Mother nature is cooking something……….
August 28, 2007
August 25, 2007
This Is Awesome
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Neutrinos, they are very small.
They have no charge and have no mass
And do not interact at all.
The earth is just a silly ball
To them, through which they simply pass,
Like dustmaids through a drafty hall
Or photons through a sheet of glass.
They snub the most exquisite gas,
Ignore the most substantial wall,
Cold-shoulder steel and sounding brass,
Insult the stallion in his stall,
And scorning barriers of class,
Infiltrate you and me! Like tall
And painless guillotines, they fall
Down through our heads into the grass.
At night, they enter at Nepal
And pierce the lover and his lass
From underneath the bed-you call
It wonderful; I call it crass.
August 24, 2007
Religious Schools
Here another stupid idea - John Tory, leader of Ontario’s PC, wants to extend public funding to private religious schools.
If not for the fact that Tory is the leader of PC, I would not vote for this guy for this reason all by itself. What a pathetically stupid idea.
I was always of the opinion that no one can get more “religious” than Indian politicians but time and time again (G. W. Bush anyone?) I have been proven wrong. The politician is not a simple minded being. The person is chosen carefully through a process known as election and is expected to lead effectively and soundly. But the likes of David Miller and Stephen Harper and Stephen Dion and, now, John Tory have shown that no matter what you do, a politician is no
different than the average person. Can we please have some real leaders, please?
More religious school? I thought the whole Idea was to keep religion separate from education here in Ontario!! So you are teaching a kid about evolution and at the same time teaching them about how the world is only a few thousand years old? Or how to put your “faith” in god and your loved one in the hospital will be healed? Or pray and declare your complete obedience to god else you will never gain Nirvana? That’s complete crap.
If a parent wants to teach a kid about bhagwat gita or jesus or allah etc. please do so but at your time and at your cost. Do not expect me to pay for brainwashing your kid. I want the kid to learn about how the solar system was created, how the moon might be a “child” of the earth, how flora on earth gives us oxygen, how the heart beats and so on. And not how krishna (a god in Indian mythology) claimed that an ideal person is the one who sometimes kills people even
if they are your brothers and sisters.
If you still want your kids to learn about the holy crap from professional teachers because you are busy earning the mighty dollar, please do so. There are numerous privately funded religious schools. Spend your dollars there and leave serious education to the public funded schools.
PS : Yes, I know there is a huge network of roman catholic school here in Ontario. I would fully back the proposal to convert the catholic schools to public schools. There is simply no need for the catholic schools (or any other religious school) in our society. Teach our kids about science and not myths.
Flatiron & Firkin’
I saw the funniest thing at the above mentioned restaurant.
Flatiron & Firkin has, off-late, become my favourite watering hole. It provides authentic Irish ambience, Irish sounding servers, Irish looking bar, Irish drinks, Irish sports playing on the TV etc. The service is fast and super friendly, just like the Irish.
So after having a few drinks at this Irish pub I go over to the washroom which is adjacent to the kitchen. Before entering the washroom, I peeked into the kitchen. And imagine my surprise to see that in this authentic Irish restaurant the kitchen was being run by South Asians!! Everyone in there was speaking in Tamil, loud Tamil music blaring from the speakers and a complete contrast to the look of the restaurant!!
I could not stop smiling for the rest of the evening.
August 20, 2007
Rhea : 4 Years Old
Dear Rhea,
You turned 4 years old on the 16th August 2007.
You were born at 8:58am on 16th August, 2003. I remember It was a Saturday
morning. The day before was the famous Black Out of 2003. Google it and you
will find out that there was no electricity for 2 days. Your mom was
scratchy all over and the heat did not help at all. We were at a friend's
place watching the movie Hungama (a hilarious Hindi movie) and while
watching it, your mother's water broke. We waited until around 2 am and then
left for the hospital. And 9 hours later you came into our lives.
