ask?
And then there are some very reasonable arguments given...
And then obviously, someone always knows that its against God's will. But honestly, looking at this list , I wonder how many of us can escape it (I actually make it to the top of this list: Jesus Rejecter :) ). God is too demanding, I say.
This one is my favorite though...Couldn't stop laughing for 5 whole minutes. Thankfully I was at home and could laugh out loud while staring at my computer screen. :D
Don't ask me to take a stand on Gay-marriages. I am befuddled by these compelling arguments. And above all, it killed Dinosaurs! As the group intro says and I quote:
Now we can't let that happen, can we?
01) Being gay is not natural. Real Americans always reject unnatural things like eyeglasses, polyester, and air conditioning.
02) Gay marriage will encourage people to be gay, in the same way that hanging around tall people will make you tall.
03) Legalizing gay marriage will open the door to all kinds of crazy behavior. People may even wish to marry their pets because a dog has legal standing and can sign a marriage contract.
04) Straight marriage has been around a long time and hasn't changed at all; women are still property, blacks still can't marry whites, and divorce is still illegal.
05) Straight marriage will be less meaningful if gay marriage were allowed; the sanctity of Britney Spears' 55-hour just-for-fun marriage would be destroyed.
06) Straight marriages are valid because they produce children. Gay couples, infertile couples, and old people shouldn't be allowed to marry because our orphanages aren't full yet, and the world needs more children.
07) Obviously gay parents will raise gay children, since straight parents only raise straight children.
08) Gay marriage is not supported by religion. In a theocracy like ours, the values of one religion are imposed on the entire country. That's why we have only one religion in America.
09) Children can never succeed without a male and a female role model at home. That's why we as a society expressly forbid single parents to raise children.
10) Gay marriage will change the foundation of society; we could never adapt to new social norms. Just like we haven't adapted to cars, the service-sector economy, or longer life spans.
Luckily, I did download few photos uploaded at the site before they deleted them. Just a few that I couldn't resist. I don't have proper attribution to give here but I still can't resist putting them here...
And what does Sanctity of marriage mean, you may ask?
And then there are some very reasonable arguments given...
And then obviously, someone always knows that its against God's will. But honestly, looking at this list , I wonder how many of us can escape it (I actually make it to the top of this list: Jesus Rejecter :) ). God is too demanding, I say.
This one is my favorite though...Couldn't stop laughing for 5 whole minutes. Thankfully I was at home and could laugh out loud while staring at my computer screen. :D
Don't ask me to take a stand on Gay-marriages. I am befuddled by these compelling arguments. And above all, it killed Dinosaurs! As the group intro says and I quote:
If we let liberal activist judges in Massachusetts and California set the course, the blood will run in rivers. Mixed with molten lava.
Now we can't let that happen, can we?
July 16, 2008
I love US
US terrosim watch list contains ONE MILLION names. Honestly, one million names! I wonder if CIA and FBI combined with local police force have enough resources and man power to keep so many people under watch? And how much money are they wasting on that? I mean I understand the importance of having a watch list but one million names is ridiculous. As it turns out, anyone who criticizes US is on the watch list.
Oh yeah, BTW, in case someone from watch team is reading this post: I love US. I have no problems with them attacking anyone they like or rather dislike. They have legal right over all the petroleum reserves in the world. Public transportation is for the rest of the world (= Europe, Australia). The third world countires (= Asia, Africa and South America) should travel in bullock carts. How dare they think that they should have any sort of transportations? If they use petrol, it will cause global warming. All hail to almighty, all-powerful, omnipresent BIG BROTHER.
Oh yeah, BTW, in case someone from watch team is reading this post: I love US. I have no problems with them attacking anyone they like or rather dislike. They have legal right over all the petroleum reserves in the world. Public transportation is for the rest of the world (= Europe, Australia). The third world countires (= Asia, Africa and South America) should travel in bullock carts. How dare they think that they should have any sort of transportations? If they use petrol, it will cause global warming. All hail to almighty, all-powerful, omnipresent BIG BROTHER.
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