I will never forget that moment when I first saw you. Your head popped out
and you were not crying at all. The doctors quickly pulled you and there was
another team that immediately started to revive you. It took them a few
seconds and then I heard that Waaaah!! The doctors cleaned you up and
wrapped you in some blankets and passed you to me.
The feelings that washed through me at that point are quite difficult to
describe. There you were….weighing at 6 pounds and 48 ounces at no more
than 52 inches tall. But more than that was the feeling that this little
baby was going to call me her father. It was not a burden but a sudden
realisation that my life made complete sense. I was born to make sure that
you were born. Of course, logically, it's a lot more complicated than that
but that's how I felt at that point.
Since then you have enriched my life in more ways than I can list. Your
laughter lights up my gloomy mood. When you say "Papa, I love you". I feel
like I soaring the sky. When you sing your favourite song from The Little
Mermaid (called Part Of Your World - I have a clip of you singing it, remind
me to show it to you) it brings a huge smile to my face. And when you do
your bum dance in the shower I am on the floor with laughter.
Of course, you drive me crazy too. I hope that by the time you read this,
your eating habits would have improved. That's the only time when you and I
don't get along at all. You are convinced after 2 bites that you have had
your lunch and then you and I get into an argument which, if I may add, you
win most of the times. Because, there is one thing I cannot bear to see. And
that is to see you cry. When you start crying all my anger and all my
annoyance simply melts away. Something tells me that you are going to take
advantage of this fact later on in your life. I do pretend to still be angry
with you to get the point across but my anger, by this time, is usually
dissipated.
Nothing in world means more to me than you do. My love for you grows day by
day. When I look at you as you sleep I feel so blessed and lucky to have you
as my daughter.
Love,
Your papa.
August 15, 2007
A Global baby
Technology is truly amazing. Here is a story bound to warm your heart.
In a South Mumbai clinic, a global child is waiting to be born — after the prospective parents, of varying ethnicities, explored markets in three continents, gathered the ingredients that go into the making of human life and decided to create it using India’s medical expertise.
If all goes well, acupuncture physician Nicole Brown (45) and her husband Scott (39), an insurer, can expect to conceive in India and deliver a child in the US after a full term of pregnancy. A child for which they travelled through Argentina, Greece, Vietnam before landing in India on July 27. A child for which they have flown an egg donor from Vietnam to Mumbai, to retain Nicole’s oriental ethnicity.
Ah! The wonders of science. The rest of the article goes on to explain how India was chosen by this couple as the place to conceive and it’s a wonderful story about how a couple’s dream has come true.
But what really irks me how a national newspaper shamelessly inserts a glowing PR of India’s medical industry.
This multi-racial, transcontinental, two-and-a-half-year odyssey reflects the personal touch and professional maturity of India’s medical outsourcing industry in particular the skills that India can now offer the world, from running insurance checks for US companies to verifying genetic information for clients in Europe.
I know India is really doing well but one sign that Indians have “matured” is to stop calling themselves geniuses all the time. Every major publication in India is guilty of this fact. I mean come one!! Be mature and wait for the accolades. Don’t serve them and eat them yourself. That’s childish and not “mature.
August 14, 2007
A PhD In Rock
So rockstars are really not as dumb as they look or sound.
Brian May, the lead guitarist from rock band Queen, is close to earning his doctorate in astrophysics — more than 35 years after quitting his studies to become a rock star.His thesis, “Radial Velocities in the Zodiacal Dust Cloud,” is the last component of his PhD studies, and May expected to complete his work on Wednesday.
I always knew he had an interest in astrophysics but I never knew his interest extended to a PhD!! Anyway, I love the closing para.
Earlier this month, the writer of such Queen hits as “We Will Rock You” and “Fat Bottomed Girls” was granted an honorary doctorate from Exeter University in Devon, England.
I Love/Hate This Band
Here is a band that built their reputation as a “peoples’” band. Here is a band which has millions and millions of dollars. Here is a band that still makes hit albums.
And yet they worry about not making money from albums released 2 and a half decades ago!! Its Napster all over again.
Harmonix confirmed back in July that the legendary rock band Metallica is coming to Rock Band (PS3 and Xbox 360). Also earlier this month both Red Octane and Activision came up with a similar announcement for Guitar Hero III that is scheduled to be released on Nintendo Wii, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360 platforms.But what’s this? We just got word that Metallica is currently suing the above mentioned companies for copyright infringement. According to the band’s lawyer, what the three companies is planning to do is actually under the “licensed music to player” system otherwise known as LM2P network.
Harmonix wasn’t able to provide an initial statement regarding the matter but the counsel for Red Octane and Activision had this to say:
Our company paid a licensing fee to feature the track ‘One’ by Mein Guitar Hero III. We don’t understand why Metallica would turn around and sue us, unless they’ve gone from insane to completely bats*** insane since 2001, but we’re confident that the law and our contracts will be enough to have this thrown out.
What a lousy bunch of money grabbers!!! Now their songs are beginning to loose their meaning.
August 10, 2007
Munch
Munch……chomp….swallow…..munch….munch.
That’s me eating my words. I had said earlier that there is no way that the Stephen Harper is going to respond to the challenge by other countries to claiming land on the Arctic circle.
I was proven wrong. Today the Canadian prime minister said :
As the race to back up claims over the resources of the Arctic Ocean heats up, Canada has said it will build two new military bases in its far north. Mr Harper said a cold-weather army training base would be set up at Resolute Bay and an existing port at a former mine at Nanisivik would be refurbished to supply Arctic patrol vessels.
I just hope that like some of this administration’s other promises (Ice Breakers for the Arctic region, Income Trust, Accountability etc.) are not empty words.
August 6, 2007
God The Utterly Wrong
I hate the concept of god. It took me a while to get to the truth and am very happy to be where I am at this point.
My problem is how do I get my daughter to, so to speak, see the light. I don’t want her to wait 34 years before she realises that the concept of god is truly and utterly wrong. I want her to grow up with the truth. I want her to know that god is not an entity but a ghost in everyone’s mind. I want her to know that to achieve something in life, one does not need to visit the temple and pray for it but rather to achieve it with her own will and belief in herself.
But I also don’t want to force my belief in her. I’d rather she discover the truth herself. I’d rather she approach me to tell me why she believes there is no god and not the other way around.
Raising kids is really tough!!
Another Piece Of Evidence
Global warming? That’s liberal bullshit…….
SEWARD, Alaska — At first sight, it seems to stretch forever: a vast river of white ice, rising up into the sky, its edges framed by a translucent blue piping.Looking around, there are no obvious indications of a glacier in retreat.
The evidence, however, lines the path to the glacier’s edge.
“There is no question this glacier is in retreat,” says Shelley Hall, chief of resource management for Kenai Fjords National Park.
Alaska’s great glaciers are melting away. Some of the smaller ones have completely disappeared in the past few decades, and while many of the bigger ones will be around for a while yet, their yearly retreat is stunning nonetheless.
Not all the warming can be attributed to the rise in greenhouse-gas emissions. There has also been an El Nino-like shift in wind patterns, a phenomenon known as Pacific Decadal Oscillation. The patterns in the waters surrounding Alaska go through a transition every 20 to 30 years, and their effect on the region lasts much longer than El Nino’s does elsewhere. The last major wind-pattern shift here was back in the late 1970s, which pumped up temperatures by a degree or two.
Add to that temperature increases due to manmade global warming, and in a place such as Alaska you suddenly have a unique set of challenges.
According to a recent University of Alaska study, climate change could add as much as $6-billion to what is now expected to be the $40-billion cost of building and maintaining public infrastructure in Alaska between now and 2030.
Alaska’s roads, buildings, railroads and airports are all going to cost more to replace in part because the foundation upon which they are built is turning into sludge. That once permanently frozen subsoil - permafrost - is thawing.
I should send this article to a colleague of mine who thinks that global warming in not man made. Yes, such human ostriches do live among us the living.
August 4, 2007
Funnys
Could not stop laughing at this…….(Note, only people who follow cricket can understand it)….
Sreesnath on his performance in the second test against England……
“Yes, I did write a letter to God before the fourth day of the Test. I wrote in that, ‘Tomorrow I will win the Test match for my country. I will be the one, God please help me.’ But it didn’t go that way. Well, maybe I didn’t write my name in the end and God thought it came from Zaheer bhai,” he said
Holy cow….either this guy has a killer sense of humour or he really is a religious dolt. Either way, my daughter is looking at me right now asking me why I have a huge smile on my face.
August 3, 2007
The Arctic Wars
There was quite a salvo fired across Canada today which ruffled a few feathers here.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper vowed to defend his country’s sovereignty over its northernmost territories yesterday after Moscow sent two submarines deep under the North Pole ice to plant a flag on the ocean floor.
So a country like Denmark laid a claim to a godforsaken island (Hans Island, 2005) publicly and all the government of Canada could do was talk and talk and talk. And then came the Harper government with a mighty swagger and proceeded to elucidate their stand in the matter by talking back to the US (yes THE US!!) when the government harshly objected to US submarines
patrolling the Arctic ocean (just inside the Canadian territory). And then the government proceeded to promise ice breakers (Canadian made, oooooooh) that will patrol the Arctic ocean against ANYONE trying to lay a claim to Canadian territory. And then the “new” government…..ummm….did nothing about it.
In true tradition of Canadian we talk rather then impose (A school of thought I subscribe to, by the way). The Danish and Canadian government are discussing the issue and they will probably end up sharing the revenues which is what we are supposed to do in the first place.
Which is why I was rather surprised to hear the rhetoric pour out of our esteemed foreign minister Peter MacKay. I mean, for the love of god, Russia is just posturing. If they are going to drop a flag here and there, they know very well, that is does not mean that they will actually claim the land. This is a PR exercise and nothing more. The next step is to talk (just like we are doing with Denmark) and resolve the situation. Would it lead to a resolution? Who knows. One thing it will not lead up to is a very serious diplomatic situation which I am fairly certain that neither Canada nor Russia is in any position to undertake. But if you are at the table, no one is spending millions n millions of dollars and, possibly the lives of their soldiers, to lay claim to a piece of land that no country has a right to, to begin with.
However, the Harper government has jumped to a chance to give their base some excellent talking points……
* “There is no question over Canadian sovereignty in the Arctic,”
* “We’ve established a long time ago that these are Canadian waters and this is Canadian property. You can’t go around the world these days dropping a flag somewhere. This isn’t the 14th or 15th century.”
* “This government has put a real emphasis on northern and Arctic sovereignty and we will continue to do so and we will move quickly in that regard.”
* “The question of Arctic sovereignty is not a question. It’s clear. It’s our country. It’s our water. … It’s the “True North strong and free” and they are fooling themselves if they think dropping a flag on the ocean floor is going to change anything.”
And their friends down south have joined them too…..
* “I’m not sure of whether they’ve put a metal flag, a rubber flag or a bedsheet on the ocean floor,” State Department spokesman Tom Casey (of the United States Of America) said. “Either way, it doesn’t have any legal standing or effect on this claim,” he said.
Rhetoric and BS posturing. That’s all this is.
August 1, 2007
How Not To Get Killed In A Plane Crash
So for all the times that I was pissed with the stewards and stewardesses for giving me a seat at the back of the plane, I am sorry.
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The funny thing about all those expert opinions: They’re not really based on hard data about actual airline accidents. A look at real-world crash stats, however, suggests that the farther back you sit, the better your odds of survival. Passengers near the tail of a plane are about 40 percent more likely to survive a crash than those in the first few rows up front.
That’s the conclusion of an exclusive Popular Mechanics study that examined every commercial jet crash in the United States, since 1971, that had both fatalities and survivors. The raw data from these 20 accidents has been languishing for decades in National Transportation Safety Board files, waiting to be analyzed by anyone curious enough to look and willing to do the statistical drudgework.
